4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review

Boldest defiance of the League of Women Voters: Senator George Allen refuses to pull footage from an October 9 League debate from an ad lambasting opponent Jim Webb. The League insists debate footage not be used to maintain the League's nonpartisan status, the AP reports. Allen spokesman Dick Wadhams says Webb broke the agreement first by linking to the debate on a blog.

Worst glitch for Jim Webb: Hart InterCivic voting machines chop off the U.S. Senate candidate's name in three jurisdictions: Alexandria, Falls Church, and– you guessed it– Charlottesville; and there's nothing that can be done about it before the election, according to the Washington Post. His name shows up as James H. "Jim" on a summary page that can't handle long monikers, but his full name will appear on the actual ballot.

 Most sane: Berman Justus' insanity defense doesn't fly in his murder trial for the November 1, 2003, shootings of his estranged wife, Amanda Justus (in her car with her four-year-old son strapped in the back seat), and her boyfriend, Joseph White, who was asleep in a mobile home, Liesel Nowak reports in the Daily Progress. A Greene County judge finds Justus guilty of first-degree and capital murder October 23.

Worst spate of BB incidents: A 12-year-old brings a BB pistol to Buford Middle School October 18, three juveniles shoot a jogger on West Main that same day, and a CATEC student brings an air gun to school October 20.

 Biggest manhunt: More than 60 cops using dogs, helicopters, and ATVs scour the area around Route 20 south for Elvis Gene Shifflett, whom they shoot and capture October 20. A woman with Shifflett says she told police he was unarmed. Police now seek Shifflett's brother, Jeffrey Wayne Shifflett; and the family fears that he, too, will end up blasted, according to media accounts.

Worst carbon monoxide leak: Six people are evacuated from Old Salem Apartments October 17 for about an hour after Bryan Malstrom returns home to find his detector's alarm going off, the Newsplex reports.

Deepest breath: The Rivanna Solid Waste Authority votes October 23 to close the Moore's Creek compost facility, long a stink in the side of the Woolen Mills neighborhood, according to the Progress.

Last gasp for Enron: Former CEO Jeffrey Skilling is sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison October 23.

Best website: Charlottesville picks up another honor on the heels of a recent Pinnacle Award for what spokesman Ric Barrick describes as a $58,000 website. This time it's the "Savvy" award from the City-County Communications and Marketing Association.

Best candy bouquet: Kathy Hensley, owner of Candy Bouquet in Ruckersville, wins first place in the international candy bouquet convention in Little Rock, Arkansas, Septemter 28-October 1. Hensley also takes home second place for best in show.

Best place to elope: The Washington Post lists the Clifton Inn among Virginia places to "get hitched without the hassle."

Most veiled: UVA Persian lit prof Farzaneh Milani discusses the history of the veil in the October 23 Post op-ed pages.

Best battle of the titans: John Grisham knocks Bob Woodward off the top of the New York Times Best-Seller List, moving 172,439 copies of The Innocent Man, his first foray into nonfiction, in its first week, compared to 88,375 of Woodward's State of Denial.

Most wanted: Llama-on-the-lam London Ray jumps ship from his southern Albemarle pen when a black bear climbs in and is gone more than a week before finding his way home October 21. 

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