Dear Ace: All of my local short cuts involve railroad tracks, but sometimes I find that I end up wasting a lot of time waiting for the trains to go by. Is there a train schedule so I can plan a way to keep my short cuts short?—Impatience Railhopper Railhopper: To shortcut his detective work, […]

Dear Ace: Like, where did all the pay phones go? I need to make a call, but can’t find a phone and don’t want to get a cell. —Anita Dialtone Good question, Anita! Even though Ace upgraded to wireless communications for his investigative calling, the dwindling numbers of local public phones have not gone unnoticed […]

Dear Ace: I’ve been doing a considerable amount of plant dodging while strolling along the sidewalks around town. Obstacle courses can be nice, but it’s starting to ruin my walks. How do I make these homeowners keep their plants off my path?—Bush Whacked Ah, Bush. Ace understands your woes—plants can be a pain. If they […]

Hey Ace: You seem like a guy who knows what’s up with local TV. What ever happened to NBC Channel 29 morning anchor Bill Duval? Is he coming back or did he split town?—Earl E. Riser Earl, sometimes it’s hard to keep track of all the anchor-folk at NBC29. They seem to come and go […]

Dear Ace: I was just wondering, who is Boyd, and what does he serve at his tavern?—Thirsty for Answers Thirsty: Reading your question, poor Ace felt an insatiable need to wet his whistle. So, he hopped in the Acemobile and headed toward Boyd Tavern, at the junction of Route 616 and Three Chop’t Road, just […]

Dear Ace: What’s happening on the Bypass near the 250 exit? I see lots of construction and dirt movers. McMansions? Rest stop? —Rhodes Scholar Rhodes: With all the earth-moving going on around town (or earth scorching, as the case may be—the first time Ace drove by the Hollymead Town Center site he thought a nuclear […]

Dear Ace: Cruising down Earlysville Road on my way to work each day, I always see a fleet of long, skinny boats next to the reservoir. I’m tempted to take my smokin’ date for a moonlit boat ride next Saturday night. But I wonder, who owns those boats and how can I use one?—Boatless Romantic […]

Dear Dr. Ace, What’s this I hear about area dentists getting together to organize a dental clinic for low-income families? Where’s it going to be and how can I help?—Pearl E. White Well, Pearl, you ask an important question. Because if you aren’t born with good, healthy teeth you gotta buy them. Ace, for example, […]

Dear Ace: What’s with those recycling boxes at Central Place? Some City project or what? And how can we be sure the plastics and glass bottles get to the recycling place, anyway?—Sierra Klubb Oh, my fine Sierra! Ace detects a sliver of skepticism in your query. Could it be that the one and only Sierra […]

Ace, it’s not an emergency or anything, but I’m curious about this community phone system that can alert the community to crisis by calling everyone in an imperiled area. Who gets to use it and for what? Earthquakes? UFOs? A GOP invasion?—Chatty Cathy Cathy, Cathy, Cathy, talking dogs are more likely to take over our […]