Fishbowl

Stripped searches Supreme Court ruling will mean local library users can peek no more If your plans at the public library include reading an e-mail from samantha35@adultfun.com or glancing at www.cumshots.com, you could find your mission thwarted, thanks to the paternalistic justices on the Supreme Court. On June 23, in a 6-3 ruling, the Court […]

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License to ill City demands fees from failing business When Jeffery Spinello opened a letter from the City and read that he needed a permit to go out of business, he thought someone was pulling his leg. “In the past 15 years, I’ve opened and closed or sold 12 businesses,” says Spinello, who runs Main […]

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Artists to Zion: Deliver us Will performance come to the house of God? In the year of the building’s 119th anniversary, Mt. Zion Baptist Church on Ridge Street stands vacant, and what fills it will likely stir conversation in the coming months. The Mt. Zion congregation held its final service in the building on May […]

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Deadline blues Hawkins fails to file, Mitch marches on Blair Hawkins made a last minute decision not to deliver his Republican nomination speech at the local party’s mass meeting on June 2. For one thing, he missed the filing deadline of May 27 at 7pm and couldn’t be nominated, period. For another thing, other than […]

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No sizzle, f’shizzle Sparks fly over shutdown of July 4 fireworks  This year, the home of Thomas Jefferson may have to celebrate the Declaration of Independence without the traditional pyrotechnics, but not due to lack of effort from local concerned citizens. When Ray Caddell heard that Charlottesville may not have a fireworks display on July […]

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Che behind the camera Johnny St. Ours returns with his guerrilla film crew Local “guerrilla” filmmaker Johnny St. Ours will soon be hosting the second summer session of his Guerrilla Film Unit Self-Taught Boot Camp. Anyone who is interested can show up at his studio behind Spencer’s 206 on South Street, shoot a movie on […]

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Homebuyer beware VDOT’s road-expanding project threatens Fontaine Avenue  On April 16, a State appraiser showed Monica Vieira approximately how much of her front yard will be appropriated by the Virginia Department of Transportation. “I kept saying, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Vieira says. She and Kevin Kotlarski bought the house at 2316 Fontaine Ave. […]

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Switch hitters Two candidates pick parties and abandon Independents Blair Hawkins and Eric Strucko, among the most recent candidates to announce their intentions to run for office in November, have something in common: Both lost their previous runs as Independents—Strucko for the White Hall seat on the Board of County Supervisors in 1999 and Hawkins […]

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Charging elephants Republicans stand up for John Q. Public Tax day makes everybody cranky and on Tuesday, April 15, Charlottesville Republicans were no exception: Prominent elephants got down- right snippy about the Democratic establishment. In separate instances, Councilor Rob Schilling and GOP stalwart Jon Bright declared that City Council couldn’t care less about the little […]

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Mean streets City Council vs. cussing, racism—and taxes This summer, the City will flex more police muscle to keep the Downtown Mall a pleasant place to spend money. During City Council’s regular meeting on Monday, April 7, Park Street resident Stan Tatum described eating dinner outside on the Mall recently. He said a group of […]