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A Trip to a Rarely Seen Civil War Landmark

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
Fort Stanley looks a good deal different than it did just over 146 years ago, when young men climbed the steep hill just south of downtown Knoxville and dug embattlements out of the cold clay. Full story »

More Secret History by Jack Neely


Will Hutchison Running Against the News Sentinel Work Again?

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
The Knox County Mayor’s race this year presents one of those rare moments in politics when you have two candidates who have never lost an election, each with almost complete name recognition, running for an open seat. Full story »

More Frank Talk by Frank Cagle


Health-care Reform Needs State Protections

Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010
The end achieved by the momentous health-care legislation that has passed the House and Senate remains entirely laudable: namely, making health-care coverage accessible and affordable to nearly all Americans. But some of the means employed to achieve this worthy end reek of legislative legerdemain. Full story »

More Insights by Joe Sullivan


CBID’s Priorities Need More Than Just Talk

Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010
We’ve had no shortage of plans and recommendations over the years—just not much in the way of results. Yes, we’ve had one major retail success in Mast General Store. But little has sprung up in the wake of what was touted as an anchor for retail development along Gay Street. After all the recruitment that went into that, it seemed like nobody followed up to capitalize on the momentum of Mast’s success. Full story »

More Shot of Urban by Michael Haynes


TVA Plan for Higher Dams Floods Mind with Existential Queries

Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010
Being civilized costs money, and ongoing costs ratchet up with each new structure. Roads, dams, and cities need maintenance and repair. TVA is spending about $6 million to raise the height of four dams. Those dams were designed to withstand what is called a “probable maximum flood,” which is what would happen if the worst imaginable storm parked itself directly over the Tennessee River Valley. Full story »

More Sideways Glance by Rikki Hall


Adventures in Candyland: Remembering Long-Ago Loser Darlene Globe

Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010
There are those among you who breezed through the holidays on healthy snacks and uninterrupted exercise routines. Come January, you emerged triumphant from the seasonal gauntlet of temptation, facing the scale with jaunty confidence. To you I would simply say: Get over yourselves. Join the rest of us out here in tight-waistband-land as we slink past plate-glass windows and dodge mirrors as though we were vampires. It’s shape-up time in Tennessee. Full story »

More Midpoint by Stephanie Piper


Glowing Boxes from Glowing Bowl

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009
As a raw-foods only café, Glowing Bowl was a difficult concept to warm up to (so to speak). However, I’d done it, and was certain that others would, too, if only they’d give it a try—once you’ve been exposed to it, such fresh, organic, expertly prepared food quickly makes the transition from nicety to necessity. Full story »

More Bonnie Appetit


UT Cafe a Learning Experience

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Standard journalism practice is to build up the underdog and take the leader down a peg or two. A visit to the Ready for the World Café (University Center, 1502 W. Cumberland Ave) might brace us for a dose of the former, since the venue is run entirely by students. On the other hand the café’s buffet lunch (the only meal it serves) costs $11, placing it in one of the higher echelons of the Knoxville buffet spread. Even given the absence of tax and service charge it’s something of a challenge to view this as value for money. Full story »

More The Gourmet Nose


Best Cookbooks of 2009 Expand Home Chef’s Repertoire, Routines

Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009
Last year, as the economy tanked and discretionary income with it, we turned to cookbooks that reminded us that the big, shiny things in the kitchen were for more than resting to-go menus on; and that there’s a reason they call meatloaf and mac ’n’ cheese comfort food. I like to think of this as an expansion year: We’re cooking at home, now let’s refine and enhance a bit. Full story »

More All Foods Considered by Rose Kennedy


Discovering “Convenience and Beauty” in a Fountain City Cottage

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
Staycation is no longer a neologism. My spellchecker may not recognize the word, but Merriam-Webster does. The term turned up in the 2009 edition of the publisher’s Collegiate Dictionary. Full story »

More Urban Renewal by Matt Edens


Haynes: Right!

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
Brad Hill: Haynes is spot-on.... again. Being there for the last two CBID meetings spoke volumes about the intentions, diverse opinion, and risk tolerance of those who are most vocal in this group. God’s speed to the Patrick Hunt, Jeffrey Nash, and John Sanders, who are in the minority, as they try to make this a progressive and creative mission for downtown. Full story »

More Letters to the Editor


Final Check-Out

Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008
After roughly 10 months on the job I am giving up pursuit of the truth about Knoxville in its supermarket aisles. Though I believe the truth is still to be found in these stores—in produce perhaps, or inadvertently buried in a bin on the bargain aisle—the press of more urgent and lucrative business pulls me away. I admit that at times it has seemed to me that this column, like Seinfeld, was about nothing at all. Few places feel more empty of meaning than a grocery store at mid-afternoon with nothing going on. Full story »

More Grocery Check-Out by John Yates


Nature Meets Technology

Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Bridgeview Grill went out of business, but right now it’s a fun place to visit. Along the water as it flows past the university, the building is home to a thriving colony of barn swallows. Walk the docks that pass under Neyland Drive along the mouth of Second Creek, and these handsome birds will zip past you, showing off the band of white spots atop their forked tails. Full story »

More That's Wild by Rikki Hall


From the Editor: Comings and Goings

Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010
It is with no small displeasure that we must announce the departure of staff writer Chris Barrett. But we're also happy to announce that Jesse Fox Mayshark is returning to the fold. Full story »

More From the Editor


A Healthy Debate

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009
Last month, a little more than 100 miles northeast of Knoxville, President Obama stood before aisles of canned goods, deli meats, and strategically-placed advertisements, and in a loose accent converted a Kroger on the Virginia side of Bristol into a town-hall meeting. Full story »

More The Hill to the Hills by Frank N. Carlson


We Are All We Have

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The first few minutes for a visitor at a Trappist monastery are pretty special. The member monks and priests subscribe fully to the line of teaching that when Christ returns, He will present Himself as a stranger in need. You briefly get the benefit of the doubt. Once they sniff out your humanity, you are left to your own devices. Full story »

More Off-Center City by Matt Edens


On the Edge

Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Other Lives by Lucy Sieger: From the book’s spine, an enigmatic dark-haired woman engages me with her smoky gaze. She has stenciled brows, kohl-lined eyes and a beauty mark; she is dangling a cigarette, of course. She is my alter ego, the writer I always wanted to be, my creative soul embodied in the daughter of sculptors from the Left Bank of Paris or poets from Prague Full story »

More Other Lives


Letter From Ft. Myers, Fla.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Letters Home from Buddy Lucas It has been said that Tennessee is an old man stretched out under the sun and the moon and the stars, who dips his toes in the Mississippi River and rests his head on the Smoky Mountains with a thousand tales to tell and all the time to tell them. Being a part-time existentialist, full-time daydreamer, and occasional magic-bean buyer, I adhere to that description. This Tennessee will always be home to me. Knoxville has a special place in my heart, because it was there I feel I came to be who I am. Full story »

More Letters Home