Hotseat
HOTSEAT- On the ball: Williams reports from the best seat
Published on Feb 22nd, 2007
0 comments Jed Williams knew early on that if he was going to have a career in sports, it wasn't going to be as an athlete. "I played ninth grade basketball on the B team," he says, "and at the end of the...
HOTSEAT- Block-buster: Biological clockmeister nabs top UCLA job
Published on Feb 15th, 2007
1 comments Even though UVA provost Gene Block moved here in 1978, his wife, Carol, a medical technologist, always kept her California medical technologist license. Good thing. In December, Block was named...
HOTSEAT- News junkie: Settle gets serious in the 'sandbox'
Published on Feb 8th, 2007
0 comments Newsplex news director Jeremy Settle displays classic symptoms of a news junkie that go back to childhood, when at age 11 he wired his house and then broadcast the news from his bedroom in Silver...
HOTSEAT- Aprés Turner: Apprey takes quiet command
Published on Feb 1st, 2007
0 comments Maurice Apprey still remembers the exact words that UVA VP Pat Lampkin used to get him to take over as interim dean of the Office of African-American Affairs: "They're hurting, and they need healing...
HOTSEAT- Check it out: Wittenborg gives library new vibe
Published on Jan 25th, 2007
0 comments Karin Wittenborg turns just about every stereotype you've ever had about librarians– and libraries– on its head. No food? She okayed the Starbucks in UVA's Alderman, and patrons are free...
HOTSEAT- Last stand: Wyatt's day(s) in court
Published on Jan 18th, 2007
0 comments Here's how Deborah Wyatt starts her new year: with a three-day murder trial.  One of Charlottesville's first female lawyers, dubbed the "Black Widow" for the notoriety of her cases– and...
HOTSEAT- Calm and cool: Sprouse 'stormin' in name only
Published on Jan 4th, 2007
4 comments Viewers may think he's pointing to a ridge of high pressure moving through the midwest, but the fact is that weatherman Norm– aka "Stormin' Norman"– Sprouse is really pointing at nothing...
HOTSEAT- Shooting gallery: Wylie's photography rocks the house
Published on Dec 14th, 2006
0 comments Photographer William Wylie bounds through a whirlwind tour of his ongoing house renovations— excitedly pointing out the staircase he and his wife recently built and explaining yet-to-be-...
HOTSEAT- Econ dev 101: DeMauri still 'splaining
Published on Dec 7th, 2006
0 comments Robert DeMauri heads possibly the most misunderstood entity in the region: The Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development. For one, says DeMauri, the partnership was not created to...
HOTSEAT- Head case: Kassell mends brain woes
Published on Nov 30th, 2006
1 comments "It's not brain surgery." Neal Kassell's profession is the standard by which intelligence and aptitude are measured. We've even built colloquialisms around it. Not bad, eh? for a guy who had trouble...
Lane's world: Rushing to judgment-- and elsewhere
Published on Nov 23rd, 2006
0 comments Mark Lane remembers where he was November 22, 1963. He was trying a case in New York City, and on his way back from lunch in Chinatown, he saw people gathered around radios. The judge said the...
HOTSEAT- Politics is local: Bob Gibson meets the press
Published on Nov 16th, 2006
0 comments It's the morning after the election, and Bob Gibson is cruising on less than four hours sleep. The veteran political reporter for the Daily Progress had been in Richmond the night before at the...
HOTSEAT- Kickin' it: Novak believes in second chances
Published on Nov 9th, 2006
0 comments When the football leaves Nick Novak's foot, he knows he's pushed it wide. With just 31 seconds left, he trudges alone to the FedEx Field sideline. His missed 49-yard field goal leaves plenty of time...
HOTSEAT- Southern gent? Folk legend moves to town
Published on Nov 2nd, 2006
16 comments Jesse Winchester is way too quiet to be as well spoken as he is. But then, this is clearly a fella for whom actions speak louder than words. In 1967, Winchester left behind his friends, family, and...
HOTSEAT- Sieg-way: Local boy opens film fest
Published on Oct 26th, 2006
0 comments Derek Sieg is calling from upstate New York. The youthful filmmaker is at the Woodstock Film Festival, his third festival this year. He's done L.A., he's done Athens; but in some ways, the most...
