As I was contemplating writing a column pleading for more mature and measured bipartisan efforts in the face of our nation’s presumed forthcoming fiscal disaster, I recalled the column I wrote exactly four years ago about a “purple coalition” and what the Volunteer State could offer America’s new president early on in his administration. Though my support for President Barack

Edwards worked on World Fair, 2000 Gore staff and Sports Authority, among others Emmett A. Edwards, a businessman and public servant for more than three decades, died Monday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center due to complications from lung cancer. He was 59. Born in Covington, Tenn., in May of 1953, Edwards graduated in his high school’s first racially integrated class

Here’s the first thing I learned about the music business when I moved to Nashville more than 25 years ago: You’re either in it or you’re not. There’s no middle ground. The people “in” the business know precisely who they are; everyone else is part of a different realm. And that’s not an indictment of the music business; it’s just

Cleveland’s mammoth 80,000-seat Memorial Stadium, square on the banks of Lake Erie, provided the genesis for my love of baseball. I was just 5 when my father took me to my first game, I remember thinking with wonderment that the whole world could fit right inside. We arrived when the gates opened, thrilled to see the infield and outfield drills,

Most of us are familiar with the lyrics from the famed ‘60s Disney musical film, Mary Poppins: “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, the medicine go down…” The “medicine” I’m referring to is the current proposed property tax increase in our fair city while “the sugar” is something I have enjoyed ever since moving to Nashville

As this final (allegedly) legislative week unfolds, my fellow Democrats (the remaining few left in the General Assembly) brought shame to our party. Playing political games can be entertaining, but to play games with guns is no laughing or recreational matter. The overall story is the battle over guns in parking lots. Tennessee has been thrust into the spotlight with

Where does public higher education stand in the pecking order of priorities in the Volunteer State? Not very high, I’m afraid. In the past decade we have seen major shifts, some good and some bad, in efforts to provide a quality post-secondary education for Tennessee’s students. I had the privilege of being involved in one of the good things in

Congenial. Enthusiastic. Smiling. Compassionate. Bubbly. Caring. Friendly. These are just some of the adjectives offered by colleagues about the woman who serves as the greeter, information desk attendant and security officer at our downtown Nashville office building. If one is ever having a down day, a short stop at Bobbi’s desk at the entrance of the historic Castner-Knott building will

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right Here I am, stuck in the middle with you   The chorus from the 1972 Stealers Wheel hit, co-written by Joe Egan and the late Gerry Rafferty, keeps echoing in my head as I’ve observed the frightening, politically divisive landscape which has erupted in Washington and Nashville, eroding the long-established

“Give me a Big O,” the team of energetic fifth-grade cheerleaders shouted out. “O” was the resounding answer from more than 1,000 first, second and third-graders at a Tennessee elementary school recently. The cheerleaders and their enthusiastic responders continued to spell out: “O-L-L-I-E,” until they reached the finale: “What have you got?” “OLLIE, OLLIE!” the kids shouted back, as the