The title speaks for itself. Here's an article from the Roanoke Times:
http://blogs.roanoke.com/arts/2012/04/v ... on-starts/

Reading the article, you will see what a turnaround VMT has made in the past 5 years. If you haven't visited lately, it is worth a trip. It is a very different place, in both appearance and atmosphere, over what it was like back in 2005. Good things have happened, and if some proposed partnership projects are approved, more good things are in store.

The newspaper article following the one on NW 611 and 1218 about a theater company that had lost its nonprofit status (501c3 status) with the IRS because of its failure to file should be a cautionary message to all of us.

Does this effectively kill any possibility of seeing either 611 or 1218 in steam again in the future?

I would think this would be a bigger indication that we'll see at least one of them run again. Being officially owned by VMT removes any potential political issues with the city in getting them back on the line (either by NS or another group).