Metro Pulse/Ear to the Ground

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Adios Kazoots, Bruce

Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Bruce Saltsman may not be a popular guy in some quarters, but they love him out in Halls, and most particularly at the big house on Cunningham Road. Saltsman, who will not be retained by Governor-elect Phil Bredesen, was guest of honor at a super-exclusive and semi hush-hush reception Tuesday night out at the lodge behind Pete DeBusk's mansion. There were security guards in the driveway checking invitations as the guests, who were mostly Chamber types and road builders, filed in. However, excluded from the guest list were leaders of the Halls Business and Professional Club, who'd tried unsuccessfully over the past few months to plan a similar event honoring Saltsman. The B&P club had already erected a billboard praising Saltsman and TDOT for the numerous road projects that had been finished in north Knox County during the administration of Gov. Don Sundquist. Evidently Saltsman was not impressed.

Black Gold?

CBS has gotten some local flak after announcing plans for its latest reality show, "The Real Beverly Hillbillies." The weekly half-hour series "will follow the adventures of a large family when they move out of their rural home and settle into a Beverly Hills mansion." The show held auditions four weeks ago at the Holiday Inn in Morristown. It was specifically seeking a family of at least five, including teenagers, who live in a rural area with no experience in big-city living and who'd be willing to live in Southern California, on film, for one year. They'd have "to share their wit and charm with their new neighbors in Beverly Hills." The producers haven't yet announced the candidates.

A fascinating idea, maybe, and many of us amateur anthropologists who skipped "Big Brother" may well tune in to this one—but appropriate? Knoxville has often regarded itself as the last guardian of Appalachian dignity, and some here are appalled at such ideas and the Yankee arrogance that usually breeds them. But in this case, the program's executive producer and "documentarian" is one Dub Cornett, a well-known Music-City impresario and a former Knoxvillian himself. Some of his old friends here think this self-styled "Appalachian-American" might make an excellent candidate for the show.

Job Fair

It's time for the strange little political soap opera that plays itself out down at the Knox County Election Commission whenever it has to choose a new administrator. This position is second only to that of delinquent tax attorney as the plummiest of the county's political jobs, so choosing amongst the candidates who apply creates a fair amount of controversy. This time around, longtime political activist Dennie Littlejohn appears to be the odds-on favorite to succeed incumbent administrator Pat Crippins, who is retiring. (Crippins beat out County Commissioner Diane Jordan and Laura Nichols, wife of District Attorney General Randy Nichols for the appointment.) Technically, the job opening will be filled by the election commission's board of commissioners, which is composed of two Republicans and three Democrats. But in reality, these commissioners will do the bidding of the Knox County legislative delegation's Democratic members—Joe Armstrong and Harry Tindell—who not coincidentally also appoint the three Democrats (the GOP faction of the delegation appoints the other two). Other candidates for the job are Ron Wade, one of the sitting commissioners; and Jeffrey Gleason, an administrator with the circuit court clerk's office. The workings of this office are controlled by the General Assembly, which is dominated by Democrats.