Charlottesville Breaking News
Tie-breaker: Fenwick pulls ahead by 5 in council race
Candidates Wes Bellamy and Bob Fenwick await their fates.photo by Lisa Provence
Electoral Boarders Bob Hodous, Rick Sincere, and Joan Schatzman count the last three ballots.photo by Lisa Provence
Registrar Sheri Iachetta reminds that June 14 is Flag Day.photo by Lisa ProvenceThree days after the June 11 Democratic primary and an unprecedented tie for one of two City Council nominations, Wes Bellamy and Bob Fenwick learned who will join incumbent Kristin Szakos on the ticket in November. The results came down to provisional-ballot casters, who broke the 1,088-vote tie and put Fenwick ahead by five.
"We're in new territory here," says Rick Sincere, chair of the Electoral Board, when the board convened for the second time after the election at 1:30pm Friday, June 14, to count the final provisional ballots cast by four people who didn't have ID at the polls, a new requirement from the General Assembly. "There was no evidence of fraud," says Sincere, "but we're stuck with what the General Assembly gives us."
The board, the candidates, and Charlottesville Registrar Sheri lachetta had gathered June 12 to assess the seven non-ID provisional ballots, which arise when a voter doesn't show up on the poll books – or in the case of five people from Walker precinct, when a voting machine malfunctioned.
One provisional ball...
Broken bridge
Bill EmoryThe eastern sidewalk of the Belmont Bridge may be closed, but crowds still stream across the western side.
~
Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog.
Mystique pizza: Wheeling in the real Neapolitan
McNeish getting ready to put a pizza into her wood-fired oven. It's 800 degrees in there!Shay Munroe
This took only 60 seconds...Shay Munroe
Hook reporter Dave McNair tries his hand at pizza making. He should keep his day job.Shay MunroeAs a nurse anesthetist, Sharlene McNeish frees people from experiencing pain, but in a new side venture as pizza maker she hopes to deliver the pleasure that comes from eating authentic Neapolitan pizza.
About a year ago she bought an outdoor wood-fired oven for her home in Troy, Virginia, wanting to bake fresh bread for her family. She even took bread making classes. She eventually began roasting vegetables, chicken, and making pizzas in the oven, and the compliments from friends and family started rolling in.
"Roasting food just takes it to an entirely different level," she says.
On a whim, she decided to take a guided pizza tasting tour in New York City, and experienced the real deal.
"I wasn't really a pizza person," she says, "but after tasting authentic Neapolitan pizza, it changed my palate."
Indeed, it inspired her to launch a whole new career as a pizza chef. She would end up training with renowned "pizzaioli" Giulio Adriani in New York City, owner of Forcella, and one of the senior pizza makers in the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), an Italian organization that protects the professionalism of the pizza makers in Italy and around the world, making sure real Neapolitan Pizza is made according to tradition. She would also make a trip to the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, where she wo...
Old friends: Third in Hawke/Delpy series satisfies
Publicity photoBy Richard Roeper
Early on in Richard Linklater's Before Midnight, we see an extended sequence more daring and in some ways just as thrilling as anything we're likely to experience in any 2013 movie about superhumans who can fly or futuristic galaxies filled with glorious and dangerous sights.
The scene is shot in near-documentary fashion. Twin girls of about 7 are sleeping peacefully in the backseat of a car. Up front, their parents are driving through the countryside of Greece, discussing all the things that consume the conversations of 40-something couples.
Ethan Hawke is Jesse, a writer who still dresses like a college student but looks every bit his age. Julie Delpy is Celine, effortlessly attractive, and that's a good thing because she's so harried she wouldn't have time to put in any real effort on her looks at this point.
They talk about his teenage son from a previous union, who was just dropped off at the airport and is on his way back to Chicago. They commiserate about his impossible ex-wife. He hints about a possible move to the States so he can see his son more often. She deftly opens the door to a discussion of her new job opportunity, which would keep them firmly planted in Europe. They debate whether they should wake the girls for a promised tour of some ruins, or tell them the ruins "were closed" and they'll catch 'em on the way back. ...
Escape-ism: Is little car big enough to tow?
Publicity photoDear Tom and Ray:
We do a lot of city driving, but in the summer months we tow a couple of Jet Skis around behind our older Nissan Murano, and it has seemed to do the job just fine. The total weight of the Jet Skis and trailer is about 2,100 pounds. We are considering replacing the Murano with a 2013 Ford Escape with the 2.0-liter, EcoBoost engine. The 2013 Escape claims a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds, which is the same as our Murano. We like the idea of a smaller engine (better gas mileage) for when we are not pulling a trailer, but we are concerned about the strain on a smaller engine when we do. Would you recommend the new Escape for our needs, or should we look at something with a six-cylinder engine or larger towing capacity? We live in Minnesota and appreciate the 4-wheel drive, too. If not the Escape, do you have other suggestions for us? Thank you.— Dave
RAY: Get the Escape. Its towing capacity is 3,500 pounds, and you need to tow 2,100.
TOM: Your strategy is correct. You want a vehicle that meets your needs for the vast majority of your driving, not a vehicle that will handle every exception. And if you live in the city, a smaller vehicle with better gas mileage certainly makes sense.
RAY: You're right to be concerned about the towing. Adding 2,100 pounds of weight to any non-behemoth vehicle makes everything work harder— the engine, the transmission, the suspension, the brakes. But the same was true of your...
Latest from @readthehook