August 28th, 2003 issue #0234

August 28th, 2003

  • Beware: Caveat emptor makes buyers vulnerable

    You just bought your first house, and you've barely moved in when a wall of water rushes in, causing thousands of dollars in damage. Your insurance company says you're not covered because you're not in a flood zone, and the city says you have to chip in thousands to repair the failing storm drain infrastructure that caused the flood in the first place. And apparently your dream house has a history of such flooding. That's what happened to the subjects of this week's cover story, Ken and Heidi Vanderford.

    read more

  • Flooded house: Dreams get soaked

    Ken and Heidi Vanderford had just gotten everything moved into their new home on North Berkshire Road. Tired from carrying, lifting, and unpacking, Ken decided to take a nap, contentedly dozing off to the sound of his wife putting things away. Two hours later, their home was wrecked. A flash flood poured through the downstairs not raging rapids from a river or from a hurricane, but a torrent from a collapsed drain in the subdivision. Despite extensive homeowner's insurance, the Vanderfords are, well, up the creek without a paddle.

    read more

4Better Or Worse

  • The week in review

    Best public university: UVA ties with the University of California at Berkeley for the number one position in this year's U.S. News & World Report rankings. 21st best u...

The Dish

Essays

  • Must they? Madison Avenue knows no bounds

    How did certain topics go from utterly unmentionable to uttered incessantly? Impotence, constipation, poorly endowed men, and comfortable tampons are not only out of the cl...

Real Estate

  • Foreclosure auctions

    August 29, 2003, at 10am at the Fluvanna County Courthouse Property: 1.21 acres on State Route 650, 2415 Mountain Hill Road, Palmyra Debtor: unknown Amount owing: $33,600 ...

Real Estate - $old

  • $old!

    6/6  Carolyn Davies to Catherine A. Christian, 155 Georgetown Green, $189,000. Gail J. Mankie to James W. Goodwin III, 11.49 acres on State Route 602, Rockfish Woods,...

Real Estate - Off the Block

  • Off the block

    What happened to "On the Blocks" of the past? APPEARED IN THE HOOK: July 10, 2003, in issue #0227 ADDRESS: 1276 Chatham Ridge Road, River Run ASKING PRICE: $254,500 SELLING...

Real Estate - On the Block

  • Gimme Shelter: No bluffing at Cedar Bluffs

    ADDRESS: 305 Cedar Bluff Road ASKING: $349,000 SIZE: 2172 fin. sq. ft. YEAR BUILT: 1983 NEIGHBORHOOD: Rivers End-Rivanwood Subdivision CURB APPEAL: 9 out of a possible 10 L...

Movie Reviews

  • About a girl: Me, you, a pig named Moo

    What do a child and the US Army have in common? Never mind, the possible answers are too mind-boggling. I'll just give you mine: In the movies, they're both vehicles for tu...

Music Reviews

News

  • Demo denied: BAR rejects Pooh's permit

    Though two brick structures on Court Square have been joined since 1838, the Charlottesville Circuit Court has ordered them split. But on August 19, the Board of Architectu...

  • Doomed: The house with the secret studio

    Question: What do two bands, one traveling music engineer, and one impending demolition have in common? Answer: one House. The house, 1301 Park Street, has been sold to Wea...

  • Greased: Arby's cleans up Forest Lakes

    Last week, a resident fishing at Forest Lakes noticed gunk on his gear and thought there was paint on the lake. Another resident said the lake "reeked of french fries." And...

  • Hot space: Boxer Learning building ripe for the picking

    There's prime real estate, and then there's prime real estate. The former Boxer Learning building on the Downtown Mall across from Central Place is certainly the latter, wi...

  • Road rage: Neighbors blame Longo

    Marianne McKernan is decidedly frazzled. She awoke at 5:30am and was unable to get back to sleep because of the steady stream of cars flowing by her house at the corner of ...

  • Two cases: Local folks who just walked away

    The disappearance of Owen Young was solved late last month when Albemarle County police announced that he had surfaced in Tampa, Florida. Given the facts that emerged after...

  • W&L tops UVA: But Wahoo leaders don't mind

    The University of Virginia just tied for number one public university in the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings. However, in the recent Princeton Review's Best 351 ...

The Brazen Careerist

Strange But True

Facetime

  • Bauer's trimmers: Give her your tired, exploited

    Here's how naïve Mary Bauer was at age 21: "I thought people went to law school because they wanted to work for justice." Now older and wiser, Bauer still hasn't succumbed...

  • Father Mulcahy: New pastor speaks out

    Needless to say, the last two years have been trying times for many Roman Catholics. Endless reports of priests involved in sexual abuse and the ensuing cover-up by the Chu...

Hotseat

Letters

  • Dating: Yep, it's a myth

    I certainly enjoyed all the articles about the non-existent dating scene [August 21 cover package] (http://readthehook.com/93867/cover-charlottesville-dating-not-oxymor...

  • No privacy or decency in DNA bank

    There is an interesting disparity between how we want to believe this town works and how it really works. I am writing in response to the DNA collection being asked of blac...

  • Please, a little less swanky

    In the past, The Hook has creatively injected "new" words like "limn" [June 27, 2002, issue] (http://readthehook.com/issues/0121) into its stories. And while some have ...

  • You shoulda said 'Straka'

    Here is an addition to your local authors list, and his character lives in Charlottesville! You may know of him, but he wasn't included in your annual roundup [August 7 edi...

Cultural preview

  • Fun with RBS: Reading primers with a scholar's eye

    See Dick read. See Jane write. See Dick and Jane go wild for the antiquarian leather bindings and medieval calligraphy!The late August arrival of UVA undergrads snapping up...

  • Heart strings: Duo's tunes signal romance

    Sometimes in new relationships you need a clincher, something to seal the deal, so to speak, to make you stand out among the throngs of suitors (or suitorettes); something ...

  • Ker-plunk: Pull the knob, get a treasure

    In June of 1997, Clark Whittington was planning a conceptual art exhibit when he acted on an odd suggestion from a friend. This friend, who would swoon at the sound of crin...

  • Meet Millie: Wolf Trap features classic

    Some decades have all the luck.If the 20th century were a high school class, the 1920s would be the knockout blonde who got all A’s and was nice to everybody. And taught ...

  • Meetup: Find political soul mates on line!

    The latest national internet craze is scheduled for a double billing in Charlottesville in the next week. It’s not virtual quilting or pug-lover bulletin boards-– it’...

  • Out with a bang: Madison fair wraps up summer

    It may be Labor Day weekend, the official end of summer for another year, but the town of Madison gives us one more chance to celebrate. This Saturday, Main Street will be ...

Full Stories List for August 28th, 2003 issue #0234

4Better Or Worse

News

Blind Date Challenge

The Dish

Corrections

Cover Stories

Cultural preview

Essays

Facetime

Fearless Consumer

Hotseat

Letters

Movie Reviews

Music Reviews

Photophile

Real Estate

Real Estate - $old

Real Estate - Off the Block

Real Estate - On the Block

Strange But True

The Brazen Careerist