It’s an economic development tool and an emotionally explosive topic; it’s “easy and fast” and it keeps you “driving around the block till hell freezes over.” It’s … parking in Roanoke.
Read the full story: What’s Your Parking Beef? (Or Non-Beef?).
Featured
We Shrink, They Grow. Why?
Five North Carolina cities have at least doubled in population since 1960; five Virginia cities have contracted. What’s going on?
Read the full story: We Shrink, They Grow. Why?.
Green Ridge Rec Center: Fiscal Success or Financial Failure?
Figures cited from the center’s first year of operation do not include the largest cost – the mortgage.
Read the full story: Green Ridge Rec Center: Fiscal Success or Financial Failure?.
Roanoke, the “Industrial Core?”
The Roanoke metro, according to a Brookings Institute study, is a lot more like Norfolk than Austin- a “Next Frontier” metro. We’re old, under-educated and not diverse enough, according to the study; and not projected to grow much more than Danville or Bristol over the coming decade.
Read the full story: Roanoke, the “Industrial Core?”.
Roanoke: Economic Failure or “Just a Small Metro?”
The view from Salem Memorial Ballpark is emblematic of the valley’s anguish over economic development over the last 35 years: “$12 million for a stadium?” we collectively asked 15 years ago. Now, as an anchor in Sportstown, USA, it’s a little engine that helps fuel Salem’s sports train; that helped bring the Boston Red Sox to town as a partner.
Read the full story: Roanoke: Economic Failure or “Just a Small Metro?”.
Why Court Rosen Proposed Upping the City Meals Tax
In late winter one of City Council’s newest members – 31-year-old Court Rosen – did something few politicians would dare by proposing a tax increase in the middle of a recession. Read why.
Read the full story: Why Court Rosen Proposed Upping the City Meals Tax.
Hidden Tax Increases in Roanoke County
Who says you can’t increase taxes in a recession? Despite the economic turmoil of the last 24 to 36 months, more than 7 in 10 Roanoke County property owners were recently handed a de facto tax increase by their own local government.
Read the full story: Hidden Tax Increases in Roanoke County.
Roanoke County Ranked #2 in Real Estate Taxes
Here’s a top-10 list that Roanoke County doesn’t want you to know about: Of Virginia’s largest counties, Roanoke ranks lowest in population and per-capita income, but 2nd highest real estate taxes. Take a look!
Read the full story: Roanoke County Ranked #2 in Real Estate Taxes.
Is Ed Elswick the answer to big government in Roanoke County?
Just who is Ed Elswick? In the September/October 2009 edition of The Roanoker, we take a look at this surprise win of this political newcomer over three-time incumbent Roanoke County Supervisor Joe McNamara. “It is time that people stood up and said let’s stop this and put common sense into how we should run our [...]
Read the full story: Is Ed Elswick the answer to big government in Roanoke County?.
Whither The Amphitheater?
What if we’re thinking about it all wrong? What if it shouldn’t be at Riverside or at Elmwood Park, but on some acre-sized plot we haven’t identified yet?
Read the full story: Whither The Amphitheater?.
