Month: August 2010

DOCTOR
Greg Gelburd of Downtown Family Healthcare
Runner-up: Bruce Campbell
Readers have put Greg Gelburd ahead of the pack for six years now, but that doesn’t mean they want him all to themselves. In fact, for a good cause, they’re happy to share, as they did last fall when Dr. Gelburd took a trip to Haiti to assist with hurricane relief. In second place, Free Union doc Bruce Campbell keeps the home fires burnin’. For more information on this winner, click here.

DENTIST
David Dalley
Runner-up: David and Rebecca Swett
If he keeps pulling out these consecutive wins (he’s on his fifth one!), Dr. Dalley will have to change his name to Dr. Yearly. Stop groaning. We could have said it’s Tooth Hurty, time to call David Dalley. All jokes aside, your winner does some serious dental work. For more information on this winner, click here.

DERMATOLOGIST
Anna Magee
Runner-up: Bonnie Straka of Albemarle Dermatology Associates
Here’s the skinny on Anna Magee: She opened her private practice, Charlottesville Dermatology, in 1994 and specializes in everything from acne to alopecia, as well as cosmetic procedures like fillers and Botox. More than 15 years later, readers say she’s the secret to their worry-free epidermis. Signature Medical Spa owner Bonnie Straka takes the runner-up spot with her medical and traditional spa services. 

GYNECOLOGIST
Ed Wolanski
Runner-up: Sarah Stadler
When they say, “Kid tested, mother approved,” they must be talking about Ed Wolanski. The Locust Avenue OB/GYN provides quality care to women in many of life’s stages. Second place winner Sarah Stadler, of Martha Jefferson, has 15 years in the medical field. 

PEDIATRICIAN
Paige Perriello Runner-up: David Hawkes of Pediatric Associates
Around these parts, “Perriello” is a well-recognized name—and we’re not just talking politics. Since the death of local pediatrician Vito Perriello in early 2009, his daughter Paige has continued the legacy of quality medical treatment for wee ones at Pediatric Associates’ Downtown branch. Over at the West Office on Ivy Road, PA’s David Hawkes takes the runner-up spot. 

CHIROPRACTOR
Douglas Cox of Cox Chiropractic Clinic
Runner-up: Sam Spillman of Balance Chiropractic
You won’t be bent out of shape to know Mr. Cox wins this category again. He’s put in nearly 30 years unkinking your knots and cricks and straightening you out. In second place, Balance Chiropractic’s Sam Spillman excels at soft tissue manipulation. For more information on this winner, click here.

PSYCHOLOGIST/COUNSELOR
Susan Cunningham
Runner-up: Tarn Singh
Readers keep the licensed professional counselor who won in this first-time category in mind when it comes to social work, individual, marriage and family counseling. Tarn Singh, a licensed social worker, leads the rest of the competition. 

PLASTIC SURGEON
Victoria Vastine of Charlottesville Plastic Surgery
Runner-up: Thomas Gampper of UVA
Q: Ideally, how do you know if someone’s had plastic surgery? A: You don’t. No one should be able to tell if you’ve gone under the knife, whether for reconstruction after an accident or just a simple procedure to take the years off. We don’t know which of you guys and gals have elected to have some work done, but Victoria Vastine does. Spread the word: You say she’s the best in town. Thomas Gampper, the runner-up, works out of UVA.

HOME REPAIR/HANDYMAN
Russ Melton of Charlottesville Handyman
Runner-up: Advantage Handyman and Brad Boozer (tie)
Russ Melton is not only a skilled handyman—readers’ favorite, in fact—he’s also got some top-notch juggling moves. A video on his website shows him tossing around a hammer, a pipe wrench and a paint roller. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves: “Imagine how he could help you around the house,” he says. 

ARCHITECT
Bob Anderson
Runner-up: VMDO Architects
Shortly after last year’s win, Bob Anderson wrote in to let us know just exactly who he is and how he stays off the radar but continues to win this category. Our word count prohibits a lengthy description, but here’s a taste: Locally, Mr. Anderson designed Brookwood townhouses, Alta Vista condominiums and JAUNT headquarters. He’s designed a few residential buildings in Albemarle and Northern Virginia, too. For more information on this winner, click here.

REAL ESTATE AGENT
Sasha Cannon Farmer
Runner-up: Bob Hughes
It came pretty close, folks, but newcomer Sasha Cannon Farmer takes the lead this year. You chose the Montague, Miller & Company agent because she’s plugged in (read her blog at charlottesville365.com) and personable and has proven that she can do one helluva job: Last December, she earned the title of Certified Residential Specialist, which counts big in the real estate world. 

PLUMBER
Hodges Myers of Myers Plumbing
Runner-up: Laco
When your plumber replies to your Tweets, you know he means business. Once, this year’s winner replied to a gal with kitchen sink issues: “Two options. 1. Move 2. Let me come fix it.” If that’s not confidence, we don’t know what is. For more information on this winner, click here.

