Tuesday, March 31, 2015

House Of Blues Coming To Beale Street?

Big announcement planned for Beale Street

This story was generated by a news release.  It let us know about a "big announcement" concerning a project on Beale Street.  A partnership between some developers and Live Nation Entertainment would be announced.  House of Blues high-ups would be in attendance.  None of those close to the project would reveal anything before the planned announcement.  So, I built this story around speculation that a House of Blues location might be coming to Beale.  Needless to say, business owners and others along the famous street were excited by the possibilities.


Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Woman Raped After Meeting Man On Beale Street

Woman says she was raped after meeting man in Beale Street club

I peruse police incident reports daily and came across a "forcible rape" that was reported on Beale Street.  It caught my attention because of the location.  Beale is the #1 tourist attraction in Tennessee.  MPD would only release very limited information because the crime is sexual in nature.  Efforts are always taken to protect the alleged victim.  But I had enough information to do a story.  I relied heavily on MOS ("man on the street") interviews.. Or, in this case, women on the street.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Whitehaven Apartment Fire Intentionally Set

Fire at Whitehaven apartment complex intentionally set

I needed a story this particular night after my first one fell through.  There had been a fire earlier in the day that gutted a Whitehaven apartment complex.  I was tasked with going out and trying to find victims or residents who lost things.  I was able to convince a couple of guys to talk and the Red Cross showed up while we were there.  Then, about 30 minutes before the newscast, I got an email from MFD revealing the fire was intentionally set.  We quickly re-edited part of my story and made it to Whitehaven for this live shot.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Cars Under Siege By Thrown Rocks

Drivers under siege by thrown rocks where school bus was struck

I was dispatched to breaking news Monday about a student on board a bus injured by a rock that was thrown through a window.  I interviewed the kid who, fortunately, suffered only minor injuries.  We got an email after the story aired from another driver who said rocks shattered his Coca-Cola truck window in the very same area on Southern Avenue.  MPD confirmed there have been at least 3 other attacks in the last 2 weeks.  I did this live shot (in my follow-up story) on the railroad tracks that run along Southern Avenue.  I held up some rocks like the ones likely being thrown.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Margaritas At Middle School

Middle school students suspended for bringing alcohol to school

We got a tip about students boozing it up at a middle school.  It was difficult to believe.. But I reached out to the school district to try and confirm the story.  10 students had indeed been expelled for bringing alcohol onto the Kate Bond Middle School campus.  Students and a teacher told me the kids were making margaritas.  I didn't get out to the school to get reaction until well after dismissal.  Fortunately, there was an event going on and several parents and students were accessible.  I also found a cooperative liquor store owner who let us get some video of tequila and margarita mix

Stepping back into Texas history

I haven't been able to update my blog in a while because of technical issues.  But here's a story from the not so distant past.  I g...