The Roanoke Rambler

Support us Sign In
  • About
  • Support Us
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Public Notices
  • Logging In
  • Search
  • Business and Economy
  • Environment and Climate
  • Food and Culture
  • Government and Politics
  • Happenings
  • Investigations
  • Literature
  • Ramblings
  • Social Issues
  • Newsletter Archives
  • Newsroom
    • Business and Economy
    • Environment and Climate
    • Food and Culture
    • Government and Politics
    • Happenings
    • Investigations
    • Literature
    • Ramblings
    • Social Issues
    • Newsletter Archives
    • Newsroom
  • About
  • Support Us
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Public Notices
  • Logging In
  • Search

Free local news you won't find elsewhere

Welcome! Check your inbox and click the link to confirm your email address
Sorry, something went wrong - please try again later or contact us by email

Our weekly newsletter in your inbox already? Sign in

Ramblings: Radford arsenal awards contract; apartments face resistance; Roanoke senator pushes back on redistricting
Ramblings

Ramblings: Radford arsenal awards contract; apartments face resistance; Roanoke senator pushes back on redistricting

What are Ramblings? Ramblings are a collection of short items that have caught our attention for one reason or another.

  • Roanoke Rambler
Roanoke Rambler Oct 6, 2021 • 4 min read
Dispelling the Arcana
Poetry

Dispelling the Arcana

I could not tell you / where these chambers exist...

  • Roanoke Rambler
Roanoke Rambler Oct 6, 2021 • 2 min read
Radford Arsenal Slow-Walks From Open Burning. Now Its Incineration Plan Is Raising Alarms.
Environment

Radford Arsenal Slow-Walks From Open Burning. Now Its Incineration Plan Is Raising Alarms.

The federal government has consistently ranked the facility as one of the top polluters in Virginia.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Sep 29, 2021 • 8 min read
3 Williamson Road Grocery Markets You Need to Know
Food

3 Williamson Road Grocery Markets You Need to Know

In Roanoke, there's a world of diverse markets. We highlight three, including inside tips and what to stock up on to build your global pantry at home.

  • Layla Khoury-Hanold
Layla Khoury-Hanold Sep 29, 2021 • 7 min read
Ramblings: Princess vs. Terry, Again?; Roanoke Vaccine Clinics; Rally for Reproductive Rights
Ramblings

Ramblings: Princess vs. Terry, Again?; Roanoke Vaccine Clinics; Rally for Reproductive Rights

What are Ramblings? Ramblings are a collection of short items that have caught our attention for one reason or another.

  • Roanoke Rambler
Roanoke Rambler Sep 29, 2021 • 2 min read
Mystery of Gravestones Found on Vacant Roanoke Property Has Been Solved — Mostly
Mystery

Mystery of Gravestones Found on Vacant Roanoke Property Has Been Solved — Mostly

The property, it turns out, was the site of the Marsteller Corporation, which specialized in monument and tombstone engraving.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Sep 29, 2021 • 4 min read
Two Gravestones, One Linked to an Ohio Cemetery, Lie on a Vacant Roanoke Property. Why?
Mystery

Two Gravestones, One Linked to an Ohio Cemetery, Lie on a Vacant Roanoke Property. Why?

Along the banks of the Roanoke River, two gravestones lie nestled in the poke berry bushes on a property for sale along Franklin Road.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Sep 22, 2021 • 5 min read
Roanoke City Councilman Owes City Business Taxes. It’s Only His Company’s Latest Delinquency.
Investigation

Roanoke City Councilman Owes City Business Taxes. It’s Only His Company’s Latest Delinquency.

The magazine company founded by Robert Jeffrey Jr. owes unpaid business taxes and only settled a state debt after being asked about it.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Sep 22, 2021 • 4 min read
Ramblings: Could John Edwards Be Toast?; Delta Variant Ravages Roanoke; Council Adopts Federal Relief Fund Proposals
Ramblings

Ramblings: Could John Edwards Be Toast?; Delta Variant Ravages Roanoke; Council Adopts Federal Relief Fund Proposals

What are Ramblings? Ramblings are a collection of short items that have caught our attention for one reason or another.

  • Roanoke Rambler
Roanoke Rambler Sep 22, 2021 • 4 min read
The Goat Field
Essay

The Goat Field

My Baby-Boom neighborhood of modest dwellings on small lots, a few blocks off Williamson Road, encircled a ten-acre, Southern Gothic amusement park.

  • Roanoke Rambler
Roanoke Rambler Sep 22, 2021 • 7 min read
On the Future of Gainsboro
Neighborhoods

On the Future of Gainsboro

Tensions over whether and how the neighborhood should change, cross generational, racial and class lines.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Sep 15, 2021 • 10 min read
Could a Grocery Store Come to Northwest Roanoke? Residents Have Been Waiting 25 Years.
Food Access

Could a Grocery Store Come to Northwest Roanoke? Residents Have Been Waiting 25 Years.

Establishing a grocery store in Northwest Roanoke has emerged as a top contender for some of the $64.5 million in federal coronavirus relief funds allocated to the city.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Sep 15, 2021 • 5 min read
Roanoke To Take ‘Aggressive’ Climate Action After Report Urges City To Halve Emissions
Climate Crisis

Roanoke To Take ‘Aggressive’ Climate Action After Report Urges City To Halve Emissions

Since 2009, the city has had goals to reduce carbon emissions by 10 percent citywide every five years.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Sep 15, 2021 • 3 min read
The Three-Hour Lily
Fiction

The Three-Hour Lily

Mina set the silk lily down. It was a ridiculously oversized silk calla lily, but Bruce wanted it to show up in the movie.

  • Roanoke Rambler
Roanoke Rambler Sep 15, 2021 • 3 min read
Facing Unpaid Taxes, Candidate for Roanoke Prosecutor Filed for Bankruptcy. He’s Done It Before.
Investigation

Facing Unpaid Taxes, Candidate for Roanoke Prosecutor Filed for Bankruptcy. He’s Done It Before.

Melvin Hill, who seeks to become the city’s next top prosecutor, filed for bankruptcy last year, citing $217,100 in unpaid federal income taxes. It wasn’t the first time Hill declared bankruptcy while facing tax debts.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Sep 8, 2021 • 5 min read
Leaders in Southwest Virginia Are Embracing Green Energy — And Hoping Coal Stays Alive
Environment

Leaders in Southwest Virginia Are Embracing Green Energy — And Hoping Coal Stays Alive

These are interesting — and seemingly contradictory — times in Virginia’s coalfields.

  • Tim Thornton
Tim Thornton Sep 8, 2021 • 8 min read
These Photos and Postcards Capture the Beauty and Solitude of Pandemic-Era Appalachia
Art Criticism

These Photos and Postcards Capture the Beauty and Solitude of Pandemic-Era Appalachia

L.S. King’s prints at the Appalachian Center for Photography in Floyd County are a kind of inarguable beautiful.

  • Aaron Horst
Aaron Horst Sep 8, 2021 • 3 min read
Ramblings: Roanoke’s Priorities for State Laws; Vaccination Rates Falling Behind; Top 5 Roanoke Donors Mostly Give to Youngkin
Ramblings

Ramblings: Roanoke’s Priorities for State Laws; Vaccination Rates Falling Behind; Top 5 Roanoke Donors Mostly Give to Youngkin

What are Ramblings? Ramblings are a collection of short items that have caught our attention for one reason or another.

  • Roanoke Rambler
Roanoke Rambler Sep 8, 2021 • 4 min read
The Roanoke Rambler © 2025
Big Blue Press LLC
  • Newsletter Archive
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Newsroom Policies
Powered by Ghost and Epilocal