Hotseat


Jan Cornell: The woman UVA can't ignore Published on Jan 22nd, 2004 0 comments Remember the protest a couple of months ago over the use of the N-word by a UVA supervisor? That was the work of Jan Cornell. Her detractors call her an instigator exploiting a remark taken out of...
John McCutcheon: Making waves making music Published on Jan 15th, 2004 0 comments John McCutcheon has a devilish twinkle in his eye as he describes the U.S. Postal Service's decision to use a song he recorded for his 1988 album, Mail Myself to You, for the USPS Christmas "mail...
Frank McCue: Sports doc to the stars Published on Jan 8th, 2004 0 comments Ralph Sampson, Sissy Spacek, and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair have at least one thing in common: They share the same legendary doctor. As well known as Dr. Frank McCue is, he's incredibly private, and he...
Didja know? Secrets of the HotSeat sitters Published on Dec 25th, 2003 0 comments PHOTOS BY JEN FARIELLO [email protected] KEN BOYD may jump through hoops when voting on school board issues, but he daydreams about shooting hoops for the ACC. JOHN ISOM, retiring...
Uber dean: Ayers an academic of all trades Published on Dec 18th, 2003 0 comments The image people have of a college dean is John Houseman-like: distinguished, formal, a bit stern. That is so not Ed Ayers. "I always wanted to look distinguished," muses UVA's youthful and animated...
Boyd's pattern: Will Ken hop again? Published on Dec 11th, 2003 0 comments Ken Boyd is straddling two boards, getting ready to take his distinctive shock of white hair off the Albemarle School Board and over to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. He's already noticed...
Jailbreak: Superintendent Isom counts the days Published on Dec 4th, 2003 0 comments Ask Superintendent John Isom when he retires as head of the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, and he can tell you to the minute exactly how much longer before he plays his get-out-of-jail-free...
Jerry Kilgore: From Gate City to the Capital City Published on Nov 27th, 2003 0 comments Jerry Kilgore is always on his way somewhere else: to a meeting, to a speech in Charlottesville or Roanoke, to becoming governor of Virginia. Ask the attorney general about the latter, and he'll...
Alice Handy: Mistress of the Universe(ity) Published on Nov 20th, 2003 0 comments Alice Handy has the Midas touch. She ends her 29-year stint making gobs of money for the University of Virginia on December 1 to start a new business, making gobs of money for clients– and...
Nat Howell: Ambassador in disaster Published on Nov 13th, 2003 0 comments There's one question W. Nathaniel Howell is always asked: "What's going to happen in Iraq?" Howell, who was ambassador to Kuwait when Iraq invaded in 1990, has plenty of personal experience in that...
Steve Landes: Is fifth term the charm? Published on Nov 6th, 2003 0 comments Delegate Steve Landes knows quite a lot about spreading manure. And while some might say that's part of the political landscape, he has a valid reason. "When you represent farmers, you learn a lot...
Watkins Abbitt: Incumbent and sorghum squeezer Published on Oct 30th, 2003 0 comments Watkins Abbitt's family has lived around Appomattox since well before General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at the courthouse there in 1865. In fact, Abbitt still owns the...
Dogged Dem: Why Sisson wants to hang up Hanger Published on Oct 23rd, 2003 0 comments When Steve Sisson is passionate about a cause, he'll shed blood for it– or at least give up a little DNA, as he did when he wanted to find whether Sissons around the country were all descended...
Inspired life: Johnson loved cousin and Christie Published on Oct 16th, 2003 0 comments Life imitated art, in a way, when Charlottesville city Sheriff Cornelia Johnson first entered law enforcement. After working as a school crossing guard in town, she was influenced to join the police...
Felica Rogan: Grande dame of Virginia viticulture Published on Oct 9th, 2003 0 comments When you're the spokesperson for Virginia's wine industry, there's one given: You're always photographed holding a glass or a bottle of wine. And when asked to pose for The Hook yes, holding a glass...
