I was recently told if you see a vehicle blocking the lined area beside some handicap spots meant for wheelchair ramps, or crossways across two spots, etc. that "you could take a picture of it and send it to 311 so that we can track where this is happening and possibly request additional enforcement".

I assume give time, location and license plate# with the submission.

I haven't found specific statements on the 311 website, but maybe I am not interpreting it correctly.

It is hard to understand why someone handicapped would interfere with other handicapped parkers.

Three Democratic US senators announced on Tuesday that they are investigating whether big tech companies are passing the soaring utility costs of “energy-guzzling” data centers on to ordinary Americans.

...they were alarmed by reports that these data centers caused residential electricity bills to “skyrocket”. Regions with significant data center activity have already endured price increases by as much as 267% over the past five years, the three lawmakers wrote. According to the Energy Information Administration, a federal agency, the average cost of a US family’s electricity bill had risen 7% year-over-year as of September.
...
They also inquired about the tax deductions or other financial incentives these companies received from state and local governments, as well as payments they made to lobbyists and consultants to advocate for the construction of data centers. They requested a response no later than 12 January.
...
A Cornell study published last month in Nature Sustainability found that data centers could annually consume as much water as 6 million-10 million Americans and emit as much carbon dioxide as 5m-10m cars.

The scrutiny arrives when 70% of US households have seen their electricity costs rise over the past year, with many blaming it on the energy-demands from AI, according to a recent survey. In some cases, local residents have been protesting incoming AI data centers over the environmental impact, potential pollution, and land seizure attempts.

Speaker of the House won’t bring a vote to extend enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

That means higher insurance premiums will go into effect for millions of Americans who get coverage through Obamacare next year.

There are some Republicans who say they would vote aye.

“There are 214 Democrats who have signed a discharge petition that would force an up-or-down vote on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits... “All they need are four House Republicans to join them.”

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., says “You can’t have everything every time,”

In 2025, the United States has recorded the most measles cases in more than 30 years, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.
...
The total number of cases nationwide has topped 1,900, with infections confirmed in at least 42 states.

Measles should not be taken lightly. There is a vaccine.

It could be worse. Is the CDC able to keep up and report up-to-date data? Are all states reporting valid and up-to-date data?

The president on Tuesday ripped Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as “garbage” and said Somalis should “go back to where they came from,”

immigrants coming to the U.S. are “poisoning the blood of our country,”

These statements by the leader of our country encourage the following type of behavior.

"The employee at the northern Wisconsin [Cinnabon] shop can be heard calling the customers a racial slur. She makes an obscene gesture. “I am racist,” the worker declares."

A crowdfunding site, GiveSendGo, a website that says it aims to “share the Hope of Jesus through crowdfunding to everyone who comes to our platform", allowed a page to raise money for the racist employee.

"GiveSendGo is also the platform for a crowdfunding page to raise money for a [white] woman in Rochester, Minn., who called a child of Somali descent a racial epithet on a playground earlier this year." "That incident was also recorded on video, and it appears to show the woman, Shiloh Hendrix, who is white, acknowledging that she used the slur."

Governor Newsom confronts the polarizing impact of Trump's presidency, admitting he "can’t even conceive three more years of this."

“And what’s happening to our kids? Their brains are already being scrambled by social media, but this is their role model? The guy who calls someone a retard, a piggy?"

Yes, it is very hard to conceive of three more years of this.
Some of us older folks remember how hard everyone worked to try and eliminate racism. Only for the current administration bringing it back in full force.

Of all the statistics that came out of President Trump’s economic address on Tuesday night in Mt. Pocono, Pa., surely one of the most striking was this: He mentioned Joe Biden 30 times.

That would be 31 times, if you count “sleepy son of a bitch,” which the audience surely did.

Does the president secretly love Biden? Is he that jealous of the beloved Biden? Is he finally realizing money can't buy respect?

According to Consumer Reports' 2025 used vehicle reliability study, Tesla is the most unreliable used car brand in the US.

..." the report notes that the company has improved the build quality of its vehicles..."

However, how will they hold up in the future used vehicle reliability studies?

For years, the guest list for an annual white nationalist gathering at Tennessee’s Montgomery Bell State Park has been a closely guarded secret.

