News From Roanoke.com

A judge said condemnation of private property near Riverside Center didn't violate state eminent domain laws.

A small flooring business that sits in the expanding shadow of Carilion Clinic will soon be taken to make room for a medical complex -- even though the property owners say it's not for sale.

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Roanoke County supervisors approved the facility site near Peaceful Drive.

The continuing and often contentious story of an asphalt plant proposed for the Glenvar community took another step toward resolution Tuesday night.

Cory Shifflett pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges linked to the Hardy volunteer fire crew.

BEDFORD -- Charged with members of his family in a volunteer fire department embezzlement scandal, Thaxton resident Cory Mitchell Shifflett threw himself on the mercy of the court Tuesday.

Lacey Putney, head of the Appropriations Committee, called for specific solutions.

RICHMOND -- Virginia faces a potential budget shortfall of as much as $2.7 billion over the next two fiscal years, a deficit that could trigger deeper and lasting cuts to state programs, lawmakers learned for the first time Tuesday.

The developer said he remains on good terms with the Ukrainian government.

Explore Park would-be developer Larry Vander Maten said he has not given up on returning three Ukrainian girls to his Florida home.

Roanoke County police have counted 15 accidents on the road in the past year.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Franklin County has joined Roanoke County in a request to restrict trucks on a portion of Virginia 116.

A supervisor discussed signs of county prosperity while also pointing to "serious belt tightening."

As Roanoke County is in the process of simultaneously cutting back and pushing forward, it unveiled a partial look at a new enterprise that has come to provoke discussion of both:

Developer Larry Vander Maten has asked for an extra year to gather more money for a makeover.

Developer Larry Vander Maten said Tuesday that Wall Street's "spigot is off" for financing and he's therefore unlikely to make a June 2010 deadline to break ground on a proposed $200 million makeover of Explore Park.

The school's status had been in limbo since June when the state uncovered testing irregularities.

RICHMOND -- The Virginia Board of Education on Tuesday awarded full accreditation to Roanoke's William Fleming High School.

Police are looking for a man who robbed a Southwest Roanoke pharmacy early Saturday morning.

It was the third late-night robbery of an area pharmacy in the past three weeks.

Nicholas GallowayKenneth Tisch

Two Roanoke College students are in custody after an assault that reportedly occurred on campus Friday.

Those in health care-sharing ministries send premiums to others in need.

Chuck Angier, an agribusiness entrepreneur in Pittsylvania County, decided in 2000 that traditional health insurance wasn't for him. Instead he joined a health care-sharing ministry.

As potential health care legislation is shaped, Angier said he continues to worry about his choice and any penalties he might face. And he's not alone.

"Safer City Roanoke" reminds residents to safely secure their belongings.

Roanokers' friendliness sometimes amounts to a bad thing.

Police introduced a citywide advertising campaign to remind residents that theft happens, especially when people forget to secure their valuables or lock their cars.

Merchants want to know they'll be viable despite renovations that could take a year or more.

Editor's note: Roanoke City Council voted 6-1 to rezone a property at Gatewood Avenue and McVitty Road Southwest. The vote tally was incorrect in the print version of this story.

A count of attempted murder against the woman was dropped.

BEDFORD -- A Ridgeway woman accused of attempted murder after allegedly nearly running over someone with her vehicle was convicted Monday of two counts of assault and battery and still faces a felony charge.

In spite of some damaged areas, officials say the work in progress held up pretty well.

Monday morning found recent work undone along new sections of the Roanoke River Greenway near East Riverside and Apperson drives in Salem.

Dubbed "phase II A" by the city, the $470,000 project sustained setbacks during Thursday's flooding.

The downtown Roanoke church just turned 150 years old.

A downtown Roanoke Methodist church's beginning predates many important moments in Roanoke and U.S. history.

An employee of Tanglewood Auto Wash was charged following the incident.

A Roanoke County car wash is evaluating new barriers to install after one of its employees crashed a Ford Expedition into a nail and hair salon next door on Saturday morning.

Employee Stephanie Austin was driving a 2008 Ford Expedition out of the car wash just before 10 a.m., headed toward another cleaning area at the Tanglewood Auto Wash on Electric Road. But the vehicle lurched forward, crashing into the side of the Beauty Bar, said Natalie Maxey, a Roanoke County police officer.

A furry black-and-orange creature with clawed feet and crushing opposable mandibles has been spotted crossing local roadways and paths including the Huckleberry Trail in the New River Valley.

Witnesses describe the creature as "cute," and Virginia Tech entomologist Eric Day does not seem alarmed.