At Wednesday’s commission meeting, Chairman Court Rosen said the $14 million conference center sale to the Virginia Tech Foundation is complete and the proceeds go entirely to Roanoke. About $4 million to $5 million in other assets and obligations remain unsettled, and dissolving the commission later will require a court petition and a six-month wait, the panel’s attorney said. The foundation still plans to market the hotel and conference center together.
Radford officials said Tuesday night that a possible data incident cut city internet service and left office email and most phone lines down. The city said it called in cybersecurity specialists, legal counsel, and state and federal investigators. 911 and the non-emergency communications center stayed up; Radford Transit and the sheriff’s office were not affected, WSLS reports.
Salem officials confirmed to WSLS that two Fire-EMS employees recorded on dash camera during an alleged off-duty I-81 racial-slur encounter are no longer employed by the city. The department had placed the pair on administrative leave, said an internal investigation continues, and has not released names; the family says they still lack a police case number.
Monday’s City Council meeting was the first since the Wood Haven Technology Park purchase agreement became public, and speakers pressed for transparency and urged opposition to a potential data center, WDBJ reports. Before the public session, council discussed the municipal code of ethics in closed session. Mayor Joe Cobb says Vice Mayor Terry McGuire and Councilman Phazhon Nash breached that code with public remarks after a regional industrial board’s closed-session vote on the land deal; he called their joint social-media statement inappropriate. Possible steps under the city’s ethics rules include a verbal reprimand, fines, or removal from committee assignments. McGuire and Nash say their first duty is to constituents.
Roanoke City Council on Monday accepted and appropriated a $2,951,158 Safer Communities grant from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, WSLS reports. The city is one of nine in Virginia selected for the funding, aimed at community-based work on the roots of violence. Past rounds have supported Roanoke Police outreach, a gun-lock ambassador program, and a teen apprenticeship, according to the city.
Salem City Council swore in chiropractor Dr. Joseph Foley on Monday to the seat left vacant when John Saunders died Aug. 22, WDBJ reports. Council had appointed him earlier this month after reviewing 13 applicants in closed session and voting unanimously. Foley has practiced in Salem since 1990 and has been Roanoke College’s team chiropractor since 2017; he will serve until a November 2027 special election fills the rest of the term and has said he does not plan to seek the seat then.
The Roanoke Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 1132) plans its first formal presentation of a collective-bargaining proposal to City Council and the public, WSLS reports. Union leaders say they have worked with city government since July 2025 on giving city employees a bargaining option and want the session to explain how a local framework would work beyond wages alone. They are encouraging residents to attend the council meeting.
Mayor Joe Cobb, in a statement carried by WFIR, says the Vice Mayor and a council member let activism override governance duties. He says recent social media posts and behavior toward colleagues, the city manager, and Western Virginia Regional Industrial Facility Authority members violated council’s Code of Conduct and Ethics, and that the matter will go through the city’s conflict-resolution process. The statement does not name the officials.
In the 6th District race that reaches Roanoke, Cardinal News reviews Democratic challenger Beth Macy’s charge that Rep. Ben Cline cast three sales-tax votes favoring data centers. The outlet says those votes happened while Cline was in the General Assembly — 10 to 18 years ago — early in Virginia’s data-center boom. The same piece also weighs a parallel attack by VA-5 challenger Tom Perriello on Rep. John McGuire.
Roanoke Area Ministries has opened a roughly 12,000-square-foot day center on Elm Avenue with meals, showers, laundry, and partner services on site after decades at its Campbell Avenue location, WVTF reports. The about $4.2 million facility is part of a larger capital campaign still raising funds.
Virginia’s 6th District race along the I-81 corridor into Roanoke shows Democratic challenger Beth Macy ahead of Republican Rep. Ben Cline in total raised, per FEC data reported by WVTF. The two campaigns rely on very different donor pools.
WDBJ’s Sunday At Issue centers on the proposed $67 billion Dominion Energy–NextEra Energy merger awaiting State Corporation Commission review. Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi is touring Virginia on energy concerns and is scheduled in Roanoke Thursday, Sept. 24, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.; the station says RSVP is requested. Analysts on the program said power-capacity effects could reach households beyond Dominion’s service area, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger has intervened in the SCC process, WDBJ reports.
A July 15 consultant report presented to City Council Tuesday says Roanoke’s planning department faces leadership gaps, pay that fails to hold trained staff, a vacancy rate that hit 36%, and a permitting system stakeholders called a “culture of no,” Cardinal News reports. More than 400 permits were in the pipeline when the work was done; Assistant City Manager Lavar Youmans said waits have since fallen from about 5–6 weeks to 1–2 weeks and the backlog from 337 to 215. Council took no action Tuesday.
The City of Roanoke says a $6.25 million HUD Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes grant will fund lead-paint remediation in as many as 150 homes over three years. Lead Safe Roanoke, which has already treated 559 homes, is taking rolling online applications for city residents in pre-1978 homes outside floodplains with a child age 5 or younger who meets income rules.
