Roads will be closed temporarily from Friday nights at 6 p.m. to Sunday nights at 6 p.m. Those closures include Market Street between Clinch and Union Avenue and Union Avenue between Walnut and Gay Street.

City of Knoxville opening pedestrian zone in downtown

Hurricane Milton was upgraded back to a Category 5 storm as it churns toward Florida’s west coast. The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.

"Eleven Florida counties, home to about 5.9 million people, were under mandatory evacuation orders as of Tuesday afternoon. Officials are warning residents not to bank on the storm weakening.

Let's welcome evacuees to the area as they may join the North Carolina evacuees.

As we rapidly tumble toward the 2024 election, I thought it might be best to frame the presidential choice in terms of two figures who did not live to see the 21st century but who are key to understanding Donald Trump’s approach to life, and Kamala Harris’ approach to democracy. They respectively are the malicious lawyer Roy Cohn, and the anti-blacklisting hero John Henry Faulk.

Do not vote illegally! It is a Federal crime and you could do prison time.

Similar to the 1,500 + people who listened to Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, and then got arrested for doing that thing Trump encouraged them to do, you could go to prison. Just because Trump or his minions tell you to do something doesn't mean you should.

Elon Musk's mother tweeted over the weekend,

"The Democrats have given us another option. You don’t have to register to vote,” she wrote on the app Saturday. “On Election Day, have 10 fake names, go to 10 polling booths and vote 10 times. That’s 100 votes, and it’s not illegal. Maybe we should work the system too.”

Don't do it. You are family. You are a good friend. Please don't get arrested for voter fraud.

Under pressure to control housing costs, Republican lawmakers rejected standards meant to protect against disasters, experts say.

Chris Millis, director of regulatory affairs for the North Carolina Home Builders Association,... said statewide rules are unnecessary because local governments have rules about building on hillsides."
...
"The legislature passed a law that blocked the state from adopting new building codes until 2031."
...
"The new law has made it harder for North Carolina to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to fund climate-resilient construction projects, which prioritize states with up-to-date building codes. The governor’s office has estimated that North Carolina has lost $70 million in grants because of the 2023 law."

JD Vance said in the recent debate, "And we're not going to stop it by listening to experts. We're going to stop it by listening to common sense wisdom, which is what Donald Trump governed on."

It goes on and on. We don't need any stinking rules, experts, or science. Until, of course, you do.

I'm pretty sure there is plenty of non-Federal land available for development, but...

What can be said about the Republican ideas? They have no clue plus they have no compassion plus they don't care about the law.

I wonder how much compassion I will have if the Republican candidate gets elected by my neighbors who need the Democratic candidate more than they either know or will admit.

H/T Eschaton

Jacob Ingram told the Knoxville News Sentinel that flash flood warnings were issued while the workers were at the plant and as they watched floodwaters rise in the parking lot. That is when workers should have been evacuated, but instead supervisors told them to move their cars, he said.

“We asked them if we should evacuate, and they told us not yet, it wasn’t bad enough," he told the newspaper. “And by the time it was bad enough, it was too late unless you had a four-wheel-drive.”

Grief and anger mix as Tennessee plastic plant survivors say permission to leave came too late

Spyro Gyra put on a good show tonight at the Bijou. 50 years and counting as a band. Third time I have seen them. Enjoyed every show.

Starting in 2025, all Medicare [drug] plans will include a $2,000 cap on what you pay out-of-pocket for prescription drugs covered by your plan. If your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs reaches $2,000 (including certain payments made on your behalf, like through the Extra Help program), you’ll automatically get “catastrophic coverage.” That means you won’t have to pay out-of-pocket for covered Part D drugs for the rest of the calendar year.

$2,000 cap on what you pay out-of-pocket for prescription drugs

Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

Carter's life's work was one of promoting peace and human rights.

Jimmy Carter is celebrating his 100th birthday on Tuesday, marking another milestone for the former U.S. president and Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian.

Carter, who served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981, is the longest-lived former chief executive in U.S. history.

NPR - Photos: As Jimmy Carter celebrates his 100th birthday, a look through the decades

A great man and an Allman Brothers fan.

The Georgia-based group, Allman Brothers, provided crucial early support for his 1976 White House run, creating a bond that lasted for decades.

Doctors are paid a flat rate for each application file they review. How much they earn depends on how fast they work.

Denied: How some Tennessee doctors earn big money denying disability claims

Disability Benefits: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Intercity buses carry an estimated 60 million people annually — twice the number of people who take Amtrak every year — but companies have cut service and closed terminals in recent decades.

America’s Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

Patients and staff at Unicoi County Hospital are trapped on the roof Friday due to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Helene.

The Nolichucky River is out of its banks. The flow is faster than ever experienced in the area, nearly 100,000 cubic feet per second. Normal is 500 to 4,500 cfs.

I pray for these people. It was on CNN not long ago. Very scary. They are using helicopters from the Virginia State Police to get people off the building.

There are reports Blackhawk helicopters are being sent from McGhee Tyson Air National Guard base.

Update: reports indicate everyone has been rescued.

September has been a busy month for law enforcement in Blount County Schools. On Sept. 12, BCSO announced it had charged three students with making threats of mass violence on school property. The newly designated Class E felony carries a weightier sentence than before, and law enforcement across the state is cracking down on the threats.

In addition, an elementary school went on lockdown when someone was carrying a gun on the grounds.

The someone carrying a Glock 19 gun on school grounds turned out to be a bus driver.

"...officials said the incident presented no threat and students were never in danger." He was charged "with a misdemeanor count of carrying weapons on school property."

I'm not sure I would feel safe after this incident. How many times had this person carried a gun while not getting caught? How many other school workers are carrying guns?

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Doesn't come thru our area but step in right direction

Map Shows New 'Floridian' Train Route From Chicago to Miami

From the Maryville Daily Times,

Residents from Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Grainger, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane and Union counties are invited to complete an online survey to share their perspective on climate change, energy efficiency, transportation and other topics in order to inform the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization’s (TPO) upcoming public engagement strategies related to climate change.

The survey is available at Shape Knoxville's Green Future now through Sept. 30, 2024.

Use option 2 to complete the survey. Option 1 is for those who received a survey in the mail with a 9 digit code.

"The goal is to have one continuous greenway for play, pedestrian and bicycling and that still hasn't been completed," Smith said.

South Knoxville's 'mid-river' waterfront expected to see more changes, increase in accessibility

Wow! Is Burchett afraid of his constituents? Does Burchett believe he needs to demonstrate his love for guns to win an election? What is Burchett selling? Disturbing.