MetroPulse Stories: News & Features

Q&A: Emily Ellis, Brown Bag Green Book series coordinator

kennedyr@metropulse.com (Rose Kennedy) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:17:00 -0000

Ellis is a reference librarian at Lawson McGhee Library, and also coordinator for the library’s Brown Bag Green Book series.

Both Parties Are Having Trouble Finding Possible Replacements for Tindell

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:01:00 -0000

Not much has changed in that Republicans and Democrats alike are finding it difficult to find good candidates to replace the departing state Rep. Harry Tindell, D-Knoxville.

Dear Pink Lady: Advice for Knoxville’s Lovers From Our Soluble Solutions Columnist

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:00:00 -0000

Because all advice goes down easier with a drink (even a nonalcoholic one). Especially when it’s picked at random from our columnist’s extensive collection of community cookbooks.

Meet the KUB Vegetation Management Staff

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:59:00 -0000

Outside a power outage, the most contact Knoxville Utilities Board has with customers is its sometimes controversial tree-trimming program.

KTSC Hopes Moxley Carmichael Will Help Restore Trust

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:57:00 -0000

Much of the focus of the controversy over Gloria Ray’s compensation by the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corp. is over $400,000 due her with salary and bonuses—but this isn’t something that started this year.

R.I.P. Ed Corts

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:58:00 -0000

Knoxville’s music community took its second big hit in 2012 when Ed Corts died on Jan. 30.

Knoxville Music Scene Shows Signs of Spring

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:46:00 -0000

The winter doldrums are over and local musicians are coming out from hibernation.

KTSC Claimed Economic Impact From Events It Didn't Actually Book

gervinc@metropulse.com (Cari Wade Gervin) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:19:00 -0000

There are a lot of pages in the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation documents released late last Wednesday night. There are contracts and board meeting minutes and financials and stacks and stacks of spreadsheets. But when you look at the documents where KTSC claims credit (and economic impact) for particular events, not all the ones listed were actually booked by KTSC—and the actual event organizers claim KTSC had no involvement whatsoever, as Cari Wade Gervin reports.

Local Color: Knoxville's North Central Neighborhood

neely@metropulse.com (Jack Neely) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:26:00 -0000

Central Street is Knoxville’s defining axis. All addresses in the county from here to Farragut are numbered from it. Few blocks suggest its role as the spine of a metropolitan county of more than 400,000 people. It seems altogether too easy to cross on foot. But it’s also one of Knoxville’s most colorful neighborhoods. Starting a new series of photo essays, Shawn Poynter takes his camera to Happy Holler and beyond to capture a district in transition.

Local Songwriters Launch "Career-Management" App for Musicians

mconnergibson@gmail.com (Mike Gibson) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:13:00 -0000

The world’s wastebaskets are filled with tattered bar-naps scribbled over with big ideas that never got off the ground—product concepts, book titles, and fragments of movie scripts. But when Knoxville’s Jonathan Sexton ran into former Whiskey Scars bandmate Matt Urmy at a house party last year, the ideas they scrawled on a rumpled napkin not only safely survived the night, they turned into a million-dollar-plus software platform the duo are now marketing as a veritable how-to kit for up-and-coming artists.

Square Room Prepares Scruffy Concert Series

mconnergibson@gmail.com (Mike Gibson) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:59:00 -0000

One of the Knoxville’s favorite performers is coming back home, at least once a month, to front a monthly concert and interview series with everyone’s favorite local columnist.

Edwin “Rocky” Wynder, 1928-2012

neely@metropulse.com (Jack Neely) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:38:00 -0000

Rocky Wynder’s long career linked the era of tent vaudeville and black speakeasies to a time of upscale-restaurant jazz nights in a reborn downtown. He began his career before rock ’n’ roll, and dabbled with R&B, but always favored jazz, especially the small-band, bold-but-often-wistful form known as bebop. He was its most charismatic local proponent, and, for students of jazz, an authentic connection to a vigorous era.

Did Tourism Head Get Bonus Pay From Hail Storm?

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:35:00 -0000

Inquiring minds want to know if Gloria Ray benefits from a hail storm.

The Booting Heard ’Round the World

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:32:00 -0000

When Bistro at the Bijou owner Martha Boggs told state Sen. Stacey Campfield he wasn’t welcome at her restaurant on Sunday due to his views on homosexuality and AIDS, little did she know she would become a national cause célèbre.

Attorney Gordon Ball Can't Get a Billion-Dollar Break

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:30:00 -0000

An Illinois judge has refused to reinstate a $1.1 billion judgment against State Farm won by Knoxville attorney Gordon Ball.

Outlaws Club President Mark Lester Released

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:29:00 -0000

Former Outlaws motorcycle club president Mark Lester has been released from a federal prison in North Carolina to a halfway house in Knoxville.

Meet Your BOK 2011 Winner: Adrienne Knight, Trio Café

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:27:00 -0000

Adrienne Knight: "I have an aversion to servers—and I used to be a server. But a server can make or break your meal. I’d rather the focus be on the food. Food doesn’t necessarily have to be an outing. Three-hour meals are for special occasions. And we want the food to be affordable."

Q&A: Stephen M. Dupree, one of 24 bachelors being auctioned to benefit the Friends of Literacy

kennedyr@metropulse.com (Rose Kennedy) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:22:00 -0000

Stephen M. Dupree is one of 24 bachelors being auctioned to benefit the Friends of Literacy.

Our Gang: Will Those Little Rascals of the Tennessee Legislature Finally Get Serious?

gervinc@metropulse.com (Cari Wade Gervin) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:06:00 -0000

Last year’s session of the state Legislature was a morass of bills urging schools to “Don’t Say Gay” and students to engage in “critical thinking.” Were these the most important issues facing the state? Eh, not so much. But they did earn us lots of national ridicule. So surely our legislators have learned their lessons and will get serious about tackling real problems this year? Well... Cari Wade Gervin gives us her take on what to expect from our elected representatives in 2012.

Crazy or Important? Bills to Look Out For in the 2012 Tennessee Legislature

gervinc@metropulse.com (Cari Wade Gervin) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:53:00 -0000

Here's our list of bills in the Legislature that will either get the most attention (crazy) or demand close attention (important).