The CEO of the appliance and consumer-electronics retailer believes the chain can make headway in an already competitive market.

Still in its first year of operation, The Westin hotel in Henrico County has won one of AAA’s prestigious Four Diamond Awards for superior service and amenities. The 250-room, full-service Westin, owned by Musselman Hotels of Louisville, Ky., only opened its doors Dec. 18. “We came out of the gate strong on our service component, said Feliks Schwartz, general manager of the hotel at 6631 W. Broad St. “We have not taken any shortcuts.“

Since 1993, the state has put $270 million of its federal transportation money into 817 “enhancement grant” projects. Only 389 of those popular community-based undertakings, which are supposed to be related to transportation, have been completed. Dealing with multibillion-dollar, recession-driven budget cuts, the Commonwealth Transportation Board yesterday tightened the rules to qualify for the federally mandated enhancement program.

Richmond Times-Dispatch President and Publisher Thomas A. Silvestri has been elected chairman of the American Press Institute. The institute, based in Reston, is a nonprofit, independent education center that provides training and leadership development in the news industry. It offers seminars, workshops and custom programs for newspaper professionals and organizations.

A South Florida jury yesterday ordered Philip Morris USA to pay $300 million to a former smoker, agreeing that the tobacco company’s negligence was the cause of her emphysema. The award in Broward County for Cindy Naugle, 61, is the largest to date among thousands of lawsuits filed in Florida against tobacco companies. “Cindy admitted her fault to the jury,“ her attorney, Robert W. Kelley, said. “But Philip Morris refused to accept any responsibility for her emphysema, even though she was an addicted customer for 25 years.“

Workers afraid of layoffs didn’t rush to doctors’ offices this year to use their health-insurance benefits as some had predicted, according to a survey of employer-sponsored health plans. “It just didn’t happen. People might have been more concerned about getting to work every day,“ said Kenneth Jeffries of the Richmond office of Mercer, an international human resources and benefits management, consulting, outsourcing and investment services company.

Genworth Financial Inc.‘s latest survey of consumers’ vulnerability found Americans are doing well, considering. Despite the recession, Americans are much less financially at risk than Europeans, the Henrico County-based insurance giant’s latest review shows. “Given the harsh economic climate in the USA of recent months, it is perhaps surprising,“ the review commented.

As part of a campaign against counterfeit cigarettes, Philip Morris USA is suing 10 retailers in New York and New Jersey alleging they’ve been selling fake Marlboros. The Henrico County-based cigarette-maker has monitored retail markets for years to keep fake versions of its brands off store shelves. This year, Philip Morris has sued 27 stores in New York and New Jersey, which are hotspots for the fakes because of high state taxes, a huge port through which the contraband is easily shipped, and criminal organizations that wholesale the counterfeits.

Chester-based Uppy’s Convenience Stores Inc. won the Greater Richmond Chamber’s Impact Award during a gala last night. The chain of convenience stores was picked from a field of six finalists. “Uppy’s ultimately demonstrated, across the board, their commitment to growing their company and building their community in the process, and we are pleased to recognize them for those efforts,“ said Slaughter Fitz-Hugh, chair of the award committee and president of CapTech Ventures.

Struggling Internet company AOL plans to shed up to 2,500 jobs—more than a third of its work force—as it prepares to separate from Time Warner and finally sever their ill-fated marriage. Major job cuts had been expected and seemed certain after Time Warner said last week that AOL would take $200 million in charges for severance and other restructuring-related costs. But the magnitude was not known until yesterday.

Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, will cut 250 jobs at a plant in Hampton because of falling parts orders for industrial gas turbines. The reductions represent about 24 percent of the 1,060 workers employed at the Alcoa Howmet plant, which is part of the company’s power and propulsion division, spokeswoman Jean Moorman said.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on residential properties in Virginia stood at 7.7 percent at the end of the third quarter, up from 6.9 percent in the previous quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Nationally, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans was 9.94 percent, up from 8.86 percent in the second quarter.

Stocks tumble on signs of subdued recovery NEW YORK Signs of a subdued economic recovery sent investors out of stocks yesterday and in search of safer assets like the dollar. Major indexes tumbled about 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost 94 points but ended well off its low. Energy and material stocks logged some of the biggest losses as a jump in the dollar sent commodity prices tumbling. Meanwhile, an analyst’s downgrade of the chip industry pulled technology shares lower.

Just 12 days remain until a new Virginia law restricting smoking in restaurants goes into effect. Starting Dec. 1, smoking will be prohibited in restaurants, with some exceptions. Smokers and proprietors who violate the law will face civil penalties of $25. More than 70 percent of full-service and fast-food restaurants in the state already are nonsmoking, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Public-health officials and some business groups say they expect to see that percentage rise significantly once the new law is effective.

Union Bankshares Corp. said yesterday that it has repaid the $59 million it received from the federal government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The Bowling Green-based bank, which is preparing to merge with Richmond-based First Market Bank, has redeemed the preferred stock issued to the Treasury by repaying the money it received in December as part of TARP’s capital purchase program.