The week in review

Worst nightmare for election officials: None of the voting machines at Walker Upper Elementary are working early November 8, preventing many would-be voters from casting their votes, WINA reports.

Closest race: The closeness of the governor's race between Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Jerry Kilgore is illustrated by the fact that both ran negative ads about each other down to the wire.

Lightest slap on the wrist: Both the Kaine and Kilgore campaigns are fined $100 for mailing voters what the State Board of Elections calls deceptive fliers.

Most explosive discovery: Bomb-making equipment turns up in the Whitewood Road apartment of Jonathan Dean, 22. Firefighters investigate after neighbors report a gasoline smell over the weekend. Dean is being held without bond.

Longest sentence: Greene County resident Peggy Ellis gets 20 years in jail for the second-degree New Year's Day murder of her husband, Bobby Ellis.

Most exciting call to Greenfield Trailer Park: Albemarle police retrieve an 18-inch alligator that a resident found November 2. A 12-foot python noted by a Daily Progress reporter was a pet.

Worst break-ins: The door to the downtown A&N store, located just down the street from the police station, gets smashed November 4.

Biggest auto heist: Three cars are taken from Masters Auto Body November 2. Dustin Wade Messer, 19, and George Waverly Morris, 19, are arrested in Greene County in one of the stolen vehicles, a 1986 Porsche 944, according to the Progress.

Worst streets: The Department of Public Works projects a shortfall for maintaining city streets and sidewalks and reports to City Council November 7 that $1.2 million needs to be added to the budget, John Yellig reports in the Progress.

Best week for PVCC: Just weeks after Piedmont Virginia Community College received $500K– its largest donation ever– Patricia Kluge and Bill Moses up the ante and give $1.2 million for a new science building. And the YMCA plans to build an indoor pool and fitness center on PVCC property.

Best week for the YMCA: See above.

Deepest pockets: The board of directors of the Piedmont Family YMCA pledges to match Albemarle County's contribution to a new Y and personally pony up $2 million.

Best news for UVA classified employees: The majority will receive a three percent pay increase and a $50 bump for each year of service, boosting the average increase to 4.4 percent, according to a university release.

Biggest film fest: The 18th Virginia Film Festival sets a new attendance record, serving 13,087 filmgoers, topping its previous best of 12,764 in 1993.

Worst blow to an already tattered U.S. image: The CIA has a system of secret prisons, called "black sites," in which to detain suspected terrorists in countries without a Bill of Rights, the Washington Post reports.

Worst exemption: Vice President Dick Cheney lobbies for an exception to a proposed ban on torture of suspected terrorists in U.S. custody, according to the Post.

Best preserved: The Paramount wins the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities 2005 award given by the local Thomas Jefferson branch.

Best name for a fundraiser: "Take a Shot at Crime," sponsored by the Rivanna Rifle and Pistol Club November 5 to raise money for the Charlottesville Area Crimestoppers.

Creepiest weather: Unusual temperatures in the 70s and sunny days the first week of November send sandal-wearing locals to cavort outdoors rather than to hunker beside hearths with mugs of mulled cider.