ELECTRICIAN
Robertson Electric
Runner-up: Fitch Services
We’re not surprised you chose Robertson Electric again this year. The 40-year-old company knows just how to spark your interest: quality service. In the runner-up spot is 27-year-old Fitch Services, whose preventative maintenance servicing really lights your fire. For more information on this winner, click here.

LAWN AND GARDEN CARE
Snow’s Garden Center
Runner-up: Meriweather Mowing Service
As the slogan goes, “Snow knows.” And, as you’ve demonstrated again this year, readers know too—who to hire for best lawn care, that is. Snow’s stays at the top with its 10 different gardening services, like Plant Insect Control and Seasonal Cleanup. Dave Norford and Rod Ballard’s Meriweather Mowing Service, located in Earlysville, trims the No. 2 slot. For more information on this winner, click here.

CARPENTER
Alloy Workshop
Runner-up: Butch Duke of Duke Building
To alloy means to mix one metal with another, which often enhances its properties. To mix Alloy with your own ideas has much the same effect. Readers have known this about the design-build group for two years now. That’s why the East Market Street company takes home the gold medal. For more information on this winner, click here.

TAXICAB SERVICE
Wahooptie
Runner-up: Access Taxi
There’s undeniable excitement in riding around in a bright green (or orange) Lincoln Town Car tricked out with leather seats, a flat screen TV, DVD player and surround sound. For those who prefer a car with a more modest exterior, owners Bartley McGowan and Joseph Mills provide other options, like a ’68 Fleetwood Cadillac. Either way, you voted the Wahooptie the sweetest ride in town for making you feel like one cool cat. 

ATTORNEY
Matthew Murray of Allen Allen Allen & Allen
Runner-up: Tucker Griffin Barnes
He may not bear the name “Allen,” but readers say that doesn’t hold him back from being a top-notch lawyer. A longtime local from a huge and prominent family, Murray takes the top spot for the first time for his specialties in personal injury and medical malpractice law. 

BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY
Douglas Little
Runner-up: Bob Stevens and Steve Scott
This is a grim category, we know. But when it comes time to find the right bankruptcy attorney—one who’s sensitive, but also knowledgeable—readers say there’s no one better than Douglas Little. The UVA law grad has 35 years of experience in bankruptcy, real estate and business law. 

FINANCIAL PLANNER
Marotta Wealth Management
Runner-up: Margreta Swanson of MH Swanson & Associates
Money may not grow on trees, but readers say Marotta Wealth Management plants the seeds for financial freedom. The company provides more than 10 services for its clients, including comprehensive financial planning, charitable giving and tax planning. 

FORECLOSURE SPECIALIST
Anthony McGhee
Runner-up: Bill Tucker of Tucker Griffin Barnes
Anthony McGhee does it all: He’ll guide you through the foreclosure process from the very beginning, and he’ll even serve as auctioneer if the unfortunate time comes to sell your property. Tucker Griffin Barnes founder Bill Tucker takes second place with more than 35 years of experience in real estate law. 

PLACE TO BOARD YOUR PET
Pampered Pets
Runner-up: Wakefield Kennel
Readers, this comes direct from our furry friends: They need a break from your constant cooing and kissing. They want other kinds of pampering too. At Pampered Pets, they like the cozy kennels and afternoon Frosty Paws ice cream snacks. In second place, Earlysville critters love Wakefield Kennel for its more than 30 acres of fields and woods. For more information on this winner, click here.

VETERINARIAN
Georgetown Veterinary Hospital
Runner-up: Old Dominion Animal Hospital
Whether little Fluffy has the sniffles or just needs a regular checkup, you say there’s no place better to bring man’s best friend than to one of the four doctors at Georgetown Vet. Over on Preston Avenue, Old Dominion fetches second place for traditional and holistic services. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE TO GET YOUR CAR REPAIRED HONESTLY
Settle Tire
Runner-up: Airport Road Auto Center
You may choose Settle year after year as the best place to get your car repaired, but settling has nothing to do with it. Maybe the company’s shuttle service and free Wi-Fi keeps drivers steering back to the Preston Avenue shop. That, plus the straightforward service. Your runner-up, Airport Road Auto Center, makes it back into the top tier after a brief absence. For more information on this winner, click here.

PRESCHOOL OR DAYCARE
Foundations Child Development Center
Runner-up: Charlottesville Day School
The folks at Foundations say, “Childhood is a journey, not a race.” Of course, if it were a race, they’d be winning. You say the Berkmar Drive child development center is ahead of the pack for its individualized curriculum and small class size. CDS, with its unique offerings—can you say “Spanish class”?—for the 2- to 5-year-old set, gets the runner-up spot.

CATERER
Harvest Moon Catering
Runner-up: C&O Restaurant
A catering favorite for two years in a row, Harvest Moon dazzles with its professional setup, experienced staff and scrumdiddlyumptious menu featuring dishes like crispy white cheddar and chive twice-baked potatoes or fresh tomato gazpacho cappuccino with jumbo shrimp cocktail. We suspect we’re making you hungry for more. (Or are those our own stomachs growling?) For more information on this winner, click here.

HAIRSTYLIST
Jonathan Nuckles of Nuckles Salon
Runner-up: Virginia Glenn of Reflections Salon
His name may be Nuckles, but it’s really his clippin’ fingers—thumb and middle—that chop through the competition year after year. Runner-up Virginia Glenn takes the No. 2 spot with nearly 15 years in the hair biz. For more information on this winner, click here.

BARBER
Staples Barber Shop
Runner-up: Charlottesville Barber Shop
The best barbershops are time machines. Set foot in the doorway and the outside world fizzles away, no matter the decade. Your winner this year makes good on the tradition, chopping locks since 1923. The folks commanding the clippers can call up a ducktail or a pompadour as easily as they can fashion a flattop (ask Howie Long) or a choppy back-n-sides. 

SPA
Oasis Day Spa & Body Shop
Runner-up: Spa at Boar’s Head Inn
A winner again this year, Oasis continues to provide readers with the best in nail and skin care. You love the Water Street spa for its ginger and juniper wraps and its flower hand soaks, not to mention its resurfacing facials and expert waxing. Runner-up Boar’s Head earns a spot on this list with its Deep Steep body care line and relaxing setting. For more information on this winner, click here.

TATTOO ARTIST
Ben Around Tattoos
Runner-up: Acme Tattoo
Our bodies are blank slates primed for the inking. Unless, of course, you’re one of the readers who frequents Ben Miller’s West Main tattoo parlor and voted him number one in this first-time category. In which case, you might not be blank anymore. Ink master Miller and his team will tat you front, back and side to side. Maybe you want an aquarium across your pectorals. Maybe you’d like a branding iron on your buttocks. Ben Around tackles each project with equal fervor. 

DRY CLEANERS
Brown’s Dry Cleaners
Runner-up: Skyline Cleaners
Cleanliness is next to godliness, and so is Brown’s Dry Cleaners. With five locations ready and willing to take your dirty duds, you think that’s practically heaven-sent. Skyline Cleaners, at Barracks Road, wows readers with its special attention to wedding dresses and leather items. For more information on this winner, click here.

HOTEL OR INN

Boar’s Head Inn
Runner-up: Clifton Inn
One thing’s for sure: You readers demand perfection. That’s probably why you vote praiseworthy Boar’s Head into the top spot again this year. You swoon over the private balconies, romantic fireplaces and comfy terrycloth robes. East of town, you crave Clifton’s 18 expertly appointed, cozy rooms. For more information on this winner, click here.

<Back to the winners

PLACE TO HIKE
Humpback Rocks
Runner-up: Sugar Hollow
Back on top this year after a brief hiatus, Humpback Rocks prompts just one response from readers: Every day should be Hump day. The 740′ peak takes just 45 minutes to climb, but once at the top, hikers have a 360 degree view of the Shenandoah National Park, George Washington National forest and surrounding greenery.

PLACE TO MOUNTAIN BIKE
Walnut Creek Park
Runner-up: Observatory Hill
Amateur biker beware: Walnut Creek is a challenge. A single track for five miles, the trail makes a twisty-turny adventure for those of you who like not only to ride, but ride rough. There’s a less intense trail for those who’d prefer to take a leisurely stroll around the park instead. To those few, we say, see below. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE TO ROAD BIKE
Earlysville Road
Runner-up: Free Union Road
Road biking is, undoubtedly, mountain biking’s less-grueling, enjoy-the-scenery sister hobby. As such, it requires a more picturesque setting. Readers say, for this new category, that setting is Earlysville Road. Mind the curves!

PARK FOR KIDS
Pen Park
Runner-up: Greenleaf Park
A playground area, a volleyball court, eight tennis courts, a batting cage, a Little League field and three outdoor picnic shelters keep Pen Park No. 1, facing off against more than 20 local parks. And that includes your runner-up, with its mushroom fountain and interactive water pole.

KIDS’ SUMMER CAMP
Triple C Camp
Runner-up: Camp ACAC
It’s unclear what the three Cs of Triple C Camp stand for, but you readers don’t seem too concerned with that. As long as your kids are happy, Libby and H. Rothenberg’s summer camp will keep on winnin’, as it’s done this year for the second time in a row. Camp ACAC, a newcomer to Best Of, takes the runner-up spot with its age-specific camps and special features like a computer lab, movie theater and 30′ water slide. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE TO RUN
Rivanna Trail
Runner-up: UVA Grounds
In an inexplicable switcheroo, Ridge Road—last year’s winner—is not even represented in this year’s tabulation. In its place? The Rivanna Trail, with its ground-like features and surrounding flora. Your runner-up, UVA Grounds, provides a similar experience: Top-notch earth and lush greenery.

GOLF COURSE
Birdwood
Runner-up: Old Trail
Always a crowd pleaser, Birdwood gets another Best Of win this year. As does the runner-up. Old Trail, an 18-hole public course, is located just 12 minutes west of the ’ville in Crozet. It boasts fairways “reminiscent of Scottish links courses.” We’re glad you readers know what that means. For more information this winner, click here.

YOGA STUDIO/TEACHER
Lizzie Clark at Bikram Yoga
Runner-up: John Piller and Hilary Steinitz Jackson of ACAC (tie)
Readers are still hot for Lizzie Clark; the instructor of the 105-degree exercise nabs the top spot again for the second year in a row. New to the list, though, are John Piller and Hilary Steinitz Jackson. In addition to her ACAC classes, Jackson’s a regular at Downtown yoga spot Studio 206. As for Piller, he runs ACAC’s yoga program. You dig his Kriya and Ashtanga expertise.

PILATES TEACHER/STUDIO
Robin Truxel of Tru Pilates
Runner-up: Carla Shifflett of Posture Studio
Former marathon runner Robin Truxel discovered Pilates after sustaining a back and hip injury. She loved it so much, she stuck with it. Now, she’s helping you stick with it, too. Two years as the top Pilates instructor in town, she’s your tried and tru winner. But don’t miss runner-up Carla Shifflett’s moves: She’s relocating to a Downtown storefront and working to get clients lined up at the new spot.

PLACE TO WEIGHT TRAIN
ACAC
Runner-up: Gold’s Gym
With more than 75 pieces of equipment in each of its four locations in Charlottesville and Albemarle, all dedicated to helping you get in fighting shape, ACAC dominates this category. Gold’s Gym takes second place, with more than 44 years’ experience in the biz, including a star turn in 1977’s Pumping Iron, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. For more information on this winner, click here.

PUBLIC POOL
Onesty Pool/Meade Park
Runner-up: Washington Park
The human body contains 70 percent water, so it’s only natural that, this year, readers would flock to the city park that’s big on H2O. Renovated only a year ago, Meade Park’s Onesty Pool features three water slides, a lazy river and water sprinklers. You can find a pool at this year’s runner-up, too…along with a playground area and basketball courts.

PERSONAL TRAINER
Bill Burnett of Success Studio
Runner-up: Jenny Peterson of ACAC
Flip flop alert: Last year, you said this year’s winner was runner-up. Now, you say Bill Burnett is the tops! What gave him the edge? Sheer muscle, baby. That and his fun group classes, exercise know-how and passion for the job. Your runner-up, Jenny Peterson, continues to get physical at ACAC.

<Back to the winners

Three months after the May 3 death of UVA lacrosse player Yeardley Love—allegedly at the hands of fellow student-athlete George Huguely—President Teresa Sullivan disclosed how the University plans to enforce the requirement that students self-report.

“My understanding is that we are now changing this from a passive notification system to a more active notification system,” said Sullivan, speaking to reporters in Madison Hall. This fall, all UVA students will have to disclose any arrests before they access NetBadge, a system where they access e-mail accounts and course materials. According to Dean of Students Allen Groves, a portion of the screen will remind students of their obligation to new incidents within 72 hours of occurrence.

For student-athletes, however, reporting requirements begin 48 hours earlier.

“The one place where there is a difference is student athletes have additional obligations to the athletic program and their coaches,” says Groves, who consulted with Athletic Director Craig Littlepage about the procedure. Sullivan said athletes are required to tell their coaches within 24 hours of an incident. “If we discover that they had not so informed the coaches, there are going to be appropriate sanctions taken by the athletic department,” she said.
Following Love’s death, news of Huguely’s previous run-ins with the law—a 2008 arrest for public drunkenness and resisting arrest—became public. Former University President John Casteen met with Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to discuss introducing legislation requiring Virginia police departments to report arrests of UVA students to the University.

According to Littlepage, student athletes attend annual informational meetings with their teams concerning “team, department, University and NCAA rules.” Following the meetings, “they would need to do the self-reporting.”

In the event that an athlete reports an offense, he or she is not automatically dismissed from the team. Rather, “depending on the circumstances, a student-athlete could be suspended, return to participation, lose scholarship support or be dismissed from the team,” says Littlepage via e-mail.

Student self-reporting was first adopted in 2004, and, said Sullivan, it’s included in the student handbook. Still, Groves says that “a number of students out there probably were not aware of this policy.”

So, what happens to a student who reports prior arrests or convictions?

“We’ll evaluate the information to see what kind of follow-up, if any, needs to be done,” says Groves, who will review all students’ responses. “It could be as simple as looking at the information, making a note of it on our confidential database that’s only in my office, so that we know of this in the event that something happens in the future and we want to understand the context.”

