Presented without comment:

A majority of the mayors of the Nashville area's largest cities and counties oppose a plan to loosen the state's open meeting laws, according to an informal Tennessean survey.

More members of elected boards and commissions would be allowed to discuss public affairs behind closed doors if a change approved in October by a legislative subcommittee continues to advance.

Proponents of the change say it will help politicians conduct business more efficiently and steer clear of embarrassing imbroglios like a recent court case involving illegal closed meetings of the Knox County Commission.

But nine city and county mayors contacted by The Tennessean echoed concerned citizens when they said they liked the law the way it is.

Five others did not return phone calls.

The Clean Water Protection Act (HR 2169) would reverse the Bush Administration’s 2002 decision that the toxic “waste” created by mountaintop removal could be defined as “fill material,” and recklessly dumped into our water ways. This practice has already destroyed over 1200 miles of American headwater streams, and eliminated access to safe, clean potable water for many communities. The CWPA (HR 2169) currently has 107 co-sponsors, and a lot of momentum. But we need more to get out of committee and onto the floor.

We have 3 of 5 Democrats from TN onboard, and we need to know if Lincoln Davis, Bart Gordon, and John Tanner are “wit’ us” or “ginst us” on stopping mountaintop removal.

If you have a moment, please take a moment to call Davis (202-225-6831), Gordon (202-225-4231), and Tanner (202-225-4714), politely but forcefully asking that they co-sponsor the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 2169), and take a stand against mountaintop removal.

A quick report on our TN Dems and mountaintop removal below…

In the post entitled New Mayor brings Fresh Ideas for Nashville, the citizens of Nashville were congratulated for bringing "new blood" to the mayor's office.

Turns out that the mayor's bringing in fresh Republican blood:

Legislative director Toby Compton, who will be Dean's liaison to the Metro Council and state legislature. Compton managed Buck Dozier's mayoral campaign this year, then served as a senior adviser to Dean during the runoff campaign.

Left out of this biography in the fair & balanced Tennessean - the paper that would have you believe that fact-checking is something that's up to the reader - are his stints as campaign staffer for Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander. Unconfirmed reports have him working as a former staffer to Marsha Blackburn.

Word around the campfire says that this development is hardly welcomed by the Metro legislative delegation, which currently splits about 80% Democratic, 20% Republican.

Perhaps this is why so many Belle Meade Republicans embraced the notion of a Dean mayoral win. Going into the Dean administration, the official liaison between the mayor's office and Metro Council has strong ties to movement Republicans.

And...

Senior adviser Jim Hester. Hester ran Dean's campaign for mayor. He is a former top aide in Harold Ford Jr.'s 2006 U.S. Senate campaign and former executive director of the Tennessee Democratic Party.

The article fails to mention that Hester was, um, "let go" (read: fired) in August of 2006 from the Ford campaign.

"New blood," indeed.

Karl Dean wins the mayoral election in Nasvhille. New blood from the North.

Boston Red Sox fan, who grew up in Gardner, Mass...

28% voter turnout, 13% early voting with 15% voting on election day.

Complete coverage from The Tennessean.

Congrats to the Citizens of Nashville.

P.S. I do believe East TN needs some new blood.

This is a really good Bob Clement story, for anyone who might care.

Link...

Took a quick trip to Nashville with the Mom to visit my sister and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. (H/T to Sis for being such a gracious host and tour guide.)

Nashville has a pretty great downtown area. Spent most of our time at the Frist Center. However, they also have fairly large parks downtown; Centennial Park, River Front Park, and Bicentennial Park. Yes, parks with grass and trees. Quite cool. Did get around to the Bicentennial Park for a quick visit. It was too hot to spend a lot of time outside. We walked quickly by the wall of history carved in marble, around the fountain with many children at play, up to the very large "patio" area with a marble map of the State of Tennessee embedded into the concrete. We all found it quite fascinating. It had interstates and large highways depicted as well as major and minor cities. Quite unique. Then back down to the Farmers Market. Wow! They have lots of produce and it was reported they are open 6-7 days a week.

Read more...

"It was really more like some sort of Sea Monkey holocaust than a drunken shrimp party."

(From this review at MetroBlogging Nashville.)

Link...

While this at first sounded pretty alarming, especially with an influx of Iraqi refugees about to come to America, the evidence that these gangs are a huge problem seems a bit thin. Only 3 examples. It doesn't say how many Kurdish youth there are that belong to the gang. These could be isolated incidences. I can see the logic behind them grouping together. Attacks and ethnic hatred against Middle Easterners is at an all time high. It could be a growing problem though. I guess we will just to wait and see...

via WBIR

I'm very surprised that more attention hasn't been given to a possible failure of the Wolf Creek Dam. This could be catastrophic on a NO Katrina scale. Check out Davidson County. I hope any of you guys living in the inundation zones have flood insurance and a "get the hell out of Dodge" plan. According to the US Army Corps of Engineers the estimated damage in case of a failure is over $3 billion in damages...not to mention the possible loss of lives.

Link to view all maps here

Johnny Cash's home destroyed in fire.

