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
NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith questions whether race played a part in denial of Oceanfront projects
VIRGINIA BEACHNFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, a commercial real estate developer, sent a letter to Virginia Beach and state officials this week questioning whether his race could be the reason he has been unable to win approval for proposed projects at the Oceanfront.Smith, an African American who is considered one of professional football’s greatest defensive players, wrote that he wants to know why his plans to develop two projects on mostly empty land in the resort area have been shot down over the past 10 years.“With all of the qualifications I have brought to the table as a developer, it is certainly not unfounded that I would ponder the possibility that I am being unfairly marginalized and excluded on the basis of race,” Smith wrote in the letter, dated Nov. 18.It was addressed to Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms and copied to more than 40 elected officials.“I am left to question whether we are still operating under the implicit mandate of the Old South … [Read more...] about NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith questions whether race played a part in denial of Oceanfront projects