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Greg Thompson wants us to learn to love each other, even if we have deep differences, and not just because he's a pastor at a local Presbyterian church and Jesus said love thy neighbor and all that, but because he believes the survival of our democracy depends on it. Disturbed by the divisive political discourse in the country, Thompson, 39, began studying Martin Luther King, Jr. for his dissertation at UVA about seven years ago, asking himself how people with deep differences could not only live together, but flourish. read full story

Four years after the $7 million re-bricking of the Downtown Mall, a patch of damaged bricks along the edge of the Main Street Arena near Water Street is pitting a property owner against the city in a dispute over who's responsible for the repairs. "They have been in this condition for almost a year," wrote Arena General Manager Will van der Linde in an email sent last July to the city in advance of the planned visit by Michelle Obama, which was cancelled in the wake of the mass shooting in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater. read full story

Former neighbor Paul Whitehead, often up to something creative. Moved to San Francisco. ~Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog. read full story

Bob Pianta isn't afraid to say he has no idea what the classroom of the future will look like. Coming from the dean of UVA's Curry School of Education and a nationally-lauded builder of better teachers, that's pretty refreshing. "We're at this intersection with technology," says Pianta. As critical to education as technology is however, there's this one other thing getting attention now: social skills. read full story

More than two weeks after a late-night shootout on Second Street NW outside the Elks Lodge left two men shot and wounded on the street, police say no charges have been filed and the investigation is still ongoing. There's been neither widespread public outcry nor city action concerning the violence, but internally police and city officials have taken notice."The City Manager and I have had no fewer than two meetings in the last week or so to discuss how to go forward with this in an aggressive, but lawful manner," says Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo. read full story

Worst first: Albemarle has its first traffic fatality March 27 followed by two more two days later (see related story page 10). In 2012, 12 people died on county roads. read full story

“If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Dreams of a child read full story

Even in a non-presidential election year, Virginians go to the polls. This year, besides the June 11 Democratic primary and the November 5 governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general elections, Charlottesvillians have another chance to cast a ballot April 2 for the under-the-radar position of city treasurer.   Related story Rare openings: Treasurer, commissioner of revenue up for grabs read full story

Like the palm of your hand, our city, if you were to look at it from high in the sky, has a similar pattern of lines that time has carved out. One of those lines, running east to west from the Rotunda to the Rivanna River, and parallel to the Buckingham Branch railroad, has local "palm readers" looking to the future.  "In 50 years, I hope someone can walk from the grounds of the University all the way to the read full story

Every once in a while, a technology comes along that revolutionizes medicine. Sometimes, it just takes a while to recognize its impact. In 1970, for instance, Neal Kassell saw a CT scan for the first time. "I thought it had no future," laughs the 67-year-old UVA neurosurgeon. "I was wrong." Kassell was certain he was right, however, when, about eight years ago, he conceived of treating and even curing previously untreatable conditions using ultrasound technology. read full story

By Amy Mathews AmosThe snow had melted, the sun was shining and the river beckoned, so I took a long walk by the water this weekend. Being outside was satisfying enough, but I got an unexpected treat: frogs. I heard them first, croaking a chorus in shallow water, then was rewarded with a glimpse as one swam away. The daffodils haven’t bloomed yet, but the frogs told me spring is coming. It’s a scene that has delighted children and adults across America for centuries. But what if next year, they’re gone?  read full story

Area:  Fry’s Spring Price range:  $108,800-$882,500 Schools: Jackson Via & Johnson, depending on location, Walker and Buford, Charlottesville High School Pros: Easy access to amenities, tight-knit community Cons: Effects of student and rental housing on property values, heavy traffic during football games read full story

Former mayor and City Councilor Dave Norris has made a career out of working for nonprofits dedicated to helping the disadvantaged. That's why it was so surprising to find in a recent report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development note of a possible conflict of interest in his roles as chair of the public housing authority board and as a paid consultant for public housing residents. read full story

Worst trend: Charlottesville becomes the wild West again with another incident of gunfire on a weekend night at a crowded venue. The latest bullets erupt March 22 at the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot during a 20-person brawl, in which two are stabbed, according to the Daily Progress. Antwan Chambers, 20, of Buckingham, racks up five charges including reckless use of a firearm, and possession of cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute. Four other people arrested with him face drug charges. read full story

On the same night it barred an injured and disoriented Morgan Harrington from reentering UVA's John Paul Jones Arena during a Metallica concert in October 2009, the firm providing concert security helped an intoxicated off-duty Fairfax police officer attending the show to find a safe ride, according to an amended complaint against Richmond-based RMC Events, filed in Charlottesville Circuit Court by Morgan's mother, Gil Harrington.   read full story

Civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis was arrested 40 times in the '60s, and four times since he's been in Congress. The youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington and the leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was clubbed by police on the Selma bridge and left with a concussion. As an original Freedom Rider in 1961, he was beaten in Rock Hill, South Carolina, by a group of white men "who left me lying in a pool of blood," he told the audience at the Paramount Theater March 23. read full story

By Charles McRavenThey rode in as if they owned the place, and within five minutes, they did. Thirty Union soldiers, commanded by a captain, spreading out over the farm, posting sentries. Ophelia stood on her porch and watched it happen, knowing absolutely that there was nothing she could do, or should have done, to stop it. There’d been no warning, no frightened neighbors rushing by to safety to scream at her to get out.  The men had the bold ruthlessness of invaders, the certainty that nothing would oppose them. read full story

Two months after beloved local photographer Philip Beaurline died of complications relating to the flu, his widow, Marie, and son, Anders, were by the Rivanna River in Darden Towe park on Thursday, March 14 as the 100+ Women Who Care philanthropic group donated $3,900 to Streamwatch in his honor. Women Who Care aims to find 100 or more women in the Charlottesville area to donate $100 four times each year. The money– as much as $40,000 annually– is given to local charities. read full story

Writing takes discipline, to be sure– just ask the Hook's famed contest judge John Grisham, who spends hours every single day at the keyboard, and has more than two dozen best sellers to his name. read full story