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Who’s Looking Ahead?
Two names that have surfaced as possible contenders in next year’s City Council races are Ellen Adcock, who served as chief of administration under former Mayor Victor Ashe, and Nick Pavlis, who served two terms as a city councilman before being term-limited out of office last year. Adcock would be seeking the Council position for the 3rd District, currently held by Steve Hall, while Pavlis would run against Barbara Pelot in the 2nd District, a seat Pelot won by a scant 33 votes last time around. Adcock, who was not retained by Mayor Bill Haslam and who has been a thorn in the new administration’s side in her role as an Ashe-appointed KCDC commissioner, certainly would make for an interesting candidate, in that the administration would likely prefer anyone else, even the curmudgeonly Hall.
A Flounder’s Eyes Look Up
In the July 12 Halls Shopper News, columnist and former Metro Pulse-ian Betty Bean reported: “Another floundering project is Market Square, which cost nearly $9 million and two years to redo. A few weeks ago, we mentioned one business-owner whose putting her Market Square building up for sale had occasioned considerable talk downtown. Susan Key, owner of Susan Key Galleries, sold her building at 29 Market Square and is looking for a new location.”
What Bean did not report is that Key, a staunch opponent of the Kinsey Probasco plan for the revitalization of historic Market Square, sold her building for $350,000, which, since she did not substantially renovate the property, constitutes a $244,000 windfall on her original $106,000 investment—the amount that Knox County records indicate she paid for the property in 1997. That $244,000 equals a 230 percent gain over seven years, which equates to an annualized return of 32 percent. Ear wishes all of its own investments would flounder in such a manner.
Un-Patriotic Acts
The weekend before President George Bush’s visit to Oak Ridge, Kip Williams was reviewing a press release he was writing for Involved Knoxville about gay marriage rights, voicing opposition to Bush’s stance. Williams called his friend Ralph Hutchison, who works for the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, to read over what he’d written. “The United States Constitution has never been amended to actively discriminate against a group of people before, and the current administration’s attempts to do so dishonor a long tradition of the use of our Constitution to promote equality and tolerance in the world,” the release read in part. While he was reciting the statement, Williams heard a beep of an incoming call. “When I switched the channel of my phone, I heard the last five sentences of my conversation being played back to me and a woman’s voice laughing,” Williams says. His cell phone listed the number as being Saadia Williams (no relation), director for the Center for Race Relations and not someone Kip has to worry about tapping his phone. Williams was stunned and a little disturbed. He told Saadia about the call the next day, and she was also upset. “My assumption is it has to do with the Patriot Act,” Mr. Williams says. “We already knew that Ralph’s and [his wife’s] line is being monitored. The message is, ‘You can continue what you’re doing, but we’re watching you.’... I feel incredibly violated by it.”
Membership’s Privileges
The Knoxville Community Food Cooperative will hold a special meeting for members—and anyone else interested in the store—on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Emporium Building. The board of directors will introduce a proposal to change the current membership structure, which could significantly change how the business operates. Board president Elizabeth Eason was reluctant to give details about the proposal, but she say they’re considering changing from a dues-paying structure to one where members purchase shares. “With the new structure, we want to emphasize members are owners,” she says. Members will vote on the proposal a couple of months after it is introduced. All are welcome at Thursday’s meeting, which will include food, naturally.
July 22, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 30
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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