On Friday, Dec. 4, the city’s Building, Zoning, and Development permit office will be closed to allow the re-occupation of renovated office space and to train staff on new permit counter operations in order to better serve customers. On that day, there will be extended periods of time when e-mail, fax, computers, and phones will not be available to the permit office staff; however, the inspection line at 540/853-1142 will remain available. The city apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. For urgent permitting needs on Dec. 4, please contact the department’s main number at 540/853-1730. The permit office will re-open in Room 170 on the first floor of the Municipal Building on Monday, Dec. 7.

Submitted by the City of Roanoke

LEAD Virginia’s program, dedicated to connecting diverse leaders across Virginia, announces the graduation of its 2009 members. Participants from Roanoke include Alan H. Shaw, the group vice president of coal transportation & planning at Norfolk Southern Corporation, and Chuck Terrell, vice president of workforce development from Virginia Western Community College. Here is a press release from LEAD Virginia and a list of the 2009 participants:

LEAD VIRGINIA, an organization of community leaders from across Virginia, will bring its 2009 class to Richmond on Thursday, November 19. The program, which brings together experienced senior-level executives and community leaders from public and private entities across the Commonwealth, will be in Richmond to meet with state and local leaders and experts to learn about important local and regional issues and opportunities. The session will conclude with a graduation ceremony to honor the 2009 LEAD VIRGINIA class on Friday, November 20 at the Jefferson Hotel.

The visit to Richmond is the last of seven visits to different regions of the Commonwealth. The class will meet with Jeffrey Bourne, deputy chief of staff of the Office of the Mayor, Anne “Panny” Rhodes, rector of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Board of Visitors and Ned Massee, vice president corporate affairs at MWV to discuss the implications of old leadership versus new leadership in the city, in addition to visits to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art’s expansion project and the Valentine Richmond History Center. During the Richmond session, Secretary of the Commonwealth Katherine Hanley will also speak to the class about serving the Commonwealth through statewide boards and commissions. Additionally, Virginia Health Care Foundation deputy director and 2008 LEAD VIRGINIA graduate Judith Cash will lead a panel discussion including representatives from the American Medical Association, National Business Coalition on Health, AARP and HCA CJW Hospital to examine issues related to health reform in the Commonwealth. Regional leaders will provide context on these issues, how they uniquely affect the area and the broader impact on the Commonwealth. Read more »

The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute is part of a group of researchers that was awarded a grant from the Fogarty International Center to support informatics research. Here is a press release from the university:

The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech is part of a collaboration of researchers recently awarded a grant from the Fogarty International Center, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support informatics research training in low- and middle-income countries.

The institute’s Cyberinfrastructure Group, led by Virginia Bioinformatics Institute Professor Bruno Sobral, and Associate Professor João Setubal’s research group are partnering with the University of Georgia and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on a project designed to train researchers to develop information systems and apply computer-supported management and analysis to biomedical research projects.

The group received a $750,000 grant for the five-year project from Fogarty’s Informatics Training for Global Health program to expand its existing training program in Brazil into new areas of bioinformatics, epidemiology, and molecular evolution, with a particular focus on tropical parasites and their vectors. Through partnerships with research institutions in the United States, the goal of the program is to integrate training with ongoing research at foreign institutions to develop informatics capacity and support research.

Read more »

Sabrina Weeks, the 2010 Vinton Chamber President

The Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce has announced the election of its officers for 2010. They are:

• Sabrina Weeks (Valley Bank)- President
• Kathy Stafford (First Citizens Bank)- First Vice President
• Barry W. Thompson (Town of Vinton, Treasurer)- Second Vice President
• Hal Mabe (Fox 21/27) Immediate Past President

Directors include Stephanie Bwon, Anthony Connor, Renee Douglass, Shannon Duff, Marie Flippen, Mayor Brad Goose, Chris Lawrence, Mary Beth Layman, Caleb Mann, Chris Manning, Shana Meadows, Patrick Patterson, James C. Reynolds, Trudy Rider-Riley, Monty Williams and Tommy Wood.

On Dec. 1, 50 Central Virginia restaurants will be participating in “Dine Out Day” to support the United Way. Here is a news release from the United Way of Central Virginia:

On Tuesday, December 1, 2009, Central Virginia restaurants will show their support for United Way of Central Virginia by donating a portion of their sales to United Way’s annual campaign. This is the fifth consecutive year for the event.

An incredible 50 restaurants throughout the Central Virginia region will lend their support to United Way on Tuesday, up from 27 last year. Participating restaurants are The Babcock House (Appomattox), Benjamin’s, Benjamin’s at the Pointe, Big Lick Tropical Grill (both locations), Bob Evans (4-9pm, with a coupon available online at unitedwaycv.org), The Briar Patch, Bulls Steakhouse, Carol’s Place, The Cavalier, Charley’s Restaurant, Chick-Fil-A (Candler’s Mtn. Road), China Royal, The Corner Grill (Appomattox), Crown Sterling, Depot Grille, Dish, Faria’s Twin Oaks, Fat Tuna, Fresh Market Café, Isabella’s, Jersey Mike’s Subs, La Carreta (all locations), Magnolia Foods, Mangia, Milano’s, The Neighbor’s Place, New London Steakhouse, Perky’s, Phila-Deli, Porter House, Quiznos, Rivermont Pizza, Shaker’s, Shoemakers American Grille, Subway (Timberlake at Old Graves Mill Rd., Memorial Ave., Old Forest Rd., Ward’s Rd., Target, Rte. 221 and Rustburg) and Waterstone.

