Foxhaven could be a nature haven
Nov 12th 9:07am
by Letter Writer
It was reported in your coverage of the sale of Foxhaven Farm to the UVA Foundation [November 8 cover story: "Cavalier developments? UVA buys 199-acre near-town farm"] that upon writing the Foundation to encourage fulfillment of the late Jane Heyward's wishes for a botanical garden or arboretum with walking trails, Heyward's friend Elena Day was informed that an "appropriate endowment" had not been provided to enable them to establish this wish. That response begs the truth.
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FunStuff: Charlottesville events November 15 and beyond
Nov 11th 9:33pm
Bond on Bond
Nov 10th 7:58pm
by Hawes Spencer
The grand opening film at the biggest and most luxurious movie theater in Charlottesville was Skyfall, the newest movie in the James Bond spy series; and, appropriately, the box office faces Bond Street. The Regal Stadium 14 celebrated its opening on Friday, November 9 with this film on multiple screens including its three-and-half-story high Imax cinema. While crowds were big, the weekend didn't go off without a hitch as the theater was evacuated on Sunday evening the 11th of November around 6:30 after a fire alarm sounded.
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Featuring Charlottesville: New indie flick packed with country music
Nov 9th 4:34pm
by Hawes Spencer
A pair of overseas hitmen come to Charlottesville to kill musician Jim Waive.
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Where do you like to watch movies?
Nov 9th 1:40pm
Lost in the funhouse
Nov 9th 10:15am
by Bill Emory
If any family members go missing this weekend, it is a good bet they are burning in new neural pathways, trying to find the front door, trying to find their car, trying to find their way in and around Stonefield and its new Regal 14-screen multiplex that had its soft opening on Monday, November 5.~Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog.
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Transparency now: Protestors call for Dragas' resignation
Nov 8th 12:57pm
by Hawes Spencer
A group of University of Virginia undergraduates, graduate students, and a few faculty members, marched across Grounds today to a meeting of the Board of Visitors at the Harrison Institute to demand an array of changes including the resignation of its leader, Rector Helen Dragas.
Arm's length?
"They blocked entry. That's what I was told by the professional law officers who were there."
So says new UVA public relations official Anthony Debruyn.
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Price reduction finally spurs land sale on Langford Drive
Nov 8th 5:05am
by Samantha Masone
7/25/12
Albemarle
Dennis Wayne & Tracy Lavon Harris to 6913 Markwood LLC, 6913 Markwood Road, $91,000
Larry David Powell & Ruth E. Guss to Anthony P. & Joan B. Larocco, 2420 Simeon Court, $228,200
Peak Builders LLC to Adam Wesley & Nicole Ann Kersey, 270 Claremont Lane, $381,756
Charlottesville
Virginia Goddin Leake to Christopher R. & Laurel Lorigan, Parcel 550451B0, Chesapeake Street, $69,000
Agnes K. Clarke to Anthony & Catherine Carbonelli, 828 St. Clair Avenue, $197,500
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Property auctions
Nov 8th 1:45am
by Hook Staff
November 8 at 9:30am at the Charlottesville Circuit Court Property: 761 King Street Debtor: Teresa D. Caddell Original amount owing: $168,750 Bidder brings: $16,500 or 10 percent sale price Info: Lisa Brook Law LLC 757-321-6465
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Flick trick? The downtown Charlottesville Regal goes indie
Nov 7th 4:28pm
by Courteney Stuart
Amid all the hullabaloo about the opening of the 14-screen stadium-seating Regal theater at the Shops at Stonefield, some other big Regal news seems to have escaped notice: on Friday, November 9, when the Stonefield megaplex officially opens, the Regal Downtown 6 will become an arthouse cinema, showing only independent and foreign films.
If the idea of an additional six movies that might not otherwise screen locally is appealing to local cinephiles, the owner of Charlottesville's existing arthouse theater strikes a cautionary note.
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Free Ralph: Fresh premise for new Disney flick
Nov 7th 12:35pm
by Roger Ebert
"Wreck-It Ralph," the latest Disney animated feature for families, begins with a creative brainstorm: The movie occurs mostly inside the worlds of several arcade-style video games, providing an excuse for the backgrounds, ground rules and characters to constantly reinvent themselves. The title is inspired by its hero, one of those clumsy, misunderstood big guys who dreams only of being loved.
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Dumler back in action
Nov 7th 11:57am
by Lisa Provence
Supervisor Christopher Dumler attended his first Albemarle Board of Supervisors meeting since his October 18 arrest for forcible sodomy. The accused 27-year-old attorney sipped coffee November 7 as citizens spoke out on the Keene shooting range, the western 29 Bypass, and the leash law that had ensnared hunting dogs during hunting season.
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The week in review
Nov 6th 12:57pm
by Hook Staff
Most disturbing wanted poster: Albemarle police send out photos of two girls November 5 seeking to identify them because they were believed to be victims of assault. The children are identified and talk to detectives, according to police, who offer no further details.
