Evan Jones
Experts are predicting the national average price for gasoline is likely to fall below $2 a gallon by Christmas, but that is already starting to happen in the Roanoke Valley. As of late Monday morning, GasBuddy.com showed three stations selling at prices below $2. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
UPDATE: Traffic is reported to be moving normally again through the area.
Roanoke County emergency dispatchers confirm that crews have responded to a tractor-trailer accident on Windy Gap Mountain, the stretch of State Route 116 south of Roanoke that has seen several such accidents in past years. It is a hilly and winding stretch of roadway not well-suited to trucks, so much so that tractor-trailers are banned from using it, and there are signs posted in each direction specifically alerting truck drivers to the prohibition. VDOT officials have said in the past that truckers nonetheless head that way at times because many GPS devices will suggest that routing.
Sen. Mark Warner
Senator Mark Warner meets today with Roanoke area “sharing economy” workers like Airbnb or Uber. Warner says he wants to hear some of those workers offer ideas on what government policies might be helpful for this growing segment of the workforce. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Bob and Maureen McDonnell
(Associated Press photo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has made a final plea to a federal court to let him remain free while he appeals his public corruption convictions to the U.S. Supreme Court. In court papers Monday, attorneys for McDonnell argued that federal prosecutors are off base in suggesting the Supreme Court is unlikely to take his case. McDonnell says his case clearly raises important legal questions that merit Supreme Court review. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted of doing favors for a wealthy businessman in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. He was sentenced to two years in prison. She got one year and one day. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week refused to reconsider a three-judge panel’s ruling upholding Bob McDonnell’s convictions.
Advance Auto Parts is downsizing, at least for the moment, and that’s a change in direction for the Roanoke-based company. This comes as Advance earnings beat Wall Street expectations — and investors cheer. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more.
Noah Thomas
Evidence presented in court yesterday at least leaves open the possibility that five-year-old Noah Thomas got into a septic tank himself — the tank where his body was found four days after he was reported missing. The new information came out in yesterday’s court hearing for Noah’s parents, Ashley White and Paul Thomas. A medical examiner testified Noah died last March from drowning and hypothermia in that septic tank behind the family’s Pulaski County home, with no sign of any serious injuries. But evidence presented yesterday suggests there is still no clear indication as to how the boy got in that tank; a sheriff’s corporal testified the lid to it was quite light and easy to move. After hearing testimony, the judge dropped the felony homicide charge against Ashley White, which means she and Paul Thomas both face child abuse and neglect charges. Investigators say the two left Noah and his baby sister alone at the home for a while on the morning he disappeared. Next up in the case: a grand jury considers the charges.
Roanoke County Sheriff’s deputies in 1938
From the Salem Museum: For the fourth year, the Salem Museum is participating in the “Virginia’s Top Ten Endangered Artifact” program of the Virginia Association of Museums. Nominated this year for the increasingly popular statewide poll: a collection of photos from 1937 to 1943 taken for the Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office. And until August 23rd, anyone can take part in the online voting. “These photos certainly would count as endangered,” said John Long, Salem Museum Director. While the collection has been somewhat stabilized with archival, acid-free enclosures, many of the original negatives and photos require conservation, Long noted. “Some negatives are brittle, some photos faded, and there is little organization of the hundreds of envelopes. The entire collection would greatly benefit from a digitization effort. But the first step is raising awareness, and the Top 10 program will help us do just that.”
Click here for the Virginia’s Top Ten Endangered Artifact program web site.
(Continue reading for the rest of the news release.)
Jim Kent
It’s an emotional day here at WFIR as News Director and Morning Anchor Jim Kent retires after decades in the business. Former WFIR Anchor and Reporter Timothy Martin worked alongside Jim for more than five years, and he has more on Jim’s accomplished career.
WDBJ7 photos
If you ever wanted to take home a seat from Berglund Center coliseum, your day has arrived. The center holds an open house today from 4:00 to 7:00; reserve a seat for $20, and once it comes out, you’ll be notified you can take it home. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Click here for full Berglund Center coliseum seat purchase information.
Roanoke City officials are taking a walk today with the representatives for Williamson Road businesses, part of a long-term plan to attract new developers to one of Roanoke’s main retail business streets. City officials are examining what street improvements might help accomplish that. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.