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How much does City Council love the "Sister City" concept? Well enough so that the Council will soon vote on creating a new City committee to deal with them. For those blissfully unaware, Charlottesville– depending upon whom you talk to– has either two or three sister cities. First came Poggio a Caiano, Italy in the mid-1990s, we think. read full story

The Hook has been granted a hearing on its motion to open the gag on records and proceedings of the two Albemarle County youths convicted in juvenile court of conspiring to blow up schools and kill classmates. The newspaper's motion was filed earlier this week and will be heard by Judge Paul Peatross on June 27. All parties to the case have been notified and agreed to the timing. read full story

As investigators sort through the rubble in a field adjacent to Bundoran Farm off Plank Road in Albemarle County, questions remain about the cause of the plane crash that took the lives of two New England-based developers, now identified as Robert H. Baldwin and David I. read full story

The Hartford Courant confirms this morning that developer David I. read full story

Robert Lee Cooke, the Chesterfield man who shot an Albemarle County police dog during a botched 2004 burglary, and who was shot himself by police as he fled the scene, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $5,000 to cover the cost of the dog, the Daily P read full story

In the race to see who will go up against George Allen for a U.S. read full story

If you didnââ?¬â?¢t make Virginia Business Magazineââ?¬â?¢s ââ?¬Ë?Virginia 100ââ?¬â?¢ this year, donââ?¬â?¢t feel too bad. The cutoff point for the list of the Stateââ?¬â?¢s wealthiest was a net worth of $55 million. Topping the list was the Mars Family, owners of the privately held candy company, with a whopping $10 billion. read full story

Architect Bill Atwood, along with property owner Sandra Everton, hopes to transform the Crozet tracts that currently contain the IGA Shopping Center, Three Notched Grill, and Crozet Pizza strip into a new mixed use complex that would demolish the whole shebang to create "Crozet Station." Atwood ( read full story

Well, the other fab four– you know, Greg, Murray, Anthony and Jeff? read full story

Bullets flew Saturday morning at Panda Garden, a Chinese restaurant on Emmet Street, and one man reports that he was shot in the leg, according to a story in this morning's Daily Progress. The story suggests that this isn't the first time Panda Garden, located beside the Econo Lodge and that newish UVA pedestrian bridge, has been the site of a party gone awry. read full story

City Hall is reporting some sad news today: Assistant City Manager Linda Peacock died. According to the City release, her death– after a battle with cancer– occurred shortly after 11am at Martha Jefferson Hospital. read full story

Jeremy Harvey, twice married to Betty Scripps, has not settled with former employee James Hoffmann, as previously blogged June 2. Hoffmann is suing Harvey for slander and for breach of contract, asking for up to $500,000 in compensatory damages and up to $350K in punitive damages. Court date is April 9, 2007. read full story

After 20 years at the helm of Bodo's, the legendary bagelry that has become a Charlottesville institution, owner Brian Fox is calling it quits. “That’s enough,” says Fox, a once notorious workaholic/perfectionist whose penchant for offering low-cost meals was topped only by fascination with how long it took him to open each of this three venues– one of which took a decade. “Your drive disappears when your responsibilities diminish, at least for me,” says Fox, 61, who says he has backed away from daily operation of the stores over the last few years. read full story

Undaunted by the failure of the Downtown Mall's last newsstand, a former editor with Playboy and Maxim began installing the structure that will soon bring magazines to the masses that now swarm the Mall. "It's all about volume," says Steve Russell, the now 40-year-old freelance journalist who won permission from City Council to rent a few square feet of the bricked pedestrian pathway in front of the Regal cinema near the Omni hotel. Reminded by an interviewer that the Mall's last newsstand– a copper and read full story

Betty Scripps second marriage to Jeremy Harvey didn't take any better than the first one did, the Washington Post's Reliable Source reports. The pair first married in 1998 and split up in 2004. After a whirlwind romance in January, Scripps, 80, and Harvey, 62, retied the knot February 16 at glamorous Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. read full story

It's illegal for minors to drink alcohol, but has 21st century prohibition gone too far? The Hook's portrayal of the 16-arrest WAHS party and the Progress account have little in common. read full story

Authorities say that early this morning a man slipped into a house in the 2300 block of Shelby Drive and began applying duct tape to the mouth of a sleeping 12-year-old boy. Awaked by the child's screams, the parents and older brother went after the intruder who escaped through the front door that he'd allegedly left open. read full story

Judah Friedlander, the geeky, heavyset actor/comedian whose role as the random street hugger made the Dave Matthews Band's 2001 "Everyday" video so memorable, has posted his behind-the-scenes pictures and musings online. Friedlander, clearly amused with himself and Charlottesville, (whose Down read full story

A professor was convicted, but organizers of the "Living Wage" campaign at the University of Virginia cheered this afternoon's ruling in a Charlottesville courtroom acquitting all 17 students in their four-day sit-in. Judge Robert Downer seemed to be admonishing UVA President John Casteen and COO Leonard Sandridge, both of whom testified at today's trial, for allowing the students to believe they could remain decamped in Madison Hall. read full story