Good morning, Nashville. As we were nonchalantly scrolling through Twitter feed this morning, we stumbled across a report that the Tennessee Christmas tree had taken a small tumble in the wind. Actually, it took a big tumble and appears to be broken. Oh no! Sure, it was a tad bit lopsided and maybe lacked a little in the branch department, but no Christmas tree deserves to go out like this. We haven’t heard anything about plans to salvage or replace it, but unless Governor Phil plans to tape it back together or something, we’re not getting our hopes up. We’ll miss you, little Christmas tree!
UPDATE [9:42 AM]: The Christmas tree has been carted away in a dump truck, so it looks like it’s gone for good.
UPDATE [10:17 AM]: The story is up over at the Tennessean and state officials are reportedly hunting around for a replacement.
- A real mess. The EPA released a report yesterday revealing that the TVA’s Kingston ash spill released more toxic material into the waterways than the entire US power industry did in the past year combined. These toxic materials include arsenic, mercury and barium among other fun stuff.
- Keep the dream alive. A Very Optimistic City Paper reporter explains to us how our Titans could still have a shot at the playoffs if they win every game between now and the end of the year, the universe aligns, and the barometric pressure is just-so. We couldn’t even bring ourselves to talk about the tragic loss to the Colts over the weekend because the wound was too fresh (dang you, Tony Brown.) Don’t tease us.
- Bits & pieces. The NCAA is investigating some allegedly shady recruiting practices for the Vols … Despite our best efforts, obesity and diabetes are on the rise in Tennessee … Hat trick, hat trick, hat trick! … A Belmont student is suing the school over a rape that occurred in her Bruin Hills apartment last December allegedly due to a failure to secure the gated community … Mayor Russell Wiseman was named the Worst Person in the World by Keith Olbermann for the second day in a row … Further proof that East Tennessee is literally falling apart.
Photo by amberadams.