jacksonsun.com
August 25, 2011
By Karen Y. Johnson
Last year on Aug. 26, when the Tennessee Women's Political Caucus sponsored a Women's Equality Day event to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, we were reminded that the 100th anniversary is only 10 years away.
In 1995, when the nation was celebrating the 75th anniversary, Tennesseans formed The Tennessee Commemorative Woman's Suffrage Commission, led by then first lady and honorary chairwoman Martha Sundquist. The co-chairs were Paula Casey of Memphis and state Sen. Thelma Harper of Nashville. Historian Carole Bucy served as the executive director and historians Dr. Janann Sherman and Carol Lynn Yellin served on the board of directors.
They gathered historical documents and three plays were written: "The Perfect 36," The Yellow Rose Brigade" and "Yellow Rose of Suffrage," about the events that took place in Tennessee leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment. The plays were performed in Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville. Many other events and parades were held across the state that year. The historical documents of the Tennessee suffragists' work is documented in a book titled "The Perfect 36."
Many artifacts were collected for the 75th year celebration, and they were donated to the Tennessee Museum, but the curator has not chosen to keep them on display. In fact, no memorials to the events of 1920 appear in our capitol city, except for a small plaque behind the Hermitage Hotel and a large bas-relief work by local sculptor Alan LeQuire, which hangs in the state capitol building on the second floor outside the stairway to the Senate gallery.
As part of the plans made by Woman Suffrage 75, Inc., women from all three Tennessee grand divisions agreed to go back to their respective communities and raise the money to erect a suffrage monument in the cities of Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville. Only the Knoxville women succeeded. They raised the money and commissioned Nashville sculpture Alan LeQuire to erect a bronze statue of the leading Tennessee suffragists. The magnificent statue was dedicated Aug. 26, 2006 and proudly stands in Krutch Park, adjoining the Market Square Mall in downtown Knoxville.
Sadly, no monument has been erected in our capitol city, Nashville. The Board of the Tennessee Women's Political Caucus voted to spearhead the effort to raise money and commission an artist to erect a Women's Suffrage Monument in Nashville. A separate board which includes women from across Tennessee has been named for the nonprofit corporation. We plan to partner with other organizations and individuals to help make the dream a reality.
We envision the monument would be placed somewhere near the state Capitol building and dedicated on Aug. 18, 2020, the 100th anniversary of that famous day when the Tennessee legislature ratified the amendment. With 10 years to raise the money and create an art competition to select a sculptor, we know that what Susan B. Anthony declared is true: "Failure is Impossible."
Karen Y. Johnson is president of the Tennessee Women's Political Caucus and Metro Nashville councilwoman-elect for District 29. Contact her at johnsonkareny@gmail.com. You can check out the Tennessee Women's Political Caucus http://www.tennesseewpc.com/.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Changes to Metro trash pickup could have you paying up
Channel 4 News
Posted: Aug 24, 2011 9:55 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 25, 2011 2:58 PM CDT
Posted by Kevin Young
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - If you live in Metro's Urban Services District and still don't recycle, Metro will soon be putting the heat on you to start. In fact, if you don't soon do your part you'll have to pay up.
Some changes are on the way for residents who live in the USD, the area in which Metro provides trash service and curbside recycling. The changes do not apply to those who live in the General Service District.
(Find out if you live in the USD or GSD by visiting the Metro Public Works website.)
Consider the cost of what you throw away. You may not have thought about it in these terms.
Some residents may have been taken by surprise this summer when they learned that Metro is no longer accepting yard waste in their normal curbside pick up.
Instead, you have to wait for brush pick up, drop it off yourself, or put everything in biodegradable bags - which will be picked up on the curb.
But the changes don't stop there.
Starting next summer, houses and businesses using more than two trash carts will be charged a monthly fee.
And in 2013, anyone with more than one cart will be charged. The goal with is to reduce the waste and increase recycling.
"Metro gets paid about $23 a ton for the recycling we collect, whereas we pay over $32 a ton for waste that is put in the landfill. So whatever we reduce is money that we save for the taxpayer," said Gwen Hopkins-Glascock with Metro Public Works.
To further encourage people to reduce, re-use and recycle, the next phase of the plan, set to take effect in 2014, will ban cardboard from trash pickup.
"It's a very high-commodity in the recycling market. Break down those cardboard boxes and put them in recycling, because it's money that's returned back to Metro," Hopkins-Glascock said.
The following year, in 2015, all electronics will be banned from the garbage can.
Again, all these changes are meant to encourage people, step-by-step, to get used to recycling instead of just throwing everything away.
Metro does offer free curbside recycling, and you can get as many of those bins as you want without any additional fee.
Those recycling bins should contain paper, plastic, cardboard and aluminum. Right now, no glass is allowed, but public works officials say they are negotiating to change that.
