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Ramblings: Where Roanoke Housing Is Growing; A Different Fralin Unveiling; Jabs at Sears
Ramblings

Ramblings: Where Roanoke Housing Is Growing; A Different Fralin Unveiling; Jabs at Sears

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 13, 2021 • 4 min read
Happenings: The Only Roanoke Events Calendar You’ll Ever Need. Week of 10/13 to 10/20.
Happenings

Happenings: The Only Roanoke Events Calendar You’ll Ever Need. Week of 10/13 to 10/20.

We scoured 17 disparate community calendars (yes, 17) so you didn’t have to.

  • Roanoke Rambler
Roanoke Rambler Oct 13, 2021 • 6 min read
'What You See Is Not Always What It Is': Empty Storefronts Belie Downtown Roanoke's Record-Low Retail Vacancy
Business

'What You See Is Not Always What It Is': Empty Storefronts Belie Downtown Roanoke's Record-Low Retail Vacancy

While stretches of unused space still remain, vacancy rates for downtown retail are now actually the lowest in more than a decade, according to real estate data.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Oct 6, 2021 • 7 min read
New Charges Against Roanoke Councilman Point To CARES Act Grants to Businesses, One Led By Aide Convicted of Embezzlement
Investigation

New Charges Against Roanoke Councilman Point To CARES Act Grants to Businesses, One Led By Aide Convicted of Embezzlement

Just after his election to Roanoke City Council, Robert Jeffrey Jr. sought $15,000 in city-issued coronavirus relief funds.

  • Henri Gendreau
Henri Gendreau Oct 6, 2021 • 7 min read
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
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