New type of barbecue lands on 23rd Street

Owners of a Lawrence Chinese restaurant have opened the city’s first Mongolian barbecue restaurant.

Steve and Lisa Nguyen, owners of the Jade Garden, opened Jade Mongolian Barbecue at 1511 W. 23rd St. about three weeks ago. The restaurant features a traditional Chinese buffet but also includes a “raw ingredients bar.”

The bar has raw shrimp, chicken, pork, beef vegetables and other selections that customers can select and then take to a chef who cooks the food on a six-foot grill in the dining area of the restaurant.

“We decided to give this a try because this type of cooking is getting popular around America,” Lisa Nguyen said.

The restaurant, which is located in the former Country Kitchen building, will operate on an all-you can eat basis and will charge customers one price, allowing them to access both the raw ingredients bar and the traditional Chinese buffet.

Investigation

SEC seeking explanation from cable company giant

Adelphia Communications Corp. said Wednesday that federal regulators have asked for clarification and documentation of the $2.3 billion in off-the-books debt, much of it owed by the founding family, that the company revealed last week.

The news, and other developments, have caused Adelphia shares to lose nearly half their value in a week.

The nation’s sixth-largest cable television system operator said it was cooperating fully with an informal inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission and was providing the requested information as quickly as possible.

Company officials didn’t immediately return calls for comment on the SEC inquiry or on reports the company had actually incurred $2.7 billion in off-balance-sheet debt

Auto industry

GM recalls 1.9 million autos

General Motors Corp. announced Wednesday that it is recalling 1.9 million cars because of a possible electrical problem that could cause a steering column fire.

The world’s largest automaker wants to modify 1995-97 Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire and 1996-97 Buick Skylark, Pontiac Grand Am, and Oldsmobile Achieva cars by installing a low current relay in the ignition circuit.

There are no reports of fires caused by the problem while the vehicles are being driven, GM said. But in some cases, there have been claims of smoke following an unsuccessful attempt to start the car, the automaker said.

The repairs are to be performed at no cost to owners.

Technology

Microsoft COO to step down

Microsoft Corp. president and chief operating officer Rick Belluzzo said Wednesday he was stepping down after a little more than a year in the position.

Belluzzo, a longtime computer and software industry executive, joined Microsoft in September 1999 and had several senior positions before being promoted to his current position in February 2001.

Microsoft said in a statement Wednesday that Belluzzo would remain in his position until May, and would stay at the company until September to organize the transition.