ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, October 29, 1996 TAG: 9610290070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: what's on your mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: Why can't the city of Roanoke do something about the building on the corner of Campbell Avenue and Williamson Road? With the city having half a viaduct there and this building adjoining it, the impression they make on visitors can't be good.
R.J., Roanoke
A: The city's economic development office has made several efforts to help get the former Shenandoah Hotel back into use.
The problem is lack of financing. Local lending isn't available, said David Saunders, managing partner for the owner, Markettown Properties.
If people are tired of seeing the old hotel sit there, consider the frustration of owners who are paying interest on it, Saunders said. Nobody wants development to occur more than he and partner Richard Wells.
The Shenandoah is considered a sound building, but it was one of 10 endangered historic sites listed by the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation last week.
Small banks can't handle the financing that's needed, Saunders said, and large ones won't take a chance on redeveloping a building in a city Roanoke's size.
"We've tried, and [financing] isn't there," Saunders said - even though Markettown has leased most of the rest of that City Market block.
Pollster margins
Q: At this time of year, we see so many results of polls being published in the paper and on TV saying they have a margin of error, perhaps 3 percent or 4 percent. How is this percentage determined, and what is its significance?
W.C., Roanoke
A: The margin of error depends on the number of people polled.
If the pollsters ask 1,200 people how they'll vote, the margin of error is in the 3 percent range.
If they ask only 600 people, the margin of error shoots up to 4 percent, explained Harry Wilson, a Roanoke College polling expert.
The margin of error means that if Candidate A has the votes of 50 percent of the people, a 3 percent margin of error could push support as high as 53 percent - or as low as 47 percent.
Said another way, there's a 95 percent likelihood the poll is accurate within 3 percent. Even if the pollsters interviewed every likely voter in the 252 million population, there's a 95 percent chance the trend wouldn't change.
Dole's pensions
Q: How much does Senator Dole get from the government as a disability pension for his war injuries?
B.R., Bedford
A: Presidential candidate Bob Dole gets a disability pension of $17,700 per year for the loss of use of his right arm during World War II, the National Taxpayers Union reports.
As a former senator, Dole also receives a congressional pension estimated to be either $105,000 or $120,000 per year, depending on which plan he chose. Two retirement systems are available to members of Congress.
Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RayR@Roanoke.Infi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.
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