… will hopefully not be an accurate headline for this blog post in future years. The Metro Nashville Police Department just released its weekly undercover operations report, and sure enough, Dickerson Road, the street that would be Skyline, registered some activity:

East Precinct detectives charged 13 persons as the result of investigations on Lucile Street, Fern Avenue, North 5th and 7th Streets, Crockett Street, Jones Avenue, Dickerson Pike, North 2nd Street, South 6th and South 7th Streets, 4th Avenue North, Shelby Avenue, Lillian Street, Norton Avenue, Grizzard Avenue, Rosedale Avenue, and South 15th Street. Seized were 4.3 grams of cocaine, two Dilaudid pills, a vehicle, and $345 cash.

I’ve spent plenty of time lately decrying the notion of renaming this street, but I’m curious: What would it really take to transform this area into a safe and welcoming part of the city? Would it be more police officers, redevelopment and community involvement? Would those solutions really solve the problem or just reroute them to nearby places? I can accept Skyline Boulevard as a potential name for this street, but not if the only thing that changes is its name.

I confess that I don’t possess enough unallocated energy to go to this much trouble (above), but this sticker did make me laugh.

I vaguely remember from my high school days, which were not spent at John Overton High School, that the Overton Band had evolved into somewhat of a cult, complete with “I Love the Overton Band!” bumper stickers.

Think you have what it takes? Read the band handbook sections on attitude and general rules before you apply.

The Tennessean’s Ms. Beep just passed along some good news, perhaps the only item from last night’s Metro Council meeting that blogger extraordinaire S-Town Mike did not post about last night or today. (Aside: That man is a blogging force.)

The Metro Council indefinitely put off a resolution last night to re-name Dickerson Pike. Business owners and residents who’ve been working hard to clean up the notorious street have been arguing that a name change would help the road’s rep. But the discussion is tabled now until the council decides to pick it back up.

I’m all for renaming Dickerson Road, as soon as the new moniker isn’t a euphemism for “notorious.” Let’s take care of that part first.

Actually, Paul already did. I spotted this story on active.com yesterday, and it is well worth the read. Inspired by school kids rather than Forrest Gump, Paul Staso (don’t miss his photo gallery either) ran across the United States unassisted over four months last year:

Paul Staso completed a 3,260-mile run across the country. He began his trek at Cannon Beach, Oregon and ended 108 running days later at Cape Henlopen State Park on the Deleware coast on October 20, 2006. Staso, of Missoula, MT, became the seventh person to successfully run across the continent without any type of support crew.

Averaging 30 miles a day, Staso trekked along, pushing all of his gear, water and food in an Ironman jogging stroller. His route took him through 15 states, including Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland (and Washington D.C.) and Delaware.

Staso began running to honor his pledge to students in his hometown. He challenged them to maintain a walking/running exercise routine and track the distances their classes covered as a virtual trek across the country. If they succeeded, Staso said, he’d answer their activity by running from sea to sea for real. (By the way, that stroller he’s carrying included all of his supplies and weighed 65 pounds.)

Wow. This is definitely putting your money where your mouth is, and it is an amazing testament to physical and mental endurance. Way to go, Paul!

… is still Dickerson Road. That isn’t stopping the Metro Council from considering changing its name to Skyline Boulevard. As I’ve mentioned before, I think this is ill-advised because it only puts a band-aid on a severe wound in our city. Let’s look for tangible, substantial activities and programs that will restore Dickerson Road and reduce the crime that is common there before we pretend a new name will mean the street is safer, cleaner and more vibrant. Wishing, no matter how hard, doesn’t make it so.

I regularly receive email news releases from the police department about the good work they do to address crime in the city. MNPD communications officer Kristin Mumford has reported the following activity via email within the past month:

• March 16: “East Precinct detectives charged 20 persons as the result of investigations on Dew Street, Crescent Hill Road, Avalon Drive, Rosebank Avenue, Dickerson Pike, Lucile Street, Straightway Avenue and North 14^th Street, Meridian Street, South 7^th Street and Main Street, Fern Avenue, Petway Street, Grace Street, Trinity Lane, Shelby Avenue, Boscobel Street, and 4^th Avenue North.  Seized were 8.2 grams of cocaine, one gram of marijuana, four Dilaudid pills, one weapon, one vehicle, and $1,570 cash.”

