The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 22

4B Friday, March 17, 2000 THE TENNESSEAN wwwtennessean.com 2 FROM THE FRONT TNN Music Award nominees TNN: List of award nominees similar to ACM's selections Pastors: Governor seeks help on tax plan 3 ty Loveless, My Kind of WomanlMy Kind of Man; Faith Hill with Tim McGraw, Let's Make Love. Album Dixie Chicks, Fly; Faith Hill, Breathe; Alan Jackson, Under the Influence; Tim McGraw, A Place in the Sun; George Strait, Always Never the Same. Song Clint Black with Lisa Hartman Black, When I Said I Do; Faith Hill, Breathe; Lonestar, Amazed; Brad Paisley, He Didn't Have to Be; George Strait, Write This Down. Single Clint Black with Lisa Hartman Black, When I Said I Do; Faith Hill, Breathe; Lonestar, Amazed; Brad Paisley, He Didnl Have to Be; George Strait, Write This Down. Video Clint Black with Lisa Hartman Black, When I Said I Do; Dixie Chicks, Ready to Run; Faith Hill, Breathe; Fleba McEntire, What Do Vbu Say; Brad Paisley, He Didnl Have to Be.

Impact (for presence in film, television, commercials or soundtracks) Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, George Strait. Here are the nominees for the TNN Music Awards, announced yesterday. Winners will be announced June 15 during an awards ceremony to be broadcast by the TNN cable network. Entertainer Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, George Strait, Shania Twain. Male Artist Kenny Chesney, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, George Strait.

Female Artist Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Jo Dee Messina, Shania Twain. Fast Track (for creative growth) Trace Adkins, Lila Mc-Cann, Steve Wariner, Mark Wills, Chely Wright. Discovery (for new artist with star potential) Montgomery Gentry, Brad Paisley, SHeDAISY, The Wilkinsons, Mark Wills. GroupDuo Alabama, Brooks Dunn, Dixie Chicks, Lonestar, The Wilkinsons. Collaborative Event Alabama with 'N Sync, God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on bu; Clint Black with Lisa Hartman Black, When I Said I Do; Sara Evans with Vince Gill, There's Wo Place That Far, Vince Gill with Pat Discovery honor, for the top artists with two or fewer albums; and a Fast Track award, for significant growth by performers with two or more albums.

It is possible for an artist with two albums to receive a nomination in both the Discovery and Fast Track categories. Mark Wills did that yesterday in the nominations announced at the Westin Hermitage Hotel downtowa In addition to Paisley, Alan Jackson, Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black each received four nominations. Triple nominees included Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, the Dixie Chicks and Lonestar. Double nods went to Shania Twain, Alabama and Wills. Tom Roland writes about music for The Tennessean.

He can be reached at 259-8041 or at lrolandtennessean.com. At the time TNN changed partners, Country Weekly had a biweekly circulation of 400,000, while Music City News had monthly circulation of 60,000. Country Weekly says its readership is up 25 over the past eight months. The changes in the media partner are hardly the only alterations for the event, which airs live on TNN from Gaylord Entertainment Center June 15. Now called Country Weekly Presents The TNN Music Awards, the show takes place on Thursday, at the close of Fan Fair, rather than on Monday, where it's traditionally helped kick off the week.

And it's an official part of the festivities for the first time. In addition, the awards have three new categories: an Impact award, for multimedia success; a annually surprised Music Row executives. This year, TNN did not renew its contract with Music City News. The magazine owned by Gannett which also owns The Tennessean has since stopped publishing, citing the loss of the awards as the proverbial last nail in its coffin. Sheri Warnke, vice president and publisher of Country Weekly, claimed that the new affiliation may have had some bearing on this year's fan-voted awards being so similar to the industry-determined ACMs.

It's "mostly coincidence," she said, "but I think it is probably the effect of a much larger voting body than has ever been able to vote." never thought falling in love could be this easy." nCare. "I'm driving a heavy wagon," he said. "I can't load any more on that wagon right now." Sundquist said he supports capital punishment and acknowledged that view was likely to be counter to what the ministers believe. "I have to make the final choice to give clemency. That weighs heavily on me, and I will have to address that issue in the next few weeks." Sundquist hammered away at the theme that the state's tax structure treats the poor unfairly because of its heavy reliance on the 6 state sales tax.

He is proposing lowering the sales tax rate to 3.75, eliminating the sales tax on food and imposing a 3.75 flat-rate state income tax. Several ministers asked Sundquist what he wanted them to do when they return to their home neighborhoods. The Rev. Thomas James, pastor of Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church, told Sundquist: "If we are going to get out here and get the hell beat out of us and we will then you ought to say something to our community." "I can tell you something about getting the you-know-what beat out of you. I'm experienced at that," Sundquist replied.

"What I expect from you is to help influence the folks who can pass this. What I can do for you is create a better life for your children and a better tax system where the poor pay a fairer tax rate. "What I would ask you to do is to explain to people you have influence over what we are trying to accomplish, so that somebody who listens to talk radio and hearing all these other things that are not accurate will know what we are trying to do," Sundquist said. Welch said changes in addition to tax reform need to be made. "We are not the entrepreneurs.

We are not the bankers. We depend on the people we vote for to lead us in the right direction," Welch said. "One thing that is very troubling to me is we are talking about reforming the tax structure, but I haven't seen any action taken about the usury problems preying on many of the people that we are serving." Welch said Sundquist's proposal to eliminate the sales tax on food is a good idea, but many of the people he serves work for minimum wage. "They are looking in terms of what is being done to support them to take care of what Uttle they have." Welch said he was also concerned that Tennessee still has capital punishment when "practically every major denomination in this country" opposes it Ji iifiiiT3 W4i; 'ASK rifi iU' if I I T'V' ryf.i)., Accomplice in Taco Bell slayings seeks new trial LLAH ill WHEN YOU BUY A DIRECTV SYSTEM BY 42300 ACTIVATE TOTAL CHOICE9 PROGRAMMING BY 55OD? 1-800-DIRECTV (1-800-347-3288) By BRIAN DUNN The Leaf-Chwniclt CLARKS VUXE, Term. Attorneys for David Housler, serving life in prison for his part in the January 1994 murders of four people at a Taco Bell here, told a judge yesterday they have evidence their client is innocent.

Their arguments centered on a time line compiled by a private investigator hired by Courtney Mathews, the convicted triggerman in the killings. The document contains statements in which Mathews says Housler was not at the crime scene, Michael Terry, attorney, said. Prosecutors argued the time line was not admissible as evidence because it violates client-attorney privilege. Circuit Judge John Gasaway set an April 21 hearing to review evidence. Lori Campbell, whose husband, Kevin, was killed during the shootings, said Housler is guilty.

"I certainly hope he's not trying to get off on some simple technicality," she said. "He might not have pulled the trigger, but in some way, he's involved." Prosecutors never have argued anyone other than Mathews pulled the trigger, but they say Housler participated in the robbery and murders by acting as a lookout. Terry thinks Housler is innocent: "I want the community to know there's an innocent man in prison. He was not at Taco Bell, and we're absolutely convinced we have the proof to convince a jury David Housler is innocent." District Attorney John Carney is confident the time line, and Mathews' statements, are inadmissible as evidence. 9 Visit www.directv.com or see a demo today.

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