Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris joins 31 other U.S. mayors who signed a petition opposing military action in Iran. “It’s the same path as the one that headed to Iraq,” says Norris.

He cites New Yorker reporting over the weekend that Congress has already authorized $400 million in covert operations to lay the groundwork for an invasion. “Some say this [petition] is premature,” says Norris. “I wonder if we’re too late.”

It’s not the first time City Councilors– or even Norris– have weighed in on international affairs. In March, Council supported Tibetan independence and flew its national flag, earning the ire of China. Councilors also opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“This was not a Council action,” clarifies Norris. “This was a mayoral action”

If the U.S. invades Iran, an international issue becomes local, explains Norris. “Citizens from our community are sent off to die in this war. It diverts resources. It cuts funding for infrastructure. I can’t ignore that there are some impacts to our community. On issues of grave importance, the least I can do is sign a petition.”

“I think it’s an abuse of power,” says Charles L. “Buddy” Weber, head of the city Republicans— although he specifies he’s not speaking for Republicans. “He’s certainly free to have his own opinion, and that’s not to say we should invade Iran. I don’t think anyone’s beating the drum to invade Iran— that would be stupid.”

What bothers Weber: “When he signs it as mayor, it’s a public act, and he’s speaking for the people of Charlottesville.” He also wonders if Norris’ petitioning as mayor is legal.

“I think it’s a great idea,” says Middle East expert Ruhi Ramazani, the Edward R. Stettinius professor emeritus of government and foreign affairs at UVA. “There is a concerted effort on the part of some hardliners– the neocons– who were supportive of the president’s invasion of Iraq.”

And the international impact of small-town mayors petitioning about Iran? Their signatures show grassroots opposition to the war outside of Washington, says Ramazani.

Barack Obama has already taken heat for saying he’d talk with Iran. “One of the things that can come from talking to Iran is Iran is a major oil producer,” Ramazani points out.

For Norris, it harkens back to the invasion of Iraq. “We didn’t ask the hard questions last time,” he says. “I can’t pretend these national issues don’t affect us.”

And with the president coming to Monticello July 4, maybe Charlottesville is the center of the universe.

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As the saying goes, it’s lonely at the top, and perhaps nobody in the world knows this better than President George W. Bush. With the economy lagging, gas prices rising, and the war in Iraq remaining unpopular, Bush’s present approval rating is at 30 percent according to the most recent Gallup poll.

However, displays of this disapproval in Bush’s presence have been few and far between, given that Bush does not make many public appearances. But lately, when Bush has gone out among the American people, the American people have not received him warmly. From getting heckled at the NAACP convention in 2006, to getting booed by 40,000+ after throwing out the first pitch at the opening of the Washington Nationals’ in March, Bush hasn’t been able to leave the White House bubble without hearing an increasingly loud voice of dissent.

Given that 72 percent of Charlottesville voters cast ballots against Bush’s re-election, and that his visit to Monticello on Friday to celebrate July 4 will (more)

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When restaurant biz veteran Ed Nafei bought the old Hong Kong Buffet building on Emmet, he thought he’d be opening his new restaurant, Savour, in a few months. That was almost two years ago. Since then, Savour’s sign has become a familiar site along that section of Route 29, especially since Nafei has amended it from time to time to say “soon,” then “very soon,” then “very, very soon.” As a result, Savour may be the most familiar restaurant in town where no one has eaten yet.

Well, all that is going to change, as Savour’s new General Manager Jeff Hale, of Northern Exposure fame, has announced that Monday, July 7 will be the mystery restaurant’s grand opening date.

The Hook recently got a sneak peek at the decor.

“This will be my last big project,” Nafei told the Hook back in May. “It’s all I know how to do, and I want it to be a Charlottesville landmark.”

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On Wednesday, July 2 at 11:00am the assets of OXO–all the restaurant equipment, including tools, furniture, and furnishings–will be sold off “in a single lot” at a public action to be held at the restaurant on Water Street. According to co-owner Alice Kim, who ran the restaurant with her partner John Haywood for nearly a decade, she and Haywood had finally grown tired of running the restaurant, and with carrying some outstanding debt. The auction, she says, is all part of a pretty complicated sale agreement to get out of the business.

“The auction is knowingly a part of a creative selling of the restaurant,” she says, declining to get into anymore detail until after the auction is over. “It’s a harsh but necessary part of the agreement we made. In hindsight, we should have taken the time to gather better information about our options, which would have allowed for a prettier ending, one we hope doesn’t take away from the great memories and times that OXO provided.”

