Last year, Valmarie Turner was quickly thrown into a tight budget season, with deficits that she has said will be addressed over multiple years.
Samantha Verrelli
Sam graduated from Penn State with degrees in journalism and Spanish. She was an investigative reporter for The Daily Collegian at Penn State and a freelance reporter with PennLive. She’s from outside Philadelphia, and loves hiking, live music and finding new restaurants.
Posted inLocal
Public audit of 12 of our communities tells us about how responsive they are to information requests from the public
A group of student auditors asked a dozen localities for public information. The responses clarify where local government deserves credit for transparency and where it falls short of its responsibilities as keepers of the people’s information, as well as how local governments understand and execute their responsibilities under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Posted inLocal
The number of ICE detainees in the Roanoke jail more than tripled last year
An immigration attorney said though the number of ICE agents in Roanoke has not changed, changes on the federal level are causing this spike locally.
Posted inLocal
Roanoke City School Board approves preliminary budget in preparation of cuts
The school board’s budget is not final and does not yet detail cuts to programs or personnel that will need to be made in the upcoming fiscal year, but it did include 2% raises for RCPS employees.
Posted inEducation
Job and program cuts on the table as Roanoke school board prepares to vote on budget
The division is considering 2% raises for employees, while also having to eliminate about 150 staff positions. It’s also considering cuts to the elementary gifted program.
Posted inLocal
Roanoke County Planning Commission to discuss zoning amendments
The agenda documents for Tuesday’s meeting do not list any discussion of zoning ordinances related to abortion clinics, which will soon be studied by the planning commission.
Posted inLocal
Roanoke school division receives grant for solar-powered microgrid
Such microgrids generate power from the sun and store it in batteries for future use.
Posted inLocal
Kathy Cohen will seek Roanoke City Council seat
Cohen cited school funding in the city as one of the issues that prompted her to run for one of three council seats up for election this fall.
Posted inLocal
‘Casino or not,’ efforts take shape to analyze options for Roanoke’s Berglund Center
Efforts are underway to look at what’s feasible — and what Roanoke’s residents want to see happen with the city’s civic center.
Posted inLocal
Agenda Roanoke: City council to vote on extending Berglund’s civic center naming rights
During Tuesday’s meeting, the council will consider approving an agreement with the Berglund Management Group for at least one more year, and up to three years.
