Slim purchase
Mar 28th 10:51am
by Bill Emory
They say that companies that contract with our City are bound by tree protection guidelines. We will watch a few trees. See how that goes…
~Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog.
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Jeepers peepers! Frogs are canaries in a coal mine
Mar 28th 9:20am
by Hook Contributor
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?
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Outstanding value in Western Albemarle
Mar 28th 5:05am
Spotlight on Fry's Spring
Mar 28th 5:05am
by Samantha Masone
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
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Young and old: Vinegar Hill Café aims for health at all ages
Mar 27th 3:49pm
by anon
Two months after the grand opening of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, community music and educational events are happening on a near-daily basis in the extensively renovated facility.
Now, anyone stopping by the Center on Fourth Street NW won't leave hungry. That's thanks to the Vinegar Hill Café, a restaurant owned and operated by the Jefferson Area Board for Aging that aspires to improve the lives of the city's youngest and oldest residents even as it serves up healthy and affordable lunch options for Heritage Center visitors.
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Public housing fray: HUD says no Norris conflict of interest
Mar 27th 11:26am
by Lisa Provence
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.
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Witness-less: Curry prof's grand larceny charge reduced
Mar 27th 11:22am
by Lisa Provence
UVA Curry School of Education professor Glen Bull was in Charlottesville General District Court March 21 to face grand larceny charges involving a purse.
The incident allegedly occurred July 19 on the 400-block of East Main Street on the Downtown Mall. According to court records, the items taken included a purse, designer wallet, MacBook Air, scarf, U.S. currency, and totaled a value greater than $200, the price point for grand larceny.
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The week in review
Mar 27th 10:43am
by Hook Staff
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.
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Dumler petition: Mr. Smith goes to circuit court
Mar 26th 1:55pm
by Lisa Provence
In the latest episode of the scandal-plagued, sexual-battery-pleading, jail-time-serving Supervisor Chris Dumler saga, one of his constituents takes 584 signatures to Albemarle Circuit Court to ask a judge to remove Dumler from the Board of Supervisors, a request pretty much unprecedented in Virginia.
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Security failure? Morgan Harrington's family refiles complaint
Mar 26th 1:28pm
by Courteney Stuart
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.
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Four more cops
Mar 26th 12:38pm
by Hook Staff
•Last week's story, "Recession-ender: Albemarle budget ready to grow," incorrectly says the FY 2013-14 budget adds seven new police officers. Four will be added, and three positions were unfrozen last year.
•The name of photographer Bill Moretz was misspelled in last week's art listing.
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John Lewis and the power of love
Mar 26th 11:11am
by Lisa Provence
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.
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Red brain, blue brain: Does political affiliation reflect intelligence?
Mar 21st 4:30pm
Fiction contest winner: 'The Cliff'
Mar 21st 3:56pm
by Hook Contributor
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.
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Haute Chinese: Chang celebrates top ten honors
Mar 21st 1:24pm
by Dave McNair
When the editors of Travel & Leisure Magazine set out earlier this year to find the best Chinese restaurants in America, they had a daunting task. There are now over 41,000 Chinese restaurants in this country, according to industry research– that's three times the number of McDonald's, making General Tso possibly more familiar to most people than Ronald McDonald. Of course, as native Chinese will tell you, most of the typical "Chinese" dishes you'll find in American restaurants are about as Chinese as a Big Mac.
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Stream of memories
Mar 21st 12:12pm
by Courteney Stuart
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.
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John Carlos: The silence heard round the world
Mar 21st 11:20am
by Lisa Provence
When John Carlos was a seven- or eight-year-old growing up in Harlem, he had a vision of that moment on the victory stand in Mexico City at the 1968 Olympics, even down to using his left hand rather than his usual right. He imagined he was in a movie.
That premonition became an iconic image 15 years later when 200-meter bronze-medal winner Carlos and gold medalist Tommie Smith stood in front of the world and gave a Black Power salute.
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The write stuff: Meet the winners!
Mar 21st 11:07am
by Courteney Stuart
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.
