Piercing Questions

A: That’s a pretty sharp question, Needling (sorry, Ace couldn’t resist). But seriously. Ritualistic piercing has been a part of the “body modification” menu since at least 1979, when Fakir Musafar, known in some circles as the “father of the modern primitive movement,” presented his personal piercing work at the first International Tattoo Convention. On […]

Growing up in public

When Joy Johnson moved into Westhaven, the City expected public housing residents to follow the rules, not help make them. With little else besides willpower and her own commanding voice, she has given residents unprecedented influence in the notoriously raucous world of Charlottesville housing politics. As an activist, Johnson has relished her role in the mix, but as a mother, she is ambivalent about the challenges her family has faced as a result.

Shootings spur investigation, lawsuits

Local police are being questioned for their use of force in several incidents. An investigation by Virginia State Police will look into a Charlottesville police shoot-out October 20 that left fugitive Elvis Gene Shifflett wounded and hospitalized. Less than a week later, two cousins who were shot by police in separate incidents in 2004 filed suit against the Albemarle and Charlottesville police departments.

Man pleads guilty to JPA Rape

Police think they’ve found the real rapist in the year-old case of a UVA law student. John Henry Agee pleaded guilty October 24 to sexually assaulting the woman and acknowledged the court could also convict him of rape. But a man who was wrongly accused of the crime is still suing the victim for misidentifying […]

Choose life, activists say

Virginia has a long love affair with capital punishment. The first recorded execution in the colonies was in 1608 when Capt. George Kendall was put to death in Jamestown for being a Spanish spy. Four years later, the governor issued the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which imposed death for even minor offenses such as killing chickens, trading with Indians and—wait for it—stealing grapes.

Bowers case to go forward

The case of a fired UVA employee seeking $1 million for wrongful termination inched its way up the legal ladder last week. On October 24, U.S. District Court judge Norman K. Moon ruled that while some of her secondary claims wouldn’t hold up, on the constitutional claims Dena Bowers just may have a point.Bowers is […]

City Cop retires after 39 years

Charlottesville Police Officer Ron Webster is retiring after an almost 40-year career that\’s taken him from patrolling the Corner to a foot beat on Main Street\’s “new” Downtown Mall. And, in his time on the forensic unit, he\’s seen technology go from old-fashioned suspect sleuthing to fingerprinting and DNA matching.

Dead tree won’t die

“This is not my comfort zone, I don\’t enjoy being here,” said contractor Don Hicklin of Nielson Construction Company when it was his turn to speak. And a quick glance around the room full of tense faces at the October 26 Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) meeting suggested that he was not alone in those sentiments.

County bridge reopens

The Advance Mills bridge in northern Albemarle County reopened October 24 after being closed almost a week for inspections\-he latest example of the gentle precautions needed to protect an aging bridge.

Water Street runneth over

Water Street was, literally, flowing with water on October 26, when a water main near the City Center for Contemporary Arts broke, creating a bubbling gurgle at its intersection with Second Street SE, just off the Downtown Mall. Was this small gusher a result of incessant utility work that\’s been going on in that corridor?