Monday last day to register to vote for presidential, Knox primaries

Time is running out to register for the 2016 presidential and Knox County primary elections.

Tennessee voters need to register by Monday, Feb. 1, if they want to participate.

“Every time that the national election comes along, everybody gets re-energized," League of Women Voters committee member Helen Tews said. "People want to be able to vote in November, and if they want to select which candidate for which party, both nationally and locally, they have to start voting in these primaries.”

A few key things to establish before voting:

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You must be a U.S. citizen. You must also be a Tennessee resident to vote in the state.
• You must have a state or federally issued photo I.D.

Early voting starts Feb. 10.

“On election day, Mar. 1, the lines will be long," Tews said. "If you wait till that day, we expect a large turnout.”

If you have not registered yet, you can print out an application form on the Knox County election website.

If you don't remember if you've registered, you can check that, too.

It also shows polling locations and other information about upcoming elections.

The final day to register for the 2016 Knox County general election is July 5. Election Day is Aug. 4.

The last day to register to vote in the 2016 presidential general election is Oct. 11, and the election is on Nov. 8.

'Stop The Violence: A Community Conversation' tonight on WBIR

Knoxville leaders and our community will gather at Fulton High School on Wednesday night to talk about ways to help at-risk kids, and take a stand against violence following the shooting death of Zaevion Dobson.

WBIR is partnering with WATE, WVLT and the Knoxville New Sentinel for a one-hour public forum called "Stop the Violence: A Community Conversation."

MORE: County dedicates Jan. 24 to Dobson

Anyone who can't make it can watch at home on any of the three networks, or at WBIR.com.
The forum starts at 7 p.m. ET.

Join the conversation using #ZaevionDobson.

Call for Nominations: Poet Laureate for City of Knoxville by April 1

The Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville invites nominations for Poet Laureate for the City of Knoxville. Knoxville has a long and rich literary heritage. George Washington Harris’s Knoxville-based tales of Sut Lovingood were an influence on Mark Twain, William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor.

Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of The Secret Garden, wrote her first novel in Knoxville based on her experiences as an adolescent here. Pulitzer Prize winners James Agee and Cormac McCarthy both grew up in Knoxville, and the city figures prominently in their works. Poet Nikki Giovanni is a Knoxville native who attended Austin High School and has often written about her memories of the city.

The City of Knoxville Poet Laureate Program aims to extend and build on this heritage by recognizing and supporting citizen poets of exceptional talent and accomplishment.

The Poet Laureate shall serve a term of one year with an optional one-year renewal, beginning in the Summer of 2016, during which they shall serve as a public voice of Knoxville, creating city-specific works and participating in literary outreach and educational programs.

The Poet Laureate will receive an annual honorarium of $3,000; the award should be considered honorific. The City of Knoxville shall retain license to use, reproduce, and compile the work created for the City by the Poet Laureate in his/her official capacity, but the Poet shall retain all other rights to the work.

The deadline for nominations to be received is Friday, April 1, 2016.

Legal residents of the corporate limits of the city of Knoxville may nominate a poet for the Poet Laureate position. Poets may not self-nominate. Those submitting nominations must be at least 21 years old.

Nomination forms, conditions for eligibility, and instructions for submission of nominations may be obtained from the Arts & Culture Alliance's website at www.knoxalliance.com/poet.html, or send an SASE to Liza Zenni, Arts & Culture Alliance, PO Box 2506, Knoxville, TN 37901.

Candidate: Property Assessor's Office under IRS criminal investigation

A two-time candidate for the Knox County property assessor’s position said the office is under federal investigation.

During a taping of Sunday political talk show "Inside Tennessee," candidate Andrew Graybeal told the panel that he’s met with current and former employees who informed him that they’ve met with an agent from the Internal Revenue Service’s criminal investigation division as recently as “two weeks ago.”

The office determines the value of all local and commercial property in Knox County.

“What I am hearing from the employees is . . . assessments, issues and campaign contributions will get you a lower assessment – that’s what has been said to me by employees, former and current,” said Graybeal, who also ran for the job in 2008.

Graybeal is one of three Republicans seeking the position in the March 1 primary. The winner will take over the office, since no Democrat qualified.

Phil Ballard, the current property assessor, is term-limited.

After the taping, WBIR 10News reached out to Ballard’s attorney, Don Bosch, regarding the accusations.

“We have been aware of the rumors and allegations for many years now and we look forward to the day that these rumors and allegations end,” Bosch said.

Jim Weaver, the current chief deputy in the office, also is seeking the position.

He said “those are rumors we’ve heard for six years,” but he said he had never met with investigators.

“I have no knowledge of this,” he said. “These are pretty serious accusations. I have not been talked to, I don’t know anyone who has been talked to."

John Whitehead, who served as property assessor from 2000-08 and also is seeking the job, said he has not talked to investigators nor was he aware of a possible federal probe.

