Local CBS affiliate WCAV has announced they will be holding an open casting call for the 16th season of the reality show Survivor right here in Charlottesville.

The auditions, taking place Saturday, July 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at fittingly named Rivals Sports Bar and Grill on Rio Road, mark only the second time CBS has directly recruited contestants for its tribal-themed flagship reality show in Charlottesville. The last open casting, attended by roughly 120 people, was held at the WCAV station in January of 2005.

Marketing Director Daniel Adams and General Manager Roger Burchett of WCAV said they selected the Rivals bar for the casting because of the larger space and because they felt its customers would be interested in getting involved in the Survivor hype.

Survivor hopefuls will need to (more)

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Music mogul Coran Capshaw is bringing his international reach and the promise of “marquee national artists” to the Corner by partnering with the owners of the Satellite Ballroom and closing his nearby Starr Hill Music Hall and Restaurant.

This means that Capshaw, who manages the Dave Matthews Band and has sizeable interests in Bonnaroo and LiveNation has now acquired a musical trifecta on the local scene because he now controls a small, medium, and large venue.

Satellite Ballroom is the small (500 people for a standing event, 350 seated); the under-renovation Jefferson Theater is the medium (just under 1,000); and his opened-in-2005 Charlottesville Pavilion is the large (at about 3,500 seat-and-lawn capacity).

This range of venue sizes means that Capshaw can lessen his reliance on the approximately 1,000-seat Paramount and keep all his bookings (more)

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Plans for a new visitor center at Monticello have been a long time in the making. In 2000, when the UVA Foundation took control of the Blue Ridge Sanatorium property just below Monticello, state legislators approved the transfer with the understanding that Monticello’s new visitor center would be located on the site, along with a planned research park, a la the Fontaine Research Park. However, due to “design concerns” on Monticello’s part, and a fear of commitment on the part of the UVA Foundation, the new visitor center was left at the altar.

“UVA wasn’t ready… they had no real vision for the site,” said Kat Imhoff, vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the organization that runs Monticello. “I think they’re still trying to decide what to do with it.”

Undeterred, the TJ Foundation elected to build its new visitor center on the site of the old ticket office and shuttle station. Both, which had the gray stained-wood look of a state park picnic shelter, were demolished earlier this year, and (more)

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The legend(s) of Camp Wahoo, Fat fines for Virginia drivers, Lethal wrecks again

ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
When giants roamed: Camp Wahoo put Hooville on the basketball map– and it’s back!
For several summers in the ’60s, the campus of Miller School in western Albemarle became a basketball mecca when Camp Wahoo went to an all-roundball format and attracted the likes of Jerry West and Pete Maravich. Now, after a 40-year hiatus, the camp has returned and has reverted to its original multi-sport format, bringing the camp back to the Charlottesville area and bringing four generations of one family together in the name of having fun.

ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE (more)

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The pedestrian struck by an Albemarle Police SUV near the intersection of Rio Road and Earlysville Road Tuesday night has died, according to an Albemarle County Police Department press release.

The pedestrian, identified Wednesday as 62-year-old native of El Salvador Jesus Tolentino Dominguez, was rushed to the University of Virginia Medical Center, but did not make it through the night.

Albemarle County Police officer Pamela Greenwood, the driver of the vehicle and a 10-year veteran of the force, was (more)

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On June 13, accused hold-up men Jeffrey Alan Adams and John Joseph Amann, both from Fredericksburg, pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in U.S. District Court. However, in a letter to the Hook penned on June 10, Adams enters a plea of a different sort.

“I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere apologies to the employees of the Union Bank and Trust and its customers, and to the people and City of Charlottesville,” Adams writes, adding, “my professional respect to the Police Department for its fine and swift actions.”

Adams goes on to compliment the “handsome” city zoning inspector who foiled the crime, cites Splendora’s gelato shop as an “excellent place,” and confirms his “desert island” CD picks (which the Hook had found on Amazon.com).

At first, Hook staff thought it could be a clever hoax by a bored fellow inmate, but an Albemarle Jail official confirms (more)

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Former Charlottesville High choir director Jonathan Spivey pleaded guilty to one count of custodial indecent liberties and entered Alford pleas on three other counts today in Charlottesville Circuit Court. An Alford plea acknowledges that the prosecution has enough evidence to convict without the defendant admitting guilt.

Spivey’s string of sexual propositions and deeds with students in his office or in the choir robes chamber at Charlottesville High School came to a halt September 18, when he asked a 17-year-old male about his sexual orientation. The discussion, which lasted through the first period and on into the second, according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Elizabeth Killeen (right), turned into an indecent proposal. Spivey expressed interest in the youth’s tongue ring and in having him perform fellatio on the music teacher. (more)

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Only two months after its opening, the people behind new art house movie theater at East Market Street’s Webster Studio announced today that they’re closing its doors. “Due to a temporary complication,” say David and Una Webster in an e-mail to advertisers, “we will not be showing films in our space until further notice.”

As the Hook reported in April, the new cinema sought to fill a niche for local moviegoers by offering (more)

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Back in March, developer Oliver Kuttner admitted that trying to build in Charlottesville was “not fun anymore.” He’d just given up trying to develop the old Boxer building on the Mall and sold it back to Lee Danielson, who plans to build a 9-story boutique hotel on the site.

“In Lynchburg it’s still fun,” said Kuttner about the development projects he has there. “In Lynchburg, I find myself free to push the envelope, to still be creative.” At the time, Kuttner also mentioned something else he considered fun— driving fast, real fast.

Local film director Johnny St. Ours recently finished a 23-minute pilot for a series about Kuttner’s latest development project— building a race car out of a new Ford GT and entering it in the grueling French sports car race, Le Mans.

