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Full Health Care, Free Exercise: Bennies Can Be Key for Small Biz

Despite a (slowish) recovery, this isn’t the economy where you charge into the boss’ office to demand a better health care policy, the freedom to work from home or Cheetos in the vending machine...

Small Business Success, One Careful Step at a Time

Area business owners and the economic development organizations that support and nurture them agree that the keys to success are careful planning, taking advantage of advice and moving slowly.

No Cape Required

These local heroes don’t need the ability to fly faster than a speeding bullet or leap tall buildings in a single bound. Their selfless passion for helping people, bettering the community or rescuing animals surpasses any so-called superpower.

Dubious Achievement Awards 2011

A City Market striptease, PETA porn, monkey in the bra… It was a good year to put behind us, 2011. Here’s a peak at some of the highlights from our annual Dubious Achievement awards.

Dubious Achievement Awards 2010

The year 2010 is behind us now and, at least in some contexts, it couldn’t be soon enough. Here is the first of three installments of this year’s Dubious Achievement Awards!

25 Great Local Shops

As a teen, our shopping writer sent passionate letters to Gap, Inc. demanding a store in Roanoke. These days she wonders about her former obsession, and spends most of her shopping dollars in the valley’s many local shops. Here are 25.

Brian Battiger, Trails Guy

You could try to turn Brian Batteiger into a hero, but he'll have nothing to do with it.

Tourism, The Natural Way

Roanoke Valley’s new CVB Exec Landon Howard recently took his family out to discover the Blue Ridge Mountains. He’s determined to get millions of others to do the same.

Roanoke is a Great Place To…

A non-family-raising 30-something faces the hard questions: Is “great place to raise a family” actually true? And how about “great place to not raise a family”?

Dubious Achievement Awards 2009

A collection of Never Shoulda Happened moments from 2009.

Current Issue

John Garland is president of Roanoke architecture and engineering firm Spectrum Design: “We want the best we can get. Benefits are what young architects are looking for.” Those include fresh fruit, flexible workdays, 16 vacation days to start and a pervasive pro-employee approach.

Full Health Care, Free Exercise: Bennies Can Be Key for Small Biz

Despite a (slowish) recovery, this isn’t the economy where you charge into the boss’ office to demand a better health care policy, the freedom to work from home or Cheetos in the vending machine...
Interactive Achievement’s Jonathan Hagmaier and Chamber CEO Joyce Waugh, on the occasion of Hagmaier’s receipt of Virginia’s 2012 Small Business of the Year from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Small Business Success, One Careful Step at a Time

Area business owners and the economic development organizations that support and nurture them agree that the keys to success are careful planning, taking advantage of advice and moving slowly.
Carol Willoughby, shown with her service dog Midas, co-founded St. Francis Service Dogs, an organization that helps place professionally trained dogs with disabled children and adults.

No Cape Required

These local heroes don’t need the ability to fly faster than a speeding bullet or leap tall buildings in a single bound. Their selfless passion for helping people, bettering the community or rescuing animals surpasses any so-called superpower.
Maybe PETA was in on this caper? About $11,000 worth of cattle bound for the slaughterhouse was rustled out of a Bedford County stockyard in March, loaded up in a 20-foot cattle carrier around dawn and driven away to who-knows-where.

Dubious Achievement Awards 2011

A City Market striptease, PETA porn, monkey in the bra… It was a good year to put behind us, 2011. Here’s a peak at some of the highlights from our annual Dubious Achievement awards.
Dubious Achievement Awards 2010

Dubious Achievement Awards 2010

The year 2010 is behind us now and, at least in some contexts, it couldn’t be soon enough. Here is the first of three installments of this year’s Dubious Achievement Awards!
Black Dog Salvage’s varied inventory is an example of health in the resale sector.

25 Great Local Shops

As a teen, our shopping writer sent passionate letters to Gap, Inc. demanding a store in Roanoke. These days she wonders about her former obsession, and spends most of her shopping dollars in the valley’s many local shops. Here are 25.
Pathways for Greenways President Brian Batteiger.

Brian Battiger, Trails Guy

You could try to turn Brian Batteiger into a hero, but he'll have nothing to do with it.
The Howard family: From left: Garrett, Ben, Dad Landon, Mom Lynne and Jaclyn.

Tourism, The Natural Way

Roanoke Valley’s new CVB Exec Landon Howard recently took his family out to discover the Blue Ridge Mountains. He’s determined to get millions of others to do the same.
Lauren and Whit Ellerman walk near their home on Jefferson Street with Gracie (white coat) and Atticus. Lauren Ellerman’s sentiment: “Family or no family, we are all welcome.”

Roanoke is a Great Place To…

A non-family-raising 30-something faces the hard questions: Is “great place to raise a family” actually true? And how about “great place to not raise a family”?
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Dubious Achievement Awards 2009

A collection of Never Shoulda Happened moments from 2009.
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Recreating a Dreamy Blue Kitchen

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