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Cardinal News

Cardinal News

Serving Southwest and Southside Virginia

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Ralph Berrier Jr.

Ralph Berrier Jr. is a writer who lives in Roanoke. Contact him at ralph.berrier@gmail.com.

Aley Savory (at left), then a senior in chemical engineering, and Selma Gmati, a graduate student in materials science and engineering, are working on a project to develop biodegradable materials to replace single-use plastics used in medical settings. Abby Whittington, a researcher and associate professor jointly appointed in both departments, is overseeing the work. Photo by Tonia Moxley for Virginia Tech.
Posted inEconomy

Virginia Tech researchers close to developing biodegradable material to reduce medical waste

by Ralph Berrier Jr. May 30, 2023May 29, 2023

A Virginia Tech researcher is partnering with a Charlottesville company to create materials that could replace some medical plastics.

FloydFest 2023 had to be canceled over environmental and permit issues when organizers started working on a new festival site in northern Floyd County. An economic impact study found that FloydFest brings about $4 million in spending to the region every summer. Courtesy of Across-the-Way Productions and Roger Gupta.
Posted inEconomy

The economic impact of FloydFest’s cancellation

by Ralph Berrier Jr. April 26, 2023April 26, 2023

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.

Virginia Tech's nuclear reactor included an elaborate console in an adjacent control room, shown here in the 1970s. The reactor allowed nuclear engineering students to get hands-on training in learning how to operate a reactor. Courtesy of Virginia Tech Special Collections.
Posted inEducation

Virginia Tech once had its own nuclear reactor

by Ralph Berrier Jr. April 10, 2023May 18, 2023

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.

House District 56. Courtesy of Virginia Supreme Court.
Posted inPolitics

Fight erupts over how Republican convention delegates from Appomattox County will be allocated

by Ralph Berrier Jr. March 30, 2023March 30, 2023

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.

“The Saint of Dry Creek,” a 4-minute animated work about growing up as the gay son of a stoic dairy farmer in rural Washington state, is part of the Rural Film Festival. Image Courtesy of StoryCorps.
Posted inCulture

Rural Film Festival in Blacksburg showcases stories from rural America

by Ralph Berrier Jr. February 28, 2023February 27, 2023

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.

An intricately carved Norfolk & Western engine and rail car sit atop the tombstone of Thomas and Laura Goodman in Fair View Cemetery. Photo by Ralph Berrier Jr.
Posted inEconomy

The owners of two historic Roanoke cemeteries want to give the properties to the city — but the city doesn’t want them

by Ralph Berrier Jr. February 21, 2023February 22, 2023

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.

Vada Bowyer of Washington County with a book through the Dolly Parton program. Photo coutesy of Lauren Meares and Ryan Bowyer and the Washington County Library.
Posted inEducation

‘Dolly is part of the answer’: Advocates spread Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library free-book program throughout Virginia

by Ralph Berrier Jr. January 31, 2023February 2, 2023

The state is helping fund an expansion of the reading program across the state.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks in Bristol at the Cardinal News Speaker Series. Photo Credit: Earl Neikirk/Neikirk Image.
Posted inPolitics

Schools await details on Youngkin’s plan to boost dual enrollment

by Ralph Berrier Jr. December 8, 2022December 7, 2022

Youngkin says he wants all high school students to graduate with college-level associate degrees. Right now, less than 3 percent do.

The proposed Student Life Village would provide housing for 5,000 Virginia Tech students, restaurants, recreation facilities, a chapel and other amenities when fully completed. Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors considered a resolution to add the project to the university's master plan Monday. In this image, the village sits on property currently occupied by the Virginia Tech Golf Course and is bordered by U.S. 460 at left and Prices Fork Road at the top.
Posted inEconomy

Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approves 5,000-bed on-campus housing plan

by Ralph Berrier Jr. November 14, 2022November 14, 2022

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.

The proposed Student Life Village would provide housing for 5,000 Virginia Tech students, restaurants, recreation facilities, a chapel and other amenities when fully completed. Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors considered a resolution to add the project to the university's master plan Monday. In this image, the village sits on property currently occupied by the Virginia Tech Golf Course and is bordered by U.S. 460 at left and Prices Fork Road at the top.
Posted inEconomy

Virginia Tech is considering adding more student housing. Town officials support the proposal. Housing developers don’t.

by Ralph Berrier Jr. November 11, 2022November 13, 2022

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.

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