Metro Pulse/Ear to the Ground

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New Use for Old Buildings

The cursed old 400 block of Gay Street seemed tomblike not too long ago, but late last Friday evening, quite a few passengers in cars and buses did a doubletake. Not only because the brewpub's patio was crowded with Epicureans trying the company's inaugural IPA—though crowds seated on a Gay Street sidewalk late at night are an unaccustomed sight, sure enough—but on blank front of a vacant old building were moving pictures. The old J.C. Penney building looked, for a couple of hours, like a giant TV. The films, mostly of bluegrass musicians, were being projected from the sidewalk in front of renegade print shop known as Yee-Haw Industries. Crowded on the sidewalk watching the films was a liberal mix of people of all ages, watching the color films and listening to the conversation and music. By general agreement, it was an altogether surreal and wonderful scene.

Most of the films were over 30 years old, but brought cries of recognition from some of the older attendees, who recognized some musicians as former Fort Sanders denizens.

As it turns out, the party was a fundraiser for Appalshop, the venerable educational organization that celebrates Appalachian culture; it had opened earlier in the evening down the street with a reception at the Bistro. The event, which was combined with one of Yee Haw's dependably unorthodox art openings, drew a crowd of perhaps 150, among them, inevitably, a few politicians, including mayoral candidate Madeline Rogero and City Council candidate Chris Woodhull. Then again, from what we know of them, they would likely have been there anyway. Maybe it will give them and others ideas for future city sponsored events. But from the startled looks on the faces of some innocent Gay Street drivers, traffic accidents at future events may turn out to be a hazard.

Geography

Ambrose Bierce defined war as the means by which Americans learn geography. If fatal shootings are the way Knoxvillians learn about their city, viewers had a puzzling lesson on Sunday evening. After the tragic police killing of a young man early Sunday morning at the Summit Hill Weigels, which is on the north side of Summit Hill, just east of James White Parkway, WATE's coverage opened with the anchor announcing a live feed from "North Knoxville." Then the correspondent appeared, at the Weigels, which was identified in a caption as "Downtown." The reporter closed with the valediction, "Live, from East Knoxville." We'd call for a correction, but, to be honest, we don't quite know what to call that corner of town, either.

Who's Afraid of 100 S. Gay?

On May 14, attorney Ed Owens posted the following message on k2k, the local online forum:

After 18 years of continuous subscription to the News Sentinel, a couple of weeks ago I moved to a storefront on the 100 block of S. Gay and tried to get my NS subscription transferred. After a week or so with no paper delivered, and three phone calls to the NS, I was finally told by a nice lady in the NS circulation dept. that they will not deliver to the 100 block unless the "supervisor" approves, and that "part of the problem" is "carrier safety issues". I'm not sure if that was the reason, or the only reason, for nondelivery of my paper, because at that point I got fed up and canceled my subscription....

On May 19, Owens posted the following:

Friday I received a call from the director of circulation at the News Sentinel. He was very helpful. They have started delivering the paper and are dropping it through my mail slot to make sure no one picks it up (Judy McCarthy caught a TVA employee stealing her paper one morning—until TVA finally clears out, we'll never be safe). Perhaps they have become more sensitive to downtown dwellers.

Owens says he was told later by k2k list owner Steve Dupree that when Dupree saw Owens' first post, he forwarded it to "people who handled issues" at the Sentinel, apparently prompting the call Owens received from circulation.

The aforementioned Judy McCarthy, also an attorney and a resident of the 100 block of S. Gay, posted on k2k a similar account of trying to get the Sentinel delivered to her home address last November. According to her post, it was not until she threatened to come to the NS offices with a court reporter to take down their explanation of why they could not deliver the paper to her residence that the paper yielded.

Positive Step

Positively Living will break ground on renovations to the old Volunteers of America building at East Fifth Avenue and Winona this Friday. Dubbed Parkridge Harbor, the new center will include 22 housing units for men, plus a whole host of case management, counseling and nutritional services. "It's the only housing unit of its kind east of Nashville," says executive director Dee Crumm. To live there, men must be diagnosed with two of three things: a terminal disease, mental or substance abuse problems. "People don't have that warm fuzzy feeling for men who have issues," Crumm says. "I think it's much easier to help women and children because they're seen as helpless." The renovations are expected to be finished this fall. "I imagine we'll have quite a waiting list. We could have filled it up yesterday," Crumm says.

Busting the Bus Story

It's said that the local Sunday talk shows are the domain of the few, the obsessed, the hardcore. So the political junkies who watched WATE Channel 6's May 4 edition of "Tennessee This Week," hosted by Gene Patterson, saw a remarkable show. Patterson was joined by reporter Heather Donald, who was defending a story she had done the previous week on the Knoxville Area Transit System.

Also appearing on the show were the Rev. Charles McAfee, who chairs the KAT board, and KAT head Mark Hairr, both of whom took exception to Donald's story, which appeared on a Monday 5 o'clock show after being promoted incessantly since the previous Thursday with teasers about empty seats, a hidden camera, and ominous references to tax money. McAfee, who is pastor of Greater Bush Grove Baptist Church, did most of the talking, and although his tone was always civil and measured, pretty much left Donald's defenses in shreds.

"I have a passion for transit," McAfee said. "The two things that really bothered me were the use of hidden cameras and those promotions. We needed to make those points."

Ellen Adcock, the city's director of administration, joined the fray with a spirited phone call to station manager Jan Wade. Adcock's dander went over the top when she saw that the segment was aired at 5, rather than on the 6 o'clock news. "If it was such a hot story, why wasn't it on the evening news?"

Donald and Patterson took their lumps, and McAfee said he was pleased with the station's response to his complaints. "They have been very receptive in listening to the other side. I think they responded appropriately."

I Play One on TV

The main speaker at the John J. Duncan Senior Advocacy Award dinner honoring Bill Wallace was Bernie Kopell, who played Dr. Adam Bricker on the long-running sit-com "The Love Boat." Most of the audience probably remembered Doc Bricker as a funny guy, but at least some of them were perplexed by his keynote. He cracked hearing-aid and eyeglasses jokes and informed the group that he had fallen down and hit his head back in March. He commented that he liked "seniors" so much he's decided to become one.

"The best thing he did was swing his arm, hit the microphone, which caused a loud noise and had him remarking, 'Oh, I ate my dinner too fast,' one spectator said. "We left the dinner kind of scratching our heads, and everybody was saying 'Surely they didn't pay him.'"