Nashville:

Playing Politics at the Parks Department, June 20, 2008
This is Roy E. Wilson. Mr. Wilson is the director of Nashville's Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation. Today, according to the group Americans for Prosperity, Roy Wilson played politics and violated the rules by revoking the group's park use...

Government Waste Preview, June 14, 2008
The Music City Star - the Nashville-to-Lebanon commuter train that ought to be renamed "Clement's Folly" - is a money-loser that, statistically speaking, nobody rides. And even if every seat was full on every run it would take such a...

City Paper to Mayor Dean: Commit Political Suicide, May 2, 2008
The City Paper urges Nashville Mayor Karl Dean to try to overturn the will of the people by challenging the city charter provision that requires public approval via referendum of some (not all) property tax rate increases. But the paper...

Looking Back at the Banner Years, February 15, 2008
Next Wednesday (Feb. 20) will mark the 10th anniversary of the death of the Nashville Banner. NashvillePost.com recalls the newspaper's life and death, with articles from Tom Wood and former Banner scribes Kay West and Beverly Keel. I moved back...

Metro Blames Wackenhut, January 5, 2008
The Tennessean has some potentially good news for the 337,000 Nashvillians who have been put at severe risk of being victims of identity theft by the near-total incompetence of the Davidson County Election Commission. Though, given the multiple failures of...

How Do You Fence a Bull?, January 5, 2008
Headline at Tennessean.com: Truckload of rodeo bulls stolen in downtown Nashville. Update: Bulls found...

Seeds, January 3, 2008
The website New English Review has an important article about the growth of the Muslim population in Nashville - and the troubling connections of some local Muslim organizations to radical Islamists....

Theft of Nashville Election Commission Laptops Highlights Need for Voter Photo ID Law, December 29, 2007
The Tennessean reports on a new state law effective New Year's Day designed to make it harder for criminals to snatch Social Security numbers.The law bans companies, nonprofit groups and even government agencies in most cases from sending mailings containing...

Divine Painting, November 16, 2007
I photographed this fall scene Nov. 8 along Mack Hatcher Parkway in Franklin, Tennessee....

Memphis vs. Nashville, October 30, 2007
Forbes says Nashville is the ninth most sedentary city in America but here's the good news: we may be a tad fatter city than Memphis, but they're a lot lazier....

Bigger Government = Less Freedom, October 30, 2007
While Nashville's liberal government continues to limit the number of taxicabs on the streets of Nashville - resulting in less service for customers, less price competition, and fewer job and entrepreneurial opportunities for people who might want to go into...

Why Clement Lost, September 14, 2007
Here's a pretty good analysis of why former congressman Bob Clement lost the Nashville mayoral race, though I disagree somewhat with the blogger's Lesson #2 in which he asserts that "Anti-Tax pledges will get you nowhere in Nashville." ......

A Taxing Debate, August 29, 2007
The ongoing "debate" between mayoral candidates Karl Dean and Bob Clement on property taxes is laughable for the extent to which the Clement is trying to convince voters that he is the only candidate who stands firm against property taxes...

Round and Round, August 27, 2007
A reader of The Tennessean is asking if cyclists should be banned from riding on the road through Percy Warner Park, one of the greatest natural parks in any city in the world, after a few collisions between cyclists and...

Clement, Dean, Pointlessly Debate Tax Issue, August 26, 2007
If you live in Nashville and can't decide which mayoral candidate to vote on based on the issue of taxes, here's my best thinking on the matter: It doesn't matter. Find some other reason upon which to base your choice....

The 77 Percent Rule, August 6, 2007
I haven't blogged about the Nashville mayoral race for a number of reasons - I don't live in Nashville, don't vote in the mayor's race, didn't like any of the candidates much, and, most importantly, was busy with income-generating activities....

Boom!, June 30, 2007
The first "July 4th" fireworks shot off in our neighborhood were shot off just moments ago, at 9:07 p.m., June 30. If last year is any guide, the last ones will be shot off around 11 p.m. on July 12....

