restrict interest-rate increases during the first year;
restrict rate increases on existing balances;
increase notice for rate increases on future purchases;
preserve the ability to pay off on the old terms;
place limits on fees and penalty interest;
require fair application of payments;
provide sensible due dates and time to pay;

Size: 8,000 acres
  Customers: About 700
  Water available: 5.25 million gallons per day
  Currently used: 680,000 gallons per day

BLACKSBURG—As expected, Virginia Tech’s season-opening game against Alabama will be a meeting of top-10 teams—at least according to the USA Today coaches’ poll. The Top 25 poll, released yesterday, ranks Alabama fifth and Tech seventh. Both teams almost certainly will be ranked in the top 10 of the upcoming Associated Press Top 25, adding some juice to an already much-anticipated meeting, Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, and nationally televised on ABC.

Rooms: 135
  Rates: average $125 per night, but on Aloft’s Web site some rooms started at $89 yesterday
  Room types: include a 275-squarefoot room with a king-sized bed or a 325-square foot room with two queens
  Room amenities: Wi-Fi, 42-inch TVs, gourmet coffees and walk-in showers
  Hotel amenities: “Grab-and-go” snack and drink pantry, lounge, pool, self check-in kiosk, 780-square-foot gym

Compost heap in center
  Smaller than a traditional garden
  Close to house for easy access
  Requires few resources
For information on permaculture and sustainable gardening:
http://www.permaculture.org; http://www.attra.org

For the second time in as many weeks, a published poll is showing Republican Bob McDonnell with a double-digit lead for governor over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. Public Policy Polling yesterday put McDonnell ahead of Deeds, 51 percent to 37 percent. Four weeks ago, the Raleigh, N.C.-based survey group reported McDonnell leading Deeds, 49 percent to 43 percent.

Led a race-high 91 laps in posting his fifth career Sprint Cup victory (three at Pocono, one each at New Hampshire and Martinsville)
Snapped a 50-race winless drought (Last win: March 30, 2008, at Martinsville)
Moved from sixth to fifth in the points standings with five races remaining in the regular season.

Age : 29
  Hometown : Richmond
  Attended : Mills Godwin High School and Wake Forest University
  On the field: A standout soccer player, Noftsinger earned all-state, all-region and all-academic distinction in each of her final three seasons at Mills Godwin (below). . . . She appeared in 81 matches, 70 as a starter, as a midfielder at Wake Forest (above). . . . Second-team all-ACC as a senior. . . . Became the first Wake Forest woman drafted by a pro team when chosen by the New York Power in the 2002 WUSA Draft. . . . Was signed by the WUSA’s Washington Freedom as a reserve-squad player at the midpoint of the 2002 season. . . . Played on the Freedom’s 2003 WUSA championship team. . . . Served four seasons as an assistant coach and highly regarded recruiter in the women’s soccer program at Stanford University.

Amanda Steinhagen, a 17-year-old rising senior at Oakton High School, shot 2-over-par 73 yesterday to take a two-stroke lead in a 36-hole iMPACT Classic amateur qualifier at the Country Club of Richmond. Steinhagen, the runnerup at the recent VSGA Women’s Stroke Play tournament, played the back nine on the 6,250-yard RCC course in 1-over 36. Her closest pursuer, 20-year-old Sara Hurwitch of Potomac Falls, a rising senior at the University of Kentucky, shot 38 on the back side and finished at 4-over 75.

Here are some of the effective dates for FDA regulations of tobacco products:
  July 22, 2009: Use of descriptors such as “light” and “mild” prohibited for newly introduced cigarettes.
  Sept. 20, 2009: Artificial flavors other than menthol banned from cigarettes.
  Oct. 1, 2009: Start of fee collections from tobacco companies to fund the new FDA tobacco center.

TURNBERRY, Scotland Maybe when the disappointment wears off—for both Tom Watson and the millions of fans cheering him on—everyone will take a larger message from his remarkable performance along the Scottish coast. Age, indeed, is just a number. Let’s not put these geezers out to pasture just yet. From George Foreman to Dara Torres, from Lance Armstrong to Mark Martin—and now, Watson—these geriatric athletes pop out of their rockin’ chairs from time to time, reminding us that youth may win out most times, but it’s not always served.

NORFOLK—Nearly 300 people hoping to get season tickets for Old Dominion University’s return to the gridiron have been turned away because there aren’t enough available seats at Foreman Field. This week, the school notified 296 people who had made down payments that they would not get season tickets. They had ordered a total 1,065 tickets.

Michigan————————————-15.2%
  Rhode Island————————————-12.4%
  Oregon————————————-12.2%
  South Carolina————————————-12.1%
  Nevada————————————-12.0%
  California————————————-11.6%
  Ohio————————————-11.1%

1. False. Mosquitoes tend to breed in small, temporary sources of water, such as puddles, birdbaths or kiddie pools—particularly Asian tigers, which breed in containers. Mosquitoes can breed in as little as a tablespoon of water. 2. True and false. “Certain times of day can play a role, depending on the species,“ said David N. Gaines, state public health entomologist for the Virginia Department of Health. “But most people bitten in Virginia are bitten by the Asian tiger mosquito, which bites during daylight hours.“