Evan Jones
VDOT is preparing to widen more of Interstate 81 through the valley. A public hearing later this month is the next step in a process that will ultimately take another eight years to complete on the seven miles between I-581 and Cloverdale. Once started two years from now, the widening of this section to three lanes each way will take six years to complete — until the summer of 2031. VDOT Spokesperson Jen Ward says it takes that long because such work on existing highways presents its own set of traffic and worker safety challenges. The public hearing is more of an open house to show the proposed design and answer questions about it. It is set for Lord Botetourt High School, September 19th from 5 to 7 p.m. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
CLICK HERE for full information on planned Interstate 81 improvement projects across its entire Virginia length.
CLICK HERE for full information on this specific Interstate 81 improvement project.
A familiar set of post-COVID problems is forcing a delay in plans to build more than 200 units of some of the most in-demand housing here and elsewhere. Norfolk-based Lawson Companies had planned to break ground later this month for Smith Ridge Commons at Peters Creek and Cove Roads, across Peters Creek from Sheetz. But for now, Smith Ridge Commons will have to wait. The company says supply chain and staffing issues are delaying the planned start of work until next summer. Lawson already manages thousands of similar units elsewhere in Virginia aimed at people and families earning 40% to 60% percent of an area’s median income, and company officials say demand far exceeds current supply. Federal tax credits and state grants help developers build such housing. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
The wide-ranging Roanoke College poll released this week includes a noticeable drop in support among Virginia Republicans for Ron DeSantis as a first choice for party presidential nominee — but he holds the top preference in a different way, as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports:
CLICK HERE for full poll results and methodology.
EXCERPT: The Roanoke College Poll continued measuring Virginians’ opinions about the current Republican presidential nomination race, including who they would most prefer to be the Republican candidate for president in 2024. We provided survey respondents an updated field of candidates based on recent national polling, including Trump, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott. Although he has not entered the race, we also included Youngkin in the list of candidates again.
Trump maintains a commanding lead of 47% as the first choice among self-reported Virginia Republicans, followed by DeSantis at 13% and the rest of the candidates in single digits. While Trump’s level of support remains about the same as our last poll, the percentage of Republicans reporting DeSantis as their first choice has dropped by 15% since our last poll in May. We also asked Virginians to report their second-choice candidate for the Republican nomination, where the results showed a more competitive field. Approximately 19% of Republicans reported DeSantis as their second choice, followed by Trump (17%), Ramaswamy (17%), Youngkin (14%), Scott (9%), Pence (8%) and Haley (6%).
Looking ahead to the 2024 presidential election, we asked Virginians who they would vote for in a hypothetical matchup between the two parties’ leading nominees. Biden leads Trump by about nine points at 51% to 42%, which is a drop from his 16-point lead we reported in our May poll. Looking at a breakdown by party identification, while both Biden and Trump have solidified support among Democrats and Republicans, respectively, our poll finds that Biden has a 21-point advantage among independents at 55% to 34%. We also asked Virginians, if Biden and Trump are the party nominees in 2024, whether they would consider voting for an independent candidate for president in 2024. Approximately 47% of Virginians said they would consider an independent candidate while 50% said they would not. Looking at the results by party identification, 54% of independents said they would consider voting for an independent presidential candidate.
A new Roanoke College statewide poll finds a majority of Virginians believe former President Trump did something illegal in cases involving classified documents at his Florida home and the 2020 election. Just about one-third of those questioned believe he violated any law in the case involving alleged hush money. But Poll Director Bryan Parsons say the chasm by party is huge — 70% or more by party involving the documents and 202o election. Parsons says it is another clear piece of evidence of the large partisan divide that now exists in Virginia and across the country. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
Here is a portion of the Roanoke College Poll news release:
We also asked Virginians for their opinions about three of the now four indictments facing Trump. The percentage of Virginians who reported hearing or reading a lot or some about former President Trump being indicted was 82% in the case involving allegations about classified documents, 77% in the case involving allegations about hush money payments, and 84% in the federal case involving allegations about the 2020 presidential election. For each of these cases, we asked Virginians whether they think Trump did something illegal, did something unethical but not illegal, or did nothing wrong. A majority of Virginians reported that they think Trump did something illegal in the cases involving classified documents (54%) and the 2020 election (51%), while about a third reported that they think he did something illegal in the case involving hush money payments (34%). There are substantial differences between Democrats and Republicans in these responses, including 70- and 72-point gaps in beliefs about whether Trump did something illegal in the classified documents and 2020 election cases, respectively, and a 54-point gap in beliefs about whether Trump did something illegal in the hush money payments case. Among independents, 64% reported that he did something illegal in the classified documents case, 33% reported he did something illegal in the hush money payments case, and 58% reported that he did something illegal in the 2020 election case.
Click here to see the full news release.
Click here to see the full poll results and methodology.
In case there was any question, the Roanoke-built 611 steam locomotive remains a very popular draw for steam excursions. Within days of tickets becoming available for 30 fall runs, well over half are already taken. The iconic locomotive will lead excursions for five weekends in October and early November between Goshen and Staunton. Goshen is about 80 minutes north of Roanoke. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
Click here for full excursion and ticket information.
Virginia lawmakers now have a tentative budget agreement to vote on. Conferees from the Republican-controlled House of Delegates and Democratic-controlled State Senate have reached a deal. Officials say it includes a one-time tax rebate and an increase in standard deductions. A vote is needed in a special session, one that is not yet scheduled.
NEWS RELEASE: We are pleased to announce that we have a budget deal between the House and Senate budget conferees. While the major components have been agreed to, our conferees and staff will be completing the final touches in the days to come.
The deal is one that provides Virginians with additional tax relief and unprecedented investments in education, natural resources, and behavioral health. It is a win-win for the citizens of Virginia.
