GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER The Washington Post Published 1:47 p.m. UTC Jul 7, 2018 BRISTOL, Va. (AP) — On a warm night when State Street is lit like an Appalachian Broadway and music blares from restaurants and rooftop partiers yell "Honk your horn!" to passing cars, Bristol doesn't seem like a city in trouble. But there are two sides to this old railroad hub about six hours southwest of Washington — one in Tennessee and one in Virginia. Facing each other across the yellow line down State Street, the Tennessee city is healthy; its mirror image in Virginia is in near-crisis. Too many years of bad decisions have left Bristol, Va., strangled with debt. The jail is desperately overcrowded, and only a last-minute boost in state funding saved the schools from deep cuts. City staff positions are being eliminated, although so far nothing has been shut down. Interest payments will soon climb to nearly a quarter of the city's general fund. "We're about as low as you can go and not … [Read more...] about Bristol: 2 cities share name, but 1 is in big trouble
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2 cities share name, but 1 is in big trouble
Published 8:00 am CDT, Saturday, July 7, 2018 BRISTOL, Va. (AP) — On a warm night when State Street is lit like an Appalachian Broadway and music blares from restaurants and rooftop partiers yell "Honk your horn!" to passing cars, Bristol doesn't seem like a city in trouble. But there are two sides to this old railroad hub about six hours southwest of Washington — one in Tennessee and one in Virginia. Facing each other across the yellow line down State Street, the Tennessee city is healthy; its mirror image in Virginia is in near-crisis. Too many years of bad decisions have left Bristol, Va., strangled with debt. The jail is desperately overcrowded, and only a last-minute boost in state funding saved the schools from deep cuts. City staff positions are being eliminated, although so far nothing has been shut down. Interest payments will soon climb to nearly a quarter of the city's general fund. "We're about as low as you can go and not have cuts to services," … [Read more...] about 2 cities share name, but 1 is in big trouble
Ex-Virginia Tech student gets 50 years in fatal stabbing of girl, 13
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. -- A former Virginia Tech student convicted of fatally stabbing a 13-year-old girl said he was sorry before he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. David Eisenhauer was an 18-year-old freshman studying engineering when he developed a relationship with Nicole Lovell, a 7th-grader in Blacksburg. Prosecutor Mary Pettitt said Eisenhauer and Lovell communicated online for months before meeting at least once in person. Pettitt said they met again in January 2016, when Eisenhauer lured Lovell out of her family's apartment with the promise of a "secret date," then killed her because he was afraid she would expose their relationship. "48 Hours" investigated the case in the episode, "Killer App." Investigators determined Lovell had been communicating over the messaging app Kik with someone using the screen name, "Dr_Tombstone." Using an IP address provided by the app after a disclosure request, the FBI traced the username to Eisenhauer. Before the sentence was … [Read more...] about Ex-Virginia Tech student gets 50 years in fatal stabbing of girl, 13
VCU senior to honor mother’s memory as he becomes 1st in family to graduate
Amanda Watts wanted her son close to home.Brandon was considering the U.S. Air Force or schools in Blacksburg and Fairfax, but she pushed him to pick Virginia Commonwealth University, a 45-minute drive from the family’s home in Prince George County.He could study computer science anywhere, and she wanted a front-row seat when he walked across the stage and became the first in his family to receive a college degree.She won’t be there. Amanda Lynn Watts died of an unidentified respiratory illness April 20. She was 40 years old.“She was fighting to get to my graduation,” Brandon said. “That’s what she wanted. She kept saying that she wanted to get to graduation.”***The two were always close.Brandon’s biological father left the family when Brandon was 7. A proud “mama’s boy,” Brandon said his mother became a friend whose advice he’d seek as he pounded through Advanced Placement courses and, later, college … [Read more...] about VCU senior to honor mother’s memory as he becomes 1st in family to graduate
Blacksburg Council OK’s tax hike to pay for new police station
The Blacksburg Town Council approved raising its real estate tax rate by a single cent as part of plans to begin setting aside money for a new police station.Council, on a 6-0 vote last week, raised the tax rate from 25 cents to 26 cents per $100 of assessed property value for the fiscal year beginning July 1.Blacksburg residents also pay Montgomery County taxes. The county’s tax rate is 89 cents per $100 of assessed value.The new police station, which previous estimates priced at $16.5 million to build, is expected to be one of several pieces in the planned redevelopment of the old Blacksburg Middle School property. The police station is part of the town’s requested contribution to the project.A partnership headed by developer Jeanne Stosser and attorney Jim Cowan is seeking a rezoning of the old school property to allow for a mixed-use development featuring a hotel, high-end apartments and townhomes, an office building and a park, among other things.The partnership has … [Read more...] about Blacksburg Council OK’s tax hike to pay for new police station