April 4th, 2013 issue #1214

April 4th, 2013
  • Animal matters: Sahar Akhtar on the morals of animal treatment

    UVA professor of philosophy Sahar Akhtar's class "Animals and Ethics" is a popular one. "Students now want to know what the justifications are for treating animals in certain ways," says Akhtar, "what the morality and ethics of that is, and what, if any, obligations we have to them as a society and as human beings." The class examines the moral and legal standing of non-human animals, and how we come to terms with using animals for research and for food.

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  • Beyer's market: Innovation rules at Tom Tom

    Stopping by the Hook office two weeks before the second Tom Tom Founders Day Festival kicks off on April 11, it's clear festival organizer Paul Beyer is a busy man. In addition to putting the finishing touches on Tom Tom's big events, including a $10,000 community pitch night, 60 musical performances, and a series of talks by local innovators, there are the tiny details to attend to. "The banners need to be tightened," says Beyer, peering through a window at the Tom Tom signs flapping on Downtown Mall lightpoles. Add one more thing to his "to-do" list.

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  • Fat secret: Peirce-Cottler seeks cures from saddlebags

    One doctor's trash is another's treasure– at least that's the case for UVA biomedical engineer Shayn Peirce-Cottler, whose use of liposuction leftovers in her research is helping improve treatment for serious conditions including diabetes and heart disease. Wait a sec. Love handles as potential life savers?

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  • Launching dreams: Nguyen's bringing the biz to small business

    When Toan Nguyen first conceived of a local microlending program similar to ones that have been successful in developing countries, people scoffed.

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  • Likely to inspire: Bob Pianta innovates teacher quality

    Bob Pianta isn't afraid to say he has no idea what the classroom of the future will look like. Coming from the dean of UVA's Curry School of Education and a nationally-lauded builder of better teachers, that's pretty refreshing. "We're at this intersection with technology," says Pianta. As critical to education as technology is however, there's this one other thing getting attention now: social skills.

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  • Love thy neighbor: Pastor Greg Thompson brings back the beloved community

    Greg Thompson wants us to learn to love each other, even if we have deep differences, and not just because he's a pastor at a local Presbyterian church and Jesus said love thy neighbor and all that, but because he believes the survival of our democracy depends on it. Disturbed by the divisive political discourse in the country, Thompson, 39, began studying Martin Luther King, Jr. for his dissertation at UVA about seven years ago, asking himself how people with deep differences could not only live together, but flourish.

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  • Moves that bind: Katie Schetlick finds connections through dance

    We fidget as we sit, we walk, we run and dance—we’re all in constant motion. But how often do we think of it as something that we share with others, something that links us together? Katie Schetlick, ballet instructor at the Charlottesville Performing Arts School, considers this connection between people, dancing, and movement every day. 

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4Better Or Worse

  • The week in review

    Worst first: Albemarle has its first traffic fatality March 27 followed by two more two days later (see related story page 10). In 2012, 12 people died on county roads.

The Dish

  • Pie one on: New cart brings taste of Down Under

    In America, the word pie is usually preceded by the name of a fruit– apple, peach, blueberry. It's a different world Down Under where pies are stuffed with meats, veg...

  • The Livery gets ready

    For years, the street leading up to the Downtown Mall between Vinegar Hill Theater and the Omni Hotel has been lined on the left by a vast expanse of brick, but signs now...

Essays

  • Flash of insight: Get used to no power

    Silent flashes lit up the sky in fast succession, like paparazzi, for a good two minutes. The night was dark, and our power had clicked off about a half hour earlier. I sto...

Real Estate - On the Block

  • Spotlight on Locust Grove

    Area: Locust GrovePrice range: $172,500-$800,000Schools: Burnley-Moran, Walker & Buford, CharlottesvillePros: proximity to downtown, stately homes, nice lotsCons: traff...

Real Estate Property auctions

  • Property auctions

    April 8 at 10am at the Charlottesville Circuit Court Property: 706 Rockland Avenue Debtor: Harry H. and Nancy T. Morris Original amount owing: $337,500 Bidder brings: ...

Movie Reviews

Contents

  • Table of Contents

    COVERTom Tom Arrives to Innovate CharlottesvilleClear your schedule for the dates of April 11-14 and get out to the Tom Tom Founders Festival for block parties, free concer...

News

Black and White

  • All eyes

    Former neighbor Paul Whitehead, often up to something creative. Moved to San Francisco. ~Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog. ...

Cultural preview

  • Get Out! events, shows, things to do

    “If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be an...