Would You Pay $2,200 for the Predators?, June 30, 2007
Springwise, a blog of "promising new business ideas for entrepreneurial minds," recently reported on a new venture in Great Britain called My Football Club, which aims to organize thousands of members of the general public into a group to purchase...

The Century Mark, May 14, 2007
The Tennessean is celebrating its centennial with a special section that includes brief articles from as far back as the 1900s. It's good stuff. In a similar move, NewsChannel5 is celebrating Chris Clark's 100 years as anchor of the...

Welcome to Nashville Mr. DelGiorno, April 26, 2007
Blogger Michael Bates of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has an interesting post on Michael DelGiorno, the newest talk host on Nashville's WWTN radio. Bates also wrote a lengthy farewell to DelGiorno, who spent 17 years in Tulsa media, for Urban Tulsa Weekly,...

"No More Noble Missions", March 18, 2007
"Puppies for Peace" was my favorite hand-scrawled sign among those held by the 100-150 antiwar protesters who marched through downtown Nashville Saturday. It was carried by a man with a dog on a leash. The dog's true feelings about the...

Rainy Day in Nashville, March 15, 2007

Oops, They Did It Again, March 7, 2007
The Nashville City Paper deals another blow to the campaign of former congressman Bob Clement, running for mayor of Nashville. Good job guys. Sidebar here, which shows Clement campaign chairman Larry Woods doing the right thing only because he got...

Briley Breaks Bread With Bloggers, February 20, 2007
Nashville mayoral candidate David Briley had lunch and an on-the-record chat with a group of Nashville-area politically-interested bloggers Monday. The Kleinheider has the looooong report complete with navel-gazing and links to others bloggers' reports. I was invited and decided not...

Miscellaneous Unrelated Taxicab News, February 20, 2007
A prediction: By the time the case of the Nashville cabbie who tried to run over his customers goes to trial, the cabbie's lawyers will claim he was incited by "hate speech" from his passengers. ... In unrelated taxicab-related news,...

Nashvillians Protected from Higher Property Tax Rates if City Freezes Seniors' Taxes, December 26, 2006
Interesting story in the Tuesday Tennessean regarding the possible impact on property taxes across Tennnessee if cities take advantage of a new state constitution amendment and freeze property taxes for senior citizens.A penny saved by seniors on property taxes under...

Guide to Nashville, December 20, 2006
The 2007 edition of the annual Guide to Nashville magazine sponsored by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce is now available online at www.imagesnashville.com. The "Virtual Magazine" feature - a/k/a "digital flip book" - is kind of cool, too. They...

Stop Breaking the Law!, December 11, 2006
Some good news today in the battle to make Tennessee less of a magnet for illegal immigrants - all of the "driver's certificates" that the state of Tennessee stupidly gave to illegals a few years ago are set to expire...

Broadway, December 9, 2006
Downtown Nashville, Dec. 7, 2006....

Barn, December 7, 2006
I photographed this barn south of Franklin, Tennessee, about a year ago. It's located at the corner of Coleman Road and Highway 31, sandwiched on a narrow piece of farmland between Highway 31 and a CSX railroad track. Click...

Free the Cabbies!, November 29, 2006
What issue could possibly find me in agreement with Chris Wage, A.C. Kleinheider, Roger Abramson and Brittney Gilbert? Taxicab regulation - or, rather, the senselessness of Nashville's government regulating the number of taxicabs that entrepreneurs and taxi companies may operate...

Nashville Property Tax Charter Amendment Impact Grows, November 15, 2006
Knoxville political commentator Frank Cagle says the city charter amendment passed by Nashville voters giving themselves referendum power over property tax rate increases will have "major repercussions" across the state....

Briley Blogging, November 14, 2006
Nashville Metro Council member David Briley is reaching out to the local blogosphere as he launches his campaign to become the city's next mayor. In the email inbox this afternoon:Please find attached the press release announcing my candidacy for Mayor...

Tax Refendum Idea Already Spreading, November 9, 2006
Nashville City Paper has a good story examining whether the city charter amendment passed overwhelmingly by Nashville voters Tuesday giving themselves the right to vote on property tax increases is allowed under the state constitution - and whether Metro government...

When Life Imitates Art, October 9, 2006
Shades of Shark....

