Heavy traffic on Alcoa Hwy/US129.

Lots of people showing up at Springbrook Park in Alcoa.

Reports of lots of people showing up at Cove Lake, other parks.

Smoky Mountains NP roads congested, large crowds at Clingman's Dome.

Reports of backups on area interstates.

Downtown Sweetwater filling up.

TVA reports all areas at Fontana Dam full, cars being turned away.

From an article in the Knoxville News Sentinel by a physician, an attorney for the Tennessee Medical Association, and the VP of the Tennessee Medical Association.

favorable medical liability climates
...
Tennessee Medical Association led the charge on reforms that significantly reduced frivolous lawsuits and keep a lid on liability insurance premiums and speculative payouts, while keeping physicians accountable for legitimate healthcare injuries and quality of care.

Frivolous lawsuits?

Accountable Care Organizations
groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers, who come together voluntarily to give coordinated high quality care to their Medicare patients.

As defined by the Federal government?

Patient-centered medical homes
TennCare’s three health plans launched a statewide aligned Patient-Centered Medical Homes program with 29 organizations on January 1, 2017.

More federal funds?

The Healthcare Provider Stability Act holds insurance companies accountable to the network contracts they sign with healthcare providers and limits arbitrary, one-sided rate reductions.
...
A 2016 report from the National Safety Council listed Tennessee as one of just four states “making progress” in the fight against prescription drug abuse,

Those two sound pretty good.

The eclipse has conspiracy theorists, doomsayers, paranormals and others on high alert. Here are some predictions and things to look out for....

Appearance of Lizard Man

The secret planet Nibiru will collide with Earth, destroying civilization

Little Green aliens could return to Kentucky

Possible Sasquatch sightings

Ghosts will be more active

Black moon signals the Second Coming and the Apocalypse

Food will turn to poison

The eclipse will emit harmful radiation that can damage your eyes or a pregnant woman's baby

U.S. Navy:

A team of civilian researchers led by entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul G. Allen has announced they have found the wreck of the World War II cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA 35), which was lost July 30, 1945.

This is a significant discovery considering the depth of the water in which the ship was lost - more than 18,000 feet. Around 800 of the ship's 1,196 Sailors and Marines survived the sinking, but after four to five days in the water - suffering exposure, dehydration, drowning, and shark attacks - only 316 survived.

The wreck was located by the expedition crew of Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel, which is owned by Allen, 5,500 meters below the surface, resting on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean.

RoaneViews marks its 10th Anniversary today...

WhitesCreek Steve is one of the good guys. We salute his community involvement and tireless efforts on behalf of conservation and the environment.

Earlier this week, Trump's business councils disbanded themselves. Now this...

President’s Arts Committee Resigns in Trump Protest

"Ignoring your hateful rhetoric would have made us complicit in your words and actions. ... Supremacy, discrimination, and vitriol are not American values. Your values are not American values. We must be better than this. We are better than this. If this is not clear to you, then we call on you to resign your office, too.”

Hey, Kid Rock and Charlie Daniels are available.

Good riddance. Hope he takes that Miller creep with him.

After some early stumbles, skepticism and pain for local merchants, the Cumberland Ave. makeover is finished, on time and on budget. And it looks fabulous.

Don't believe me? Look at these before and after photos.

Some of the signs are still an eyesore, so the city needs to work on the sign ordinance, but overall it's a huge improvement. Traffic patterns will be interesting for U.T.'s first home football game on Sept. 9th as fans adjust.

According to the City, the project transformed Cumberland Ave. between 17th and 22nd streets into "a safer, more pedestrian-friendly corridor with new utility infrastructure, wider sidewalks, improved traffic flow, a raised median and left-turn lanes at intersections."

Gov. Haslam joined Mayor Rogero and other local officials yesterday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the project's completion.

MORE: The New Cumberland Avenue: Safer, More Functional - and Also Greener

SEE ALSO: Previous discussion...

LaKenya Middlebrook interviews several members of the Tennessee Legislature and civil rights leaders Dr. Harold Middlebrook and Theotis Robinson on Friday, August 18 @ 7:30 PM on the Community TV channel.

Tune-in to Democratic TV and hear LaKenya Middlebrook's interviews of several Tennessee Legislators from their recent Town Hall meeting at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. Also hear from local civil rights leaders Dr. Harold Middlebrook and Tehnotis Robinson who along with Diane Jordan had bridges, streets, or overpasses dedicated to them during the Town Hall meeting on July 22nd.

