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The recent shooting outside the Elks Lodge on the Downtown Mall, which holds regular Friday night dance parties that cater to the African-American community, left two party goers wounded and a community wondering: can a club servicing a largely African-American clientele exist in town without violence? read full story

By Richard Roeper For nearly 50 years, Robert Redford has been on quest to prove he is more than a golden boy matinee idol. Of course, Redford has succeeded in spectacular fashion, starring in such classics as The Candidate, Three Days of the Condor and All the President's Men; winning the Oscar for directing Ordinary People (somehow besting Martin Scorsese and Raging Bull), and founding the Sundance Film Festival. read full story

On April 26, Charlottesville Parks and Recreation planted a large diameter Platanus occidentalis in Quarry Park, Girl Scouts planted five saplings, and Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards unveiled a plaque designating the big sycamore in the background as a landmark tree. Virginia Department of Forestry recognized Charlottesville as a “Tree City” for the 7th year running. Tree Commission boss and former Charlottesville Mayor Elizabeth Waters was on hand, as was City Councilor Kathy Galvin. read full story

Hunter Craig has a way of snatching victory from defeat. Craig's masterstrokes in the field and in the courtroom follow a tumultuous year for the now 52-year-old media-shy banker, developer, and UVA Board of Visitors member. In May 2012, he withstood a publicized effort to remove him from the bank he helped launch. Two months earlier, one of his children was diagnosed with cancer. While arranging for the girl's treatment, Craig suddenly found himself near the center of what became known as "UVA June." read full story

Worst carjacking: Three men approach the driver of a yellow Nissan Xterra on Longwood Drive around 9:30pm April 25, rob the driver, and one of the suspects pulls a gun, NBC29 reports. When the driver flees on foot, he's grazed by a bullet. The suspects, whom police describe only as black males, take off in the Xterra. read full story

City Republican chair Buddy Weber has been looking for Republicans to run for City Council since at least 2006, the last year the GOP fielded a candidate in Dem-heavy Charlottesville. After a seven-year drought, Weber has not one, but two candidates– although he's one of them. Former fighter pilot Weber, 67, and soon-to-be-former cop Mike Farruggio, 50, announced in their respective lingo that they'd be "wingman" and "backup" to each other in a GOP two-fer to take back City Council. read full story

“If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: The only proof he needed for the existence of God was music." ― Kurt Vonnegut   Stringdusters play for the MRC read full story

A perfect day for a parade, cool temperatures, California quality light. ~Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog. read full story

By Richard Alblas Life can sometimes take you to unexpected places. Just ask the Hackensaw Boys. The popular Charlottesville-based bluegrass band recently traveled to Kinderdijk, the Netherlands, where they launched their latest album titled For the Love of a Friend. It was the second time in one year the band passed through this small village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its beautiful countryside and historic windmills, and they were there with good reason. read full story

Angry homeowners in the Walnut Hills neighborhood next door to the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport say their well-maintained houses are cracking up– literally. They've got cracks in their walls, their foundations, their septic systems. They've asked the airport to halt the blasting that's part of its runway extension, and April 15, City Council unanimously passed a resolution in support of this Albemarle County 'hood to halt the blasting.   read full story

For the third time, the Virginia Press Association has bestowed its top honor– the Journalistic Integrity and Community Service Award– on the Hook, this time for the paper's coverage of the June 2012 ouster and subsequent reinstatement of UVA president Teresa Sullivan. read full story

Okay, UVA's state-of-the-art Ruth Caplin Theatre doesn't actually have a curtain for its thrust-style stage, but it does have windows– unusual for a theater– and the windows have screens that go up. Here's something else about which the new theater can boast: vomitoria. Yes, that classic design element that allows large crowds– or actors– to exit and enter a stadium during or after performances through passageways between and under the seats. (And no, they were not actually used for vomiting during Roman orgy days, although it's a common misconception.) read full story

Her campaign manager is the former Albemarle supervisor who represented the Samuel Miller district for 16 years, and veterinarian Liz Palmer hopes to reclaim that seat in November from the man who now holds it, Republican Duane Snow. Related stories FLAWS- Tripled rates, spun numbers, and Conservancy conflicts: Why the war on dredging slogs on read full story

John Kluge, Jr. wants his land back. That would be the 217-acre front yard of Albemarle House, the mansion his mother, winemaker Patricia Kluge, lived in until the bank foreclosed on the property in 2011. Both land and mansion are now owned by Donald Trump. A lawsuit filed April 5 in Albemarle Circuit Court contends that Trump "fraudulently acquired" the separate front yard and is now stiffing John Kluge's trust for more money promised if Albemarle House sold within two years. Kluge's father, billionaire John W. Kluge, put the 217-acre parcel into a trust for his son in 2000. read full story

When the Shebeen restaurant discontinued Smithwick's beer on tap, owner Walter Slawski didn't expect there to be much of a fuss over the disappearance of the historic Irish ale, which dates to the early 18th century. But within weeks of its disappearance from the beer menu, Slawski and his staff soon learned that someone wasn't happy. Anonymous postcards began arriving to the restaurant from as far away as Canada, and while they weren't exactly threatening, the message was unmistakable. read full story

City Council candidate Wes Bellamy was in court April 11 long enough to reschedule a hearing on two charges: driving on a suspended license and failure to appear in court. He stopped briefly outside Charlottesville General District Court to tell reporters he couldn't talk to them about why his license had been suspended. "I'm looking forward to speaking about it and getting it all cleared up, but I can't now," said Bellamy, pointing to his attorney, Ron Tweel. read full story

Free Union resident Harry Landers finished his fifth Boston Marathon in three hours and 39 minutes. He was showering in his hotel room at around 4:10 into the race when the bombs exploded. "I just heard two explosions– what was that?" his wife, Janis Jaquith, saw someone post on Facebook. She cut on the TV in their hotel room a few blocks away from the finish line. read full story

If you're a county supervisor trying to put a dent in a 30-day jail sentence, Friday, April 12, might seem like a good time to knock off nine days because the Board of Supervisors won't meet again until May 1. Supervisor Chris Dumler will be serving time from April 12 until April 21, according to Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail. read full story

Greg Fairchild has to cancel a phone interview. He's in Macedonia and has been invited to the president's house to listen to jazz after they discovered a mutual interest in Chet Baker earlier that day at lunch. This sort of thing seems to happen to Fairchild a lot. read full story