November 23, 2022

Horror icon Boris Karloff was born 135 years ago.

In today's report: Knox County yesterday settled a lawsuit filed by Paul White, its former senior director of Parks and Recreation. White was fired in 2020 in the midst of an investigation into Bryan Hair, former chief of staff to Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. White, pictured, had been close to Hair, who was forced to resign over revelations that he had misued county property and labor. But the county agreed to pay White nearly $100,000 plus $54,000 in attorney fees to settle a federal suit he brought after his termination — if settlement is the right word for a day that saw dueling prickly press releases from the county and White's attorney. White has alleged that he was more a victim than a perpetrator, blaming Hair, Jacobs and others for any misconduct. The county alleges he was a bullying, tyrannical manager. We dig into the case — including alleged text messages from Jacobs to White, about a snake — and tally the flying grievances.

A company owned by billionaire investor Neil Kadisha now plans to convert the former Marriott Hotel on Hill Avenue near the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum into a 375-unit apartment complex with retail and restaurant space. 

Kadisha’s Melrose Knoxville LLC, which bought the property in October 2021 for $16.8 million, originally proposed to convert the hotel into a senior care facility. The new plan would convert the hotel rooms to mostly studio apartments marketed to young professionals, though the developer has talked to the University of Tennessee about leasing the building to house students.

The new plan surfaced this week at Monday's meeting of the Downtown Knoxville Alliance Board of Directors and was first reported by Inside of Knoxville. Melrose Knoxville is seeking a $50,000 grant from the alliance to pay for exterior improvements as part of its $19 million investment in renovations to the property.

According to documents submitted to the alliance’s Development Committee, the primary financing for the renovations would include $10.976 million from Melrose Knoxville’s parent company and a $10.984 million loan from Bank of America.

In addition to the anticipated retail and restaurant jobs, the project would result in 15-20 staff and maintenance positions. Last known as Hotel Knoxville but long a Hyatt Regency, the building, developed in 1970 by Earl Worsham, has been vacant in recent years.

An alleged refusal to serve uniformed deputies of the Knox County Sheriff's Office by staff at a McAlister's Deli location on Monday turned into a Tuesday full of social media outrage, recriminations, and competing versions of events.

The Rashomon-like saga began Monday evening when KCSO Communications Director Kimberly Glenn posted on Facebook that three deputies had been refused service at the McAlister's Deli at 2758 Schaad Road. It was unclear exactly why, but the clear implication was that it was out of contempt for law enforcement. The post prompted a chorus of outrage from law enforcement allies and supporters.

In a statement about the incident issued yesterday by Sheriff Tom Spangler, he said, "This incident, unfortunate as it was, is an isolated incident here in our community. We have always been blessed by a supportive community that loves and appreciates our law enforcement and first responders." He added that the CEO and "area manager" for the McAlister's chain had reached out to the department to apologize.

Meanwhile, a different account was emerging on social media. A young woman who said she was 15 and identified herself as the cashier in question posted that she had turned away from the register and asked a coworker to take the order. "(B)efore i walked away i made sure these customers were taken care of by a coworker of mine," she wrote.

She did not address the exact reasons for walking away, but several other posters and commenters said she was the younger sister of Anthony Thompson Jr., the Austin-East student killed in an encounter with police in the school bathroom last year. Her older sister filled in more of the story, posting, "She chose to get a coworker to serve them instead, as her brother’s life was taken at the hands of KPD." She added, "my little sister is a CHILD. and a grown woman felt that it was right to make a facebook post, changing the whole story."

A coworker also posted that the officers were not actually denied service. "The other co worker HAD NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER TAKING THE OFFICERS ORDERS AND STEPPED RIGHT UP TO THE REGISTER." But instead of ordering, she said, the officers asked her if the the first cashier had walked away because they were police. Then they left, promising to post the encounter on social media. The employee also said the store offers a "uniform discount" for police officers.

By the end of the day, Glenn's original post from Monday night was no longer visible, having been either deleted or made private.

The corporate headquarters of McAlister's issued a statement Tuesday saying, "We have the utmost appreciation for law enforcement officers and are proud to serve all of our community heroes, and this incident is not reflective of our brand and our values."

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Greyhound has moved its operations in Knoxville for the third time in seven months, just meeting the city’s deadline to vacate the 6th Avenue Market & Deli in North Knoxville.

The intercity bus system is now telling passengers it will pick them up and drop them off on the 100 block of Kirkwood Street in Burlington. There is a parking lot at that location and Knoxville Area Transit bus stops, but no restrooms or substantial shelter.

The 6th Avenue Market & Deli is zoned Neighborhood Commercial, and bus services cannot operate at properties with that zoning designation. The city issued a notice of violation to the owners on Oct. 10, and the deadline for corrective action arrived on Monday. The deli owners faced possible fines of $50 per day if Greyhound continued to operate on their property.  

Greyhound did not notify city officials of the move. 

“A city inspector has determined that Greyhound has vacated the Sixth Avenue location, so the notice of violation is now moot,” Eric Vreeland, the city’s deputy director of communications, told Compass. “The city has not received any notification from Greyhound about a new location.”

Greyhound’s Knoxville stop had already moved twice this year. The company sold its longtime station just north of the Old City to Dewhirst Properties in February, ceased operations there, and in April began using the Marathon station on North Cherry Street in East Knoxville as a stop. 

The Marathon doesn’t have a sheltered facility for passengers and closes at 9 p.m. each day, which led to public concerns about their safety and well-being. Marathon terminated its agreement with Greyhound, which then moved its stop to the 6th Avenue Market & Deli at the beginning of October.

City officials have been in talks with Greyhound about the part-time use of KAT’s Knoxville Station Transit Center, but so far the company has not indicated it would be willing to pay for the arrangement.

At the News Sentinel, reporter Tyler Whetstone has an interesting article about a complaint alleging sexual misconduct by a local Catholic priest and a possible conflict of interest for the review board looking into the case. Ward Phillips, the attorney for the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, is a member of the review board.

"When a diocesan attorney belongs to a review board, the board forfeits its credibility. It is a worst practice, one that mocks the claim by U.S. bishops that they've turned a new leaf when it comes to abuse," Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of bishopaccountability.org, told the News Sentinel.

The woman who filed the complaint has also filed a lawsuit against the diocese. She is a Honduran asylum seeker who says she was sexually assaulted by a Gatlinburg priest while he was allegedly comforting her after the death of her child's father.

The Paul White lawsuit, in brief.