Local Government, Civic Affairs and Education
Property owners who reside near the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center appeared before the Roanoke County Board of Zoning Appeals last night – but were sent elsewhere with their complaints as WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:
Jennifer Lewis
The Democratic candidate running to replace Congressman Bob Goodlatte says the representative should not be judged for his son’s political affiliation. WFIR’s Lillian Boyd spoke with Jennifer Lewis amid Bobby Goodlatte’s recent donation to her campaign.
Lewis says she first learned the son of Bob Goodlatte donated to her campaign when he tweeted his support. A Twitter account apparently run by Bobby Goodlatte posted he had made the maximum donation of $2,700 to Lewis’s campaign for the 6th District seat. Lewis says she’s thankful for the support, and she understands firsthand what it’s like to disagree with a relative’s politics.
“We’re all raised a certain way and once we get of that age to spread our own wings and figure our own way into the world, we often disagree with our parents. Personally, my dad voted for Trump and here I am running for Congress as a progressive Democrat,” Lewis said.
She faces Republican Ben Cline in November. As of last month, Cline had a $100,000-dollar fundraising lead over Lewis. Click below for the full interview with Lewis.
A research team led by a Virginia Tech professor is presenting the results of a study today on the health effects of continuously checking work emails from home. As WFIR’s Evan Jones reports, the study suggests companies should encourage workers to disconnect at times or face adverse consequences later on.
The expanded Virginia Western culinary arts program building on Henry Street is getting ready for the new semester starting August 20th. Its tripled the footprint and now features several state of the art working “labs” for culinary students. James Zeisler runs the program and says the expansion has been needed for a decade. “Chef Z” also says a ribbon cutting is planned for September 12th, with several other opening celebrations in the works as well.
He caught pitches from the legendary Satchel Paige and played baseball with an all-star barnstorming team in the waning days of the Negro Leagues. Now Roanoker Larry LeGrande will tell stories tomorrow night during a fundraiser. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
Beth Macy’s book about the opioid crisis was released today – the former Roanoke Times investigative reporter includes many local sources in “Dopesick – Dealers, Doctors and the Dug Company that Addicted America” – including Nancy Hans with the Prevention Council of Roanoke County. (Beth Macy joins us live in studio next Monday morning at 8-45 to discuss “Dopesick.”) Hans was in northern Virginia today to pick up an award for the local Heroin Task Force the Prevention Council is a part of.
The contract has been signed and now some of the heavy lifting follows. More on TAP’s agreement to sell the historic Dumas Hotel to a citizen-led group from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
It’s been months of debate and research… and Roanoke leaders are sticking with plans to replace a historic fire station in the Grandin neighborhood. WFIR’s Lillian Boyd with the latest.