Community Television is available on the channels listed below or you can stream it live (here)

Comcast Channel 12
Charter Channel 193
Wow! Channel 6
ATT U-verse Channel 99

Betsy Pickle at KnoxTNToday has a preview...

Calling for "radical changes," Sen. Bob Corker said today "The President has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to be successful." He went on to say that Trump "has not demonstrated he understands the character of this nation."

Presser...

Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today announced that he will be introducing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump following the President’s comments on the horrific events in Charlottesville, Virginia.

More...

A new "new media" company popped up on my radar a few days ago. It's called Axios and according to their mission statement they are "delivering vital, trustworthy news and analysis in the most efficient, illuminating and shareable ways possible." They also have a manifesto.

Bike share programs work by providing strategically-placed bicycle stations around the city. Participants can pay to pick up a bike at one of the many stations and ride the bike to another station near their destination and drop it off for someone else to use.

According to the resolution, the program would focus on downtown Knoxville and “surrounding areas.”

Knoxville City Council to vote on bike share for city

After signing legislation last year that makes it difficult if not impossible to do so, Gov. Haslam now says that, yeah, the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest should probably be removed from the halls of the State Capitol.

The Tennessean got statements from candidates for governor on the matter...

This story doesn't make any sense.

According to the report, Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond hired a guy he knew was a convicted felon. The federal conviction did not show up on a background check. Even though Hammond knew about it, he says he wouldn't have hired the guy if the conviction had shown up on the background check. Huh?

Then there's the question of how the outside company hired to do the background check missed the conviction. The paper says it turns up on a simple google search.

Regardless, what's the big deal about hiring someone convicted of a non-violent felony to do some filing? Sounds like he's at least somewhat familiar with criminal justice procedure.

Have you heard?

The eclipse path enters the Knox/Blount/Anderson/Roane/etc. areas around 2:30PM, Monday, August 21, 2017. Depending on where you are located the total solar eclipse could be seen for seconds to minutes.

NASA has a Total Eclipse website. Local media has quite of bit of information as well, although the KNS may require a subscription to see the information.

Be careful when purchasing eclipse glasses. Some of them aren't real and will not protect you. Some of the glasses were recalled, including some from Amazon. According to the Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston, SC, a local PTA bought a bunch from Amazon and sold them for a fundraiser only to have them recalled. I also saw a small college purchased thousands of eclipse glasses to find out they could not be used. Who knows, by the time of the eclipse the ones we ordered might be recalled.

Here is a guide from NASA on how to view the 2017 solar eclipse safely.

I'm still a little confused as to why they let many of the local schools out for the eclipse. I understand the eclipse will pass through here around the time for school to be let out. However, how many of these kids will be unsupervised since school is closed for eclipse day. All parents can't get off work to be with their kids.

The Oak Ridge schools will not close. Of course, that is an community of scientists and engineers.

"NOAA will be setting up equipment and experiments for the kids to track everything from wind speed to solar radiation. Classrooms right now are coming up with hypotheses on what will change during the eclipse. Art lessons will even be tailored to the solar event."

Knox County Public Library invites the public to join Dr. Victor Erik Ray for a discussion of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi., Wednesday, August 23, noon to 1:00 in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium. Books Sandwiched In is sponsored by the Friends of Knox County Public Library. Attendees may bring lunch. Drinks are available to purchase.

“Stamped from the Beginning is a transformational piece of historical scholarship," Ray said. “This work provides a critical and necessary backdrop for understanding the stunning staying power of racism and the current predicaments surrounding race relations in the United States. This book is an instant classic and fast becoming a go-to text for both scholars and the public who want to a deeper understanding of racism.”

According to a foreclosure notice in today's paper, the owners of the Knoxville Marriott are in default on a loan and the property will be sold at auction on Sept. 5th on the courthouse steps. The property address listed in the notice is 501 East Hill Avenue, the tax parcel ID is 095IC00301. The notice gives Marriott International the right of first refusal.

UPDATE: It appears that owner Columbia Properties Knoxville, LLC is connected to Columbia Sussex, a hotel/casino operator with a string of recent foreclosures and casino bankruptcies. (link...) (link...)