I decided to step out into the concourse for a little while, before the next leg began. As I got out of my seat, the stewardess said, “Is that your coat in the overhead bin?” I said yes, but I was staying on this flight and thought it would it be safe to leave it there while I stepped out to stretch my legs. “Absolutely,” she replied, “you can leave it there,” and we talked about this being her last flight for the day, as another crew was coming on board. I was the last passenger off the plane, as the cleaning crew was opening the back door.

As I was waiting to re-board the plane, I overheard the ticket agents talking about another flight at the adjacent gate, and a passenger much like myself was traveling through to his next destination, and had stepped out as the cleaning crew picked up trash. Now his iPod was missing. The tone of the conversation was implicating that the cleaning crew, which had already denied taking the device, had stolen it.

I went back to my seat and took my spot, and while sitting there, a little voice in my head suggested that I check to see if my jacket was still in the bin. I opened the compartment and my heart dropped as I realized it was gone. Airline personnel don’t say the words “taken” or “stolen,” instead using the word “misplaced.”

I went to the crew and let them know what happened. They sent me to the ticket agent who called the cleaning crew, and of course got a denial when asked about the jacket. Lost & found was checked and it wasn’t there, and there was little I could do. I was told to file a misplaced article claim in Denver and sent on my way.

As the last passenger off the plane, you couldn’t suspect another passenger, and any crew member leaving the plane would have had a tough time hiding a bulky jacket while walking through the terminal, but it was so easy to take it out the back door of the plane as the cleaning crew left the plane.

I had plenty of time to think about my monetary loss ($300) and of course the sentimental value, and I then began hoping that the articles in my checked bags were safe. I was so thankful that I had taken my carry-on bag with me into the terminal, as it had my laptop in it.

If you’re traveling by air, feel free to use my experience to make a better decision than I did.

Theft happens. Every day, a certain segment of the population makes a living stealing the possessions of others in order to sell the items for cash. I allowed myself to be a victim, and paid the price. Here are some things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of theft:

• Always lock your vehicle
• Keep valuables out of sight or in the trunk of your car
• Park in well lit areas
• Always keep your home locked when unoccupied
• Don’t keep a spare key to your house hidden near the doors
• Have a neighbor park a car in your driveway while you are on vacation
• Leave a light on in your home if you are gone for the evening
• Have a neighbor pick up your mail and newspaper while you are out of town
• Make sure your shed is securely locked
• Never leave personal items on the plane unattended
• Women: keep your purse close to your body while in crowds
• Men: keep your wallet in your front (not back) pants pocket while in crowds

TGM Realty Investors, a subsidiary of Thalhimer Commercial Real Estate, purchased the corporate offices, attached 110,000 square foot warehouse and adjacent S&K retail store for $5.6 million last year in attempt to help the now-defunct retailer raise cash and stay afloat.

Stratford University operates campuses in Tysons Corner and Woodbridge. It offers 30 undergraduate and graduate degrees in the areas of Culinary Arts and Hospitality, Nursing, Health Sciences, Business Administration, and Information Technology. The degree programs will be offered both on campus, and online.

The opening of Stratford University will follow South University, which opened across the street at West Broad Village last fall.

The property is also scheduled to be redeveloped for other office and retail uses by TGM Realty Investors, Inc. on behalf of its client, 11100 West Broad Street, LC.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Inside the same hotel, Shula’s Steakhouse, open since December, held their formal grand opening, featuring Coach Don Shula, former head coach of the Miami Dolphins who led the team two two Superbowl victories and the only perfect season in NFL history. Shula signed autographs and participated in a silent auction, which benefitted Junior Achievement of Central Virginia.

Officials from Royal Ahold, owner of Giant and Martin’s supermarkets and the buyer of all Ukrop’s Supermarkets, were seen in the Short Pump location throughout the day last Thursday. The personnel, more than 50 of them, were seen questioning employees, taking photos and engaging in discussions with management. The Short Pump Ukrop’s is the chain’s best performing store by far according to the company’s management. Royal Ahold will officially close on the Ukrop’s purchase on February 8, 2010.

