July 25th, 2013 issue #1230

July 25th, 2013

Hotel city: When will Charlottesville get 'roomier'?

On a crisp, bright day in March 2008, a suave-looking guy with long hair and a tailored light-grey suit (no tie) told us at a ground-breaking ceremony that a stylish, luxury "boutique" hotel, complete with a roof-top bar and stunning views of of the southeast mountains, would tower over Central Place on the Downtown Mall. What we got, of course, was an ugly tower of grey concrete rising out of the demolished shell of a bank building, an eyesore on our cityscape since 2009 that has the permanence of a metamorphic rock formation.

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The week in review

Latest in the McDonnell scandal: Governor Bob McDonnell repays more than $120,000 in loans from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams, and issues an apology July 23 for "the ...

Orange bound: Incredible Edible Food Fest

The self-evidently named Edible Food Fest in Orange, a one-day homage to the farm-to-table movement that launched last year, attracting more than 3,500 people to downtown O...

Charm: A pedophile's secret weapon

I never met the man, but I’m sure I would have been charmed by him, as everyone else was. Why? Because he would have groomed me, as he groomed everyone around him. Tall a...

Park allure: Brick beauty offers modern amenities, historic location

Area: Park StreetYear built: 1987Square footage: 4360 finished, 344 unfinishedAcreage: .39Assessment: $1,043,800Asking Price: $950,000Curb Appeal: 9 out 10Listing Agent: Ka...

Property auctions

July 30 at 11am at the Albemarle CourthouseProperty: Foxtrot Two Hangars Condominium units 6, 7, 9, 11 Debtor: unknown Original amount owing: $430,000 Bidder brings: 10 per...

Stunted: Sandler's film not so 'Grown up'

Pop quiz and SPOILER ALERT! The visual humor in Grown Ups 2 includes but is not limited to:

Change of command: Spy center gets new leader

The ceremonial change of command is a time-honored tradition in the U.S. Army that dates back to George Washington. The chance for reporters to see inside the top-secret Na...
End of an era: Barrett Early Learning Center to close

The announced closure of the nearly 80-year-old Barrett Early Learning Center on Ridge Street has sent waves of dismay through the community. "This was a good school with l...
Exculpatory? Evidence not admitted in abduction trial

Local law enforcement and lawyers are abuzz about a recent abduction trial in which they say the prosecution did not allow evidence that would have cast serious doubt about...
Shiflett's instinct: Deputy locates missing men

Relying on nothing more than his training and an apparent knack for locating elderly wanderers, Chief Deputy Bobby Shiflett of the Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office, with...

Medicinal use: Pot educator wages war on war on drugs

Mary Lynn Mathre is a former nurse who wants patients to have access to a controversial medicine: pot. From an early age, the Minnesota native was interested in practicing ...

Route 29

Somewhere in southwest Virginia ~Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog.

Get Out! events, shows, things to do

Loretta Lynn Benefit Concert for the Charlottesville Free Clinic