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It's a wrap: Scenes from the 25th Virginia Film Fest
Nov 6th 11:22am
by Lisa Provence
The badge-wearing moviegoers and filmmakers have cleared out of town and the curtain has gone down on the November 1-4 Virginia Film Festival, with all signs pointing to another record year for the 25th moviethon.
Over 100 films were screened, and by 7pm Sunday, publicist John Kelly said 39 films had sold out, topping last year's record.
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Libertarian reminder in Crozet
Nov 6th 9:44am
by Lisa Provence
Amid the Romney, Obama, Kaine, Allen, Hurt and Douglass signs at Crozet Elementary on Election Day were two for a candidate we almost had forgotten is on the ballot: former New Mexico governor and Libertarian Party standard-bearer Gary Johnson. Signage was not spotted for another presidential candidate– former 5th District congressman Virgil Goode, who is representing the Constitution Party and vying with Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein for third place on the ballot.
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Good-bye, Carmello's; Hello Mex... and meals tax hike?
Nov 5th 4:31pm
by Dave McNair
Last February, Carmello's, the venerable Italian restaurant that was located for 19 years at its familiar Emmet Street location next to the EconoLodge, moved to Fontaine Avenue into the former site of Ludwig's Schnitzelhouse and Arirang Restaurant. At the time, owner Bill Hedges, along with his head chef wife Stella, was excited about the possibilities, given the space was three times the size of the old restaurant.
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Preparing for the next whopper
Nov 5th 3:04pm
Prelim waived: Crozet mom in court in attempted murder
Nov 5th 2:00pm
by Lisa Provence
In her first courtroom appearance since her arrest for the alleged attempted murder of her husband by insulin injection, Theresa Brady, bound by shackles and wearing a red jailhouse jumpsuit, was briefly in Albemarle Charlottesville Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court November 5.
Related stories
Foxchase nightmare: Crozet mom allegedly tries to poison husband
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Horsin' around: Crowds converge on Montpelier Hunt Races
Nov 5th 11:22am
by Courteney Stuart
When it comes to steeplechase races, Foxfield, held twice a year since 1978, may be the best known around Charlottesville. But the Montpelier Hunt Races, held the first Saturday in November at the historic estate of President James Madison, have a much longer tradition, dating back to 1934 when Marion DuPont Scott held the first event on the front lawn of the Orange County home her father purchased in 1901. On Saturday, November 3, thousands descended on the scenic estate, located about 30 minutes north of Charlottesville, for tailgating, kiddie fun, and, of course, horse racing.
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What will you do if your candidate loses?
Nov 5th 10:19am
Flex time: Raise (and lower) the speed limits
Nov 5th 5:05am
by Hook Contributor
By Greg Beato
In the wide open plains of central Texas, a new addition to State Highway 130 has just opened for business with a compelling marketing hook: Its speed limit of 85 MPH is the highest in America.
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FunStuff: Charlottesville events November 8 and beyond
Nov 4th 9:09am
All the president's men: Woodward and Bernstein tell all
Nov 3rd 11:28am
by Lisa Provence
Forty years after a bungled burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters brought the term "Watergate" into the national lexicon, the two men most responsible for taking down a presidency appeared at the Virginia Film Festival following a screening of the movie based on their book, All the President's Men.
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'Tis the season
Nov 3rd 1:10am
by Lisa Provence
JMU student John Geary decided that as long as he had the sign and costume, he'd exercise his first amendment rights in Charlottesville on the corner favored by protesters in front of the U.S. District Court. Photographed around 9:30am November 2.
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Grave discovery: Dig uncovers forgotten UVA resting place
Nov 2nd 4:48pm
by Dave McNair
As novelist William Kennedy's main character in his novel Ironweed–- cemetery worker Francis Phelan–- observes, "the dead, even more than the living, settled down in neighborhoods."
Related:
Tiny modern nod: Shadowy plan honors slaves' history
Grave matter: South Lawn remains to be seen
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Poll position: Tight race puts prof policies in spotlight
Nov 2nd 10:43am
by Dave McNair
With just days to go before the Presidential election, new information released by the State Board of Elections suggests that getting to the polls in Virginia on Election Day may be more important than ever. Just four days ago, the Board reported that the absentee voting rate was actually 30 percent lower compared to the same time in 2008.
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The slumbering herd
Nov 2nd 10:20am
by Bill Emory
Pre-Halloween, a Georgia Power security guard babysits a herd of bucket trucks slumbering in the parking lot of the defunct Azalea Mall just off I-95 on the north side of Richmond. I did not ask where the herd was headed, where were the drivers, or how they bill for their subcontracting work. But since a Dominion Virginia Power V-P announced that the company would be recruiting subs from the South in advance of the Frankenstorm, Hurricane Sandy, it's a pretty safe bet who invited them here.~
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Sisson's vision: Radio saves the video stars
Nov 2nd 5:05am
by Courteney Stuart
When making independent films is your passion, but making them profitable gets harder and harder, what do you do? If you're Albemarle resident Barry Sisson, producer of several pictures including 2003's critically acclaimed The Station Agent, you find a way to get more people watching. That's the idea behind the Indie Film Minute, the business that Sisson launched last year to steer moviegoers toward small-budget art films through short radio spots.
