Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs: "vile"

Knox County DA Charme Allen: "reprehensible"

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee: [no recorded comment]

(link...)

Long-timers may remember Bill Hobbs, former GOP communications chair and regular participant at KnoxViews of a time.

Never agreed with him even if he were to tell me the time of day, but dying at the age of 54 is a fate no one deserves.

Fare thee well, Mr. Hobbs.

(link...)

At least one major daily newspaper in this state understands its role as public advocate, and not simply a pass-through for advertising revenue.

Thank you, Jack McElroy.

Editorial endorsement: Phil Bredesen's fair-mindedness, independence and civility make him the right choice for the U.S. Senate. https://t.co/LFGWs3y4h8

— knoxnews (@knoxnews) October 18, 2018

Editorial: This is not a traditional endorsement because we know that while our readers want to be informed, they do not want to be told what and how to think. https://t.co/gGFUa8oUGS

— Tennessean (@Tennessean) October 19, 2018

Likely this moves TN into "toss-up" status.

NEWS: Former Gov. Phil Bredesen is IN the Senate race: https://t.co/H467gIOyrr pic.twitter.com/0e8TxENqGG

— Cari Wade Gervin (@carigervin) December 6, 2017

...but Twitter comes to the rescue.

Breaking #fakenews! Tomorrow’s Weekly World News cover revealed! #TrumpRussia #LockHimUp #TheResistance pic.twitter.com/xTT0bh7HQq

— Jason Baum (@jasonbaum) March 31, 2017

Over to you, SKB.

...this time at newly acquired assets in Memphis and Knoxville.

In Memphis, sources tell the Scene that 17 staff members were eliminated in the newsroom, including seven digital producers, two photographers, two reporters, one clerk and five editors. In Knoxville, 11 were eliminated from the newsroom, including four managers. The cuts largely follow the "Newsroom of the Future" model implemented in Nashville, which slices out middle managers and copy desks in favor of a newsroom with editors and planners at the top and reporters at the bottom, with little in between.

Gannett stock (NYSE:GCI) unchanged at $8.15 in after hours trading.

...OK, then.

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will not sell insurance plans on the Obamacare exchange in the state's three largest metro areas next year, as the health care giant grapples with hefty losses and ongoing uncertainty on the marketplace.

(link...)

This, of course, after they were granted a 62% rate hike by the state insurance commission.

#StillWaitingOnTheHaslamPlan

Today, on Women's Equality Day, a monument commemorating the ratification of the 19th Amendment was unveiled at Centennial Park in Nashville. Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1920, and their passage secured the right to vote to all women citizens of the USA.

Featured speakers included Mayor Madeline Rogero, Nashville Metro Mayor Megan Barry, Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan, Rep. Brenda Gilmore, among others.

Alan LeQuire's bronze sculptures of suffragists Carrie Chapman Catt, Anne Dallas Dudley, Abby Crawford Milton, Frankie Pierce and Sue Shelton White will grace a permanent space in Centennial Park adjacent to the Parthenon following the park's renovation. His bronzes of suffragists are also featured in Knoxville's Market Square.

Video of the speeches and unveiling here: (link...)

...if you can get to a hospital.

The only hospital in Scott County will close Sunday, about a month after it notified state officials it would likely shut down because of financial distress.
...
An earlier letter from May 27 described the hospital's financial challenges as "insurmountable." Taylor cited low reimbursements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, insurance companies and the costs associated with contracting third-party emergency room physicians.

If you're a resident of Oneida, you'd better hope you can make it to Jellico in the event of an emergency.

Guy Clark, the soul of the franchise for Nashville songwriters, has died at the age of 74.

Peter Cooper wrote the obit for The Tennessean.

If you're looking for a career retrospective, my heartiest endorsement goes to the "Keepers" live set from Douglas Corner (1997). Honestly, though, there's nary a miss in his entire catalog.

...they get bought out by Gannett.

RELATED: Gannett Bleeds Tennessean, Pays Execs Big Bonuses

Decoding The Tennessean's "Newsroom Of The Future" Statement

The Tennessean essentially fired its staff yesterday.

That's not snark. There were 89 slots in the newsroom, and there will be 76 at the end of the month. Everyone has been invited to reapply for jobs in the new newsroom.

My sincerest condolences to those about to weather the ongoing zombie apocalypse that is a Gannett newsroom, in which the survivors truly envy the dead.

Amateur historian and professional pig s*** scofflaw Rep. Andy Holt waded into it waist-deep on Thursday, insisting that Confederate cavalry General Nathan Bedford Forrest was a prototypical civil rights champion:

"Those interested in actually mending racial tension in Tennessee, rather than pandering for quick political points, should be singing the praises of Gen. Forrest. We should be teaching the story of Nathan B. Forrest to every last school child, not digging up his grave in an attempt to rewrite history."

No word on whether Rep. Holt believes similarly that the incident at Fort Pillow was the country's first civil rights march.

150 years ago today: the Civil War came to an effective end in the western theater as the Army of Tennessee was roundly defeated at The Battle Of Nashville. A cannonade and citywide tolling of bells will be taking place on the afternoon of the 16th to commemorate the battle's end.

No On 1 seeks federal injunctive relief, using the constitutional requirement to cast a vote for governor as the basis for a provisional recount:

The plaintiffs want the judge to order the state to count only those Amendment 1 votes where the voters also cast ballots for governor. If that is impossible, they want the vote voided.

Plaintiffs say the state allowed some voters to game the system by voting for the amendment and skipping the governor’s race.

"If you want to take the one everyone is talking about, take this one," said the poll worker to the woman in front of me at the table.

She was referring to the "I Voted" stickers that were being placed on the table for people to take as they leave.

There are some traditional ones, and then there are these:

Question for our Secretary Of State:

Just how many thousands of dollars in public money did you just spend to create a campaign advertisement for yourself?

Because a 9.25% sales tax on food is already unconscionable enough.

...etc.

(Lede on the Tennessean: Henry, Purcell, other Democrats back Lamar Alexander)