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Incredible Carell: If Michael Scott were a magician
Mar 21st 10:59am
by Roger Ebert
by Richard RoeperWelcome back, Hilarious Jim Carrey. We've missed you.In The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, a predictable but often terrific absurdist comedy, Carrey plays Steve Gray, a long-haired, tattoo-spangled, masochistic performance artist/illusionist from the Criss Angel/David Blaine school. Forget about walking on hot coals; this guy sleeps overnight on hot coals and asks for a wake-up call.
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Luce
Mar 21st 10:53am
by Bill Emory
Neighborhood dog by the name of Luce.
Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog.
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Letter: New skatepark for kids or adults?
Mar 21st 10:52am
by Letter Writer
It will be interesting to see if the new skateboard park [Hook March 7, 2013, article, "Pop-shove-it! Charlottesville skate park re-opens in McIntire] will be designed for the benefit of children or the ease of adults.
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Peace plan: Scott Atran talks to terrorists
Mar 21st 10:11am
by Meri Jane Smith
Scott Atran runs with a rough, international crowd– jihadis, mujahideen, and lashkars– otherwise known as Islamic fundamentalists, otherwise known as terrorists, who have invited Atran into their worlds. As we know all too well, their worlds can be dangerous, even for a westerner with an invite.
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The week in review
Mar 21st 9:28am
by Hook Staff
Latest slam on the BoV's June debacle: The American Association of University Professors releases a report on Rector Helen Dragas' firing of President Teresa Sullivan and calls it a "crude exercise of naked power," as well as "a failure of judgment, and alas, of common sense." Ted Strong has the story in the Daily Progress.
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Spotlight on Farmington
Mar 21st 5:05am
by Samantha Masone
Area: Farmington
Price range: $575,000-$5,900,000
Schools: Murray, Henley, Western Albemarle Pros: location, amenities, beautiful neighborhood
Cons: high cost of ownership, close identification with club
“Farmington is primarily identified by the club,” says Elizabeth Feil Matthews, a realtor with McLean Faulconer and listing agent for the home that sits at 935 Windsor Road.
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Vinegar Hill: Building goes on the block
Mar 20th 1:22pm
by Lisa Provence
First the what's-playing sign was missing from the side of Vinegar Hill Theatre. Then a for-sale sign appeared, leaving loyal moviegoers wondering if their favorite cinema house was threatened again. The two events are not related– the movie sign blew down– and the theater is still open, but the building that houses it and Camino restaurant is on the block for $1.2 million.
When Ann Porotti and then-husband Chief Gordon purchased what would become Vinegar Hill Theatre in 1973, it was owned by Symington Garage and housed a motorcycle showroom, says Porotti.
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Deaton: Candidate calls for moratorium on death penalty prosecutions
Mar 20th 11:00am
by Lisa Provence
Calling the death penalty "barbaric," Steve Deaton, candidate for commonwealth's attorney in Charlottesville, wants a moratorium on prosecutions that could lead to death row.
"It's something I've been thinking about a long time," says Deaton. "I'm surprised no one brought it up– it's so out of character for Charlottesville."
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Snowe mobile: Former Maine senator speaks at Emily Couric lunch
Mar 19th 4:12pm
by Lisa Provence
Once upon a time, "moderate Republican" was not considered an oxymoron. An example of that rare breed, former Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, was in Charlottesville March 18 as the Emily Couric Leadership Forum's woman of the year.
Time named Snowe one of the best U.S. senators in 2006, but in 2012 she announced she wouldn't seek a fourth term because of the polarizing partisanship that had ground congressional effectiveness to a halt.
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Get Out! events, shows, things to do
Mar 19th 11:29am
by Dave McNair
"You know the kind of joke that's super-hilarious but also points in some genius way to the whole thing of the universe? Like that."—Daniel Handler, on Paul Legault's The Emily Dickinson Reader
Dead poet party
If you've never really cared for poetry, or understood why
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Senator Snowe got the memo
Mar 18th 2:45pm
by Lisa Provence
Senator Olympia Snowe's magenta jacket matched perfectly with the hair of Emily Couric scholarship finalist Page Grissom from Murray High School at the March 18 Omni luncheon.
Correction and update 3/19: Page Grissom's name was misspelled in the original version; the scholarship recipients names have been added in the caption.
