UPDATE: Downtown Roanoke Inc. is launching a program where property owners can use technology to identify who’s not scooping their pet’s poop. WFIR’s Ian Price has details:

Originally posted 03/26/19 – Downtown Roanoke Incorporated is planning to use technology in order to cut down on the amount of pet waste. The Poo Prints cutting-edge DNA testing technology allows property owners to identify un-scooped dog waste samples and match them to the responsible dog. Sixteen large residential properties within the downtown district have already committed to participating in the program that’s launching in April.

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a Virginia Tech researcher who helped expose the Flint, Michigan, water crisis can’t silence critics with a federal defamation lawsuit.

The Roanoke Times reports that U.S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski dismissed Marc Edwards’ $3 million lawsuit against three critics Wednesday. The engineering professor and a team of students helped expose lead contamination in the city’s water supply in 2015. The suit was sparked by a letter signed by more than 60 Flint residents that accuses Edwards of interfering with efforts to self-organize, abusing authority and insulting them.

Urbanski writes in a 115-page opinion that Edwards’ lawsuit failed to state a valid claim against his critics. He says the statements “plainly qualify as constitutionally protected opinion” and notes no reasonable reader would think it was factual.

The environmental impacts of that fiery tanker crash and spill on U.S.-220 near Fincastle are being revealed as a new detour plan is put in place today. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:

UPDATE — From VDOT: Work continues to repair Route 220 in Botetourt County just north of Fincastle where the road was damaged by an overturned tanker fire on February 20. The damaged section of the northbound lanes is located near Route 220’s intersection with Route 679 (Peck Road/Martins Lane).As of 6 a.m. on Feb. 22, northbound traffic is shifted into a single southbound lane of Route 220, the far left lane traveling north. The speed limit is reduced to 35 mph on this section.All southbound traffic is continuing to use the signed detour: Mary Alice Road to West Wind Road to Old Fincastle Road to return to Route 220. Residents in between the detour will continue to be able to access their homes.Tractor-trailers and large industrial vehicles should avoid Route 220 southbound and seek alternate routes such as I-64 and I-81.VDOT still plans to shift two-way traffic into the southbound lanes of Route 220 while repairs are made to the northbound lanes. A timeframe for this traffic change has not been determined and will be dependent on weather.Drivers should expect delays and heavier traffic on secondary roads in the vicinity of the closure.

From the National Weather Service: A winter storm was moving across the region this morning as cold air moved southwest along the east side of the Appalachians from an area of high pressure across the northeastern U.S. Between late Sunday evening and early this morning, several inches of snow fell across areas along and west of the Blue Ridge and mainly north of U.S. 460. This area of heavy snow and sleet that moved across the region earlier this morning was shifting north of I-64 and will continue to do so this morning. However, pockets of light freezing rain and freezing drizzle will linger across the region through the morning and into the afternoon in northern areas until temperatures slowly creep above freezing. While additional accumulations of snow and sleet are expected to be minor, ice accumulations from freezing rain and freezing drizzle will remain possible through the morning in the south and well into the afternoon across the north until temperatures finally rise above freezing.

WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING

* WHAT…Sleet, snow, and freezing rain or freezing drizzle. Additional snow or sleet accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of one-tenth inch.

* WHERE…Portions of southwest and west-central Virginia and southeast West Virginia.

* WHEN…Until 7 PM EST this evening.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. \

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A Winter Storm Warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet, and ice will make travel very hazardous or impossible. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 511.

Utility filings in Virginia show that much of the need for a proposed natural gas pipeline in our region has disappeared and that could cost it’s stakeholders significantly. WFIR’s Ian Price has more: