Run for your life

Wes Kessenich doesn’t look crazy. Not at all. His sandy brown hair, slightly receding, is parted neatly on the left. He’s wearing a white dress shirt, a conservative blue and silver tie, dark slacks and black wingtip shoes. He’s about 5′ 8", 150 pounds. Watching him stroll across the lobby of Martha Jefferson Hospital, where […]

Potty pooper

Q: Ace, I just got a parking ticket in the Water Street parking lot because I fed the meter I thought corresponded to my parking space. Turns out, that meter belonged to the Port-a-Potty that occupies the space next the space where I parked! Tell me I’m crazy, but what kind of public restroom needs […]

It’s Capsaw’s world

It’s Capshaw’s world …we just live in it Real estate mogul Coran Capshaw may not be the biggest developer in town, but he’s the glitziest A whiff of development was in the air on a recent gusty spring afternoon. As it blew across W. Main Street, a stiff breeze carried the smell of freshly cut […]

Cicadas bring in the noise

Q: Hey Ace, I’ve been hearing lately that we’re going to get walloped this summer by this major cicada swarm. Is it true that we’re going to be besieged by insects? And are they dangerous?—Bugsy Malone A: The summer’s bumper cicada crop certainly has people abuzz, Bugsy. But Ace put his ear to the ground […]

Burning Bush

George Bush strides confidently in the background, looking strong and presidential. As the images taken from his campaign ads referring to the September 11 attacks scroll across the screen, a voiceover intones, “George Bush shamelessly exploited 9/11 in his campaign commercials.” Soon after, we hear the voice of Bush’s former counter-terrorism chief, Richard Clarke: “Frankly […]

Cicadas bring in the house

Q: Hey Ace, I’ve been hearing lately that we’re going to get walloped this summer by this major cicada swarm. Is it true that we’re going to be besieged by insects? And are they dangerous?—Bugsy Malone A: The summer’s bumper cicada crop certainly has people abuzz, Bugsy. But Ace put his ear to the ground […]

Speech Impediment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. —The First Amendment to the United States Constitution Censorship is […]

The bite club

Q: Ace, tourists come here from all over the globe, and the 48 states, Hawaii and Alaska. Do you suppose there is enough intelligence for those that control/run the Downtown Mall to set the clock to the exact time? It’s been two years!—Father Time A:Yeesh, that’s pretty harsh there, pops—no need to go insulting anyone’s […]

Keeping the faith

The mosque on 10 1/2 Street, tucked behind Team Tires, doesn’t look like the traditional Islamic house of worship—no domes, no minarets, no glazed tile floors. Like other houses in the neighborhood, the mosque is a folky abode with a wide porch that on most Sundays accommodates a colorful mound of children’s footwear—shiny basketball high-tops, […]

The bite club

Q: Ace, I heard a rumor that an animal with rabies was caught in City limits last week, supposedly the first one in a really long time. But we hear about rabies pretty frequently. What’s the deal—was there a rabies case, and if so, is it really all that rare?—Diz Ease A:Charlottesville animal control officer […]