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Biggest trial: A jury finds Food Lion manager Mark Weiner, 53, guilty of abduction with intent to defile May 24 after a four-day trial and recommends a 20-year sentence. Weiner was accused of drugging a 20-year-old girl in December and taking her to an abandoned house, from which she escaped. Saddest accidental shooting: Ten-year-old Maggie Hollifield is killed around 10am May 21 in her home in Crozet by a juvenile male, according to Albemarle police, which did not release his name. read full story

The recent bust of a fake ID ring where over $2 million was found in a house on Rugby Road brought attention to a lucrative criminal enterprise with high demand, particularly in a college town. So how hard is it to produce what law enforcement described as "high-quality false identification"? Not very, apparently. Related stories More details: Alleged fake IDers to remain in jail read full story

In a town where there are more writers per capita than readers, it can be daunting to think about keeping up with the local offerings when it seems like just about everyone has a book. For your convenience, the Hook nets out a few must-reads from Charlottesville's literary luminaries (and there are plenty more). So when you're packing up for the beach or heading to the hammock and looking for something to delve into, here are five books worth reading if you're living here– or even if you don't. read full story

At least 470 of his constituents want him gone, but embattled Albemarle County Supervisor Chris Dumler hangs on– and he has at least one more week to serve the Scottsville District before Judge Cheryl Higgins rules on a petition to remove him from office. "For the board to work, it requires trust, and they don't have it in Mr. Dumler's case," said special prosecutor Mike Doucette in his closing argument, wrapping up a four-hour trial on Monday, May 20 that brought at least three of Dumler's fellow supervisors to the stand along with several unsatisfied Dumler constituents. read full story

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Dear Tom and Ray:        read full story

THE Dictator is funny, in addition to being obscene, disgusting, scatological, vulgar, crude and so on. Having seen Sacha Baron Cohen promoting it on countless talk shows, I feared the movie would feel like deja vu. But no. He establishes a claim to be the best comic filmmaker now working. read full story

Have you ever walked into a store soon after opening hours to find the advertised sale item "all sold out?” Come to the Holiday Inn Thursday, May 23 and get a look at a “bait and switch” tactic so impressive that P.T. Barnum must be beaming in his grave.   read full story

"Wheels" roll into town“Imagine a blend of the passion of the Avett Brothers, the instrumentals of Old Crow Medicine Show, and then sprinkle in the backwoods feel of The Legendary Shack Shakers. In truth, attempting to compare The Steel Wheels to anyone is an injustice, since after one listen you can hear that they stand very well on their own perch.”—John Walker, Americana Roots  read full story

Coy Barefoot's already known around town as a radio host, historian and author, and he's adding another title to his already lengthy resumé: TV host. On Sunday, May 19, Barefoot's latest effort, Inside Charlottesville, premieres on the local CBS affiliate WCAV, channel 19. read full story

The red-light cameras that Albemarle County installed at the intersection of Route 29 and Rio Road in 2011 have caught thousands of red-light runners and generated thousands in ticket revenue. But according to a story first broken by the Chicago Tribune, representatives of the Australia-based company that operates the cameras, Redflex, have been caught red-handed bribing a Chicago transportation official. The company is now under federal investigation. read full story

Dear Tom and Ray:        read full story

Nearly a year after the Main Street Arena General Manager sent the city a letter complaining about the condition of the crumbling bricks along the building's east side, the walkway has at last been repaired by the city. But who's responsible for paying for the repair is up for dispute. read full story

Hi, Carolyn: How do I start trusting my wife again? Three years ago, I caught her (52) having an affair with a 29-year-old aide who came to our house to help with our autistic son.       One of my first questions to her was "What did I fail to give you?" We went the counseling route and, as the months passed, I knew she would text or write him, but I dealt with these things as they came up. She was repentant and wanted to make it work ... and, I love her.       read full story

Get ready, Nation. Funny-man Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, is coming to Mr. Jefferson's University to deliver the 2013 valediction keynote speech on May 18. But which Colbert will show up? The "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot" he plays on the show or the guy who, along with his UVA alum wife, Evelyn McGee Colbert, funded a new Arts Scholars program in the UVA College of Arts & Sciences? Maybe both. read full story

Closest tie to Boston Marathon bomber: The body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev was refused burial space all over the northeast. He's quietly buried in a Doswell cemetery in in Caroline County, and outrage ensues. read full story

"Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." – Robert Frost   Bell returns to her roots read full story

This was the last movie review Roger Ebert filed. Released less than two years after his The Tree of Life, an epic that began with the dinosaurs and peered into an uncertain future, Terrence Malick's To the Wonder is a film that contains only a handful of important characters and a few crucial moments in their lives. Although it uses dialogue, it's dreamy and half-heard, and essentially this could be a silent film– silent, except for its mostly melancholy music. read full story

As a supporter of local music and a WTJU classical announcer, I thought that the recent edition of the Hook (April 25) did a superb job covering the local music scene and its support from the community. But the article ignored one essential feature– local classical musicians and ensembles. From orchestras such as the Charlottesville University Symphony Orchestra and the Waynesboro Symphony, ensembles such as Three Notch'd Road and Zephyrus, and many individual musicians, our area abounds in great classical music. read full story