We have more entertainment options than we did when the Berglund Center opened in 1971 as the Roanoke Civic Center, but those acts also have an increasing number of other places where they can play.
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Roanoke Collaboration Project: Conflict entrepreneurs don’t have to win
Rage is as addictive as heroin. It gives us a false sense of security that feels good, lighting up the same part of the brain as opioids. Conflict entrepreneurs are more than happy to be pushers.
Posted inOpinion
Readers posed questions about redistricting. Here are the answers.
Early voting is now underway in the April 21 special election on redistricting. We asked readers what questions they had.
Posted inOpinion
Hemp company owners: No rec, no hemp. How Virginia broke its own cannabis market
If you care about the future of cannabis in Virginia — even a little — this is the moment to speak up. Call Gov. Spanberger’s office and tell her to sign the recreational bill as it is.
Posted inOpinion
U.S. Supreme Court may nix counting mail ballots after Election Day. The Virginia math says it doesn’t matter.
The number of mail ballots that arrive and get counted after Election Day is less than 1% of the total number of votes cast. While those could matter in a close election, in practice, they haven’t.
Posted inOpinion
Cannabis advocates: Why Virginia cannabis retail must wait for Virginia cannabis supply
On January 1, 2027, only the five existing pharmaceutical processors, who already have flower curing in their vaults, could possibly be ready. Every independent cultivator licensed under the new framework will have barely broken ground.
Posted inOpinion
Legislators ponder a different way to tax data centers. Should that new way also be based on a locality’s economic status?
The proposal, which Gov. Abigail Spanberger recently talked about, is to tax data centers based on how much electricity they use. Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick County, says this should be a tiered system with lower tax rates in rural areas to encourage data centers to locate in rural areas that want them.
Posted inOpinion
Health care consultant: A new way to look at health care affordability in Virginia
How do we know when spending growth in hospitals is a sign of progress or profiteering? The team at the Yale Health Care Affordability Lab may have found a way to distinguish good mergers from bad ones, and it could help Virginians trying to make health care more affordable.
Posted inOpinion
Report says 35% of the jobs in Virginia may be at risk to artificial intelligence. Southside the least impacted, Northern Virginia the most.
The report, commissioned by the Virginia Chamber Foundation, identifies which jobs are most at risk and which ones are immune.
Posted inOpinion
Republican from Suffolk: Protect Virginia’s redistricting commission. Vote ‘no’ on April 21.
When either party redraws maps solely to entrench political advantage, it undermines public trust. The Republican Party was wrong for setting this in motion and must take ownership of that misguided act at the same time. What is being proposed here by the Democrats is wrong, too.