It includes a one-time tax rebate of $200 for individuals and $400 for joint-filers, increases the standard deduction ($8,500 for single-filers and $17,000 for joint-filers), removes the age requirement for the military retiree subtraction, and reinstates the sales tax holiday. Taken together, these actions provide relief to low- and middle-income Virginia citizens and Virginia businesses.
We also prioritized investments in education at all levels to ensure that our students recover from pandemic learning loss and are workforce ready. In higher education, we are providing additional operating support to maintain college affordability and increased financial aid to ensure access is not limited due to family income.
We were able to negotiate these investments while maintaining an eye on Virginia’s continued budgetary integrity. Virginia remains in a strong fiscal position based on these actions, which will continue to protect our triple-AAA bond rating.
While the negotiations have been deliberate and extended, we are very pleased that the outcome is both fair and balanced toward the priorities of the House and Senate. In an era when partisanship often prevails, the negotiations were cordial and respectful.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our dedicated conferees and talented staff.
If your mother told you to “Eat Your Vegetables” when you were growing up, a new study by a local medical school professor suggests it is advice that can help you at the other end of your life. Kathy Dorey is a mostly-retired professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine who authored a study recently published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s the result studies on brains donated to science after death, examining the levels in them of anti-oxidants found in certain key vegetables, and Dorey says those levels were “strikingly” lower in people who suffered significant cognitive loss than for those in people who did eat more of their veggies. She specifically lists green leafy vegetables, orange peppers, corn and tomatoes as most beneficial. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
Photo: VTC School of Medicine
NEWS RELEASE:
August 14, 2023 — Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease estimated to affect 6 million Americans and 33 million people worldwide. Large numbers of those affected have not yet been diagnosed.
A new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease by a Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine faculty member shows that brain levels of dietary lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, and vitamin E in those with Alzheimer’s disease are half those in normal brains. Higher dietary levels of lutein and zeaxanthin have been strongly linked to better cognitive functions and lower risk for dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
“This study, for the first time, demonstrates deficits in important dietary antioxidants in Alzheimer’s brains. These results are consistent with large population studies that found risk for Alzheimer’s disease was significantly lower in those who ate diets rich in carotenoids, or had high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in their blood, or accumulated in their retina as macular pigment,” said C. Kathleen Dorey, professor in the Department of Basic Science Education at the medical school. “Not only that, but we believe eating carotenoid-rich diets will help keep brains in top condition at all ages.”
Carotenoids and the healthy brain
Because normal brain functions and response to misfolded proteins constantly generate reactive oxidizing molecules, the brain is vulnerable to cumulative oxidative damage, which can be prevented by antioxidants supplied by a healthy diet. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that are commonly found in colorful plants. Lutein is especially abundant in kale and spinach, and zeaxanthin is highest in corn and orange peppers.
Dorey and Neal E. Craft, of Craft Technologies in Wilson, North Carolina, first reported that the brain selectively accumulated carotenoids such as lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin in 2004. Since then, researchers around the world have demonstrated better cognition in those with higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in their macular pigment and lower risk for dementia in those with highest levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in their diet or accumulated in their macular pigment.
The Rush University Memory and Aging Project followed the diet and cognitive performance of more than 1,000 participants living in Chicago for more than a decade, assessing their intake of carotenoids, and found that those following the MIND diet — consuming higher levels of antioxidant-rich fruits, nuts, vegetables, and fish, and lower levels of meat and sweets — had reduced risk for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, higher cognitive performance before death, and less Alzheimer’s disease-related brain pathology. Moreover, those with the highest intake of total carotenoids or lutein/zeaxanthin over a decade had 50 percent lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
Correlation between carotenoids and brain protection
Although studies had strongly implicated the possibility that carotenoids may protect the brain against damage contributing to Alzheimer’s disease, there has been no evidence that brain carotenoids correlated with the disease. The Dorey-Craft report in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease has filled that gap.
In a study of carotenoids in brains with and without Alzheimer’s disease brain pathology, the Dorey-Craft team demonstrated that brains with Alzheimer’s neuropathology have significantly lower levels of lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene and tocopherols. Concentrations of lycopene, zeaxanthin, and retinol were half those found in age-matched brains with no Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
Diagnosing and limiting future Alzheimer’s disease
This new evidence of selective carotenoid and tocopherol deficiencies in the brains of subjects with Alzheimer’s disease adds further support to the growing evidence that a greater dietary intake of carotenoids may slow cognitive decline prior to — and possibly following — a diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease.
Research also has shown that the retina selectively accumulates lutein and zeaxanthin from the diet, forming visible yellow macular pigment that enhances vision and protects photoreceptors. By noninvasively measuring patients’ macular pigment optical density, researchers can estimate the concentration of lutein and zeaxanthin in the brain.
“Recent advances in new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease show exciting promise as an effective way to slow disease progression,” Dorey said. “I’d be thrilled if our data motivated people to keep their brains in optimum condition with a colorful diet with abundant carotenoids and regular exercise. Available studies suggest this may also reduce risk for dementia.”
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As schools reopen across Virginia, one of the greatest challenges still facing them is trying to recover from the learning loss experienced during the COVID-related classroom closures. An area superintendent says one big help often begins right at home, as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports:
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Election day is more than 2 1/2 months away, but early voting in Virginia begins September 22 — five weeks from this Friday. It comes as a national debate continues over exactly how should we be able to vote ahead of the traditional day to cast ballots. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
For the second year in a row, the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center is rehabilitating bobcats , and its leader says they’re likely to see more such cases in future years. The center in southwest Roanoke County faces some unusual challenges as rehabilitates two very young bobcat kittens — with the goal of eventually returning them to the wild. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story:
Photos: Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center