National Federation of Independent Business endorses Martin Daniel

Martin Daniel

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Tennessee’s leading small business association, has endorsed candidates in 28 state legislative primary races, including incumbent Representative Martin Daniel in the District 18 race.

“I am honored to be endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business," Daniel said. "As a small business owner, I understand their importance to our Tennessee economy, and I will continue to support and work with NFIB on issues that impact small business.”

In addition to this endorsement, the National Federation of Independent Business has recently named Representative Daniel as a “Guardian of Small Business.”

State primaries are scheduled for Aug. 4, with early voting from July 15-30. Daniel faces Bryan Dodson, Steve Hall and James Corcoran in the Republican primary and will face a Democrat challenger in the Nov. 8 general election.

As always, send me your political items for publication consideration.

GOP to hold election rally on Monday

Knox County Republicans are invited to join in a pre-election rally on Monday.

The event, which starts at 5 p.m., will include a number of officeholders and candidates running in the Aug. 4 election.

The Knox County Republican Party and the West Knox Republican Club are partnering in this combined “Get Out The Vote” rally, and the club’s annual cake auction fundraiser, according to a release.

The event will include free hamburgers, hot dogs, and "all the fixin’s at our indoor picnic" at Rothchild’s Catering and Conference Center.

Those who attend also can participate in the bidding for cakes provided by candidates and elected officials.

Knoxville Mayor Rogero, Democrats will rally prior to early voting

The Knox County Democratic Party will hold a rally for the Aug. 4 county general election next Thursday evening.
Early voting then starts the following day, July 15.

The rally takes place at 5:30 p.m. at the party headquarters at 311 Morgan St. in the Old City.

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero will speak at the event, as will the 11 Democrats who are running for county and state office. (The state general election is in November.)

“We are thrilled that 11 candidates have stepped up to the plate to give Knox County residents a choice at the polls in August and November," said Cameron Brooks, Chair of the Knox County Democratic Party, in a statement. "Our message of supporting Knoxville’s working people we hope will have resonance that will lead us to victory this year.”

More information on the candidates can be found RIGHT HERE. 

League to host 3 political forums

The League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County will co-sponsor a number of forums for Knox County commission and state House candidates participating in the Aug. 4 general election.

The first one kicks off Saturday from 3-5 p.m. at the YWCA on Cruze Street with the District 1 and District 8 candidates.

Confirmed candidates attending: Michael Covington, Tyrone LaMar Fine, Dave Wright and Donald Wiser.

The next forum is set for July 12 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the East Tennessee History Center on Gay Street and will feature the candidates in the contested Republican primary race for the 18th District state House seat.

Confirmed candidates attending: James Corcoran, Martin Daniel, Bryan Dodson and Steve Hall

The third forum is set for 7 p.m. July 18 at the Emporium on Gay Street. It will feature commission districts 4, 5 and 6.

Confirmed candidates attending: Hugh Nystrom, Marleen Kay Davis, John Schoonmaker, Sheri Ridgeway, Brad Anders and Donna Lucas.

Today is last day to register for August Knox Co., state elections

Today is the last day to register to vote for the Aug. 4 Knox County general election and the state and federal primaries.

To register, residents of Knox County must mail a voter registration form to the following address:

Knox County Election Commission
300 Main St., Suite 218
Knoxville, TN 37902

Not sure if you’re registered to vote? Click here

Right now, residents cannot register to vote online. However, they can beginning next year on July 1., said Knox County Elections Administrator Cliff Rodgers.

Early voting for the Aug. 4 election runs from July 15-30.

The general election is scheduled for Nov. 8.

Anyone with questions can call (865)215-2480 or visit Knox County’s election website.

Happy July 4: Thanks for 240 years!

Photo: Michael Crowe

Increased parking enforcement begins

A number of downtown parking changes kick in Friday.

In an effort to manage public park, the city is installing more than 1,000 new meters, adjusting rates for on-street and garage parking, and increasing parking enforcement.

Officials say the goal is to create more turnover, but they'll get some coin out of this, too. Heh. 

You can find a great map that details the meter locations RIGHT SMACK HERE. 

The ideal occupancy rate for parked cars in short-term metered spaces is 85 percent in a prime city block – meaning that a motorist should be able to find a parking space within a block or so of his or her destination.

In the Cumberland Avenue Corridor, PBA officers also will be enforcing 30-minute limits in designated commercial loading zones as well as discouraging drivers of commercial vehicles from parking illegally on sidewalks or in other non-designated areas.