J.L. Kent & Sons Incorporated of Spotsylvania was awarded a contract valued at approximately $3 million. The contractor will make improvements to more than two miles of Pouncey Tract Road in Hanover County between Ashland Road in Hylas and Rockville Road in Rockville.

The project will involve widening and paving the existing shoulders six feet to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians.

In addition, the contractor will upgrade road drainage structures and make adjustments to the road alignment to improve sight distance. Construction will begin in late February of this year, with completion expected in May of 2011.

Drivers can expect periodic overnight and daytime detours on Pouncey Tract Road during construction, according to Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Dawn Eischen. Residents, businesses and emergency vehicles will continue to have access to properties along Pouncey Tract Road during these detours and throughout construction. VDOT plans to announce all scheduled detours via local media and electronic message signs along Pouncey Tract Road several days prior to implementing the detour.

A public information meeting will be held in mid February to inform the community about this upcoming construction project. The date, time and location of this meeting will be announced in the coming weeks.

We ran into the house, still seeing no smoke, and I called for her. “In the laundry room,” she called back, and I ran down the hall, turned the corner to see what I thought was smoke coming from the room.

Still running, I entered the laundry room and immediately both feet went flying up in the air as I landed on my back in a quarter inch of hot water. My dog was standing there looking at me, trying to figure out if I was playing a game with her, as water drenched me. Looking at the ceiling light, I couldn’t understand why hot water was coming from the light until I got on my feet.

Looking toward the washer, I saw the water was coming from a burst hot water hose and was spraying all the way up to the ceiling light. I reached into the hot water and turned off the spigot stopping the drenching. Next, I saw the water flowing out onto the hardwood floor, so immediately I grabbed all the dirty laundry and started throwing it down to soak up the flooding water. Within a few minutes, we had used all the dirty laundry, towels, and bath mats and etcetera and successfully prevented an insurance claim.

Looking at the reason for the leak, I saw a bulged out area of the hose which had weakened and finally burst. The cold water hose was in the same condition and had the same bulging area destined to blow at a later date. The condition is very common and similar to an aneurysm on the wall of an artery, just a weakened side wall ready to explode.

Most clothes washers come with cheap rubber hoses that eventually fail. Take a look at yours and you may find one or both showing signs of weakening and bulged out areas ready to fail.

Now even if they are new hoses, it’s good idea to go to your local hardware store and make a wise investment. Purchase a set of reinforced hoses and use these to replace the other hoses. These reinforced hoses look like they have a wire wrapping around them. You can ask for assistance from a store employee in making your selection.

Burst water pipes do happen and it’s important that everyone in the house know where the water shut off is located. Most new houses have a shutoff in the garage, but some are under the house. So in the midst of an emergency, someone can quickly locate the shutoff and reduce the amount of damage by stopping the flow.

Cleaning your gutters can prevent water from backing up under the shingles and damaging your roof, and downspout extensions directing water away from the house can keep it out of the basement and crawlspace.

A few minutes spent reviewing these suggestions can mean the difference in avoiding an insurance claim and even the inconvenience of a temporary relocation while repairs are made to your home.

The project, contracted out by Henrico County to Corfu Contracting of Oakton, Virginia, started in November of 2009, but visible changes, including painters’ scaffolding and harness equipment, weren’t seen until last week.

Kristy Marshall, Community Liason for the Henrico County Department of Public Utilities, says the project will cost taxpayers a total of $1,105,209 and take approximately one year to complete, weather permitting.

Originally constructed in 1987, the tank has a total water capacity of two million gallons.

Other enhancements will also be made to the structure beyond just a paint job, though. “The project also includes adding a new mixing system inside of the tank to enhance water quality, making some security enhancements and installing a new roof vent,” Marshall said. “Overall, there will be no noticeable changes to the tank once the project has been completed.”

