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Driven by SW Va., state’s COVID-19 rate rises to 6.1%
Virginia’s number of COVID-19 cases jumped by more than 10,000 last week, bringing the state’s positivity rate to 6.1%, up from 5.8% on Nov. 2, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s report Monday, Nov. 9. The sharpest increases have been seen in the Roanoke region and Southwest Virginia, where neighboring states also have seen […]
Roanoke tech company buys Md.-based fiber optic manufacturer
Roanoke-based optical technology company Luna Innovations Inc. announced late last week it has acquired Owings Mills, Maryland-based fiber optic equipment manufacturer New Ridge Technologies LLC. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. New Ridge Technologies develops and manufactures fiber optic test and measurement equipment and advanced fiber optic subsystems for telecommunication applications. The acquisition […][...]
GO Virginia funds $9M in workforce development, economic recovery grants
The Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) state economic development initiative has allocated grants totaling more than $9 million for workforce development and assisting communities with economic recovery, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. A $7.8 million allocation will support 11 regional projects and two statewide projects aimed at workforce development initiatives. Another allocation […][...]
Out of the lab, into the market
Virginia Tech was born to promote business. The 1862 Morrill Act, which created land-grant universities including Virginia Tech, requires such universities to “teach such branches of learning as are related to … agriculture and the mechanical arts … to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes.�[...]
Amid pandemic, Floyd holds on to musical roots
The town of Floyd has long been known for its musical offerings, particularly Friday night jamborees at the Floyd Country Store and the annual world folk music-focused FloydFest. So, what happens when public events are called off by the coronavirus pandemic? Dylan Locke, co-owner of the Floyd Country Store, has hosted online str[...]
Virginia Tech’s proof-of-concept grants
It’s about gaps. Gaps between the uncertainties that exist and the uncertainties investors are willing to accept. Gaps between a working prototype and a mass-produced model. Gaps between what researchers produce and what the market wants to buy. Virginia tech’s proof-of-concept (POC) grants aim to help university res[...]
Stars in their eyes
When 19th-century movers and shakers picked sleepy Roanoke as the site of the crossroads linking the Shenandoah Valley and Norfolk & Western railroads, the town grew with such force and speed that it earned the now-obscure nickname “Magic City.” Over the decades that followed, thousands of Roanokers toiled for the N&[...]
Va. Supreme Court denies Roanoke courts’ plan to resume jury trials
The Virginia Supreme Court has rejected a plan by Roanoke Valley’s courts to resume jury trials during the pandemic. Chief Judge David Carson of the 23rd Judicial Circuit of Virginia, which includes Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem courts, said during an Oct. 13 Roanoke Bar Association Meeting that the Virginia Supreme Court rejected the proposal […]
Carilion receives nearly $1M USDA telehealth grant
Roanoke-based Carilion Clinic announced Monday it received a nearly $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its Telemedicine Expansion and Optimization Project. The USDA awarded Carilion Clinic a $947,983 grant through its 2020 distance learning and telemedicine grant program. The grant will fund virtual care centers, teleneurology service access and portable […]
Smith Mountain Lake chamber to launch leadership academy
The Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce on Thursday announced the launch of its inaugural Smith Mountain Lake Leadership Academy, a 12-month program for emerging leaders. The program will allow participants to meet and learn from area business leaders from a variety of sectors. Ten participants will be selected duri[...]
RiverStone Ranch auction set for Oct. 28
The 979-acre RiverStone Ranch in Buchanan will go to auction on Oct. 28, rural real estate firm Hall and Hall announced last week. The Botetourt County estate, which has remained in private ownership for more than 200 years, includes tunnels, canals and stone walls from George Washington’s James River Kanawha Project. Th[...]
Mack medium duty trucks on the road again
Founded by two brothers 120 years ago, Mack Trucks Inc. is an iconic American brand and image — snub-nosed trucks adorned with bulldogs because of a nickname earned in World War I. And since Sept. 1, all of Mack’s medium duty trucks are being built in Roanoke County’s Valley TechPark. The company, part of Sweden[...]