So, according to a Tennessean article, police in Nashville set up a fake company, lured people with warrants to a hotel by offering them money, and then arrested them on the spot.

Now, I posted a comment over at V2 that I thought that promising predominantly poor people money you have no intention of giving them in order to lure them out of their homes so you can arrest them seems unethical at best.

Your thoughts?

By John Mark Hancock
Copyrighted – All Rights Reserved

As 2007 gets into full swing, without much snow yet in the Great Smoky Mountains, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is finding tough sledding on the road after some major successes in December. It appears that Head Coach Bruce Pearl’s young team, while they overachieved in the early part of this still-young season, has been humbled and brought back to earth with three straight losses on the road, all of which were bitter and hard fought at the end.

The fiery Pearl, who nearly got tossed out of the game on the Plains when he was assessed a technical foul down the stretch while protesting an egregious call by a referee, lost three games in a row for the first time in his entire 15-year coaching career last night at Auburn. The Volunteers blew a 14-point lead late in the game, which when combined with the very poor officiating and the fact that star Chris Lofton never got to the free throw line while the Tigers shot multiple free tosses throughout the game, led to a 3-point loss.

Read more after the jump...

WHAT: Official FCC Hearing on Media Ownership
WHEN: Monday, Dec. 11, 2006, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Massey Performing Arts Center, Belmont University, 1900 Belmont Blvd, Nashville
WHO: FCC Commissioners, national and local leaders, media representatives and concerned citizens.

Related event (today):

Wednesday (today), Dec. 6, 7 p.m.
Film Screening: Before the Music Dies
The Belcourt Theatre
2102 Belcourt Avenue, Nashville

"The cornerstone of our democracy is a free and independent media that is not controlled by corporate interests," said Nell Levin, host of the Tennessee Progress Report on Radio Free Nashville. "Without this, our society is becoming one where only those with the most money are heard. This is dangerous to democracy and to the values of freedom, justice and equality. We are calling on the FCC to support a move away from media consolidation and toward policies that allow many voices to be heard."

For more info:

Stop Big Media

Before the Music Dies

Read more after the jump...

See Brittney open up a big ol' can of whoop-ass on Steve Gill. Poor guy.

(If that link doesn't work, go here and scroll down to "You Are The Mainstream Media".)

Heading over to Radnor Lake State Park yesterday for a long hike, I noticed that there was some weather rumbling on the horizon.

So I packed my new point & shoot camera in a Ziploc bag and tucked it into my waistpack, just in case things took a turn.

Sure enough, when I got to the park, the wind was kicking up, and it was starting to sprinkle. Fair enough, I thought. Getting wet during these oppressively hot conditions wouldn't be the worst thing to happen.

As I made for the trail, the rain started coming in front of me, but it was otherwise sunny behind me.

Ideal conditions for a rainbow.

So I made tracks for the spillway, and sure enough...

The rest of the trip was just fantastic. The weather kept a lot of people off the trails, so I spotted a few heron, some young deer foraging, a pair of otter jostling with each other over a bluegill, a pileated woodpecker stripping the bark off of a fallen log, and a couple of prothonotary warblers.

I'm going to make it a point to get to the park on such days.

OK, now this bit of news feels intensely personal.

In what ranks as one of the more significant recent real estate transactions in Green Hills, five parcels of property containing numerous retail buildings have sold for about $20 million.

The bulk of the buildings is collectively known as Hillsboro Plaza, with the buyership group an entity derived from Nashville-based Brookside Properties Inc.

The deal, finalized in late May, comprises more than three acres located near the northeast intersection of Hillsboro and Richard Jones roads. It includes five buildings housing 22 retail tenants, among them Chinatown, Value Vision and Levy’s. A Brookside entity already owns the property and the building home to Men’s Warehouse.

It also houses Ginza, probably the best and baddest sushi bar in Green Hills. (Sumimasen, Shintomi! すみません!) And it also houses All-Seasons Gardening, which is about the only place in town you can go if you're a homebrewer and need those special Saaz hops or Belgian candi sugar or ready-to-pitch hefeweizen yeast. And it also houses one of the only independent donut bakeries in Green Hills -- heck, in Nashville. And it also houses Ten Thousand Villages, a fun and kitschy store with genuine fair trade goods from all over the world. And it also houses a Great Harvest Bakery, which is really the only place in Green Hills where you can go to get hearty breads fresh from the oven. There's also a good cigar store there, Uptown's Smoke Shop, if you're into that kind of thing.

Independent businesses comprise at least 80% of the trade there. Read more after the jump.

Even in retirement, the Reverend Joseph Lowery still tells it like it is.

The financial disparity between the rich and poor is an issue that must be addressed in a religious context, the Rev. Joseph Lowery said in a fervent keynote speech to the National Baptist Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress Monday night.

"Poverty is a religious issue," Lowery said in a speech marked by applause and a standing ovation.

It is the root of many evils in America, he said, and he charged the church with the mission of addressing that problem.

"The church must help America rediscover herself," Lowery said. "We must move from charity to love."

