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Here comes Randy Boyd By Scott Frith
Last month, Randy Boyd, the former state commissioner of economic and community development, kicked off his campaign for governor. Boyd is best known for his philanthropy, ownership Scott Frith of the Tennessee Smokies baseball team, and as founder of PetSafe (the folks who make the invisible fence for your dog). Media coverage is the lifeblood of any statewide campaign, and Boyd has proven skilled at getting it. While money can’t buy you love, money can certainly buy good publicity. Boyd has figured out that giving away a lot of money can bring a steady stream of positive media coverage for a nascent gubernatorial campaign. For example, just last week Boyd announced a $223,000 donation to the South-Doyle High School library. (Boyd attended South-Doyle.) Last October, Boyd donated $5.5 million to UT track and field. (Boyd attended UT.) Last month, Boyd announced a $5 million gift to the Knoxville Zoo. (Boyd clearly likes animals.) You get the idea. It also helps to be friends with the governor. Randy Boyd is a longtime political ally of Gov. Bill Haslam. Haslam has openly praised Boyd. Expect their financial supporters to be indistinguishable. This cozy relationship is almost certain to cause unease among conservative Republican primary voters. Just as Shirley MacLaine once said to never trust a man when he’s in love, drunk, or running for office, many conservatives will question whether Boyd is a conservative at all. In fact, Boyd appears to have anticipated this problem by bringing in Republican lifer and conservative stalwart Chip Saltsman to run his campaign. Also, while Boyd may be a Haslam ally, Boyd won’t retrace Haslam’s path to Nashville. Haslam was elected mayor of Knoxville twice before being elected governor. Boyd has never run for office. (Even Bob Corker served as mayor of Chattanooga before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006.) Boyd’s decision to skip local office reflects a new political reality. It’s a lot tougher for a Republican to get elected mayor than it used to be. For example, it’s no secret that Knoxville has To page A-3
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April 12, 2017
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Easter’s on its way
The Easter Bunny stopped by the annual egg hunt at Fountain City Park, posing for photos, handing out candy and celebrating as children were able to hunt for eggs.
Veronica Harris and Micah Howard each found a rainbow ticket inside an Easter egg during the annual hunt at Fountain City Park. R. Larry Smith, center, donated the bicycles and presented them to the winners. More photos on page A-3
Photos by Ruth White
Catching up with Kelsea Ballerini Former Central High student Kelsea Ballerini recently returned to Knoxville for a concert, but the country music rising star hasn’t forgotten where she grew up. Ballerini attended CHS from 2007-2009 and the school holds a special place for her. She recently stopped by Central and asked to take a photo by a Bobcat painting in the commons area to post on her Instagram page. When she returned to Knoxville in March, she donated autographed items for the school’s Emma Walker Scholarship Foun-
dation dinner and auction. Teacher Chris Hammond helped organize the fundraising event and reached out to Ballerini through family friends for the auction items. He attended her Knoxville concert and was able to meet Ballerini prior to the show, where he presented her with a Bobcat gift basket will Central memorabilia, a 2009 CHS yearbook, an Emma Walker bracelet and a personalized jersey from football coach Bryson Rosser and the team. During an encore at the concert (with headliner Thomas
Rhett) Ballerini wore the jersey on stage to show her CHS pride. “Kelsea was so nice to her fans at the meet-and-greet,” said Hammond. “She took silly photos with fans, received lots of hugs and made her fans feel comfortable.” Ballerini is one of three Central graduates (along with Roy Acuff and Con Hunley) who have gone on to make a name in the country music business. To page A-3
The mall called East Towne: What’s next? By Shannon Carey
Expect Knoxville Center to be renamed East Town(e) and the property used for residential, office and retail. Look for roadwork, greenways and drive-up, exterior entrances for small shops. The changes were in the works before the recent announcement that J.C. Penney will close in September, one of 138 closures across the country, said Patrick King. (The West Town store will remain open.) King is community development specialist for Knoxville Partners LLC, which bought Knoxville Center in August 2016. King met last week with Knoxville City Council member Nick Della Volpe to review plans for the mall. Della Volpe has championed the mall area businesses during his tenure on the council. King said the Knoxville Partners strategy has not changed, even as the company is disappointed by the Penney closure. “The reality is the mall will have to shift.” Giant shopping malls across America are hurting as anchor tenants such as Sears and J.C. Penney close. Sarah Halzack, writing in The Washington Post on April 5, called it “a fresh round of distress
Knoxville City Council member Nick Della Volpe stands with Patrick King, the man leading efforts to revitalize Knoxville Center mall. signals in the retail industry” as Payless ShoeSource filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to close nearly 400 stores. “The shake-out among retailers has been building for years, and it
is now arriving in full force,” she wrote. With consumers buying online, America is “overstored.” But look at the assets at Knoxville Center: ■■Plentiful parking for what-
ever might occur ■■Easy access to Interstate 640 ■■An 80-acre campus with a million square feet under roof and 10 food vendors within walking distance. “We want to create a place where people can live, work and shop,” said King. He sees 800 to 1,000 multifamily residential units built behind the mall, and offices on the mall’s upper level. KP is not neglecting retail. “We have 15 people who wake up every morning marketing the mall. We’ve contacted over 2,000 prospective tenants.” But the retail must be “human-scale.” The brick wall between the mall entrance and J.C. Penney is the length of Market Square, he said, but it’s a blank wall where Market Square is vibrant. King sees a line of storefronts there, opening to the parking lot. He showed Della Volpe a design by Cannon & Cannon to reconfigure the mall road, making it twoway from Fowler’s (formerly Toys R Us) to Washington Pike with an expanded on-ramp to 640. Della Volpe lobbied for a greenway around the mall property. “There may be potential to link it to Love’s Creek (greenway),” he said.
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