The week in review
Jan 17th 1:39am
by Hook Staff
Best connecting the dots: The common thread for controversial UVA Rector Helen Dragas' top supporters– Governor Bob McDonnell, U.S. Senator Mark Warner, and former governor/U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, who appointed her– is donations by former Board of Visitors member Randal J. Kirk, who was the number one or two donor for those guys. McDonnell reappointed her after the Sullivan-firing debacle, and Warner has lobbied legislators in the General Assembly to confirm her. Ted Strong has the story in the Daily Progress.
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'Flipped out': Insulin-injecting Crozet woman pleads guilty
Jan 16th 9:38am
by Lisa Provence
Two days before her 34th birthday, Theresa Lynn Brady, the mother of two young children and wife of an Albemarle Fire and Rescue captain, entered a guilty plea for attempted murder January 15 in Albemarle Circuit Court.
Brady was arrested August 21 in her upscale Foxchase subdivision home off U.S. 250 in Crozet, where neighbors described the couple as keeping to themselves.
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Get Out! events, shows, things to do
Jan 16th 8:43am
Dead or alive: The Hook's legislative watch
Jan 15th 9:13pm
by Lisa Provence
Week 1 of the 46-day General Assembly 2013 session has begun, with legislators filing 2,208 bills. While most will die quietly in subcommittee, some will slip through and become law.
DeadAutomatic restoration of voting rights for non-violent felons, despite support by Governor Bob McDonnell– Del. Herring (D-Alexandria).
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Chairman of the board: Fuhgeddaboudit when 29 bypass involved
Jan 14th 3:20pm
by Lisa Provence
If tradition had been upheld on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, Duane Snow would be chairman. Instead, at its first meeting of the year, the usually decorous board got testy over election of the chairman– and who would hold the real position of power: a seat on the transportation-controlling Metropolitan Planning Organization.
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Game over: Charge in soccer biting case dropped
Jan 10th 3:56pm
by Lisa Provence
Former Fluco Katrina Ditta was supposed to be in Albemarle Circuit Court January 9 to appeal her conviction for allegedly biting a Western Albemarle soccer player during a game last spring. Instead, the prosecution requested the misdemeanor assault charge be dropped.
"The victim's father contacted us before Christmas," says Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jon Zug. "They asked that it be nolle prossed.
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Do you think the General Assembly will let Helen Dragas stay?
Jan 10th 10:00am
View, interrupted: It's unneighborly to start a row
Jan 10th 5:43am
by Janis Jaquith
Oh, you should have seen me. It was a double-take right out of vaudeville. (Had I been drinking from my water bottle, I guarantee it would have been a spit-take.) As I skidded to a flailing stop on my Nikes, all I could think was: What the hell? Why are they doing this?I’d been blissfully running along Wesley Chapel Road in Albemarle County. It’s a gorgeous place to walk or run or drive– or live. Gorgeous, thanks to the views of our graceful rural landscape.
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Missing: Inside the Dashad Smith investigation
Jan 10th 5:05am
by Courteney Stuart
At the Preston Avenue Shell Station, a few blocks from the apartment Dashad "Sage" Smith last occupied on Harris Street, his name is familiar and his disappearance is on people's minds.
"He used to come in here every day," says a woman working the register, as another cashier nods. "He was quiet," the woman recalls. "Never caused any problems like some customers. I sure hope they find him."
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Timeline: Tracking the Dashad Smith case
Jan 10th 5:05am
by Courteney Stuart
November 20, late afternoon: Smith talks to father, Dean Smith, for 37 minutes.
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Property auctions
Jan 10th 1:56am
by Hook Staff
January 11 at 4:30pm at the Albemarle Courthouse Property: 1810 Steeplechase Run Debtor: Beverly and Thomas M. Allebrandi II Original amount owing: $261,599 Bidder brings: 10 percent sale price Info: BWW Law Group 301-961-6555
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Baldi arrested: Accused embezzler nabbed in California
Jan 9th 3:48pm
by Dave McNair
Former Bel Rio Restaurant owner Jim Baldi, who has been on the run since July 2010 after police issued a warrant for his arrest on a felony embezzlement charge, has been arrested in California. "This was a joint investigation by Albemarle County Police and the U.S. Marshals Service that led to his arrest," says Albemarle County Police Sgt. Darrell Byers, "Baldi is awaiting extradition."
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Hungry? Deliciousness is coming your way
Jan 9th 11:48am
by Dave McNair
Okay, so I'm sitting around trying to think about what to write for this week's Dish and the food photos from the restaurants participating in the Hook's Restaurant Week from January 12-27 start coming in. Looking particularly tasty is a surf and turf entrée from Burtons Grill with a small mountain of exquisitely seared scallops, gleaming at me in all their tender delicacy. Oh, I'm a goner. And now I can't stop thinking about them. In fact, I'm salivating right now! Clearly, the phrase "Restaurant Week" has begun to have a Pavlovian effect.
