Redistricting Debate Shifts, MVP Concerns Resurface & Salem Leaders Preview 2026 Session

It's Tuesday, November 25th. I'm Ian Price. Here's our top local story. An illegal immigrant from Honduras was sentenced yesterday in Roanoke to eight months in federal prison for illegal re-entry by a previously removed alien. Prosecutors say 43-year-old Nelson de Ross Pineda was arrested in June of this year by the Roanoke City Police on felony DUI charges. It was later determined that DeRos Paneda was in the United States illegally. having previously entered the country in January of 2003 and May of 2006. De Ross Paneda again re-entered the United States at an unknown date following his 2006 removal. A northern Virginia Democratic state delegate is hinting his party may be pulling back on the idea of going ahead with mid-decade redistricting. More from WFIR's Clark Palmer. Legislation dealing with mid-decade redistricting will be front-land center when members of the Democratic Control General Assembly return to Richmond early next year. North the Virginia Democratic State Delegate Marcus Simon tells the Braini-O podcast that there are some concerns the piece of redistricting legislation could turn off good faith voters. This next General Assembly looks around and says, you know what? Texas is losing in court. Indiana's backed off of what they were going to do. Some of these other states may be subject to challenge. We may decide we don't need to do it. And maybe we won't. But, you know, by the time January comes around, the playing field could look different. And again, the voters could look at it and say, hey, listen, this isn't something that we want to do. Simon says the redistricting push was mainly the result of what he calls a specific threat to democracy. Is this push from Donald Trump and the Trump administration to encourage states. to try and unfairly draw their maps to steal an election for him in 2026. Simon believes that if they go ahead with redistricting, lawmakers will make a congressional map that says true to anti-cherimandering principles. Clark Palmer, WFIRE News. Virginia's budget is as healthy as it's ever been, according to Republican delegate Joe McNamara, who represents Salem and parts of Reno County. Despite nearly $9 billion in tax relief over the past four years, revenues have grown 28%. McNamara, a House Finance Committee member and local business owner, as well as the only certified accountant in the General Assembly, pushes back against concerns about federal budget cuts and structural imbalances. He says in an opinion piece in Cardinal News, that Virginia revenue collections are $500 million ahead of forecast, with an expected upward revision of $1 billion or more next month. Magnumeric knowledge is concerns about health insurance premium tax credits and expects bipartisan support to address the issue.

Speaking of McNamara, he was among the politicians and business leaders from across Southwest and Central Virginia who met yesterday in Salem to preview the upcoming General Assembly session. The annual legislative lunch was hosted by the Roanoke Regional Chamber, among other regional groups. Delegate Eric Phillips tells WDBJ7. The issues discussed, like housing, energy, and infrastructure are shared across community lines. I think regionalism is so important for our part of the state. I think, you know, we have a lot of needs and they're similar across a lot of jurisdictions. So I think that any time we can get together with business leaders from across the region and also many of my colleagues that will be joining me here today, I think it's a good thing. Phillips, who represents Martinsville in parts of Henry and Pennsylvania counties. is part of the Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor, a push to boost Southwest Virginia standing as the state's fourth economic hub. The event drew both parties and emphasized improvements to Route 220, the Roanoke Airport, and regional data infrastructure as ways to grow business and jobs in our area. A Thanksgiving week tradition on two wheels, filled pantry shelves across Roanoke, riders checked in at Golden Cactus Brewing, then peddled a two-hour loop to neighborhood grocers. Stops included market on Melrose, Sunnyside Grocery, Earth Fair, and both Roanoke co-ops before racing back for the raffle at Golden Cactus. Organizer Frank McGuire says the magic is how it unites every corner of the bike scene. The biggest thing for us is this is like the one event throughout the year that the cycling community gets together. No matter what tribe they're in, what kind of bike they ride, they all come out, they have a good time. We help the community. We raised, you know, all the food went to the rescue mission. All the money went to Leap, so local environmental access project. It's all about keeping stuff local and having an impact in a place we can see it. Organizers estimate 300 plus riders took part in the weigh-in topped 3,600 pounds of food. McGuire is a former Roanoke Valley Greenways Commission Executive Director. Mountain Valley Pipeline wants to extend its natural gas line from our area through Pennsylvania County into North Carolina. But some landowners in Chatham say they feel misled. Sherry Gardner tells WDBJ7 she's signed an agreement five years ago under pressure. I wouldn't have signed it if we knew what we know now. We found out here recently that we did not have to agree to them to allow them to park their equipment on our property. We were told that we didn't get a choice because it's the only open area around here. Well, that wasn't true. We could have absolutely said no. The proposed Southgate extension would add 31 miles to the pipeline, which already runs through Roanoke and Montgomery counties. MVP says the expansion would increase reliability and support manufacturing demand, but Garner worries about groundwater, safety, and the risk of explosion.