The Property Assessor’s Office, which has 45 employees, is responsible for appraising residential and commercial property in Knox County.

Tune in to WBIR 10News at 9:30 a.m. Sunday for more on the election.

Davis to host campaign kick off

Marleen Davis, the Democrat running for the 4th District Knox County Commission seat, will kick off her campaign Jan. 26 with a meet and greet at Holly's Gourmet Market.

The event runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Hollys will cater the event, which also will include a cash bar with wine from Toddy's and beer from Alliance.

According to a release:

"This is Marleen's first attempt at running for public office. As a mother, architect, and career educator, she understands the importance of our neighborhoods, schools, commercial districts, and parks in creating a great quality of life, all contributing to a greater economic well-being of our county."

Davis will face the winner of the March Republican Primary. Those candidates include incumbent Jeff Ownby, Hugh Nystrom and Janet Testerman.

As always, send me your campaign info for publication consideration.

Ashe added to Open Government board

Victor Ashe

Well, this could be interesting. The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has added former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe to its board of directors.

Victor, a columnist for The Shopper, has been feuding recently with current Mayor Madeline Rogero. In fact, it's gotten to the point where she's making any of his record requests go through the attorney's office, something she's not requiring for other members of the media (Rogero has stated that she doesn't consider Ashe a member of the media).

In addition to Ashe, the following also were added to the board:

• Braden Boucek, litigation director and representative for The Beacon Center of Tennessee
• Hedy Weinberg, executive director of ACLU-TN
• John Williams, attorney with Tune, Entrekin & White, P.C.
• Larry Wood, general manager of WNWS-FM, NewsTalk 101.5 FM in Jackson

TCOG, according to its website, is a non-partisan organization founded in 2003 whose mission rests on the belief that citizen access to government information, through public records and public meetings, is crucial in allowing informed participation in a democratic society, and is an essential component in government accountability.

“These board members reflect a diversity of background and experiences, but each has a rich history in Tennessee and share a common viewpoint that transparency in government in our state is essential,” said TCOG Board President Doug Pierce said in a released statement. “TCOG’s educational programs have been growing, and we hope to continue to improve understanding of the rights of citizens to know what their government is doing, and to promote a culture of openness in government at all levels.”

You can read more about the appointments RIGHT SMACK HERE.

BOE to pay superintendent to quit

The Knox County Board of Education approved Tuesday night terms for Superintendent Jim McIntyre's planned resignation in July.

McIntyre announced earlier this month he would resign effective July 8.

The board meeting at Knox County Schools headquarters in the Andrew Johnson Building downtown drew a crowd. Board member Amber Rountree said she took umbrage with the notion - which she's heard - that "certain" board members wanted McIntyre to leave.

Before board members voted to agree to terms, member Gloria Deathridge, a McIntyre supporter said: "A few people want this. You're getting what you want."

Board member Terry Hill offered and then later withdrew a proposed amendment to push back McIntyre's severance delivery date.

RELATED: Superintendent McIntyre to step down

The Board of Education would pay McIntyre, schools chief since 2008, a buyout equivalent to one year's salary.

He is set to receive that pay out – $227,256, minus normal employment required deductions – in  a lump sum by Feb. 15, 2016.

In addition, the deal allows McIntyre and his immediate family to purchase COBRA coverage for himself and his family for 18 months after he leaves this summer.

The arrangement, however, won't be official until board members approve it.

The board meeting, called specifically to address McIntyre's departure, started at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

McIntyre's current contract started Jan. 1 of this year and extends until the end of 2019: a 4-year deal.

Three minor issues revealed in annual Knox County audit but good overall

Knox County once again received a clean bill of health from its auditors, but the firm that conducted the annual financial review said officials still have room to improve.

The county’s external auditor, Pugh & Company, noted three significant deficiencies. But, for the first time in a long time, no material weaknesses while reviewing the county’s budget for fiscal year 2015, which concluded last June 30, according to a preliminary draft of a report.

The county’s Audit Committee will talk more about the findings during its meeting Tuesday.

Overall, county financial statements - in addressing an entire organization that includes the county general government, the school system, and the fee offices - have once again received an “unqualified opinion,” the best ranking possible.

The county has earned the ranking each year for more than a decade, and received the "Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting" from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for almost 20 years.

Auditors, however, noted the following, which they listed as significant deficiencies:

• Six school and county invoices that amounted to $1 million should have been paid through the FY 2015 budget, but were instead paid with revenues from the current budget.
• The Criminal Court Clerk’s Office was dinged after auditors discovered that the department reviews daily receipts on a monthly basis rather than each day.
• Auditors also found accounting errors in the school system’s nutrition department that led to financial overstatements of $622,000.

Officials have since put controls in place to fix the problems.

Rest of story RIGHT HERE.

City to launch complaint phone line

The City of Knoxville will launch a new inspections hotline to handle complaints on Saturdays, beginning Jan. 23.