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The week in review
Jan 9th 5:43am
by Hook Staff
Newest BoV member: Governor Bob McDonnell appoints prominent UVA/McDonnell donor Bill Goodwin to the Board of Visitors. Goodwin has served on the BoV before, and this fall, in an advisory position, he told the faculty Senate chair to get over the summer's Dragas debacle. Ted Strong has the story in the Daily Progress.
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'Outrageous misconduct': Hash sues Culpeper prosecutor, sheriff
Jan 9th 5:00am
by Lisa Provence
After spending nearly 12 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Michael Wayne Hash filed a civil lawsuit in federal court December 28 against Culpeper's top cops: former Commonwealth's Attorney Gary Close, Sheriff Scott Jenkins, Chief Deputy James Mack, and three others.
Last year, a federal judge vacated Hash's capital murder conviction, citing ineffective assistance of counsel and "outrageous misconduct" on the part of law enforcement. Hash was released from prison in March.
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The walls on the Garage go up, up, up
Jan 8th 1:15pm
by Lisa Provence
The Garage, Charlottesville's tiniest all-purpose venue, was the victim of a car smashing through its walls in September from the Hill and Wood Funeral Service parking lot. The errant elderly driver left a gaping hole when she plowed through the south wall, and the crash caused the north wall of the early 20th-century structure to bulge. Not only that, but the structure has double brick walls, so four walls need to be replaced, says David Mawyer with Foxfire Construction.
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Dragas vote: Will rector keep her job?
Jan 7th 6:47pm
by Lisa Provence
The turmoil at the University of Virginia that began in June with the firing of President Teresa Sullivan continues six months later with the upcoming General Assembly confirmation of the appointment of Rector Helen Dragas– and opponents calling for her head.
Despite being perhaps the most notorious rector in UVA's history– and inspiring a 2,000-signature petition to the General Assembly opposing her confirmation– the Virginia Beach real estate developer has dug in her heels, and racked up some prominent supporters, including U.S. Senator Mark Warner.
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Former Boy Scout leader, alleged Fashion Square abductor in court
Jan 7th 12:25pm
by Lisa Provence
David Brian Watkins, the former Boy Scout leader charged with the forcible sodomy of a juvenile November 28, waived a preliminary hearing in Albemarle Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court January 7. Watkins is being held without bond, and his case goes before the grand jury February 4.
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2013 Fiction contest: Grisham's ready for you!
Jan 7th 12:08pm
by Hook Staff
2013 Hook Short Story Contest
Deadline: 5pm on Tuesday, February 5 We don't mess around and don't observe postmarks; the manuscript must be in the Hook newsroom by this time and date.
Entry fee: $5 per story, maximum two stories
Mail or carry entry and fee to: Short Story Contest The Hook 100 Second St. NW Charlottesville, VA 22902 ~Questions? Call 434-295-8700 x 236
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Get Out! events, shows, things to do
Jan 7th 7:37am
Mayan mayhem
Jan 3rd 10:38am
Roseberry's lens
Jan 3rd 10:23am
by Bill Emory
Photographer Ed Roseberry, a man whose images constitute a powerful record of more than 50 years, was on the job at Charlottesville's 250th birthday celebration, shooting with his trusty twin lens Rollieflex.
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Family feeling: The Farmhouse at Veritas Vineyards
Jan 3rd 7:06am
by Dave McNair
Owners Andrew and Patricia Hodson opened Afton's Veritas Vineyards in 2002, and within a few years their daughter, winemaker Emily Pelton, was winning awards, including taking the top prize in the National Women’s Wine Competition in 2007.
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What should be done to reduce school violence?
Jan 3rd 5:31am
Fear and learning: School districts and property values intertwine
Jan 3rd 5:05am
by Samantha Masone
Redistricting has been a hot topic of late for many families in Albemarle County.
Parents of students attending potentially affected schools have expressed concerns about the impact redistricting could have on a range of issues that included academic performance, diversity, distance and, of course, social interactions with established teachers and friends.
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Letter from the Editor
Jan 2nd 10:23pm
by Courteney Stuart
Greetings Hook readers,The beginning of a new year is always a good time for a fresh start, and 2013 marks an exciting new chapter for the Hook. As many of you may have already heard, Hook founding editor and C-VILLE co-founder Hawes Spencer has moved on to launch the next adventure in his journalism career, and while he will be deeply missed by those of us who have worked alongside him for years, the spirit of investigative reporting for which he is known lives on in us.
