Culbreth Theater is about to get a new neighbor in the form of a 554-space parking deck, and it means you won’t have Culbreth Road as your favorite Rugby to Emmet cut-through for at least a year.

UVA announced Tuesday that Culbreth Road, which connects Rugby Road to University Avenue near Emmet Street, will close to through traffic on December 11. That will give Donley’s Construction of Richmond time to do some heavy lifting on the six-level Arts Grounds Parking Garage that will stand between the tracks of the Buckingham Branch Railroad Co. and UVA’s Culbreth Theatre.

“After the parking garage is completed,” UVA project manager Craig Booth assures motorists, “Culbreth Road will again connect
University and Rugby.”

The road will remain closed to through traffic until it is reopened in February 2008– yes, 2008!– with a reconfigured traffic pattern. Besides its role as a short cut, the road has long been enjoyed by locals as a broad swath of surface parking in the dense Rugby Road fraternity/arts area, but the so-called A9 parking lots are already mostly history. (more)

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Three weeks after sitting in the Hook’s HotSeat, Washington Redskins kicker and Albemarle High School alum Nick Novak now finds himself on an actual hot seat as he faces possible unemployment. On Tuesday, the Redskins signed kicker Shaun Suisham to be part of the team’s practice squad. Considering most teams only carry one kicker, it’s a clear sign that Novak could be one errant kick away from getting the boot.

On November 5, Novak was the hero when he made a last-second 47-yard field goal to beat the Dallas Cowboys. However, since signing with the ‘Skins in October, Novak has made only 5 of 10 field goal attempts, making him the least accurate among all starting NFL kickers. Last Sunday, Novak nearly cost his team a win when he missed a relatively easy 37-yard attempt in a close game with the Carolina Panthers.

The former Charlottesvillian knows such job insecurity is part of being an NFL kicker. As he told the Hook earlier this month, “There are only 32 jobs out there, so the pressure is higher. But that’s why you do it.”

Novak next takes the field when the Redskins take on the Atlanta Falcons at home this Sunday, December 3 at 1pm.

DEC. 4 UPDATE: Novak found himself on the bench this weekend as the Redskins promoted Suisham from the practice squad to handle all kicking duties. He made both his extra point attempts but missed his one and only field goal, a 50-yard attempt.
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Police shootings, school bus seat-belts, dumbing down students

ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
Riddled: What happens after police shootings
The news of police shootings is sensational, but what happens in their aftermath? In this week’s Hook, families of two men disabled by police bullets–including Elvis Shifflett, the subject of a seven-day manhunt (more)

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Comcast’s takeover of Adelphia Cable is proving a boon for the local Gray Television stations as they land prime spots lower on the dial, while their fiercest competitors get the boot– or the less desirable spots Newsplex stations now hold.

“It’s huge,” says Newsplex general manager Roger Burchett. “It’ll make a huge difference immediately.” Starting December 28, WCAV CBS19 moves from the wastelands of cable channel 18 to primo channel 6, a spot now held by WTVR in Richmond– which is being dropped from Comcast cable. WAHU FOX27 takes WTTG’s channel 9, but the Washington Fox station will still be available on channel 18 for those who like “If it bleeds, it leads” for their 10 o’clock news. And the Newsplex scores cable channel 2 for its newest station, My C’Ville, which will debut classic, Hawaii Five-0-style television on or before December 28.

Richmond stations aren’t all being shown the door: WWVT NBC 12 and WRIC, the ABC channel 8 station, remain where they are. And NBC29’s newest offering, CW29, continues on cable 17.

Another casualty beneficiary of the Comcast shake-up: TBN, the Trinity Broadcast Network, is demoted from channel 20 to 98. Oops, TBN is promoted to 20 from the bottom of the dial, putting the religious station closer to the mainstream.

And one more harbinger of change in the new world of Comcast: Richmond cable TV subscribers are looking at a price increase the beginning of the year, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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If it’s true that first impressions are the most lasting, then President George W. Bush and Senator-elect Jim Webb may not be the chummiest of statesmen in Washington for the next two years. The Washington Post reports this morning that at a recent White House reception for newly elected lawmakers, things got a bit testy between our 43rd president and Virginia’s newest senator.

After Webb refused to stand in a presidential receiving line or have his picture taken with Bush, the President found the senator-elect and asked, “How’s your boy?” alluding to Webb’s son Jimmy, a Marine serving in Iraq.

“I’d like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President,” Webb said.

“That’s not what I asked you. How’s your boy?” Bush retorted.

“That’s between me and my boy, Mr. President,” Webb responded, reportedly ending the conversation.

Webb confirmed the exchange to the Post, saying, “No offense to the institution of the presidency, and I’m certainly looking forward to working with him and his administration. [But] leaders do some symbolic things to try to convey who they are and what the message is.”

The White House declined to comment on the exchange.

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Almost a month after borderline violent images from a Charlottesville campaign stop for Senator George Allen splashed across cable news and the Internet, city Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman says that he will not press charges against the Allen supporters who tackled UVA law student and left-wing blogger Mike Stark to the ground at the Omni Hotel.

“No one sought to hurt anyone,” Chapman says in a release. However, he does allow that “several individuals” could eventually find themselves (more)

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A November 27 post at the popular boingboing.net suggests that the reason visitors aren’t allowed to take pictures inside Monticello is– get this– copyright law. But according to Monticello spokesperson Wayne Mogielnicki, that’s almost right.

“Our policy is no photos in the house,” Mogielnicki. “It’s for some legal and some practical reasons.”

The legal reasons stem from the fact that Monticello does not own all its furniture and art, and some are reproductions by artists who may wish to control copying. Others objects are lent with special conditions. “We have some things on permanent loan where the owners are leery of having them photographed,” says Mogielnicki. “When we have film crews come in doing travel pieces or documentaries, there are things they can’t photograph by themselves– only in situ.”

In other words, Monticello doesn’t want to break any deals it has made to obtain a particularly sweet piece. “Sometimes the guides misstate this as saying we don’t have copyright, and the head guide has assured me he will address this,” Mogielnicki says. Still, there’s another really big reason why in-house photography is verboten: it could distract the non-photographers.

“It would be impractical and would diminish the quality of the tour,” says Mogielnicki, “and it would slow the tour.”

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A former member of the Albemarle First Bank board of directors claims in a recent magazine article that the bank ran into trouble because of reckless lending that essentially made it a “welfare agency.”

In the fall edition of Region Focus, retired economics professor and banking veteran Richard Selden portrays the early loan committee at Albemarle First as a bunch of yes men afraid to ask tough questions. “That was lacking at Albemarle First,” Selden says in the story, which notes that in 2002, the bank had among the nation’s highest level of (more)

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There’s been a big stink in the Woolen Mills neighborhood, but yesterday’s action by the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority may lessen the smells. As reported by the Daily Progress this morning, the Authority board voted yesterday to truck its waste off-site instead of composting at the edge of a neighborhood, as it has done for at least a decade.

The action comes with a cost. In addition (more)

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Billy Joel, the “piano man” who shot to fame in the mid-1970s with a moving song by that title and then successfully danced through various musical genres, is bringing his tunes to town.

According to an email sent out to customers of the John Paul Jones Arena shortly after 10pm Sunday, Joel will perform Friday, February 23, and tickets go on sale December 1.

How big is Joel? The Recording Industry Association of America estimates that he’s sold over 100 million records.

Formerly married to supermodel Christie Brinkley, Joel has another twenty-something as his current bride. And although he pronounced himself retired from music making in the mid-1990s, his occasional tours often produce phenomenal results, such as appearing before nearly half a million people in Rome on July 31 of this year.

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The Holiday Survival Guide, The end of 10-4, CarMax muscles in on Pantops

That’s right, you read correctly. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this week’s issue hits newsstands a day early this week. Our regular Thursday releases will resume next week.

ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
The Holiday Survival Guide
Each November and December, an ever growing chorus sings the same refrain: “The holidays have gotten too commercial!” But luckily for us we live in a town rich in holiday traditions that, by and large, don’t require spending a dime. So flex your vocal cords for singing, sharpen your saw for cutting a tree, and check out all the wonders our area has to offer at this “most wonderful time of the year.”

ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE: (more)

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Public outrage over O.J. Simpson’s upcoming book, If I Did It, and a FOX interview with the former football star acquitted of murdering his wife spills to the local airwaves. Gray Television, parent company of WAHU FOX27, announces today that it will not air the controversial Juice interview by publisher Judith Regan November 27 and 29. No word on what alternative programming will be scheduled, but presumably it will be tamer, less inflamatory FOX fare. Viewers unable to avert their eyes from the Simpson train wreck can still catch the interview on WTTG Channel 5 in Washington, which is owned by FOX.

3:55pm UPDATE: Roger Burchett, general manager of the local Gray stations, calls the O.J. special “a rehash of a 10-year-old murder” and “a two-hour infomercial to help somebody sell books.”

4:10pm UPDATE: Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. company owns both HarperCollins publishing and FOX-TV, announces that both the O.J. Simpson If I Did It TV special and book have been cancelled. “I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” he tells Fox News (also a News Corp. company). Fox News also notes that a dozen Fox affiliates had refused to air the controversial Simpson interview this evening.

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The Christmas trees have arrived– as seen in this 8am photo today at Ivy Corner, a horticultural shop in downtown Ivy. Driver Nathan Moles of Floyd-based Tree Transport says the evergreens he delivered– all 539 of them– were probably cut yesterday.

Elsewhere, the Giant on Pantops Mountain has a big ole fake snow-globe spewing away. And the Downtown Mall got its “holiday tree” at Central Place a few days ago.

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Is Charlottesville the Little Apple?, Beebe plea could bring new indictments, Sheriff added to sexual assault suit

ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
I [heart] Charlottesville: Is our town the Little Apple?
This week, we ask has Charlottesville taken a turn for the north? With ever-more exotic restaurants and shops, new residents from around the world, and a decided voting tilt to the left, we’re looking more and more like a certain big, mid-atlantic city. Courteney Stuart has the story.

ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE: (more)

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Four centuries after English entrepreneurs claimed our Commonwealth in the name of her forebear, Queen Elizabeth II will attend the ceremonies commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement in May. Governor Tim Kaine broke the news yesterday in a press release.”Our Jamestown 2007 events will be elevated by the prominence of Her Majesty,” he wrote, “and we look forward to celebrating the deep historical and cultural connections between Virginia and the United Kingdom.”

Of course, this is is not Her Majesty’s first visit to Virginia. Many Charlottesvillians will recall that in 1976 the Queen helped commemorate America’s bicentennial with a visit to our fair city. And long-memoried Chris Callahan of WINA radio reported this morning that she came to Virginia in 1957 for Jamestown’s 350th anniversary.
No word yet on whether Her Royal Highness’ May itinerary will include Charlottesville. “The details have not been released and we do not know the details,” Kaine tells the Daily Progress‘ Bob Gibson.

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For seven years now, the Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families (CCF) has been issuing Stepping Stones, a statistical study on the well-being of children and families in the area. Using data collected from police records, the school system, social services organizations, the courts, and other sources, the 60-page study identifies trends in targeted areas such as bus ridership, teen pregnancy, academic achievement, crime, literacy, drug use, school discipline, and family characteristics.

“It’s a kind of report card,” says CCF director Gretchen Ellis, “where we take the vital signs of the community over a period of time.”

So did we get an A?

“Basically, it’s good news,” says Ellis. “Academic achievement is up, voter registration is up, teen pregnancies are down, and more kids are entering kindergarten ready to read.”

Still, Ellis admits other trends are troubling. For example, the number of children living in poverty has gone up in both the City and the County, and per capita income in the area has risen a mere $1,200 since 1993 when adjusted for inflation. (more)

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After suffering its worst losses in 12 years in this year’s elections, the Republican party has been doing plenty of cleaning house, with Bob Gates nominated to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense and Senator Mel Martinez (FL) taking over for Ken Mehlman as head of the Republican National Committee. But sometimes, a loss can be a win, and for Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Richmond) dissatisfaction with the old guard might mean a promotion.

