A real drag? 1963 killing of Pat Akins remains the coldest case
One of the town's biggest boys lay dead underneath one of the town's smallest cars. Initially, cops claimed that 19-year-old James Patrick Akins had been dragged from Greenwood to Charlottesville under a Triumph TR3.
September 26th, 2013 issue #1239
Earlier this year, the Hook won the state's top journalism award for its coverage of the attempted ouster of UVA President Teresa Sullivan last year. It is the third time the Hook has won the coveted prize for Journalistic Integrity and Community Service, given to only two newspapers every year at the Virginia Press Association's annual award ceremony.
The Hook in review: 12 years of covering Charlottesville
The first issue of the Hook hit the streets February 7, 2002, in an America still reeling in post-9/11 shock— not quite sure how our world would change, but with an uneasy feeling that it would not be for the better.
Since its inception, the Hook has shone a spotlight into the darkest corners of our community, forcing us to confront issues that most would just as soon ignore.
Digging deeper: On becoming a Hook reporter
One of the first stories I wrote as a full-time employee for the Hook in 2005 was about the planned renovation of a Downtown park. I spoke to advocates of the renovation, c...
Editor’s Note: Farewell and thanks
Dear Hook readers,
Thank you. Thank you for reading this paper each week, for offering story ideas, for taking our calls and sharing your expertise and opinions as sources in the thousands of stories we have run since this paper launched in 2002. Thank you for writing letters praising or excoriating our work, for commenting on our website. For being part of a local news enterprise that was born of a desire to serve the community. Thank you, also, to Hook advertisers, who invested their hard-earned dollars in our pages and thereby supported the mission of local investigative reporting…
Essays
Digging deeper: On becoming a Hook reporter
One of the first stories I wrote as a full-time employee for the Hook in 2005 was about the planned renovation of a Downtown park. I spoke to advocates of the renovation, c...
Contents
COVERThe coldest caseFifty years ago, this town was shaken by the death of popular football star Pat Akins. Early reports claimed the six-foot athlete had been dragged 12 m...
Black and White