Definitively Uncertain, September 18, 2006
A headline on today's Tennessean front page about the proposed new convention center for Nashville reads: 20% of cost is the most public will pay for hall.That's great news for Nashville's taxpayers - there's apparently been some sort of deal...

The Red Zone, September 14, 2006
A week ago tonight my wife and I enjoyed dinner out at the opening night of the new Red Pony Restaurant in downtown Franklin, TN. If you live in the Franklin/Brentwood area or are visiting, you should too. It was...

Latest Attack on Nashville Property Tax Referendum Proposal Falls Flat, September 4, 2006
The Tennessean continues to attack the proposed Nashville city charter change that would give voters referendum power to approve or reject property tax rate increases. The latest salvo: a Gail Kerr column pointing out that even if voters approve the...

The Truth Hurts, September 1, 2006
Mark Rogers makes an excellent point:The next time someone suggests that the people of Nashville don't have the information necessary to make decisions about property taxes, just remind them who holds the key to solving that problem.Ouch!...

No Surprise, August 30, 2006
No surprise: The Tennessean editorial page comes out against the proposed charter change for the city of Nashville which would give Nashville voters the power to approve or reject future property tax increases. It makes a weak argument:Members of the...

Nashville Tax Revolt Update, August 29, 2006
A Tennessean story today looks at whether allowing voters in Nashville to vote on property tax increases is allowed under the state constitution. The story contains this bizarre paragraph:Critics of the ballot initiative say the Tennessee Constitution specifically vests the...

Nashvillians May Get Vote on Property Tax Increases, August 28, 2006
Ben Cunningham emails:The Davidson County Election Commission has certified enough signatures so that the charter amendment will be on the ballot in November. The people of Davidson County will finally have a direct say in property tax decisions.I'm please Ben...

Picking and Choosing, August 10, 2006
The Tennessean says the voters of Nashville ought to have the right to select their vice mayor .... but not their property tax rate.The best time for voters to express their opinions about tax increases is during mayoral and council...

Ben's There, Done That, August 8, 2006
No political blogging this week from me, just photos from the beach, but I gotta give a digital high-five to my guest blogger Ben Cunningham, who has lead a successful petition drive that will put a charter change on the...

They Don't Build 'Em Like This Much Anymore, August 2, 2006
The old bell tower of Nashville's First Baptist Church on Broadway....

Whose House Is It, Really?, July 31, 2006
The inept Nashville Metro Hysterical Historical Commission continues to make life tough for an old lady who put siding on her house so she wouldn't have to continually repaint it, even after a locally headquarted building products corporation - Lousiana-Pacific...

The Checks Are In The Mail, July 31, 2006
Nashville City Paper smacks former congressman Bob Clement for his Nashville mayoral campaign's attempt to evade campaign donation limits by using a series of nine bogus PACs to collect bigger checks from individual donors....

Credit Where Credit is Due, July 20, 2006
A Nashville blogger nailed the campaign manager for the Bob Clement for Mayor campaign for setting up several political action committees to allow individual donors to give more to the Clement campaign than allowed to individually by law. The Nashville...

Towering Over His Critics, July 19, 2006
The builder of the world's current tallest skyscraper is also going to build Nashville's new tallest skyscraper, Signature Tower, which will also be the tallest in the southeastern U.S. Details here. Fifteen years ago, when I was covering the real...

Flying Blind, June 24, 2006
The Saturday Tennessean reports that there is some sort of deal in the works that could eventually repeal something called the "Wright Amendment," which, reporter Bush Bernard says, has prevented Southwest Airlines from flying directly from Nashville to Dallas' Love...

Yesterday on Music Row, June 23, 2006
Some guy sitting on top of his van, playing his guitar, on Music Row, where the record labels have their HQs. Only in Nashville....

On The Trail Of the Nun Bun, June 20, 2006
The Tennessean has the latest on the search for the famous pastry....

One Tree Hill, June 18, 2006
Photographed along Hillsboro Road in Williamson County, Tennessee. See more of my photography at my Flickr page....

Atlanta Burning, June 18, 2006
A recent USA Today article looks at Nashville versus Atlanta....

