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Tuesday night voters approved an amendment to the Virginia Construction that enshrines the right to abortion, contraception, and fertility care. However, the yes vote is already facing several lawsuits seeking to prevent the certification of the changes. That includes a hearing in Tazewell County next Tuesday.

Han Jones, Campaign Manager for Virginians for Reproductive Freedom, addressed the legal challenges at a roundtable this morning. 

“Yes on One is currently facing two litigative challenges,” Jones explained, “one from Liberty Council, and one from the legal arm of The Family Foundation, the Family Freedoms Law Center.”

Earlier this year, Liberty Council filed a lawsuit attempting to prevent the question from appearing on the ballot, but it was dismissed by the Bedford County Circuit Court. 

Jones said she is confident that the legal challenges to the vote post-election won’t be successful, either. 

“We know that these are desperate attempts to try avoid the will of the voters, because they knew that the will of Virginians was going to be heard, and they knew that there was no other possible way for them to stop Virginians from choosing reproductive freedom,” Jones said. “And we saw that very clearly when, you know, we see that over 10% of voters showed up and voted yes.”

The second proposed amendment on Virginia ballots this year, which was also approved by voters, will formally remove legislation banning same-sex marriage in the Virginia Constitution. That amendment is also facing a lawsuit on procedural grounds that was posed in the final week of the election. 

Leaders for Ballot Question 2 also said they were sure those challenges would be dismissed. 

Throughout this year, Wawa is opening nearly one hundred new storefronts across Virginia. Of those, 60 are planned for the Interstate 81 Corridor, and this morning, residents in Botetourt County gathered to celebrate the second location across the Roanoke Valley region. 

Kim Dowgielewicz is the Wawa Director of Store Operations, and she said the new location in Daleville felt natural. 

“It was really just hearing from the customer,” Dowgielewicz said at the grand opening. “So there was a customer base that knew us. This is expanding into a customer that didn’t, and really looking for those connecting points to be able to connect the community together as we expand.”

The grand opening kicked off at 8 this morning at the corner of Glebe Road and Roanoke Road. Each of the sixty locations planned for the region is expected to bring an average of thirty-five associate jobs.

A press conference held today detailed a filing made in Botetourt County Circuit Court by Fishwick & Associates on a client’s behalf, alleging that the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors violated Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act in approving a performance agreement for the new data center development at the Greenfield campus. The filing asks the Court to declare void the agreement for the proposed data center for Botetourt County – construction on site prep is already underway – because the Board of Supervisors did not disclose to citizens the substance of the resolution approving this agreement for the data center. Lead attorney John Fishwick:

Since the Dobbs V. Jackson Supreme Court decision overturned Roe V. Wade and the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of the right to abortion, state law in Virginia and elsewhere has still protected that choice. Question One on the ballot in Virginia would enshrine reproductive freedom in the STATE’s Bill of Rights, but a group of pro-life health care professionals are urging a NO vote. That state protection for reproductive rights and abortion – for the patient and for the health care professionals involved – could change if the politics shift in Richmond say backers of Question One, one of three ballot propositions that would amend the state constitution. The Virginia Medical Professionals for Women Safety urges a NO vote, as WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports.

The Virginia Republican Party is sending out mailers with misinformation about her campaign for Roanoke City Council says Democratic candidate Danny Clawson – she does NOT want to abolish the police – instead they could use more help in certain aspects of their job – and Clawson says she does NOT want to “legalize heroin” as one mailer with an image of an injection into someone’s arm suggested – although the Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition where she is executive director does give out clean needles to addicts to minimize infection from shared syringes. The Clawson for Council campaign is calling on the Virginia Republican Part to retract what she calls “multiple false, misleading and harmful mailers and text messages.” Clawson tells WFIR:

Jim Messina was half of the 1970’s duo Loggins and Messina. Loggins went on to fame with songs like Danger Zone in the 80’s while Messina has worked more as a producer for other artists. But its Jim Messina who is at center stage next Thursday November 5 in Roanoke.  Messina worked with Buffalo Springfield and then Poco, in roles as a producer and/or bass player. Loggins and Messina was sort of an accident; he joined Loggins in studio for an album that was released with both their names in the title – and a hit-making duo was born. Messina promises that those who attend his concert at Jefferson Center next Thursday will hear music from his entire portfolio as a songwriter/musician/producer and sound engineer:

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The Town of Vinton is seeking proposals for the development of a vacant corner property it acquired after a fire destroyed the buildings in 2022.  As WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno tells us it’s another step in the town’s revitalization.