Henrico Police were called to the 11800 block of Norwich Place, off Nuckols Road in the Estates of Hampshire subdivision near Wyndham, and found Zhang dead with evidence of blunt-force trauma.

Chang has a hearing date for his case set for March 22, 2010.

The building’s previous owner, New York-based Lexington Property Trust, defaulted on a $17 million commercial mortgage during the third quarter of last year. The lender foreclosed on the property with a balance of $15.5 million left unpaid.

“When Circuit City fell, Lexington had a big vacant building with an even bigger mortgage that they didn’t want to keep paying on while they were looking for a tenant,” Robison said. “They leveraged the property based on Circuit City being a tenant in the building. When [Circuit City] left, they had no significant cash flow.”

In other words, Robison said, “They gave the keys back.”

The loan was bundled and sold as commercial mortgage backed security (CMBS loan), so now a few private investors own the property; Morgan Stanley owns the controlling interest. The servicer for the loan is Berkadia Commercial Mortgage.

The building was one of two Circuit City headquarters buildings in the Deep Run park off Gaskins Road in Western Henrico. The other, Deep Run III, was not owned by Lexington.

Robison said Thalhimer would be talking with government entities and economic developers to make them aware that the property is available. The building includes a cafeteria, auditorium, data center, day-care center and even volleyball courts and a softball field.

The fifth floor was home to the executive suite, once the stomping ground of Circuit City bigwigs. Those digs have cherry paneled offices and a covered balcony that overlooks the entire campus.

Although it could be a while before a buyer is found, Robison said the owners would be amenable to leasing the property.

The young mother was close to delivering her second child, she had no prenatal care, and when asked which hospital she wanted to be transported to, she picked the one furthest away. I asked if the closest hospital would be okay, and she insisted on her first choice, which was a good twenty-minute transport.

As the firefighter crew loaded her onto the stretcher, I approached her husband and laid it on the line. I said, “Look, you have two choices. I can transport her to the hospital of her choice, and your baby will be delivered by an EMT and a paramedic, or you can convince her to go to the closest hospital and your baby can be delivered by a doctor. It’s your choice, which would you like?” He replied, “A doctor of course!” I then asked him to talk some sense into his wife, and after a short discussion he turned to me and said “the closest hospital.”

We carried her out of the house to the ambulance and headed to the hospital five minutes away, while getting our equipment open and in place, should the baby deliver. I glanced out of the ambulance window and could see the hospital in sight, but we just didn’t have enough time. The baby had decided to come into the world as we turned onto the ramp leading off the highway, just a quarter mile from the emergency room entrance!

Thankfully, it was an uncomplicated birth, and we cleared the airway, clamped and cut the cord, wiped him down with towels, bundled him up and placed him in mom’s arms. A nurse opened the rear door of the ambulance to see what was taking so long, and saw three happy faces and one crying newborn.

Here are some things you can do ahead of time to save those precious minutes in getting to the hospital when you call for an ambulance:

• Make sure your address is visible to the road from both directions. Reflective numbers are really important when trying to find an address at night.

• Have someone out by the road or flicking the porch light on & off to help the crew find your house.

• If you have a family member needing frequent transports to the hospital, see if you could re-arrange the bed situation from the second floor to the first floor of the house. Some people end up using the dining or living room for this. Carrying a patient down a set of stairs is time consuming, involves calling for a fire engine for more help, and is simply dangerous for the emergency personnel and the patient.

• Have a list of medical history, medications, allergies, etc to give to the ambulance crew. Posting a copy of this on the refrigerator is a good idea.

• The human body is an amazing thing. Listen to it and it will let you know when it’s in trouble. Don’t delay calling for help if you have chest pain, shortness of breath or an altered mental state. Giving it time and hoping it will go away only delays access to our medical system designed to save your life!