I'm currently out-of-town so I'm not exactly in the think of Nashville politics, but I did run through the news today and learned of Randy Rayburn's recent fundraising letter in opposition to Burkley Allen's campaign in District 18. Randy, of course, is the restaurant magnate who owns the Sunset Grill, Midtown Cafe, and the Cabana,... Continue Reading →
A Failure to Plan Leads to Failure
It was a quiet and snowy night here in Old Hickory and the girls were snuggled up in front of the TV so I took some time to peruse the 700 pages of emails Mike Byrd obtained from Fairgrounds Director Buck Dozier’s account via a Freedom of Information Act request. Yeah, I know there is... Continue Reading →
Greer Stadium May Not Be a Great Choice
Michael Cass lifted up some speculation offered by Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors this morning about moving the Flea Market and Expo Center to Greer Stadium should the city come up with another option for the Sounds. On the surface it sounds intriguing (to use Cass's word) but there are lots of problems. The biggest that... Continue Reading →
If Not The Fairgrounds, Where?
While many of us were trapped in our snug little houses with our out-of-school kids, Mayor Karl Dean was speaking to the Nashville Rotary club, offering up all sorts of tidbits for consideration. As Joey Garrison reported in the City Paper, Mayor Dean reiterated that he was giving the fairgrounds conversation a “time-out” , but... Continue Reading →
Some Random Thoughts about Our Battle for South Nashville
I've been watching with interest the conversation back and forth on that Nashville Neighborhoods e-mail list, Twitter, and area blogs on the fairgrounds/Hickory Hollow issue and find myself troubled at many levels. The words fly back and forth, with each side presenting "facts" as to why their argument is valid. Of course what is fact... Continue Reading →
The Blame Game
In the debate over the fairgrounds proposal and the administration’s proposed creation of the Expo Center at Hickory Hollow, I have noticed a troubling phenomenon among those who oppose the project. This movement is exemplified in Mike Byrd’s blog post of tonight: What has Hickory Hollow owner CBL done for Nashville that would warrant Metro... Continue Reading →
The Mayor Speaks
Karl Dean and his administration REALLY don’t like it when someone pushes against their agenda, and they have been clear that they will do almost anything to challenge those who question their wisdom. Councilman at Large Jerry Maynard experienced this when he pushed hard on the administrations stated (at the time) intention of closing down... Continue Reading →
The War of the Fairgrounds
It’s no secret that I have been skeptical of the proposal to close down the existing fairgrounds. Certainly some of this is based in nostalgia for my past, with fond memories of riding the Skyliner at Fair Park and seeing pre-airplane crash Lynyrd Skynyrd at the racetrack in the ‘70’s. In recent years, our family... Continue Reading →
A Good Analysis of Fairgrounds Opposition
The mayor and Reibling both state that the Fairgrounds have a "cumulative revenue loss of $3.6 million" over the past five years. We do not accept this figure as accurate, but for the sake of this argument let's say it's correct. That comes out to be about $700,000 per year. So using their own... Continue Reading →
A Report from the Hickory Hollow Meeting
This past Thursday night, a group of folks gathered in an abandoned store front off the center court at Hickory Hollow Mall to hear about the latest plans for mall revitalization, focused on the proposal by city government to locate a regional community center, a public library branch, and a community health clinic in the... Continue Reading →
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