By Cillea Houghton MEMPHIS, TN — For magician Jeffrey Day, it’s the mystifying look on a person’s face when he performs a trick where the real magic lives. Day was eight-years-old when he attended a school assembly where illusionist Hans Moretti performed and inspired his passion for magic. “I snuck backstage when we were supposed to go back to class and I begged him to show me just one more trick,” Day said. Moretti obliged, showing him the classic nickel behind the ear trick and then taught the young Day how to perform it. “I was hooked ever since,” he…
Author: Cillea Houghton
By Cillea Houghton NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville’s steady growth makes it a viable candidate for franchising opportunities, as it attracts more entrepreneurs interested in owning a business. Dan Aronoff, a representative for Nashville and Memphis at franchise consultant company FranNet, works alongside the Small Business Administration, Small Business Development Center and SCORE to educate residents and provide resources on owning a franchise. “For us it’s about fit. There’s a lot of franchises that people often times don’t realize are franchises that can be really successful,” he said. While food and restaurant franchises are the most recognizable, they only make a…
By Cillea Houghton NASHVILLE, TN — Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center refers to its patients as a “fanbase.” It’s this community environment that’s enticed generations of families to choose the center for healthcare since opening its doors in 1968. The center serves as a one-stop shop for nearly all medical needs, offering pediatric, behavior health, radiology and OBGYN services on its three sites in Nashville, Clarksville and Smyrna. The center takes its work one step further by educating patients on a range of topics from chronic diseases to healthy living and partnered with Second Harvest to create a food pantry…
By Cillea Houghton NASHVILLE, TN — In the wake of the release of the video showing the shooting of Daniel Hambrick, the conversation of instituting a Community Oversight Board in Nashville has resurged. At a recent press conference, Mayor David Briley made a commitment to improve the city’s policing process and transparency. “’When any part of Nashville does not feel like it’s being treated fairly, that’s a problem for all of us…It means that we’re not as strong as a city as we can be and when applied to the criminal justice system, it means we’re not being as effective…
By Cillea Houghton NASHVILLE, TN — When Dr. Matthew Walker Sr. established the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center, he set into motion a revered 50-year legacy that’s reflected in its mission today. Walker opened the center in Nashville in 1968 with a grant from Richard Nixon and has since expanded across three cities. “He’s what I call a medical servant,” Dr. Matthew Walker III, Walker’s grandson and associate professor at Vanderbilt University, said. “He was very advanced about thinking about the importance of health maintenance. He was way ahead of his time.” At the root of Walker’s mission was…
By Cillea Houghton NASHVILLE, TN — Phil Bredesen has opened an office in North Nashville for his campaign for the U.S. Senate. The new location is at 1209 Jefferson St. where he shares the space with State Rep. Harold Love Jr.’s campaign headquarters. Bredesen was mayor of Nashville for eight years before serving for two terms as Governor of Tennessee. He is running against Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn in the race for the Tennessee Senate seat. “We’re really putting a lot of effort into this idea of grassroots organizing,” Bredesen said. “North Nashville has always been important to me when I…
By Cillea Houghton TENNESSEE — A group of Tennessee women are fighting back against the lawsuit by the Justice Department and Trump administration claiming that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. The lawsuit is led by Texas and 19 other states that believe the mandate requiring citizens to buy health insurance should be illegal. Since it is a central mandate to the ACA, they’re calling for the entire law to be ruled unconstitutional, including the portion that protects people with pre-existing conditions. Marilyn Phelps, a licensed clinical social worker in Sewanee, Jenny Rogers, small business owner of Welcome Valley Village…
By Cillea Houghton NASHVILLE, TN — As Nashville General Hospital celebrates its 128th anniversary in 2018, it’s sharing an important message with the community: Nashville General Hospital is here to stay. The hospital opened in 1890 and has since served as a place where residents who do not have insurance or are unable to pay can still receive the healthcare services they need. “I think every day, there is something about General that we all know is special. We know is part of a broader world,” said Dr. Jan Brandes, chair of the Hospital Authority. “Our priority will always be to provide…
By Cillea Houghton Nashville, TN — Sam Coleman vows to keep his promise to the Metropolitan Council and the city of Nashville by proving why he’s “the people’s judge” with his election for General Sessions Court Judge in the 10th division. Coleman is running to fill the final four years of former Judge Casey Moreland’s eight-year term. Coleman served on the Metro Council in Districts 32 and 33 before he was appointed by his peers to fill Moreland’s vacant seat in Division 10. Frank Mondelli Sr. and Tillman Payne III are also running for the seat, with the election set…
By Cillea Houghton NASHVILLE, TN — #MeToo founder and longtime social activist Tarana Burke encouraged students to take action in bringing about political change during her speech at Hume-Fogg High School on National Walk Out Day. The nationwide event commemorated the victims of the mass shooting that occurred on Feb. 14 at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., claiming the lives of 17 students and staff members. Burke, who was featured in TIME Magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year issue, began her career as a community organizer at the age of 14 and told the students that their voices…