Allen Hale: Hoping to soar into office Published on Oct 2nd, 2003 0 comments Allen Hale was starting Day Six without power, thanks to Hurricane Isabel, when he spoke to The Hook. He wasn't sweating sitting in the Hot Seat without a shower, though, because the day before, he'd...
Peter Griesar: Life in his own superfast lane Published on Sep 25th, 2003 0 comments Put musician Peter Griesar alone under the glaring lights of the Hot Seat, and he clams up. But in a one-on-one interrogation, the words pour out of him more like a flood than a stream of...
Publisher emerita: Kay 'I'm not a bluestocking' Peaslee Published on Sep 18th, 2003 0 comments Charlottesville was a very different landscape when Kay Peaslee moved here from Nova Scotia in 1972. In fact, Peaslee, who'd lived in Canada, China, and Brazil with her foreign service husband, Sandy...
Paul Garrett: Boring and proud of it Published on Sep 11th, 2003 0 comments When Charlottesville's clerk of the Circuit Court, Paul Garrett, was asked to sit on the Hot Seat, he insisted that he was boring and dull, and that The Hook might want to interview someone else. We...
Tim Garson: Fit to be bow-tied Published on Sep 4th, 2003 0 comments Now finishing his first year at the UVA medical school, Arthur "Tim" Garson Jr. has been here long enough for people to wonder why someone named Arthur is called Tim, and what's with the bowties?...
Star QB: Will streaking Schaub get the Heisman? Published on Aug 28th, 2003 0 comments The sports press says he came from nowhere. He was booed and benched at UVA's season-opening game last year– and then he went on to become ACC player of the year. Now UVA has launched a major...
Arm-waver: Prof lives to teach... and write Published on Aug 21st, 2003 0 comments As UVA students converge on Charlottesville, English prof Mark Edmunson is working on his latest project, a book about the last year in the life of Sigmund Freud. He says he's just finishing the...
Plea bargaining: Camblos rides the hottest seat Published on Aug 14th, 2003 0 comments Jim Camblos has been in the hot seat even more than usual. Last week he called a press conference to address a controversy that he doesn't want to talk about during his Hot Seat interview. It's those...
Gary O'Connell: The man behind the curtain Published on Jul 31st, 2003 0 comments After almost eight years as Charlottesville's city manager, Gary O'Connell's strategy for keeping his five bosses on City Council happy is pretty simple. "When good things happen, they get the credit...
Charles Martin: Pet peeves of a public official Published on Jul 24th, 2003 0 comments After 17 years as an Albemarle County elected official, Charles Martin can tell you the best way to influence a member of the Board of Supervisors: Don't sound like a crackpot. Okay, he puts it more...
Barber of C'ville: Staples looks back on hairy past Published on Jul 17th, 2003 0 comments When Ken Staples started barbering back in 1956, a haircut cost 75 cents. Forty-seven years later, the same cut runs $11– a nearly 1,500 percent increase. But that's about all that has changed...
Go-to guy: The Reverend Alvin Edwards Published on Jul 10th, 2003 0 comments Alvin Edwards thought he cussed too much to be a preacher. But that bad habit didn't stop him from going into the ministry, running for City Council, and serving as Charlottesville mayor. Now, after...
Elvis sighting! Roark rides the Presley wave Published on Jul 3rd, 2003 0 comments Sitting in rush hour is plenty of fun for James Roark, especially when he's blaring his favorite tune, "Jailhouse Rock" on the car stereo. As the local embodiment of Elvis Presley, Roark relishes the...
The forester: Perkins would rather be outdoors Published on Jun 26th, 2003 0 comments This particular June evening, Walter Perkins will be feasting on fresh cherries from his Crozet backyard. Given that he's a forester for MeadWestvaco, it should come as no surprise that he has his...
Every crowd... Has Silverman in it Published on Jun 19th, 2003 0 comments Talking to Gabriel Silverman must parallel, in some way, train hopping. One never knows where one will end up. But like many trips, the journey can be as compelling as the arrival. "I am only...