2024

Kern's Food Hall brings iconic Knoxville spot into the 21st century When my dad was a kid, he and his friends had a particular house they'd always stop by during their Halloween trick-or-treating. They knew this house had a special…
Read More...

Mentors of Tomorrow Be prepared is the Boy Scout Motto. As a scout, I have tried to always be ready. But I once heard it said that luck is just preparation waiting for opportunity. I recently listened to a friend tell me a story…
Read More...

Politics around puzzling planning projects and the apathy of voters When I was Knoxville’s public affairs director, I had to attend only one Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission meeting: after 30 minutes, I concluded that mayors…
Read More...

How much of how we learn is based on who we are and how we grew up? What is it about "human nature" that it seeks so emotionally to know the facts? As if having all the facts means I will have all the answers.  The world we live in…
Read More...

Crafting the perfect drinks that will wow guests at your patio party There’s nothing quite like the summer get together. You hand-pick your favorite dishes, set up the patio with decorations, choose the best playlist, and, of…
Read More...

The mountains teach us lessons in our most vulnerable of moments Clouds littered the valley floor of Pichincha province as we nudged recalcitrant cattle and straddled fraying fence line. My team was getting their first taste of altitude…
Read More...

When you’ve got a problem with your health — a heart issue or an eye problem or an ache that keeps you off your favorite hiking trail — you seek out a doctor who knows his or her stuff. There’s no point in seeing someone you don’t have…
Read More...

Volunteers only need walking shoes and a phone to participate in a huge documentation effort Can you spare a day for the Great Smoky Mountains? If you can walk through the woods and use an app on your phone, you can be part of a…
Read More...

Ramya Kapadia brings the traditional arts of India to a new home in Knoxville When Ramya Kapadia took the stage this past April at the Women of Inspiration Awards, she did so with decades of work behind her. Kapadia is, among many…
Read More...

Finding my way through the season with wildflowers as my guide I have a dog-eared, spiral-bound book that predates me with photographs some would consider laughable nowadays. Long since pushed aside by the Google lens and phone app…
Read More...