+7 Richmond kicks off the holidays with Thanksgiving celebrations, charity events and Black Friday spending. ’Tis the season of giving, sharing and throwing your unopened credit-card bills in a big pile while you drown your sorrows in $4 peppermint-mocha lattes.
+1 In the midst of a peak season, Short Pump Town Center launches a system that tracks the mobile-phone whereabouts of shoppers in the mall — then cancels the plan after mixed reactions. Apparently Richmonders don’t want anyone to know how often they visit Auntie Anne’s Pretzels kiosk.
+3 Mannheim Steamroller comes to town for a Christmas-music performance, just four days before a Tran-Siberian Orchestra show. Yes, Virginia, there is a place for mixing Handel’s Messiah with lasers.
-5 Gov. Bob McDonnell prepares to release his two-year budget later this month by taking expense-cutting suggestions from state agencies. But his biggest puzzle is how to get to the White House before Virginia goes bankrupt.
0 In one of the state’s most popular football rivalries, Virginia Tech hands the University of Virginia a crushing loss of 38-0. They might as well have been playing VCU.
