Local Politics

Has gentrification found its way to Knoxville? What usually goes up must instead stay the same. That’s as good a way as any to describe how some in Knoxville and around the country want to deal with “gentrification,” a subject that…
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Immunity for companies leaves Tennesseans wondering who’s right The challenge facing Tennesseans and the world about Covid-19 vaccines is what to believe, who to believe, and when to believe what we’re told about them—and if there’s…
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The clash over the governor's proposed Hillsdale College partnership The less school students know the good about their country, the less likely they are to care about their country. That’s among the education problems Gov. Bill Lee is…
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Redistricting puts Republicans and Democrats at odds Redistricting works like this: when your political party is in power, among the spoils of victory is drawing congressional and state legislative district lines. A legislative majority…
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Tennessee’s place in the battle of vaccination requirements At a hotel in a politically blue state, when I went to use the fitness center, the desk clerk said no ID and COVID-19 vaccination card, no entry. I’d planned to exercise; I…
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Pulling the unemployment boost plug in Tennessee With “Help Wanted” signs in Tennessee so thick that a person needs a chainsaw to cut through them, Gov. Bill Lee pulled the plug early on $300-a-week expanded federal government…
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A local look at America's most hated tax Of all taxes, Americans hate the property tax the most. The property tax’s unpopularity—and knowing that in Knoxville it takes only five of nine members of city council to increase it—helps to…
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The key to a child’s successful reading journey rests with the parents Perhaps a lesson in how to help kids learn to read can be applied from my father’s method of inducing me to learn the multiplication table. In second grade,…
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The arguments surrounding Tennessee’s newConstitutional Carry legislation When I was a kid, my friends and I played ‘army,’ fighting World War II around the houses and nearby jungle-like terrain of Merritt Island, Florida. We…
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'She will not be attending the university this fall' The widespread pursuit of finding those guilty of past thought or deed transgression is ever present in modern society. Part of the “cancel culture” wars, this theme saw the…
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