Oh boy---yippee, even more concentration of homeless services coming to a mission district near you:

Link...

Unbelievable....well not really, at a recent meeting regarding Minvilla and the most expensive studio apartments in Knoxville history, I was assured that Knoxville was not unique in its concentration of homeless service providers. After requesting examples, I was given cities such as Portland, Maine and Jacksonville, Florida but after mapping their services it became clear that those cities' providers were several blocks and sometimes many miles apart. When I shared this information with the city employees, I asked them to correct me if I was mistaken...they did not.

Knoxville has a Ten Year Plan so our City hasn't failed to plan, but with no decentralization plan and worse, more over-concentration, it is planning fail.

Oh well,

Knoxville blogger Katie Allison Granju recently left WBIR for Scripps; fortunately, they've given her a new blog at the KNS site called "Because I Said So." Her introduction to the new blog includes this welcome:

As the blog tagline notes, I'll be tackling issues both personal and political here, because as the iconic feminist slogan notes, the two are especially intertwined for those of us who are both female and actively politically engaged.

I'm looking forward to it.

The situation with the Solway green waste facility is degenerating into nonsense. Commissioner DeFreese is determined to prove there is coal ash at the facility, but this is not in dispute. NRR has admitted that it accepted ash from Y-12, and DeFreese posted photographs of mulch piles with ash spread over them. If you look at the satellite view of the mulch facility on Google Maps, you can see a dumptruck full of ash being unloaded onto a mulch pile. Coal ash contains high levels of arsenic.

With permission from the author who is a student at South- Doyle High School in Knoxville, TN. This was a class writing assignment. Content has not been altered in any way. These are his words. What are your thoughts?

Peace of Nations

What does it take to bring forth peace of nations? Loyalty from the people and from one nation to another is a necessity. Confidence, a nation needs confidence and pride in itself, to not back down to a stronger nation, for peace of nations to work, one nation can not push another around. Humanism, people must remember that though we may look different and sound different, everyone is a human, all the same.

A following of the people is necessary in order to maintain a stable nation and a healthy time of peace.

People who are loyal to their nation not only strengthen it, but also provide a safe melting pot for other nations. Loyalty is not only a thing for followers to show to the nation, it shows an allied nation that it can be trusted as well as supported in future efforts. A collaborated effort united by loyalty is one of the most influential groups of people around the globe. This virtue is one of the most important for any man or nation, having this virtue is a most for global peace.

Faith in a nation’s power or people is needed for a sense of belonging among other things. As a nation progresses forward to make itself more predominant in a growing world. Confidence brings forth a feeling of strength and power, yet for a smaller country of the world give it a sense of pride to project to a larger country that may be trying to break a world peace of sorts.

Without the confidence to stand up for a nation you believe in it may secretly fall from the inside. A virtue that many aspire to have, confidence is that which would prove difficult to a nation.

Humans, all humans are just that, humans, yet many wish to believe that all humans are different. In a world without violence, a peace among nations, there would, above all no racism. A world without racism, in itself would make all peaceful. Racism is the heart of all violence in humans, but at heart a human is just the same as another human. As a nation without racism all things violent would become shut out, from the nation.

Peace within nations is possible, but only with a few select qualities. Virtues such as confidence and loyalty make a nation strong, yet compassionate. Without racism, the world itself, all the world, would be free from the grip that is violence. Peace among the nations of the world is a possible feat, yet only at the will of the people throughout the world.

Note: I am proud to be a part of this young leaders life. He inspires me daily. The gene pool doesn't fall from the tree. Thank you for the forum to express young American's thoughts and dreams.

Two big SW public meetings coming up. The first is Thursday, 8/21, 6 p.m. at Kerbela Temple. The second is Thursday, 8/28, same time and place.

First deals with the new streetscape designs for streets between Barber and Lincoln. The second is the first in a series of meetings for obtaining public input on the design of River Plain Park, which will be built along the river in the same general area.

See here for details.