The purchase of the property on the corner of East Lee Avenue and Pollard Street was another step toward strengthening the economy of Vinton’s downtown.  Jill Loope Special Projects Assistant to the Town Manager says the lot is shovel ready for the right developer.

“We’ve done environmental assessments. We have completed boundary surveys. We know exactly what the property can yield by way of an architect’s evaluation of the site. And we can generate 16 residential units out of the property or 22 hotel rooms.”

An Extended Stay America Hotel is nearing completion in Vinton.  Loope says if the proposal is a boutique hotel it will add diversity to the town’s offerings. The deadline for proposals is November 20th.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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The Town of Vinton is seeking a developer to fill a vacant corner lot in its downtown with either a mixed-use commercial and residential development or a boutique hotel.  WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno has more.

Fire destroyed the building at 101 East Lee Avenue in 2022. In 2025 and 2026, the Town purchased the four impacted lots.  Jill Loope Special Projects Assistant to the Town Manager says the site can house a mixed-use project with 16 residential units or a boutique hotel with 22 rooms. An Extended Stay America Hotel is nearing completion in Vinton.  Loope says even so, a boutique hotel is still viable.

“And now with the new Vinton War Memorial renovation project, that’s been about a $5 million project. It’s scheduled to open after the first of the year in the springtime. And we know that we’re going to have more weddings, more special events, more corporate events here in the town.”

Loope adds a Boutique hotel could also draw people off the Blue Ridge Parkway to stay and enjoy their walkable downtown. Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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October is primetime for Horror films.  The image of iconic monsters has changed over the years.  Why that has happened is the theme of a course at Virginia Tech.  WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno has more.

You know of Frankenstein and Dracula but do you know their origin stories.  It’s often very different from the versions of recent movies and shows. Ingrid Johnson is an advanced instructor in the English Department of Virginia Tech. She teaches Monster Madness and the Macabre, it’s an introduction into short fiction.

“Frankenstein created the monster, but wisdom tells you that Frankenstein is the monster. Frankenstein’s monster is also a monster and he does bad things. We get to a character like Dracula, who in the original book, I mean, there’s no redeeming quality about him. And in fact, he’s not even in the book that much. He kills indiscriminately. There’s no reason to hang this sympathetic edge on him. And that character has certainly evolved over time.”

In the 1960s and 70s Frankenstein became the likable Herman Munster and Dracula started to be portrayed as a more sympathetic, romanticized character. Johnson says the story changes over time to sell it to more consumers and

“We feel the need to find that thread of humanity in these characters to maybe relate to them better or to feel better about ourselves for loving these characters.”

Our love story with monsters doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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The stories of Frankenstein and Dracula have been told and reworked so many times that the origin of these monsters is lost to those who have not read the original works.  WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno on a Virginia Tech course focused on why these characters have changed over the years.

Monster Madness and the Macabre, an introduction into short fiction is a course taught by Ingrid Johnson, an advanced instructor in the English Department of Virginia Tech. She says Frankenstein’s Monster started out as a sympathetic character.

“He develops consciousness and intelligence, and then the human beings that he interacts with or comes across also shun him. You start that story with feelings for this creature who is lonely and has been rejected, and yet he goes on a revenge tour, but that sympathetic version or that part of Frankenstein’s monster is something that has been proliferated. I mean, we have, you know, Herman Munster, who’s, you know, the lovable guy.”

Dracula on the other hand was a different story.  Johnson says in the book Dracula was irredeemable, killing indiscriminately.

“And then we get into the 60s, 70s where we start seeing these versions of him where he’s got this tragic backstory, a lost love. And I think that as much as we enjoy those movies and those stories and that character, we also maybe have a need to find some sort of good in that character to not feel that we just like evil things.”

Johnson says she challenges her students to examine the way they feel when they encounter these characters and why these stories continue to resonate with audiences.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

There are now three Panda Express fast-casual Chinese restaurants in the Roanoke Valley. The newest one cut the ribbon on West Main Street in Salem this morning. Salem City officials, the Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce – and people lined up early hoping to get a free T-shirt – were on hand this morning. A retail building that had sat empty for years at the corner of West Main and Fourth Street is a good example of infill development says Salem City Manager Chris Dorsey, who also says  its encouraging to see a major chain like Panda Express in Salem.  Panda Express also donated a thousand dollars to the Salem-based Feeding Southwest Virginia distribution center to mark the grand opening celebration.

A fundraising campaign is helping a Roanoke City landmark light up the Star City’s skyline once again. More from WFIR’s Clark Palmer: