🌱 More Comes To Light On Shooting + Catawba Hospital Money Awarded

Hello, neighbors! Ian here with your Hump Day edition of the Roanoke Patch newsletter. Keep reading to find out what's happening locally, including updates on:

• City expects additional revenue
• City allocation plan for ARP funds
• 'Celebrating Gainsboro' presentation

Let's go! 🏃

But first, today's weather:

Rather cloudy and mild. High: 63 Low: 49.

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Here are the top stories in Roanoke today:

1. Roanoke City's finance department presented the 2023-24 budget proposal to city council Monday morning and said the city is expected to haul in about $19 million in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The number represents an increase in city tax revenue expected to come from real estate taxes, sales taxes, and prepared food and beverage taxes. "Although the dollar amount of the budget is increasing, it’s increasing at a rate that does not keep up with the cost associated with inflation," said City Manager Bob Cowell when addressing the fact that buying power has gone down despite the rise in income. $11.4 million of the $19 million is expected to go to the city for its day-to-day operations with the remaining $7.6 million going to Roanoke City Schools and the city's marketing arm, Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge. (Roanoke Times)
2. More information has come to light about the shooting that occurred Saturday night at the Food Lion on Peters Creek Road NW. The cause of the altercation was apparently an argument between two people who knew each other, which resulted in one man starting a fight with the other man. The other man then pulled a gun, shooting both his attacker and an innocent woman who got caught in the crossfire. Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell has spoken out and said "It is senseless, it is asinine. Even before you get to the use of the gun, why we’ve got to take our personal problems to a grocery store." The store CCTV appears to support the argument for self-defense, but Caldwell said the matter deserved a full investigation. The man who fired the gun stayed on the scene and is cooperating with the investigation. (WSLS, WDBJ)
3. The House Appropriations Committee approved a series of budget amendments that included money to renovate and expand Catawba Hospital. The amount included isn't the amount the bill sponsored by Delegate Sam Rasoul requested or was hoping for, but it will at least get the project started. The bill asked for $147 million, but the committee approved a much smaller amount of just $14.7 million. That's not the final word for that amount, though, the amendments still have to go before the entire legislative body and be signed into law. Rasoul said, "We would integrate residential treatment beds for the first time in the history of the Commonwealth. We would have outpatient services. We could even use this for crisis receiving centers and a crisis receiving unit. But in addition to that, Mr. Speaker, we could have behavioral health workforce training and research and development that could be cutting edge." His remarks on the bill were delivered on the House floor. (WDBJ)
4. The City of Roanoke has created an allocation plan for money awarded by the American Rescue Plan Act. The new plan will release $2.4 million from the HOME Investment Partnership Grant, a funding program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. City officials said the plan was developed after considerable research and consultation with city social services agencies, housing developers, and a public survey that generated close to 1,400 responses. In addition to the grant funds, the city will also allocate an additional sum of $4.65 million from the U.S. Treasury Department via the American Rescue Plan Act that will provide a total impact in Roanoke City housing of almost $7 million. No precise projects or recipients of the allocated funds have been given yet, but city council will be holding a public meeting about the issue on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. (WSET)
5. In honor of Black History Month, the Roanoke Higher Education Center, Virginia Tech Roanoke Center, and Roanoke Public Libraries will co-host a presentation about the Historic Gainsboro neighborhood on Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The presenters at the event will be Jordan Bell, a local historian, educator, and activist; Evie Slone, director of community planning for Roanoke’s Hill Studio and creator of the content on for the Gainsboro History Project website; and Carla L. James, Ph.D., senior director of Academic and Student Services for the Roanoke Higher Education Center, who played an important role in creating and developing the center's central walkway markers that are dedicated to local historic figures. The event is free and open to the public. (Roanoker)

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Today in Roanoke:

• Roanoke Neighborhood Advocates meeting at Roanoke City Council Chambers (5:30 p.m.)
• Brew-HA-HA open mic at Big Lick Brewing Co. (6:30 p.m.)
• Black History Month: Soul Sessions Renaissance at Grandin Theatre (7:30 p.m.)
• Bella’s Bartok at Martin’s Downtown Bar and Grill (9:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Roanoke City Public Schools: "Congratulations to our Middle School Winter Sports champions! Thank you to our athletes for working hard, and to our coaches, staff, and families for supporting them in reaching their goals!" (Roanoke City Public Schools via Facebook)
• Roanoke Police Department: "We love treating our partners at the City of Roanoke E-911 Center! Thank you all for your hard work and support — we couldn't do this job without you! #RPDpride" (Roanoke Police Department via Facebook)
• Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke: "A little House Finch admitted to us in December finally got to go free last week! This little girl was found on the ground injured, unable to fly, and was missing all her tail feathers." (Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke via Facebook)
• Roanoke Fire EMS Department: "It's that time again! Thanks to our friends at Regional Center for Animal Control & Protection we have our new foster pup, Audi 🐶! She made her debut this morning at our admin office before going visiting the recruits of Class 33!" (Roanoke Fire EMS Department via Facebook)

Alrighty, you're all good for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— 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 Patch newsletter? Contact me at roanoke@patch.com