Off Limits

Rough Days at 1100 Broad. First, Brad Schmitt announced a few weeks ago that he would be leaving The Tennessean for the non-print climes of Channel 2, where the vessel for gossip and celebrity news is getting great marketing. Meanwhile, newsroom staffers felt they were losing the one guy who was always willing to say what he thought, even when the suits were the targets. Morale plummeted even further in a workplace notorious for a dispirited staff. Last week, then, came news from Sandra Roberts, longtime managing editor for opinion, that she’d be retiring in September. Abundantly informed and well liked, Roberts is not only in charge of the paper’s editorial and op-ed pages, but she’s also an ambassador to the outside world, a role the paper desperately needs. Finally, this week, political writer Trent Seibert, who co-wrote and reported a series of stories about the state’s corrupt Tennessee Highway Patrol, has left to become an investigative videojournalist at WKRN-Channel 2. Seibert was asked to leave on the spot, though Tennessean editor E.J. Mitchell did pen what staffers characterize as a “classy” email about the reporter’s year-and-a-half tenure at the daily. Seibert was one of Mitchell’s first hires, so the intrepid reporter’s departure—taken together with steady defections over the course of more than a year—signals serious trouble. Farm Fresh in the Bank. In what should be a boon for local farmers and downtown workers, a new weekly farm stand will be setting up shop at Bank of America Plaza on Union Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. Beginning Aug. 24, the market will open each Thursday from 3:30 p.m. until 5:30 or 6 p.m., and will be covered by a tent to protect against the elements. In addition to fruits and vegetables from Delvin Organic Farm, Smiley’s Farm and other local growers, there will be Provence breads, Bongo Java coffees, cheeses and locally made pasta products from Tom Lazzaroli. It’s a joint project of the Nashville Farmers Market and a group called Good Food for Good People, which currently runs a food recovery program at the Farmers Market that, in addition to reducing the market’s trash expenses, provides fresh produce for the hungry at 25 locations around town. Other local advocates of sustainable agriculture are also involved, including several people who work at businesses in the Bank of America building. Besides providing a healthy convenience for downtown employees, the goal is to increase the customer base for local farmers so that more of them will have a regular presence both downtown and at the Farmers Market on Eighth Avenue. Speaking of which...the Farmers Market has released an official timetable for its renovation. Construction will begin Dec. 4, with the grand re-opening scheduled for late spring 2007. The market house will remain open during the project, which will proceed in several phases. The structure will get a new floor plan, a larger and centralized seating area, landscaping and updated restrooms.