Virginia’s expensive new state IT system does not have network backups in case connections between its computers fail. In just five weeks this fall, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles suffered 12 computer system outages, putting individual offices out of business for a total of more than 100 hours. One outage lasted 29 hours, another 17.

Outdoor enthusiasts have a new place to shop in western Henrico County with the opening of REI. REI, which stands for Recreational Equipment Inc., opened yesterday in West Broad Village, across from the Whole Foods Market and next to HomeGoods.

ORLANDO, Fla. The Walt Disney Co.‘s newest princess doesn’t arrive in movie theaters for another month, but she is already easy to find at Walt Disney World. Theme-park guests can meet Tiana, an African-American princess, and watch her perform in a musical riverboat show. They can buy Tiana dolls, undergo Tiana makeovers, and eat Tiana’s Magical Kisses—bite-sized, white-chocolate-covered graham crackers. They can even get vouchers for a child’s ticket to Tiana’s movie.

Virginia regulators want to suspend the nation’s oldest black-owned insurer from doing business in Virginia, saying its finances are in hazardous condition. But North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. is working on raising capital to boost its balance sheet, spokeswoman Kimberly Moore said this week. The Durham, N.C.-based insurer also is reducing expenses and has cut back on signing up new business, which eases financial pressures on the company as well, she said.

Stocks fall a third day as dollar strengthens NEW YORK Investors can’t shake their fears that the economy isn’t keeping up with the stock market. Stocks fell for a third straight day yesterday as a disappointing outlook from computer maker Dell Inc. suggested that an economic recovery could be uneven. The major indexes all had moderate losses, leaving the Dow Jones industrials with a slim 0.5 percent weekly gain while broader indexes slid.

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.