Ed McMahon, the development issues expert, not the professional sidekick, returns to East Tennessee this week with a symposium on sustainable development Thursday at the Knoxville Convention Center.

The event starts at 4 p.m. and is open to the public. I urge you to turn out. McMahon's a great speaker and a font of good information.

Regular KnoxViews readers will recall that McMahon spoke about development last year in Blount County, an event covered extensively by Randy here and here.

There will be a benefit for the victims of the TVUUC shooting at the Valarium this Friday, August 15. It is being planned by Leslie Woods, who grew up at TVUUC. The show starts at 6:00 (doors open at 5:30) and lasts until after midnight. The lineup is listed below. Those with a TVUUC connection include the Old Harp Singers, Chris Watkins and Sarah Buice, Leslie Terry, Space for Lease and Brian Griffin. There is no cover charge but donations are accepted. Snack-type food is served at the Valarium. Please email me for a copy of the flier if you have a place to post some.

Below is an announcement from OptumHealth. They are providing a free help line for people coping with trauma from the church shooting at TVUUC on July 27.

This tragedy affected many in our community, not just those who were there or are members of the church. If you are having any trouble coping with your emotions or reactions, or just still feel out of sorts, please make use of this service. It is not unusual to experience depression, anxiety, or symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder after an event like this. My understanding is that it can take 12-18 months to process something of this nature.

Don't be hesitant to reach out if you need some support, whether you were there that morning or not!

SAVE IT, DON’T PAVE IT!
A benefit concert for CAPPE

Friday, Sept. 5, 7-11pm at The Shed

More details and info on the all-star lineup after the jump...

Per Slate, not in Tennessee. Maybe it should be, especially given how polarized we have become and due to over-the-top hatemongering that's in vogue.

Another way we might use this tragedy to improve our world.

I came across this picture while uploading a bunch of old slides to Flickr. It was shot at an open house held at the Sunsphere shortly before the opening of the 1982 World's Fair. The color is from the Ektachrome transparency, the gold tinting of the glass, and probably the method I used to digitize the slide.

It was placed in a slide holder attachment for an old Nikon E950 aimed at a blue sky. I played with it in Photoshop until it looked pretty good but the umbrellas became pink and blue so I gave it up.

Anyway it's a fun trip back. Here is the big one and a grayscale version..

According to this morning's KNS (Link...) , Minvilla requires even more tax breaks?

~$125k for efficiency apartments originally advertised as "basic, no frills housing".

Oh well,

UUA: Unitarian Universalists Respond to Knoxville Shooting Disaster

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), in association with the UUA Thomas Jefferson District, has launched the Knoxville Relief Fund, to bring ministry, spiritual care, and practical financial assistance to those affected by the tragedy in Knoxville, Tennessee. Gifts to the fund will assist members of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church and Westside Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and their loved ones, and will show them that they are not alone during this time of shock and grief.

Income from the Knoxville Relief Fund will go to the Thomas Jefferson District of the UUA to be used at their discretion to assist Tennessee Valley UU Church and Westside Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and their members. No more than 5% of the funds raised will be used to cover administrative costs, including fees for credit card processing, before being directed to the Thomas Jefferson District.

Go to the Knoxville Relief Fund page for more information or to make a donation.

By way of Katie, someone has posted a page with links to local causes that the TVUUC supports if you would like to make a donation on behalf of the church.

My friend Wendell retired from a factory job Up Nawth a few years back. He works harder now than ever.

After much information has been learned about the astonishing cost of the Minvilla project, unanswered questions still remain; the main ones are:

1. Given that the estimated cost of VMC's Minvilla project is now "north of $6,000,000" (according to 6/20 quote from the Ten Year Plan's Housing Coordinator) and has been rising at ~$100k per month, why are not the many and much less expensive alternatives being pursued?

2. How does it make sense to house fragile and recently homeless individuals immediatly adjacent to those who could easily re-enable the activities which may have caused their homelessness in the first place.

According to the same quote from the Ten Year Plan's Housing Coordinator (Link...), the cost "is...kind of a moving target" so we don't actually know what the final cost will be; however, we do know that many more and less expensive options are available now. (Link...)

