🌱Roanoke Among Top Migration Destinations + United Way Golf Tournament

Hello all! Ian here with a fresh Roanoke Daily!

First, today's weather:

An afternoon thunderstorm.

High: 89 Low: 70.

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Here are the top five stories in Roanoke today:

1. Advance Auto Parts recently gave Roanoke Police and Fire departments $2,500 in gift cards to increase community safety as part of its 90th anniversary celebration. The departments will distribute $25 gift cards as a recognition to citizens for attending community-based activities and also to motorists found to have a faulty equipment violation. "If we encounter someone who has an equipment violation — headlight out, taillight out, bad windshield wiper, we can give them that. If it doesn’t pay for everything at least it will take the sting out of having to pay for all of it," said Lieutenant Jennings Tardy. (WSLS)
2. Amelia Radford, the two-year-old daughter of Roanoker Danielle Bradford, was saved by blood transfusions while she battled cancer and now her mother is helping to spread awareness. Amelia was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma in September of 2o20. Thanks to several blood transfusions and multiple rounds of chemo, she was declared cancer free a year later. "We went into the hospital thinking maybe she had some sort of head injury, ‘cause all we saw was her eye was misaligned and a bruise, but we never thought we were going to hear the word cancer," said Bradford. She and her family now host an annual blood drive to commemorate the day Amelia was able to ring the bell and declare she was cancer-free. (WDBJ)
3. The United Way of Roanoke Valley is hosting its inaugural golf tournament and proceeds from the event will go to benefit the communities it serves. UMRV focuses its efforts on people who are the most vulnerable and are living paycheck to paycheck, unable to build a self-sustaining life according to the website. The early bird registration deadline is Friday, August 12 and if you'd like to be a sponsor that deadline is Friday, July 29. The event will be held at Roanoke County's Blue Hills Golf Club on September 9. (Roanoker)
4. Roanoke has ranked No. 9 among the Top 10 metro areas with the highest inbound migration according to reports by Rent.com. As rent prices and inflation continue to rise, residents of larger, more expensive cities are increasingly looking to move elsewhere for relief. Roanoke saw a positive gain of 32 percent in inbound migration, which means far fewer people are leaving than are arriving. Other cities on the list include Waco, Texas, Corpus-Christi, Texas, and Des Moines, Iowa. (The Roanoke Star)

Today in Roanoke:

• Salem Gun & Knife Show at the Salem Civic Center (10 a.m.)
• Sunflower Festival at Sinkland Farms (Noon)
• Ice Cream Social at Lackey Studio and Art Gallery (2 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Roanoke College - Salem, VA: "Ah, that beautiful Salem sunset! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #RoanokeCollege #LoveVA #Roanoke #SalemVA @VisitVBR @cityofsalemva" (Roanoke College - Salem, VA via Instagram)
• The Virginia Zoo: "On July 16, celebrate World Snake Day with us and some of the biggest and coolest snakes in coastal Virginia! We're celebrating this sssspecial day with snake feedings, animal presentations, zoodoptions and more!" (The Virginia Zoo via Instagram)
• Roanoke Fire EMS Department: "Please keep our Swiftwater Team in your thoughts as it works to help with the situation in Buchanan County, as well as the residents there who are dealing with a catastrophic loss." (Roanoke FireEMS Department via Facebook)
• The Roanoke Times: "Virginia is the third-best state for business in CNBC’s annual rankings, falling from the first place pedestal it had occupied in 2019 and 2021." (The Roanoke Times via Facebook)
• Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke: "It’s time for opossum season part two! We see two batches of opossums every year — once in the early spring and one in mid-summer lasting through the fall — and the avalanche is just starting. (Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke via Facebook)
• Roanoke Fire EMS Department: "The Roanoke Fire-EMS Swiftwater Team was deployed this morning to Buchanan County, Virginia to assist with the flooding in the region alongside our regional partners. The overhead photo is courtesy of the Virginia Department of Emergency.” (Roanoke FireEMS Department via Facebook)
• Roanoke Fire EMS Department: "Thanks to Advance Auto Parts for donating gift cards for us to give out to citizens who attend community activities, like public education events! 💳💳" (Roanoke FireEMS Department via Facebook)

You're all caught up for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Ian

About me: Ian Graham is a novelist, screenwriter, and freelance contributing writer. His interests are in politics, history, and religion and the stories and characters he writes about are centered on the explosive conflicts created when the three intersect. He is a firm believer in being yourself… unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman.

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