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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Cville yum! Charlottesville Restaurant Week coming January 21-27
Dec 19th 6:54pm
by Dave McNair
Eat like a king for just $29 or $36
in Charlottesville, Virginia– and help local food producers!
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Cliffhanger: The best-- and worst-- of 2012
Dec 19th 6:38pm
by Lisa Provence
When Mark Warner was governor, he once told the Hook the most annoying thing about Charlottesville was its belief that it is the center of the universe.
Guess what? In 2012, Charlottesville was the center of the universe. During the contentious presidential campaign, President Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen, and Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan all flocked here. So did the Dalai Lama.
And when the Olympics were happening in London, UVA athletes brought home the gold.
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Spy-cam finale: Former UVA law student sentenced
Dec 19th 3:50pm
by Lisa Provence
Joshua Gomes, the second-year UVA law student arrested for breaking into Carruthers Hall and planting a coat-hook camera in the registrar's office, got a three-year suspended sentence in court December 18.
Judge Edward Hogshire also ordered Gomes, 26, who now lives in Connecticut, to remain on good behavior for 10 years.
Related stories
Spy-cam case: Hormone imbalance suggested in UVA Law student B&E
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What was the most memorable Charlottesville event of 2012?
Dec 18th 4:50pm
The week in review
Dec 18th 2:54pm
by Hook Staff
Latest abduction: Mark L. Weiner, 52, of Barboursville, is charged after allegedly giving a ride from Charlottesville to Pantops to an adult female early December 13 and taking her against her will to a remote location off of Richmond Road. At the December 17 bond hearing, Albemarle Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford said the last thing the woman remembered was Weiner putting a cloth over her face, Ted Strong reports in the Progress. Weiner, a manager at the Branchlands Drive Food Lion, was denied bond and will be back in court January 3.
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Judgment day: 6 lawyers vie for juvenile court bench
Dec 18th 2:29pm
by Lisa Provence
Six attorneys sat before their Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association peers to argue why they were the best person to take a soon-to-be vacated seat in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court when Judge Dwight Johnson retires January 31.
The bar's judicial endorsements committee will rate the six candidates following the December 17 forum, and the person deemed most qualified gets the local nod and is almost always a shoo-in for confirmation by the General Assembly. All the legislators for in the 16th Judicial Circuit are notified of the bar's recommendation.
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Food explosion: The 2012 restaurant round-up
Dec 18th 1:23pm
by Dave McNair
The year in food was marked by something surprising, considering the economy: the opening and/or re-purposing of a lot of new restaurants and eateries, over 40 at least. Of course, there were also many great restaurant stories throughout the year, and here are a few.
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Ebert's picks: Tigers, beasts, heroes, and therapists compete early for Hollywood's biggest prizes
Dec 18th 12:11pm
by Roger Ebert
With the 2013 Oscarcast moved up to February 24, movie fans are already in a lather over the possible nominees, especially since again this year there can be "up to" 10 finalists in the best picture category.
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Seeking Sage: Reward offered in case of missing teen
Dec 18th 2:14am
by Courteney Stuart
Nearly a month after Charlottesville teen Dashad "Sage" Smith vanished on November 20, after last being seen around the 500 block of West Main Street, Charlottesville Police have announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts.
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Looking forward, looking back
Dec 17th 10:05pm
by Samantha Masone
Our local housing market saw a bit of a rebound in 2012, as reported by both Nest Realty and CAAR (the Charlottesville-Albemarle Association of Realtors), and now that the year is drawing to a close, a number of us are wondering what might be in store for 2013.
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Video by the Lake thrives by competition
Dec 17th 3:16pm
by Letter Writer
I just wanted to alert you to the fact that my son owns a successful video store in Palmyra, Fluvanna County. [News, December 13: "Fiscal cliff: Sneak Reviews may not last the month"]
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Pie tech: Local start-uppers meet... and eat
Dec 17th 9:08am
by Courteney Stuart
Used to be, having your head in the clouds wasn't such a good trait if you wanted to start a business. Not anymore. In fact, sitting around a conference room table in Lewis and Clark Square on a recent December afternoon, eating pie with folks from various local tech companies as part of a new tech meet-up group known as the Charlottesville Ninjas, it becomes clear that if your head isn't in "The Cloud," you're behind the times.
