Thursday, we'll urge the defunct Explore Park's board to renegotiate the terms of its contract with developer Larry Vander Maten to protect public access, should a commercial resort ever be built on the public's land, and to press ahead full steam on an alternate plan that might offer more attractive when the time comes to decide whether to renew the lease at all.
We're working on an editorial for later this week about a group seeking Roanoke City Council approval to use the indoor tennis courts at Countryside.
Council members seemed excited about the possibility, but they might wish to temper their enthusiasm until they know how much it will cost. The building, which needed repairs, has been left vacant. And while council has set aside funds to improve Countryside's golf course, it has not designated one dime toward tennis.
Of course it's horrible. It's suffering and it's pain and it's... You know, you lose weight and then you put back on weight, and then you, you know, you call them a bunch of times and you try and e-mail, and then they move or they change their e-mail, but that's just love.
Are you feeling the love today?
Roanoke City Council got off to a terrific start in its search for a new city manager with an open, transparent process with plenty of opportunity for public input.
But that process appears to be going off the rails. At a council meeting Monday, Councilman Rupert Cutler said the top finalists for the position would not be revealed "for the obvious reason that all but one of the top candidates are currently employed as city managers in other cities, and they do not want their interest in changing jobs known to their current employers."
By Elizabeth Strother
Strother is an editorial writer for The Roanoke Times.
Come February, it will be three years since Valley Forward first pitched a proposal for an inn and restaurant with a grand view atop Mill Mountain.
The loosely organized group of young professionals didn't want to build the complex or operate it, didn't want to make a dime off of it. Members just wanted to be able to go there -- a cool place, distinctive to Roanoke, that might entice more of their peers to make the Roanoke Valley their home.
I do not mean to reignite the ensuing controversy between proponents, who argued their vision was for an eco-friendly development amid an already built environment, and green opponents who wanted nothing more built at all. The idea, even the quickly scaled-back version minus the inn, is moribund and may well be dead. But -- this is classic Roanoke -- nobody really knows.
Dave Trinkle and Rupert Cutler
Trinkle and Cutler are members of Roanoke City Council.
One of the sharpest barbs a citizen can level at an official is the accusation that he or she puts tax dollars down the drain. In Roanoke, that's one transgression of which we are clearly not guilty, and it has created a problem we must address. For too long we have failed to invest in our storm drain infrastructure.
David Stewart Wiley
Wiley is music director and conductor of the Roanoke Symphony and the Long Island Philharmonic in New York.
As we move closer to Thanksgiving, I want to express my sincere thanks to our region for supporting the Roanoke Symphony (and all of the arts) during these challenging economic times. It is important for all of us to celebrate good news where it exists, and the symphony is a true success story.
Jeremy Holmes
Holmes is the program director of RIDE Solutions in Roanoke.
Recent days have seen two interesting developments for downtown Roanoke. The first was the welcome announcement that Ed Walker, father of the Cotton Mill Lofts and the Hancock Building, has purchased the redoubtable Patrick Henry Hotel. Walker made clear in his morning press conference that, whatever else happens with the building, we could count on at least 100 new apartments being at the core of the project, significantly growing downtown's residential capacity.
There's one sure way William Fleming principal Susan Willis can back up her claim that she did not cheat and deserves her job back: Release the transcript and recommendation from the panel investigating the claim.
We are planning an editorial for tomorrow that urges Willis to do so. The Roanoke School Board cannot say anything about a personnel matter. Willis told Roanoke Times reporter Courtney Cutright that she feels vindicated. There's a one, good way to verify that.
For tomorrow: Roanoke City Council on Monday directed the city attorney to start the process of placing a protection easement on most of Mill Mountain. Council agreed a survey, estimated to cost about $60,000 is needed, and seemed in agreement that the summit -- the most controversial piece -- should be left out of the discussion.
We think if you're going to spend that kind of money and put the mountain through a rigorous public debate, and continue to entertain ideas of running a tram up its slope, then you ought to talk about the entire mountain.
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