“That's what has us in an outrage. We don't mind two houses per acre," she said. "What's currently here is one house per two acres. We would take a bump up from there because we’re interested in compromise. But when they’re proposing four and five houses per acre, it's just not consistent with the character of our community.”
Close encouraged other residents to get in contact with their county commissioner prior to the October meeting.

In unusual move, commissioner asks to rezone properties in South Knox Co.

October 7th is the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5th election.

Even if you think you are already registered, Tennessee has many ways to purge your registration so you might want to verify it and make sure your info is correct.

If you haven't registered, and you really should, here's everything you need to know.

According to The Literacy Project, 45 million Americans are functionally illiterate and cannot read above a fifth-grade level. New data also shows one out of every two adults cannot read a book written at an eighth-grade level.

New data shows number of adults who can't read has grown in the U.S.

From Gabby Giffords, It’s the Guns. It’s Always the Guns.

After every shooting, blame and rationalizations fly. I know, because I was shot in the head at a 2011 congressional event near my home in Tucson, Ariz. Eighteen other people were shot at that event, six of whom died. In the weeks that followed, there were all kinds of arguments as to why and how that could have happened. To me, only one rang true: Someone dangerous had access to a gun.

We are a country weary of repetitive gun violence. When that happens, you have a school shooting on a Wednesday and the country’s attention has moved on by Friday.

What percentage of our country are controlling the gun argument? Why can't they see the problem? Rhetorical questions, I know.

Right now, Knoxville City Council primary voters in a specific district select their top two city council candidates, who then move on to the general election. From there, all Knoxville voters get a say on who wins the job for each district.

The new law mandates only voters in each district can elect their city council representatives.
...
Before the state law, changing Knoxville's elections was up to local voters.

...city council chose to present an at-large for all system before voters this November.

In Knoxville City Council ballot question number 2,
Voters can elect to 1) let voters cast ballots in primary and general elections for all city council seats. OR, 2) voters would only be able to elect the city council representative in their district for both the primary and general elections.

What voters will see on the ballot,

Voters can choose a "yes" or "no" option to this question:

Shall Article IV, Sections 401, and 402, and Article VII, Sections 704 and 707 of the charter of the city of Knoxville be amended to elect six regional at-large councilmembers using regional residency as a qualification for regional candidates and three citywide at-large councilmembers and setting a process for primary and regular elections of council members consistent with Public Chapter 391, Acts of 2023. If more than one candidate receives the highest number of votes in the primary election, then only those candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be placed on the regular election ballot. If proceeding the regular election and only one candidate receives the second highest number of votes in the primary election, then the candidate receiving the highest number of votes and those candidates receiving the second highest number of votes shall be placed on the regular election ballot all as more fully set forth in ordinance No. __ of the city of Knoxville as duly published?

With dozens of school threats made over the last two weeks, law enforcement said at least 12 students have been arrested for threats of mass violence.

Six more arrests made on or around September 10 2024. Students aged 12-14 from 4 different schools were arrested.

A report from September 12, 2024, indicates 3 more students were arrested.

It's a sad state of affairs. Kids that age should not be afraid of getting shot to death in school. It would be terrifying to have to return to school where your friends and/or teachers were shot and/or murdered. We need to keep the children safe. There needs to be some mass counseling done to protect the children.

Scam reports are coming in more frequently in the Maryville Daily Times newspaper, September 14, 2024 and September 7, 2024 . People are losing thousands of dollars.

Don't respond to emails, texts, and phone calls unless you are 100% confident they are valid. I got a phone call last night that said it was from Verizon and they wanted me to approve the two new purchases on the account. I hung up immediately. Even if you want to decline the request, don't do it in the email, text, or phone call. Hang up and call the company using the phone number on their bill or the number on the back of the credit card. If accessible, you can look up your account on the company website to see what is going on.

Place a credit freeze so scam creditors can't get access to your credit information. From the U.S. Government, How to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report. You will have to remember to unfreeze your credit reports if you need to apply for credit (e.g. buy a car, open a credit card, buy a home, etc.)

Be careful out there.