And who knows, maybe the OXO name will live on. Word on the street is that a certain local collector of restaurants is interested in buying OXO, adding yet another jewel to his Downtown restaurants crown.

However it turns out, Kim and Haywood appear to be taking it in stride, and with a dash of humor.

“We had a magical, intimate funeral and memorial service for OXO Restaurant this past weekend,” says Kim, ” complete with a casket, burial and eulogy.”

So, if you’re interested in buying a restaurant show up at OXO around 9:00am on July 2 to preview the goods, or call lawyer Donald Long for more information: 434-979-1400. Oh, and make sure you bring a big wad of cash, as the high bidder will have to put down 10 percent of the sales price on the spot.

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It looks even bigger Saturday in the afternoon light.
PHOTO BY STAFF

PHOTO BY STAFF

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According to city spokesperson Ric Barrick, this crane that just went up over the Landmark Hotel construction site on the Downtown Mall is the biggest one ever involved in a Charlottesville construction. Naturally, with the news of the collapsing cranes in New York still fresh in our minds, we wondered… is it safe?

“Our understanding is that the cranes that have had problems in New York were not free standing as this one is,” says Barrick. “They attached to a building and the collapses, according to the hotel contractor, happened when they were adding parts or taking away parts, an operation not required with the different type of crane involved with the Landmark.”

Barrick says the big crane will be certified by the contractor today, and that an independent firm will inspect the crane next Monday and again in three months.

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And you thought Sam Waterston was a big name. In the past, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation has managed to snag big names like the Law & Order star, architect I.M. Pei, and Secretary of State Colin Powell for its annual July 4 naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens. But this year, the folks who run the home of the third president will host the 43rd, as President George W. Bush will be this year’s featured speaker at the Independence Day celebration.

“We are truly honored to have President Bush as our featured speaker on July 4,” says foundation president Daniel Jordan in a press release, “and regard it as a great compliment that he has chosen to spend part of the last Independence Day of his presidency at Monticello.”

Bush is the fourth commander-in-chief to participate in the annual July 4 festivities at Jefferson’s house. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first in 1936, followed by Harry Truman in 1947, and Gerald Ford, who chose to celebrate America’s 1976 bicentennial at the home of the Declaration of Independence’s author on July 5.

The last time a president visited Charlottesville was in (more)

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After months of workouts, meet-and-greets, and speculation, recently graduated UVA point guard Sean Singletary finally learned of his professional basketball fate when deputy commissioner Adam Silver announced that with the 42nd overall pick, the Sacramento Kings had made Singletary one of theirs.

Singletary is the first Cavalier to be chosen in the NBA Draft since the Chicago Bulls drafted guard Roger Mason in 2002.

While nobody doubted Singletary could come through in the clutch— most notably for the Cavaliers when he made an off-balance, last-second shot to beat Duke in 2007— but some wondered if his 5′ 11″, 185 lb. frame was too slight to play in the NBA, even as a point guard. But ESPN analyst Jay Bilas kept singing Singletary’s praises into the second round, saying, “He’s being undervalued. He can play in the NBA.”

Not that Singletary heard the kind words. So cool was the Philly native that he confesses to the Philadelphia Daily News this morning that (more)

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The now-barricaded Rugby Road-area stretch of University Avenue will reopen as a key thoroughfare Saturday, June 28, when the first of a two-phase project to repair UVA’s steam tunnels is finished. According to project manager Kate Meyer, the completion date is nine days ahead of schedule for the first phase.

“We closed the road June 9,” says Meyer, “and we said it would take four weeks.” She attributes the speedy repairs to “team effort, hard workers, and good weather.”

Meyer says the second phase will block part of McCormick Road and close an eastbound lane of University Avenue. Cars turning right from McCormick to University Avenue will have to bear left at the median triangle past Alderman Library. Eastbound University Avenue drivers who plan to turn left onto Rugby Road are advised to turn left onto Culbreth Road instead, so as not to hold up traffic.

Meyer estimates that the second phase will take about 30 days, with the total project’s estimated completion date– which had earlier been set at mid-August– possibly as early as July 28.

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The indefatigable creator of The Waltons television series has just added another feather to his cap. Make that cap and gown. Schuyler native Earl Hamner was presented an honorary doctorate by his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, at its June 14 commencement, where he was the speaker.

