Cover Stories


Guide to a death-defying summer o' 2012 Published on May 24th, 2012 5 comments Mint Springs provides a beach with mountain views. Skinny dipping at Mint SpringsOh, wait– that's not allowed. But even with a swimsuits-not-optional policy, Albemarle County has three...
Beware: There's a dark side of sunny days Published on May 24th, 2012 7 comments The warm sun on your skin... picnics with friends.... long, lazy days... beach vacations... heat stroke? We're not trying to kill your summer buzz, but there are a few heightened risks associated...
Burning roadside: Can Mark Cline rise again from the ashes? Published on May 23rd, 2012 3 comments Just as the tourist season was about to begin, one of Virginia's most trip-worthy attractions has been destroyed by fire, a rude turn for the one-man whirling dervish whose creativity, for 30 years,...
Brain eater: After boy's death, aunt urges safer swimming Published on May 21st, 2012 17 comments For decades, brain-eating organisms were the stuff of legends– or of legendarily hot places like Texas, Arizona, and Florida. But the killer amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri really did invade...
Towing tales: Like hassles, everybody has one Published on May 17th, 2012 17 comments It was supposed to be a fun night out on the Downtown Mall for a pair of mothers: dinner followed by a show, then home to their families. But on April 17, after shelling out nearly $80 for tickets to...
Tough business: Collier's boss talks shop Published on May 17th, 2012 14 comments It's early afternoon at Collier's Towing Service, and owner Glenda Jones takes a break from the phones to greet a reporter in the impound lot for cars towed from Keith Woodard's and other parking...
Caveat emptor: How $2.75 generates $145  Published on May 17th, 2012 48 comments –An essay– By David M. Post I don't begrudge anyone running a successful business in a capitalistic society. I do, however, want people to have the ability to make an informed decision;...
Big gun: Love's legal choice suggests hard-fought suit Published on May 7th, 2012 36 comments If Sharon Love's first lawsuit had people scratching their heads and wondering if it was more symbolism than an actual effort to collect millions of dollars from a young man who will likely spend the...
Starsia sued: UVA lax coaches, state targeted by Love family Published on May 3rd, 2012 117 comments The family that sued George Huguely V in the death of their 22-year-old daughter has now filed a $29.4 million suit against the lacrosse coaches who reportedly missed key signals that they had a...
Battle of the noodle: Allied heats up recycling rhetoric against Van der Linde Published on May 2nd, 2012 73 comments For several years now, Allied Waste, which is owned by mega-waste company Republic Services, has been largely silent while Van der Linde Recycling (VDLR) steals all the local trash and recycling...
Six bands (and venues) to watch Published on Apr 26th, 2012 2 comments For a town with a long lineage of locally-grown musicians, rounding up contenders as "up and coming" stars is easy, but choosing from all this talent is hard. Our venues are constantly packed with...
Mr. Tom Tom: Beyer sees bands and innovation together Published on Apr 26th, 2012 19 comments As far as music festivals go, certain regions of the country have it covered: Chicago has Lollapalooza, Tennessee has Bonnaroo, and Austin has South-by-Southwest. What more do we need? According to...
Survival story: How they defeated a rabid bear Published on Apr 20th, 2012 12 comments Running into a rabid bear can pretty much ruin your morning, according to two men who survived to tell the tale of Virginia's first-ever reported rabid bear, an encounter that occurred in the...
Wasted gateway: How the City (mis)treats the Belmont Bridge Published on Apr 19th, 2012 45 comments Related stories: • Belmont vortex: Vision vs. reality in Belmont Bridge debate • Have you used the Belmont Bridge lately? • 7,000 new cars: CSX stocks up for tripled coal exports • Git 'er blocked:...
Belmont vortex: Vision vs. reality in Belmont Bridge debate Published on Apr 11th, 2012 37 comments Related stories: • Have you used the Belmont Bridge lately? • 7,000 new cars: CSX stocks up for tripled coal exports • Git 'er blocked: City picks fencing, not fixing, Belmont Bridge •...