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A taste of Hamiltons' new menu
Mar 16th 10:09am
Firefight: details emerge in Downtown Mall shooting
Mar 16th 1:21am
by Dave McNair
Early Saturday morning, March 16, at approximately 12:45am, three gunshots rang out on Second Street NW on the Downtown Mall, between the offices of the Hook and the Elks Lodge, leaving two men shot and wounded on the street. According to police, the two men have been identified as Frank D. Brown, 56, of Albemarle County, and Leon T. Brock, 22, of Culpeper County. As of Hook presstime on Tuesday, March 19, both were listed in stable condition at the UVA Medical Center and no charges had been filed.
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Trip trouble: Kroboth remains jailed as travel permit questioned
Mar 15th 2:48pm
by Courteney Stuart
An unwelcome January visit to his college-aged son in Oregon has already cost Kurt Kroboth two months of freedom, and a judge ruled on Wednesday, March 13, that the convicted attempted murderer will remain behind bars until the court can determine whether he violated the terms of his travel permit.
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Living large? Harding pleads guilty in fraud case
Mar 14th 4:54pm
by Lisa Provence
Real estate agent/developer Michael Wayne Harding, brother of Albemarle County Sheriff Chip Harding, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in U.S. District Court March 8 for bilking some prominent local businessmen of more than $2 million.
"This is a fraud scheme of some complexity beyond what we usually see in this district," said U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy.
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Orr's Beloved: Death defines a life
Mar 14th 3:37pm
by Meri Jane Smith
Gregory Orr knows about loss. In a hunting accident when he was 12, he shot and killed his brother. Two years later, his mother died, overnight.
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Gateway project: 250 Bypass Interchange project underway
Mar 14th 1:23pm
by Dave McNair
After more than four decades of planning, the head of the $50 million traffic improvement monster we've long known as the Meadow Creek Parkway, the Route 250 Bypass interchange, is finally being built after the city granted permission for construction to begin on March 4.
"I like to think that it will improve safety and add multimodal access where there currently is
Pieces of the Parkway Project
John W. Warner Parkway
Location: Albemarle County, from East Rio Road to Melbourne Road
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Lifemobile: 'Master of disaster' Rintels gets personal
Mar 14th 12:56pm
by Emma Eisenberg
“Asperger’s syndrome” was the diagnosis given to Charlottesville-based writer Jonathan Rintels’ son, J.B. “Unsafe at any speed” is what Ralph Nader called the Chevrolet Corvair in 1965. But when Rintels brought home a ’65 Corvair Corsa convertible, some kind of alchemy happened between boy and car that helped J.B. to see himself in a different light.
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Snow patrol
Mar 14th 12:38pm
by Bill Emory
Charlottesville Bicycle Pedestrian Coordinator Amanda Poncy out for a morning walk with Buddy, five-year-old tricolor hound on Wednesday, March 6. Coincidentally, Poncy is walking on the 1976 TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, a 4,247 mile transcontinental trail established for the Bicentennial.
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Afton's allure: A commuter's rocky affair
Mar 14th 12:04pm
by Hook Contributor
By Hilary Holladay
I’m in the waning months of a rocky relationship. It’s been almost three years now, and though I’ve taken breaks every Christmas and every summer, I’m not able to call it quits just yet. Making things worse, I know I’m one of many, all in hot pursuit, no matter the hour of the day or night. Let me tell you, it’s been one wild ride.
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Shear power: Going bald to save lives
Mar 14th 11:45am
by Courteney Stuart
Bald is beautiful, especially when it helps save children's lives. That's the idea behind St. Baldrick's Foundation, a charity that sponsors headshaving events across the country that have raised more than 100 million dollars for childhood cancer research since 2005.
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Life after fame: McCorkle continues to impress
Mar 14th 11:42am
by Emma Eisenberg
It is a rare writer that can give the reader the feeling that a story is meant personally for her. And yet, whether it be rocking the Paramount Theater last March with singer-songwriter Matreca Berg, or simply reading her words on the page with her signature Southern twang, acclaimed fiction writer Jill McCorkle creates a storytelling experience as intimate as friends sitting at the kitchen table.
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