Roanoke City Council approved an $8 million purchase of 236 acres once tied to Ole Monterey Golf Course along Tinker Creek Lane NE, WFXR reports. City Manager Valmarie Turner said the land could support housing, a school campus, parks, or an expansion of the Roanoke Center for Industry and Technology. Valley Lands Inc. sold the parcels; the city says they are free of liens.
Cardinal News reports the city mailed notice dated Aug. 24 after finding on or about May 11 that a malicious actor had accessed departmental data on May 6. The letter said names, Social Security numbers, passport numbers, and financial account information may have been reached; the city said it has no indication of misuse and reported the incident to the FBI.
WDBJ reports Rep. Morgan Griffith confirmed a letter declining Democratic challenger Joy Powers’ Aug. 24 challenge to three debates, saying Ninth District voters already know where he stands and that he would rather campaign town to town than trade lines on a stage.
Roanoke County offices, library branches, Circuit Court, and CORTRAN are closed Monday, Sept. 7. Trash skips that day and runs one day late the rest of the week. Green Ridge closes at 1 p.m.; Splash Valley and the Explore Park visitor center stay on holiday hours, and the McAfee Knob trailhead shuttle still runs.
WVTF reports Grayson Cotes, 25, sued the city of Roanoke and Vice Mayor Terry McGuire in federal court, asking for $12.2 million. He says City Council would not let him give the opening invocation as a member of the Satanic Temple. Radio IQ says neither the city nor McGuire responded.
City of Roanoke's November general-election calendar is out. Early in-person voting starts Friday, Sept. 18, weekdays 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. at the elections office, with Sunday and Saturday sessions in late October; Oct. 31 is the last early day. Absentee-mail requests and registration updates both cut off Oct. 23; Election Day is Nov. 3, and Valley Metro rides are fare-free that day.
Lynchburg Commonwealth's Attorney Bethany Harrison, assigned to avoid a conflict, found no criminal conduct or FOIA violations by Franklin County Board Chair Lorie Smith, Vice Chair Nick Mitchell, or County Administrator Steven Sandy. An anonymous July complaint alleged email vote-polling and agenda-setting that left other supervisors out. Harrison said the record did not support a State Police inquiry.
Parks and Recreation will remove the portable skate features at Morningside Park after an inspection found rot and lifting that made them unsafe to keep anchored. The ramps moved from the old Wasena skatepark in spring 2024 while the new regional park was built. The city says they are past repair; access is already restricted.
Roanoke County's planned Enterprise GIS outage window ended at 7 p.m. Saturday. Maps were set for intermittent outages from 7 p.m. Friday through that hour for service updates. If something is still down, the county asks users to open a ServiceDesk ticket.
At Thursday's State of the City, Mayor Joseph Cobb said crime in downtown Roanoke is down 50% this year, WDBJ reports. A police report on the first half of 2026 put the city at nine homicides year-to-date, matching all of 2025: seven in the first three months, one from April through June, and two since July 1.
Mayor Joseph Cobb delivered the 2026 State of the City at Hotel Roanoke this morning after a 7:30 a.m. chamber breakfast. WFIR reports Cobb said legacy businesses are helping keep the city strong. The city streamed it on YouTube, with RVTV replays planned.
Seven candidates for three Roanoke City Council seats are on the docket for a Greater Deyerle Neighborhood Association forum at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Thursday, Aug. 27. Meet-and-greet is at 6:30 p.m.; moderated Q&A starts at 7. The general election is Nov. 3.
Salem City Council is taking applications through 5 p.m. Sept. 8 for an interim appointment. The seat is filled until voters elect a replacement at a special election on Nov. 2, 2027. Applicants must be registered Salem voters and submit a resume and letter of interest.
The City of Salem said Councilman John Saunders died Saturday afternoon. He was a Salem High School and Roanoke College graduate in his second council term. A celebration of life is Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Salem Civic Center, visitation 4 p.m. and service at 6 p.m.
Roanoke County says its next general election is Nov. 3, 2026, with early voting scheduled to begin Sept. 18. Ballots will include U.S. Senate, U.S. House in Districts 6 and 9, and two Vinton Town Council seats. Registration, precincts, and ID rules are on the county elections page.
The City of Roanoke says a CDL driver shortage has crews putting weekday trash and recycling first. Bulk and brush are being caught up on weekends. Leave piles at the curb; if you can haul it yourself, the Tinker Creek transfer station still takes 12 free visits a year.
A city entertainment-district focus group has finished months of meetings without a yes-or-no on a casino. Cardinal News reports Berglund Center staff told council some civic-center work — on the order of $10 million — should not wait, on a building with more than $30 million in identified repairs. No council vote is in this item.
First-time candidates Raekwon Moore and Danny Clawson finished at the top of the City Council Democratic primary, Cardinal News reports. Vivian Sanchez-Jones also advanced. The November ballot is the next count that matters.
