90 seconds driving in Knoxville ...

SUV prepares to turn into liquor store, driver has cell phone held to right ear as city police officer passes in opposite direction within ~15 feet of SUV driver. Driver working at turning with one hand as other hand holds phone to ear

Driver at next intersection looking at phone in right hand as drives by

On Sutherland Ave wheelchair person turns on flashing lights to cross street, I stop as wheelchair is passing in front of me, driver in opposite direction drives thru lights looking at cell phone in right hand. Wheelchair person stops in my lane until car in opposite lane passes. Person driving car never noticing the wheelchair person. Car behind that car also looking at phone, but they stop abruptly after almost driving thru crosswalk. Wheelchair person completes crossing street

I haven't heard much about increased enforcement of cell phone lawt. Is it happening?

Maybe these exist and I did not know, but has there been any moves regarding solar canopy's on the top of Knoxville city parking garages?

I saw this article about Boulder, Colorado and wondered about Knoxville.

Boulder City Council on Tuesday approved an emergency ordinance allowing the city to install a solar power generation system on a downtown parking garage.

Boulder passes emergency ordinance allowing more solar panel coverage on parking garages

From the Knox County Health Department,

The internet is chock-full of information, especially health information. Most of us have used it to search for health advice or to address concerns we may have for ourselves or our families. And, while there is credible, helpful information, there’s also a lot of misleading, inaccurate information. After all, it’s not as if the internet is checked for accuracy or quality. So, how do you tell the difference? How do you know what’s good, quality information about something as important as your health?

They've "created a guide to help navigate the massive world of online health information." It is not the end all of information on navigating health care on the internet. That might be impossible. It is a starting point to make sure you practice good care when researching healthcare.

It includes a list of "trusted health resources and websites" as well as various frequently asked questions.

One of the most important tips, "talk with your health care provider before making any major health changes."

Walmart Inc. likely discriminated against 178 female workers by paying them less, denying them promotions or both, because of their gender, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in memos seen by Reuters

Joseph Sellers, a lawyer for the women, said there were at least 1,600 similar complaints pending at the EEOC, accusing Walmart of discriminating against women in pay and promotions between 1999 and 2011. About 150 lawsuits against Walmart, covering the same time period, were pending in federal courts across the country, he said.

Walmart likely discriminated against female workers, U.S. agency says

He graduated from Yale. Now he is homeless

I had never heard of the "Food Recovery Network"

Every home game, a group of about seven students go through the leftover food to determine what an be donated. Kennedy said they make sure everything is properly packaged and labeled before they make a delivery.

"The meals that they brought here could feed over 800 people,"

University of Tennessee donates 1,000 pounds of food each home game

Food Recovery Network

Food Recovery Network in Tennessee

The eight part Ken Burns documentary "Country Music" starts tonight on PBS (locally WKOP at 8PM). Looking forward to a great American story...

BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN CRASHES - 2019 UPDATE

Interactive map shows where in Knoxville accidents involving pedestrians, bicyclists are most likely

A planned project on a 1960's era 36-inch water main resulted in an unexpected break, leaving a large portion of Chattanooga with little or no water.
...
The outage could last as long as 24 hours for those at higher elevations. Crews are working to restore water, but residents at lower elevations may see the restoration of service in a shorter time span.

Restaurants, schools, government offices, aquarium, and more are closed. Call before you visit.

"If the policy does not have a good amount of happiness index, if the policy is not every environment friendly, if the policy will not be able to ensure that it will result in the well-being of Bhutanese, that policy will never be approved in the country."

They measure nine key areas of happiness every five years -- psychological well-being, health, education, good governance, ecology, time use, community vitality, culture and living standards.

Meet the smoking-free, carbon-negative country that passes no law unless it improves citizens' well-being

Washington Post: A federal judge has blocked a new Tennessee law that sought to restrict paid voter registration drives, ruling it an “onerous and intrusive regulatory structure” that would have inhibited free speech and intimidated drive organizers with the threat of financial penalties.

Gov. Bill Lee: "There were obvious attempts to impact elections in a negative way and this was meant to stop that from happening."

Translation: Getting more black people to the polls obviously impacts elections in a negative way.

According to data from "Verra Mobility, the parent company of American Traffic Solutions, which collects data from 2,000 red-light cameras for municipalities throughout the country", westbound Chapman Highway at the Stone Road intersection is the 9th riskiest intersection in the country for people blowing through red lights.

"The number of people killed when someone plowed through a light rose 31% to 939 in 2017, a 10-year high, according to a recent study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety."

A comprehensive 40-page final report summarizing the Chapman Highway Implementation Plan indicates that left-turn lanes will be constructed at the Chapman Hwy/Stone Road intersection. At some point the intersection would become a "protected intersection", separated bike lane and sidewalks, shared-used trails (greenway).The plan also includes the creation of a pedestrian crossing at Stone Road, Might make people a little over confident considering this is a really bad intersection for people running red lights.

If this intersection is a bad as being reported, then there should be something more done to stop people from blowing through the red lights.

Ten candidates qualified for this debate. Thus, it will be a full stage.

3 hours, 8-11 pm, ET
ABC tv network or can be seen online

Klobuchar, Booker, Buttigieg, Sanders, Biden, Warren, Harris, Yang, O'Rourke, Castro

KnoxTNToday: "The two Republicans share similar views except on one fundamental issue: school vouchers."

Update: Dunn won't run

TN State Sen. Kerry Roberts has a radio show on which he said "If there is one thing we can do to save America today it's to get rid of our institutions of higher education right now.... And cut the liberal breeding ground off."

"Every bit of liberal doctrination you can get in a university setting."

The Kerry Roberts Show! comes to you from Springfield, TN, just north of Nashville.

Aren't we proud? He has a college degree but doesn't want those that do not think like him to have a college degree? A man of the people he is not.

NBC: U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger ruled Monday that the law would likely create a "chilling effect" on organizations and individuals who seek to register new voters in Tennessee.

From 1999 to 2016, the rate of suicide among Americans ages 25 to 64 rose by 41 percent, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open. Rates among people living in rural counties were 25 percent higher than those in major metropolitan areas.

Suicide rates are rising, especially in rural America

Press release...

COMPREHENSIVE NEW REPORT IDENTIFIES PRIORITIES FOR IMPROVING SAFETY ON CHAPMAN HIGHWAY

A comprehensive 40-page final report summarizing the Chapman Highway Implementation Plan has been completed and is posted on the City’s website at (link...).

“This final report is not ‘just another study,’ but instead its purpose is to function as an implementation plan that provides a prioritized list of implementable projects to transform and improve Chapman Highway,” the report states.

The report, prepared on behalf of the City of Knoxville, studied a six-mile section of Chapman Highway within the city limits, between Blount Avenue (near Henley Bridge) and Mountain Grove Drive (just south of Gov. John Sevier Highway). It combines traffic data with extensive input from stakeholders in recommending priorities for safety improvements along the state route.

Trump sides with payday lenders preying on poor in red states

Trump displayed a doctored weather map in an apparent attempt to justify his false claim that Hurricane Dorian was a threat to Alabama. Turns out that's a federal crime.