🌱 City Workers Get $15 An Hour + Prime Outdoor Fire Conditions

Rise and shine, Roanoke! Let's get this Tuesday started off right. These are the most important things happening today in Roanoke.

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First, today's weather:

Rather cloudy. High: 48 Low: 34.

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Here are the top stories in Roanoke today:

1. On Monday, Roanoke City Council unanimously passed a resolution to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour for all city employees. The pay raise is for all city employees and goes into effect on Dec. 27. The city of Roanoke will be about four years ahead of Virginia as a whole: The Commonwealth's minimum wage is increasing to $11 per hour on Jan. 1, and isn't set to reach $15 an hour until Jan. 1, 2026. (WSLS 10)
2. Virginia experienced an abnormally dry fall, which means there's a high risk of outdoor fire throughout the Commonwealth this winter. With a lack of moisture in the soil and dry leaves on the ground, fire officials say even old ashes could cause a fire if dumped outside. Brian Clingenpeel, community outreach coordinator for Roanoke County Fire and Rescue, said embers can be kicked up by the wind can kick it up, and the wind can then cause a fire. (WBDJ 7)
3. The Roanoke Valley SPCA and the Lynchburg Humane Society are in need of foster families for pets this holiday season. The goal is to give the pets in the shelter the opportunity for love and socialization over Christmas and New Year's. The "Home for the Holidays" fostering event starts today (Dec. 21) and ends on Jan. 4. (WSLS 10)

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Today's Roanoke Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Roanoke!

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Today in Roanoke:

• Festival of Lights At Hermitage Roanoke (6:00 PM)

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From my notebook:

• The Downtown Roanoke, Inc. office will be closed this week, Dec. 20 to 24. The office will reopen Monday, Dec. 27 at 8 a.m. (Instagram)
• WDBJ7's Elmwood on Ice now has extended hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day through Jan. 1, except Dec. 24 (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Dec. 25 (closed), and Dec. 26 (12 p.m. to 7 p.m.) Bring the kids downtown to skate while school's closed for the holidays! (Facebook)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Tuesday! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update.

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.