United Way of Central Virginia is very thankful for this partnership with the restaurants. “This is a fabulous opportunity for Central Virginians to support local restaurants and an organization that helps more than 90,000 people living here each year,” says Marie Martin, United Way’s President and CEO. “With Thanksgiving the week before, we think there will be plenty of people out there who are done with the leftovers and ready to fill their plates for a great cause!”

For more information about Dine Out Day, call United Way at (434) 846-8467 or visit our website at unitedwaycv.org.

On Dec. 10, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance will be hosting a program on doing business with the Commonwealth of Virginia. Limited Seats are available so call today for a free one-hour appointment.

Topics we will include:

• Accessing new markets/sales growth/getting new customers
• How to sell to state government and locate BIDS/RFP’s
  How to download and review BID/RFP documents
• How to register for eVA, Virginia’s state procurement system
• Getting SWAM Certified
• Run reports to determine products/service market, customer/agency targets and private sector markets.

To make an appointment contact Sandy Radliff at (276) 676-3768 or email sandy.ratliff@vdba.virginia.gov. Appointments are available from 9-4 p.m. at the Roanoke County Administration Center on 5204 Bernard Dr., Room 420, Roanoke Va.

VTLS Inc. is celebrating its 25 anniversary in the same year that VTLS Software Limited in India gained its 25th customer. Here is a release from the company:

It is with some pomp and ceremony that VTLS Software Limited in India celebrates its 25th customer
in the year that VTLS Inc. is celebrating its silver anniversary.

VTLS Inc. is kicking off the start of its 25th year as a corporation. Over the past 24 years, VTLS has provided innovative software, custom solutions, and superior service to the global library community. From the initial Circulation and Finding System (CFS), which was groundbreaking software in 1975, to Chamo, which is groundbreaking software in 2009, VTLS has consistently been in the forefront of library automation and information technology.

The VTLS India office is growing rapidly. Bringing the count to 25 customers using either VTLS Virtua or VTLS RFID solutions are three new institutions that have selected Virtua. These institutions are the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bhubaneswar, the Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi and the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management in Shillong. Installations for these sites will be completed by the end of 2009. Most of the prestigious universities in India are already VTLS users. This list includes the other Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian School of Business and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

“India is known worldwide for its well developed capabilities to create and deploy software. Partly because of this, it was nearly impossible for many years to sell application software developed in the United States to library customers in India. We are extremely pleased that VTLS has finally penetrated this barrier with its world-class application solutions Virtua and VITAL for traditional and digital libraries. We thank the users that have placed their confidence in us,” said Dr. Vinod Chachra, president and CEO of VTLS.

The United States Department of Agriculture has awarded a grant to Virginia Tech and the University of Minnesota to sequence the genome of the domesticated turkey. Here is a news release from Virginia Tech:

Virginia Tech and the University of Minnesota have been awarded a two-year, $908,280 grant by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to complete sequencing the genome of the domesticated turkey, Meleagris gallopavo.

The funding will be used by the Turkey Genome Sequencing Consortium to complete the genome sequencing using next-generation sequencing platforms, assemble the genome sequence, and identify genes and functions in the final genome sequence by use of a sophisticated annotation pipeline. The award will also help put in place a bioinformatics and comparative genome resource for both chicken and turkey.

Rami Dalloul, assistant professor of poultry immunology in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech, remarked: “We are very pleased that the USDA has recognized the value of this strong community-driven effort to fully sequence the turkey genome. The award supports our continued research effort over the next two years to put in place a gold-standard genome sequence for the turkey.” He added: “The work funded by this grant will take us a long way towards our longer-term goal of discovering ways to improve the immune competence of the turkey. It will also provide invaluable information that will help develop new, more effective strategies for disease prevention.” Read more »

Schultz-Creehan’s Friction Stir Fabrication Technology was presented to the Office of Naval Research. Here is a news release from the company:

Last month, the Office of Naval Research hosted a Friction Stir Science & Technology Review in York, Pennsylvania to discuss advancements in Friction Stir technologies.  Among the attendees was Dr. Jeffrey Schultz Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Blacksburg’s high-tech engineering firm Schultz-Creehan, who reported the progress on his company’s development of Friction Stir Fabrication Technology.

This Friction Stir Fabrication technology, invented by Schultz-Creehan, is a low-temperature friction-based coating method used to deposit coatings, including metal matrix composites, onto aluminum substrates at relatively low temperatures. Friction Stir Fabrication Technology is also utilized in such means as applying ballistic and wear resistant coatings to aluminum decking and armor without the grain growth and loss of strength caused by current high temperature thermal spray technologies.

The New River Valley Economic Development Alliance Quarterly Meeting will take Dec. 15. Here is a letter from the company:

Come join us for the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance Quarterly Investors’ Meeting
December 15, 2009 – Noon (lunch will be provided) at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. Building VIII, 2000 Kraft Drive, Blacksburg, VA  24060.

We will have representatives from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Foreign Trade Zone experts, and local customs and logistics companies for a panel discussion about the Virginia TradePort.  They will also discuss and answer any questions that might help you and your company understand and better utilize the Virginia TradePort and the opportunities associated with having this asset in our region.

Space is limited so please reserve a seat by emailing or calling the Alliance:

Contact Tabitha Hodge at 540-267-0007 or email thodge@nrvalliance.orgno later than December 10, 2009.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you!

Sincerely,

David w. Denny
investor relations