Author: The News Feed

Business developer blocked from leasing at Kent Square

by Ben Walls-

Delaware business developer Joseph Boss continues to fight on his behalf for opening two restaurants at 202 South Main Street and 204 South Main Street in Blacksburg.

“I’m committed to bringing change,” Boss said. “I want to invest more into the community of Blacksburg, not less.

“I want to be involved in the culture down at Virginia Tech and to improve it and make it better.”

204 South Main Street, Blacksburg is one of two restaurant location spaces that developer Joesph Boss wants to lease. It currently has no tenants. March 20, 2023.

Boss wishes to open one bar named “The Sandman” and one pizza restaurant named “Weirdoughs.” Meanwhile, the Town of Blacksburg’s Planning and Building Department has denied his building permit application twice in 16 months.

Boss added he has “scratched his head” and does not know what criteria he is missing for Blacksburg to approve his applications. Boss admitted in the past year the town has made criticisms to the restaurants’ access to the bathrooms and the patios outside, however.

The two restaurant locations would occupy spaces that a Subway and a Starbucks location formerly leased in the Kent Square development. The development itself spreads across nearly 100,000 square feet in Blacksburg’s original 16 squares, and it includes a parking garage, an art gallery, a dental office, a jewelry store and condominiums currently.

According to Boss, acceptable liquor licenses have been approved, and restaurant employees who will have starting hourly rates at $15/hour have already been selected for work.

Frustrated with the town’s response to his proposals, Boss turned to creating a change.org petition to create grassroots support and inform the Blacksburg public about his cause. 

Boss says bartenders and servers have been chosen for work at The Sandman and Weirdoughs. March 20, 2023.

The petition titled “Save Weirdoughs and The Sandman from The Town of Blacksburg’s abuse of power” has dozens of supporters wishing for answers why a building permit has not been approved.

“Weirdoughs and The Sandman are two new businesses (restaurants) that invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the community of Blacksburg,” Boss said as the petition’s writer. “These businesses are projected to hire over 100 employees in the community and pay 30% higher wages than the local average.

“They [were] both already approved as restaurants for Starbucks and a Subway. So we ask why is there an issue now?”

Drone racing

by Noah Hayden –

Photo: Noah Hayden

Drone racing has been around for nearly 12 years. The sport is a mix between video games and traditional racing sports. The pilot wears a pair of low-profile FPV goggles while controlling a handheld drone that flies up to 120 miles per hour. 

When the sport was initially created in 2011, there was hope that it would become the “sport of the future.” Today, many spectators are seeing that dream become a reality as the sport is reaching new heights in popularity. In fact, the sport doubled its global broadcast reach last year. 

There are many national and local clubs with a passion for drone racing around the world. Virginia Tech is no exception as it has its own club, the VT Drone Racing Team. Despite the overwhelming amount of popularity, the sport has gained over just the last few years, the VT Drone Racing Team has not experienced the same boom.

The VT Drone Racing team experienced a multitude of hiccups over the past couple of years, one of which being Covid-19. “It was just kind of unfortunate that we really couldn’t recruit people from my freshmen year until this year,” said senior and president of the drone racing team, Sean Vredevoogd. “Post covid, we had about five active members.”

The lack of attention that the club was getting from its members also made it difficult to recruit new students even after the heat of the pandemic had passed. “We couldn’t give any of the new members the attention they deserved,” said Vredevoogd. “However, at the last Gobblerfest, we worked hard to prepare for an influx of around 20-25 new members.”

Even though the club met with an influx of new members just last fall, only about 13-14 members consistently participate in club activities. Much of the reason for this is due to how expensive the sport is. According to Benjamin Sawyer from Droneblogs.com, drone racing can cost between $300-$500 initially. Over time, the sport may cost thousands of dollars. 

“Parts break all the time,” said Vredevoogd. “It’s not very feasible to ask Virginia Tech to fund some of our equipment because it breaks so often.” Despite all of those reasons to stop, members continue to fuel their passion.

“It’s simple; there is just nothing like flying these,” said Vredevoogd. “The speed and the maneuverability, it’s just the most open and connecting flying experience.

Explained: Attending an out-of-state college/university

by Deanna Driver and Emily Logue —

In-state universities are often cheaper and closer to home, but out-of-state institutions have the ability to provide more opportunities.

Out-of-state students choose their university for a variety of reasons, but once they arrive on campus, their experiences and community reassure their decision. This is displayed on both a national level as well as with Virginia Tech students.