🌱 Hispanic Heritage Festival + Roanoke City Economic Strategy Survey

Hello everyone! It's another dreaded Monday, but hey -- here's a new edition of the Roanoke Daily to help get the synapses firing. Today I'm covering stories including:

• Multiple shootings in Roanoke, body found in Botetourt.
• Roanoke's own famous YouTube brothers? Yup. Check it out.
• Bedford CVS takes a hit!

Let's motor!

Oh, wait! Before I forget, hop over to the PATCH Roanoke Facebook page and give it a like! I'll be posting content there now as well and perhaps we can interact some. Should be fun!

Alright! Now we can motor!

But first, today's weather:

Times of clouds and sun.

High: 69 Low: 43.

🏡 Attention, Roanoke real estate pros!

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Here are the top stories in Roanoke today:

1. First, let's get the bad news out of the way. Roanoke and surrounding areas were again the site of violence over the weekend with several law enforcement agencies reporting shootings and deaths. Saturday, in the 2700 block of Hoover Street in Northwest Roanoke, a male juvenile was transported to the hospital with a gunshot wound where he later died, overnight Sunday, Botetourt County Sheriff's Office reported the body of a woman found in a gravel lot just south of Iron Gate along Route 220, and just this morning Virginia State Police are investigating an officer involved shooting in the 2300 block of Mountain View Terrace in Southwest Roanoke. Police in all three cases say the investigations are just beginning and that more details will be released as they become available. (WSLS, WDBJ, WFXR)
2. Two Roanoke area brothers are certifiably YouTube famous after starting their own pop culture channel, which takes a deep dive into everything from Pixar to Harry Potter and Star Wars to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "Heeey Brother" is how J. and Ben Carlin begin their unusually upbeat videos on a YouTube channel that boasts over two million subscribers from across the globe! "We don’t talk a whole lot about our hometown on this channel but it is actually a really big part of our lives," the brothers said. Their channel has grown into a full time job for not only the two of them, but also several staffers and they thank their choice in locations in part for that. "Here, we can have a team and everybody is paid competitive salaries for the area and benefits and 401(k)s. We want these to be fun jobs for our crew but also good jobs. So, as a business, operating out of Roanoke has been great for us." (Roanoke Times, Super Carlin Brothers Facebook page)
3. The Local Colors Hispanic Heritage Festival took place Saturday after being delayed for rain during Hurricane Ian. The 3rd annual iteration of the event took place in downtown Roanoke's Wells Fargo Plaza and featured a variety of Latin American food, art, and business vendors including Cole Art USA and Dream Dance & Fitness. "I think about it more as an education experience, because many times we see what Latin culture is, but we don’t appreciate it the way that it’s meant to be," said attendee Abigail Soto. (WDBJ, Local Colors website)
4. The City of Roanoke has enlisted consulting firm Ernst & Young to help create a strategic development plan for its Department of Economic Development and they want your input! Since being hired over the summer the firm has been holding focus groups and conducting interviews with area leaders in the education, nonprofit, government, and business sectors and is now shifting their focus to the general population -- you! The firm has created an online survey and will be actively soliciting opinions. You can access the survey here. (Roanoke Times)
5. The CVS store located on East Main Street in Bedford has been temporarily closed after being hit by a driver on Saturday. The crash knocked a large hole in the store's brick facade and caused an interior wall to buckle inward, knocking over several shelves full of merchandise. The Bedford Fire Department said the building was evacuated and power to it suspended pending an inspection. No injuries nor a cause for the crash were reported. (WDBJ)

Today in Roanoke:

• Bilingual Storytime at Roanoke Community School (10 a.m.)
• Free Yoga for the People at the main Roanoke Public Library (5:30 p.m.)
• Essentials of PRactice at Uttara Yoga Studios (5:30 p.m.)
• Scary Movies Monday at Starr Hill Brewery (6 p.m.)
• Bingo Night at Well Hung Vineyard (6 p.m.)
• Roanoke Diversity Center Board Meeting (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge: "Carvins Cove, Mabry Mill, Explore Park, Roaring Run, Smith Mountain Lake, and more! Here is a list of some of our favorite spots for seeing fall colors in Virginia's Blue Ridge!" (Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge via Facebook)
• Roanoke Fire EMS Department: "This weekend we honor the 148 firefighters who died in the line of duty during 2021. Two Honor Guard members from Roanoke Fire EMS Department and Local 1132, FF/Paramedic Tim Rorrer and FF/EMT Anthony Levette, went to the memorial." (Roanoke Fire EMS Department via Facebook)
• Downtown Roanoke, Inc.: "@roanokegofest returns to Downtown Roanoke October 14 - 16! This event will have everything: BMX stunts, demo pools, lumberjack show, yoga, races, music, and silent disco! GO Fest will be at Elmwood Park!" (Downtown Roanoke, Inc. via Instagram)
• The Grandin Theatre: "Just three weeks away from the whole audience in the Grandin doing the time warp! Get your tickets now!" (The Grandin Theatre via Facebook)
• Roanoke Animal Hospital: "We called to check on this sweet little ferret, Sundance Beltz, who had tail amputation this week…and this was the picture we got shortly after 💙💙💙 SO CUTE!!!💙💙💙" (Roanoke Animal Hospital via Facebook)
• Roanoke Ballet Theatre: "A great big THANK YOU to Better Sofas for sponsoring our 2022-2023 season! @bettersofas" (Roanoke Ballet Theatre via Facebook)

There you have it. You're officially in the loop for today! I'll see you tomorrow morning!

— Ian

About me: Ian Graham is a novelist, screenwriter, and freelance contributing writer. He is a firm believer in being yourself … unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman. To connect with Ian you can visit him on Facebook and Instagram. He doesn't bite. Except on full moons.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Roanoke Daily? Contact me at roanoke@patch.com