You may remember Dr. Reverend Lowery from his remarks at Coretta Scott King's funeral, but you may also recall that he has a long history with civil rights here in the American South. He helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma march. He co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. And he is still very much active in the cause of civil rights.

He is in Nashville for the National Baptist Sunday School & Baptist Training Union Congress as, simultaneously, the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention meets in Greensboro, NC to discuss "issues of mismanagement, waning church contributions, dips in baptism rates and the authority of leaders to set stricter guidelines on Baptist faith and practices."

It's a real study in contrasting priorities, isn't it? One looks outward to work towards solving the immediate needs of all, while the other struggles from within to address its own concerns.

I'm not a God-fearing man, but I have deep respect for the continued efforts of Dr. Lowery, and for people of all faiths who take his message (the central message of Jesus himself, no less) to heart.

Ten in the morning seems awfully early to be hearing Charlie Daniels Band. But even so...

(Sorry about the grain. This is a 1:1 crop from 24 storeys.)

What does this...

...have to do with these?

LP --

LP --

If, like Hank Hill, you were inclined to say "It's sweet Lady Propane!" you'd be wrong.

LP Field is the new name of Adelphia Nashville Coliseum.

The deal is reportedly worth $30 million over 10 years.

(The old deal with Adelphia was worth $30 million over 15 years, so this is a bit of an improvement. At least it helps defray some of the losses that the city had incurred.)

UPDATE: The new name for the stadium is LP Field.

After a four year lapse, the Coliseum in Nashville will finally once again enjoy corporate sponsorship, this time from everyone's favorite chipboard manufacturer, Louisiana-Pacific Corporation.

The Nashville-based building materials company and the NFL team have been in “serious discussions” about the stadium deal, company and team officials said last week.

Details of the deal weren’t available Monday afternoon.

The prior naming rights to The Coliseum were worth at least $2 million a year, and those naming rights have been suspended since 2002. (That means an $8M loss to Nashville Metro, the proprietor of this fine establishment, who funded the construction to the tune of nearly $300M.)

Former naming rights:

$30 million over 15-years by Adelphia Communications Corp., based in Coudersport, Pa., and is owned by Buffalo Sabres owner John Rigas.

After Davidson County taxpayers suffered a tripling of property tax bills in 1999, this potentially comes as welcome relief. I'll be interested to see details.

Maybe the Titans can then focus on resolving their Steve McNair issues. (let 'im go to Baltimore... ed.)

I'm launching a photoblog.

Here's the URL:

Link... (for all things text- and meta-related).

The blog is here (for imagery).

Many of the images you'll see were loaded on the old SKB blog or on my moribund-up-until-lately blog, "One Reporter's Opinion."

For now, this site is a public beta.

Feel free to stop by and offer feedback.

You see the damnedest things sometimes.

My wife got tipped to this one... there's 3 red fox pups living in a culvert right in Nashville proper.

According to the Nashville GOP, "The most effective government is government close to the people." Right. Today's Republican Party: Taking government off your back and putting it under your bed -- and in your children's classrooms. They seek a level of intimacy which isn't so much "American" as it is "Maoist."

Whatever happened to "the government which governs best governs the least?"

Well, apparently, hearts, minds, and future votes are at stake. So the increasingly desperate Republican Cultural Revolution comes to Middle Tennessee.

“We want to know where all the conservatives in this county are — who they are and where they are — and we want to turn them out to vote,” [Nashville GOP chairman] Crisp said.

Well, of course you do -- and I suspect you already know where they are and who they are. Probably you know who they're married to, what cars they drive, how often they go to the grocery store, and who they most want to see win American Idol. But to what end?

Last week, the party secured a first victory when the Metro Council appointed home-school mom Kay Brooks to a two-month term on the school board to fill the District 5 seat the Rev. Lisa Hunt vacated in April. Conservative Metro Councilman Michael Craddock nominated Brooks.

Replacement elections for at least two vacated council seats and elections for four school board seats will be held this summer.

“They’re going to look up in a very short period of time, and they’re going to have six conservatives and three liberals,” Crisp said regarding the school board.

OK, so to upset the balance of power. Predictable.

Crisp also said the party is pushing for a more traditional approach to education, calling the Metro Nashville Public Schools one of the worst school systems in America.

"More traditional approach?" What exactly does that mean?

Wood duck, scooting around Radnor Lake this evening.

...at least, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, who just released their list of "50 Smart Places to Live." *

Although "Music City" may have worked fine in the days of Hank Sr., our top pick among great, affordable places to live needs a new moniker. We suggest "Nashville: Music Is Just the Beginning."

Southern hospitality. Gently rolling hills with big, affordable homes. A mild climate (albeit with occasional tornadoes). Oh, yes, and a phenomenal entertainment scene that goes far beyond country.

I've told a number of people this over the years, but have seldom been taken seriously. Apparently, however, Nashville is becoming more of a destination, and this is writ large in surveys such as this.

In fields of purple larkspur, a white one is a rare find.

Take a moment to smell the flowers. Or at least to observe them, anyway.

(Dutchman's breeches, spotted at Radnor Lake at sunset yesterday.)

Spring is in full progress.