The Roanoke Rambler (Page 2)

Happenings Calendar: 7/8-7/15

The Roanoke Rambler Featured Event: 2026 Roanoke City Council Candidate Mixer & Information Session Saturday, July 11, 2026 · 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Melrose Branch Library – Community Room Meet the people who want to lead Roanoke and ask them your questions face to face. This free, public

Social Issues

Growing Old in Roanoke

Roanoke isn’t just getting older. It is growing older while the workforce, caregivers, and family networks that support older adults are becoming smaller.

Criminal justice

June Gun Violence Awareness

In Roanoke, June’s Gun Violence Awareness Month Ends With Another Young Life Lost

Education

AI Has Already Arrived in Roanoke’s Classrooms. Here’s What Parents, Students, and Workers Should Know.

Roanoke’s schools, colleges, and employers are quietly building one of the most coordinated AI workforce ecosystems in the region. Most people here have no idea it exists, and that matters.

Happenings

Happenings Calendar: 7/1 - 7/8

The Roanoke Valley heads into Independence Day with carnivals, fireworks and plenty of chances to run, dance, craft and sing. As always, please check with event organizers for any last-minute changes. Also, mark your calendar: a special chance to meet Roanoke City Council candidates face-to-face is coming

Government and Politics

"Are You Going to Complain About It, or Fix It?"

A Conversation with Councilman Phazhon Nash For his first interview with the Roanoke Rambler, Hart Fowler sat down with Roanoke City Councilman Phazhon Nash for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of the Berglund Center, the casino debate, Evans Spring, the reopening of the Eureka Center, and what it

Literature

The Mountains That Made Me

How Roanoke Shaped Author Jennifer Brody’s Stories—and Her Summer Reading List Roanoke, VA Author: Roanoke Rambler Staff, Tina Charisma Lead Published: 8:05 AM EST June 24, 2026 Edited: 8:05 AM EST June 24, 2026 As summer settles across the Roanoke Valley, many readers are building their

Government and Politics

Puff, Puff has Passed in the Budget: Moving from Criminalization to Commercialization with Nick Hagen

Roanoke City Councilman and cannabis attorney Nick Hagen is questioning how Virginia’s newly approved recreational marijuana framework, which launches in 2027 with a 350-license cap and a 6% starting tax rate, will impact the city. Roanoke, VA Author: Roanoke Rambler Staff, Lead Hart Fowler Published: 8:00 AM

Happenings

Happenings Calendar: Week of 6/24-7/2

Here’s what’s happening in and around Roanoke from Wednesday, June 24 through Thursday, July 2nd. As always, check with the venue for last‑minute changes or cancellations. Wednesday, June 24 10 to 11 a.m. — Fossil Dig Storytime (Roanoke Public Library). Little paleontologists can dig into dinosaur tales,

Food Access

The Line Keeps Growing. The Food Is Running Short.

St. Francis House cut its operating days after federal food shipments fell by more than 60%. The change comes as one of Roanoke's largest emergency food providers serves more people than ever. Roanoke, VA Author: Roanoke Rambler Staff, Tina Charisma Lead Published: 7:00 AM EST June 17,

Food

Requesón, Ricotta Recall Linked to One Death: What Roanoke Consumers Need to Know

A tub of cheese in your fridge has been tied to a deadly contamination and health officials say some local shoppers may have already brought it home. Roanoke, VA Author: Roanoke Rambler Staff, Naomi Campbell Lead Published: 7:00 AM EST June 17, 2026 Edited: 7:00 AM EST June

Business and Economy

New $85M Investment and 435 Jobs for Roanoke

RINGANA plans to establish its first U.S. headquarters, production and distribution facility in the City of Roanoke. The Austrian life sciences company will invest $85 million over five years. Roanoke, VA Author: Roanoke Rambler Staff Published: 7:00 AM EST June 17, 2026 Edited: 7:00 AM EST June

Happenings

Happenings: The Roanoke Events Calendar

Social Issues

They Had Dreams: Eighty Faces, One Community

Eighty faces. One bridge. For a few hours in Roanoke, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge stopped being just a way to get from downtown to Gainsboro and became something closer to a public altar, a place where grief, memory and resolve met in the open air. Families

History

The Woman From Roanoke Whose Cells Are Helping Shape Medicine Again

Doctors stole her cells without telling her. Decades later, those same cells are helping fuel a new race to save patients with rare and deadly diseases. As U.S. regulators move to speed up cutting-edge gene therapies, the story of a young woman from Roanoke — and the cells taken

Development

Roanoke Revitalized: Inside the $100 Million Wave of Infrastructure Upgrades

Roanoke is in the middle of a $100 million bet on itself. From a rebuilt river corridor and revived skate culture to a resurrected neighborhood “front porch” and a grocery store ending a 40–year food desert, the city is stitching together projects that don’t just pour concrete, they

History

Ollie Howie Community Day in Roanoke, VA

Ollie Howie Community Day turns a hometown kid’s journey into a blueprint for what a city can do together. From pastors and parents to students and local legends, the day lifts up ordinary people doing extraordinary work, mentoring teens, funding scholarships, and feeding neighbors, the celebration shows how one

Happenings

Happenings: The Roanoke Events Calendar

Wednesday, June 10 * The Giving Moon & Empty Bottles (Big Lick Brewing Company, 409 Salem Ave. SW) An early evening outdoor session on the patio featuring the alternative and indie sounds of The Giving Moon, followed immediately by local rock outfit Empty Bottles. 5:30 p.m. • Free admission * Live