• March 9: “East Precinct detectives charged ten persons as the result of investigations in the 800 and 1800 blocks of Dickerson Pike, in the 100 block of Lucile Street, in the 800 and 900 blocks of Shelby Avenue, in the 1000 block of Joyce Street, in the 1400 block of McKennie Avenue, in the 1500 block of Rosedale Avenue, in the 1500 block of Jones Avenue, in the 2500 block of Flamingo Drive, in the 1800 block of Jefferson Street, in the 1900 block of Avalon Drive, at Dickerson Pike and Trinity Lane, at Dickerson Pike and Cleveland Street, at South 10th Street and Shelby Avenue, at South 9th Street and Shelby Avenue, at South 7th Street and Sylvan Street, at South 7th Street and Dew Street, and on North 2nd Street.  Seized were 7.9 grams of cocaine, two pounds of marijuana, and $1,475.00 cash.”

• March 1: In ongoing efforts to respond to neighborhood and business quality of life and safety concerns,  East Precinct Crime Suppression Unit detectives arrested a clerk at the Last Chance Market at 839 Dickerson Pike today at 2 p.m. for selling drug paraphernalia to an undercover officer.

  Representatives from three Dickerson Pike area neighborhood associations and the Dickerson Road Merchants Association were on hand as Muna A. Abubeker, 33, of Bell Road, was charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to deliver.  She told arresting officers she was the sister of the market owner, who is registered with the Beer Board as Yasmin Abuker.  The market has been cited for violating local beer laws due to the illegal activity, and a Beer Board inspector will follow up on that citation.

  Undercover officers made three separate paraphernalia buys at the Last Chance Market.  Seven markets on Dickerson Pike sold undercover officers some form of drug paraphernalia, but the Last Chance Market was the most brazen.  The pipes were sold from behind the counter in packages containing a steel wool filter or “Chore Boy”, a glass pipe, and a lighter for $3.75.

  The seven markets that sold drug paraphernalia will receive letters of warning from the Metro Police department that they are not in compliance with beer laws and face possible revocation of their beer licenses should they continue to sell drug paraphernalia.  The nine markets that did not sell paraphernalia will receive letters of commendation.

  East Precinct Commander Bob Nash says “officers will continue to assist the community in taking back their neighborhoods.”

• February 26: “Last weekend’s Operation Safer Streets gang enforcement initiative, which took place Friday and Saturday resulted in 47 arrests involving six felonies, 58 misdemeanors, and eight outstanding warrants.   Seizures included 27.9 grams of marijuana, 5.3 grams of cocaine, one weapon, and $95.00 cash.

  At least once a week, officers and supervisors representing each of the six precincts and the Specialized Investigations Division (SID) partner together to implement strategies to combat gang crimes and activities in various areas of Nashville.

  Friday’s enforcement consisted of 12 SID detectives and seven patrol officers.  Areas targeted were North 2nd Street and Hancock Street, the 1500 block of Porter Road, the Dickerson Pike area, the Cleveland Street area, 16th Avenue North and Jo Johnston Avenue, the Edgehill area, the Andrew Jackson Parkway area, University Court, the J.C. Napier public housing development, Trimble Bottoms, Paragon Mills, Harding Place, Tampa Drive, the Woodbine area, and the 600 block of South 15th Street.”

• February 23: “East Precinct detectives charged 13 persons as the result of investigations on North 2nd Street, the James Casey public housing development, the 100 block of Lucille Street, Dickerson Pike and Lucille Street, the 800 block of Dickerson Pike, the 1400 block of Dickerson Pike, South 6th Street and Shelby Avenue, Lischey Avenue and Grace Street, and the Litton Park Apartments on Litton Avenue.  Seized were ten grams of cocaine, 6.5 grams of marijuana, 90 assorted pills, and $685.00 cash.”

Dickerson Road does not need a mere name change; it needs an overhaul. I want to see this part of the city become safer and more conducive to residential and commercial development, but I don’t think renaming the street will solve the problem.

While writing my last post, I kept thinking about Bono and his efforts to raise awareness and money for debt relief for African Nations and for AIDS care. Why? Well, as many folks do, I love U2 for their music, and I have come to deeply admire Bono for his heart and his passion for doing something meaningful and substantive with his celebrity. Is he perfect? No. Is he an egomaniac? At times, yes, but one saving grace is that he seems to realize that relatively often.

