Some folks downtown aren't real happy about Marsha Blackburn's fundraiser luncheon at Club LeConte with Vice President Pence on Friday the 21st. The First TN Plaza parking garage will be closed Friday until 3PM, even if you have a monthly permit. There are no deliveries allowed before 3PM. Several downtown blocks will be restricted with no pedestrian traffic allowed between noon and 3PM. No one will be allowed into First TN Plaza during this time.

There are lots of lawyers and other professionals in the building, along with other merchants such as restaurants, a bank, barber shops, etc., that will be affected. We are told that people are scrambling to adjust calendars, rearrange meetings, etc., and that Club LeConte didn't coordinate with building management about the event. Tenants were only advised about all this today, giving them little time to prepare.

UT Board of Trustees Chair John Compton: "Today, I will announce my plan to ask the board to consider appointing UT Knoxville alumnus and Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd to serve as interim president for the University of Tennessee System, perhaps for 12 to 24 months, following the retirement of UT President Joe DiPietro."

But the report also looks at the home addresses of those who died. In 2017, as in 2016, the ZIP codes 37920 (South Knoxville) and 37917 (North Knoxville) were at the top, although 2018 numbers project that 37920 has moved to the fourth spot, and 37917 up to No.1, followed by 37918 and 37921.

Report: South, North Knoxville among areas hardest hit by drug deaths

The Department of Labor determined that Pocahontas Coal Company’s Affinity Mine would no longer be subject to tough enforcement actions taken against mines that repeatedly violate mine health and safety laws and receive a "pattern of violations" notice.

Federal mine safety official warned the Trump administration is putting miners in danger, violating law

Knox County Public Library invites the public to a discussion of Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven Stoll at noon on Wednesday, September 26 in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium. The discussion will be led by Amy Steadman, Collections Development Manager at ETSU's Center of Appalachian Studies and Services.

Ramp Hollow offers the reader a sensitive portrayal of Appalachians and their self-sufficiency with small-scale farming, foraging and hunting, along with distilling and trading. Stoll recasts the story of Appalachia as a complex struggle between mountaineers and profit-seeking industrialization that came from outside the region. His original investigation—ranging widely from history to literature, art, and economics—questions our assumptions about progress and development, and exposes the devastating legacy of dispossession and its repercussions today.

Thursday, September 20, 2018, 2:18 PM, EST

A "Presidential Alert" text message system:)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on September 20, 2018.

If circumstances, such as a major weather event, cause the IPAWS National Test to be postponed, the back-up date is Wednesday, October 3, 2018.

“the President has sole responsibility for determining when the national-level EAS will be activated,” according to FEMA.

We can only hope the President understands this is to only be used in the event of a "national emergency".

At Knox News,

A school bus that shuttles students home from Hardin Valley Academy regularly seats some of them in the aisle, according to student photos and video footage obtained by USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee.

A local parent has brought this to the attention of Knox County Schools three times. but the problem persists.

It has not yet been confirmed if the bus is overcrowded or if students are not sharing their seats or something else. I rode the school bus for the majority of elementary school and high school. I cannot imagine how I would have felt if I had to sit on the floor in the aisle. I'm guessing my parents would not have allowed it to continue. Best of luck to the local parent on this issue.

There is major flooding in North Carolina from Hurricane (now Tropical Depression) Florence's continuing rains. Some areas have received over 30 inches.

We were just watching a CNN report from Fayetteville. The Cape Fear River has risen dramatically in the last 48 hours and continues to rise. The National Weather Service predicts it will crest on Tuesday and remain over flood stage until Friday:

The river level is expected to reach 62.3 feet with discharge of 95,600 cfs. According to USGS data, normal is about 12 to 14 feet and 3000 to 4000 cfs. The record was 68.9 feet in 1945. It reached 63.5 feet in 1929. This is major, historical flooding. And it's not just this river. Every stream in the affected area will have similar conditions.

Entire towns are cut off and stranded. I-95 is closed through North Carolina, as are most roads in the affected areas. The governor has told the public not to come there and to go around through Tennessee and Georgia. The National Guard and other emergency responders are having difficulty getting personnel and equipment in, and fuel supplies are running low. Water rescues are underway all over the affected areas where possible. Hundreds have been rescued and hundreds more are awaiting help.

This is a major disaster and the immediate situation will not improve for several days. It's hard to imagine how long recovery will take.

U.S. Senate candidates former Governor Phil Bredesen and Rep. Marsha Blackburn have agreed to participate in a debate at Cumberland University, Lebanon, TN.

The event will take place at 7 p.m. EST on Tuesday, September 25th, 2018.

The debate is sponsored by [Nashville] NewsChannel 5, The Tennessean, Nashville Public Television (NPT), the League of Women Voters and Cumberland University.

The program will be broadcast live on [Nashville] NewsChannel 5 and NPT in Nashville and will be carried statewide on public television. It will also be streamed on NewsChannel5.com and The Tennessean.

