Evan Jones

AEP-LOGOAppalachian Power says a Roanoke County site is one of the best in its Virginia service area for a corporate data center, and it will actively market the site in efforts to bring the high-tech, high-paying  jobs such a center would provide. The site in question is just off Interstate 81 at the Dixie Caverns exit. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.

Click here for the AEP Corporate Data Center web site for the Roanoke County location.

Election-2013-GovernorThe major parties haven’t even nominated their candidates for governor, but the negative ads are already starting. And both sides are doing their best brand the other as “extreme” and “radical”. A deluge of such ads is expected to begin later this year and continue all the way through November 5th. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.

Education-News1Three Roanoke County high schools are on a U.S. News and World report list of best in the country. The magazine ranks Hidden Valley 22nd in Virginia, Cave Spring is ranked 33rd in the state, and Glenvar comes in 43rd statewide. All three are ranked in the nation’s top 1,800 high schools. This is the second year Hidden Valley and Cave Spring have been on this list, but this a first for Glenvar.

Click here for the Roanoke County Schools news release and more links to the rankings.

TAP LogoA Roanoke center that helps the homeless become self-sufficient and able to live on their own faces the loss of federal funds next month — and this appears unrelated to sequester cuts. The Transitional Living Center receives about 2/3 of its funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is telling TLC officials that  funding already appropriated for April will be delayed at least one month. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.

The center hopes on-line “crowdfunding” can help raise the money needed to continue full operations until the federal funds arrive. Click here for the web site.

 

 

 

The Black DogA Floyd County winery is about to expand its customer base half a world away in China.  Chateau Morrisette faces some big challenges — and changes — in presenting itself to Chinese customers, but it expects sales to increase up to 25% as a result. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.

Click here for the Chateau Morrisette web site.

wfir-linkVirginia conservationists are working to build on the state’s recent record of preserving land from future development, something they say can help make the Roanoke region more attractive and promote the  region’s economic future. Local examples include Carvins Cove and Mill Mountain. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.

Richard Donahue

Facebook photo of “Dic” Donohue

Richard Donahue2

VMI 2002 Class Photo

The transit police officer shot and seriously wounded by suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombing overnight is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute.  Richard “Dic” Donohue is a member of the class of 2002. Donohue is 33 and from Winchester, Massachusetts. Officials with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority say Donohue has been a member of the force for three years. He is now listed in stable condition at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. State officials say he lost a lot of blood in the shootout. Neighbors tell the Boston Globe Donohue is athletic and a  runner, and they hope that will help him pull through his injuries. Donohue has a wife and seven-month-old son.

 

Marathon-SecurityVolunteers for tomorrow’s Blue Ridge Marathon will be asked to serve as extra sets of eyes and ears. While they will not be asked to serve in any security capacity, they will be instructed to look for any unusual things like unattended packages and report them to a police officer. Finding an officer should not be difficult — additional personnel have been assigned since Monday’s marathon bombings in Boston. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.

Click here to read Chief Perkins letter to all marathon runners, spectators and volunteers

Click here to see the No Parking locations along the marathon route

Click here for a full list of street closures and no parking zones

SuspectsThe FBI has released photos of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings and is asking for the public’s help in identifying them.    FBI Agent Richard DesLauriers says one of the suspects is  believed to have planted the devices near the finish line of the race. He says both suspects are considered armed and extremely dangerous.  The explosions Monday killed three people and injured more than 180.

Click here for more photos from the FBI web site.

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