The next step would be a conversation with the student, which may be a phone call or an e-mail to glean additional details, or a face-to-face. In the most serious cases, Groves says, the matter might be referred to the University Judiciary Committee or the University Threat Assessment Team, a committee created in response to the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that left 32 people dead.

Even if a student does not report a prior encounter with law enforcement—which could result in expulsion—Groves says information about incidents can come in from different sources, including notification from people familiar with the student.

“I can tell you over my time as dean there have been a couple of cases where students have been incarcerated, and that is obviously a flag,” says Groves.

Sullivan told media that, even in the case the General Assembly “wishes” to move forward with the reporting legislation, “our students come from other states as well.

“And for that reason, I actually like to rely on student self-reporting, because I don’t think we can require all 50 states to tell us what happens to our students when they are somewhere else,” she said.

Asked whether the policy violates students’ rights, Groves, who is an attorney, said that such disclosures are common practice in the business world. “I would hope that students, faculty, parents, everyone would understand that this is simply an issue of our attempting to make this a safe community,” he says.

C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.

BIG VENUE

John Paul Jones Arena
Runner-up: Charlottesville Pavilion
The bigger the better, we always say. Apparently, that’s what you say, too, as JPJ—the biggest of this town’s big venues—wins again. Headliners like Phish, Jimmy Buffett and Taylor Swift surely have something to do with the arena’s popularity, but with a capacity of just over 15,000, we figure sheer size is what has kept the JPJ a nose above runner-up Charlottesville Pavilion three years in a row. For more information on this winner, click here.

Local gifted education teacher John Hunter spent the end of July at the annual EduStat conference, where he was a featured speaker alongside a former chief learning officer for the Central Intelligence Agency and the co-founder of JetBlue Airways. By the following week, the subject of local filmmaker Chris Farina’s documentary World Peace…and Other Fourth Grade Achievements was thinking of his return to the classroom.

“I’ll be out of the building some next year. I don’t know how much,” said Hunter, an Albemarle County teacher, during an interview. “But I know we’re going to Norway for 10 days, and probably California a couple times, and New York maybe twice. There are probably things coming that I don’t know about yet.”

In February, Hunter may transport his legacy—in the form of his four-tiered World Peace board game—to his largest classroom yet. During the past month, C-VILLE heard several rumors that Hunter was selected to speak at the annual conference presented by a nonprofit organization called TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design). Previous TED speakers include Bono, Bill Gates and Valerie Plame Wilson, and the theme for the 2011 conference—right up Hunter’s alley, we say—is “The Rediscovery of Wonder.”

Asked about rumors that he would present at the TED2011 conference, “The Rediscovery of Wonder,” Hunter would neither confirm nor deny his involvement.

“I can say that if there’s anything that would occur, there would be an announcement in the fall,” says Hunter.

However, Hunter—who has a profile on the TED website, and shares that the event’s 1,500 tickets sold out a year in advance—is very familiar with the program and said the organization likes to “cultivate storytelling” as a way of sharing knowledge.

“And I understand that when [TED] cultivates a speaking relationship with a presenter, they work with that person over time, and develop a really beautiful story.”

Since the sold-out Charlottesville premiere of Farina’s film, Hunter, Farina and the World Peace game have traveled extensively to promote the film and Hunter’s teaching methods. In September, Hunter will speak at the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American Studies at UVA; the next month, he heads to Norway for the Bergen International Film Festival.

Regarding his travels, Hunter says Albemarle County schools have been “really gracious.
“Pam Moran, the superintendent, and my principal, Michele Del Gallo, both graciously allowed me the leave time as appropriate to spread the message that the curriculum embedded in the game—the universal objectives that all teachers strive for,” said Hunter.

And, before the school year resumes, Hunter plans to teach himself a few new tricks. A longtime synthesizer musician, Hunter says he recently rearranged his studio to nurture a new love: guitars.

“I’ve got eight guitars and four amplifiers,” said Hunter with a laugh. “Stop me, somebody!”

C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.

JEWELRY STORE
Angelo
Runner-up: Andrew Minton Jewelers
We suspect he stays on top year after year not simply because jewelry artist Lee Marraccini designs beautiful bling, but because he and his wife, Pam, run more than a jewelry store. They run a jewelry gallery. Next to cases of Lee’s own beauties are collections from more than 40 other designers, many of them local. Talk about sportsmanship. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE FOR FASHION ACCESSORIES
Cha Cha’s
Runner-up: Eloise
There aren’t too many places where you can find cat eye sunglasses, bauble rings and pins with sassy messages all in one store. Cha Cha’s fills that void for you readers, and then some. You turn to Eloise, your runner-up, for a fine-tuned selection of pendant necklaces, bracelets and earrings—often made by local designers!

PLACE FOR JEANS
Jean Theory
Runner-up: Judy b. Jeans
Jean Theory took the runner-up spot in this category last year, but this time around, readers decided they couldn’t get enough of owner Laura Van Camp’s choice of denim. Whether brand new or “Inherited,” them’s some good jeans. You still love runner-up Judy b. for the store’s promise to always find you the best fit.

