Published November 3, 2005, in issue 0444 of The Hook

Worst reminder a serial rapist is out there: A woman is attacked October 24 by a man waiting inside her Broad Avenue apartment. Neighbors intervene, and there's no announced DNA connection to the serial rapist by press time.

Most serious reward money: The Parents' Program of the UVA Alumni Association puts up $30,000, and an anonymous parent contributes $5,000, upping the ante to $55,000 for information leading to the capture and conviction of the serial rapist who's been connected to at least seven assaults over the last eight years.

Biggest oops: University Housing accidentally puts the names and Social Security numbers of around 2,600 students online, the Cavalier Daily reports.

Worst street: Car side mirrors are smashed on 15th Street October 22-23, the latest in a series of vandalisms and thefts on that street that have caused university officials to warn parents and students to be wary, according to the Cav Daily.

Worst news for underage students: The number of underage drinking and public intoxication charges has more than doubled in the past year, the CD reports. A change in Virginia Code allows arrests without the contraband beverage if police notice the odor of alcohol.

Worst back-to-school night: The Albemarle School Board approves a requirement that parents must attend a two-hour seminar before registering an offspring for driver's ed.

Most mugshots: Charlottesville and Albemarle police charge Elijah Edmundson Jr. with numerous offenses, most involving theft, including the robbery of the GoCo Mart October 17. Robert Neal "Bobby" Jones also is arrested for breaking and entering a Belmont home October 23. And in response to citizen complaints, the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force busts three men at 632 Ridge Street.

Worst charges for a high school basketball ref: Possessing child pornography. Keswick resident Richard Lakes, 61, who resigned from the Piedmont Shenandoah Basketball Officials Association, is charged with 10 counts.

Best high-speed chase: Frank Lester Harris flees Louisa County deputies October 30 after being pulled over and giving the officer a false name. He's spotted tossing packages from the car, at least one of which contains a white powder, and he backs into a police cruiser after plowing into an embankment.

Most COPS-esque video: NBC29 has footage of the Harris chase from inside a law enforcement vehicle.

Biggest lawsuit: Patricia Stephens, whose husband was killed in an explosion at the Ivy Landfill in 2003, files a $16 million suit against Albemarle County, Charlottesville, and the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority, according to Liesel Nowak in the Progress.

Worst week for the Bush administration: Harriet Meiers withdraws her Supreme Court nomination; Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, is indicted-- with possibly more to come in the Plame affair-- and the 2000th U.S. soldier dies in Iraq October 25. Oh, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore is otherwise engaged when President Bush shows up in Norfolk October 28.

Latest Supreme Court nominee: Appeals Court Justice Samuel Alito.

First woman to lie in state at the Capitol: Civil rights legend Rosa Parks, who died October 24, is honored October 30-31.

Best quarter for oil companies: Profits soar to record heights.

Best week for drivers: Gas prices drop below $2.50 a gallon.

Worst break for Waynesboro cinephiles: Carmike Cinemas backs out of plans for a 10-screen theater-- the second time a chain has abandoned cineplex plans, the News Virginian reports.

Biggest badges: Albemarle police unveil a new, specially designed, Monticello-emblazoned badge, the DP reports.

Oddest Capshaw sighting: On the cover of Silver Linings, the Dave Matthews Band manager appears as a board member for the Hovey S. Dabney Foundation for Elders.

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