Biggest copping of a plea: Kurt Kroboth, 50, who donned a vampire mask and tried to kill his wife on Halloween, pleads guilty May 4 to attempted murder and breaking and entering with the intent to commit murder, Liesel Nowak reports in the Daily Progress. The former investment banker faces up to 30 years in prison– and a $750,000 civil lawsuit filed by his wife, Jane Kroboth.
Worst news for Charlottesville police: Jane Kroboth also has notified the city she intends to file suit charging police negligence because they did not warn her after Michael Ayers called police in September 2004 to report Kurt Kroboth offered him $10,000 to kill her, according to another Nowak article.
Worst fight: Sean Orlando Scott, 31, is charged May 4 with the voluntary manslaughter of Gregory Eugene Johnson, 50, following a one-punch fight in the 800 block of Hardy Drive in which Johnson was knocked unconscious and died May 1. This is Charlottesville's second homicide in 2005.
Hottest seat: The Charlottesville School Board continues to take the heat both for hiring– and firing– former superintendent Scottie Griffin. Byron Brown, citing stress, and Bill Igbani announce they won't seek reappointment to the board.
Biggest gambling ring: Seventeen Virginia Tech students are convicted May 4 for participating in an illegal poker ring following a March raid on an apartment where police found $2,000 and called it "a regular poker den," according to the Roanoke Times.
Worst college fire: The roof collapses on Preston Hall dorm at William & Mary May 3 after a blaze breaks out around 1pm.
Worst waiting: High school seniors on the wait-list at the college of their choice. At UVA, the number of wait-lists admitted has ranged from eight to 240 in recent years, according to USA Today.
Worst loss to the Daily Progress letters page: Prolific, pull-no-punches writer Hamlin Caldwell, 74, dies May 2.
Latest national chains: PetsMart, Bonefish Grill, Sakura Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar and TGI Friday's made their Charlottesville debut at Hollymead Town Center, home also of the long awaited Target, scheduled to open late July.
Latest in the cheese wars: Local farmers Christine Solem and John Coles, prohibited by state law from selling their fresh goat cheese, give it away at the City Market– and earn more in donations than they used to earn in sales, according to another Liesel Nowak story.
Most dubious local addition: A white supremacist group, the National Vanguard, an offshoot of the West Virginia-based National Alliance, sets up shop in Charlottesville, home of William "Turner Diaries" Pierce disciple Kevin Strom.
Biggest boost to free speech monument: John W. Kluge ponies up $125,000 for the giant chalkboard to be located across from City Hall on the east end of the Downtown Mall.
Worst teen trend: A 14-year-old male is shot May 7 and a 16-year-old is arrested in Charlottesville. On April 29, another 14-year-old Buford Middle School student was stabbed.
Biggest change to the local landscape: Grading for the North Grounds Connector is well under way off the 29/250 bypass.
Best local on PBS: Nature writer Marlene Condon and her garden appear on Virginia Home Grown May 21 on Channel 41 out of Richmond.
Best sighting of Monticello's director in the Onion : The online humor mag doctors an old AP photo of Dan Jordan unveiling a nickel and runs it with a "story" about the U.S. Mint's new project to release a unique penny for every American county.
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