In the spring of 1998, Pete Gillen inherited a Virginia basketball team with no stars and no pulse. Regardless, the new coach grinned. He cracked jokes. What else could he do? Charlottesville was then a basketball ghost town. The University had just cast out Jeff Jones, who, after coaching the Cavaliers to the Final Eight […]
In the spring of 1998, Pete Gillen inherited a Virginia basketball team with no stars and no pulse. Regardless, the new coach grinned. He cracked jokes. What else could he do? Charlottesville was then a basketball ghost town. The University had just cast out Jeff Jones, who, after coaching the Cavaliers to the Final Eight […]
Dear Ace: plenty of billboards offer up worthy reading material as I toot around town. However, the one on High Street, near the Riverside, that says something like “Does Martha know too much?” is the one that really leaves me puzzled. Is the advertiser taking a jab at the hard-working hospital named for Mrs. TJ? […]
Dozens of volunteers constantly restock shelves to keep the place bustling and worthy of repeated looks during the sale’s 10-day run, which could raise more than $100,000 for local libraries. As Bill Davis leans against the table next to the basement entrance of the Gordon Avenue Library, a middle-aged woman walks up, smiles and deposits […]
Dear Ace: Everybody knows about Dave Matthews, but what other celebrities live in Charlottesville?—Teenie Bopper Put down that subscription to The Star, Bopper. While Ace is no groupie himself, he understands the need for some to live vicariously through proximity to wealth and fame. How better to keep our minds off of the drudgery of […]
In 1975 there were reportedly 3 million record albums manufactured for sale in the United States. By 2004, that number hit 745 million. More than 10,000 CDs were released by hundreds of artists last year—that’s about 27 CDs per day. The recording industry has been in a boom cycle for the last 30 years, and […]
Checking out the Bookmobile Back to archived page Q: Darling Ace: I keep seeing this big ol’ bus motoring around the city and the county called the “Bookmobile.” Obviously it’s connected to the local library system, but I’m wondering—what does it do? Who uses it?—Bussed a Move A: Book learnin’ always makes Ace’s head spin. […]
Spend some time in Tom Henzey’s dojo, and you’ll quickly realize that the message he imparts to women in his self-defense classes at 7 Tigers Tae Kwon Do is a simple one: Protecting yourself should be instinctive, reflexive and as natural as breathing. “Your instincts will keep you alive,” says the straight-talking black belt. “Unfortunately, […]
Q: Hey Ace, longtime WVIR 29 news director Dave Cupp may have hightailed it out of town, but there are those of us who still miss him. I know he’s up in the Northeast and that he’s planning a new career in academia, but I want specifics! How’s he doing? Does he miss us? Is […]
“Was it all just a dream?” Michael Moore asks at the beginning of Fahrenheit 9/11, his custard-pie-in-the-face salute to the Bush Administration for using weapons of mass destruction as weapons of mass distraction. Moore was referring to the previous four years, from hanging chads to Swift boats, but he might as well have been referring […]
Q: My dear Ace, like any normal person, I’ve racked up a few parking tickets in my day. However, when the City slaps me one, sometimes it’s in a white ticket with postage-paid envelope, and sometimes it’s stuck inside a yellow envelope with no postage paid. What’s up with dat?—Peddie Krymes A: Oh, Peddie, like […]