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The Roanoke Star-Sentinel January 27 - February 2, 2012
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Community | News | Per spective
Roanoke Misses Out On Solstas Lab Expansion Mike Keeler
Tough Biz P4– Mike Keeler tells the story of Williams-Sonoma and just how hard it can be for a corporation to come home.
Ax To Grind P6– Bishop E.W. Jackson brings his “Fix Washington Now” tour to Roanoke promising that he will clean up the Nation’s Capital.
Mobile Web P8– The Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau rolls out their new mobile website: visitroanokeva.com.
Perfect Score P9– Movie Reviewer Seth Childers gives a very rare perfect 10 to the movie “The Artist” saying that all the accolades are well deserved.
Few people know it but Roanoke has recently been involved in a high stakes economic play for 500 jobs. Solstas Lab Partners has dual headquarters in Roanoke and High Point, North Carolina with both locations being in play for a major Solstas expansion. Solstas’ Roanoke administrative headquarters is located in Carilion’s administrative building at Riverside. The Solstas name evolved from a merger of Carilion Labs in Roanoke and Spectrum Laboratory Network of High Point and now ranks as one of the coun-
Rasoul Making Run at Mayor’s Office
Sam Rasoul knows a thing or two about fighting uphill political battles. In 2008 he Sam Rasoul took on Bob Goodlatte, running as a Democratic challenger against the entrenched Republican Congressman from the 6th District. Predictably, despite an all-out effort, Rasoul, a Roanoke native, was steamrolled by Goodlatte, mustering just over 30% of the total vote count. Now he is taking on another daunting challenge: he wants to be the mayor of Roanoke City and is taking on incumbent David Bowers for the Democratic nomination. Local Democrats will vote in a firehouse primary that will be held on Saturday February 4th. The general election is in May. “We have a vested interest in the future of the Roanoke Valley,” said Rasoul, who moved his
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try’s largest full-service labs. The com- phone call Monday. pany provides all lab services for Carilion Last Tuesday High Point City CounClinic hospitals. Solstas presently employs cil approved a $500,000 incentive pack400 in Roanoke and 721 in High Point. age. A few days later commissioners Since 2009 Solstas has grown from surrounding Guilford substantially making seven County approved another Employment acquisitions in Delaware, Ten$500,000 for a total of $1 milnessee, Alabama and Florida. lion. The state of North CaroIn addition to Roanoke and High Point lina may also kick in another $450,000, the company reached out to two other lo- said Thompson. High Point has a cap of cations for tentative proposals. The other $1000 per job in their economic developlocations were Knoxville, Tennessee and, ment policy. to a lessor degree, in Alabama, said RoaThe hiring would take place over a noke’s Vice President Bud Thompson in a five year period. The expansion would
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add $11.6 million to High Point’s local tax base. The average wage of the new jobs is over $45,000 annually, confirmed Thompson. The projection for the additional 500 jobs was based on their growth experience in High Point. “In two years they added 300 full-time equivalent jobs … we’re expecting the future to look like the past,” said Thompson. There would be consolidation from > CONTINUED P2: Solstas
[Local Media]
Bowers Takes Challenge Seriously
Capturing The “Joy of Roanoke”
Mayor David Bowers
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n audience in the main studio of WDBJ-7 in Roanoke prepares to watch “The Hour of Joy” with former News Journalist Joy Sutton as host. “I always thought my Mom named me Joy for a reason,” Sutton said in a post-taping interview, “and that’s to bring happiness. So I always think of myself as the ‘Joy of Roanoke.’ I wanted something that was positive. I think there’s so much negative news. You turn on the TV and it seems like there’s nothing positive going on in your community, and I wanted to show people that there were inspi-
rational stories right in their own community - people that were changing lives, people that had stories just like them that were making a difference in our community. That’s what the show is about.” The editors and staff of the Roanoke StarSentinel couldn’t agree more with this program offering. Our only suggestion would be to run it in prime time. The first episodes are slated to begin airing on Saturdays from 1011 A.M. on WDBJ’s MY19 and Sunday from 6-7 A.M. on FOX 27. (See Full Story on Page 9)
At a fundraiser this week Incumbent Mayor David Bowers told his supporters to tell their friends to, “Vote for someone who can be mayor from day one … the city needs stability and continuity.” Some supporters then seemed surprised when Bowers later told them that if something were to happen to him any one of the city council members would be prepared to step in as mayor. Bowers avoided mentioning Sam Rasoul by name but the insinuation was clear that “being mayor from day one” lent itself to a criticism of Rasoul’s age and inexperience in local government. The fundraiser held at Fork in the City, owned by Vice-Mayor Dave Trinkle, was attended by about 70 people Monday eve> CONTINUED P2: Bowers
Roanoke City Annual Homeless Count – A Place To Call Home Forty dedicated volunteers assembled at Green Memorial Methodist Church Sunday afternoon for a two-hour training session preparing them to hit the streets Monday morning. Some of the six teams started as early as 4 a.m., with a cup of Starbucks coffee and a donut. The annual Point In Time (PIT) count of the homeless is being conducted this week. The PIT count obtains baseline demographic information about the homeless population in Virginia, explained Karen Michalski-Karney with the Blue Ridge Independent Living Center. They are canvassing Roanoke’s streets and shelters, taking with them a Vulnerability Index survey for the first time this year. Each client they encounter is asked 27 survey questions. They expect to encounter not only men but also women with children and entire families, explained Carol Tuning with Roanoke City Human Services. This is the first year for the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness project, “1000 Homes for 1000 Virginians.” It is an effort to find and place the most vulnerable, medically at risk, long-term homeless individuals into permanent households across the area.
Photo by Valerie Garner
Volunteers from last week’s “Point In Time” count of the homeless. “A lot of people don’t know what to College of Health Sciences. do [with them],” said Tuning. The Vulnerability Index survey goes The City of Roanoke has partnered further then the annual PIT count by with local agencies includprioritizing those individuing Blue Ridge Independent als that have been homeless Community Living Center, Trust House, the longest and are the most Council of Community Servulnerable. They started crevices, Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, ating a by-name registry of those living the VA Medical Center and Jefferson on the streets and in shelters.
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The volunteers are canvassing the Rescue Mission, RAM House, Turning Point, parks, the library and Roanoke City and County jails among other locations. The abandoned Ukrops building has multiple areas where the homeless call home. The open underground parking area is a favorite spot to camp. Each team has a site coordinator armed with a backpack. Besides flashlights, maps and clipboards they have McDonald coupons for the hungry, condoms to pass out and an air horn. To ensure volunteer safety unmarked patrol cars are patrolling in the area. One blast of the air horn brings an officer to any out-of-hand situation. At Sunday’s training session Tuning was urged to demonstrate what looked like an innocuous small toy-like horn. They soon heard an ear piercing blast that could have awaken the dead. The survey is completely confidential. A consent form is read to the clients. If there is resistance to the survey then volunteers were instructed not to push it. They can slightly jostle someone sleeping but if not awakened then they should be left alone. > CONTINUED P3: Homeless