July 15th, 2004 issue #0328
July 15th, 2004
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Comin' at ya: The new laws and U
Legislators didn't just wrangle over the budget during the protracted General Assembly session this year. They passed laws that directly affect you if you fall into one of these categories. - Driver over 80: Mandatory eye test required, and renewals must be done in person at the DMV. - Road racer: Off the track, cause an injury and you face a class six felony, plus seizure of your wheels and license for one to three years. -
Not gay: Marriage affirmation sparks protests
Q: How does Virginia show it's not Massachusetts or San Francisco? A: With the Affirmation of Marriage Act, the most controversial of the 1,715 bills the General Assembly passed this year. After all, what other new law inspired seven protest rallies across Virginia– including one in Charlottesville on June 30, the day before it went into effect? -
Nude teen camp: Not on Virginia's watch
Not all summer camps are created equal. In fact, the General Assembly saw one as such a threat that it passed a bill prohibiting its program for teenagers. White Tail Park's crime? Nudity, the very notion of which brought a lot of yuks and puns from both legislators and Governor Mark Warner. The ACLU isn't laughing. It's filed a lawsuit challenging the new state law that denies a license to "any hotel, summer camp, or campground" that conducts a "nudist camp for juveniles." -
State of sodomy
It's been a year since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a sodomy law in Texas. In the past in Charlottesville, Virginia's felony sodomy law has been used against men who requested a certain illegal sexual act when trying to pick up hookers on West Main. It resulted in the arrests and public humiliation of 14 men at Ivy Creek Natural Area in 1998. And in Richmond, several years earlier, a lesbian mother lost custody of her child because of Virginia's criminalization of sodomy. -
Survivors 2004: Legislators tell all
Certainly it was the most grueling General Assembly session in memory, stretching an extra 105 days plus one, July 13 before legislators voted in a two-year budget. Democrat Governor Mark Warner sweat it out and emerged victorious, gaining "about 80 percent" of what he wanted from the Republican-controlled legislature. After the budget passed, Warner traveled around the state to extol the benefits of the budget, including a stop at the Smart Room over the Mudhouse in Charlottesville. -
Taxing: City residents get hit first
Two things you can be certain of: a year without tax increases is like hell freezing over, and no matter how much you mangle your similes, death only diverts the tax bill to your heirs. The government's dig into citizens' pockets usually starts July 1. This year, Virginians get a slight reprieve until September 1, thanks to the extended special session of the General Assembly. -
Tough: Virginia's new DUI laws
Drunk driving got a little bit more dangerous July 1– for the drunks doing the driving. Just before July 4– a holiday more deadly than New Year's Eve, according to safety experts– Virginia enacted 25 new laws in an effort to show no mercy to drinkers who get behind the wheel. And Delegate Rob Bell, who carried five of those bills, has emerged as the poster boy in the campaign to take back the streets.
4Better Or Worse
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The week in review
Worst day for CEOs: July 8. Enron's Kenneth "Kenny Boy" Lay takes a perp walk and is charged with selling his stock while urging investors and employees to buy more. Adelph...
The Dish
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Fish tales: How Charlottesville tops Florence
Editor's note: another of Christina Ball's profiles from Italy. FLORENCE– When in Florence, eat steak. When at home, eat fish! Italy may be surrounded by the blue wa...
Essays
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Coarse debate: 'Defense' of marriage wrecks contracts
On July 1, a new Virginia law, "The Affirmation of Marriage Act," took effect banning same-sex unions, domestic partnerships, and similar arrangements granted by other stat...
Question of the Week
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How do you feel about the new drunk driving laws?
Liza Schirmer: "So many drunk driving accidents involve innocent people who don't deserve to be endangered. People should feel safe getting into their cars, and I think t...
Real Estate - $old
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$old
ALBEMARLE 5/26 Leigh Ann and William F. Steigman III to Scott P. and Jenny S. Commins, 1633 Shady Grove Court, Mill Creek, $224,000. Barry Meade Homes LLC to Jack B...
Real Estate - On the Block
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On the fence? Outdoor rooms tip the scale
ADDRESS: 729 Northwood Avenue ASKING: $779,000 SIZE: 2,865 fin. sq. ft. / 954 unfin. YEAR BUILT: 1925 NEIGHBORHOOD: North Downtown CURB APPEAL: 9 out of a possible 10 LISTE...
Real Estate - Update
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UPDATE
APPEARED IN THE HOOK: June 10, 2004 in Issue 0323 ADDRESS: 416 Foxdale Lane ASKING PRICE: $895,000 SELLING PRICE: $895,000 DAYS TO CONTRACT: 90 SELLER'S AGENT: Maggie Beigh...
