Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 19, 1994 TAG: 9409220012
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Cranwell, cagey as ever, says he's heard those stories, too.
"I've heard [state Sen.] Brandon Bell thinks I'm running against him. People think I'm running for governor, lieutenant governor or attorney general."
The rationale for Cranwell leaving the House? Supposedly, he's convinced the Republicans will take over the House next year, leaving him as minority leader, perhaps killing any chance he'll have of being speaker someday.
But are the stories true? Cranwell is, well, cagey.
"I don't know where people hear all these things," he says. "I think anybody who answers questions about the future has got one of two problems. Either they don't have any expectations for the future, or they don't care to have any."
The great thing about politics, he says, is opportunities always come up.
However, he predicts the Democrats' statewide ticket in 1997 will be Lt. Gov. Don Beyer for governor, former Winchester Del. Al Smith for lieutenant governor and Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Updike for attorney general.
And the race for the Democratic nomination for state Senate is already well under way behind the scenes; former state Sen. Granger Macfarlane, Hollins District Supervisor Bob Johnson and Roanoke lawyer John Fishwick Jr. have expressed an interest.
On the move
The U.S. attorney's office and several other federal agencies in Roanoke have moved into new offices in the former Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove building at 105 Franklin Road.
The move to the 22,000-square-foot space allowed the federal prosecutors' office to double its size and add several new conference and meeting rooms.
Also moving from the Poff Building were the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Secret Service.
The former law firm's building has been renamed the Thomas B. Mason Building, in honor of the man who served as U.S. attorney in Roanoke from 1961 until 1969.
The moves are part of a government plan to relieve crowding at the Poff Building and help make room so a new federal courtroom can be built.
Telephone and fax numbers at the federal agencies have not changed.
Explore meeting goal
So how's Explore doing?
Two months after the living-history park opened, park director Rupert Cutler says Explore is on target to meet its projected first-year attendance of 25,000.
Since its July 1 kickoff, the park has been averaging 319 visitors per day. With the park open only on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, that's 10,838 visitors after about half the first season.
But that doesn't count the 1,393 people who have come through with group tours on other days, bringing the total attendance through Sept. 12 to 12,231.
Cutler points out that the fall leaf season, when traffic is heaviest on the Blue Ridge Parkway, still lies ahead - and about one-third of Explore's visitors appear to be out-of-state travelers who have just dropped in off the parkway.
While the park has beat its expected paid attendance for the summer, many visitors aren't paying a dime to get in.
The attraction's free admission for children under 6 has caught the notice of area nursery schools, who've been showing up in vans and buses since the park opened.
Cutler said he's happy to have the children visit Explore, because he expects them to come back with their (paying) parents.
Regular admission is $4 for adults and $2.50 for children over five. Group rates are $3 for adults and $1.50 for children over five.
Pedestrian bridge gets OK
Following through on a recommendation by the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Commonwealth Transportation Board last week approved a $5.3 million contract for a pedestrian bridge in downtown Roanoke.
When completed by next summer, the glass-enclosed walkway will cross 22 feet above Norfolk Southern Corp. tracks, linking the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center with the First Union Tower parking garage.
The $5.3 million contract went to Roanoke-based Branch Highways, who submitted the lowest of four bids on the project. Still, it was roughly $2.1 million more than VDOT had estimated the job would cost.
Lighted and heated (but not air-conditioned), the walkway will be 390 feet long and 15 feet wide. A wider viewing platform in the center will give pedestrians a bird's-eye view of NS train operations in the rail yard.
Ex-Explorer leaves Roanoke
Explore Park founder Bern Ewert, who managed the city of Roanoke for seven years, has left it.
Ewert resigned his membership on the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board in August, before his move to Charlottesville.
City Council on Sept. 12 replaced him by naming former councilman James Trout to the board. Trout will serve the remainder of Ewert's unexpired term, through Aug. 31, 1995.
Ewert was city manager from 1978 to 1985, when he resigned to serve as project director of Explore. He left that position in 1991.
by CNB