Here's who attended a white nationalist conference at a Tenn. state park

People who are not vaccinated are almost always infected after they’re exposed to the virus; measles is the most contagious known virus in the world and can hang in the air for hours.

MMR vaccines, given in two doses around a child’s first and fifth birthdays, provide 97% protection against the virus.

South Carolina measles outbreak is 'accelerating,' driving hundreds into quarantine

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Republicans are offering " individuals earning less than 700% of the federal poverty level would receive $1,000 in HSA funding for those between age 18 and 49 and $1,500 for those age 50-64."

The proposal would do away with the enhanced tax credits, and instead take the extra money from those tax credits and put it into health savings accounts for those who purchase bronze-level or "catastrophic" plans on the ACA exchanges. Republicans say this will help Americans pay for out-of-pocket costs.

"The Democratic-led bill would extend the expiring ACA tax credits for three years. "

So, the Republicans are offering $1,000 to Affordable Care Act (Obamacare, ACA) insurance holders without realizing that many of them have a large deductible (thousands) already and monthly payments are going up monthly in some cases more than the $1,000.

Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayor’s race on Tuesday, defeating a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump to end her party’s nearly three-decade losing streak and give Democrats a boost in one of the last electoral battles ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Higgins, 61, will be the first woman to lead the city of Miami.

Also, "the city’s first non-Hispanic mayor since the 1990s."

Well, I'll be...

Safety inside the Knox County juvenile detention center is regularly compromised by systemwide failures of the center’s security and camera systems, current and former employees told Knox News.
...
A critical report about the center produced by the University of Tennessee at Knoxville's County Technical Advisory Service mentioned issues with the security system and included recommendations for upgrading door locks and the camera system but did not include descriptions of systemwide video and security system failures.

Hmmm...

"When the video system is down, it is typically down for less than 15 minutes, not for hours", said Dwight Van de Vate, the county's chief operating officer and mayor's co-chief of staff in an email.
...
“It’s a big-time safety and security hazard,” said one employee, who, like the others, agreed to speak with Knox News on the condition they not be named to protect their job status. “If I’m getting my head cracked in and nobody can see to get help down there … it’s a hell of a safety hazard.”

Previous reporting on "Knox County Juvenile Detention Center troubles"

On the sunny Sunday morning of December 7, 1941, Messman Doris Miller had served breakfast aboard the USS West Virginia, stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and was collecting laundry when the first of nine Japanese torpedoes hit the ship.
...
Miller had not been trained to use the weapons because, as a Black man in the U.S. Navy, he was assigned to serve the white officers. But while the officer was distracted, Miller began to fire one of the guns. He fired it until he ran out of ammunition. Then he helped to move injured sailors to safety before he and the other survivors abandoned the West Virginia, which sank to the bottom of Pearl Harbor.
...
Democracy, FDR reminded Americans again and again, was the best possible government. Thanks to armies made up of men and women from all races and ethnicities, the Allies won the war against fascism, and it seemed that democracy would dominate the world forever.
...
President Donald J. Trump and his cronies have abandoned the principles of democracy and openly embraced the hierarchical society the U.S. fought against in World War II. They have fired women, Black Americans, people of color, and LGBTQ+ Americans from positions in the government and the military and erased them from official histories. They have seized, incarcerated and deported immigrants— or rendered them to third countries to be tortured— and have sent federal agents and federal troops into Democratic-led cities to terrorize the people living there.

They have traded the rule of law for the rule of Trump...

The showcases typically open with an extended monologue from Trump himself. Tuesday’s lasted more than 30 minutes, as Trump riffed on everything from the cognitive test he aced —“I’m a smart person, not a stupid person,” he said—to what he described as “the fat drug, f-a-t, for fat people,” apparently referring to Ozempic. He said he should get eight Nobel Peace Prizes, one for every war he claims to have ended.

Trump, Between Apparent Naps, Holds Auditions for His 2028 Successor

To name a few pedestrian deaths and injuries,

Pedestrian dead after crash on Chapman Highway at Moody on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, around 10:40 pm.

Pedestrian was struck and killed by a truck outside of a Knoxville McDonald’s on Millertown on Thanksgiving day, Nov. 27, 2025, around 9:30 am.

Pedestrian killed in hit and run on Maryville Pike at Arrowhead subdivision, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, around 12:34 pm.

