Four men who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in a plot to kidnap the wives of wealthy Roanoke-area men and hold them for ransom are going to prison.

Ukrop’s, which has talked recently with potential buyers, closed one of its two Williamsburg markets earlier this year. The company opened its Roanoke store in 2007.

A federal judge has ordered a psychiatric examination of an avowed white supremacist charged with threatening several people before deciding whether to release him on bond.

It could be more than two months before the Roanoke School Board determines whether a high school principal acted improperly regarding the Standards of Learning tests.

A Roanoke man has pleaded guilty to charges he threatened a San Francisco area transit policeman in an online posting. U.S. Attorney Julia Dudley said 47-year-old Jeffrey Lynn Weaver pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of sending a threatening communication. Prosecutors say Weaver threatened to kill the transit policeman and his family in a blog posting on radio host Alex Jones’ Infowars.com.

My grandmother’s clotheslines bisected a postage-stamp size backyard behind her 1920s bungalow in the shadow of Roanoke’s Mill Mountain. I’m told that I looked forward to laundry days as a child visiting her home. I’d watch her fill a large wicker basket with wet clothes out of the washer in the basement, then follow her outside to “help” hang them.

More than six months after the Richmond-based retailer made public its struggles in gaining sales and customers at its Roanoke store, executives say business hasn’t improved.

A certified nurse anesthetist has pleaded guilty to giving himself pain medication intended for patients at two Virginia hospitals. Alvin Earl Parkes admitted Thursday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke to two counts of obtaining controlled substances through fraud or deception. U.S. Attorney Julia C. Dudley said the 62-year-old Draper man diverted fentanyl prescribed to pregnant women and patients undergoing surgeries and such procedures as colonoscopies.

ROANOKE—Virginia officials are investigating possible irregularities in Standards of Learning testing at a Roanoke high school. Virginia Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle said state officials received an anonymous tip Friday that some William Fleming High School students were being excluded from Algebra I testing. City school officials say the alleged exclusion may have involved students with disabilities.

Virginia Tech’s Carilion School of Medicine has received the preliminary accreditation it needed to begin recruiting students. The school, a joint project with the Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, plans to enroll its first class of 42 medical students in the fall of 2010. Preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education means the school meets national standards for the program leading to the doctor of medicine degree.

In the letter she left at the orphanage, Katherine Morris pleaded with social workers to treat her baby boy right. The year was 1946, and she was leaving her 1-year-old son for reasons that may never come to light. “Please give Tommy whole pasteurized milk, and don’t cut his curls off,“ she wrote. She begged social workers to be good to her boy and to kiss him “every day for me. Please.“

The Virginia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union is offering to help a woman arrested during a public art performance in downtown Roanoke.

A Nevada man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to sending threatening e-mails to two Virginia Tech alumnae glorifying the 2007 shooting rampage. Federal agents explained how Johnmarlo Balasta Napa, 28, idolized Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho, bought the same weapons Cho used in the shootings and then sent the threatening e-mails on the eve of the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre.

In Richmond two months ago, former President Bill Clinton urged Virginia Democrats to wage a vigorous nomination battle for governor—but not to go overboard and aid their GOP opponents. Tomorrow, he will put himself to the test as he campaigns in Richmond and Roanoke for his chosen candidate, Terry McAuliffe. The former president will appear with McAuliffe at 9:30 a.m. at the 17th Street Farmers’ Market at 17th and Franklin streets. McAuliffe and Clinton will then move on to Roanoke, where at 12:15 p.m. they will speak at Fire Station No. 1 at 13 East Church Ave., SE.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe has released details of his scheduled appearances Monday in Richmond and Roanoke with former President Bill Clinton. At 9:30 a.m. Monday, Clinton and McAuliffe will speak in Richmond at the 17th Street Farmers’ Market, located at 17th and Franklin streets. At 12:15 p.m. Clinton and McAuliffe will speak in Roanoke at Fire Station No. 1, at 13 E. Church Ave. SE.