Much has been made of my ~$200/sq ft calculation of this $6+mm and ~30,000 sq foot project but rather than argue the math...real questions need answering. Why not help more people with more efficient use of funds? Why not help them sooner by using readily available properties? Why not locate them in an area where they are less likely to be tempted or preyed upon?

The media and Solway project critics are repeatedly misstating a critical fact regarding reports I prepared for TDEC earlier this year. The annual reports I submitted to the Knoxville TDEC office in 2008 were NOT recreated reports and DID NOT replace reports missing from our TDEC file and were never intended to replace the missing reports. In fact, copies of what may be the missing reports have only recently been found (not created) during document discovery related to the false claims lawsuit. I have forwarded copies of those documents to TDEC.

Apparently, several “annual reports” that the Solid Waste Department had submitted to the TDEC Knoxville office over several years went missing during one or more open records reviews of our file by citizens. TDEC cannot determine exactly when the documents were removed. According to TDEC log records Knox County employees have never made a request to see the file. I learned just today that a map indicating the location of three wells adjacent to the site is also missing from the file. We have a copy of that map in our office and will supply it to TDEC.

In a January 3, 2008 letter, TDEC required me to submit “annual reports” for the years 2003 through 2005. Local TDEC officials know I did not work for Knox County during that period. At that time I did not know about the missing reports and the letter from TDEC to me makes no reference to missing reports.

In 2007, the previous Solid Waste Director, John Evans submitted an annual report to TDEC certifying that the biosolids received at the Solway Greenwaste Facility for the calendar year 2006 had been processed according to regulations. That report requires an audit of the PFRP (process to further reduce pathogens) records kept by the contractor, a statement of the % solids of incoming biosolids and quarterly test records. We interpreted the TDEC request for annual reports to be this report. A review of existing project records is required to complete the certification.

I reviewed 12 notebooks of project records held by the contractor, known as “windrow notebooks” from 2003 through 2005. The windrow notebooks are a detailed record of the daily temperature readings and turning schedule for the windrows. In addition, I reviewed records from 4 wastewater treatment plants regarding the % solids of the sludge delivered to the site. I also reviewed all the tests conducted for the material after PFRP was completed. TDEC had previously reviewed the test results during their monthly inspections.

I submitted the reports to TDEC and they were accepted. The allegations that these reports were falsified, incomplete or anything other than a routine response to a document request is completely false.

Tom Salter, Knox County Solid Waste Director

Now that the United States manufacturing base has eroded to next to nothing, and with the sharp spikes in the price of commodity items (owing largely to the fact that these are priced in heavily devalued dollars in commodity markets), the latest economic crisis is causing acute pain in the service industry.

What does it take to raise our collective consciousness about this? Well, it appears to be that Starbucks is poised to create what amounts to an inconvenience for many - having to drive out of the way to get a cup of second-rate, boutique-brewed coffee. This is not to trivialize the experience of the people losing their jobs; however, it does point up the sort of thing that will stir the populace into action.

I sort of had to laugh when I found out that people were organizing to "Save Our Starbucks," as if a community would be endangered by such an economic sucker punch. Could it possibly be that Starbucks has overextended itself, has become a victim of its own exuberance, and that they have passed the point of market saturation in many locales?

Never mind that businesses that have had major presence in Tennessee, such as Murray or Carrier or White Lily or Electrolux or Whirlpool or Modine or Superior Industries or Brown Shoe Company or Aleris or Horace Small Apparel or Huttig or Federal-Mogul or Siegel-Robert Automotive South or Eastman Chemical or GM/Saturn or La-Z-Boy or RH Donnelly or Goodyear or JC Penney or Paccar or Fedders or Levi Strauss have reduced or eliminated thousands of good paying jobs over the last decade...

And it occurs to me: We, as a country, don't really make goods anymore. We make coffee.

That's pretty weak tea for what used to be the most developed country in the world.

