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It was an assembly like no other for Burnley-Moran elementary school principal Daphne Keiser, who says receiving the $25,000 National Educator Award yesterday from the Milken Family Foundation was a "total surprise." The California-based nonprofit handpicks just 100 educators around the country each year to receive the award– Keiser (left, with superintendent Rosa Atkins) was one of two Virginia recipients. read full story

Charlottesville in Wikipedia, Allen aides block new 'Macaca,' and Friends mourn UVA student ON THIS WEEK'S COVER: Wiki-ville: How the world sees Charlottesville Wikipedia is the online encyclopedia that grows daily by thousands of articles. And some of those are about the great institutions and people in Charlottesville. And check out the clever way you can add yourself to this encyclopedia– for a while anyway. ALSO IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE: Need to impede: Allen aides block the new "Macaca" The campaign stop at CHO airport was going swimmingly. read full story

According to an online Washington Post dispatch, former Virginia governor Mark Warner, long seen as a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, will announce today that he will not run for president at an 11am press conference at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. read full story

Those who missed their shot at fame and glory when the big budget Evan Almighty was shooting in Crozet earlier this year have a second chance at silver screen immortality. Disconnected, a new independent film that begins shooting in and around Staunton October 24, is seeking extras. read full story

Despite an abrupt retirement after pleading guilty to lying to federal prosecutors about ââ?¬Å?the activities of a known drug dealerââ?¬Â and accepting a plea agreement that requires him to submit himself for drug testing, the murky July retirement of UVA's loudest Dean got the softball treatment on local radio today. Former Dean of African-American affairs M. read full story

Kudos to Brian Wheeler of Charlottesville Tomorrow for staying to the end of an October 4 Albemarle County Board of Supervisors meeting (a feat in itself!) to bring us this little gem: apparently, UVA basketball coach Dave Leitao has been talking about the idea of renamin read full story

Boar War- Questions have been raised in the government-sponsored slaughter of nearly 80 pigs in western Buckingham County. The pigs were part of a business that might have meant their slaughter one-by-one anyway, but controversy rages over the pre-dawn government raid there and at another such hunting preserve in Cumberland. ALSO IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE: Tax brake: Late taxpayers lose car-tax relief- The County says that nearly 13,000 tax bills are suddenly a lot steeper. read full story

He kept a pretty low profile when he was here earlier this year as God in Evan Almighty, but actor Morgan Freeman will face his adoring fans at this year's Virginia Film Festival. And with Freeman following Robert Duvall's appearance for The Apostle on Friday at the Paramount, October 27 is turning out to be the high star-wattage night at this year's fest. read full story

Last January, when a man purporting to be a Kazakh journalist shooting a documentary addressed a Salem Civic Center rodeo crowd by saying, "I hope you kill every man, woman and child in Iraq, down to the lizards. And may George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq," the event organizers had a pretty good idea they had been duped. read full story

After five long years, Sparklehorse fans finally got their wish this week for a fourth album from Albemarle High School alum and former Fluvanna resident Mark Linkous. read full story

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I� I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost, from "The Road Not Taken" One Frost poem certainly took the road less traveled. read full story

Nelson County: flooded with memories 37 years after the fatal deluge, peeping pastor gets 60 days, Lethal driver guilty in life-changing wreck, and DMB superstars Boyd Tinsley and Fenton Williams talk about what it all means. It's all here in this week's edition of the Hook. (Sorry for the technically glitches that delayed this week's HookCast!) read full story

UVA has dumped its early decision admission program in the wake of similar decisions by Harvard and Princeton universities, the school announced yesterday. The program, which accounts for 30 percent of accepted students, was eliminated in an attempt to provide greater accessibility to low-income students. "The opportunity of early decision," said UVA President John T. read full story

There's more bad news for Senator George Allen, who's spent the last several weeks of his campaign first doing damage control for his "Macaca" incident and then adjusting to news that he's from a Jewish family. read full story

UVA's third-string quarterback is on his way to a second start, the coach confirmed tonight, and some are talking about an entire season. Despite the lopsided loss to Georgia Tech yesterday, Jameel Sewell, a Richmond-area redshirt freshman will start another game as UVA's starting QB when the Cavalier's play Duke September 30. "In staff discussions today, we all felt he handled himself positively," head coach Al Groh said tonight in a conference call. read full story

The company whose "we salute you" Bud Light commercials often thank people for minor accomplishments has made a major gift to the university that prides itself on taking a leadership role in fighting risky drinking. "We salute you, University of Virginia," Anheuser-Busch spokesperson Francine Katz declared today in a Rotunda Dome Roo read full story

With the opening of the John Paul Jones Arena, UVA hopes to see its fair share of hoops luminaries pass through its doors playing for the Cavaliers in the next several decades. What better way to get the new era started than with the band whose #1 hit was called "Shining Star"? That's right, funkophiles. read full story

The father of the 15-year-old ensnared in Albemarle County's bomb conspiracy dragnet escaped his own possible bout behind bars today, as a judge agreed that the dad's intent wasn't sufficient to warrant a conviction. "Technically, I think you violated the court order," said Circuit Court Judge Paul Peatross. "I'm dismissing the contempt. read full story

On the steps of the main branch on East Market Street Thursday, September 21, at 10am, officials from Albemarle County and the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library will announce that they have selected Grimm & Parker Architects of Mclean (in association with Heyward Boyd Architects here in town) to design the new read full story