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Dear A.B.: Ah yes, the Vietnam Graffiti Project. Ace has more than a passing interest in this fascinating endeavor himself, as his father also served in Vietnam. Here\’s the deal: Around 1997, local military artifact historian Art Beltrone was helping with research for Terrence Malick\’s World War II epic The Thin Red Line. One of his assignments involved shooting video of the troop compartment of the venerable General Nelson M. Walker troopship (affectionately nicknamed the “Okinawa Express,” due to her frequent trips to Japan). The Walker was the very definition of a military workhorse, having seen active duty in WWII, the Korean War, and the opening years of the Vietnam conflict (she was deactivated in 1968, and eventually laid up in the Navy\’s James River berthing area).

“The inherent problem is the dirt, and the dirt is too expensive. Unless the government owns the dirt we have a problem.” The comment from local developer Dan Walters sparked some chuckles and quite a few nods of agreement from the 100 or so people crammed into the upstairs chamber at Baja Bean for Left of Center’s monthly meeting. On Tuesday, May 9, the new youth-centric Democratic group took on the topic of affordable housing—one of the most severe issues facing the City of Charlottesville as it deals with continued growth and inflated real estate costs.

When 180 acres are flooded to make way for the long-planned Ragged Mountain Reservoir expansion, the city will lose acres of public hiking trails. City Councilor Kevin Lynch wants replacement public land, but finding a location could prove tricky.

An attorney for Kurt Kroboth, the former investment banker accused of donning a vampire mask and attempting to murder his estranged wife back in November 2004, has filed a motion calling into question the constitutionality of the sentence his client was handed on May 9. Judge William Shelton sentenced Kroboth to 25 years for attempted murder, with all but 10 years suspended. The defense had recommended a sentence of two and a half to five years; the prosecution recommended four and a half to eight years.

The federal drug and conspiracy case against Louis Antonio Bryant, the alleged drug dealer and ringleader of local gang the Westside Crew, continues into its second week of testimony on Monday, May 15. The first week prosecutors brought to the stand numerous police investigators, as well as former associates of Bryant\’s who had dealt with or bought drugs from him.

On May 9, The Virginia Quarterly Review—a four-man publishing operation run out of the University of Virginia—won two National Magazine Awards, the industry\’s highest honor. VQR won for General Excellence in the under 100,000 distribution category, as well as for fiction, a category in which they were pitted against such tough competitors as The Atlantic Monthly and McSweeney\’s.