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About the highest compliment a chef can be paid is an invite to come cook at a James Beard Foundation dinner in New York City. Local chef Peter Chang went back for a second year in a row this past Saturday, joining chef Scott Drewno of The Source in Washington, DC, to celebrate the Chinese New Year, this year symbolized by The Snake. Local videographer Anwar Allen, invited back again, too, by the Beard Foundation, caught all the action in the kitchen. Enjoy! read full story

Former City Council candidate James Halfaday was back in court on Valentine's Day where he received a longer sentence for a probation violation than he did for election fraud. The man who ran for city office while living in the county now wants to return to his native Illinois and live with his mother. Judge Jay Swett seemed to like the idea of shipping him off when Halfaday appeared in court February 5, and was holding him in jail until he could be transferred.   read full story

Many enamored couples choose Valentine's Day to get married, and André Hakes and Catherine Gillespie would like to be among them. But even on Valentine's Day with a big chocolate-filled, heart-shaped bribe to Clerk of Court Llezelle Dugger, it ain't gonna happen in Virginia. About three dozen people crowded into the Charlottesville clerk's office as Hakes and Gillespie went through what has become an annual tradition: requesting a marriage license. read full story

We Love This Place read full story

Community:  DunloraLocation:  East Rio RoadSchools:  Agnor-Hurt, Burley, AlbemarlePrice range:  $327,500-$595,000Pros: Convenient location, neighborhood amenitiesCons: HOA dues, topography read full story

Most eagerly awaited fugitive: Former restaurateur Jim Baldi, pictured, returned to town February 5 after waiving extradition, according to San Francisco public defender Mark Jacobs. Now housed in the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, Baldi, who shuttered his Belmont eatery, Bel Rio, and disappeared in July 2010, was in Charlottesville Circuit Court February 11 on an embezzling charge. read full story

With her parents in the Charlottesville General District Court offering support during the preliminary hearing of accused abductor Matthew Beaulieu, the alleged victim of the November 9 assault on Stadium Road steadily recounted the moments leading up to the attack. "It happened so fast I couldn't react," the 19-year-old UVA nursing student told the court, describing the path she'd taken as she made her way back to her Stadium Road area apartment around midnight after an evening spent at UVA's Center for Christian Study on Chancellor Street. read full story

After recent actions of Republicans in the General Assembly have put that institution in the national spotlight– and on Comedy Central's Colbert Report– it's almost quaint to hear House Speaker William Howell cite "honor, dignity and integrity" in making a decision highly unpopular with his fellow Republicans. read full story

Back in November, MAS chef Tomas Rahal, not one to throw around praise, was emphatic about his visit to the Glass Haus Kitchen, which had just recently opened. "Might be the best in town," said Rahal, heaping praise on Chefs Ian Boden and Mike Yaeger for their "advanced tail-to-nose cuisine," a foodie term that describes the European style of cooking that utilizes the whole animal. read full story

Out of nowhere, longtime National Geographic photographer and Afton resident William Albert Allard got a phone call from California about a month ago– about making a Super Bowl commercial. "This is the best kind," says Allard of the phone call pitch. "Someone admired my work." read full story

A month after his San Francisco arrest on embezzlement charges stemming from Charlottesville accounting work, former Bel Rio owner Jim Baldi will appear in a California courtroom on Friday, February 8, for an extradition hearing. "We're just trying to determine whether he'll be sent somewhere," explains a receptionist in the San Francisco public defender's office. The public defender assigned to Baldi, Mark Jacobs, did not return the Hook's calls by press time. read full story

Theoretically, the primary purpose of zoning is to segregate uses that are thought to be incompatible. In practice, zoning is used to prevent new development from interfering with existing residents or businesses and to preserve the “character” of a community. Zoning is commonly controlled by local governments such as counties or municipalities, though the nature of the zoning regime may be determined or limited by state or national planning authorities or through enabling legislation.–Wikipedia read full story

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Has there ever been a University of Virginia rector as reviled as Helen Dragas, the woman who united students, faculty, and alums in calling for her head following her failed ouster of President Teresa Sullivan last June? And yet, on January 30, the reappointment of this seemingly Teflon-coated Virginia Beach businesswoman sailed through confirmation in the General Assembly with a final 63-33 House of Delegates seal of approval. read full story

Christopher Dumler may have thought the worst was behind him when he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual battery January 31 so he could avoid a felony conviction and remain on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors. However, it was clear February 6 the issue hadn't died when his fellow supervisors censured the Scottsville representative and two former supes called for his resignation.   read full story

Latest in the Daniel Harmon-Wright saga: The former Culpeper cop who blasted unarmed Patricia Cook, 54, a year ago is found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and two other felonies January 29. A jury recommends three years in prison after his request for a mistrial is denied when a dictionary is found in the jury room, the Culpeper Star-Exponent reports. He'll be sentenced April 10. read full story

For some time now, mobile food trucks have been a part of our culinary landscape, rolling up at various and varied private locations, offering everything from organic doughnuts, hot dogs, tacos and burritos, hamburgers, BBQ, and more. Indeed, because Charlottesville has no public places where the food trucks are allowed, enterprising operators have had to strike deals with private property owners to survive. The phenomenon has finally caught the attention of City officials, who now want to regulate the mobile eateries, they say, to allow for their continued proliferation. read full story

Business for the day had already concluded in Richmond on January 21– Martin Luther King, Jr. Day– when Republican senators took advantage of the absence of a Democratic civil rights leader, Henry Marsh, who was attending the presidential inauguration, to push through a far-reaching redistricting bill while they had a 20-19 advantage in the evenly split Senate. read full story

Blogger Waldo Jaquith was at the Virginia State Capitol on Monday, January 21, when Republican senators passed a controversial redistricting bill. This is his account of the day. read full story