News Briefly
Coming up short
Local nonprofits are bracing themselves for what appears to be a shortage of funders and corporate commitments, as millions of dollars in charitable giving is flowing to the American Red Cross and out-of-town charities in the terrorism aftermath. In fact, local United Way president and CEO Mark H. Desmond sent a letter this week to United Way-funded agencies, warning that the umbrella charity organization “is focused on the issues immediately before us.”
The runaround
If you’re walking or running on Belle Meade Boulevard, watch out for the city’s crusading police force. On Tuesday, the Belle Meade blue ticketed one woman for the grave offense of walking more than 18 inches outside the road’s grassy median. Belle Meade Police Chief Jimmy Binkley says that his officers have ticketed eight to 10 pedestrians a month for such transgressions, although he urges his force to grant warnings to offenders when possible. The department, he says, is enforcing an ordinance that regulates use of the street. “It’s to keep people from being killed.” he says bluntly.
Senseless stuff
Even accounting for Metro Council’s tendency to engage in frivolous debates, this week’s meeting was set to feature more unnecessary legislation than usual. Unsurprisingly, Council member Ludye Wallace set the tempo, proposing a resolution to ask General Hospital to remove a directional sign on Charlotte Avenue. The sign was pointing toward hospital. He also asked the city to examine the “unsafe health hazards” lurking beneath the Demonbreun Street bridge. Other head-scratching resolutions included the idea to allocate $15,000 in taxpayer money to the American Red Cross, which is swimming in cash these days, and Council member Ron Nollner’s well-publicized drive to ban the sale of alcohol on Sundays before noon.
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