A Henrico woman missing since Saturday night was located this afternoon in Orange County. Henrico police said the 80-year-old woman may have become disoriented and lost; she was driving a white 1992 Ford Tempo. The vehicle apparently ran out of gas and a concerned resident in Orange called police. The woman was being reunited with her family this evening, police said.

Orange County officials asked a judge Tuesday to dismiss an attempt to block Wal-Mart Stores Inc. from building a Supercenter near a Civil War battlefield. The filing by the Board of Supervisors contends preservationists and residents who filed the legal challenge have no standing in the issue and defended the county’s Aug. 25 vote approving the store near the Wilderness Battlefield.

Orange County is asking a judge to dismiss a legal challenge that seeks to block Wal-Mart Stores Inc. from building a Supercenter near an endangered Civil War battlefield.

It’s a shame to see opponents of a Walmart in Orange County take the issue to court. They made their case before the Board of Supervisors and lost. Dragging out the fight on spurious legal grounds seems unlikely to achieve anything productive. The suit contends that the supervisors “brushed aside” concerns about harm the store might do. If that’s the operative threshold for a tort, then pretty much any development could be challenged on legal grounds—since, almost by definition, any rezoning approval reasonably could be said to brush aside the views of any critics there might be.

Preservationists and residents filed a legal challenge yesterday to block construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter near a famed Civil War battlefield. The legal action is aimed at an Aug. 25 vote by the Orange County Board of Supervisors approving the store near the Wilderness Battlefield. The battlefield where 30,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were injured or killed 145 years ago is considered one of the nation’s most endangered Civil War sites, according to preservationists.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a Wal-Mart, but the fight over the store isn’t over yet. Later yesterday, after the board’s 4-1 vote at 1 a.m. to grant a special-use permit to allow the retailer to build a 133,481-squarefoot store near a Civil War battlefield, a loose-knit coalition of opposition forces was busy regrouping.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a Wal-Mart, but the fight over the store isn’t over yet. Later yesterday, after the board’s 4-1 vote at 1 a.m. to grant a special-use permit to allow the retailer to build a 133,481-squarefoot store near a Civil War battlefield, a loose-knit coalition of opposition forces wasbusy regrouping.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted early this morning in favor of a long-debated Wal-Mart store near the Wilderness battlefield. A special-use permit was approved 4-1 just before 1 a.m.

As about 400 people crowded the Orange County High School Auditorium last night, more than 80 speakers took turns at the microphone to talk about a proposed Wal-Mart store near a Civil War battlefield. Most identified themselves as local residents, and most favored building the store. The five members of the county Board of Supervisors sat mostly silent on stage at the public hearing, after which they were to vote on whether to allow the store to be built near the battlefield.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors will hold its final public hearing on a proposed Walmart at 6 p.m. tonight in the auditorium of the county high school. The board probably will decide on an application for a special-use permit to allow construction of the 138,000-square-foot store, though a vote could be pushed back to Tuesday if the hearing goes late.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors will hold its final public hearing on a proposed Walmart tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the county high school. The board probably will decide on an application for a special-use permit to allow construction of the 138,000-squarefoot store, though a vote could be pushed back to Tuesday if the hearing goes late.

With two members absent, the Orange County Planning Commission voted 4-4 last night on whether to recommend that a special use permit be granted to build a Walmart store near a Civil War battlefield. The tie goes down as a no vote.

An Orange County farm owner who had been operating a rescue facility for polo ponies has been charged with animal cruelty and failure to properly dispose of dead animals.

Supporters and opponents of a Wal-Mart planned for a site near a Civil War battlefield learned yesterday that they have at least three more weeks to prepare their arguments. About three hours before the scheduled beginning of a public hearing to discuss the proposal, the Orange County Board of Supervisors called off the meeting after discovering that an earlier hearing conducted by the Planning Commission may have occurred illegally.

A much-anticipated public hearing and possible vote on Wal-Mart’s proposal to build near a famed Civil War battlefield in Virginia has been canceled.