Under pressure to control housing costs, Republican lawmakers rejected standards meant to protect against disasters, experts say.

Chris Millis, director of regulatory affairs for the North Carolina Home Builders Association,... said statewide rules are unnecessary because local governments have rules about building on hillsides."
...
"The legislature passed a law that blocked the state from adopting new building codes until 2031."
...
"The new law has made it harder for North Carolina to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to fund climate-resilient construction projects, which prioritize states with up-to-date building codes. The governor’s office has estimated that North Carolina has lost $70 million in grants because of the 2023 law."

JD Vance said in the recent debate, "And we're not going to stop it by listening to experts. We're going to stop it by listening to common sense wisdom, which is what Donald Trump governed on."

It goes on and on. We don't need any stinking rules, experts, or science. Until, of course, you do.

I'm pretty sure there is plenty of non-Federal land available for development, but...

What can be said about the Republican ideas? They have no clue plus they have no compassion plus they don't care about the law.

I wonder how much compassion I will have if the Republican candidate gets elected by my neighbors who need the Democratic candidate more than they either know or will admit.

H/T Eschaton

Jacob Ingram told the Knoxville News Sentinel that flash flood warnings were issued while the workers were at the plant and as they watched floodwaters rise in the parking lot. That is when workers should have been evacuated, but instead supervisors told them to move their cars, he said.

“We asked them if we should evacuate, and they told us not yet, it wasn’t bad enough," he told the newspaper. “And by the time it was bad enough, it was too late unless you had a four-wheel-drive.”

Grief and anger mix as Tennessee plastic plant survivors say permission to leave came too late

Spyro Gyra put on a good show tonight at the Bijou. 50 years and counting as a band. Third time I have seen them. Enjoyed every show.

Starting in 2025, all Medicare [drug] plans will include a $2,000 cap on what you pay out-of-pocket for prescription drugs covered by your plan. If your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs reaches $2,000 (including certain payments made on your behalf, like through the Extra Help program), you’ll automatically get “catastrophic coverage.” That means you won’t have to pay out-of-pocket for covered Part D drugs for the rest of the calendar year.

$2,000 cap on what you pay out-of-pocket for prescription drugs

Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

Carter's life's work was one of promoting peace and human rights.

Jimmy Carter is celebrating his 100th birthday on Tuesday, marking another milestone for the former U.S. president and Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian.

Carter, who served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981, is the longest-lived former chief executive in U.S. history.

NPR - Photos: As Jimmy Carter celebrates his 100th birthday, a look through the decades

A great man and an Allman Brothers fan.

The Georgia-based group, Allman Brothers, provided crucial early support for his 1976 White House run, creating a bond that lasted for decades.

Doctors are paid a flat rate for each application file they review. How much they earn depends on how fast they work.

Denied: How some Tennessee doctors earn big money denying disability claims

Disability Benefits: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Intercity buses carry an estimated 60 million people annually — twice the number of people who take Amtrak every year — but companies have cut service and closed terminals in recent decades.

America’s Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

Patients and staff at Unicoi County Hospital are trapped on the roof Friday due to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Helene.

The Nolichucky River is out of its banks. The flow is faster than ever experienced in the area, nearly 100,000 cubic feet per second. Normal is 500 to 4,500 cfs.

I pray for these people. It was on CNN not long ago. Very scary. They are using helicopters from the Virginia State Police to get people off the building.

There are reports Blackhawk helicopters are being sent from McGhee Tyson Air National Guard base.

Update: reports indicate everyone has been rescued.

September has been a busy month for law enforcement in Blount County Schools. On Sept. 12, BCSO announced it had charged three students with making threats of mass violence on school property. The newly designated Class E felony carries a weightier sentence than before, and law enforcement across the state is cracking down on the threats.

In addition, an elementary school went on lockdown when someone was carrying a gun on the grounds.

The someone carrying a Glock 19 gun on school grounds turned out to be a bus driver.

"...officials said the incident presented no threat and students were never in danger." He was charged "with a misdemeanor count of carrying weapons on school property."

I'm not sure I would feel safe after this incident. How many times had this person carried a gun while not getting caught? How many other school workers are carrying guns?

Order Your 4 Free At-⁠home COVID-⁠19 Tests
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Call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).

Doesn't come thru our area but step in right direction

Map Shows New 'Floridian' Train Route From Chicago to Miami

From the Maryville Daily Times,

Residents from Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Grainger, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane and Union counties are invited to complete an online survey to share their perspective on climate change, energy efficiency, transportation and other topics in order to inform the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization’s (TPO) upcoming public engagement strategies related to climate change.

The survey is available at Shape Knoxville's Green Future now through Sept. 30, 2024.

Use option 2 to complete the survey. Option 1 is for those who received a survey in the mail with a 9 digit code.

"The goal is to have one continuous greenway for play, pedestrian and bicycling and that still hasn't been completed," Smith said.

South Knoxville's 'mid-river' waterfront expected to see more changes, increase in accessibility

Wow! Is Burchett afraid of his constituents? Does Burchett believe he needs to demonstrate his love for guns to win an election? What is Burchett selling? Disturbing.

The fall equinox and the first day of autumn arrives on Sunday, September 22, 2024, at 08:44 A.M. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere.

After the autumnal equinox, days become shorter than nights as the Sun continues to rise later and nightfall arrives earlier. This ends with the winter solstice, after which days start to grow longer once again.

In the November election, the U.S. faces two futures. In one, the new president offers the country better prospects, relying on science, solid evidence and the willingness to learn from experience. She pushes policies that boost good jobs nationwide by embracing technology and clean energy. She supports education, public health and reproductive rights. She treats the climate crisis as the emergency it is and seeks to mitigate its catastrophic storms, fires and droughts.

In the other future, the new president endangers public health and safety and rejects evidence, preferring instead nonsensical conspiracy fantasies. He ignores the climate crisis in favor of more pollution. He requires that federal officials show personal loyalty to him rather than upholding U.S. laws. He fills positions in federal science and other agencies with unqualified ideologues. He goads people into hate and division, and he inspires extremists at state and local levels to pass laws that disrupt education and make it harder to earn a living.

This is the magazine’s second endorsement in its 179-year history. The first endorsement was in 2020 for Joe Biden.

If we could convince the Republicans how important it is to vote for Harris in 2024.

Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta are fighting a proposal by an Ohio power company to significantly increase the upfront energy costs they’ll pay for their data centers...

American Electric Power Ohio said in filings that the tariff increase was needed to prevent new infrastructure costs from being passed on to other customers such as households and businesses if the tech industry should fail to follow through on its ambitious, energy-intensive plans.

The power company said projected energy demand in central Ohio forced it to stop approving new data center deals there last year while it figured out how to pay for the new transmission lines and additional infrastructure they would require.

The energy demands of data centers have created similar concerns in other hot spots such as Northern Virginia, Atlanta and Maricopa County, Ariz., leaving experts concerned that the U.S. power grid may not be capable of dealing with the combined needs of the green energy transition and the computing boom that artificial intelligence companies say is coming.

As has been said here before, "Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an energy hog. "Should the Bitcoin and AI companies be allowed to use so much of our energy resources? Will our electricity rates go up in order to support these efforts?"

“That's what has us in an outrage. We don't mind two houses per acre," she said. "What's currently here is one house per two acres. We would take a bump up from there because we’re interested in compromise. But when they’re proposing four and five houses per acre, it's just not consistent with the character of our community.”
Close encouraged other residents to get in contact with their county commissioner prior to the October meeting.

In unusual move, commissioner asks to rezone properties in South Knox Co.