MVP aims to begin construction in 26, with written public common accepted through December 5th. A deer was rescued from a retention pond near the Roanoke Cement Plant in Botatah County. Fincastle, volunteer fire department crews, used a lasso to corral and remove the uninjured deer yesterday after being alerted by animal control. The deer was released at the edge of the property and is expected to fully recover. Roanoke City Career and Technical Education students partnered with the Roanoke Elks Lodge over the weekend to provide Thanksgiving meals for families in need. This marks the 27th year of the partnership, students from ROTEC and Daytech packed boxes of food for 123 families. More than 70 Elks Lodge members volunteered early Saturday morning to pick up and deliver turkeys along with eggs, butter, milk, and bread to the families. Reno County's 22nd annual Christmas tree lighting takes place Monday, December 1st at 6.30 p.m. That'll be at South County Library. Oak Grove Elementary students will sing carols during the ceremony. Activities include ornament crafts, magician, games, scavenger hunt, and cakewalk. Cave Spring High School and Middle School choir performs, and Santa arrives on a fire truck. While Governor Yunkins all of the above, Virginia Energy Plan, included fossil fuels and small modular nuclear, as well as renewables, one group that advocates for cleaner forms of energy hopes to see more of a move in that direction under Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger. More from WFIR's Bernie Moreno. Noting that Abigail Spanberger ran in part on reducing energy costs for Commonwealth residents, Jim Purokow, the Virginia Director at Advanced Energy United, notes that the cost of solar installation in solar storage has decreased dramatically in recent years. Our way, our solution, we want to be able to maximize clean energy and get that clean energy onto the grid. And we know we're going to be able to do it by keeping energy affordable. We're going to meet our carbon emissions standards and the VCEA as our tool to do so. We want to be able to manage load growth, and we want to stop burning stuff, right? We want to transition out of our thermal plants and move over into more renewable, cleaner forms of energy generation. Purokow also says there is a backlog of solar projects waiting approval, approvals which could eventually lower utility bills, up 10% or more nationally since the beginning of 2025, adds PuraCal. Incomes have not been keeping in line with the rising cost of electricity. So bottom line, cost of living has gone up, and energy prices have really contributed to it. Affordability is the name of the game. Lizard's levelized cost of energy study now puts a utility sale solar specifically as the lowest form of energy generation. Advanced Energy United says Governor Abigail Spanberger and the General Assembly need to hit the ground running, working to make it easier to build more advanced or clean energy infrastructure while not investing in outdated solutions. Bernie Moreno, WFIR News. Something you don't see every day, a car being lifted out of the fourth floor of a room at Lewis Gale Medical Center. in Salem yesterday. The 88 Chevy Nova, minus the engine, was used for physical therapy routines. Elise Manning is program director for inpatient rehab at Lewis Gale.

If you're working with patients, some have suffered strokes or major fractures, the car helps us to get patients kind of trained and ready to go home, both to physically leave the hospital and go home, but once they get home, get to appointments, get to and from wherever they need to go. So it actually takes a lot of practice to relearn that after a major medical event. Just for physically getting in and out of a car practicing that, we would call it a transfer. If a patient's ready to go home but cannot get in and out of the car on their own. they would have to pay for transport service, which can run into the thousands of dollars, Manning noted. In its place, a 2020 Chevy Equinox will succeed the 88 Nova in that fourth floor physical therapy room. Virginia Western business students now have the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree online at an in-state tuition rate through a new partnership with the University of Alaska Southeast. Students who earn an Associate of Science in Business Administration at Virginia Western can seamlessly transfer to the UAS's Bachelor of Business Administration program with no loss of credit and starting fall 2026, Alaska Unlocked. will allow all undergraduates to pay in-state tuition regardless of where they live. Lucille Hoback Boggis passed away last Wednesday. She was a sister of two Bedford boys who lost their lives on June 6, 1944 D-Day. Bogga served as Commissioner of Revenue and Board of Supervisors member in Bedford County and was a leading figure in the establishment of the National D-Day Memorial. U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith said she was an icon in Bedford County and Central Virginia communities. That's the latest. Check back tomorrow for our next update. Ian Price, WFIR News.