Sage advice on holiday spending

By Rev. Charles Moreland | December 16, 2007 |

On Fridays I read USA Today. It’s informative, and gives a different perspective on news, sports, life, entertainment and money. Managing Your Money (USA Today 12.7.07) offers sane advice for the Christmas season.

“Controlling pre-holiday spending to dodge post holiday blues” is the theme I’ll address today. Extravagant spending, that is, budget breakers, will inevitably come back to haunt the spender. Purchases that looks good in those days leading up to Christmas can precipitate stress after the emotion of the season is pass and one returns to reality. A stack of bills is devastating to morale and defeats long term plans for financial security. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Spirituality | No Comments

Darfur genocide - US needs to ACT!

By Beth Robinson | December 15, 2007 |

Peace on Earth, good will toward men.

Have you heard these words this Christmas season? The genocide continues in Darfur. Resolutions are passed but there is no action to protect the people. 

This past week I watched the new HBO movie, Sand & Sorrow, narrated by George Clooney, who was trying to explain why the genocide continues. It prompted me to again contact my representatives urging them to support ACTION. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 1 Comment »

Cleaning and ‘greening’ an urban landscape

By Christine Anne Piesyk | December 15, 2007 |

Mayor Johnny Piper’s plan to clean up vacant lots around the city is a giant leap in moving the city forward and instilling a sense of civic pride. It goes hand in hand with efforts to clean up litter; it’s the kind of action that sets a positive example for the community at large.

Though some communities use tax dollars to fund such actions, in the late 1980’s one northern city and its then 27-year-old newly elected mayor, Daniel J. Szostkiewicz, opted to launch a clean up the dregs of a decaying city landscape and move urban renewal giant steps forward by obtaining a federal grant for the walloping sum of two million dollars — for clean up. There was a lot to clean up. «Read the rest of this article»

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Residents enraged at ‘blight’ designation, seek repeal of redevelopment plan

By Christine Anne Piesyk | December 15, 2007 |

Audacious. Over the top. Unprecedented. A developer’s “fantasy come true.”

All words used Friday evening to describe the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan that deems 1800 parcels of lands and two square miles of the city as “blighted,” a move that would allow the city to take property designated as blighted and “redevelop” it to its maximum potential. Read “profit.”

Terry McMoore of the Urban Resource Center sponsored a community meeting at the HOPE Center on Legion Street to present a panel of speakers on this issue and to field questions from a worried public.

One phrase in the ordinance that concerned panelists and residents alike reads as follows:

“…the Plan for the project area will afford maximum opportunity consistent with the sound needs of the locality as a whole, for redevelopment of the area by private enterprise.” [Ordinance 73-2005-06, Section 7]

«Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, News | 7 Comments

Holiday decorating on a budget

By Michael Covington | December 14, 2007 |

I hope this article finds you ready for the holidays. If you’re like myself, between the presents, the dinners, the family, the friends, and the endless to do lists you don’t have lots money for decorating for the holidays. If you’ve got a little free time and some creativity you can have a very memorable season.

First, let’s talk about the all-important meal table. You’re probably planning on having some friends and family at a table together for the holidays, so why not give them something good to look at besides your cooking. For this project, a little bit can go a long way. First, consider a tablecloth. Nothing dresses up a dull table like a tablecloth. Even a cheap one from Wal-Mart can help spruce the kitchen up. And, don’t even think about forgetting the centerpiece. What else will guests have to talk about when the awkward silences and family feuds set in? This is where some creativity comes in play.

«Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

The Met’s high-def ‘Romeo & Juliet’ broadcast live at Green Hills, Opryland

By Christine Anne Piesyk | December 13, 2007 |

Gounod’s sensual interpretation of Romeo and Juliet launches this season’s The Metropolitan Opera HD Live, a high definition global broadcast live from Lincoln Center in New York City on Saturday at noon CST. Tenor Robert Alagna and Soprano Anna Netrebko (at left) are Shakespeare’s legendary star-crossed lovers in what promises to the Met’s Christmas gift to the world. Placido Domingo conducts.

Alagna is Romeo of the Montagues, enchanted at first sight with the lovely Juliet (Netrebko) of the Capulets, caring not that their families exist in a state of hatred. Youth, beauty and passion rule, and the innocence of their newfound love must scale more than the balcony rail in pursuit of happiness beyond a feud not of their making.

From the tentative steps of a first dance to the sensual nuance of first love, the audience is drawn into a carefully spun web of intrigue and tragedy. The world knows and loves the story; this transcendent adaptation adds a new dimension to a treasured classic. «Read the rest of this article»

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Since 2000, more issues than answers arise in e-voting’s short history

By Bernie Ellis | December 13, 2007 |

In the wake of 2000 election issues, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002. HAVA was intended to address the problems of accuracy and functionality such as “hanging chads”– of the voting systems then in use. HAVA’s mandate also included ensuring that all voters with disabilities have access to voting systems that would provide private and independent voting.

These changes were required in every state for the 2006 federal election. Millions of tax dollars were allocated and dispersed to the states to upgrade and buy new equipment that would incorporate these requirements. «Read the rest of this article»

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Trees of Christmas shown at Smith-Trahern

By Christine Anne Piesyk | December 13, 2007 |

The Trees of Christmas 2007, now on display at the Smith-Trahern Mansion, takes a look at Christmas “through the eyes of a child” and the medium of nursery rhymes.

Topping the displays is the mansion’s fireplace, decorated on the theme of a Teddy Bear picnic. The elegant oversized fireplace with its high mantle and ceiling tall mirror is festooned with a mix of garland and teddy bears (and picnic baskets) in all shapes and sizes. It’s a bit of whimsy, a bit of magic and a world of imagination at play. The result simply delights everyone who enters that festive burgundy room. One look, and you can’t help but smile. The fireplace was designed by American Flowergift Florist. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments