Ian Price
The General Assembly approved a controversial amendment involving the death penalty yesterday when they returned to Richmond for a veto session. WFIR’s Ian Price has details:
Roanoke City Police are looking for a suspect after an older woman was punched in the face and robbed in her home. Officials say the man came to the 65-year-old’s front door yesterday after 2:30 pm in the 3000 block of Oaklawn Avenue claiming he needed help. He then forced his way inside and stole her purse. The suspect is described as a 35-40 year old black man around 5’8 and 200 lbs. Call police if you have any information. The number for the RPD tipline is 540-344-8500
Continue reading for full details Roanoke City Police
The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors voted to not raise the real estate tax and personal property tax rates yesterday, but Hollins Supervisor Al Bedrosian says the county should consider a tax reduction. WFIR’s Ian Price has details
Goodyear is closing its Danville plant temporarily after an employee died Tuesday. Goodyear identified the dead employee as Greg Cooper, who had worked for the company for 18 years. Goodyear, Danville’s largest private employer, says the plant will be closed for an evaluation of the facility and investigation of the incident. The company says its on-site emergency response team and local emergency personnel responded immediately. The company says it has reported the incident to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This is the third death at the plant in eight months. Officials say Kevin Edmonds died at the plant March 31 and Jeanie Lynne Strader died there in August 2015.
About 40 guests escaped a fire at a Bed and Breakfast near Lexington. Officials say the large fire started at the Good Place Farms Bed and Breakfast in Rockbridge County around 10:30 pm Saturday night. The dozens of people escaped thanks to the quick thinking of 10-year-old neighbor Ashton Dunford, who saw the smoke and warned everyone inside. The building is a complete loss. The owner, Justin Peery, believes the fire started in the furnace room. The fire is still under investigation.
Frank Roupas died on Friday at age 76- he was a well known, colorful and sometimes-infamous landlord in Roanoke, often at odds with tenants and the city over conditions at some of his rental properties. Roupas didn’t want an obituary on his passing printed. WFIR’s Ian Price has more.
Breana Stout
UPDATE: From Roanoke County Police — Breana Stout was located at approximately 12:00pm Wednesday and has returned home to her family. She was located in downtown Roanoke. Officers had been tracking her locations using multiple law enforcement databases throughout the night. Police were in the area where she was when she contacted her father to pick her up. She was not accompanied by anyone when she was picked up. She was not injured. Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
PREVIOUS: Roanoke County police are searching for a missing, possibly endangered 16-year-old girl. More from WFIR’s Ian Price.
(Continue reading for the full news release)
The Italy-based auto parts manufacturer plans to bring hundreds of jobs to the Roanoke Valley when it opens its first U.S. location in Botetourt County. More from WFIR’s Ian Price.
(Continue reading to view a news release from Governor McAuliffe’s office)