Metro Pulse/Ear to the Ground

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No Vacancy

Vacant space on Market Square is starting to become a rare commodity. The Square's newest tenant-to-be is the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership. Mike Edwards of KACP and David Dewhirst finalized the deal this week, complete with an executed purchase agreement. The deal is still subject to some due diligence on the part of KACP, but we hear from a reliable source that "it's really all over but the shouting." KACP is to be the new owner/occupant of about 22,000 square feet of prime office space on the 2nd floor of the former Watson's building, on the west side of Market Square. A move-in date has not been set, as some major renovations are in store to the former department store space.

OK, Frank, You've Stepped in It

So anybody who's been reading this column lately knows we had a soft spot for Frank Cagle's WNOX radio talk show. It was provocative and entertaining. We're not quite so fond of his News Sentinel column, however, especially the latest one where he credits Bill Haslam's victory in the mayoral race to a strong showing in East Knoxville courtesy of Joe Armstrong, Tank Strickland, Sam Anderson and Mark Brown. 'Nary a word about someone whose sign-putting-out, sample-ballot-making, neighborhood-visiting, arm-twisting, telephone-call-making, poll-working, girlfriend-persuading, posse-leading, cowboy-hat-wearing efforts were pivotal in last week's election. Call us paranoid, but we fear that Cagle (who's been around a long time) knows that the Twelve White Guys moniker was invented in this column and is trying to steal a piece of our thunder, since the Four Black Guys and Diane Jordan just wouldn't have the same ring.

He Looked So Natural, Though

Since timing, as they say, is everything, the recent first edition of M.S. McClellan Magazine ran into a few glitches, like promoting time-sensitive sales that have already expired. The toney westside haberdashery sent out the inaugural issue to a select list of (presumably male) clients. Promoted on the cover were stories like "Reading Between The Pinstripes—The lighter side to fashion," "Triumphant Style—The Robert Talbott story," "Topless and Sexy—The Lexus SC430," "Clothes To The Heart—Men and their closet favorites," and "Time to Suit Up—The comeback of the suit." The cover story may have caused some unintended shivers to travel up the spines of the well-heeled middle-aged guys who make up the bulk of the store's customers: "Robert Palmer—Haute Couture Rocker." The dapper, 50-something Englishman dropped dead a couple of weeks ago in a Paris hotel.

Sequoyah: Alsharif Country?

Mostafa Alsharif, a likable 22-year-old recent graduate of UT who holds a degree in engineering, was the second-highest vote-getter in the Seat C At-Large City Council race. And as such, he won the right to face prohibitive favorite Marilyn Roddy in the November general election. Roddy got 17,719 votes, Alsharif 3,417. What's caught the attention of political junkies about this race is Alsharif's showing in Roddy's home precinct of Sequoyah Hills, where he polled 110 votes. What's up with that?