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Blue Ridge Irish Music School is working on a lease agreement with Westminster Church for the former Prism space, the school announced today. read full story

The urban theorist who so famously asked a Charlottesville audience, "Where are the bicycles" has died at the age of 89. Jane Jacobs, who visited in 1996 to accept the Thomas Jefferson Prize in Architecture from UVA, died today at her Toronto home, the read full story

The Democrat to go up against incumbent Virgil Goode in the 5th District Congressional race will be determined by caucus, and after Saturday, Nelson farmer Al Weed leads Ruckersville Parkway visionary Bern Ewert 25 to 5, according to a Weed release. And that's before going into tonight's Super Monday, in which 10 jurisdictions have 113 delegates up for grabs. Albemarle's 38 will be elected at 7:30pm in Monticello High, and Charlottesville's 17 delegates will be elected at in the Buford Middle School cafeteria. Registration for wanna-be delegates starts at 6:30pm. read full story

Here�s a shocking statistic for ya: according to a recent market analysis by the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors, 2,377 homes are for sale in their database...that�s more than double the homes for sale at the same time last year! Equally as shocking is the rise in the median price of a home: $285,000 in CAAR�s market area (Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Nelson, Greene, Fluvanna, and Louisa), up 27 percent from last year. read full story

Mere weeks after financial publications and data analysis firm SNL announced its purchase of a new property in Amhedabad, India and boasted of a near 100 percent increase in payscale for local employees over the past eight years, the company is on the block, according to a report in today's online version of the U.K. newspaper, The Daily Telegraph. According to the article, SNL– founded by Reid Nagle in 1987– has tapped Bank of America to advise the company on a $200 million sale. read full story

The man who shot Ingo, the police dog, is convicted April 20 and sentenced to 7 years for malicious wounding, and another 5 for felony possession of a gun, the Progress reports. Robert Lee Cooke shot at Ingo– his defense claimed in self-defense– while fleeing a burglary in October 2004, paralyzing the canine cop, who was later put to sleep. Officer Andy Gluba shot Cooke twice, paralyzing him. read full story

Last week's Hook cover story on up-and-coming musician Robert Randolph touched off a major debate at the mecca of his instrument, The Steel Guitar Forum. There on that bulletin board, a debate raged over the story and comments Randolph made in it– i.e. "A lot of those guys in Nashville hate my guts." read full story

The free speech wall on the east end of the Downtown Mal was officially christened today. read full story

Schoolchildren with buckets helped pour about 400,000 shad hatchlings into the Rivanna River yesterday, an event that presages the impending demolition of the Woolen Mills dam, an effort to give back to the American shad its hisoric spawning waters. According to WINA radio, the tiny fish have been marked with a chemical on their ear bones that identifies them as hatchery-born, and the re-stocking was co-sponsored by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Rivanna Conservation Society. read full story

The Western Albemarle teen purportedly the originator of the plot to blow up WAHS and Albemarle High, who previously pleaded guilty to two felony counts, was committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice and could be held until his 21st birthday, Judge Susan Whitlock ruled in court today. She will review his case in 60 days, and a hearing is scheduled for June 7. read full story

Yesterday, a Charlottesville grand jury handed down two indictments against William N. Beebe, the former UVA student accused of raping classmate Liz Seccuro 22 years ago. A four-day trial is scheduled for Mr. read full story

A day after 17 student squatters were released after spending the weekend in jail, UVA's top administrator has evicted the tent city erected on the lawn outside the office of the president. A notice from chief operating officer Leonard Sandridge gave tents and sleeping bags until 10am to be off the lawn of Madison Hall. read full story

A Shenandoah Valley man has won approval for a wind-powered generator, according to a report this morning in the Staunton News-Leader . Unlike the controversial 19-tower array of 400-footers planned for Highland County, the lone tower that Mount Sidney resident John Root wants will stand just 120 feet tall, which the News-Leader says is lower than a nearby communications tower. read full story

Tickets for this fall's two Dave Matthews Band concerts go on sale Saturday, according to officials with the John Paul Jones Arena, the $130 million venue that's calling this pair of shows its grand opening. Will this be a repeat of 2001 when DMB's long-awaited Scott Stadium "Homecoming" concert caused a Rolling Stones-speed sellout? read full story

On Saturday evening, the four-day-old living wage sit-in at Madison Hall came to an abrupt end. "We thought the administration wanted to engage in substantive, good faith, dialog about this issue," demonstration organizer Abby Bellows told reporters. "So we came back to the table with a lot of really constructive compromises. read full story

Amid the sobbing of family and friends, Judge Susan Whitlock committed the Albemarle High student found guilty of conspiring blow up two high schools to the Department of Juvenile Justice for 60 days, with a review May 23. read full story

Remember that proposed charter school that won a $450,000 federal grant but got repeatedly criticized and deferred by the Charlottesville School system? It was the subject of the Hook's cover story last November 17, and now it's dead in the City, according to a story in this morning's Daily Progress. read full story

Well, sort of. read full story

Fan site Weekly Davespeak provides excerpts to DMB bassist Stefan Lessard�s journal, the "Haunted Hollow Diaries", which details the happenings out at the band�s recording studio in Scottsville, Haunted Hollow. The band has been busy recording out at the studio since March 7th, reportedly finishing one song and perhaps bringing in Robert Randolph when he hits town. read full story