A woman died after she was struck by a vehicle on North Broadway at Walker Boulevard, on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, around 6:40 am.

A 41-year-old man was struck by a car just before 6 p.m. on Wilkinson Pike, in Maryville, on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.

Trump said he’s looking into an Australian-style retirement program for America. Here’s how it works

Trump Considering Australian-Style Retirement Plan—But What Is It?

1.5 million bags of shredded cheese have been recalled.

The recall was initiated in early October by Great Lakes Cheese Co., an Ohio-based company, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The voluntary recall covered more than 260,000 cases of shredded cheese, and was prompted by the possibility of metal fragments in the products, an FDA notice said.

Shredded cheeses included in the recall, e.g. low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, Aldi Italian-style shredded cheese, Italian-style shredded cheese blend, Food Club finely shredded pizza-style four-cheese blend, mozzarella and mild cheddar cheese blend, mozzarella and non-smoked provolone, and Good & Gather mozzarella and parmesan cheese blend.

The products have sell-by dates ranging from January to late March of next year, according to the FDA notice. The agency has a complete list online of the affected products and their UPC codes.

The affected shredded cheese products came in five different varieties and were sold under a host of brand names at Target, Walmart, Aldi and other major retailers [Food City, Food Lion, etc.] across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

The FDA says they were distributed to 31 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin; as well as Puerto Rico.

Return it to the store or throw it away.

Zillow, the nation’s largest real estate listing website, has removed extreme weather risk data meant to help buyers figure out if the biggest purchase of their life is particularly susceptible to floods, high winds or wildfires.

Now, other major real estate listing websites are facing pressure to do the same.

That pressure is coming from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service...

Out of concern that it has impacted home sales, the California group is questioning the accuracy of some climate change-related data compiled by risk modeling company First Street. That company creates current and future risk scores for climate change-fueled disasters like wildfires, coastal and rainstorm flooding, high winds, extreme heat and air quality, which are displayed on real estate websites including Redfin, Realtor.com and, until recently, Zillow.

Let the buyer beware.

Knowledge is bad in other words unless you have it and others don't.

Looks like collusion. Similar to landlord rent prices, etc.

real estate industry is pressuring Zillow and other sites to nix extreme weather risk data buyers have come to rely on

Went to Rome, GA, in October for the "Schnauzerfest". Maybe pics later. There were thousands of schnauzers. We do love our Schnauzers.

The hotel was fine, just a few warnings that were a little concerning.

Unregulated e-bikes are a growing danger on American streets.

I walk the Blount County greenway in Springbrook Park nearly every day. Our group of of six also includes four dogs. There has been a great increase in e-bikes. Walkers have the right-of-way. However, e-bikers don't seem to understand that concept. Although, " old-fashioned, human-powered “analog” or “acoustic” bikes" also bring danger to pedestrians. Bicycle riders, e or otherwise, think that if they come barreling down the trail and say "on your left" that you should jump out of their way. First of all, at the speed they are going there is no way you have time to get out of the way. In addition, you have to register what they are saying. Finally, have you ever tried to get four dogs to quickly get out of the way of a speeding bicycle or e-bike?

"Forty-six states have adopted some version of a three-tiered system of e-bike categories that was established a decade ago by PeopleForBikes, a trade and advocacy organization based in Boulder, Colo. In Class 1, the bike’s motor assists the rider up to a speed of 20 m.p.h., but only when a rider is pedaling. Class 2 has the same top speed but also has a hand-operated throttle, similar to a motorcycle’s, that can be used in lieu of pedaling. Class 3 is like Class 1, but its maximum assisted speed is 28 m.p.h. (The federal limit of 20 m.p.h. applies to the speed generated solely by a motor; speeds can exceed that in combination with human pedaling.) As a rule, Class 1 bikes are permitted wherever a conventional bicycle can go (including bike lanes and trails), while Classes 2 and 3 are restricted to streets and roads (in theory if not in practice)."

"On a pedal bike, the chance of dying from an injury is about three-tenths of 1 percent,” Alfrey says. On an e-bike, the data indicated, it was 11 percent."

"...in New York City in 2023, 30 people were killed on a bicycle, 23 of whom were riding e-bikes. Three pedestrians also were killed by e-bike riders. Increased delivery services by e-bike,..."