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Bald is beautiful
Dec 17th 6:06am
Unlikely duo: Story of two women nominated for 7 indie awards
Dec 17th 4:04am
by Roger Ebert
In another time and another place, Starlet could have inspired a short story by Chekhov or O. Henry — a story about two women, one 22, the other 85, who are linked by one of those accidental plot twists explaining why they come together. Indeed, for almost an hour, the story is all the movie is about: That, and performances so effective they're enough all by themselves, even while we know next to nothing about the characters.
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FunStuff: Charlottesville events December 20 and beyond
Dec 16th 10:52am
Architecture helps speed sale on Carlton
Dec 15th 5:05am
Redevelopment
Dec 13th 12:15pm
by Bill Emory
Charlottesville Albemarle is no stranger to greenfield development. So it's heartening to encounter some re-development. Here, the ghost-box of Circuit City, closed three years ago, is getting remade into a grocery store. Meanwhile, in the Woolen Mills, the H.T.
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Big year: Bruce unplugs and lots more
Dec 13th 10:17am
by Hawes Spencer
The year 2012 was another big one in the annals of Charlottesville music history. It would have been news enough to have "The Boss," Bruce Springsteen in town, but it's what he did with his time in town that created an everlasting glow. Appearing here just a few days before the election, in addition to his evening performance at John Paul Jones Arena, he gave a free afternoon acoustic show at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion.
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Person of the Year: UVA President Teresa Sullivan
Dec 13th 5:07am
by Dave McNair
Two years ago, after Teresa Sullivan was selected as the eighth president of UVA, and the first woman to fill the role, replacing John Casteen, III after 20 years at the helm, an associate dean in the McIntire School of Commerce, George Overstreet, joked that "a reduction in testosterone level can never be bad."Of course, this past summer, we learned that estrogen-fueled leadership can be just as powerful, if not more so.
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Person of the Year: The runners up...
Dec 13th 5:06am
by Courteney Stuart
UVA President Teresa Sullivan was a shoo-in for the Hook's Person of the Year, but she certainly wasn't the only one who made waves in 2012. From a certain UVA rector to a determined sheriff to an outspoken professor, here are this year's runners-up.
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10, not 9, Burtons
Dec 12th 5:33pm
by Hook Staff
The number of Burtons Grills was incorrectly identified in last week's story entitled "Stonefield foodery: Burtons Grill serves up American contempo." Charlottesville is the 10th location, not the 9th location.
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Property auctions
Dec 12th 11:42am
by Hook Staff
December 13 at 3:30pm at the Albemarle Courthouse Property: 1638 Harris Creek Road Debtors: Sandra K. Meadows, Mary Angela Stephens, Sonja M. Burt Original amount owing: $220,000 Bidder brings: 10 percent sale price Info: Wittstadt Title & Escrow 866-503-4930
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Vigil for Sage: Dozens turn out for missing Charlottesville teen
Dec 11th 2:57pm
by Courteney Stuart
Approximately 50 people came out on Saturday night, December 8, for a vigil to call attention to the case of missing Charlottesville teen Dashad "Sage" Smith. The 19-year-old vanished on November 20, two days before Thanksgiving, after reportedly making plans to meet with a Charlottesville man, Erik McFadden, whom police are also now seeking.
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More tow trouble: Lot owner arrested for brandishing weapon
Dec 11th 2:54pm
by Courteney Stuart
Three weeks after a towing incident at the former Fry's Spring Exxon station on Fontaine Avenue escalated into a confrontation between a vehicle owner and an allegedly gun-wielding property owner, an arrest has been made.
