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Seven Days

Wednesday, February 5
The News-Sentinel makes a big deal out of the fact that the new TDOT chief has hired an environmentalist for a top staff position in the department. It's a good idea. We'll see how good the next time TDOT wants to cut down a string of mature hardwoods to widen a road.

Thursday, February 6
An MTSU economist says the state's fiscal shortcomings aren't as bad as they seem. That's easy for him, or anyone else for that matter, to say. Almost nothing is as bad as the state's revenue problems seem.

Friday, February 7
A spokesman for Knox County Schools says schools here have so far missed the effects a flu outbreak that has closed some schools in Georgia and Kentucky. Well, of course. Snow flurries are the preventive factor. Kids have to go to school to be exposed to the bug.

Saturday, February 8
The basketball Vols whip Georgia. It's the first time UT has taken down a top-25 team since, since...uh, you probably remember. We don't.

Monday, February 10
Schools are closed again by snow. Ever wonder why people panic at the idea that kids might be out in a schoolbus with snow in the air but react with resignation when those kids turn 18 and are about to be sent halfway 'round the world to be shot at?
UT decides not to renew its contract with a Colorado firm that was paid $80,000 to create a new "brand" for the school. The simple branding of each incoming freshman with a VOL symbol burned onto his or her flank was deemed sufficient for the time being.

Tuesday, February 11
Published tables show that home-heating gas prices are up more than 200 percent from a year ago. Shocking...and the best reason yet to have the state Legislature stay in session year-round.

Knoxville Found

(Click photo for larger image)

What is this? Every week in "Knoxville Found," we'll print the photo of a local curiosity. If you're the first person to correctly identify this oddity, you'll win a special prize plucked from the desk of the editor (keep in mind that the editor hasn't cleaned his desk in five years). E-mail your guesses, or send 'em to "Knoxville Found" c/o Metro Pulse, 505 Market St., Suite 300, Knoxville, TN 37902.

Last Week's Photo:
BWAA HA HA HA HA! That is the cackle of evil laughter that erupts from the depths of our gut when Knoxville Found stumps you, as it did last week. No, it isn't the elven folk departing for the eternal lands, as one respondent (and the only one) wrote. Last week's photo is a mural of a man painting a sea scene, surrounded by children. Some enterprising and creative street artist painted this under the Gay Street Viaduct, and we can tell you, it really brightens up the place. It's a trifle shabby down there.

OK, so the score is Metro Pulse 1, readers 5,845. We're on a streak now. If you're not careful, we'll tie this game up in no time...

Meet Your City
A calendar of upcoming public meetings you should attend

CITIZENS FOR TDOT REFORM MEETING
Saturday, Feb. 15
9:45 a.m.-2 p.m.
South Knoxville Community Center
522 Maryville Pike
Discussion of TDOT and instructions on how to organize a successful campaign will be among the topics.

NINE COUNTIES/ONE VISION COMMUNITY EDUCATION WORKSHOPS
Tuesday, Feb. 18
5:30 p.m.
St. John's Episcopal Cathedral
413 W. Cumberland Ave.
Wednesday Feb. 19
10 a.m.
Sarah Moore Greene Elementary School
3001 Brooks Road
Featuring Otis Dismuke, director of the Birmingham, Ala., community education program.

CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, Feb. 18
7 p.m. KCDC Family Investment Center
400 Harriet Tubman Street
Regularly scheduled meeting.

STATE OF PRESERVATION MEETING
Tuesday, Feb. 18
6 p.m. Dogwood Elementary School
705 Tipton Avenue
MPC is collecting information for the Mayor's upcoming report to Council on the state of preservation in Knoxville.

MPC ONE YEAR PLAN OPEN HOUSE
Thursday, Feb. 20
12:30-4:30 p.m.
Pellissippi State Technical Community College
Goins Building Faculty/Staff Dining Room (GN151)
Hardin Valley Drive and Solway Road
Opportunity for public input to the plan before it goes to MPC for adoption this spring.

Mundo Hispano
Carlos Nicho's businesses are catching on fast

Everyone knows the Hispanic population is growing; it rose from 2,067 to 5,012 during the last decade in Knox County. But the Hispanic population is so new that many Knoxville residents don't know much about its local organizations and leaders.

One of those emerging leaders is Carlos Nicho. Just four years ago, Knoxville's government and its businesses had virtually no means of reaching the Latino population. Then Nicho arrived with no income, a few printing machines, and the ambition to create a bridge of communication across cultures.

Nicho started out knocking on the doors of different Hispanic businesses in 1999 until he found enough support for what is now the Hispanic multi-media hub of East Tennessee. Mundo Hispano, or Hispanic World, was a monthly black-and-white pamphlet that evolved into a weekly color publication, two radio programs, a website, and the Amigo organization.

"When I saw no Spanish publications in restaurants, I noticed a need," said the 38-year-old printer. "I thought that if my newspapers weren't welcome by the people then I wouldn't lose too much money." Soon enough, the initial 1,500 copies per month snowballed into 5,000 a week, and now the newspaper boasts distribution throughout 20 counties of East Tennessee.