Real Estate Property auctions
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Property auctions
July 20, at 9am, at the Fluvanna County Courthouse Property: 2.0 acres at 772 Oak Creek Road, Palmyra Debtor: Shirley B. and Lee M. Hawthorne Jr. Amount owing: $65,269 Bid...
Movie Reviews
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Bionic cop: More sci-fi for summer fun
Does the fact that more movies are created by artificial intelligence mean we'll be seeing more movies about artificial intelligence? It's taken Isaac Asimov's i, Robot ove...
Music Reviews
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One of the 'Boys': Mystery deepens on the Corner
The Slate Hill Boysat JaberwokeJuly 9 The Slate Hill Boys, mysterious beyond all other Charlottesville groups I've heard, were a chance discovery as I walked down the Corn... -
Oogling: Skimpy threads, hot doings
Sumthingat West MainThursday, July 8 Lounge Sessions (DJ Ellipsis, Kenny M)at StationFriday, July 9
News
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Jeannette Caines: Author and bookseller dies
Noted author, bookseller, and recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Virginia Center for the Book Jeannette Caines Armstead died earlier this week after a short... -
Amphitheatrical: Architects pummel Mall design
City Council's approval of a Coran Capshaw-run amphitheater last month sparked excitement over a venue that will draw national acts– and fears about whether the city'... -
Flashy: Paramount gets a new marquee
In preparation for a new paint job, workers applied a primer coat to the marquee of the Paramount Theater July 6, as the 1931 Main Street landmark enters its final stages o... -
More leases: CSX wants to offload routes
Editor's note: CSX made Central Virginia headlines in May with its move to lease about 200 miles of the former C&O– from Clifton Forge through Charlottesville and... -
Page turner: Yellow Book takes on Sprint
The next time you let your fingers do the walking, your digits may have extra ground to cover thanks to Yellow Book USA, a billion-dollar phonebook company that's entering ... -
Torched again: Fire on Afton mountain
An early morning blaze burned up the gable and charred much of the interior of the Skyline Parkway Motel, a moribund hotel at the crest of the Blue Ridge. "We basically wen... -
Tragic files: Three lawsuits target Clifton
Eight months after the historic and sumptuous Clifton Inn burned, attorneys have filed multimillion-dollar lawsuits for the families of two New York women killed in the Nov...
The Brazen Careerist
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To win: Hire a personal assistant
Your to-do list is dragging you down. Why do tasks that do not inherently enhance the quality of your life when you could pay someone $10 an hour to do them? I learned thi...
Strange But True
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Wait time: How you cut it matters
DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. On a busy day out, would you rather be faced with a one-minute walk followed by a seven-minute wait, or a six-minute wa...
Facetime
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Power ranger: Parker looks to alternatives
Imagine the offspring of Marilyn Vos Savant and fictional surfer boy Jeff Spicolo. That kid would be, like, totally smart. In fact, that kid might be kind of like Anson Par...
Hotseat
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Peterson's pride: Leaving behind Ten, not 10
You've seen the green awnings, but you don't have the faintest clue what goes on inside. For many people, Region Ten flies under the radar– but its executive director...
Letters
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Flags must stay down 30 days
I want to start off by expressing how disappointed I am in the quality of journalism presented in the Hook's "Words" column of June 24. I understand that the Hook is mainly... -
Huja didn't do trolley
You wrote me last week to ask me to say something about Huja's retirement. Your quote was entirely accurate– saving the editorializing a "still-miffed Danielson says ... -
Huja promoted neighborhoods
Your cover story on Satyendra Huja [July 1: "Hujavision: The 'Urban Turban' Plans his Escape"] was excellent– both pictures and text. Huja has been a great benefactor... -
It's all about me
In a recent news story, [June 17: "Quash game: How many subpoenas does a code violation need?"], Shirley Presley and Carolyn Reilly argue that they have strung razor wire a... -
No need for Johnsen's Bland ideas
It appears that Scott Johnsen has gotten a little too close to the "razor wire" on the infamous Rivanna Trail [July 1, "Presley's greedy"]. Why is he resorting to mocking a... -
Nordin didn't listen
Thanks for speaking to me by telephone last week. My assistant showed me the article by Barbara Nordin on a complaint by Ron and Sharon Soltau. As one might expect from a h... -
People make mistakes
In response to the June 17 Fearless Consumer column, " Dog days: When Max went under the knife," I will continue to be a customer of Westwood Animal Hospital, mostly due to...