He guarded his turf in every kind of weather. Chained to a ramshackle doghouse that provided little more than a roof, he barked ferociously when I walked by. He sweltered …
Ward Baker: The man behind the curtain
Last weekend the Glenn Jacobs for Mayor Twitter account shared a photo of Himself shooting a gun, a formidable, flame-spitting AR-esque weapon. Most of Himself’s 47,287 Twitter followers who checked …
The year we didn’t go to the Fair
Next to Christmas, the Fair was my favorite holiday. It wasn’t official, but it was important. Superintendent Doyle would give us a day off school and our grandparents would take …
Chris Holzen: Singing those Moscow blues
The “Will He/Won’t He” game – “he” being Vladimir Putin – isn’t just an abstract foreign policy discussion for Knoxvillians who knew Chris Holzen. The question of when, whether and …
How Fountain City got its swings
(Editor’s Note: Social media exploded Tuesday with unconfirmed rumors that the city of Knoxville might remove the swings in Fountain City Park. The swings that were installed in the late …
Give me liberty, but keep the Libertarians
Once upon a time when Knoxville was still a two-newspaper town, the Knoxville Journal sent me to Nashville to cover state government. I was expected to produce a couple of …
We Back Pat: Coaches showcase Summitt legacy
Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach Shea Ralph was one of the players that Tennessee fans loved to hate. She was the scowling, snarling, on-court embodiment of Geno Auriemma, the coach we …
Lifelong Fountain Citians need a little help
Some may remember Don and Wanda Ault from the Sunsphere, where they had a shop during the years before the city sold it to private interests.
Others probably recall Don’s downtown …