I think that, in some ways, Bono went about taking political stances on issues not unlike James Dobson years ago. This great 2002 story from The Guardian makes the point that Bono “routinely denounced the [elder President Bush" in the early 90s and that he "call[ed] the White House nightly from an onstage telephone to lambast a hapless receptionist about US policy in Central America.” It spends much more time explaining how Bono changed his approach and has had much more influence:

“I’d have lunch with Satan if there was so much at stake. I have friends who won’t speak to me because of [former Senator Jesse] Helms. But its very important not to play politics with this. Millions of lives are being lost for the stupidest of reasons: money. And not even very much money. So let’s not play, Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Let’s rely on the moral force of our arguments…”

“I went to people like Jesse Helms, who had been very tough on the the concept of foreign assistance and very bleak on Aids. He’s a religious man so I told him that 2,103 verses of scripture pertain to the poor and Jesus speaks of judgment only once - and it’s not about being gay or sexual morality, but about poverty. I quoted that verse of Matthew chapter 25: ‘I was naked and you clothed me.’ He was really moved. He was in tears. Later he publicly acknowledged that he was ashamed…”

The whole article is worth a read. It focuses primarily on Bono’s efforts to reach out to Senator Helms while he was still in Congress and how that outreach eventually turned into increased U.S. support for African debt relief. How did he do it? Not, as Dobson might fear, by giving up his principles and values, but by finding common ground.

Polarization may work for winning elections, but what good does preaching to the converted do when the real crises we face around the world go unaddressed?

Rachel Zoll of the Associated Press raises an important question in her recent story on conservative Christians (USA Today picked it up as “Christian right at crossroads“). The question itself–where is the religious right headed?–has been asked frequently lately, and it’s clear that this powerful segment of the electorate is pondering its response:

The founders of the religious right, now in the twilight of their leadership, see even the suggestion of expanding the agenda as a dangerous distraction. In public, and sometimes in personal ways, they are trying to beat back the challenge. “It’s an ongoing debate within the house of evangelicals,” said Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative Washington think-tank. “It’s about how evangelicals present themselves in the public arena.”

In November, some Christian conservatives condemned pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren for inviting Sen. Barack Obama to speak at an AIDS summit at his church. Obama, campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, supports abortion rights.

Just this month, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and 24 other top Christian conservatives pressured the National Association of Evangelicals to silence its Washington director, the Rev. Rich Cizik. The reason: Cizik tried to convince evangelicals that global warming is real. [NAE refused.]

Is this about power, or is it about influence? I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but I would argue that influence is far more important in the long run than power.

What is to be gained, other than power, by rebuking efforts to address severe poverty, AIDS relief and global warming? I do not see eye-to-eye with Dobson on issues such as gay rights or abortion, but I’m not expecting (or asking) him to abandon them. Why not take on severe poverty, at the very least, for which there is without question a Biblical mandate? Is there not room for compassion within the discussion?

“I think there is a little bit of an element of revolt against the tone of some political engagement of the religious right in the past, which seemed quite harsh,” says Gerson, who supports taking on a broader set of issues.

“I think conservative candidates for president are going to have to have a strong international agenda of compassion, whether it’s AIDS or malaria or girls’ education or other issues, in order to appeal to a significant portion of evangelical opinion.”

Hearing statements like these gives me hope that conservative Christians as a political force may consider taking a seat at the table to face the issues of the day along with people with divergent views. Sitting down beside philosophical opponents doesn’t indicate weakness or defeat: It should indicate humility, courage and a willingness to contribute where there is common ground.

The Tennessean’s Mark Silverman said that the paper will soon launch a redesign of its Web site, first with a “minor” effort in the next two to three weeks followed by a “major” overhaul later this summer. Silverman noted that the current site layout is a “little backward” and that the eventual redesign may look “more like a traditional Web site” and “less like a newspaper.”

I have no particular issue with The Tennesean’s main content pages, but I would welcome a redesign for the My Tennessean section. Ever since its launch earlier this year, I’ve felt like this site is confusing to navigate and that possibly the paper isn’t really sure what it wants this site to be. I personally would change the orange theme, too, but that’s an aesthetic issue, not a content concern. The paper has slowly begun to make its own blogs more noticeable and easier to find, and that’s a welcome change. I hope the forthcoming revisions will make for a more visually appealing and more accessible Web site.

Tennessean editor Mark Silverman had plenty to say about the role of media (newspapers in particular) in maintaining democratic societies. Acknowledging that the Internet has rapidly taken away the industry’s “monopoly on information and advertising revenue,” he noted that while 60 percent readership was once common in terms of newspaper penetration, in recent years even 40 percent has only been realistic “if you’re lucky.”

Responding to changing consumer demand for information, Silverman repeatedly mentioned The Tennessean’s (and Gannett’s) push to develop an array of individual products–not just the newspaper–in order to make money.

