Roanoke city leaders asked for suggestions to rename Lee Plaza
It was home to the city’s Confederate memorial until last summer
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ROANOKE, VA. – The Confederate memorial in downtown Roanoke was removed last summer and now city leaders are working on renaming the plaza where it stood.
On Thursday night, the public got to weigh in on what they think Lee Plaza, named after the Confederate General, should be called.
Roanoke’s newly formed Equity and Empowerment Advisory Board met Thursday night to discuss the change some feel has been long overdue. Vice-Mayor Trish White-Boyd leads the board and it fielded about a dozen calls from people during a public hearing to give suggestions for the new name.
The Roanoke Times
RICHMOND â Lawmakers passed legislation Saturday clarifying how the Virginia Parole Board handles releasing people from prisons, but a Republican senator who has been pushing for more transparency said the measure allows Gov. Ralph Northam to avoid immediately addressing problems with the board.
The administration-backed legislation would require the board to publish more information about people it releases on its website, such as why it granted someone parole. There also would be more clarity on the timeline for when the Department of Corrections can release an inmate.
The legislation is modeled somewhat off a proposal that Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, has been pushing for since the fall. Obenshain said the bill headed to the governorâs desk doesnât include important elements he advocated for that would address issues with the board, including ensuring the parole board complied with the law before the Department of Corrections released the
Company No. 7 is home again.
âThis is a great day,â said Roanoke Fire-EMS Chief David Hoback. âWe built this station for the next 75 years of service to this community.â
The reconstruction of Fire Station No. 7 has been a closely watched and anticipated project in Roanoke.
The new firehouse, christened with a grand opening Wednesday, offers almost four times as much space and is better designed to meet modern needs â including, crucially, being able to properly house both male and female firefighters. That is something the prior, circa-1922 fire station couldnât do.
âI certainly want to thank our fire and EMS personnel,â said City Manager Bob Cowell, adding that while the historic station was of a great era it was no longer able to support the communityâs needs.
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