Starting July 1, PBA will be assigning six officers to enforce parking regulations throughout downtown. In addition, four PBA officers will be handling parking enforcement in the Cumberland Avenue area. (Affected streets in the Cumberland Avenue Corridor include Cumberland, White and Lake avenues; Melrose Place; and Mountcastle, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd streets.)

Public garage parking will remain free on weekends and after 6 p.m. on weekdays.

“There’s plenty of parking downtown, and about 90 percent of it – more than 7,500 spaces – is in garages and City-owned lots,” Downtown Coordinator Rick Emmett said. “That’s clearly the best option for long-term parking.

“Short-term parkers – those visiting offices, shops and restaurants – might prefer the convenience of on-street parking, but most spaces are limited to two hours. The short-term meters will charge $1.50 an hour, versus $1 an hour to park in a garage.

“The new parking management plan will ensure regular turnover, and it’s also a more equitable way of sharing a public resource.”

Among the planned changes taking effect:

• New meters will be installed throughout downtown, including the length of Gay Street from Summit Hill Drive to Hill Avenue that does not currently have meters. 
• The meters will be in effect Monday through Saturday throughout downtown, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Gay Street and around Market Square, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. everywhere else.  Long-term meters (on the north end of the Gay Street Viaduct and along Depot Avenue and South Central Street) will charge 30 cents an hour, with a 10-hour limit.  
• City-owned garages will continue to be free on weekends and after 6 p.m. on weekdays, and will continue to charge $1 an hour for parking during weekdays. Monthly parking rates at City-owned garages will rise by $5 a month.  
• The monthly parking rate for weekday commuters at the Civic Coliseum parking garage will decrease to $15 a month, from its current level of $20 a month. (New trolley routes provide free service from the Coliseum garage every 7 to 8 minutes on weekdays. The garage is also only a 5-minute walk from Gay Street.)  
• In addition to its downtown enforcement, PBA will enforce meters in the Cumberland Avenue District, between White Avenue and Lake Avenue from 17th Street west to the railroad tracks from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday (but not on home football game days).
• Violators parking in commercial loading zones or no-parking zones will be subject to immediate towing, as will motorists with multiple outstanding tickets for meter violations.

Any funds generated from parking activities will be used to support parking infrastructure and downtown amenities. For more information about public parking in Knoxville, visit http://www.knoxvilletn.gov/parking.

Country, state, county react to legendary Pat Summitt's death

Photo: Getty Images

The outpouring is intense.

Basketball has lost a legend. Tennessee has lost a daughter.

In the hours that followed the announcement of University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball coach Pat Summitt’s death, well-wishers have set social media circles, radio talk shows and television reports ablaze.

Her name is trending almost everywhere.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

People across the city, the county, the state, the nation and the world are honoring, praising and remembering the trailblazing Summitt for her accomplishments both on and off the basketball court.

The thoughts comes from her family, her friends, teammates, opponents, colleagues, acquaintances, people she barely met and people she never knew.

The theme is constant: People are saddened; her character was beyond reproach; she won’t be forgotten.

Tributes emerged throughout Tuesday, from President Barack Obama to educators, athletes and longtime friends.

See full story RIGHT HERE.

Buzz Thomas: Open letter to parents

Buzz Thomas

As I begin my tenure as your interim superintendent of schools, you have every right to ask – and many of you have – “What are your plans?” Not only do you invest nearly a half billion dollars in our schools, you also entrust us with your most precious resource: your children.

So, here are my plans for the first 90 days. After the new school board members are sworn-in this fall, I will write a second open letter which will reflect their plans and dreams for the coming school year.

Our big goal has not changed since the school board and county commission went on their first joint planning retreat four years ago. We are going to build the best school system in the South.

Not so we can pat ourselves on the back, but so that our children and grandchildren will have happy, successful lives in the highly competitive world in which they will live. Since that joint retreat, we have raised graduation rates to 90%, raised teacher pay and earned the state’s first large school system rating of “exemplary.”

We can be proud of that. But, much remains to be done. Half of our 3rd graders are not reading on grade level. Worse still, more than half of our graduating seniors do not meet the minimum ACT benchmarks for college and career readiness.

