A Virginia Tech researcher is partnering with a Charlottesville company to create materials that could replace some medical plastics.
Ralph Berrier Jr.
Ralph Berrier Jr. is a writer who lives in Roanoke. Contact him at ralph.berrier@gmail.com.
Posted inEconomy
The economic impact of FloydFest’s cancellation
The long-running festival brings about $4 million to Floyd and neighboring counties each year, but businesses say tourism is so big in Floyd that its absence won’t hurt much.
Posted inEducation
Virginia Tech once had its own nuclear reactor
If Governor Youngkin succeeds in locating a small nuclear reactor in Southwest Virginia, it won’t be the first. From 1960 to 1985, Virginia Tech operated its own small reactor in Robeson Hall, just off the Drillfield.
Posted inPolitics
Fight erupts over how Republican convention delegates from Appomattox County will be allocated
Three Republicans are seeking the nomination for a House of Delegates seat. One of them, Tom Garrett, says another plans to use a controversial method to guarantee all the delegates from Appomattox vote the same way.
Posted inCulture
Rural Film Festival in Blacksburg showcases stories from rural America
Virginia Tech’s new Center for Rural Education aims to combat systemic inequities faced by rural educators and communities. The center is hosting the free Rural Film Festival on Wednesday.
Posted inEconomy
The owners of two historic Roanoke cemeteries want to give the properties to the city — but the city doesn’t want them
No heirs are interested in running Fair View Cemetery or Cedar Lawn Memorial Park, and efforts to find other buyers have been unsuccessful. But Roanoke officials say the city shouldn’t be in the business of owning cemeteries.
Posted inEducation
‘Dolly is part of the answer’: Advocates spread Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library free-book program throughout Virginia
The state is helping fund an expansion of the reading program across the state.
Posted inPolitics
Schools await details on Youngkin’s plan to boost dual enrollment
Youngkin says he wants all high school students to graduate with college-level associate degrees. Right now, less than 3 percent do.
Posted inEconomy
Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approves 5,000-bed on-campus housing plan
This doesn’t mean the $935 million project will be built, just that it’s now in the university’s master plan. Local developers had opposed the project.
Posted inEconomy
Virginia Tech is considering adding more student housing. Town officials support the proposal. Housing developers don’t.
Town officials who want Tech to house more students on campus hailed the proposal for its innovative ideas. Developers worry that the Student Life Village could leave their apartment complexes vacant.