Gene Marrano
The Salem Red Sox kick off their season at home on Thursday .. if you like to order tickets ahead of time online GM and Team President Ryan Shelton says that will be easier this season:
Local and regional artists have a new home for their creative work – and support services – provided by the “Virginia Design Collective” in downtown Roanoke. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
A Roanoke native and journalist is in town on Wednesday to talk about her book on more than 10,000 thousand women that were employed to decipher enemy transmissions during World War II. More on the “Code Girls” from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
US Senator Mark Warner – co-chair of the Senate Intelligence committee – says President Trump should not fire special counsel Robert Mueller as he investigates possible collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia:
There’s still time to take part in the latest Clean Valley Council spring cleanup, an event that’s now in its 40th year. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
President Donald Trump on Sunday declared “NO MORE” to a deal to help “Dreamer” immigrants and threatened to pull out of a free trade agreement with Mexico unless it does more to stop people from crossing into the U.S. He claimed they’re coming to take advantage of protections granted certain immigrants. “NO MORE DACA DEAL!” Trump tweeted one hour after he began the day by wishing his followers a “HAPPY EASTER!”
He said Mexico must “stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL!” The U.S., Canada and Mexico are participating in tense negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement at Trump’s insistence. Trump says NAFTA is bad for the U.S.
Trump, when addressing reporters briefly before entering the church, again blamed Democrats for failing to protect the “Dreamers.” “They had a great chance. The Democrats blew it. They had a great, great chance, but we’ll have to take a look because Mexico has got to help us at the border. They flow right through Mexico. They send them into the United States. It can’t happen that way anymore.”
The president also complained on Twitter that border patrol agents can’t do their jobs properly because of “ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws” that allow people caught for being in the country illegally to be released while they await a hearing before a federal immigration judge.
(from Roanoke Police Department) On April 1, 2018 at 3:18 a.m. Roanoke Police responded to a residence in the 800 block of Staunton Avenue NW in reference to a shooting. When officers arrived they located two adult males inside a residence who had been shot. Roanoke Fire and EMS transported both victims to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment. Officers located cartridge cases inside the residence. This incident is still under investigation. No arrest have been made at this time.
And then there were 3: Ivan Raiklin of Fairfax County was the last of three Republican contenders who failed to file enough valid signatures in order to make it on to the June 12 primary ballot. That’s according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Minerva Diaz and Bert Mizusawa also fell short. That leaves Corey Stewart, E.W. Jackson and Nick Freitas as the three GOP candidates on the June 12 primary ballot. The winner faces Democratic US Senate incumbent Tim Kaine in November. Recent polls show Kaine trouncing any of the Republican hopefuls at this point.
On a somewhat related note, Roanoke County resident and former Cave Spring supervisor Charlotte Moore says she did qualify for a June 12 Democratic primary where she will face off against two other Democrats for the 6th District Congressional nomination. That’s the seat being vacated by Bob Goodlatte.