It has been two days since an 18-year-old high-school dropout stormed into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, barricaded himself in a classroom and started shooting an AR-15-style rifle, resulting …
Betsy Pickle: Embedded
I have very little experience in writing about politics. My journalism career has leaned toward feature stories and entertainment criticism. I’m actually passionate about our government and how I think …
Lakeshore Park trees: Xs and ohs
“I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a pickleball court.”
Wait, that’s not what Joyce Kilmer wrote. Maybe that’s the version the Lakeshore Park Conservancy stumbled onto …
Sen. Massey pushes electronic billboard bill
Knoxville state Sen. Becky Massey is sponsoring a billboard industry sweetheart bill that creates a state override on local zoning decisions which regulate electronic billboards. It seems the philosophy underlying …
New year, different approach
I have a sketchy relationship with New Year’s resolutions.
When I was a teen and younger adult, I was devoted to the concept of setting up goals for self-improvement, starting on …
Please and thank you
For most people in this country, this is a special week. If you’re a Christian, this Saturday is the day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ some …
Fall in love with ‘West Side Story’
I love movie musicals.
I grew up after the Golden Age of Hollywood and became acquainted with the classics through pre-cable television during time slots dubbed “The Early Show” and “The …
Looking for the next stage of grief
My mother and I were “roommates” for 11 years. She called me on Nov. 1, 2010, and said, “It’s cold in my house. Can I come stay with you?”
I said, …