One notable concern he noted amid the swift and ongoing evolution of the media is the  tendency for people to insulate themselves from points of view other than their own because they have more available information sources than ever before. That kind of isolation, he said, is a “scary prospect for a democracy to let people take.” One of his goals as editor of the paper will be to “shake people out of the narrow stripes of their comfort zones” by challenging them with competing points of view. The format may be changing, but newspapers must remain a “marketplace for ideas,” he said. I agree.

Tennessean editor Mark Silverman visited the office recently to discuss the new direction the paper is in the process of taking. I was pleased to see that Silverman did not arrive ready to run through the same powerpoint presentation as I’d already seen from Senior Editor Deborah Fisher late last month.

Silverman instead came armed with what he called his “analog powerpoint,” a reporter’s notepad, and proceeded to begin a candid discussion about The Tennessean and where he’d like to see the organization go in the future. Yes, he returned to the same Gannett talking points that Fisher did on occasion (”The info the audience wants in the form they want when they want,” “information center” for newsroom, etc.), but his remarks rarely sounded like mere recitation. I was left with the impression that Silverman is excited about the changes the Web is demanding from the old-guard in the newspaper industry.

I’ll share more about Silverman’s comments regarding The Tennessean in a moment, but in the meantime let me point out that he came across as blunt and honest, yet warmly self-effacing, too. When I asked if I cheered for the Predators or the Red Wings, Silverman — who spent nearly a decade with The Detroit News — hesitated with a meek “The Predators” before weighing in loudly that he was really a Red Wings fan. “They won three Stanley Cups in eight years, and we sold a million more copies of the paper each time they did.” I can’t cheer alongside him, but I can respect anyone who doesn’t change allegiances when he changes ZIP codes.

Silverman also claimed to have submitted the “single stupidest [NCAA tournament] bracket picks ever seen” at The Tennessean and said that he picked Georgetown, Vanderbilt’s next opponent, to win it all. After watching a few games this weekend, that doesn’t sound too stupid after all.

Mayoral candidate Howard Gentry said “the more, the better” today via email in terms of mayoral debates. He listed brief (and very fair) expectations for the debates (below), which are a sharp contrast to a recent exhaustive request by Clement’s campaign (scroll down the linked page to “Rules of Engagement”).

I will participate in a debate under any format. But I do have some suggestions that might help us move forward:

 

• I think all candidates should be included;
• I think debates should be geographically balanced to take in all sections of our diverse city;
• I think it would be good to have as many debates as possible umpired independently by an organization like the League of Women Voters;
• And I think it would be great to have as many debates as possible televised live.

I am excited about opportunities to share my message about how a great city can become even greater.

In my personal opinion, Clement’s lengthy debate requirements fit right in with his alleged PAC manuevering as a good reason why he is not our best choice for the city’s next leader. To be fair, though, he is considered the frontrunner at this early point in the race, and he stands the most to lose (yet possibly plenty to gain) by participating in debates. Gentry, on the other hand, is at best in the middle of the pack, and would benefit from as much of this kind of exposure as anyone in the race (as would Karl Dean, who clearly has some anonymity to overcome). From the Scene:

A more recent poll commissioned by one of Clement’s opponents shows the former congressman’s numbers have fallen, according to one competing campaign operative: Clement at 22 percent; Briley and Dozier at 17 percent and 18 percent, respectively; Gentry with 14 percent; and Dean, the latest to jump into the race, at 3 percent.

I for one agree with Gentry that more debates make for a more enlightened electorate. The question I would ask, after seeing Clement’s debate restrictions and his reluctance to address the media (below), does Bob want to talk to us?

Neither [campaign chairman Larry] Woods nor Clement returned telephone calls last week for this [City Paper] story. The newspaper attempted to reach Michele Collins at the Clement campaign office in Nashville and at the Ashland City address. Those telephone calls were not returned.

I personally have yet to hear anything from the Clement campaign that makes me excited about his candidacy. I’m not sure yet whether hearing nothing at all would be an improvement. I’ve only heard items, such as those above, that have me rooting for all four of his competitors at this point. Go field! Go field!

Nancy Deville is scheduled to begin working on Monday at The Tennessean covering West End/Vandy for the Davidson A.M. section. The paper has been seeking to fill this position since reporter Angela Patterson moved to the East Nashville beat. She will also be posting to the paper’s blog for the area, which has been quiet since January.

I asked, and she is not this Nancy Deville or this one. Google found a lot of creative Nancy Devilles out there.