“You know, my head has swollen to the size of a watermelon, and I go around insisting people call me ‘doctor,’” joshes Hamner in a phone call from Studio City, CA, where he still goes to his office every day. Every day? “I’m 85, and I can’t stop,” he says.

Hamner attended the school when it was the Cincinnati College of Music and was in the first graduating class to get a broadcasting degree in 1948. He’s now an honorary doctor of performing arts, academic tribute to the wide contribution he’s made to American culture.

Best known for (more)

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In March, Fraidoon Hovaizi took over the space on Route 29/Rio Road formally occupied by Zandi’s and opened Zam Zam Kabob (Zam Zam means “holy pure water” in Arabic, Hovaizi says). Since then, word about the Iranian-style kabob shop has leaked out slowly, as Hovaizi chose not to advertise too much in the beginning. However, next week Zam Zam Kabob will finally have its “Grand Opening,” and Fraidoon appears ready to spill the beans– or perhaps the Persian saffron rice– and give us the scoop on this new ethnic addition to the Charlottesville restaurant scene.

“We realized there was no kabob shop like this in town,” says the Iranian-born Hovaizi, who emigrated to the U.S. 30 years ago and has lived in Charlottesville with his wife and family for the last decade. “There are many places like this in Northern Virginia, but nothing like it here.” (more)

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Judge Norman Moon continued the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act civil suit yesterday afternoon that pits three Greene County residents against members of the Dogwood Valley property owners association.

Barely halfway through what was expected to be a four-day trial, Moon asked plaintiffs’ lawyer Joe D’Erasmo to provide evidence that defendants Gary Lowe, the Dogwood Valley Citizens Association treasurer (and mayor of Stanardsville), and association officers Dean Musser, Keith Wynn, and Judy McDavid committed extortion under RICO when the association sent letters to residents telling them to pay special assessments after the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled in 2004 the organization could not collect under Virginia law. “It doesn’t matter if they knew each other,” advised Moon.

He also instructed the attorney to address whether Dogwood Valley Citizens Association treasurer Matt Brown, the fifth defendant, and president Gary Lowe depended on the advice of counsel in trying to collect special assessments and whether that’s a defense. Brown testified that he went on his lawyer’s advice when the association continued to put liens on properties after the 2004 Supreme Court of Virginia decision. (more)

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The Business Travel Coalition, an advocacy organization that advances the interests of business travelers, seems to think so.

“Charlottesville’s air service could become an unwitting victim of high fuel prices, as multiple U.S. airlines are likely to default and fail in the coming months while other airlines retrench,” reads a release from the organization today.

“The crisis does not bode well for the economies of communities at risk across the U. S., including Charlottesville.”

Not surprisingly, reporters in big cities and small towns everywhere have cranked out stories based on the BTC release, which the organization appears to have personalized for each recipient.

On Monday, the BTC released a report on the supposed crisis called “Beyond the Airlines’ $2 Can of Coke: Catastrophic Impact on the U.S. Economy from Oil- price Trauma in the Airline Industry,” which argues that the collapse of major U.S. airlines would “paralyze the country and our American way of life.”

“Liquidations at major airlines would have catastrophic effects on the economy, drastically reduce service in cities large and small, and impact people in Charlottesville,” says BTC chairman Kevin Mitchell in the release. “The fuel crisis is having an impact beyond the gas pump and is now likely to cause irreparable harm to businesses large and small through a significant reduction in air service.” (more)

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As a high school student, prom may be the ultimate school-related clich�, one that New York photographer Mary Ellen Mark explores in her latest exhibition, “Prom.” Traveling around the country over the past three years, Mark attended several proms— including Charlottesville High School’s 2008 prom— capturing the magic the night entails. For four CHS prom-going couples, inclusion in Mark’s project meant more than a night of memories— the couple’s portraits were recently showcased in both the McGuffey Art Center and People’s June 16 issue (shown at left).

“Prom is just a great American ritual, so incredibly visual,” Mark says. “I wanted to show the rite of passage. It’s very much an important American custom.”

Mark, who claims to still own her prom pictures, captured the magic of prom throughout the country, stopping in places such as Houston, Texas, Pacific Palisades, California, and Brooklyn, New York, before coming to Charlottesville. After (more)

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It’s been used to prosecute the Gambino organized crime family, Adelphia Cable’s Rigas family, even the Hell’s Angels. Today in U.S. District Court, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was the basis for a civil suit against a Greene County homeowners association, and testimony included the glimpse of a gun at a subdivision property owners meeting.

