News

Virginia Organizing is out with its annual Job Gap report.  The report compares the number of job seekers to the number of jobs that pay a living wage. 

Jill Reese, with “Alliance for a Just Society” says living wage jobs are few and far between.

“Over half of job openings in Virginia pay less than $18.59 an hour.  That’s the living wage for a single adult.  More than four out of five pay less than $34.27 an hour-the living wage for a single adult with two children.”

A new study says the world must learn to live with an increasingly flood prone shoreline. 

But the report published by a Virginia Tech Professor in the journal “Nature” suggests there are things humans can do to mitigate the problem.  

A new research paper warns of growing risk of coastal flooding due to rising sea levels. Jen Irish, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering co-authored the report.

In the 1930s and 1940s, African-Americans in Roanoke were restricted to just a few neighborhoods.  One was Gainsboro, just over the tracks from downtown.  Among the many businesses started by black entrepreneurs in Gainsboro was "Dreamland," a swimming pool and dance hall.  Dreamland is gone, but Jesse Dukes and Allison Swaim spoke to a few Roanoke residents who still remember.

This radio documentary was produced by Jesse Dukes and Allison Swaim for WVTF and Big Shed Media, with support from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. It was edited by Shea Shackelford.

Virginia needs 30 new judges to keep up with the current caseload.  That’s according to a new study. 

Brian Ostrom with the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg helped conduct the study which was ordered by the General Assembly.  It took 18 months, cost the Commonwealth 240 thousand dollars, and looked at the number of court cases plus the amount of work involved.  Ostrom says judges are especially needed in juvenile court.

State Police continue their investigation of a crash that claimed the life of one Washington and Lee University student and injured seven others. 

Three remain in the hospital, and the university held a vigil Tuesday evening.

The tragedy occurred on a rural road outside Lexington.

“Around 1:30 this morning, on Turkey Hill Road, which is in Rockbridge County, a 2006 Tahoe was traveling southbound when the vehicle ran off the left side of the roadway, hit a tree stump and overturned," said Sgt. Robert Carpentieri.