You probably read the headlines about Knoxville having the ninth-worst air in the nation. But what does that really mean? And what can we do about it? Joe Tarr sifts through the causes and effects of our haze and smog and finds there are some solutions, both big and small.

Joe Tarr reports on the efforts to establish First Amendment Radio and notes the passing of a beloved pooch, while Jack Neely catches up on the expansion of the East Tennessee History Museum.
Plus: Seven Days, Meet your City, and Knoxville Found.

Joe Sullivan laments the Legislature's taxing paralysis in Insights, Attica Scott looks inward for the effects of racism in Color Conscious, and Jack Neely tracks down Knoxville's most successful hobo in Secret History.

Believe it or not, Knoxville has made it onto some international travelers' itineraries lately. And not just because of the mountains or the Sunsphere, either—it's partly because weary wanderers now have a welcoming place to rest. Knoxville Hostel opened in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood last year. Paige M. Travis pays a visit.

Plus: Things heat up and Lucius looks to sweeten the pot in the second installment of Jack Mauro's five-part summer short story.

Matthew T. Everett likes the garage-rock medicine of The Bitter Pills in the Music Feature, while Eye on the Scene reports on New Rock 90's shaky definition of "educational programming." Jeanne McDonald finds there's still plenty of life in Southern literature, including new books by Silas House and Ron Ellis in Pulp. Heather Joyner finds art of a different sort in the McClung Museum's dinosaur exhibit in Artbeat.

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