To get one of those green recycle bins for your home or business, call 880-1000.
Posted: Aug 24, 2011 9:55 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 25, 2011 2:58 PM CDT
Posted by Kevin Young
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - If you live in Metro's Urban Services District and still don't recycle, Metro will soon be putting the heat on you to start. In fact, if you don't soon do your part you'll have to pay up.
Some changes are on the way for residents who live in the USD, the area in which Metro provides trash service and curbside recycling. The changes do not apply to those who live in the General Service District.
(Find out if you live in the USD or GSD by visiting the Metro Public Works website.)
Consider the cost of what you throw away. You may not have thought about it in these terms.
Some residents may have been taken by surprise this summer when they learned that Metro is no longer accepting yard waste in their normal curbside pick up.
Instead, you have to wait for brush pick up, drop it off yourself, or put everything in biodegradable bags - which will be picked up on the curb.
But the changes don't stop there.
Starting next summer, houses and businesses using more than two trash carts will be charged a monthly fee.
And in 2013, anyone with more than one cart will be charged. The goal with is to reduce the waste and increase recycling.
"Metro gets paid about $23 a ton for the recycling we collect, whereas we pay over $32 a ton for waste that is put in the landfill. So whatever we reduce is money that we save for the taxpayer," said Gwen Hopkins-Glascock with Metro Public Works.
To further encourage people to reduce, re-use and recycle, the next phase of the plan, set to take effect in 2014, will ban cardboard from trash pickup.
"It's a very high-commodity in the recycling market. Break down those cardboard boxes and put them in recycling, because it's money that's returned back to Metro," Hopkins-Glascock said.
The following year, in 2015, all electronics will be banned from the garbage can.
Again, all these changes are meant to encourage people, step-by-step, to get used to recycling instead of just throwing everything away.
Metro does offer free curbside recycling, and you can get as many of those bins as you want without any additional fee.
Those recycling bins should contain paper, plastic, cardboard and aluminum. Right now, no glass is allowed, but public works officials say they are negotiating to change that.
To get one of those green recycle bins for your home or business, call 880-1000.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
TN fights to avoid credit downgrade
The Tennessean
Haslam, legislature face political fallout - To read entire article click the link
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110824/NEWS0201/308240109/TN-fights-avoid-credit-downgrade
Haslam, legislature face political fallout - To read entire article click the link
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110824/NEWS0201/308240109/TN-fights-avoid-credit-downgrade
Metro sues to overturn panel's decision on digital billboard
The Tennessean
In an unprecedented move, Metro attorneys have filed suit to overturn a city board's decision to allow the installation of a digital billboard in south Nashville.
The Metro Law Department sued in Davidson County Chancery Court today to reverse the Board of Zoning Appeals' ruling earlier this year that Richardson Outdoor Advertising can build a 50-foot-tall digital billboard to replace a standard board at Bell and Murfreesboro roads.
Metro attorney Doug Sloan confirmed the suit had been filed and said it was the first time Metro had ever appealed a decision by the zoning appeals board. But he declined to comment otherwise, citing the pending litigation.
The Metro Codes department initially denied a permit to Richardson Outdoor Advertising last spring. The denial relied on a legal interpretation that digital billboards must be at least 2,000 feet from other billboards.
"We turned it down because it represented a change in use," Metro Codes Director Terry Cobb said today.
But the Board of Zoning Appeals, which is made up of appointed volunteers, overruled the staff's interpretation, upsetting some area residents. A majority of board members voted that a state grandfathering statute prevents Metro from restricting the use of a digital billboard at that location.
Metro lawyers are now arguing that the grandfathering protections apply to the use - a traditional billboard - and not to the structure. They say the city has the power to prevent the alterations necessary to install a digital board at that site.
Jim Murphy, a former Metro law director who represented Richardson Outdoor Advertising before the Board of Zoning Appeals, declined to comment tonight, saying he hadn't been able to talk to his client yet.
Nearly two dozen people from neighborhoods around Bell and Murfreesboro roads showed up when the zoning appeals board decided the case in June. Karen Johnson, who later won the Metro Council seat from the area, said at the time, "We are working very hard as a community to address issues that could adversely affect our safety and quality of life. In this case it is very disturbing that a static billboard is considered the same as a digital one."
In an unprecedented move, Metro attorneys have filed suit to overturn a city board's decision to allow the installation of a digital billboard in south Nashville.
The Metro Law Department sued in Davidson County Chancery Court today to reverse the Board of Zoning Appeals' ruling earlier this year that Richardson Outdoor Advertising can build a 50-foot-tall digital billboard to replace a standard board at Bell and Murfreesboro roads.
Metro attorney Doug Sloan confirmed the suit had been filed and said it was the first time Metro had ever appealed a decision by the zoning appeals board. But he declined to comment otherwise, citing the pending litigation.