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Two former guvs: Kaine and Warner push for Senate
Nov 1st 4:23pm
by Lisa Provence
Former governors Tim Kaine and Mark Warner stopped by Democratic headquarters on the Downtown Mall November 1 in a home-stretch push to elect Kaine to the U.S. Senate. "In five days now, he'll be the great new junior senator," said Senator Warner.
"Even if I have to hear junior all the time, we'll be a great team," said Kaine.
Kaine urged the party faithful crammed into and spilling out of the campaign headquarters to convert undecideds to the Democratic ticket. "It's going to be really close," he said.
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Gearing up: Stonefield readies for sports store and more
Nov 1st 4:15pm
by Courteney Stuart
The first store– Pier One Imports– opened Friday, November 2 at the Shops at Stonefield. Trader Joe's and the Regal theater will follow in the next few weeks, but it will be six months before the full complement of shops welcome customers. And while most of the spaces may already be leased, Stonefield management isn't yet spilling the beans on all the businesses moving in.
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Photo attachment: Have memories slipped away with pictures?
Nov 1st 4:04pm
by Janis Jaquith
I’ve been dreading the phone call. It came this morning. Not good news. I have to keep reminding myself: Nobody has a tumor. Nobody’s sick. There’s no funeral to attend.And still, I want to howl. I want sympathy. Most of all, I want my photographs back. All of them.Mere days ago, I was wondering whether I should replace my external hard drive, the one that hums comfortingly next to my keyboard, the one housing all nineteen thousand of my family photographs.
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Rosy fall? Recent reports suggest happy trend
Nov 1st 5:05am
by Samantha Masone
New reports, released just a few weeks ago, indicate that the Charlottesville-Albemarle real estate market is showing signs of recovery. For instance, the third quarter report from Nest Realty cites declining inventory and decreasing prices as key factors affecting recovery on a local level; and with current housing inventory figures lower now than they’ve been in the past seven years, there appears to be valid cause for optimism.
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Third time's the charm in Blue Springs
Nov 1st 5:05am
by Samantha Masone
7/19/12
Albemarle
Sarah H. & David I. Berg to Clarence O. Smith, 1192 Rose Arbor Court, $148,500
Thomas L. & Suzanne C. Pace to Ian B. & Ashley E. L. Muir, 1219 Chatham Ridge, $197,200
Moises Loredo & Carol Loredo Alvarez to Terwin Mortgage Trust 2007-6ALT, 1608 Townwood Court, $200,683
James Wesley Clark to Linda G. Bowling, 1043 Bristlecone Lane, $209,500
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In the clouds: Cloud Atlas confounds and delights
Nov 1st 2:33am
by Roger Ebert
Even as I was watching Cloud Atlas the first time, I knew I would need to see it again. Now that I've seen it the second time, I know I'd like to see it a third time — but I no longer believe repeated viewings will solve anything. To borrow Churchill's description of Russia, "it is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma." It fascinates in the moment. It's getting from one moment to the next that is tricky.
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Slamdancer: Indie mensch Mirvish reveals secret society
Oct 31st 3:50pm
by Lisa Provence
Dan Mirvish is getting the check-engine light on his minivan checked in Los Angeles as he's speaking with a reporter, a seemingly mainstream activity for a filmmaker known as a subversive.
Mirvish co-founded the anarchic alternative to the Sundance Film Festival– Slamdance– after he and three other filmmakers weren't accepted at the Park City-based festival in 1995, and to this day Slamdance continues to share the same time and location with Sundance.
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Property auctions
Oct 31st 3:43pm
by Hook Staff
November 1 at 10am at Charlottesville Circuit Court Property: 1214 Monticello Road Debtor: Progressive Ventures LLC Original amount owing: unknown Bidder brings: 10 percent sale price Info: Richard E. Biemiller 757-497-6633
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Historians expect deference on TJ's cruelty
Oct 31st 3:11pm
by Letter Writer
To back up her accusation that I have misled my readers, Cinder Stanton refers darkly, and very vaguely, to truncated quotations, twisted chronology, unnamed misinterpretations. What are they? I have not misled anyone; nor did I ever think of myself as a prosecutor. [November 1 letter: "Wiencek misled readers on Jefferson's record"] I have presented information taken directly from the documents, and I stand by my interpretations.
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Food explosion: Stonefield's six restaurants aim to draw diners
Oct 31st 11:18am
by Courteney Stuart
"It looks like it's almost open!" squeals a caller to the Hook office this week, and without asking, we knew she could only be referring to one thing: Trader Joe's at The Shops at Stonefield, the 256,000-square foot upscale development that's nearing completion and will soon be home to a Regal stadium-seating megaplex, a variety of upscale shops, and no less than six new restaurants ranging from Tex Mex to burgers to Mediterranean food.
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Aw, back to politics
Oct 31st 11:16am
Election 2012
Oct 31st 11:12am
by Bill Emory
If Romney/Ryan supporters need cheering up, a happy place for a drive would be U.S. Route 360 through King William and King and Queen Counties. People in this region make their own signs. This one is near a census-designated place called Central Garage, in King William County. Population 1318.~Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog.
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