Metro Pulse/Ear to the Ground

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Crossing Jordan

News that the Knoxville Police Department had rounded up a bunch of alleged gang members on drug charges was passed along on last Friday's 6 o'clock news. County Commissioner Diane Jordan didn't see the stories, but she heard about them soon thereafter, when she started getting calls from friends who were watching Channel 10 and heard that Jordan's adopted son had been arrested and could receive life in prison if convicted. "My community was real upset about that," says Jordan, who, with her husband, John, raised numerous foster children in the Jordan family home. The problem is, the suspect in question was not one of them.

"I have a couple of kids in trouble," says Jordan. "I don't need the media adding kids to that." She says the fact that she heard from city officials asking about her "son" the afternoon before the TV report aired makes her believe that the rumor originated with the Knoxville Police Department. "This is election time, I have an opponent and some of them [at KPD] still resent me because of my activism, which helped lead to the formation of the review board after the three black men were killed by officers." Channel 10 issued a retraction Monday after receiving a call from Jordan's attorney Greg Isaacs.

Madeline's In

Former County Commissioner Madeline Rogero graduated from unofficial mayoral candidate to official contender Wednesday morning, naming her campaign treasurer (David A. Patterson, former director of UT's Graduate School of Planning), and promising to launch a "listening tour" to hear the concerns of city residents. She's leaving her post as executive director of Knoxville's Promise to make the run. Rogero's entrance provides some diversity to the candidate field, which otherwise includes three suit-and-tie guys: Bill Haslam, Bud Gilbert and Tom Varlan. Now if she can just get people to pronounce her name right (it's Ro-hare-o, folks).

That's What We Like About the South

Downtown Rotary Club members were impressed with Dr. Sidney McPhee's visit last week. The dynamic young president of Middle Tennessee State University wowed the crowd and left everyone with a good impression of his institution, which boasts the largest number of high school valedictorians among its student body of any state university. Lots of Rotarians, however, were worried about the impression that they had made on McPhee, who is African American. "We were totally embarrassed," says one Rotarian. "I was shocked and embarrassed."

Why?

Because the song of the day (Rotary Club meeting always feature a group sing) was "Dixie." The minstrel-show song, which became famous as a Confederate anthem, was selected by Brad Maynard, who says he was "pretty shocked" that anyone objected. "Had I have known it was going to be offensive to anybody, I definitely wouldn't have sung it. I didn't have any clue." Maynard says he's gone back over the words, and is still mystified as to why anyone took offense. "The speaker never brought it up to me when we talked after the meeting, and I got quite a few compliments right after... I went back and read through all the words. It doesn't mention anything about the Confederacy. It just talks about the South."

Voters, Schmoters

Hey, what's a little formality like an election? Not much, apparently, to local Republicans. Ingram Groupie and Grand Ol' Party planner Susan Williams is hosting a "victory celebration" for goobernatorial candidate Van Hilleary at the Tennessee Grill next week. Co-hosts are the three Mikes: Ragsdale, Lowe and Arms (county exec-elect, county trustee, and county commissioner, respectively). The only odd thing about the shindig is that it's taking place at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 31—the day before the state primary election. Classy, huh? (The featured speaker will be Congressman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, like Hilleary a member of the "Republican revolution" class of 1994.) In the same spirit of respect for the democratic process and the voice of the people, Democrat candidate Phil Bredesen reportedly sent letters last week to Hilleary and GOP candidate Jim Henry, inviting whichever of them wins the primary to join him in a series of debates leading up to November's general election. Never mind that Bredesen also has opponents in the primary.

Rockin' Robert

Spotted among the sparse crowd at Saturday's Moby concert:

City Council member Rob Frost and his wife, Erin, who double-dated at the show with Matt and Kristi Edens. Frost says his being a Moby fan isn't as funny as it seems. After all, he's the son of a music promoter and had a job in college as a radio DJ. (He does allow that Erin was less enthusiastic, however.)