In looking at East Tennessee PBS, it appears the debate is scheduled to be aired locally at 8 pm EST.

Interesting segment ...

Minority Rule | September 12, 2018 Act 1 | Full Frontal on TBS

Gamify the Midterms: Can We Reward You For Voting? | September 12, 2018 Act 2 | Full Frontal on TBS

Guess they are relocating inland away from the hurricane. Not sure where they're from but they are LOUD. It's awesome.

Nearly 4,400 people in Arkansas have lost Medicaid coverage because they didn't meet the new work requirements.

"People subject to the rules have to report 80 hours a month of work or other activity such as job training, education, or volunteering. If they’re out of compliance for three months out of the year, their coverage is revoked for the rest of the year.

"The Arkansas Department of Human Services on Wednesday said another 5,000 people on the program will lose coverage if they don’t meet the work requirement by the end of this month."

Gov. Matt Bevin's, R-Kentucky, plan for Medicaid work requirements was the first (January, 2018) state approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Then, in June, 2018, a federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocked Kentucky's plan, saying,

CMS, had been “arbitrary and capricious” in approving Kentucky’s plan because it had “never adequately considered” whether Kentucky’s plan “would, in fact, help the state furnish medical assistance to its citizens, a central objective of Medicaid.”

Currently CMS is reviewing whether to re-approve Kentucky's plan.

These work requirement changes do not affect residents of Tennessee because there is no Medicaid expansion in Tennessee. Tennessee has lost nearly $11 billion in federal funding because of refusing to expand Medicaid. This does not take into account how many people have lost out on access to health care.

From KnoxTNToday,

During a Recode Knoxville meeting at the South Knoxville Community Center, there was a presentation for "the city’s first attempt to update and create a comprehensive zoning plan in more than five decades."

Terrence Carter, Knoxville Area Urban League, the host of the meeting, stated, “The city is projected to grow, and grow rapidly, over the next several years … so by 2040, 170,000 new residents (will be) added to our community,” Carter said. “We want to be able to determine what we want that growth to look like – and manage it, if you will.”

Nick Della Volpe, Attorney and former City Councilman, responds in a comment,
"Seems like they just can’t shake that outrageous fib about future population growth rate in Knoxville...
The current population of the city is roughly 187,000. We have only added about 13,000 residents in the 17 years since 2000... Hardly meteoric growth."

It would appear to be a good idea to "update and create a comprehensive zoning plan" that hasn't been changed in over 50 years. However, I suggest there is no hurry if a primary reason is population growth. It is important to give current citizens plenty of time and information to understand changes that could affect them.

The Congressional Budget Office reports that the U.S. budget deficit has reached $895 billion for the fiscal year to date, a 32% increase over the same period last year. Revenues increased 1% but expenditures increased 7%.

According to the report, some of the deficit increase was caused by the Republican tax cuts, which reduced corporate tax receipts by 30%.

The deficit is expected to hit $1 trillion for the fiscal year.

This means Congress is borrowing about $3100 this year for every man, woman and child in the U.S. (Tennessee's share is almost $21 billion) to help pay for executive jets, yachts, private schools and girlfriends on the side, all of which will be long gone before future generations pay off these generous gifts from Congress and the Grifter in Chief.

Remind me again how conservative Republicans are supposed to be good fiscal stewards?

The deficit decreased 32% in 2013 on Obama's watch, and about 75% overall during his term. Clinton erased the deficit and handed Bush a surplus at the end of his term.

But wait, there's more. Republicans are scrambling to rush out yet another tax cut before the midterms that would create $2 trillion more in deficits.

Be smart. Don't fall for the con.

Curious about electric cars? Check out the Drive Electric event Saturday at Whole Foods. From the organizers:

"The Knox EV club will be hosting a Knoxville National Drive Electric Week event in the Whole Foods parking lot. Knox EV members will be available to provide first hand information about "driving electric". Members and local area dealers will be providing test rides/drives in electric vehicles. EVs from Telsa, Nissan, Chevrolet, BMW, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and owners will be available."

More info...

SEE ALSO: National Drive Electric Week

The Environmental Protection Agency, perhaps as soon as this week, plans to make public a proposal to weaken an Obama-era requirement that companies monitor and repair methane leaks, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. In a related move, the Interior Department is also expected in coming days to release its final version of a draft rule, proposed in February, that essentially repeals a restriction on the intentional venting and “flaring,” or burning, of methane from drilling operations.

Continued...

Hurricane Florence remains a Category 4 hurricane. It is being predicted it will hit North and South Carolina late Thursday or early Friday.

Evacuation orders are in place. I-26 is closed to eastbound traffic from Columbia, SC, to Charleston, SC, to allow for all lanes to open for westbound evacuees.

Some stores are closing already. The North Myrtle Beach Walmart closes tonight.

If Hurricane FLorence hits at a category 4 there could be evacuees in the area. Let's welcome them with open arms.