Dogwood Valley residents Douglas Dye, pictured left, Mitch Miller and Grant Colby made a federal case of disputes with the Dogwood Valley Citizens Association, claiming that its board of directors inflicted “extortionate” collection methods without legal authority, subjected residents to threats of losing their property, and damaged their reputations and credit-worthiness, according to Joseph D’Erasmo, the plaintiffs’ attorney, in his opening statement. The motive? Profit and an alleged attempt to force residents to bend to the association’s will, says D’Erasmo.

Defense attorney John Loehr countered that the defendants— who include Stanardsville Mayor/association president Gary Lowe, construction company owner/treasurer Matt Brown, Dean Musser, Judy McDavid, and Keith Wynn— all own one lot in Dogwood Valley except for McDavid, who owns two, so profit could hardly be the motive. He pointed out that of 320 lots in the neighborhood, only 15 had been foreclosed since 1998– less than 10 percent of the neighborhood.

Two of those properties, owing $35 each in special assessments, were sold at auction in 1998 and one was picked up by Lowe for $1,000. (more)

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Artist Alacia Stubbs received a call Sunday, June 22, informing her that her public art sculpture, part of the City’s widely touted Art-In-Place program, had been vandalized.

“I was shocked,” Stubbs says. “Some people are trying to make Charlottesville a more culturally attractive place, but there are some mean people who engage in vandalism for no reason.”

The sculpture, dubbed “Little Plant Dancing,” was Stubbs’ first Art-In-Place piece since she moved here last year and received the commission. The vibrantly colored sculpture of high-fire clay stood four feet tall in the City’s newest park, the Schenks Branch Greenway.

According to Stubbs, the bottom of the sculpture was held in place by a cement platform with a steel pipe running through it. This part remained intact after Sunday’s incident, but the upper portions had been toppled over.

“There are people who don’t like art who act on it by vandalizing it,” says Stubbs. “If they don’t like it, they should just ignore it.”

But was this really a hate crime against art? Or was someone simply loving (more)

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CBS reporter and UVA graduate Kimberly Dozier is used to telling other people’s stories.

Now the survivor of a Iraq car bombing has chronicled her own harrowing experience in a new book, Breathing the Fire.

Dozier’s journalistic instinct led her to examine the details of the 2006 Baghdad explosion that killed her friends and colleagues, cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan, and left her critically injured. Also killed were U.S. Army Captain James Alex Funkhouser and an Iraqi translator known as Sam.

“Writing the book was a natural extension of the need to figure out exactly what happened, when and where,” Dozier says. “It’s bizarre, but I was reassured to discover it was as I remembered.”

Dozier’s heart stopped twice following the blast, and her right leg was so seriously injured that for weeks doctors weren’t sure they could save it. After undergoing more than two dozen operations to repair torn flesh and remove shrapnel, Dozier says overcoming her extensive physical injuries was still not her greatest challenge. (more)

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There are two things Steve Riggs has regretted selling: a 1958 Fender bass guitar and a white 1993 Toyota Corolla wagon. While he’s still kicking himself over the Fender, he was just shocked to find that the Corolla that got away… came back.

It all started in 1993 when Riggs special-ordered the vehicle for about $16,000. “It was the only car I ever bought new,” he says. Unfortunately, his mom, who cosigned the loan, died that year. By 1996, he had to sell it.

Meanwhile, coincidentally, Krista Weih’s mother also died, and that was how she had the money to afford it. She bought the Corolla (more)

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The waterworks, now pressed by both local governments, voted today to do what it’s been avoiding for five years: put out an RFP, a request for proposals, for dredging the silt-choked Rivanna Reservoir. But in a parallel action, the five-member Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority stipulated that the RFP should consider various uses of the reservoir, as guided by a new “task force” composed of the chairs of the four bodies that control it– three of whom have spoken dismissively about dredging’s value for the water supply.

“The Reservoir is a water supply, and any other uses are secondary,” said dredging supporter Betty Mooney after the meeting.

Fellow dredging supporter Kevin Lynch noted in public comment to the board that there shouldn’t be much work for a task force because a local environmental group had commissioned a similar but never acted-upon RFP in 2005.

“You have a good starting point to work from,” said Lynch, “so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.”

Lynch also told the board that the 1978 documents which created the Authority and handed it (more)

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