When activated later this week, the hotline – 865-755-2531 – will be a complaint-driven service to address concerns about issues such as possible zoning violations, non-permitted construction, abandoned vehicles and dirty lots.

Between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays, a City inspector will answer calls and visit sites of concern. The hotline is a pilot program that City officials hope will help close a gap. Until now, citizen concerns about non-permitted construction work or other code violations occurring on weekends could not be reported until Monday morning, by which time the violation may have ceased.

“There have been times when a City resident has wanted to talk about remedying a code violation occurring on a Saturday but our inspectors were off the clock,” said Peter Ahrens, the City’s Director of Plans Review and Inspections. “We hope this new Saturday inspections hotline will close the gap and ensure that residential and commercial construction projects are executed through proper permitting to ensure basic safety standards are met.”

Property owners unsure about commercial construction permitting can call 311 during weekday business hours to speak with Plans Review and Inspections office staff. Business owners also can contact Patricia Robledo, the City’s Business Liaison in the Office of Business Support, at 865-215-3155.

For residential construction projects, citizens can check a list of items that require permitting by visiting www.knoxvilletn.gov/plansreview or by calling 311 during regular business hours.

League of Women Voters to host three candidate forums in coming weeks

The League of Women Voters will hold three candidate forums within the three weeks remaining before early voting begins on Feb. 10. Only those candidates in the eight contested primary races have been invited to participate.

County Commission candidates in Districts 1, 2, 4, and 6 will take part in a forum on Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m. at the Emporium, 100 S. Gay St, Knoxville, 37902. The event is co-sponsored with the Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Board of Education: Candidates in Districts 2 and 5 will participate in a forum on February 2, 6:30 p.m. at Pellissippi State Community College, 1610 E. Magnolia, Ave., Knoxville, 37917.

Law Director and Property Assessor The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, 601 W. Summit Hill Dr., Knoxville, 37902 will host the forum for candidates of these offices on February 4, 6:30 p.m. with Matt Shafer Powell, WUOT Radio Director of News Content, as moderator.

Go to (http://www.lwvknoxville.org/index.html) for updates.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

BOE candidate files complaint with IRS over nonprofit 'political' email

(UPDATE: Tullock responds to the complaint)

Knox County school board candidate Jennifer Owen has filed a “Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral) Form” with the Internal Revenue Service regarding an email sent by Laurens Tullock, President of the Cornerstone Foundation of Knoxville, according to a news release.

MORE: The email in question

As a non-profit organization it is a violation of Internal Revenue Service regulations to endorse political candidates, Owens states. She noted that on Jan. 5, Tullock sent an email that endorsed three candidates (including her opponent),that she says violates these regulations because it was sent through Cornerstone's email service and contained Mr. Tullock’s official Cornerstone signature information.

Additionally, Tullock sent this email to the Chairman of the Knox County Board of Education, Doug Harris and to Jamie Woodson, President of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) where Tullock serves on the Steering Committee with Dr. James McIntyre, Superintendent of Knox County Schools, according to the release.

Owen feels the email requesting support and donations is a violation of IRS rules regarding political involvement.

If all recipients complied with the request to fund one or more of these candidates, the amount involved in these three political races could be between $45,000 and $270,000, she says.

After Tullock was called out by The Shopper's Betty Bean, he apparently responded on Knoxviews, a local political blog. You can read his response RIGHT HERE.

MORE: Bean's column

In her release, Owen says: 

"Despite his admission to endorsing these candidates and the admission that it was somehow also posted on West High School PTSO's Facebook page (another non-profit, Mr. Tullock's defense of the email falls flat. He says that he may endorse candidates as an individual and that the email sent from Cornerstone's account was an error. However, his very formal, business signature, including his assistant’s contact information, is not the kind of thing one uses when sending personal emails."

East Tennessee lawmakers gather for journalism legislative luncheon

A dozen state lawmakers shared their top priorities Saturday at the annual East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists Legislative Luncheon.

Moderated by WBIR 10News anchor John Becker and held at Bearden Banquet Hall in West Knoxville, the panel discussion focused on matters the Legislature will address this session.

Topics included a possible gas tax increase, whether counties should be given the option to elect their school superintendent and whether people licensed to carry a gun should be allowed to bring their firearm onto school property.

Freshman Republican representative Jason Zachary, of Knoxville, is proposing a bill focusing on grandparents' rights. He said a constituent of his raised the issue.

"His daughter had a baby out of wedlock, and now both parents are out of the picture," Zachary explained, "so when it goes before a court and both parents are out of the picture, one set of grandparents typically gets custody, but because of a loophole in the statute, the other set of grandparents simply don't have any rights."

He said his bill would close that loophole, allowing "the judge to be able to look at both grandparents equally, and he provides custodial rights to one set of grandparents but then he can award visitation rights to the other set of grandparents."

Rest of story RIGHT HERE.

You also can read more coverage of the event HERE.