HOTSEAT- Star professor: Why Thornton wants to see red
Published on Oct 19th, 2006
0 comments For the average college professor, one of the hardest parts of the job is keeping students' attention in the middle of a long lecture. But UVA physicist Kathryn Thornton is not an average college...
HOTSEAT- Bless the beasts: Kogut takes SPCA to no kill
Published on Oct 12th, 2006
0 comments In the recent neighborhood cat-shooting case, Susanne Kogut was one of the boldest voices calling for punishment; but as the director of the area's top animal shelter, her main mission has been mercy...
HOTSEAT- Not shallow: 'Deepwater' author makes 'Tracks'
Published on Oct 5th, 2006
0 comments When the Hook last caught up with Charlottesville-based novelist Matthew F. Jones, the film adaptation of his deeply layered psychological thriller, Deepwater, was making its regional debut at the...
HOTSEAT- Sticky business: Bruner's battle of the B-schools
Published on Sep 28th, 2006
0 comments Darden students get a sticky education, and the UVA school's dean, Robert Bruner, insists that's a good thing.  "A sticky lesson stays with you," he says, talking Socratic, case-study method. "...
HOT SEAT- Light master: DMB did it for Fenton
Published on Sep 21st, 2006
1 comments In 1991, Fenton Williams was a typical student taking classes at PVCC and hoping to transfer to UVA to earn an engineering degree. But then he had a better idea: drop out of college and hang out in...
HOTSEAT- Nabob of NCAA: Littlepage makes tough choices
Published on Sep 14th, 2006
0 comments When it comes to his days playing college hoops at Penn, Craig Littlepage can reminisce as exquisitely as anyone. "I played on some great teams, some of the more successful teams in the history of...
HOTSEAT- Action Atkins: The real Rosa's ready to roll
Published on Sep 7th, 2006
0 comments Rosa Atkins has moved and unpacked the boxes, and dealt with tropical storm Ernesto, but Charlottesville's new school superintendent is still getting "mentally settled." She's adjusting to living...
HOTSEAT- Oddo man out: House race challenger looks green
Published on Aug 31st, 2006
0 comments Joe Oddo is a serial candidate. He's running his fifth race this fall. This time he wants to represent the 5th Congressional District, taking on incumbent Virgil Goode and challenger Al Weed. Does he...
HOTSEAT- Throwing the clutch: Call Wagner when it matters
Published on Aug 17th, 2006
0 comments To look at Billy Wagner– all 5' 11" of him– you wouldn't think he could routinely throw a baseball 100 miles per hour. If you were a National League batter, however, you'd find yourself...
HOTSEAT- Extreme politics: County government, Catalano style
Published on Aug 10th, 2006
0 comments "My political science degree didn't prepare me for this," says Steve Catalano. "This" is being chairman of the Greene County Board of Supervisors and trying to get a handle on a population boom that...
HOTSEAT- Sime time: Libertarian takes on Hanger
Published on Jul 27th, 2006
0 comments Arin Sime is drinking coffee out of a "Don't tread on me" mug in his office that overlooks the heart of downtown Crozet.  He's an independent businessman and– in case the cup didn't give...
HOTSEAT- Dome dude: Laurance makes sure the show goes on
Published on Jul 20th, 2006
0 comments As July drags on, Richard Laurance is starting to sweat, but it's not due to the dog days of summer or. Since 2002, he has been supervising construction of the John Paul Jones Arena, UVA's new...
HOTSEAT- Power nursing: Lancaster's cap and clout
Published on Jul 6th, 2006
0 comments Nursing students at UVA are taught to be aware of cultural differences and to pick up on patient cues. Those lessons also apply in life, as Jeanette Lancaster discovered in 1989 when she accepted...
HOTSEAT- New gig: Stephanie Cornwell leaves her desk
Published on Jul 6th, 2006
0 comments Sitting behind the NBC29 news-at-6-and-11 anchor desk, she's the consummate professional, but there's one way to get a rise out of Stephanie Cornwell Keppich. Tell her you want to go into journalism...
HOTSEAT- Checkers speech: Chief crushes bored-board myths
Published on Jun 29th, 2006
0 comments Think volunteer firefighters are an endangered species? Well, Albemarle Fire Chief Dan Eggleston disagrees– and he's in the hot seat (sorry, we couldn't resist) to recruit and retain the county...