BUSINESS BRIEFS

VIRGINIA

Advance Auto to cut 270 jobs, 45 in Roanoke

ROANOKE -- Advance Auto Parts Inc. says it will outsource the shipment of merchandise from distribution hubs to stores, eliminating about 270 driver and support jobs.

Forty-five of those lost jobs will be in Roanoke, where the company is based. The cuts will leave the company with about 1,500 Roanoke-area workers.

Advance said Monday that it has signed agreements with UPS Freight and Schneider National Inc. Advance said those companies have expressed an interest in interviewing the soon-to-be-displaced workers for possible jobs.

Talks set at Goodyear plant in Danville

DANVILLE -- Goodyear executives and union leaders are meeting this week to discuss the future of the company's Danville plant.

Company executives arrived Monday and are expected to be in Danville through today.

The meeting follows last week's session where United Steelworkers Local 831 officials were told recent furloughs have not done enough to reduce huge inventories. Danville plant workers just returned from a second weeklong furlough, with another scheduled for later this month.

Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear says restructuring plans will be announced next Wednesday when yearly and fourth-quarter results are released.

With at least 2,000 workers, the Goodyear plant is Danville's largest employer.

Pharmacy to close at Ukrop's Roanoke store

ROANOKE -- Ukrop's Super Markets Inc. will shutter its pharmacy in its Roanoke store in an attempt to shave costs and keep the store open, the store manager said Monday.

The grocer's pharmacy will close Feb. 21. All prescriptions and patient records will be transferred to a nearby CVS pharmacy.

"It'll help sustain long-term viability in Roanoke," store manager Jason Woodcock said. "We want everyone to look at this as a positive thing. This is to help us continue to stay in Roanoke."

Richmond-based Ukrop's opened the Roanoke store in June 2007.

Three Virginia counties named disaster areas

Three Virginia counties are being designated as natural disaster areas because of reductions in farm production caused by drought and excessive heat last year.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that Craig, King and Queen, and Russell counties are receiving the designations. That makes farmers eligible for low-interest loans and any relief that may be provided by Congress in the future.

Farmers in some adjacent counties also may be eligible for federal assistance. Those areas are: Alleghany, Botetourt, Buchanan, Caroline, Dickenson, Essex, Giles, Gloucester, James City, King William, Middlesex, Montgomery, New Kent, Roanoke, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Scott counties.

A request for federal disaster designation is pending for King William County.

THE NATION

Postal rates to rise to 44 cents on May 11

WASHINGTON -- The post office will get an extra 2-cents' worth when you mail a letter starting in May.

The U.S. Postal Service announced yesterday that the price of a first-class stamp will rise to 44 cents on May 11.

That gives plenty of time to stock up on Forever Stamps, which will continue to sell at the current 42-cent rate until the increase occurs. They will remain valid in the future regardless of rate increases.

"The Postal Service is not immune to rising costs, which are affecting homes and businesses across America today," Postmaster General John Potter said. "Even with the increases, the Postal Service continues to offer some of the lowest postage prices in the world."

While the new 44-cent rate covers the first ounce of first-class mail, the price for each additional ounce will remain unchanged at 17 cents.

Promoter, Ticketmaster address antitrust fears

LOS ANGELES -- Concert promoter Live Nation Inc. and ticketing giant Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. confirmed their merger plans yesterday and got right to work addressing antitrust concerns that have taken center stage.

Ticketmaster Chairman Barry Diller, to be chairman of the new company -- which would be called Live Nation Entertainment -- sought to dispel the notion that the deal would lead to higher ticket prices.

"Ticketmaster does not set prices. Live Nation does not set ticket prices. Artists set the prices," he said, without mentioning the ticket surcharges Ticketmaster relies on for much of its revenue.

Elsewhere