Category: News

State of women’s safety in the New River Valley

by Hannah Williams, Anthony Cusat –

In the United States, 81% of women report experiencing some sort of sexual harassment or assault in their lives. This can create the need to be extra cautious, making some areas without safety precautions inaccessible.

As such, areas in the New River Valley have seen the implementation of factors that create a more accessible environment for women while some still are lacking.

Blacksburg town attorney speaks on The Sandman, Weirdoughs’ gridlock

by Ben Walls –

Larry Spencer, who serves as Blacksburg’s town attorney, says that Delaware business developer Joseph Boss has failed to properly provide necessary information for opening a bar and pizza restaurant named The Sandman and Weirdoughs, respectively.

According to Spencer, the spaces located at 202 North Main Street and 204 North Main Street in Blacksburg which used to house a Subway and Starbucks need an industrial facelift to meet the demand of the community members.

“(Boss) was planning on doing things that were more intense, like restaurant activities, because Subway and Starbucks don’t have big stoves or pizza ovens,” Spencer said. “There was going to have to be some changes and upgrades to the facility which building permits require.”

In his previous building permit applications submitted between summer 2021 and September 2022, Blacksburg denied Boss for reasons including not showing where lighting receptacles will be displayed in the business, not providing the total occupancy, not having the state health department approve his applications and not specifying whether he would install outdoor speakers.

Ultimately, Spencer says Boss failed to answer every question on his permit application until his second submission in September 2022.

“The issues that were coming out were pretty objective like, ‘you need to have this on your plan,” Spencer said. “Getting building permits–it’s not uncommon for someone to submit a set of plans and for them to be sent back.”

Meanwhile, Blacksburg has local and zoning critiques of Boss’s permit application including whether a grease trap and heavy-duty sinks in his restaurants were necessary.

Because permit applications are sent back frequently, Spencer says he can understand why Boss would be upset, but says he does not know why Boss has begun accusing the town manager–Chris Lawrence–as racist and announcing to file suit against the town.

Blacksburg, Va. – Main Street, a busy thoroughfare near Virginia Tech campus.


Boss submitted his latest permit application on March 16, but Blacksburg has not made any approvals for him to move forward. The process for the building officials to approve or deny applications is two or three weeks, but Spencer says the town is waiting for one more submission that he did not specify.

In an investigation that Spencer provided, town building officials visited the spaces on September 15 where they found moving companies and contractors working with power tools inside. The town eventually sent a “stop work order” to the developers and Boss’s landlord.

Spencer says he is not aware of any lawsuit, and the prosecuting attorneys have not contacted him.

Unearth the power of ‘Earthing’

by Kayla Frank–

Earth Day celebrates the accomplishments of environmental movements and raises awareness of the moral duties of protecting our environment. 

Photo of “person holding world globe facing mountain” by Porapak Apichodilok from Pexels.com retrieved April 4, 2023.

On Saturday, April 22, ways to honor Earth Day include picking up trash, planting trees, or even just going outside. Getting grounded is another way to engage with nature, but not the kind that comes from your parents or sends you to your room. 

Grounding, also referred to as “earthing,” involves direct skin contact with the Earth’s surface, like walking barefoot or sitting outside on the grass, sand, or dirt. Emerging yourself in a body of water can also be considered grounding.

Photo of “person in black leggings standing on rock” by PNW Production from Pexels.com. Retrieved April 4, 2023.

Scientific research supports reductions in chronic pain, inflammation, and muscle damage, along with better sleep and improved moods when connecting with Earth’s surface electrons. 

Extra amounts of reactive oxygen species that contain atoms with unpaired electrons can create chaos in the body. Known as free radicals, these can aid in development of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and irritable bowel syndrome. 

Due to modern lifestyles that keep us inside, grounding can help restore our “electron deficiency,” realigning our primordial electric connection to Earth. Like our ancestors did for thousands of years, walking barefoot absorbs ions from the Earth’s surface, acting as antioxidants to improve our health. 

If going outside isn’t an option, there are other ways to unearth grounding. Alternatives range from grounding mats, sheets, blankets, socks, bands, and patches that are available from a range of sources. 

In an initial grounding experiment conducted by Clint Ober, the CEO of Earthing FX and innovator behind the grounding movement, Ober gathered 60 volunteers with chronic sleep and pain difficulties who were either grounded or sham-grounded during sleep. 

Grounding was through means of a conductive pad connected to a rod outside their bedroom. The results showed those who were grounded saw significant improvements in sleep and pain versus sham-grounded . 

Table of Ober’s grounding experiment from Ultimate Longevity LLC 2021, Grounding Research: Study Summaries. Retrieved April 4, 2023.

Remember to be intentional while earthing or grounding if you plan to take part this Earth Day. Earthing is a great way to connect with nature and reduce anxiety, but should be practiced often to achieve ample effects. 

On its way to becoming a massive movement worldwide, shed your shoes and get to grounding.