Recent Local Headlines!

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Now on Richmond Independent Radio News, these are your local headlines.

A nuclear reactor in Louisa county shut down yesterday due to an “automatic reactor trip that appeared to have been linked to a thunderstorm that moved through the area shortly after 7 p.m” The Times Dispatch reported that a spokesman for Dominion Virginia Power, who owns the reactor said that the reactor “operated as a result of lightning in the area and caused the unit to shut down.” This is the third time the reactor has shut down this year.

The Virginia Film Festival is calling for submissions for the festival that takes place in November. The festival is accepting submissions of features, documentaries and short films. Filmmakers in Virginia have all submission fees to the festival waived, while fees apply for other entrants. Submissions are only accepted through the festivals website at www.withoutabox.com The deadline is September 8th. The festival is in its 23rd year and takes place in Charlottesville November 4ththrough the 7th.

A 21-year-old Richmond man was critically injured after he fell from the top of a three-story apartment building early Wednesday morning. The Times-Dispatch reports the police say the fall occurred due to an “alcohol fueled stunt”. The man and two of his friends used a ladder to climb to the top of the apartment at 9 N. Boulevard. The man then jumped to the neighboring building and when trying to jump back, fell three stories, the Times Dispatch reports. The man was then taken to MCV with life threatening injuries.

Haiyang Zhu, the Virginia Tech student who plead guilty to decapitating a fellow classmate at the university in January of last year was denied a reduced sentence Tuesday. The Associated Press reports Zhu's attorneys asked the judge to reconsider the sentence, because of his lack of a criminal record and no history of violence. The judge denied the claim after prosecutors argued that keeping him in prison is the only way to protect the public. The murder occurred on the Virginia Tech campus in January. Zhu decapitated classmate Xin Yang alledgedly due to her “rejecting his romantic advances.”

CRT/Tanaka, local Richmond marketing and public relations firm was hired by Del Monte Produce in a marketing contract that will run through November. The Times-Dispatch reports that the company was hired to “handle social and mobile media campaigns for the company as well as developing in-store displays” to “promote the nutritional and dietary benefits” of bananas, one of Del Monte's largest products CRT/Tanaka was founded in 1996 in Richmond and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Washington and Norfolk. The firm has 75 employees, with 35 in Richmond.

Local police were called to the FBI office in western Henrico yesterday due to a perceived bomb threat. WWBT 12 reports that someone parked a car outside of the building and walked away. The FBI called local police and its own bomb technician as a precautionary measure. Bomb technicians revealed no threat and an all clear was given at 8 yesterday evening. POlice have not commented on what happened to the driver of the vehicle.

Local officials debated the location of the City of Richmond's new jail last night, after one council member spoke out about keeping it out of her district. WWBT 12 reports that councilwoman Reva Trammell “challenged the mayor to detail the other proposed sites” after two of the proposed sites, one in the Bellemeade Community and one at an old Phillip Morris building were leaked. The mayor said that revealing the sites would “hurt the process.” The remaining proposals could take up to 6 months.

The United States Post Office will stop accepting and shipping packages containing cigarettes and smokeless tobacco beginning June 29th. Officials say that the measure is being taken to prevent kids from having easy access to cigarettes. The ban will also prevent the illegal trafficking of cigarettes meant to evade taxes. The ban applies to all forms of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and loose tobacco, but does not apply to cigars.

A federal spending plan is pouring $3 billion in to Virginia’s economy. The Times Dispatch reports that the stimulus, which has been underway since February of 2009, is part of President Barack Obama’s effort to jump start the economy. According to a report released this morning by the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, the stimulus has “helped almost every household in Virginia.” Among the recipients of the stimulus, nearly $2 billion will go to tax credits for families and individuals, while the rest is divided among such things as unemployment and social security.

/Brad Fulton