Mall Fair, June 16, 2006
It's baaaack. Every year, this dinky little carnival sets up its rickety-looking rides at the local mall. Every year my children want to go. Every year we spend two weeks trying to avoid driving within visual range of the...

Tracks, June 13, 2006
Train tracks where the railroad cross Lewisburg Pike near downtown Franklin, TN. See this and more of my photos at my Flickr page, including the black-and-white version of this shot....

Closing Credits for Franklin Cinema?, June 8, 2006
The Tennessean reports that the Franklin Cinema in downtown Franklin might close because the theater owners can't afford the rising rents for real estate in the town's historic district. My wife and I dropped by the Franklin Cinema a few...

Visit Nashville, May 30, 2006
The New York Times has a nice travel primer on Nashville. The Where to Eat section made me hungry....

Franklin Skyline, May 26, 2006
The steeple of the Franklin Cumberland Presbyterian Church that was blown off in a storm in 1908 was replaced yesterday. For 98 years it looked like this....

Good News From Nashville, May 26, 2006
Just two days ago while my family and I were eating at a Texas Roadhouse restaurant, I lamented that Texana Grille had closed ... seven years ago. I look in the digital paper this morning and it has reopened, seven...

Voters Won't Vote for Higher Taxes, Will They?, May 23, 2006
The Tennessean has an editorial today opposing the idea of giving Nashville voters the right to vote on all property tax increases. Acknowledging that the people have the right to amend the city charter with that provision via a petition...

Nashville Voters May Get More Control Over Property Tax Increases, May 21, 2006
The Tennessean profiles the effort by Tennessee Tax Revolt to amend Nashville's city charter to require referendums on property tax increases. The paper also includes audio of Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Nashville resident, opposing the proposed charter change. Gov. Bredesen...

Kay Brooks Update, May 19, 2006
NashvilleIsTalking.com has a pretty good round-up on the Kay Brooks story, including links to various blogs and the news articles in The Tennessean and the Nashville City Paper. It's not central to the debate, but I've noticed something a bit...

Kay Brooks Update, May 18, 2006
The Tennessean covers the "controversy" over the selection of home-schooling mom Kay Brooks to fill a seat on the Nashville school board left vacant by a resignation. The controversy is this: the public school education establishment wanted someone from within...

Blogging Home-Schooler Mom Elected to Nashville School Board, May 17, 2006
Congratulations to Kay Brooks are in order. And the Metro public school system will be better for her being on the school board. One commenter on the Nashville City Paper website wrote, "People who send their kids to private schools...

Tower Envy, May 16, 2006
Nashville developer Tony Giarratana's plans to build the tallest skyscraper in the South has some folks in Atlanta talking....

The Secret's Out, May 9, 2006
Kiplinger's says Nashville is the best place to live in the country, and raves that the music scene here is just the soundtrack to a city with a whole lot more going for it than that....

It's a Conversation, January 10, 2006
I've been so busy lately, that I didn't notice until today that the Nashville City Paper has added a blog to its online offerings. The blog is set up to feature postings by various City Paper writers, and does accept...

The Oncoming Train, January 9, 2006
From today's Nashville City Paper, a story that won't make the proponents of Nashville's new commuter train very happy:Federal transportation subsidies encourage local governments to squander money on under-utilized transit projects, according to a new study released last week by...

Knowledge is Power, January 2, 2006
The Nashville Scene has named the students, teachers and administrators of Nashville's KIPP Academy its Nashvillians of the Year for the just-completed 2005, and deservedly so. Often, public school administrators will defend the teachers and administrators of poorly performing urban...

Costly Failure, December 30, 2005
They're from the government and they're here to make poor people stand in line while they don't help them. S-town Mike over at Enclave comments on the same story - and doesn't want poor folks lining up for help in...

This is WAY over the line, December 28, 2005
by Ben Cunningham This is darn near unbelieveable. Metro Nashville Taxpayers, via the Division of Minority and Small Business Assistance, are assisting with a workshop that will promote a sweetheart deal for a private company and an out of state...

Someone Stole the Nun Bun, December 26, 2005
Someone stole the Nun Bun, and on Christmas Day no less, which seems as if it would be really tempting eternal fate. This seems as a good a blog post as any to mention a large sign my wife saw...

Where's the Beef?, December 21, 2005
Nick & Wendy's, Nashville, TN, December 2005. They both serve beef, but there the similarities end....

Barnucopia, December 12, 2005
The stretch of U.S. Highway 31 (Columbia Pike) running from the southern edge of Franklin, Tennessee, to Spring Hill, is a cornucopia of barns that, increasingly stand out ironically because they are being increasingly surrounded by the rapidly multiplying subdivisions...

Old Church, December 11, 2005
Franklin Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Franklin, TN, Dec. 10, 2005 Franklin Cumberland Presbyterian Church is one of the four oldest church buildings in Williamson County. The Gothic architectural style building was constructed in 1876 for $8,000. The architect, Hugh Cathcart...

Lights, Camera, Nashville!, December 10, 2005
Downtown Nashville, dressed up for Christmas, Dec. 9, 2005. Click for larger version or download at Flickr. I also took this photo the same night. It's funny because of the date it was shot. I bet tickets are cheap!...

NashvillePost.com Returns Monday, December 9, 2005
NashvillePost.com, a good local business news website that went dark back in August while the owning company mulled its future, is coming back better than ever. The website, owned by the publisher of Business Tennessee magazine, has announced it will...

Numbered Days, December 5, 2005
The Barn at Inglehame Farms, Brentwood Tennesse, Dec. 3, 2005. [Download this photo in various sizes on Flickr.] The Barn at Inglehame Farms sounds like a perfect name for an old barn refurbished into a community clubhouse for an...

Liberty Church, December 3, 2005
Liberty United Methodist Church, Liberty Church Road, Brentwood, TN, Dec. 3, 2005. Five years ago, a few months before we got married, I took my fiance on a drive to what I hoped would be a happy surprise -...

Taco Taco!, November 15, 2005
By Nathan Moore Or not, as some in the Metro Council are voting to put the kabash on roadside food stands. The alleged reasons are sanitation and hygeine. Brittany of Nashville is Talking, with her crack research staff, puts the...

Solid Waste Issues, November 15, 2005
By Nathan Moore This is not a nice topic, but one that demands attention or else we all suffer. Metro has proposed to use a rock quarry in Bellevue as a landfillThe Newsom Pointe Land Reclamation Project, a 10-year plan...

Dam Nation, November 2, 2005
Oh what a tangled web we weave when we try to legislate Mother Nature. And don't miss Bob Krumm's dam response....

Around Town, October 22, 2005
My wife and I had the pleasure of hearing Jonell Mosser sing at the B.B. King's Blues Club in downtown Nashville last night. Mosser, for the unenlightened, is one of Nashville's best vocal talents - and that's saying something given...

Better Than Krispy Kreme, September 28, 2005
Here's some very good news for anyone in Nashville who thinks Krispy Kreme is a poor excuse for a donut....

Lack of Income Tax Attracts Portland Company HQ to Nashville, October 3, 2003
The Portland Oregonian newspaper says Oregon's high income tax played a role in the decision of a major timber company, Louisiana Pacific, to move its HQ to Nashville.Companies will continue to bolt until Oregon does something about its burdensome income...

From Portland to Nashville, October 1, 2003
A major corporation moves its HQ from Portland, Oregon, to Nashville. Here's what it looks like from the Portland perspective.The move is a big blow for Portland, which has lost a series of headquarters recently and where officials courted Louisiana-Pacific...

Corporate Relocation Update, July 31, 2003
The Tennessean reports that Lousiana Pacific is also looking at Richmond, Va., and Charlotte, N.C., as a possible new home for its HQ, now located in Portland. The Portland Oregonian newspaper had the story yesterday - and notes that Charlotte...

Another Big Corporation Relocating to Nashville?, July 30, 2003
NashvillePost.com says a big public company based in Portland, Oregon, is thinking about relocating its HQ to Nashville. You can read the details if you have a subscription to the site, which is - hands down - Nashville's best source...