Seen here in a family photo, Danielle Howard was only 22 at the time of her death.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HOWARD FAMILY

Nearly three years after Katherine Danielle Howard, 22, was gunned down on a quiet residential street in Gordonsville, the trial of the teen accused of killing her starts in U.S. District Court Monday, December 8.

Facing four federal counts, including cocaine distribution and use of a firearm in drug trafficking that caused a death, Gary Christopher “G-Money” Johnson was 16 when Howard, known as “Dani” to her friends and family, died February 22, 2006.

Slight and wearing a yellow Oxford shirt, Johnson, who was indicted in June by a federal grand jury, did not turn around to face his potential jurors during the four-hour jury selection. An all-white panel of 10 women and four men will hear the week-long trial.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Jacobsen, Johnson had come from New York to stay with his cousin, Curtis Waldron, Howard’s drug-dealing boyfriend, in their house at Shenandoah Crossing. Johnson often called Waldron his uncle and came to live with them on the condition he get his GED. When Dani complained to Waldron that Johnson was sitting around smoking pot and not going to school, the defendant had an altercation with Waldron. Later, said the prosecutor, Johnson told a witness, “I just (more)

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Where in the heck is Barboursville, Grandpa?
PUBLICITY PHOTO FOR THE WALTONS

In today’s Travel section of the New York Times, Charlottesville is featured for its culture, history, cuisine, and entertainment.  It comes through that writer Joshua Kurlantzick found exactly what I hope any visitor would in our city: there is something for everyone.

Of course, this is hardly the first time we’ve caught the eye of papers with national markets.  In May, the Washington Post said, quite boldly, “If It Tastes Good, It’s in Charlottesville.”  Jane Black paid her dues to Rev Soup, the businesses of the Main Street Market, Mas, Ten, Hamilton’s, Bang, the Tea Bazaar, Timberlake’s, Aroma’s, Hot Cakes–forgive me for my colloquial names–there were just so many worthy recipients yet still just a sampling of all we have to offer.  I reveled in visits from Travel+Leisure and Wine Spectator, too.  My reaction to their coverage was simply an exhilarated, “Yes, I know!”  (Unfortunately, I was given the news about the WP coverage while driving outside Louisville and nearly off-roaded.)

So did the NYT use its 36 hours in Charlottesville wisely?  I’ll say this: Kurlantzick’s got stamina.  He pays visits to Monticello, Ash Lawn-Highland, the University of Virginia Grounds, and Barboursville. He recognizes Virginia wine, the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, and the views from Skyline Drive.  Miller’s, our symbolic cornerstone of local music, gets a nod.  And I have to agree with Kurlantzick that the Clifton Inn feels as Kentucky as an old-fashioned (but try their lavender martini!), and I can’t help but smile as I wonder how he’d characterize the spring Foxfield Races.

However, Kurlantzick appears less wise when he identifies Route 20 North and the Barboursville area as the “the fictional locale for “The Waltons” on TV.” Actually, the fictional locale for the popular TV show is in Nelson County, on the opposite side of Charlottesville–in Schuyler, Virginia to be exact–where the actual house that Waltons creator Earl Hamner Jr. and his family lived in is located. In fact, the real Jim “Jim Bob” Hamner, Earl’s brother, was still living in the house when it was auctioned off in 2003.

Still, you are welcome back any time.  And that goes for, well, everyone.

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Double H. Farm’s Richard Bean
FILE PHOTO BY JAY KUHLMANN

Politicians have never been more eager not to pork barrel, and I’ve recently found myself wondering where all that bacon is going.

To our plates, apparently.

This little piggy went to Manhattan for a gastronomic adventure, following a scent trail of reviews by my favorite food writers for Gourmet, the Village Voice, and the New Yorker, among others, and noticed a trend real fast.

Pork belly appeared beside sweetbreads at Bar Blanc and in the béchamel sauce on my gourmet grilled cheese at Resto (plus bacon strips). Pancetta was in the mix of my lamb shoulder and farro at Blue Hill and Sushi Bar Hagi’s spaghetti with ketchup. Even Claudia Roden garnished gazpacho with bacon.

So is Charlottesville in on this? Mas Tapas and The Upstairs come to mind as our beacons of high-end bacon, so I asked their chefs about pork trends. (more)

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Rivanna River Chiggers get under your skin and suck.

The Rivanna River Chiggers - Over The Waterfall
The Rivanna River Chiggers - June Apple
The Rivanna River Chiggers - Abe’s Retreat

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Old School Freight Train is a blistering local bluegrass group. Young songwriter Helen Horal opens.

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Multidimensional vocalist Heather Maxwell once again teams up with local percussion Big Daddy Robert Jospe for a lecture and performance about West African music. Also featuring Lucy Kilpatrick on keys.

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Ben Chasny’s guitar-laden experimental project Six Organs of Admittance combines droning exotic themes with psychedelic folk, seemingly conjuring comparisons to Devendra Banhart at every turn. Performing at the UVA Chapel should make for an even trippier set than usual. Grand Banks opens.