Related story
Towing tales part deux: Wreckers, guns, and money
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Jefferson School: Ready for its closeup after $18 million rehab
Dec 11th 2:45pm
by Lisa Provence
When classes ceased in the historic Jefferson School about 10 years ago, the discussion began about what to do with the structure on 4th and Commerce streets that is an important educational resource for generations of African-American families.
Related stories
Jefferson School giveaway: Can Charlottesville get it right this time?
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The week in review
Dec 11th 2:41pm
by Hook Staff
Worst flu outbreak: St. Anne's-Belfield cancels upper school classes December 7 with more than 80 students and staff stricken. Jack Jouett Middle School reports a similar number of absences, reports Samantha Koon in the Daily Progress.
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Accreditation limbo: UVA placed on 'warning' status by group
Dec 11th 1:29pm
by Hawes Spencer
Helen Dragas has a new headache.
Despite telling the group that accredits the University of Virginia that all governance issues were under control, the UVA Board of Visitors, which Dragas leads, suffered a major rebuke Tuesday when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools put the Charlottesville institution on "warning" status in the wake of the so-called "UVA June," the forced resignation of a sitting president.
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Old bizes: The other people of the year
Dec 11th 9:24am
by Hawes Spencer
It would be easy to say that Monticello is the oldest business in town. Easy, but wrong if continuous operation counts. From 1831-1923, the place was more of a private dwelling than it was either a plantation or an acclaimed tourist site and research center.And that's just one illustration of the problem of trying to come up with a list of the oldest Charlottesville businesses.
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Legal battles limited to passive panhandling
Dec 11th 8:33am
by Letter Writer
Your article on panhandling [December 6 cover story: "Season of giving: Is panhandling, vagrancy, destroying the Downtown Mall?"] stated that battles have been fought regarding ordinances "to restrict aggressive panhandling, which some call unconstitutional."
That is simply not correct. I represent the five people who regularly beg on the mall and who challenged, in court, certain portions of the "soliciting" ordinance that prohibited passive solicitation.
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Who is the local person of the year?
Dec 11th 5:05am
FunStuff: Charlottesville events December 13 and beyond
Dec 10th 2:42pm
Campus crushing: Radnor's film is delightful escapism
Dec 10th 2:32pm
by Roger Ebert
Josh Radnor's Liberal Arts is an almost unreasonable pleasure about a jaded New Yorker who returns to his alma mater in Ohio and finds that his heart would like to stay there. It's the kind of film that appeals powerfully to me; to others, maybe not so much.
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DMZ
Dec 10th 12:40pm
by Bill Emory
Walking in the County southeast on Hydraulic Road past the shops at Stonefield. Enjoying the new sidewalk and trees. Headed home. Arriving at the “Main Street” of the County, U.S. Route 29, the neighborhood model takes on a new light. Not sure exactly how many lanes there are, as they are a challenge to count when standing on one side. How is the pedestrian meant to cross into Charlottesville? Carefully. [For our post-Korean Conflict readers, "DMZ" typically stands for de-militarized zone.–editor]~
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The wheels on the bus...
Dec 10th 11:49am
by Hawes Spencer
A school bus gets a workout Saturday as a 16-year-old drives the retired-from-service vehicle through a Greenwood-area cow field.
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Kitchen classic: Hernandez remembers his roots
Dec 10th 5:05am
by Courteney Stuart
Too busy to make dinner every night? Don't want to give your kids fast food? If you live in the Keswick area, chef Juan Hernandez might have a solution for you. From a commercial kitchen tucked away behind his house on Union Mills Road, Hernandez runs a full scale catering operation called La Cucina Classica, offering fully prepared family-sized dinners that can be picked up on your drive home.
"We can do meals for 1, 2, or 3 people up to 1,500," says Hernandez, 52, who comes from some tough circumstances.
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Keeping the cork problem at bay
Dec 9th 5:40pm
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