Belmar, NJ, just south of Asbury Park, is an apparent party town in the summer. The mayor has been blogging in order to get the word out to renters "about what is and isn't allowed in Belmar".

He included "humorous" comments about specific incidents:

like the group who left their marijuana-smoking water pipe out on the table while police responded to a noise complaint at their address.

Another entry regarded a fight between two ladies, one from Staten Island who kept holding her drink while fighting.

"Now, we're not sure if the glass was stuck to her hand cause of all the hair spray, or if this is a technique Staten Island girls learn in Brownies, but we are thankful she left her brass knuckles and straight razor in her other purse."

The mayor will be blogging no more. He has issued an apology, sort of. Guess he needed Rodney Dangerfield's help writing the jokes.

Last Thursday, Ginny Weatherstone (VMC Executive Director) graciously gave a few folks a tour of the Minvilla structure. Besides myself and Ginny, other attendees included architect Dan Schuh, City employee Robert Finley, Ten Year Plan leader Jon Lawler, nearby resident David Nix and Dept. of Community Services employee Mike Dunthorn. A few key points and/or observations that came from this meeting:

In two weeks the federal minimum wage will go from $5.85/hr to $6.55/hr. Unless, of course, you are a worker with disabilities, full-time student, under the age of 20, a worker that receives tips, or a student learner.

According to 2007 data, approx. 1.7 million workers earn at or below minimum wage. That is approx. 1.3% of all wage and salary workers. Almost half of minimum wage workers are under the age of 25.

"About three-fifths of all workers paid at or below the Federal minimum wage were employed in this industry [leisure and hospitality], primarily in the food services and drinking places component. For many of these workers, tips and commissions supplement the hourly wages received."

As of January 1, 2008, Eight states have either no minimum wage laws (5) or minimum wage rates lower than the federal rates (3). All five states with no minimum wage laws are in the South.

It appears California ($8.00/hr), Massachusetts ($8.00/hr), and Washington ($8.07/hr)have the highest minimum wage. Liberals!

Commissioner proposes to sell Midway road property

"Going forward, if we try to do this again, we need to make sure we have community support before we put a business park in someone's community," Moore adds.

Scooby gets one right.

In response to this recent KNS letter to the editor (scroll down), Knox County and the City of Knoxville both have leash laws.

"I was at Sequoyah Park on May 2, running my two little dogs as I and hundreds of others have done for generations."

Is he sure about the "generations" part?

It was not long ago the KNS reported on the crack-down on dogs off-leash at Sequoyah Park. Shouldn't people generally assume there are leash laws until determined otherwise?

City of Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, along with Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, have a plan to end chronic homelessness. Part of this plan is to make the old Flenniken School in SoKno (on Flenniken Ave., near the Martin Mill Pike and Chapman Hwy intersection close to town) a permanent, supportive facility for the homeless.

The City of Knoxville’s Parks and Recreation Division is accepting applications for its 2008/09 Challenge Grant Program, which offers grants to nonprofit projects associated with public parks or recreation facilities within the City limits.

A total of $25,000 is available this year to community groups, homeowner associations, schools, Scout troops and other organizations. The City will reimburse 50 percent of the cost of a single project, up to $2,500.

Previously, the grants have been used for playground equipment, water fountains, benches and landscaping materials.

Applications and grant parameters are available as of July 1, 2008 at www.cityofknoxville.org/recreation or at 865-215-2017. The deadline for applications is Sept. 14.

Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee is having a "Teen Lock-In Live Action Camp."

According to PPMET:

The first day will be packed full of human sexuality education and overnight will be movies, games, baking and other educational fun activities.

The second day we will be organizing advocacy efforts with the teens. Students will participate in letter writing, voter registration, a comprehensive sex ed petition drive, and more.

The lock-in will be July 24th and 25th and the cost is free. High school juniors, seniors, and 2008 grads are invited. Under 18 requires parental notification and approval. Registration must be received by Friday, July 4th.

