Festivus for Florida: Designated Public Forums are ‘Come one, Come all’ (including ‘Airing of Grievances’)

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Following the approval of a nativity display in Florida’s State Capitol rotunda–an area designated as a ‘public forum’–Chaz Stevens obtained approval to display a Festivus Pole also on the grounds. Constructed of empty Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Cans and PVC pipe, the minimalistic monument is a reference to the holiday “Festivus” in the popular ’90s sitcom “Seinfeld.” Stevens told NPR’s Jessica Palombo that the move was a protest against the approval of the nativity display, saying “The government shouldn’t be in this business of allowing the mixture of church and state.” Read or listen to the full story here.

This "First Amendment Area" is a designated public forum. By Brandt Luke Zorn (Photo taken by Brandt Luke Zorn) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

This “First Amendment Area” is a designated public forum. By Brandt Luke Zorn (Photo taken by Brandt Luke Zorn) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

These two Constitutional provisions–mere words away from each other–are often polarized by conflicting agendas. However, this seeming “discrepancy” can be reconciled (at least in some cases) by recognizing the courts’ important distinction between public forums and nonpublic forums.

This is perhaps one of the more amusing episodes in the endless controversy surrounding religious symbolism in and around public institutions–a subject of debate which often involves two elements of the First Amendment pitted against each other: the Free Exercise Clause versus the Establishment Clause (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . .”). (more…)

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There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Ballpark; Metro’s Cash Commitment would Quadruple without Developments

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The Metropolitan Council Agenda Item Analysis provides an excellent overview of the Nashville Sounds stadium deal—approved Tuesday—including a breakdown of the financing and risk.

Sounds Stadium rendering WKRN

This rendering from WKRN shows the proposed Sounds stadium flanked by private developments to help bear the cost.

The summary estimates an annual Metro General Fund commitment of $345,000 but that figure is heavily dependent upon the future of private development proposed by the Sounds (not the Sulphur Dell stadium) and multi-family residential development by Embrey Development Corp. The analysis states that “If one or both of those developments did not occur, Metro would not get the benefit of the TIF (Tax Increment Financing) to apply towards the debt service. The amount of money needed from the general fund annually would be increased by $1,450,000.”

View the full text of the memorandum here.

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Estates of Johnny Cash, Michael Jackson & Freddie Mercury Plan Posthumous Releases

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Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash

Previously unheard Johnny Cash music from the early ’80s will be released March 25, 2014 by his estate, the Nashville Associated Press announced today. (See the full report on ABC News)  “Out Among the Stars” was an album recorded by Cash and Billy Sherrill for Columbia Records but never released. Cash was later dropped from the label and the tapes were archived by Johnny and June-Carter Cash.

Their son, John Carter Cash, discovered the unreleased recordings just last year–nearly a decade after his father’s death at age 71. Cash the younger has worked with co-producer Steve Berkowitz to polish the album  for release with help from other recording artists, including Americana royalty Marty Stuart, Jerry Douglas and Buddy Miller. The original live-take recordings also feature two duets with June Carter Cash and one with Waylon Jennings.

By Zoran Veselinovic [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Michael Jackson

More big music news was made earlier this year when it was announced that collaborations by Michael Jackson and Queen’s Freddie Mercury would be released by the late superstars’ estates—although an exact date has yet to be determined. (more…)

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Will Musicians’ Outcry cause SeaWorld to Flounder Toward a ‘Bad Reputation’?

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SeaWorld

SeaWorld (via Wikimedia Commons; see full credit below)

Following a recent wave of SeaWorld concert cancellations by The Barenaked Ladies, Willie Nelson and Heart, rocker Joan Jett sent a ‘cease and desist’ letter on Monday to the theme park’s president, requesting that SeaWorld stop using her 1981 hit song, “I Love Rock and Roll” in its “Shamu Rocks” killer whale performances.

According to reports by the Associated Press, this outcry among musicians was prompted by the controversial 2013 documentary Blackfish about a killer whale, Tilikum, involved in the deaths of three people–including whale trainers–while in captivity at SeaWorld. (more…)

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Judicial Diversion Allows Some First-time Criminals a Second Chance at a Clean Record

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Former federal supervisory probation officer Dewayne Kelley accepted judicial diversion last week after being charged with criminally negligent homicide.  In February Kelley crashed his car into the Tomato Head restaurant in Knoxville, killing a 58-year-old woman. Kelley was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but prosecutors considered his behavior “criminally negligent” because he knew his multiple sclerosis prevented him from driving safely. (more…)

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The Tipping Point: Anonymous Tips Could Be Grounds for Police Intervention

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On October 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a California case in which the police stopped a car—and ultimately arrested and charged its occupants for drug crimes—based on an anonymous tip of erratic driving called into dispatch. The California trial court found that the 911 call by a driver complaining of being run off the road contained sufficient “innocent details” for the officer to identity the vehicle, and further, that this “tip” actually indicated a traffic violation justifying an immediate stop. Undisputed in this case was the fact that the officer conducting the stop did not personally observe any erratic driving. (more…)

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Buzz Builds around Prospective Skyscrapers in Downtown Nashville

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Nashville Skyline: “Critics contend high-rises tend to be very monolithic, with their bland designs and sheer height antithetical to the ‘pedestrian vibe’ that a true urbanite would prefer.”

Nashville skyline public domain photo by Kaldari via Wikimedia Commons

By Kaldari (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

A good article from the Nashville Post following up on Tony Giarrantana’s latest skyscraper proposal for downtown Nashville.  However, the issue of whether more and/or taller buildings should be built in the central business district or elsewhere arguably has more to do with the market, geography and infrastructure (including public transit) than with architecture and other aesthetic concerns.

Going forward, it may be more difficult to stand out in the skyscraper race,especially considering Atlanta’s and Charlotte’s lead in the region. Of course, Metro ordinances notwithstanding, why stop at 70 or 80 stories?

For further reading on the possible future of skyscrapers—with an international perspective—check out this interesting read from the Smithsonian blog.

 

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Widow has No Rights to Husband’s Wrongful Death Settlement

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Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are common for couples that have been previously married, particularly if either or both have children from their prior relationships.  Some agreements are intended to protect specific assets from the claims of the other party in the event of a divorce and/or death.  Other agreements are broader and provide that each party shall continue to own their own property and waive all of their rights to the other’s property. (more…)

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Two Tennessee Whiskeys Tangle in Trademark Infringement Case

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The big dog in the whiskey world, Jack Daniels has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit over “confusingly similar” packaging against the distiller of boutique brand, Popcorn Sutton’s Tennessee Whiskey. (Read the AP article in USA Today)

Popcorn Sutton and Jack Daniels

Photo by Bruce Schreiner, AP

According to the suit filed October 18, 2013 in Nashville, Jack Daniels is especially taking issue with Popcorn Sutton’s recent switch from a mason jar to a beveled squarish bottle–too close for comfort to Jack’s visual branding, which has remained virtually unchanged for decades.

Both bottles also have black labels with white, stagecoachy lettering and border flourishes. (more…)

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Accessory After the Fact

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The crime of “accessory after the fact” is a type of accomplice liability that occurs after the commission of a felony, when a person harbors, conceals, aids, or warns the offender of apprehension.  In order to be convicted of accessory after the fact, the state must prove: (1) that a felony was committed; (2) that the person had knowledge or “reasonable ground to believe” that the offender committed the felony; and (3) the person intended to hinder the arrest, trial, conviction or punishment of the offender.  An accessory after the fact charge is dependent upon proof of the initial felony, but is a separate and distinct charge. (more…)

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