Down and dirty: New mud race draws thousands Published on Apr 5th, 2012 13 comments It was less than two months before race day when Joshua Bare got the bad news: the owner of the Ruckersville-area property where Bare had planned to hold his upcoming Mud Warrior mud race was backing...
7,000 new cars: CSX stocks up for tripled coal exports Published on Apr 3rd, 2012 12 comments If you've recently noticed some spiffy new rail cars rolling o'er the countryside, there's a reason: CSX has been bolstering its fleet with about 7,000 new cars to service the company's massive coal...
Water wasters: Worrell decries waste, centralization Published on Mar 27th, 2012 13 comments Related story Draining feeling? Lawsuit challenges dam-pipeline plan The latest UN-designated World Water Day, according to a panel of environmental experts gathered at McGuffey Arts Center...
Draining feeling? Lawsuit challenges dam-pipeline plan Published on Mar 27th, 2012 42 comments Related story: • Water wasters: Worrell decries waste, centralization Past stories: • FLAWS- Tripled rates, spun numbers, and Conservancy conflicts: Why the war on dredging slogs on • Goodbye...
Fiction winners: Lawyers dominate in Grisham's short-story picks Published on Mar 21st, 2012 2 comments In Hollywood, everybody has a screenplay. In Charlottesville, apparently everybody has a short story, at least judging by the 141 people who entered the Hook's 11th fiction contest— nearly double...
Hands Published on Mar 21st, 2012 5 comments Trenton, New Jersey1979 This story... It's the 1st place winner in the 2012 Hook Short Story contest. Also by this author: • "First Church" by John Davidson John Davidson took second...
The Death Look: Donna Britt rages for a reason Published on Mar 21st, 2012 12 comments Former Washington Post columnist Donna Britt has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. So why, in her household with three healthy sons and a husband, is such an acclaimed writer the one walking the...
Nell Casey: Swimming through Spalding Gray Published on Mar 20th, 2012 0 comments Around 2007, Kathleen Russo, widow of monologuist Spalding Gray, approached author Nell Casey about writing Gray’s autobiography. Gray, who committed suicide in 2004, spent his career publicly,...
Weird sisters: When Shakespeare plays second fiddle Published on Mar 20th, 2012 1 comments Best-selling author Eleanor Brown is a book festival’s ideal guest: a voracious reader from a family of voracious readers who writes about voracious readers. Brown’s first novel, The Weird Sisters,...
Brennan's 223: County planner turns historic image-finder Published on Mar 14th, 2012 0 comments At 34, historical preservationist and UVA grad Eryn Brennan knows Charlottesville almost as intimately as a decades-long resident. As co-author of Images of America: Charlottesville, Brennan’s...
eSuccess: How Jenny Gardiner bypassed the publishers Published on Mar 14th, 2012 0 comments When we wrote about Jenny Gardiner back in 2008, she'd just published her first book, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, a chick-lit title that she marketed like mad. For all her efforts, and despite a pair...
Bar talk: Happily-divorced relationship cartoonist tells all Published on Mar 14th, 2012 0 comments In the middle of a phone interview, Nick Galifianakis suddenly tells a reporter to hold on, and he starts speaking in Greek— to his mom, who's visiting from Greece. Family is ever-present with this...
Best o' the book fest: May we suggest...? Published on Mar 13th, 2012 1 comments March means bibliophilia in Charlottesville. That's how much of an institution the Virginia Festival of the Book has become as it readies for its 18th annual book-athon. Whether your interests are...
Convicted Huguely: What's next for 'Georgie'? Published on Feb 28th, 2012 106 comments Recent stories • Missing Huguelys: And other damaging would-be witnesses • Huguely convicted: Jury gives him 26 years in killing • Closing arguments: Intent and malice debated in Love's death *** •...
Missing Huguelys: And other damaging would-be witnesses Published on Feb 24th, 2012 47 comments Recent stories • Huguely convicted: Jury gives him 26 years in killing • Final day? Huguely arrives for judgment • The charges: What Huguely's jury must decide • Closing arguments: Intent and...