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This concert by Minister Danny Hill and the Group Determination will also feature local groups like the Gospel Four and the State Farm Gospel Choir.

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The Rivanna River Chiggers are Charlottesville’s newest old-time string band. They get under your skin and suck.

The Rivanna River Chiggers - June Apple

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17th Century Italian chamber music arranged for recorder, cello, viola da gamba and harpsichord

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Jason Konik sings folk songs about the trials and tribulations of his ancestors — “with roots in rootlessness,” according to his bio. Guitar and harmonica back up his stories of travel in Europe and America.

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Classical pianist Dan Franklin Smith performs pieces by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Chopin.

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Lynchburg’s Hi Ho Six Shooter is a 5-piece “neo-Western” band, which at first glance appears to mean “Western, but not stodgy old dudes.”

After looking at their web site, though, we’re not so sure.

We’re glad that you’re taking the time to check out our website. You can find out all about us by navigating around the site using the “hyperlinks” above. We ourselves don’t really know what hyperlinks are because we were born in the 1800’s and died in the 1800’s.

You can also find us on Virb.com and unfortunately on Myspace.com.

They also know how to use YouTube, apparently.

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This trio of locals plays traditional Old World and Americana music on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar

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The talented young blues guitarist goes solo

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The Eli Cook Band will put aside the traditional blues and pick up the psychedelic rock for a Hendrix tribute show at the Barboursville Community Theater as a benefit for the Four-County Players Theater.

It’s an intimidating mission, to be sure, but one that Cook has been working up to for years. He covered “Castles Made Of Sand” on his fiery electric album, “Electric Holy Fire Water,” and he says Jimi’s ghost sometimes visits him during the wee hours of the morning

“I’ve had dreams where he shows me how to play his songs,” says Cook, “I never actually remember what he showed me, but maybe some of it gets back in sub-consciously when we’re working up arrangements.”

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Local legend Bob Girard leads the eternal favorites through another set of Grateful Dead cover tunes at a New Year’s shindig shrouded in secrecy. He won’t tell us anything other than that there will be a cash bar, and you’ll have to to find out more.

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Nashville singer-songwriter Derek Webb is a guitarist and vocalist for the folky Contemporary Christian Music act Caedmon’s Call when he’s not striking out on his own. Alex Mejias is one of the few brave souls doing the CCM thing locally.

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In what should likely be taken as an endorsement of the highest order, Rapture has decided to have a two-band concert on the weekend for the first time ever. “We’ve never done it before, but it was the right show,” said owner Mike Rodi in the announcement, “In my humble opinion, these are two of the best bands in our Little Town that Could.”

Lucky for us, then, that one of them just released an album for free. 6 Day’s “Eastham Basement” is available for free on their web site, and bassist Mark Schottinger has hinted that another is on the way.

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In the race to see who will go up against George Allen for a U.S. Senate seat, the victor (in Charlottesville at least) is retired Navy Secretary James Webb.

Election tallies just released by City communications director Ric Barrick show that with 1,566 voters– or 6.78 percent of the local electorate voting– the Democratic primary victory goes to Webb with 897 votes to the 657 votes for Harris Miller. However, this is just the City of Charlottesville, a tiny blip in this statewide race.

Stay tuned here for updates.

10pm update: Various media outlets have the verdict, and Miller concedes: Webb has won the state.

#

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Today is the day we find out whether Virginia’s Republican presidential hopeful, George Allen, has to fight James Webb or Harris Miller to hold on to his U.S. Senate seat.

But just a week after wowing the faithful at the state Democratic convention in New Hampshire by blasting President Bush, Virginia’s Democratic would-be president Mark Warner puts on a big show in Las Vegas.

Dig the opening moments of this story in Salon: “If the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries were held tomorrow, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner would easily win the contest for the best party planner. To date, no other candidate has rented an Elvis impersonator to perform for supporters in a circular viewing station 1,000 feet above (more)

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That may have been the question on Monday, as a small plane leaving Philadelphia and bound for Charlottesville entered restricted Washington airspace. According to a Reuters report, two F-16 fighter jets surrounded the Cessna 182 and escorted it to a Maryland airport. Federal law enforcement agents questioned the unidentified pilot, but found no cause for further investigation. “The pilot has been interviewed and it was determined to be an inadvertent violation and he was sent on his way,” U.S. Secret Service spokeswoman Kim Bruce told Reuters.

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Last Wednesday, The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted to allow, or sort of allow, a development boundary to be removed for the proposed expansion of the National Ground Intelligence Center just past the airport on 29 N. The boundry moving idea now goes to the Planning Commission, which will hold a public hearing and toss it back to the board. If all goes according to plan, the NGIC will move into a new 30 acre, 219,000-square-foot- facility with more than 1000 employees. (more)

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City’s Council will soon return to being an all-Democratic body. After four years in office, Rob Schilling, the lone Republican, has been defeated in today’s election. Election results posted by the City of Charlottesville show that it wasn’t even close. (more)

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