The Metro Codes department initially denied a permit to Richardson Outdoor Advertising last spring. The denial relied on a legal interpretation that digital billboards must be at least 2,000 feet from other billboards.
"We turned it down because it represented a change in use," Metro Codes Director Terry Cobb said today.
But the Board of Zoning Appeals, which is made up of appointed volunteers, overruled the staff's interpretation, upsetting some area residents. A majority of board members voted that a state grandfathering statute prevents Metro from restricting the use of a digital billboard at that location.
Metro lawyers are now arguing that the grandfathering protections apply to the use - a traditional billboard - and not to the structure. They say the city has the power to prevent the alterations necessary to install a digital board at that site.
Jim Murphy, a former Metro law director who represented Richardson Outdoor Advertising before the Board of Zoning Appeals, declined to comment tonight, saying he hadn't been able to talk to his client yet.
Nearly two dozen people from neighborhoods around Bell and Murfreesboro roads showed up when the zoning appeals board decided the case in June. Karen Johnson, who later won the Metro Council seat from the area, said at the time, "We are working very hard as a community to address issues that could adversely affect our safety and quality of life. In this case it is very disturbing that a static billboard is considered the same as a digital one."
Monday, August 22, 2011
Changes are coming to District "29"
Please join Metro Councilwoman-elect Karen Y. Johnson for her swearing-in at 12:30 p.m. Thursday August 26 at the Historic Metro Courthouse. The Honorable Judge Angie Blackshear Dalton will do the honors in the Metro Council Chambers on the 2nd floor.
http://www.karenjohnson.org/
Friday, August 19, 2011
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SMITH SPRINGS ROAD NEIGHBORS AND STANDING WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE 29TH DISTRICT
The community of the 29th District want to sincerely thank the Metro Planning Commissioners Chairman James McLean, Vice Chairman Hunter Gee, Hon. Phil Ponder, Judy Cummings, Jeff Haynes, Ana Escobar, Derrick Dalton, and Andree LeQuire and Metro Council Members the Honorable Tim Garrett, Megan Barry, Charlie Tygard, Ronnie Steine, Michael Craddock, Jamie Hollin, Mike Jameson, Eric Cole, Karen Bennett, Jim Forkum, Rip Ryman, Jim Gotto, Carl Burch, Bruce Stanley, Anna Page, Kristine LaLonde, Emily Evans, Jason Holleman, Duane Dominy, Jim Hodge, Sam Coleman, Robert Duvall, Carter Todd, Lonnell Matthews for helping our neighborhood on the recent BL2011-935. You heard our voices and we feel that it mattered and for that we are truly thankful to each of you.
Thank you for all that you do to make our neighborhoods and city great. The people out here feel they can rely on the Metro Council and Metro Planning Commissioners to do what is in the best interest of the people and because of you the trust that is expected by the people was witnessed by all of us by each of you. We also want to thank our incoming Councilwoman-Elect Karen Y. Johnson who when we approached her stood by us when she did not have to because at the time many candidates were not willing to get involved. Its leaders like Ms. Johnson and all of you as to why we feel good about our government listening to the people. Thank you for listening to us, thank you for your vote for the people and thank you for your service to the people.
Sincerely,
Larry Bevel
Resident of the 29th District
Thank you for all that you do to make our neighborhoods and city great. The people out here feel they can rely on the Metro Council and Metro Planning Commissioners to do what is in the best interest of the people and because of you the trust that is expected by the people was witnessed by all of us by each of you. We also want to thank our incoming Councilwoman-Elect Karen Y. Johnson who when we approached her stood by us when she did not have to because at the time many candidates were not willing to get involved. Its leaders like Ms. Johnson and all of you as to why we feel good about our government listening to the people. Thank you for listening to us, thank you for your vote for the people and thank you for your service to the people.
Sincerely,
Larry Bevel
Resident of the 29th District
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Metro police seek suspect in pizza parlor robbery
Channel 4 News
Posted: Aug 16, 2011 9:39 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 17, 2011 8:22 AM CDT
Posted by Kevin Young
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Metro police are searching for a man they say committed an armed robbery at an Antioch pizza restaurant Tuesday night.
Police responded to reports of a robbery sometime after 8 p.m. at Roma's Pizza at 2693 Murfreesboro Rd.
Witnesses described the robber as a black male wearing a red shirt with black shorts, carrying a revolver and wearing a ski mask.
Posted: Aug 16, 2011 9:39 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 17, 2011 8:22 AM CDT
Posted by Kevin Young
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Metro police are searching for a man they say committed an armed robbery at an Antioch pizza restaurant Tuesday night.
Police responded to reports of a robbery sometime after 8 p.m. at Roma's Pizza at 2693 Murfreesboro Rd.
Witnesses described the robber as a black male wearing a red shirt with black shorts, carrying a revolver and wearing a ski mask.
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