VINTAGE CLOTHING STORE
Antics
Runner-up: Bittersweet
Antics is exactly what a vintage clothing store should be: tucked away on a Downtown Mall side street and filled to the brim with quirky clothes and accessories. This year, readers recognize the Fifth Street shop for the fantastic resource it is. Your runner-up, Bittersweet, now in a new Mall location, actually hasn’t specialized in vintage clothing for a while. But, when something’s that good, it’s not easily forgotten. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE FOR A PARTY DRESS
Eloise
Runner-up: Jean Theory
Nobody does “party dress” better than the ladies (and gent) of Eloise, themselves wont to make your shopping experience a very fun affair. They’ll take the Cynthia Vincent dress you’ve picked out and top it off with a little sparkle and tell you how great you look. Indeed, it’s hard to leave without feeling fabulous. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE TO BUY SHOES
Scarpa
Runner-up: Rack Room Shoes
After years and years of choosing Scarpa, you readers are causing us some concern: Are you addicted to buying gorgeous shoes? Not that we can blame you. Owner Amy Gardner stocks such top-notch choices —like Loeffler Randall and Amalfi—that we can see where you’d have a problem. Now that we think about it, is it a problem at all? You can’t walk around barefoot all the time. It’s just not healthy. For more information on this winner, click here. 

PLACE FOR PET SUPPLIES
Pet Food Discounters
Runner-up: Pet Supplies Plus
One thing’s for sure: Readers like a bargain. You chose Pet Food Discounters in this new category for its hearty selection and 25 years of experience in the biz. Your runner-up, Pet Supplies Plus, also never disappoints. With more than 10,000 items in stock every day, readers usually find what they need. 

PLACE TO BUY RUNNING GEAR
Ragged Mountain Running Shop
Runner-up: Charlottesville Running Company
With umpteen marathons available to locals’ blistered feet each year, one thing is clear: Charlottesville is for runners. Readers say nobody knows this better than Mark and Cynthia Lorenzoni, who’ve operated their Elliewood shop since 1982. They specialize in finding the best shoe for your gait, posture and form, but they’ll also train newbies interested in running a marathon. Talk about putting your best foot forward. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE FOR KIDS’ CLOTHES
Petit Bebe
Runner-up: Whimsies
Little scores big in this kid-centric category. Petit Bebe takes the win this year, beating out former winner Whimsies for the top spot. You visit PB for wee clothes, toys and skillfully chosen baby gifts and gear. For those up Barracks Road, Whimsies is the place to be. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE FOR A MAN’S SUIT
JoS. A. Bank
Runner-up: Men’s Wearhouse
With more than 100 years in the biz, JoS. A. Bank is a natural fit to win this category. The Barracks Road store sells everything from tuxedos to golf apparel. No wonder readers keep going back. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE TO RENT MEN’S FORMALWEAR
Men’s Wearhouse
Runner-up: Men & Boy’s Shop
What does it take to turn Michael Moore into Clive Owen? $49.99. That’s the base price for renting a suit at Men’s Wearhouse, this year’s winner. With two locations—at Rio Road and Shopper’s World Court—readers can dapper up their look twice over. East Main Street’s Men & Boy’s Shop stands tall in the No. 2 spot. 

SECONDHAND CLOTHING STORE
Goodwill
Runner-up: Jean Theory
Some people just don’t have a taste for rummaging through someone else’s discards. Some do. You say Goodwill is the best place to find a treasure, be it a vintage coat, some new-to-you housewares or even lacy PJs. Just be sure to wash, rinse, repeat. 

LOCAL HARDWARE STORE
Martin Hardware
Runner-up: Meadowbrook Hardware
In some ways, it doesn’t surprise us at all that, during June’s microburst, Martin Hardware was just about the only place in town that had power, thanks to the store’s backup generators. It’s that same attention to detail that nails them first place every year. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE TO BUY WINE
Market Street Wineshop
Runner-up: Wine Warehouse
Two locations for this year’s winner keep it a nose above the competition. Each spot—one Downtown and one on Seminole Trail—stocks fine wine, beer, breads and cheeses and wine accessories like corkscrews and bottle toppers. Winos near Hydraulic Road say Wine Warehouse has the answer. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE TO BUY BEER
Beer Run
Runner-up: Market Street Wineshop
It’s no surprise that you’d say Beer Run is the best place to buy beer (see Best Draft Beer Selection). We suspect readers think Beer Run is also one of the best places to drink beer, too. With the Belmont spot’s outdoor patio and ample indoor seating (check out those copper-topped tables!) you could sit there all day. BR is open from 8am until at least 10pm every night. For more information on this winner, click here.

CITY MARKET STALL
Taco stand
Runner-up: Radical Roots
Mmm mmm good. We’d say more about Ignacio and Maria Beccera’s Saturday morning City Market treats, but our mouths are filled with a delicious handmade tortilla topped with marinated pork, queso fresco, onions and cilantro. You’ll just have to wait until we’re done chewing. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the throngs of people standing in line for one of these delicacies, it’s that patience is a virtue.

PLACE FOR FURNITURE
Circa
Runner-up: The Artful Lodger
This time last year, Circa owner Jackie Binder gave us a video tour of her favorite things in the store. On her list? A vintage dresser, a set of small chairs and a butcher block table. They’re probably gone by now, but as Binder noted in her video, truckloads of new stuff arrive every week. That anticipation alone keeps you going back year after year. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE FOR ANTIQUES
Circa
Runner-up: The Consignment House
It’s hard to say what you’ll find at Circa. That’s the benefit of a secondhand shop. Like its runner-up, Circa stocks everything from traditional, to contemporary to funky and fantastic. You could make an entire day out of shopping at this year’s winner. In fact, you’d almost have to: 10,000 square feet calls for more than just an afternoon of browsing. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE FOR HOME ACCESSORIES
Circa
Runner-up: World Market
Circa, Circa, Circa. Readers love the McIntire Plaza store for its furniture, its antiques and, come to think of it, its home accessories in general. Is there nothing this store can do wrong? In the runner-up spot, World Market dazzles with its unique ethnic offerings, from pillows and curtains to cabinets and cookware. Don’t mind the “Made in China” sticker on the bottom of your shower caddy. 
For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE FOR USED BOOKS
Daedalus Bookshop
Runner-up: Blue Whale Books
Casual book browsers, beware: Daedalus will suck you in with its free book table, hold you captive with its three labyrinthine floors of in- and out-of-print books and spit you out onto Fourth Street a converted bibliophile. A bit farther down the Mall, Blue Whale offers collectible and scholarly hardcovers. 

NURSERY
Ivy Nursery
Runner-up: Snow’s Garden Center
Here’s the secret to Ivy Nursery’s success: Its proprietors, Clare and George Carter, each have a masters degree in Landscape Architecture. Translation: When it comes to knowing what to grow and where to grow it, they’ve got it in the bag (of mulch?). Snow’s, your runner-up, takes second place with 98 years of experience and a special appreciation for fruits and veggies. For more information on this winner, click here.

FLORIST
Hedge Fine Blooms
Runner-up: University Florists
Compared to the charm of walking into the perfumed air of Hedge and hand-picking a tulip here and a lily there, well, a flower at any other store just doesn’t seem to smell as sweet. You chose the Downtown shop again this year. And your runner-up, University Florists, always delivers a beautiful bouquet. For more information on this winner, click here.

TOY STORE
Shenanigans
Runner-up: Alakazam
You know how they say, “It isn’t all fun and games”? At Shenanigans, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Barracks Road shop takes the lead again this year because they’re just so gosh darn good at having a great time. Meanwhile, Downtown toy spot Alakazam holds tight to the runner-up spot. For more information on this winner, click here.

BIKE SHOP
Blue Wheel Bicycles
Runner-up: Performance Bicycle Shop
It’s no surprise readers go to Roger Friend and Scott Paisley’s shop to buy bikes, but they also visit the Ix Building spot to get bicycle gear, repairs and solid riding advice. With nearly 40 years in the bike business, Blue Wheel’s got the goods. For more information on this winner, click here.

LOCAL GROCERY STORE
Market Street Market
Runner-up: C’ville Market
This year’s best grocery store has many merits, of course (delicious $4 Boar’s Head turkey sandwich, anyone?), but never in history were so many people glad to go grocery shopping than this past winter. Flocks of local residents showed up to the shop during the blizzard(s) to get everything from paper towels to potatoes. And now that there’s no snow? Readers say MSM still makes them feel warm and fuzzy. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE FOR GIFTS
O’Suzannah
Runner-up: Cha Cha’s
Again this year, readers agree: Owner Suzannah Fischer’s shop is so sweet and carefully curated that you’ll start to make up gift-giving occasions. Our recommendation: anything with a squirrel theme. Squirrels never disappoint. For more information on this winner, click here.

PLACE FOR GREETING CARDS
Rock Paper Scissors
Runner-up: O’Suzannah
Talk about a good move. Earlier this year, new RPS owners Dani Antol and Heather McNulty moved the local card shop back Downtown and, boy, are you readers happy! The ladies plan to expand the store’s selection of gift items and up the ante in the design department, but for now, readers are happy to browse the card selection or have the ladies whip them up something RSVP-worthy. 

PLACE FOR MUSIC GEAR
Charlottesville Music
Runner-up: Heinz Musitronics
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life would be an error.” It’s good, then, that your winner in this new category is whole-heartedly committed to keeping the music alive. Established in 1983, Charlottesville Music specializes in the three Rs: rentals, retail and repairs. Not a musician? The Seminole Trail shop offers lessons, too. 

