Looking for fresh strawberries and/or humanely-raised local meat? If you're interested in learning more about local food (and the people who produce it), the Market Square Farmers' Market is launching a monthly series of farm tours. The "To the Source Farm Tour" series kicks off on Sunday, May 18, with a visit to three farms in Meigs, Rhea, and Monroe counties.

The tour will visit Tidwell's Berry Farm, a family-owned "ready pick" berry farm in Spring City, Tennessee. The next stop on the tour is River Ridge Farm in Ten Mile, Tennessee, to tour the farm where Dave Waters and his family raise beef, pork, chickens, and other goodies. Regulars to the Market Square Farmers' Market are familiar with Dave as the market's "meat guy." The tour will conclude with an opportunity to pick your own strawberries at Strawberry Knob Farm in Madisonville.

"Eleanor" and I will be going as we continue to explore our local food options. Cost of the tour is $20 per person and shuttle vans (provided by CAC) will depart from Market Square at noon on Sunday, 18 May. The shuttles will return approximately 6:30 p.m. Advance registration is required by Wednesday and space is limited. So, contact Charlotte Tolley at the Farmers' Market booth on Market Days (today or Wednesday) or visit the new MSFM web site at www.marketsquarefarmersmarket.org for additional information in the "Special Events and Programs" section. "Eleanor" and I will be manning a booth for the MSFM this morning at the Beardsley Community Farm's Farm Fest and we'll also be signing interested people up. Other volunteers will be at the farm fest booth in the afternoon to get you signed up, also.

See you on the farm!

Somebody please tell me I wasn't the only one listening during yesterday's drive time who heard Ann Lloyd (WUOT-FM, "All Things Considered" Local Host) tell listeners that "Independent voters are not allowed in the state primary" and they won't be able to vote until the general election.

The story was about the record early voter turnout and included a soundbite from Greg McKay. All well and good until right at the end when she began to explain to potential Tuesday voters what (up to now) I always thought was a pretty simple process-- show up at the polls, declare which party primary you want to participate in, then vote.

It was right after this that the comment was made about independent voters. The intent, I'm sure, was to say-- "If you are supporting a third party candidate or someone running as an independent, you won't find their name on the primary ballots, but they will be there in the general elections."

However, what was said didn't match the intent. Lloyd specifically said "independent voters" weren't allowed in the primaries when she should have said "independent candidates." Thus, furthering the myth that Tennesseans have to belong to a party to vote.

This is why nobody goes downtown anymore...er, wait...

Seriously, not to make light of Natalie's experience, but this is the kind of story that Simon usually tries real hard to keep out of the news and usually does, until someone of this stature is the victim. I recall too many conversations with people who talked about how unsafe downtown was even though crime statistics for the West Town Mall parking lot far outperformed anything that was believed to be happening in downtown.

I'll be looking for some feel good PR stories in the coming days about what a safe environment the mall truly is compared to the scary downtown. 

I imagine that quite a few folks this morning are waking up with hangover symptoms. For some, the sweet taste of victory and cash bar drinks has turned into a dry mouth. For others, the shouts for change have left them only with a throbbing headache. Regardless, we will be feeling the effects of this incumbent hangover for some time.

Once everyone stumbles for some coffee and is ready to look at lessons learned, we'll see that my father was right again. In 1994 when various GOP grassroots organizations pushed for term limits initiatives across the country, my father pointed out that everyone was for term limits-- as long as they didn't apply to the guy in their district. Seems for the most part that a good majority of the folks here share that outlook.