Ralph Berrier Jr.'s Riffs

The regional music scene as heard by Roanoke Times reporter Ralph Berrier

• It's a hefty price, but Krauss, Plant will be worth it
• Don't believe the hype

Lindsey Nair's Front Burner

Food in the Roanoke Valley: On your table, in your kitchen and on the town -- plus a blog and recipes for everything in between

• Forgotten seeds beget fruit of the heirloom
• The ripe time for strawberry season

Gordon Kendall's Good Libations

From the history of gin to decoding winespeak to finding an affordable Champagne

• Absinthe: The 'green hour' returns
• Petite sirah isn't petite

Larry Bly

Restaurant reviews and a recipe of the day

• City shuts down cooking school
• Macaroni Grill almost pleases

Gardening with John Arbogast

Landscape consultant John Arbogast answers your questions about lawns, gardens, plants and insects

• Hire an expert to identify grass varieties
• Pampas grass should be cut now

Starshine Roshell

Award-winning journalist and overwhelmed mother of two, Starshine Roshell waxes sassy on parenting, kids, fashion — and everything else a modern gal loves to dish about — in her twice-monthly column.

• Scared smart: Parenting in the digital age
• Spring cleaning, and other torturous lies

Running with Jenny Kincaid Boone

Tips, trails and local races with a longtime runner (and business reporter)

• A five-miler at the Lake
• Virtual running

Biking with Dan Casey

Everything you need to know about biking in the Blue Ridge -- and beyond

• Everything you need to know about visiting Roanoke with your bike
• Dan Casey's Blue Ridge Biking Archive

Bill Cochran's Outdoors

Field reports, hunting, fishing and wildlife in Southwest Virginia

• Laurel Bed Lake being drained; no money to repair dam
• Kerr is king of Virginia's crappie fishing -- but it's no pushover

Paws & Claws

Jill Bowen has practiced veterinary medicine in England and Texas and has taught at Texas A&M. She answers all your pet questions in her weekly column.

• Invisible fences aren’t best option for every dog
• Wrap pets in protection this holiday season

Liza Field's Field Notes

Poetry in motion

• Trust inner lights over popular opinion
• Being grounded can be a good thing

John Goss' Astronomy

Goss is chairman of the Mid-East Region of the Astronomical League and a former president of the Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society.

• Planets will wander over next few months
• 'Star' of the celestial show goes missing

Libba Wolfe

In Libba's words: She's no gardening expert, but she's passing on tips from her experience and gardening gurus in Southwest Virginia.

• In the garden, most of us are guilty of biobigotry
• Don't shortcut through the basics

Steve Huff

Huff is a family physician from Patrick County.

• Unintelligent designs on evolutionary theory
• Don't blame vaccines for autism

John Long

Long is director of the Salem Museum and a history teacher at Roanoke College.

• Understanding D-Day sacrifice
• Moving from left to right

Linda Whitlock

Whitlock is an adjunct English professor who lives in Salem

• God, science not exclusive
• Evolution and aliens

Ray Stubblefield

• Rule No. 1: Always bring the GPS
• Rain grants a needed day of rest