MetroPulse Stories

Table of Contents: May 17-May 23, 2012

Wed, 16 May 2012 21:31:00 -0000

Cover: Literary Couple

Thanks to Two New Projects, 'Tour Guy' Gets Some Relief

neely@metropulse.com (Jack Neely) — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:48:00 -0000

This Saturday, on Market Square, Knox Heritage launches its Historic Downtown Knoxville Walking Tour. It’s a handsome piece of work, a long, pocket-sized booklet with photographs. It’s the closest realization of an amenity I had hopes would be in place 20 years ago.

An Appreciation of Clotheslines

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:41:00 -0000

Maybe more compelling than the satisfaction of “saving” the environment, I like the way a clothesline looks strung across a yard. Clotheslines are alive and dynamic in a way dryers are not. I like the way it makes me feel to watch laundry moving and dancing in the breeze, and later hanging slack in the stillness.

Neil Young's 'Time Fades Away' (1973)

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:39:00 -0000

Every time one is tempted to dismiss Neil Young as irrelevant, he roars back with a Harvest Moon or a Prairie Wind.

Rogero’s Hybrid Pension Plan Deserves Support

Sullivan@MetroPulse.com (Joe Sullivan) — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:34:00 -0000

Defined benefit or defined contribution: That is the question facing the city of Knoxville in providing a new retirement plan for city employees in the wake of the debacle that has saddled the city with $135 million in what is tantamount to debt arising from its existing pension plans.

Term Limits?

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:33:00 -0000

We often hear calls for term limits for congressmen—incumbency and safe districts have polarized Washington with each party playing to a safe base, making bipartisanship impossible. But do we really have that problem in Tennessee?

Letter: Pagan Dance Party!

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:20:00 -0000

Chris Irwin: "Let me be the first to congratulate the City of Knoxville for its brave stand in support of downtown fertility cults."

Letter: Lining Cages Since 1991

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:19:00 -0000

William Wright: "I had to laugh when I read the rant about MP not having Pat Summitt on the cover."

The Black Cadillacs are Ready to 'Run' With Their Sophomore Album

mconnergibson@gmail.com (Mike Gibson) — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:19:00 -0000

The Black Cadillacs stand on the cusp of their second release, Run, on a promising young indie, looking to build on their status as one of the two or three most popular rock acts in the city of Knoxville.

Letter: Spelling Intentional

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:17:00 -0000

Roy King: "That is one of the best descriptions of the liberal dimocrats..."

Beneath St. Vincent’s Arty, Complex Music Is the Heart of a Rock Star

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:14:00 -0000

Under the stage name St. Vincent, Annie Clark records arty, complex music that is at turns pretty and ragged, but almost always challenging to the listener. She’s become a critics’ darling and indie sensation. But the 29-year-old Clark is no stuffy, pompous artist. In a short phone conversation, it’s clear that she relishes the thrill of being a rock star.

Letter: Ultimate Blame

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:14:00 -0000

Ole Joe Don Tom Bob Acree: "It’s a given that all artists are lazy, no-good nincompoop beatnik kooks."

Margaret Lazarus Dean and Christopher Hebert: The Hot Literary Couple Next Door

gervinc@metropulse.com (Cari Wade Gervin) — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:11:00 -0000

Young, talented, and attractive, Margaret Lazarus Dean and Christopher Hebert just might be the next hot literary couple. The married authors have both published their first novels to wide acclaim and are working on their follow-ups. Cari Wade Gervins takes a look at this literary household, and how the couple manages a family life while pursuing the world’s most solitary job.

Proposed School Budget Hike Includes Unprecedented iPad Program

Sullivan@MetroPulse.com (Joe Sullivan) — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:07:00 -0000

If School Superintendent Jim McIntyre has his way, what started as a pilot iPad program at Pond Gap Elementary School this year will be extended to every student in all 87 of Knox County’s public schools by 2015. That means procuring some 56,000 iPads or similar devices—making it the biggest endeavor of its kind in the country. Will Knox County residents foot the bill? Joe Sullivan looks at the potential payoffs.

New Studies Reveal a Rising Number of Homeless Families in Knoxville

kennedyr@metropulse.com (Rose Kennedy) — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:03:00 -0000

Last Wednesday on Market Square, the Knoxville-Knox County Homeless Coalition and the University of Tennessee jointly released two studies with powerful—and dismaying—statistics about the local homeless population.

Knox County Schools Don’t Suck Bad Enough

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:59:00 -0000

Are Knox County schools too good to get more money?

Chambers for Higher Taxes

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:58:00 -0000

There is a move among chambers statewide to put education as a priority for job growth and industrial recruitment.

Robin Roberts To Be Inducted in Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:57:00 -0000

Roberts, a co-host of Good Morning America, is expected in Knoxville next month where she will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Q&A: Siren Santina, creative director and co-founder of Salomé Cabaret Burlesque Revue

kennedyr@metropulse.com (Rose Kennedy) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:55:00 -0000

Creative director and co-founder of Salomé Cabaret Burlesque Revue, Siren Santina represented the U.S. in this year’s World Burlesque Games, held May 7-13 in London.

Quote of the Week: "A lot of the craziest things don’t ever pass."

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:51:00 -0000

The governor knows crazy when he sees it.