Gene Marrano
John Garland
Peacemakers founder and former Roanoke City Council candidate Shawn Hunter says he will address City Council today on complaint he is filing against Council member John Garland. It alleges abuse of power – stemming from what Hunter says was Garland’s interest in purchasing the 11th Street northwest property where the Hope Center is located. Copies of e-mails forwarded to WFIR show Garland questioning city officials about whether the Hope Center should be licensed as a youth center. Garland says his concern was for the safety of children in the afterschool program. Ironically, Hunter rents an apartment from Garland.
Its do or die for the Washington capitals tonight – down games 3 to 2 against Tampa Bay in the NHL eastern Conference finals. In the Scott Robertson Memorial golf tournament Virginia Tech recruit Connor Johnson won the boys 15 to 18 year old title – and in a playoff Agustina Gomez Cisterna captured the girls 15 to 18 crown:
Virginia’s Blue Ridge is now one of only 15 “Silver-Level Ride Centers” in the world – and the first on the east coast. A local mountain biking group hopes that leads to bigger things as WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:
(from ABC News) President Trump said in a tweet Sunday that he is ordering the Department of Justice to “look into” whether his 2016 presidential campaign was improperly “infiltrated or surveilled” for political purposes. Trump added that he’d ask whether “any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration.” The Department of Justice currently did not have a comment on the tweet. The tweet is the latest escalation by the president in fueling an assertion that the Trump campaign may have been spied on by the FBI or the DOJ. President Trump has sent out a series of tweets in recent days advancing the accusation first voiced by some conservative commentators that the FBI had a spy in the Trump campaign.
The Washington Post and New York Times have reported in recent days that the FBI sent an informant to talk to several Trump campaign aides during the 2016 election. The Times cited unnamed sources that these contacts were made only after the FBI had gathered information that the informant’s targets had made suspicious contacts with Russians during the campaign. The reports do not assert that there was an informant embedded inside the campaign or that the informant ever acted improperly.
Ben Cline Facebook photo
Delegate Ben Cline has won the Republican nomination for the Sixth District at the GOP convention in Harrisonburg..”I am very excited to finally have a nominee in the Sixth,” said RPV Chairman John Whitbeck. “I have the utmost confidence in Cline’s ability to run a successful campaign and keep the Sixth District Republican. He has a top-of-the-line grassroots operation that will ensure his victory in November. Cline has one of the most impressive campaigns of any Republican in the United States.”
Cline has served the 24th District in Virginia House of Delegates for 16 years and previously Chief of Staff for retiring Congressman Bob Goodlatte, according to a release from the Republican Party of Virginia. He will face off in November against the winner of the Democratic primary on June 12th, when four contenders will seek their party’s nomination in a district that is historically “red.” (with reports from WDBJ-7)
(VDH release) Following heavy rain events this week, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reminds people to take precautions to avoid flooded areas, and once the sun comes out, be aware of potential health risks before you participate in recreational water activities.
Heavy rains can increase the risk of exposure to animal waste and inadequately treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants. Bacteria, debris and other pollutants are collected by rainwater as it travels over the land and ends up in rivers, lakes and streams. This mix of rain and pollution can pose risks to human health and safety. Rain events also cause flooding and fast-moving waters, especially in low-lying areas.
The most common illnesses from contaminated water are gastrointestinal illnesses. This may cause vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain or fever. These illnesses result from swallowing water contaminated by disease-causing microbiological organisms. Additionally, contact with contaminated water has the potential to cause upper respiratory (ear, nose, throat) and skin infections.
Rain or shine, the annual Local Colors Festival is a “go” tomorrow at Elmwood Park. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
Its more energy efficient, has wider aisles, a bigger seating section for the in-store deli and a “refreshed” parking lot. The Roanoke natural foods co-op on Grandin Road is celebrating a $700,000 remodeling. The co-op has been in Grandin Village for more than 40 years. Shareholders were asked to weigh in on the changes. City Council members helped cut a ribbon this morning; for the next 10 days there will be special tastings and sales to celebrate the remodeling. John Bryant is the marketing manager: