Murder in the Park, The Queen’s guide to summer, Racist parking regs?

ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
Murder in the Park: Rice release revives memories
In the second of a two-part series on unsolved local murders, Barbara Nordin examines the events surrounding the 1996 deaths of Lollie Winans and Julie Williams in the Shenandoah National Park and the government’s now-withdrawn case against Darrell David Rice. Now that Rice is getting out of prison for other offenses, what lies ahead for him and what does it mean for one woman who survived an attack from him?

ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
Fit for a Queen: HRH Queen Elizabeth II decrees a great summer!
As you know by now, Queen Elizabeth II recently made the trip across the pond from Buckingham Palace to visit our fair Commonwealth. We tried to keep it a secret, but then she had to show up at the Jamestown 2007 celebration where every media outlet in the world converged and conspired to completely blow the surprise we had in store for Hook readers. Oh, well. Now the royal cat’s out of the velvet bag, we herewith publish her findings. Like the Beatles said, Her Majesty is a pretty nice girl, and she had quite a bit to say about all the wonders of summer in Charlottesville!

Racial restrictions? Nighttime parking limits rile residents
Parking restrictions around the city have been known to raise hackles of shoppers who want more than two hours to stroll. But the signs around Friendship Court and now next to public housing on South First Street anger some people for a more serious reason: they see the restrictions as evidence of racism. That’s because residents living in those prominently African-American parts of town can’t park near their homes overnight.

Watered down: Gravity may help city stay green
In February, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality awarded Charlottesville’s Parks and Rec department the state’s very first “E4″ designation, DEQ’s highest ranking for environmental stewardship by a municipal department. Some cynics might consider the award ironic since during any given week, up and down the Downtown Mall, the roar of a gasoline-powered water pump can be heard from Parks and Rec employees drenching the big black planters of flowers and shrubs. Now the City says their best friend in keeping the City truly green might be gravity.

Beta bridgework: UVA condolence “trompes” new greetings
Recent Beta Bridge passersby may have been startled to see one side of Charlottesville’s most mutable public billboards restored to its original brick. No paint was stripped for this job, however. Instead, some skilled visual illusionists simply painted what the French call trompe l’oeil over countless existing paint layers, leaving only the maroon and orange “Hoos for Hokies” message so famously painted there on April 16, the day tragedy struck Virginia Tech.

Plus:
* Local eateries buy into buying local ingredients
* !!! talks about their upcoming Satellite Ballroom gig
* Our film critic Steve Warren says Waitress might be the first ever feel-good movie about spousal abuse

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