With a Lewisburg City Council election just a few days away, a little City Hall humor seems worthwhile, since some folks may be taking it all too seriously about now. Last week, the city's planning commission was gathering for another monthly session in the upstairs meeting room, and while there was still time for a surprise, albeit late, appearance of one more planning commissioner, the question hung heavy in the air... more

Two issues came up this week with a bearing on Marshall County residents. They seem to outshine a plan to consider, during this Easter weekend, suggesting forgiveness for a former school board member who's now working out of state and the newest member of that panel... more

Despite the misery of our cartoon character -- a version of cartoonist Al Capp's jinx, Joe Btfsplk -- Tennesseans may take comfort when filing income tax returns that our governor has twice told me that he wants to end our state's income tax. Oh, you thought Tennessee didn't have an income tax. ... more

Well, I hate to say 'I told you so' but the Republicans, predictably, caved in the budget standoff. They ran in November claiming to trim $100 billion from this year's budget if we'd just put them back in charge. That was hardly a dent in the deficit but it was a far cry from the out of control spending we were getting from Pelosi and the gang. They first compromised down to $60 billion and the final deal ended up at around $39 billion... more

Yeah, today is Tax Day. Actually, it's this weekend -- thanks to a quirk in the calendar, we have until Monday to pay them. Many of the people I know already paid them, then got a refund. So it's not that big a deal. In fact, April 15 only seems to be a big deal with the anti-tax crowd... more

Tennessee Gov. Ned Ray McWherter had gravitas, that combination of personal charisma, weight, seriousness, dignity, and importance. He could walk into a room and people turned to see what happened, admittedly because others saw something. That's in contrast to another governor in the '90s who could walk into a room unnoticed... more

It seems as though a reverse remake of the old science fiction movie, "The Day the Earth Stood Still," could be "The Weeks That Lewisburg Couldn't Settle." Or maybe "Our Town" could be slightly modified to have those buried at Lone Oak Cemetery speak out about the rules governing how graves should be decorated -- or not... more

If you feel like we're living in strange times, you're not alone. Many cannot escape the feeling that this country has turned a wrong corner into a bad neighborhood. Too many things are looking unfamiliar. America has seen its ups and downs but there was always the underlying sense that we would get back to who we were. Talk these days is of "a new world order" where America is no longer the dominant force in the world and many in this country are celebrating it... more

The civil war in Libya is bad enough, but just ask anyone in the Nashville basin this spring and they'll say yes to the following questions. "Heck, yeah. It's like the Bird of Paradise flew up my nose and left more than bed feathers." "Gwalk, hack, yesh. Some paradoxical byrd's nested under the roof of my mouth and it commutes to and from the worm factory to feed an ugly chick."... more

Next year, Susan and I celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We met in Decherd at a meeting I attended for a twice-weekly newspaper to report what became the origins of the first work contract for Franklin County teachers. In the early 1980s, elected leaders told me that decades earlier money was paid to school board members by teachers, or their families, so they could work at a county school. ... more

I've been on both sides of collective bargaining. I have been an elected official with the United Auto Workers and part of local teacher contract negotiations and bargaining in Marshall County. … more

This ought to appeal to the General Motors employees who moved here and Tennesseans who went to work in Spring Hill, and it's not about the plant's recent resurgence in motor manufacturing which we endorse, encourage, and hope that it leads to more jobs than those anticipated at another planned development that just happens to include a theme park... more

It's not hard to realize why people are in their line of work -- assuming they're fortunate enough to be employed in the trade or profession of their choice. Altruism is why teachers are teachers. When teachers and public service employees are demonized as reported from Wisconsin, the more it seems the complainers have a bad case of envy... more

In the first week of the new legislative session, Rep. Debra Maggart (House District 45) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (Senate District 26) have filed two bills that strike at the hearts of Tennessee's teachers. The Maggart bill (HB 130), if passed and signed into law, will end 32 years of teacher negotiations in this state. ... more

So much time has passed that the details are fuzzy, although the big picture still rings true. For as long as anybody could remember, Cowan Lions were the driving force behind the Christmas Parade there, but members realized they were getting old. Worse, there weren't as many volunteers. Some moved away. Some were gone forever. The group that's at the heart of any organization was grumpy. Help was needed... more

The only thing more stunning than President Obama's new budget is this administration's claim that they're fiscally responsible. Jack Lew is Obama's Office of Management and Budget director. He served the same capacity under Bill Clinton and now loves to go around bragging that he balanced the budget back then and gave us surpluses when, in fact, it was Speaker Newt Gingrich and the Republicans who balanced the budget... more

What exactly is going on in Egypt? That's a great question and the answer really depends on your perspective. It seems everyone has an agenda -- inside and outside of Egypt -- but there are some things we need to understand before we can determine whether or not what's going on is good or bad... more

Yup. It sure is. Or, as an industrial developer would say, "Absolutely." Late last week the perils of a sewer moratorium were discussed during the monthly city utility meeting. It's human nature to look more closely at the "negative" side of things. However, the state order imposing the moratorium includes a schedule of required responses that spell "positive" news for Lewisburg... more

Folks are rightly curious about where things were around the square here in Lewisburg. Over lunch between interviews with applicants for the city manager's job, Mayor Barbara Woods recalled the days when she worked in a pharmacy on the square. The boss would go back and confer with certain clients and then, when a customer came in, she'd have to fill the order, she said... more

This week, America's been asking itself if it's gone mad, again, since the shootings in Tucson, Ariz. It's a grim story. There's soul searching. Accusations are countered. We should marvel at modern medicine and some individuals' presence of mind to act calmly under fire... more