Mundo Hispano currently has no staff, so Nicho relies on volunteers to help produce his publication. Two friends take the responsibility of distributing the newspaper in nearby towns at Food City stores, churches, libraries, Mexican restaurants, and businesses. From Chattanooga to Morristown, advertisers such as Dish Network and Adame Bus Tours find a potential market through the newspaper. Weekly features in Mundo Hispano include the Update page, which analyses news from all of Latin America. The From Nashville section reports on aspects of Hispanic interest in state government while the Immigration page keeps the reader posted on changes in Congress.

The newspaper started as a Spanish-language-only publication, but Nicho changed Mundo Hispano into a bilingual paper in order to achieve his goal of communication between Hispanics and those who are not. "The breaking of barriers is the main contribution that Mundo Hispano can provide," said Nicho. "It's like a window for whoever is not Hispanic to reach the Hispanic world."

While creating a medium for Tennesseans to understand their community, Nicho says his first priority is to educate Hispanic readers on how to interpret their new environment. He provides information on how the American system works and what opportunities are available. "Sometimes immigrants don't understand the process of electing a government, or they don't know what the Star Spangled Banner means," he said. "We translate to help the integration, so they understand this country and culture, and hopefully participate a little more."

The son of a traveling musician, Nicho also lived in Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Venezuela before moving to the United States 15 years ago. He started as a printer in Salt Lake City, Utah, later married a Chinese nurse named Shu-Li, and together they moved to Knoxville when she accepted a job as a professor at the University of Tennessee.

With the success of Mundo Hispano, Nicho was able to establish two bilingual radio programs on the air on 96.7 and 90.1 FM that he says reach 10,000 listeners. For four hours a day Mundo Hispano buys air time on both stations to play Latino jazz and northern Mexican music. Although initially Hispanic businesses were the only advertisers, a steady increase of non-Hispanic ones have begun to do business with the publication.

"There's a lot of undocumented women who don't know where to go for maternity care," said Chanda Atkins, who sees positive results from advertising the Women's Wellness and Maternity Center in Mundo Hispano. "We wanted them to know that we have Spanish-speaking providers."

While Nicho encourages businesses to open their markets to Hispanics, he will not accept any type of advertising that would take advantage of his community. "Someone might buy a car without realizing that the interest is 30 or 40 percent," he says. "I think that is an abuse and I don't want to mislead them." Nevertheless, he welcomes anyone to advertise with Mundo Hispano until receiving complaints of unethical business practices on their part.

Nicho constantly finds himself surrounded by projects aimed at facilitating the lives of Hispanics in Tennessee. One of his latest endeavors was the creation of the Amigo organization, which gathers funds to guarantee that a person's body will be sent back to his or her country in the event of death. When this is organized, Nicho intends to expand the workload to include lawyers, English teachers, and leaders who can help promote the advancement of Hispanic children in public schools.

"Our people are just looking for a way to raise a family and find happiness in the process, but because of the differences in culture and all those barriers, it's a hard road to walk on," he says.

—Alexia Campbell

Bluegrass in the City
WDVX moves to Gay Street

Knoxville tourism officials are moving the award-winning Clinton bluegrass radio station, WDVX, to Gay Street in hopes it will help promote the region's culture and heritage and draw conventions.

The Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation signed an agreement Tuesday with WDVX—found at 89.9 and 106.1 FM—that would move the station's studios to the corner of Gay Street and Summit Hill Drive some time this summer, says Gloria Ray, president of the Tourism and Sports Corporation.

"I think the Americana format, the music they play, their presence nationally and internationally, really brings attention to Knoxville and East Tennessee and helps build it up as a preferred place to come visit and bring conventions," Ray says.

The corporation signed a letter of intent to buy the four-story building—which used to hold a Wendy's restaurant—from TVA. Ray was uncertain how much the building and renovations would cost. WDVX would get studio space there free of charge. In exchange, the station would help promote local events and the region. Space would be set aside for live music performances and other events. There could also be literary readings, guest speakers, craft shows and other events held here, Ray says.

"The old, static visitor center is such where you come in and pick up a brochure. We think those days are behind us," she says. "When we bring in decision makers about where to bring a convention, it's going to be a different experience."

Ray says this is just the first move among many to try to promote the city's culture and heritage.

The 200-watt Clinton station has won several national awards for its programming (including two last week—see this week's Eye on the Scene).

If all goes as planned, it would be the first prominent country and bluegrass station located downtown since the heyday of WNOX and WIVK. Tennessee's first radio station, WNOX hosted the famous Midday Merry-Go-Round from the mid-'30s into the '50s, playing a mixture of country, Dixieland, swing and jazz. WIVK, also located on Gay Street, hosted some pioneering musicians early in their careers, including the Everly Brothers and Dolly Parton.

WDVX broadcasts live every Wednesday from Barley's Tap Room in the Old City and has hosted several bluegrass festivals. However, with only a small trailer for a studio, the station is limited in what shows it's been able to produce. General manager Tony Lawson says the station will still take an East Tennessee focus. "But it'd mean a downtown Knoxville studio and hopefully being able to be a greater part of the community," he says.

—Joe Tarr