The Supreme Court begins a new term, and resumes its trashing of American legal traditions, the first Monday in October. That should remind us of the stakes in the upcoming election, but it’s also a time to recall how we got to our Clarence Thomas problem. He has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly 33 years, longer than the two dozen years of service from the man he was nominated to replace, Thurgood Marshall. The late justice Marshall was a pillar of judicial integrity, a champion for civil rights, and an accomplished jurist. Thomas does not measure up on those criteria—and over time has become what many of us feared at the time of his nomination, a bitter advocate for ill-informed retrograde policies and an embarrassment to the court.

Went to Cades Cove yesterday and saw eight bears. A Park volunteer said they were unusually active. Lots of bear jams. Click photo below for a few pics.

That's where a large concrete structure is going up as part of new apartments being built near the proposed pedestrian bridge site on the South Waterfront.

It's called Livano Knoxville, and it's located along West Blount Avenue. The project will include 348 apartments across two buildings, ranging in size from one-bedroom units to three bedrooms. The gray concrete building people are beginning to notice and an adjacent building under construction are both part of this project.

What's that being built on the South Knoxville waterfront across from Food City Center?

Tonight, Kamala Harris will debate the liar-in-chief.

The debate is hosted by ABC News from Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center, 9pm. It should be on most major new networks. Good thing since we have Direct TV and they have been cut off from ABC by Disney in a contract dispute.

Has the ex-president ever read the Constitution? He certainly doesn't seem to care about forming "a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

"Tuesday night's debate isn't just the first matchup between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Harris. It's their first time meeting in person."

Lyrics
Maybe I'll be there to shake your hand (Shake your hand)
Maybe I'll be there to share the land (Share the land)
That they'll be givin' away
When we all live together, we're talkin' 'bout together, now
...

“I-75 is closed at mile marker/Exit 49, and U.S. 25, nine miles north of London due to an active shooter situation,” the Laurel County Sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook. “Numerous persons have been shot near I-75.”

Be careful out there.

about 140 officers were injured that day [Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection], making it “likely the largest single day mass assault of law enforcement” in American history, Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for Washington, has said.

Knowing this the Fraternal Order of Police elects to endorse the instigator of the insurrection.

It's a bit creepy that an organization representing law enforcement who are supposed to protect citizens endorses anyone much less a felon and a sexual predator.

“I don’t like that this is a fact of life,” Vance [GOP VP nominee] said. “But if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets. And we have got to bolster security at our schools. We’ve got to bolster security so if a psycho wants to walk through the front door and kill a bunch of children they’re not able.”

I believe the school had 2 security guards. You can't put bullet proof glass around every student and teacher.

Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris says,

“It’s just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive."

“We have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all. You know, it doesn’t have to be this way,” Harris continued.

At a Fox News Townhall, Trump appears to forget who he is running against.

From the Fox video,

I can't imagine New Hampshire voting for him. Anybody in New Hampshire voting for him. Anybody in New Hampshire. Cause they are watching right now. But anybody in New Hampshire that vote for [pause] Biden and and Kamala, uh...

The project will happen in three phases and focus on a stretch of highway from Blount Avenue to Woodlawn Pike, which is about 3/4 of a mile. USDOT said the goal is to address pedestrian safety challenges along the highway, including high-speed drivers, people not yielding to pedestrians or people on bicycles, and "inconsistent pedestrian facilities."

The money will fund a new sidewalk or shared-use pedestrian and bike path along the west side of the highway, as well as new pedestrian signals at intersections and a wide, landscaped median.

Knoxville to get nearly $18 million in federal grants to add sidewalks, pedestrian safety features on Chapman Highway

Citing an increased need in the senior community amid inflation, Knox County Trustee Justin Biggs announced a tax freeze eligibility expansion for homeowners 65 and older.

Biggs proposed increasing the income limit per senior household to the Knox County Commission from $44,940 to $60,000, the state maximum.
...

The Trustee’s Office will host sign-up events at local senior centers around the Knox County area throughout October. More information, including a link to the application, is available on the Trustee’s Office web page. Hrre is the Trustee's Office phone number: 865-215-2305.

A Tennessee-based media company with prominent MAGA personalities on its roster has been accused of receiving millions of dollars from two employees of Russian state-backed media company Russia Today (RT) in order to influence American viewers.

Yikes!

Effective July 1 Susan Espiritu is the new leader at KnoxTNToday. Sandra Clark is still involved, just taking a different role.

Times they are a changing. Keep up the good work Sandra. Good luck to Susan in her new endeavor.