<Back to the winners

Charlottesville filmmakers popularize an image of the city, without a single mention of TJ, the Grish or DMB

The silver screen has always been celebrated for its ability to turn ordinary folks into larger than life characters. By “ordinary folks,” of course we mean well-connected Hollywood types with rock hard abs, chiseled features and few, if any, visible scars. This year, two local films completed the astonishing feat of turning everyday Charlottesville people into larger than life characters—without talking about a Grammy-winning band, that bestselling dude or the smart fella who lived over on that thar hill.

A local teacher named John Hunter was the first to get zapped, in Chris Farina’s World Peace…and other Fourth Grade Achievements. The film follows Hunter, who harnesses the carnivalesque nature of his classroom for a game where students must save an imaginary world with diplomacy. And then in Meghan Eckman’s The Parking Lot Movie, a ragtag assemblage of workers at the Corner Parking Lot became overnight celebrities. Between them, the films garnered attention from festivals like South by Southwest, media outlets like NPR, PBS and—let’s throw it in there—this paper.

Remarkably, RWSA Executive Director Tom Frederick stays cool in hot water

Each year, more locals throw on their water wings, grip their snorkels in their mouths and belly flop into the debate over the 50-year Community Water Supply Plan. They come up gasping and sputtering over issues like the feasibility of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir and designs of earthen dams for Ragged Mountain, and occasionally use words like “fraud” and “in cohoots” when they regain their breath.

Yet Tom Frederick, the Executive Director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, seems to float on top of the issues, as aquatically Zen as an inflatable dolphin.

Frederick has weathered his share of choppy waters from critics: Passed only two years after he took the executive director gig, the Community Water Supply Plan seems more like a motorized wave pool, tirelessly churning discontent among locals. But Frederick—in control of his budget and, more impressive, his temper—makes us want to wade right into the water supply debate. Heck, he makes the water look fine.

Patricia Kluge transforms words into bonus cash with a yard sale to beat ’em all

When she opted to downsize last October, local winery owner and philanthropist Patricia Kluge planted a $100 million “For Sale” sign in the yard of Albemarle House, her 300-acre, 13-bedroom estate. She soon discovered the housing market was under-ripe for such luxuries (she slashed the price by 52 percent within months). So it must have come as some surprise in June when her two-day rummage sale (O.K., O.K., it was a full-court press estate auction run by Sotheby’s) far exceeded expectations, bringing in $15.2 million, about 69 percent above what the auction house had estimated. Add to that the proceeds from the sale of her jewelry earlier in the year and La Kluge topped $20 million. What accounts for this recession-defying monumental trick? Apparently, six little words, the auction-world equivalent of a magician’s “abracadabra:” “From the collection of Patricia Kluge.”

Teresa Sullivan to head UVA, a college she couldn’t even have attended at 18

You know what’s amazing? Women had the right to vote in the U.S. a full 50 years before they could earn a bachelor’s degree at our local university. By 1970, women had long called themselves Pulitzer Prize winners, U.S. Senators, and (for Pete’s sake) solo flyers across the Atlantic. But it was only in that late year that they could begin to call themselves UVA coeds.
You know what’s equally amazing? This January saw the Board of Visitors vote in Teresa A. Sullivan—who, not to press the point, is A Woman—as UVA’s next president. President! Head honcho! The buck stops with her!

Hailing from the University of Michigan, Sullivan started her new job August 1. Faculty Senate Chairwoman Ann Hamric commented simply that Sullivan’s selection showed the university wanted the “very best person to lead UVA.” We say it shows heartwarming progress where attitudes were once embarrassingly behind the curve.

Still, the times aren’t done a-changin’. Sullivan takes the reins at a school where only 12 percent of tenured engineering faculty are women, and in an age when only 23 percent of American colleges have women presidents. But those female Hoos now outnumber their male counterparts, 56 to 44 percent. And this fall, for the first time, they’ll study under someone they can address as “Madame President.”

The photo festival retracts and spells some new, unexpected magic

The seasoned illusionist reveals not his methods. So naturally, it was tough to tell whether there was rhyme or reason to the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph’s schedule. For three years the fest giveth, and on the fourth it taketh away? Huh?

The fest didn’t take our Benjamin and turn it into a one-spot. The trick was called LOOKbetween, and like a good disappearing act, it rendered the festival’s fourth year almost invisible to most denizens of the Downtown Mall. But those who were paying attention were greeted with a voila, a half hour outside of town; and anyone who made it to the farm in White Hall that June weekend can tell you that magic was falling around dozens of up-and-coming photographers like so much confetti.

First, an inflatable screen was illuminated with incredible images; later, bullfrogs from the nearby lake began to croak and a massive bonfire overtook the festivities. The young photographers founded a tent city on a Sugar Hollow Farm where they ate, swam and photographed. With a mere flick of the wrist, the fest had gone from a behemoth presence to a quaint celebration that was as magnificent and successful on its scale as its parent had been for three years beforehand.