The Roanoke Rambler

11/08/2024

What's happening this weekend?! Don't miss out on the only Roanoke events calendar you'll ever need: Link in comments.

Friday: Grandin Chillage 😎
Saturday: Veterans Day Parade🎖️
Sunday: Art and architecture tour 🏛️

and much, much more.

11/06/2024

Republicans ended a two-decade drought on Roanoke City Council as voters on Tuesday elected Nick Hagen to a Council seat, along with Democrats Terry McGuire and Phazhon Nash.

The wave of younger leaders broke historical records, with Nash perhaps the youngest person ever elected to City Council. Link in comments.

11/06/2024

Election Day in Roanoke ended with the city’s mayor’s race going down to the wire, and the race is too close to call.

Republican David Bowers held a 19-vote lead over Democrat Joe Cobb out of more than 41,000 votes cast, with possibly 1,000 provisional ballots yet to be counted, which could sway the race.

Story link in comments.

11/05/2024

Huh? What's happening? Who's running for city council?

Find all the information you need to make an informed decision in our compendium of the 2024 races for Roanoke mayor and City Council. Happy Election Day! 🗳️

Find the information you need to make an informed decision in our compendium of the 2024 races for Roanoke mayor and City Council.

11/04/2024

From a café focused on in-season beans to a coffee shop and bakery, Roanoke's Old Southwest neighborhood is percolating with new places to get some java.

Story link in comments: FREE to read. FREE to join. Only in The Rambler.

11/01/2024

Halloween isn't over just yet! 👻 🎃 🧛 Check out more spooky happenings this weekend in the only Roanoke events calendar you'll ever need.

Sign up free today to get it in your inbox each Wednesday: Link in comments.

10/31/2024

Nearly three in four Roanoke residents think the City Council elected next week should appoint Roanoke’s new city manager, according to a new poll from Roanoke College that we co-sponsored.

The poll also asked voters questions about a variety of local issues, including on a recent policy that ended single-family-only zoning and the potential development of Evans Spring.

Learn more: Story link in comments. FREE to read. FREE to join.

10/30/2024

Vice Mayor Joe Cobb leads Roanoke’s mayoral race by double digits over former mayor David Bowers and Councilwoman Stephanie Moon Reynolds, according to a new poll from Roanoke College, co-sponsored by The Roanoke Rambler.

Check out the full breakdown in the story: Link in comments. FREE to read. FREE to join.

10/28/2024

Does David Bowers regret his past comments? Does Joe Cobb think the gun violence prevention commission has been effective? Will Stephanie Moon Reynolds increase collaboration among Council members?

Find out more when we pose unique questions to each of Roanoke's three mayoral candidates. Full video interviews and transcripts at www.roanokerambler.com

10/25/2024

What's happening this weekend?! Don't miss out on the only Roanoke events calendar you'll ever need. Sign up free today to get it in your inbox each Wednesday.

Friday: Pumpkinfest at the Salem Farmers Market 🎃
Saturday: “Dracula” presented by Roanoke Ballet Theatre 🧛‍♂️
Sunday: Spooktacular Halloween-themed Drag Brunch 👻

and much, much more. Link in comments.

10/24/2024

Roanoke's neighborhoods remain divided along racial lines. We ask the three mayoral candidates — David Bowers, Joe Cobb and Stephanie Moon Reynolds — what role should city government play in dismantling that legacy of segregation Find the full interviews with each of the candidates at www.roanokerambler.com.

10/24/2024

In this week’s edition of Ramblings — our collection of short items that have caught our attention — we report on:

📝 The retirement of longtime city planning director Chris Chittum
🏡 A second homeowners lawsuit over policies that ended single-family-only zoning
🚗 A counteroffer to Roanoke's Higher Education Center request to take over a city parking lot

Story link in comments. FREE to read. FREE to sign up.

10/23/2024

Vice Mayor Joe Cobb is now seeking to drop the “vice” from his title, which he earned in 2018 and 2022 by winning the most votes for City Council. But this may be Cobb’s toughest race yet.

An openly gay and deeply spiritual man, Cobb has focused on tackling two of Roanoke’s thorniest issues: gun violence and public transit.

Don't miss our third and final mayoral candidate profile: Link in comments.

10/23/2024

Authorities have filed criminal meals-tax charges against the owners of four closed food establishments in Roanoke, including FarmBurguesa restaurant, whose Grandin Village and Vinton locations shuttered in recent months.

Court dockets reflect a variety of new criminal prosecutions getting underway against sit-down establishments, a food truck and a cake shop.

Story link in comments. FREE to read. ONLY in The Rambler.

10/21/2024

A new Roanoke transit plan calls for extending Valley Metro buses into Roanoke County, making popular rides more frequent and expanding a piloted “microtransit” service.

FREE to read. Story link in comments. Only in The Rambler.

10/18/2024

What's happening this weekend? 🧗 👻 🎭

Sign up for the only Roanoke events calendar you'll ever need, in your inbox every Wednesday. Link in comments.

10/17/2024

We had 9 burning questions for each of Roanoke's City Council candidates.

One of those questions was unique to each contender.

Watch and read more at www.roanokerambler.com.

10/17/2024

Stephanie Moon Reynolds, a longtime city clerk who is finishing her first term on Roanoke City Council, is trying to notch a historic doubleheader by becoming Roanoke’s first woman mayor, and the first Black woman mayor, at that.

A staunch independent, she has butted heads with her Democratic colleagues, who fear her campaign is a spoiler. “I think I can win,” she says. “I feel very optimistic.”

Don't miss our second of three mayoral candidate profiles: Link in comments.