The congressman from Virginia’s seventh district (which includes Madison, Orange, and Louisa Counties) currently serves as the GOP’s Deputy House Whip, making him the third-ranking man in what will soon be that chamber’s minority party. But given some Republicans’ desire for change, and given the ties current party whip Roy Blunt (OH) has to recently ousted majority leader Tom DeLay, some congressmen have undertaken a “draft Cantor” movement within the party ranks, according to the Washington Times. Cantor has said that, out of loyalty to Blunt, he won’t run for the powerful position, according to Rep. Paul Ryan (WI). “Most people would say Eric would win, but he doesn’t want to win that way,” Ryan says.

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Mustapha Farrakhan, a highly recruited Illinois prep basketball player and grandson of controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, announced yesterday that he has signed a letter of intent with UVA coach Dave Leitao, who used to coach at Chicago-area DePaul University. The 6′3″ guard recently told the New York Times that when his grandfather visits one of his basketball games, he arrives with a sizable entourage. “Everybody knows when he comes into the gym,” the Cavalier-to-be told the Times. “He’s with about 30 people, and they take up a whole section in the stands.”

The Times notes that in addition to making incendiary remarks about Jews, the elder Farrakhan has a history of energetic violin playing. “I want to attack basketball,” Mustapha Farrakhan tells the Times, “the way my grandpa attacks the violin.”

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The election may be over, but the hits keep on coming in the Virginia senate race. On the November 14 episode of his Colbert Report, Comedy Central’s fake conservative commentator Stephen Colbert offered his thoughts on why Senator George Allen lost to Senator-elect Jim Webb– whom Colbert called “a friend of the show, enemy of America.” His conclusion? It’s all the fault of Independent Green Party candidate Glenda “Gail for Rail” Parker and her catchy jingle!

As first reported by the Hook , Parker threw some last minute support to Webb right around the same time her jug band-tinged 30-second ad hit Virginia’s radio airwaves. Colbert devoted a whole segment to Parker and her song. He berated Allen for not backing Parker’s light rail proposal, yelling at an image of the senator, “Really, George? Control of the Senate wasn’t important enough to lay down a couple of stupid rails?” After lipsyncing along with Parker’s jingle, complete with superimposed lyrics and bouncing ball, Colbert also made a point of chiding Parker for not using a song that featured her real first name. “There’s plenty of things that rhyme with Glenda!” he said, before singing, “Let’s vote for Glenda… she’s not named Brenda!” Colbert then ended the segment by leading his studio audience in a rousing reprise of the snappy tune.

In case you missed it during the campaign, or if you just can’t get it out of your head, click the player below to hear the “Gail for Rail” jingle.

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It seems like only yesterday that the Daily Progress unveiled a much heralded redesign, complete with an insert to help readers fully appreciate the enormity of the changes. But that was January 20, 2003, and ever one to keep up with journalistic fashions, the DP has changed its look again.

The first issue of the new and improved Progress (right) hit the newsstands November 13. Gone is the blue border that seemed so fresh, so…USA Today in 2003. Darker now is the “What’s Next” column, its subheads more somber sans the blue. The date bears a funereal black band, as if to say, the party’s over, kids. And yet, the revamped Progress is not all sober black and white: playful pink-and-blue teaser boxes atop the masthead tempt the reader to peek at “Pupils learn about Jefferson.”

Most subtle is the DP’s trimmer look, a good half-inch narrower. Newspaper readership may be shrinking, but the feisty Progress shows us that it can shrink, too.

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Ten months after he was arrested and charged with raping a fellow UVA student in October 1984, 41-year-old William Nottingham Beebe entered Charlottesville Circuit Court today, pled guilty to a lesser charge of felony aggravated sexual battery, and agreed to the prosecution’s suggested sentence of two years behind bars. And while the plea brings an end to Beebe’s prosecution, Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Claude Worrell dropped a bombshell: the investigation isn’t over.

“Other sexual assaults occurred that night by other individuals in that fraternity,” Worrell announced to the court. “Beebe has agreed to cooperate.”