St. Ours’ film QUEST: Le Mans was just entered in the Independent TV Festival Pilot contest on vuse.com, where you can view a clip, download the film, rate it, and share the link. If it gets enough viewers, it could become a full series.

“It is my hope to one day have the program on TV regularly,” writes St. Ours on his website. “As you may know, the video has already garnered two Telly Awards. To win this contest, judges will be looking at how many times the video has been downloaded and given a ‘thumbs up’ vote.”

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Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry, training for duty in Afghanistan in 2004.
PHOTOS BY MASTER SGT. BOB HASKELL, NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU

More than 100 soldiers from the Central Virginia National Guard stationed in Charlottesville leave today for training in Mississippi on their way to a 12-month tour in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Though some of the soldiers from Company A, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry of the Virginia National Guard have had experience in Guantanamo and Afghanistan, this could be the first time local National Guard troops deploy to Iraq.

Members of the National Guard are usually just weekend warriors, training one weekend a month and two weeks each year. However, with the war in Iraq and Army recruitment numbers falling, guardsmen from all over the country (more)

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We knew it was expensive; now we know it’s green. The city of Charlottesville has just opened its new downtown visitor center and administrative offices, and the massive new project is intended to be completely environmentally friendly.

The visitor center, part of the new transit center, was designed to be certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design initiative. Among the eco-savvy features are (more)

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Charlottesville Police are looking for a 29-year-old named Jason Scott Marshman, who is the suspect in the shooting death this morning of his acquaintance William Miller Herndon, 28.

Police say the alleged shooter faces murder and weapons charges and should be considered “armed and dangerous.” Marshman has prior felony convictions in Virginia and New York and has ties to both locations, say police, who describe him as an African American who stands about 5′10″ with a tattoo on his chest reading “Pride.”

The killing occurred in the 800 block of Hardy Drive, aka the Westhaven Public Housing Complex. Anyone who sees Marshman– who police say uses the alias “Anthony Scott” and the nickname “J”– is urged call 911.

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Summer reads, Annual Home Issue, Soccer mom in jail

ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
Reads: Short stories for summertime
It’s that time of year when thoughts turn to relaxing in the hammock or under the beach umbrella, and there’s nothing better to take along than two great stories by this year’s fiction contest runners-up. Our judge John Grisham called these stories “so visual I can see it on the screen” and “a hilarious story,” respectively. Take a look at John Ruemmler’s “20 Minutes’ Clarity” and Robert Walters’ “The Potato Cannon War” and judge for yourself!

ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE (more)

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How entertaining is Charlottesville? Very. To give an idea of just a fraction of the fun that has occurred in the past few months, we hereby present six recent short videos of entertainment in our town.You’ll see a pair of Monster Trucks competing on March 9 at John Paul Jones Arena in which Black Stallion appears to defeat Pure Adrenaline.

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You’ll see a few moments of clever dribbling by the Harlem Globetrotters in their March 16 defeat of perennial opponents the New York Nationals.

You’ll see Bonnie Raitt singing part of “Matters of the Heart” at her April 22 performance at the Charlottesville Pavilion. At the request of Pavilion manager Kirby Hutto, this short low-rez shot-from-seat video has been removed (even though there are over 400 other Raitt videos at YouTube and even though the 57-year-old Raitt sounded great in Charlottesville).

[youtube width="225" height="150"]ZaGR2WNIrgM[/youtube]

You’ll see dozens of cyclists from the Tour of Virginia rolling down Second Street West as they compete April 29 in that multi-day, adrenaline-packed event formerly known as the Tour of Shenandoah.

[youtube width="225" height="150"]hW-gQfDlSug[/youtube]

Although there were some power-house gallery openings June 1 including ones for Festival of the Photograph headliners Bill Allard, Sally Mann, and Eugene Richards, one show that really packed a crowd into the C&O Gallery was collected photographs by Bill Emory, seen here shooting his latest photo.

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The Verona man who allegedly ran over University of Virginia assistant microbiology professor Xianfeng Chen while he was jogging last week was charged with driving under the influence and a Class 6 felony today in Albemarle General District Court. He’s looking at up to five years if convicted.

James J. Newman, driving a Dodge Caravan, is accused of running down Chen on Whitewood Road June 10. Chen was critically injured and is still in the UVA Medical Center. “He’s going to be in the hospital a long time,” says Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos.

The heavily tanned Newman appeared in court this morning wearing a white polo shirt. “This is a much more serious charge,” said Judge Robert Downer when the felony charge was added.

When he wasn’t answering the judge’s questions in clipped “yes, sir’s and “okay’s, Newman demonstrated a tendency to rub his face with his hands. Married with two children, Newman said he was enrolled in an alcohol abuse recovery program. He is free on bond and has a preliminary hearing July 19.

Chen has retained Chandler Group attorney David Kendall, who says it’s “a little early” to comment on civil action.

Faculty in the microbiology department declined to express any reaction to the accident that so seriously injured Chen. “His colleagues don’t want to comment to the media,” says UVA Medical Center spokesman Peter Jump.

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After waiting four months to snag the endorsement of fellow Republican Sheriff Ed Robb, candidate Chip Harding, left, at a press conference billed as a significant announcement regarding the future of law

enforcement in the area, also gets the nod from (from left, after Harding in white sportcoat) former Charlottesville Police chief John DeKoven Bowen, former Albemarle sheriffs George Bailey and Terry Hawkins, and Harding’s current boss, Charlottesville Chief Tim Longo.

Harding faces off in November against Democrat Larry Claytor, who’s with the Albemarle County Police Department. Claytor wrested the Dem nomination from Albemarle Deputy Roger Craig, who works for Robb, May 14.

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