We're just halfway into the year and already we are seeing the lives of young black men and women taken from us through senseless violence.
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Many urban residents have had enough of our fellow citizens commenting on every news post on social media talking about the ghetto and East Knoxville, shrugging it off as if we are some species undeserving of basic human needs. It is time people in this city started caring for the marginalized.
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With all these abandoned buildings and open spaces for construction, surely we can think of something other than apartment buildings with rent ranges of $2,000 per month.

She makes some very good points. It's certainly a process, especially when not much help has been forthcoming for decades. Some small steps have been taken, but it is a lot of effort to make major changes.

The Pellissippi campus was a great addition. Some of the new housing efforts have helped. There is a lot of work to be done, especially when it comes to gun violence.

The United States is stepping up digital incursions into Russia’s electric power grid in a warning to President Vladimir V. Putin and a demonstration of how the Trump administration is using new authorities to deploy cybertools more aggressively, current and former government officials said.

Cyber wars have been going on for a while. A little scary. I wish we could work harder to prevent intrusions.

Several new laws are going into effect in Tennessee on July 1.

Tennessee laws going into effect July 1

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs: "vile"

Knox County DA Charme Allen: "reprehensible"

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee: [no recorded comment]

(link...)

The renewable energy sector had slightly more installed capacity than coal in April, according to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report.

Renewable capacity greater than coal

Knox County Public Library invites you to join Dave Wells for a discussion of Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt by Arthur C. Brooks on Wednesday, June 19, noon to 1:00 in the East Tennessee History Center at 601 South Gay Street. Please note this program is scheduled for the third Wednesday of the month.

In Love Your Enemies, the New York Times bestselling author and social scientist Arthur C. Brooks shows that abuse and outrage are not the right formula for lasting success. Brooks blends cutting-edge behavioral research, ancient wisdom, and a decade of experience leading one of America’s top policy think tanks in a work that offers a better way to lead based on bridging divides and mending relationships.

A shooting occurred at a club on Maryville Pike in South Knoxville. This is the same club that was shutdown in 2017 for repeated shootings and violence. How is it this place was allowed to open? I guess they waited long enough, paid their dues? What does it take to keep out the criminal element?

Mac Rebennack, a/k/a Dr. John, passed away at the age of 77.

What we’re looking at now is what happens when city and county officials focus on a festering problem too late, move too slowly, and preside over an evolving catastrophe that may get worse before it gets better, even with thousands more housing units in the pipeline.

(link...)

Starting July 1, drivers caught in violation of the law could face a $100 fine. The citation increases to a $200 fine if the violation results in an accident.

Tennessee law banning handheld cellphone use while driving takes effect July 1

THP urges drivers to prepare for hands-free law going into effect July 1st

Tennessee shows 31.3% of population volunteer in some way

The most generous state in America is Utah, which boasts the highest percentage of volunteers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

The most generous state in America

We visited Suttree Landing Park, by the river, in South Knoxville the other day. I noticed some of the plantings appeared to include Horsetails (Equisetum hyemale). Years ago I looked into planting some in our yard only to find they are very aggressive spreaders. Thus, I did not plant. I would like to suggest to the City of Knoxville (or whoever manages park plantings) to not plant anymore Horsetail and to possibly get rid of the ones already installed.

Technically, a species native to North America cannot be considered invasive in North America; that label is reserved for alien species that escape into the wild and begin to displace flora native to the region in question. It's more accurate (in a North American context) to describe horsetail plants as aggressive spreaders.

Eradication is difficult due to its ability to grow back from the tiniest of rhizome fragments left behind in the ground, as with the dreaded invasive weed, Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum).

Throughout our lives we have to have repairs done around our homes. Many times we take it to the next step and do remodels. Please beware of unethical contractors and handymen.

There is an article in the Maryville Daily Times newspaper warning us to do our due diligence, "Need your home painted? I'm your man!". I cannot find it online, but the gist is be careful when selecting contractors. If you are offered a large discount, it's probably too good to be true. If they want the money upfront, don't. If they knock on your door, don't. No one is too smart to fall for a scam.

Up Goose Creek is in London contemporaneously with Trump's visit. Goose Creek graciously volunteered to be our London correspondent. Here is the first dispatch:

Even Big Ben has a security detail

Bleachers set up for bloviating on Downing street

Note the security detail on the left roof of Buckingham Palace

"The Evening Standard reports that 25 million pounds ($31.6 million USD) will be spent on security. There must be thousands of barricades."

Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada is using your money to pay Scott Alan Buss $53,000 a year to help influence state policy.

A YouTube video discovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates shows Buss arguing that public schools are a satanic plot.

He also publishes a blog called Fire Breathing Christian...

Yeehaw! We got us some absurdly ridiculous people working in Tennessee state government.

Fireflies are on display. Check it out in a dark, woodsy, grassy area. It doesn't have to be a forest, go to a local park or your backyard if you have one.

Firefly.org

SoKno: Kern's Bakery Version Three was announced in February, 2019.

Ozone Capital Management, LLC announces a Transformative Opportunity Zone Investment in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Kern's Bakery site on Chapman Highway, a half mile or so from the new One Riverwalk apartments (previously Baptist Hospital) and 303 Flats apartments (across Henley from the old Baptist Hospital).

The investment, made on behalf of and alongside entrepreneurs, institutional investors, family offices, finance executives and technology leaders, will go towards constructing a 160-unit, 310 bed multifamily community at the historic Kerns Bakery Site.

The Opportunity Zone program is the idea that tax incentives for investors will transform declining areas into thriving economic hubs. This is based on the notion that urban or rural deterioration results from excessive taxation undermining capital investment. The program lets investors avoid the usual tax on capital gains by putting their profits into so-called opportunity funds, an incentive that lasts until 2026.

The community is designed to appeal to millennials and members of Generation Z – including young professionals, graduate students, medical students and upper classmen from nearby University of Tennessee. The two-bedrooms will have roommate floorplans with a private bath for each bedroom. A roommate matching service is available.

(In February, it was reported the apartments were not targeted toward the student market. "Our amenity package is not student oriented,” said David McKenna of Mallory & Evans.")

The community will also be adjacent to one of the most extensive natural urban environments on the East Coast. Construction on the boutique housing is expected to begin in early summer. The retail and restaurant portion will begin in July. Both should be complete by August 2020. The construction timeline for the hotel will be announced at a later date.

Looks like it is going to happen this time. SoKno isa changin. Kind of exciting. We can only hope it turns out to be a wonderful positive for the community.

The ballot is set for the Aug. 27th City of Knoxville primary election. The general election is on Nov. 5th. Mayoral candidates can win in the primary with 50% of the vote + 1. The top two candidates in each city council race will advance to the general. Here are the candidates...

Mayor

• Michael W. Andrews: Facebook, Twitter

• Fletcher "Knoxville" Burkhardt: Website, Facebook, Twitter

• Indya Kincannon: Website, Facebook, Twitter

• Eddie Mannis: Website, Facebook, Twitter

• Calvin Taylor Skinner: Facebook

• Marshall Stair: Website, Facebook, Twitter

City Council at Large Seat A

• Lynne Fugate: Website, Facebook

• Charles F. Lomax, Jr.: Website, Facebook, Twitter

City Council at Large Seat B:

• David Hayes: Website, Facebook, Twitter

• Janet Testerman: Website, Facebook, Twitter

City Council at Large Seat C

• Amy Midis: Website, Facebook

• Amelia Parker: Website, Facebook

• Hubert Smith: Facebook

• Bob Thomas: Website, Facebook, Twitter

• David Williams: Facebook

City Council District 5

• Charles Al-Bawi: Website, Facebook

• Charles Thomas: Facebook

Municipal Judge

• John R. Rosson, Jr.

Campaign finance disclosures

• Michael W. Andrews
• Fletcher "Knoxville" Burkhardt
• Indya Kincannon
• Eddie Mannis
• Calvin Taylor Skinner
• Marshall Stair
• Lynne Fugate
• Charles F. Lomax Jr.
• David Hayes
• Janet Testerman
• Amy Midis
• Amelia Parker
• Hubert Smith
• Bob Thomas
• David Williams
• Charles Al-Bawi
• Charles Thomas
• John R. Rosson, Jr.

Jack Lail was one of the Good Guys at the Knoxville News Sentinel for a long time before Gannett ruined it. Somehow I missed that he landed at WATE as Digital Media Manager back in February.

Here are some of his bylines...

Also, it appears he's hiring (see here and here.)

...he said overhauling the judiciary is the best way to have a "long-lasting positive impact" because "everything else changes."

"What can't be undone is a life time appointment to a young man or woman who believes in the quaint notion that the job of the judge is to follow the law," he said. "That's the most important thing we've done in the country, which cannot be undone."

In reversal from 2016, McConnell says he would fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy in 2020