Beebe’s victim, Liz Seccuro, was a 17-year-old first year student when she attended a party at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house on October 6, 1984. Although she was present as Beebe entered his plea today, she did not take the stand. In earlier cases, however, she testified to drinking a small quantity of beer and a glass of lime-green punch at the party. Soon after drinking the punch, she has testified, she began to feel that her limbs were heavy and she had difficulty moving. (more)

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If all goes as planned, our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan will be getting a helping hand from an unexpected source back home: Charlottesville’s own Club 216.

In a press release, the dance club says it has launched a drive to send care packages to Marines. “Some of us may not support the war, but we all support the troops,” the e-mail reads. The club plans to send new white socks and boxer shorts size 30 to 36. “They don’t get to take showers as often as they’d like,” the release explains. “They wear their socks and underwear a few days, and if they have spares, they toss the dirty ones rather than trying to get them washed.”

The club is also planning to send reading material. “What they would like are news magazines like Newsweek, Time, U.S. News & World Report, magazines on sports, hunting , wrestling, racing, also STRAIGHT porn.” Then, taking a moment to address one element of the club’s demographic, the e-mail continues, “Gay guys– We know…too bad, but we can fantasize!”

Anyone who wants to join Club 216’s efforts to help the troops should bring their supplies to the club on Water Street.

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One of the most improbable series of events in recent Virginia political history will come to its once unimaginable conclusion at 3pm when would-be presidential contender and Senator George Allen will concede defeat to his Democratic opponent, Senator-Elect Jim Webb at a press conference in Alexandria.

This comes after an Election Night when the two candidates were neck-and-neck as returns came in, and most Virginians went to bed not knowing who had won. But after the votes were counted, it soon it looked like Webb’s 7,000+ vote lead was more than could be surmounted in a possible recount. That became especially clear after yesterday’s statewide canvass revealed no major errors in the tabulation of the vote.

Senator-Elect Webb is scheduled to make a statement of his own from his Northern Virginia headquarters in Arlington at 4:15pm.

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Mind For Murder, Real Estate bubble, Redskins kicker

ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
MIND FOR MURDER: She’s good enough for CourtTV & NBC, but is that good enough?
Noreen Renier may be America’s leading crime-solving psychic. For 30-plus years , the Free Union resident has used her psychic powers to find bodies and finger suspects, including wife-killer Scott Peterson, with startling accuracy. Still, some claim she’s a fraud with a genius for self-promotion. Is her special talent real? Read Vijith Assar’s profile of the psychic sleuth.

ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
Bubble trouble?: Real estate market slowing
According to the latest stats, Charlottesville’s real estate market has definitely cooled. Gone are the days of the quick flip for a handsome profit. But has the bubble burst? Courteney Stuart asks the experts. (more)

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Election Night 2006 will go down in history as a big night for Democrats with their winning of a sizable majority in the House of Representatives and a potential one-seat majority in the Senate (pending the outcome of our own potentially imminent recount). But the biggest victor of all might be UVA professor and political pundit Larry Sabato. Having correctly predicted the outcome in 483 of 502 House, Senate, and governor’s races, Sabato had an accuracy rating of 96 percent, good enough to be crowned the champion of all political prognosticators by both MSNBC and Fox News.

Sabato says such accuracy requires two whole years of preparation. “You don’t come into this three weeks ahead of time,” he says. “So I want to attribute this to a great team: Matt Smyth, Dave Wasserman, and Mike Baudinet. They all work 8-10 hour days year round keeping up with the dynamics, the voting patterns, the strengths of the candidates, and knowing the districts a lot better than Stephen Colbert.”

Of particular note is how Sabato was 100 percent accurate in the Senate races decided thus far. With Democrat Jim Webb beating Senator George Allen by 7,349 votes (at this hour) out of over 2.3 million cast, Sabato is confident his prediction for Webb will give him a perfect 33 of 33.

“This is way above what is needed for a secure victory for Webb,” he says. “Remember, in last year’s attorney general recount, out of 1.9 million votes, only several dozen changed. What are the odds a margin as big as 7,000 is going to collapse?”

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