The Week That Was
Going fee hiking
Enjoying public parks is about to get more expensive. Starting next week, state officials are hiking the cost of overnight stays and park activities such as camping and golfing at public resorts across the state. The rate hikes are a reaction to the Legislature chopping $2.5 million from the state parks budget.
Spin doctoring
During an announcement at a Cheatham County tire dump last week, state officials vowed to clean up illegal dumps and other environmental hazards across the state. But they glossed over the reason for the sudden interest in eradicating environmental deficiencies. It just so happens that the state’s massive road-building agency, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), was recently found by another state agency, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, to be the second-worst environmental offender in Tennessee history, second only to the federal government. Because TDOT was found guilty of dozens of hazardous waste and water pollution violations, it has agreed to spend $3 million in environmental cleanup as restitution for the breaches.
Name that tune
Another Nashville landmark is getting another corporate name. The 1,800-seat Roy Acuff Theatre at Opry Mills will add the BellSouth name as part of a new deal between the telecommunications company and Gaylord Entertainment Co. Merging Ma Bell with the legend of Roy Acuff, who died in 1992, the venue will become the BellSouth Acuff Theatre.
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