Roanoke clears path for more downtown development
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Roanoke developer Lucas Thornton hopes to break ground this summer on a multimillion-dollar renovation project that will transform what is now Campbell Court Transportation Center, the city’s rundown bus station, into an office tower and another building with apartments and retail space. Thornton’s $35 million development, tentatively named Randolph Street, inched closer to becoming reality
Va. Tech ups connectivity with broadband block buy
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In an effort to literally expand Virginia Tech’s research bandwidth, the Virginia Tech Foundation bought eight blocks of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in the Federal Communications Commission’s auction this summer. As owner of priority access licenses (PALs) for four 10MHz blocks in Montgomery County and four blocks in Craig County, the university will likely
After 30 years, The Free Clinic will shut its doors
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Harrisonburg’s The Free Clinic will go out of business at the end of December after providing medical care to low-income, uninsured adults for more than 30 years. “We’ve taken care of patients. We’ve made our community a healthier place, and we’re happy about that,” says Joshua Hale, president of the clinic’s board of directors. “Even
Stars in their eyes
Roanoke Valley sees robust, diverse economic growth
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When 19th-century movers and shakers picked sleepy Roanoke as the site of the crossroads linking the Shenandoah Valley and Norfolk & Western railroads, the town grew with such force and speed that it earned the now-obscure nickname “Magic City.” Over the decades that followed, thousands of Roanokers toiled for the N&W one way or another.
A healthy outlook
Region’s hospital systems growing through partnerships
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Even as the COVID-19 pandemic stresses Virginia hospitals, Hampton Roads’ health care sector continues to grow. Richmond-based VCU Health System is making inroads in the region through partnerships with Riverside Health System and Sentara Healthcare. In March, VCU Health System announced a formal affiliation with Newport News-based Riverside. The two organizations have identified areas “of
Coal country sets its focus on absentee landowners
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When farmers notice one of their cows has made a run for it, their first step will often be to alert the neighbors. That can be hard to do with an out-of-town owner, though. “If the farmer can knock on a door, that’s one thing,” explains Phil Meeks, Wise County’s agriculture and natural resources extension
Parking lot hot spots succeed at PHCC
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Administrators at Patrick Henry Community College hustled to install Wi-Fi hot spots in its parking lots in March when the college closed due to the coronavirus. Since many of the college’s students live in rural areas without access to broadband, creating these hot spots became an immediate need when the pandemic crisis hit, explains PHCC
Pandemic delays Virginia Business College opening
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The new Virginia Business College in Bristol won’t open as planned for its first semester this August due to the coronavirus crisis. VBC President Gene Couch issued a statement June 25 announcing the nonprofit private college’s plans to “defer the initial [academic] offerings until a later date” due to the pandemic. Couch did not respond
Radford faces budget cuts, tough decisions
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Due to the pandemic, Radford University is faced with an unprecedented strain on its budget, which is likely to cause faculty and staff layoffs. Because of state budget cuts, the university is faced with an $8.1 million decrease in funding over the next two fiscal years. And at the same time, Radford administrators predict the
From Donkey Kong to online tips – raising funds for restaurant workers
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After restaurants and bars in the Harrisonburg-Waynesboro-Staunton region closed or cut back to skeleton crews due to the coronavirus earlier this year, area residents rallied to help service industry workers. One of the more unconventional fundraisers was Nevin Zehr, who hosted a livestream event in March as he attempted, over seven days, to beat Nintendo’s