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JULY 15, 2016 | NORTHERN VIRGINIA MEDIA SERVICES
Food Lion, not Giant, stores sold
Project aims to eliminate East Coast choke point
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he local Giant grocery store will not be sold after the merger of the European companies U.S. holdings, Instead both North Stafford Food Lion stores will be sold to Weis Markets, which is based in Pennsylvania, Delhaize Group announced Thursday. The Food Lion stores, at 905 Garrisonville Road and at 2612 Jefferson Davis, are among 86 locations being sold by the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group. “These divestments are being made in connection with the United States Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) pending review of the proposed merger between the two companies. The divested stores are being sold to well-established supermarket operators,” the Delhaize Group stated in a news release. “All of the purchase agreements are subject to FTC approval. The agreements are also subject to FTC clearance and formal completion of the Delhaize Group and Ahold merger, which the companies continue to expect before the end of July.” The decision is a victory for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400, which represents the workers at the Giant stores, including North Stafford. The Food Lion stores are not unionized. “Victory! Our stores are saved! Giant has agreed to do the right thing and not sell any of our Giant stores!” the union’s Facebook proclaimed. “The marches, rallies, press conferences, and meetings have paid off! All 8 of the stores (6 in Virginia and 2 in Maryland) that had SOLD been proposed for sale will PAGE 12 remain Giant, pending Fed-
Crowded Virginia Railway Express trains could see some relief in the near future. The Atlantic Gateway project aims to provide a new high-speed rail connection between Charlotte, N.C., and Washington. VRE
Gov. Terry McAuliffe recently touted his $ 1.4 billion plan as the ‘single largest investment in the commonwealth’s history’
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JILL PALERMO
jpalermo@insidenova.com
irginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe says improvements to the state’s railway system included in the “Atlantic Gateway” plan will be nothing less than “historic” in terms of boosting reliability and capacity for both passengers and freight. But commuters on alreadycrowded Virginia Railway Express trains won’t feel much difference for at least four or five years, according to timelines released last week by the Virginia Department of Transportation. The state’s vision for high-speed rail service between Washington
and Charlotte, N.C., is on an even longer timeline, stretching until at least 2026. Still, during stops in Alexandria and Fredericksburg July 8, McAuliffe emphasized the plan’s size and the eventual impact on rail transit, calling the estimated $500 million rail package “the single largest investment in the commonwealth’s history.” “It’s a step-by-step process, but just getting us capacity of track, which we didn’t have before, moves us in the right direction,” McAuliffe said during a stop at the Interstate 95 rest area outside Fredericksburg. “We have a ways to go, there’s no questions about that. But [be-
fore the Atlantic Gateway grant] we were nowhere,” he added. “Now we’re in the game.” Earlier in the day, McAuliffe spoke at the King Street VRE station to announce planned rail projects made possible, in part, by the recently awarded $165 million federal FASTLANE grant. The term is an acronym for “Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies.” McAuliffe says the money will be augmented with $710 million in state transportation funds and $565 million in private investment, from I-95 Express Lane operator Transurban and freight rail CSX, to provide a total of $1.4 billion in corridor improvements. When announced last PROJECT week, the Atlantic GatePAGE 12 way plan to extend the
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