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Property auctions
Jan 2nd 10:04pm
by Hook Staff
January 3 at noon at the Albemarle Courthouse Property: 3672 Stony Point Road Debtor: James A. Morris Original amount owing: $205,000 Bidder brings: $26,000 or 10 percent sale price Info: Rosenberg & Associates LLC 301-907-8000
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Armed ed: Should teachers be packing heat?
Jan 2nd 2:00pm
by Lisa Provence
"Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community."– President George W. Bush, April 16, 2007, following the deadliest single-gunman school shootings in U.S. history at Virginia Tech.
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'Impossible' impact: Tsunami film an Oscar contender
Jan 2nd 12:30pm
by Roger Ebert
The tsunami that devastated the Pacific Basin in the winter of 2004 remains one of the worst natural disasters in history, and although I assumed its climax as shown in Clint Eastwood's film Hereafter (2010) would never be surpassed, that was before I'd seen The Impossible. Here is a searing film of human tragedy.
The Impossible
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Tom Holland
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
114 minutes - PG-13
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The week in review
Jan 2nd 10:05am
by Hook Staff
Worst rumor: That something will happen at Albemarle High on the Mayan Doomsday December 21– one week after the horrific massacre of first graders in Newtown, Connecticut. Albemarle police investigate and say they have found no basis for the allegations.
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FunStuff: January 3 beyond
Dec 31st 9:17am
Self-serving: The 'Hook' goes into time capsule
Dec 29th 3:14pm
by Lisa Provence
In 50 years, although print media may well be a thing of the past, one local paper will be around when the time capsule stored at the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society gets popped open in 2062.
Three issues of the Hook– Year in Review: The Best and Worst of 2012, and the 2011 Year in Review– were sealed away on December 23, along with the Hook Book, a photo-rich romp through local history.
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Somewhere in America
Dec 28th 9:41am
by Hook Contributor
By Hilary Holladay
Somewhere in America, as I write this, you sit hunched over a laptop in your family’s basement planning a rampage. You are male and young—eighteen, nineteen, maybe twenty. You are not black or gay or transgendered. You are not poor. You are not dumb. No one would call you disadvantaged.
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Murder-suicide: Rio Mills standoff leaves two men dead
Dec 28th 5:25am
by Lisa Provence
A neighbor had heard gunshots before behind the Rio Mills Road house where two men were found dead December 26, but she didn't that day.
"We heard nothing yesterday," says Charlotte Pusey. "We never heard one gunshot throughout the entire ordeal."
Pusey was home the day after Christmas when she noticed blue lights around noon in front of 2525 Rio Mills Road, a house owned by James T. "Sonny" Marshall.
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People Project: Sprouse clicks with Cville's everyman
Dec 21st 11:59am
by Emma Eisenberg
“I believe that we come to know a city through the people who live there, so my goal is to depict the city of Charlottesville through its inhabitants,” writes Keith Alan Sprouse, of his new initiative, the Cville People Project. Inspired by Humans of New York (HONY), Sprouse has, since May, been hitting the Downtown Mall every Friday, rain or shine, and toting his camera to events and festivals around town in order to create a kind of “photographic census” of the place where we live.
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Skipping town: Where should I put all my stuff?
Dec 20th 1:34pm
Sullivan reinstated June 26
Dec 20th 5:05am
by Hook Staff
• Due to an editing error not caught by presstime, the date of the reinstatement of President Sullivan was wrong in last week's cover story sidebar, "Person of the Year: The runners up..." It was June 26, not June 23.
• In the same story, we misstated the location of the overlap of Teresa Sullivan and her outspoken defender Siva Vaidhyanathan. Sullivan was the graduate dean at the University of Texas when Vaidhyanathan was a graduate student there.
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The fiscal cliff
Dec 20th 5:05am
Farewell
Dec 20th 5:05am
by Hawes Spencer
With this issue, I bring more than a decade at the helm of the Hook to a close. The timing is right for me to make the move for personal and professional reasons. And unlike my last newspaper departure nearly 11 years ago, this one is a planned transition. For you, the reader, the Hook has in place a news team that is unparalleled in judgment and experience, and they are perfectly prepared to continue bringing you stories that matter. As for me, I'll remain in Charlottesville in the field of journalism.
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Property auctions
Dec 20th 1:53am
by Hook Staff
December 20 at 10am at the Albemarle Courthouse Property: 381 Minor Ridge Road Debtor: Bart C. Neumann Original amount owing: $192,000 Bidder brings: $11,000 or 10 percent sale price Info: ALG Trustee LLC 703-777-7101
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