October 27th, 2011 issue #1043
October 27th, 2011
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Jury: He did it. Abshire murder trial
As the jury weighed its decision in the first-degree murder trial of the Greene County dump truck driver accused of killing his wife for a $1.5 million in insurance payout in a crime so shabbily staged that veteran investigators suspected his involvement within hours of her death, the parents of the victim wondered what their daughter, a kindergarten teacher known as a homebody and animal lover, ever saw in Eric Dee Abshire, a man with a history of violence.Getting to know him
4Better Or Worse
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The week in review
Most accommodating: City officials agree to extend the permit for Occupy Charlottesville in Lee Park until October 27, and waive the $25 fee. Previously, camping had not be...
The Dish
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9 1/2 Lounge: Downtown's new speakeasy
Walking up the stairs to the second floor of Fellini's #9 restaurant (where former owner Chief Gordon warned his customers never to go), one starts to get a sense of what i...
Essays
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Power check: The vanishing jury trial in Virginia
Many people think trial by jury is a bedrock of American government, but according to statistics from the Virginia judicial system, fewer than two percent of our state's cr...
Question of the Week
Real Estate - $old
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Quick turnaround in Greenbrier
8/31/11 Frank Ferrari to Stefan Young, 1650 Garden Court, $178,000, Albemarle Redus VA Housing LLC to Margaret Costa, 1533 Wickham Pond Road, $415,000, Albemarle AG Green L...
Real Estate - On the Block
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Lovely in Lewis Hills: Big house improved by bounds and LEAPS
Address: 2417 Holkham DriveNeighborhood: Lewis HillsAsking: $547,000Assessment: $493,500Year Built: 1985Size: 2,558 fin. sq. ft., 576 unfin.Land: 5.17 acresCurb Appea...
Real Estate Property auctions
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Property auctions
October 27 at 10am at the Albemarle Courthouse Property: 2220 Hummingbird Lane Debtor: Gifty Yawa Gagble Original amount owing: $211,920 Bidder brings: $20,000Info: Recontr...
Art Features
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Make it classy! How the Renaissance codified a style
Repeat after me: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite— anyone who’s taken high school Latin knows these are the five types of columns used in Roman architect...
DR. HooK
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The runs: Aerobic exercise can cause GI woes
Pathetic– a good term to describe my my aerobic endurance. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve vomited or almost vomited from intense workouts. Once while p...
Movie Reviews
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Big hit: But kinda stale taste in Para 3
"Paranormal Activity 3" is a prequel, revealing that the characters in "PA1" and "PA2" had already been through the all-night video surveillance ordeal. At least in this fi...
News
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Anger management: Former mayor Caravati will get counseling
Former mayor Blake Caravati appeared in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court October 21 to face an assault and battery charge on a family member. -
Balance of power part 2: What's at stake in the 2011 elections
When the Hook started gathering lists of candidates who would appear on Albemarle and Charlottesville ballots, we came up with an eye-popping 38 names of people who want to... -
Crosswalk case: Taxpayer payout ends cops' black eye
The injured plaintiff had already agreed to eschew hot-button terms like "Code of Blue" or "Code of Silence" when the lawsuit alleging a police conspiracy went before a j... -
Day four: An unwitting accomplice?
On a day when colleagues of slain kindergarten teacher Justine Abshire took the stand to describe a talented, highly respected professional who appeared distraught on the l... -
Halfaday arrested: Ex-candidate charged with falsifying address
Former Democratic City Council candidate James Halfaday was charged October 19 with four felony counts of election fraud for allegedly using a false address to certify his... -
Nevermind: UVA editor's charge dropped at trial
A University Judiciary Committee ruled it did not have jurisdiction over the Cavalier Daily October 18 after it heard the alleged breach of Honor Code confidentiality trial... -
UVA wins: But 10 injured, 3 hospitalized in stampede
UVA's recent 24-21 upset win over previously unbeaten, 12th-ranked Georgia Tech sent Cavalier fans rushing the field. But in the October 15 stampede of spectators, somethin... -
Why she filed: Morgan Harrington's mom explains suit
The news that the mother of slain concert-goer Morgan Dana Harrington filed a lawsuit against the security company nearly got lost amid the tributes to the 20-year-old on t...
On Architecture
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$100K to burn: Donation stokes $3.7 million Lawn fireplaces
On a chilly fall day when the temperature barely cracked the 60-degree mark, University of Virginia officials announced that there's hope for the 106 chimneys of the hallow... -
Garrett Hall renewed as Batten School home
With Virginia's outgoing U.S. Senator giving a kick-off speech, the University of Virginia opened its 11th school last week in a building that got a spiffy renovation that ... -
Woodard buildings finally getting a facelift
What has been the Downtown's Mall's biggest pile of vacant buildings has received new attention this year, as the long-shuttered storefronts and upper-story spaces at the n...
The Brazen Careerist
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Go to bed: Enough sleep is crucial for success
Even though you know you need eight hours of sleep a night, you probably sleep much less than that. Me, too. After a recent all-nighter baking for my son’s birthday party...
Sports Doctor
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Sioux 'em! North Dakota gives up on its mascot
With unemployment around 9.7 percent, competition is fierce in the job market, and people want to know where the jobs are. If you’re a graphic designer looking for work, ...
Strange But True
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A bug in your ear: Cockroaches can mean trouble
Q. Cockroaches date back 350 million years, with 4,000 known species, 95 percent living entirely apart from humans. The other 5 percent seem to be universally loathed, livi...
Online only
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Day 7: What the jury won't hear
Following early morning testimony from a handwriting expert who concluded that Eric Abshire forged his then-fiancée's signature on a million-dollar vehicle insurance polic... -
Day five: Abshire expressed marriage regret
Speaking in a soft– at times shaking– voice, Eric Abshire's high school sweetheart, Allison Crawford, testified unwillingly today and revealed that on the night... -
Day one: Domestic violence a focus during Abshire jury selection
A young woman allegedly raped in June won't be part of the jury deciding the fate of accused wife-killer Eric Abshire. She was one of several women dismissed as potential... -
Day six: All about the money
Did Eric Abshire know he stood to collect $1.5 million if his wife died in a hit and run, and did he attempt to collect that money? Those questions were the subject of test... -
Day three: Prosecution suggests strangulation
In addition to dozens of abrasions, bruises, and broken bones, Justine Elizabeth Abshire suffered another type of injury before her death, a medical examiner testified toda... -
Day two: Trial opens with gruesome details, timeline emphasis
A shoe, two gold earrings, and a cell phone were among the items found along Taylorsville Road near the lifeless body of kindergarten teacher and 1997 Western Albemarle Hig... -
Snap: Sidewalk serenade
A portion of the Cavalier Marching Band gives some impromptu entertainment to the tailgaters prior to the UVA football team's game last Saturday against Georgia Tech. There... -
Table of contents
COVERLonely road deathIt first seemed like a terrible accident. A newlywed found dead on a lonely road after midnight, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run. But as authorit...
Black and White
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Pond
Independent candidate for Charlottesville City Council, Bob Fenwick, addresses news media following his endorsement by the Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club.