Metro Pulse

A couple of years back, I found a full book of blank parking tickets on the sidewalk. My dark side said to keep it and dole out various citations of my own design to vehicles I deemed deserving. I fantasized about angry owners phoning the Knoxville Police Department questioning charges such as “Really bad parking job” or “Vehicle exceeds maximum practical size.” In the end, I found a police officer and returned it. I still sort of regret that. Full story »

Some of our robots are going to retire next month. Back in September, the News Sentinel reported that—due to a screw-up on the part of FedEx—Redflex, the company that operates the much-maligned red-light cameras around town, lost its contract. It will expire on Nov. 9. Full story »

It’s that season again. Fall is in the air, it’s football time in Tennessee, and it’s that special month when the city and county issue their annual property tax statements. Both arrived in my mailbox on the same day a couple of weeks ago. Full story »

A few months back, I wrote a piece about what area I considered to be my neighborhood—what I regard as downtown proper. In that column, I touched on another term: community. But I didn’t give it its fair due. The downtown community extends well beyond its residents. To quote Elwood P. Dowd, Jimmy Stewart’s character in the movie Harvey: “We’ve entered as strangers; soon we have friends.” Many an outsider finds the same to be true of downtown. Full story »

A few weeks back, I noticed an AT&T truck parked on the sidewalk outside the Crystal Building on Union Avenue with the obligatory orange cones flanking it. It was occupying nearly the entire width of the walk, leaving barely enough room to squeeze by on foot. Full story »

Years ago, behind a plate glass window on Gay Street, a lanky cowboy astride a bucking horse was neatly tucked away. The near life-sized bronze statue by Frederic Remington entitled “The Bronco Buster” is among his most famous. And as many times as I walked by the reproduction, it nearly always startled me to suddenly see him just inside the window of what is now the Art Market Gallery—gripping his horse and reins, frozen in a moment of frenzy. Full story »

Shot of Urban by Michael Haynes: The City of Knoxville is on a roll these days toward reconnecting and, in some ways, expanding our center city. The South Knoxville Waterfront Action Plan, the Cumberland Avenue Corridor Plan, and the Downtown North initiative are all ambitious ventures geared toward reestablishing and strengthening our urban core. Full story »

Shot of Urban by Michael Haynes: I hear that one a lot. There are quite a few topics, among folks who live or spend a significant amount of time downtown, that come up over and over again. Many of them recounting near-death pedestrian experiences, and the widespread disregard by drivers for people on foot around here. Full story »

Shot of Urban by Michael Haynes: I was talking with a friend of mine the other day who is considering moving downtown. Like a lot of my neighbors and neighbors-to-be, his life has changed. Priorities, like a house large enough to accommodate the family, evolve over time. And the more time he spends downtown these days, the more he thinks it might be a fit for him. Full story »

Shot of Urban by Michael Haynes: When I first was approached about doing this column, it was couched as a view of downtown from the perspective of someone who lives here—someone from the neighborhood. There’s plenty of commentary on our center city. But, with few exceptions, it’s from people who write about downtown with the same detachment they write about Halls or Bearden. The opportunity revived a touchy question among friends of mine: Just what do I consider to be “downtown.” Full story »

Shot of Urban by Michael Haynes: On our way to Krutch Park the other day, the dogs and I passed two couples studying the map at the trolley stop on Union Avenue. On the way back, they were still lingering in front of the former Macleod’s location near the stop. Full story »

Michael Haynes observes the high drama and low comedy of street parking. Full story »

Shot of Urban by Michael Haynes The last few years have brought a lot of life back to downtown. Some of us remember the first Sundown in the City as something we needed to “get out and support” for the sake of the center city. It was like visiting a sick aunt at the nursing home. She needed us. Full story »

Shot of Urban: Some things don’t belong on the sidewalk. Litter, sleeping drunks, and dog poop, for example. Then there are things that do. You expect them. Mailboxes, benches, and newspaper boxes are part of that. They make life better. They give us something we need. They’ve always been there and that’s okay. Full story »

A Shot of Urban: The news was dire. As the first element of the American food trilogy (eggs, milk, and bread), they are a kitchen staple. It’s the sort of emergency that, some might expect, ought to cause me to clench my fists and curse my foolish choice to live downtown. Downtown needs a grocery store! It’s conventional wisdom. What to do? Full story »