For more information or to register, contact PPMET Community Health Educator Ginny Winter at 865-385-3333 or ginnyw@ppmet.org

Starting this Saturday, July 5th, the City of Knoxville Parks and Recreation department is offering canoe tours of the Tennessee River. Tours will put in at the Holston River Park and navigate down the Holston River to the Tennessee River and Downtown Knoxville.

This is a great opportunity for family fun on the river. Parks and Rec Aquatic staff will conduct the tours, and Ijams Park will provide nature guides.

All ages and skill levels can participate. All equipment is provided, including transportation to the put-in location. There is also a safety demonstration. Just bring a lunch in a waterproof container.

The cost is $20 per person and group rates are available. Tours will be held at 8 a.m. on Saturdays during the month of July. There are 16 canoes available for the tours. Reservations must be made by the Wednesday before the desired Saturday tour date by calling 311. More info at the city's website.

Press release after the jump...

Dendrobate Tinctorus "Patricia"

It is too hot to be outside right now, so I thought this was a good time to post some of my new critters. These are dendrobates, also known as “poison dart frogs”, or just dart frogs because when bred and raised in captivity they are not poisonous. I got interested in these colorful amphibians when exploring options for a large aquarium that had become available to me. My
internet search led me to a Massachusetts company called Black Jungle whose website (Link...) has a photo gallery of tropical rain forest “vivariums” with waterfalls, live plants and natural wood. They are quite beautiful and that sold me because I have always loved frogs and these habitats were just wonderful. I now have 3 tanks with 7 frogs, mostly because I was hoping to have a breeding pair so I can experience the tadpole, metamorphosis and joy of raising a tiny new frog. Since their sex is not determined till they are older, you have to buy several in hopes of getting a breeding pair.

In addition to the special tank design and prep (temp and humidity monitored), I grow 3 different types of bugs, 2 specialized fruit flies and springtails. It will get even more complicated if there are ever any tadpoles.

This week in MetroPulse, Frank Cagle opines on Knoxville sloganeering, suggesting a rocking chair and "Welcome Home" will do.

Ummm, no.

Ktowndownlow has joined the fray, sponsoring a contest encouraging local hipsters to subtitle our fair city with a hip, insiders-only moniker. (hat tip to Knoxville Talks.)

I took a moment to reflect.

Who can forget such previous slogans as

• "Knoxville. It's all around us." (Just not in Knoxville)
• "Knoxville. Where Nature and Technology Meet." (images of a deer being splattered on the inside of a superconducting supercollider at the Spallation Neutron Source come to mind with that brilliant juxtaposition.)
• "Knoxville. Naturally." (Knoxville is now a name brand laxative?)

Going back another century, Parson Brownlow, pro-Union publisher of the Knoxville Whig, had two slogans for the masthead of his paper: "Cry Aloud and Spare Not," and "Independent in All Things, Neutral in Nothing." These two are just as apt today in Knoxville and Knox County's heated political climate.

Such thoughts reminded me of a conversation I had a few years ago with someone from the State Economic Development Office.

"Memphis is Eeyore," this official described to me. "Woe is Memphis, the sky is falling."

"Nashville, however, is Tigger. Nothing but blue sky in Nashville."

"What about Knoxville?" I asked.

"Knoxville is Pooh," the person continued. "This is my honey pot. You get your own damn honey pot."

"Perfect. Captures the essence, doesn't it?"

"Yep."

Knoxville. Get Your Own Damn Honey Pot.

or

Knoxville. Full of Poohs.

VS (Versus) was a woman operated business on Gay Street which opened a couple of months ago. It sported 2 xbox 360s, 2 playstation3s, 2 wiis, 5 iMacs, free wifi, a stage and party room. This was a game lounge/Internet cafe in a really cool building just down the street from Nama. (Two doors north of Harolds)

These kinds of businesses are cool in San Francisco and Boston but couldn't cut it in Knoxville. It did not help that block of Gay Street is being closed for 18 months to develop Underground Gay St. I'll be surprised if Nama survives.

I'd like to see businesses like VS thrive in downtown.