In response to these challenges, the school board has adopted a strong strategic plan that includes putting a great principal in every school, a great teacher in every classroom and a great school in every neighborhood. We will continue down that path. Priorities will include:

• Using our summer training time to ensure that all elementary principals and early-elementary teachers are properly trained to teach reading. Reading remains our single biggest challenge, and we will take an “all hands on deck” approach to meeting that challenge.
• Making our schools and central office more transparent, collaborative and customer focused. Knox County’s public schools belong to you – the students, parents and taxpayers.
• Making decisions as close to the action as possible. When someone is assigned responsibility for a task, they should be given the authority to go with it. In so far as possible, teachers should be allowed to run their classrooms and principals to run their schools. Of course, everyone must be accountable. If someone can’t do the job, we will replace them, but we will not micromanage our schools. The central office should be the place of last resort when it comes to decisions about a child’s education. 
• Getting our own operations in order. The Knox County Schools has declared its intention to provide “excellence for every child,” yet recent studies by outside individuals and organizations suggest that we have not held ourselves to that same standard of excellence when it comes to managing our own operations. We have experienced significant problems with transportation, public information and human resources, for example. We have asked our students and teachers to meet the highest standards of accountability. Those same standards will be applied to those of us in the central office.

The Board of Education is less divided than one might think. Every single member is united in their desire to see students learn and teachers want to teach in Knox County. To paraphrase Forrest Gump, student achievement and teacher morale are like peas and carrots.

We have much to accomplish, and we will need your help to do it. Public schools are everybody’s business, and it will take everybody working together to achieve our lofty goal of being the best in the South. Please roll up your sleeves and join us in the work. Our children deserve no less.

Many thanks,

Buzz Thomas - Interim Superintendent

Morris as Knoxville Poet Laureate

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero today announced the appointment of writer, musician and playwright R.B. Morris as the first Poet Laureate of the City of Knoxville.

Morris, whose poetry often reflects on East Tennessee culture and history, will serve up to two years in the newly created position.

Mayor Rogero created the City’s Poet Laureate Program earlier this year, and nominations for the first appointee were considered by a committee of the Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance. The selection committee forwarded its recommendation to the Mayor.

“I can’t imagine a more fitting selection for our first Poet Laureate,” Mayor Rogero said. “Like many in Knoxville, I have enjoyed and admired R.B.’s work for years. He has long shown a commitment to building and enriching our community, and this position will give him a platform to continue and amplify that work.”

Morris, a Knoxville native, has published several books of poetry, including “Early Fires,” “Littoral Zones” and “The Mockingbird Poems.” He has served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Tennessee. As a singer-songwriter, he has released a half-dozen acclaimed albums and EPs, and his songs have been recorded by John Prine and Marianne Faithfull, among others. Lucinda Williams once called him “the greatest unknown songwriter in the country,” and Steve Earle said, “R.B. Morris is the reason I started writing poetry.”

“It's a powerful thing for Mayor Rogero to begin the tradition of a Poet Laureate for the city,” Morris said. “The legacy of the poets and writers who have come from Knoxville give the position great esteem and expectations from the start. It's a very special honor to be able to serve here at the beginning. I can accept it for all the poets and writers that are in our city now, and that includes all the great songwriters who are living and working here.”

Rest of the story HERE.

Burchett proposes paid leave bump for county employees in Guard, Reserve

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett is proposing an increase in the number of paid leave days given to Knox County Government employees who are members  of National Guard and U.S. Armed Forces Reserve services.

Currently, employees are paid for up to 20 working days of military leave – or four weeks. Mayor Burchett proposes increasing that  benefit to 30 days of leave – or six weeks.

“Our service members in the Guard and Reserve are increasingly being asked to fulfill the role  our full-time, enlisted servicemen filled, which means more time than ever spent away from  work and family,” said Burchett said.

The proposal would require an amendment to the Knox County personnel ordinance and will go  before the Knox County Commission later this month during the board’s June 20 work session  and June 27 meeting.

“Knox County supports our employees’ service and sacrifice for our country, and this is an important, meaningful way to show our appreciation and also reduce the financial burden on employees who are on assignment or deployed,” the mayor added.

The ordinance amendment must pass two readings by the County Commission before becoming law.

Unwanted medication collection event

Members of the East Tennessee Regional Medication Collection Coalition will be on hand to collect and properly dispose of unwanted medicines Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Food City in Fountain City located at 4805 North Broadway near Adair Drive.

Medicines can only be dropped off at this location during the event. At all other times, Knox County residents can bring old or unused medicines to the Knoxville Police Department Safety Building at 800 Howard Baker Jr. Ave. The Safety Building is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This event is sponsored by: the Knoxville Police Department, Knox County and City of Knoxville Solid Waste Offices, Knox County Health Department, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, UT Academy of Student Pharmacists, KUB, the Metropolitan Drug Commission, WBIR and WUOT.

For more information visit http://www.medicationcollection.org/.