Apparently the forefathers could stay awake.

Lumpy's complaint on the County Commission forum about how long the meetings go on brought a response from Commissioner DeFreese. (after the jump)

As Bubba would say, ok then.

Two big SW public meetings coming up. The first is Thursday, 8/21, 6 p.m. at Kerbela Temple. The second is Thursday, 8/28, same time and place.

First deals with the new streetscape designs for streets between Barber and Lincoln. The second is the first in a series of meetings for obtaining public input on the design of River Plain Park, which will be built along the river in the same general area.

See here for details.

Someone please translate:

First of all, am I supposed to know who Chuck Williams is? I thought I'd kept up pretty well with local politics, but I don't remember hearing about him before.

Second, this sounds like Rob Frost is resigning from or otherwise leaving Council. I thought his term wasn't up until the end of next year.

Third, can Mr. Williams just announce he will replace Councilman Frost? Don't the voters of the 4th district get to say something about that?

Fourth, Rob Frost, liberal? As far as I can see there's exactly one liberal on City Council - Bob Becker. The rest are moderates or conservatives (not that it matters much when it comes to City business).

I guess I just don't speak Hornbackian.

"Rudimentary, crude, and unscientific" - but it got me on tee vee!

The polls open in 8 hours and 10 minutes. Make use of them.

That is all.

McCain's new ad - it's got everything but "call me."

I also want to give a shoutout to CNN, a fine example of the excellent American media.

I just saw a CNN panel discussing whether Obama would be hurt because he appeared "too presidential."

Just kill me now.

P.S. Looking for video but haven't found it yet.

We in south Knox county are so proud of Commissioner Victoria DeFreese. I especially want to thank the Commissioner for making me laugh my, umm, head off on what had so far been a crappy day.

McNutt parody here. Sorry, Scott, this is one of those cases where the original is the parody.

Read Katie Couric's interview today with Obama; then read her interview with McCain.

Compare and contrast. Who spends his time talking about his foreign policy vision and goals? Who spends his time bashing his opponent?

And BTW, the comment about "would rather lose a war..." - that's the second time today McCain said it.

Do you suppose everyone who supports Obama also wants to "lose a war"? Are we all traitors?

Knox County Commission internet discussion forum starts Friday.

I can't wait to see the first posts.

McCain's lobbyist connections have been discussed a bit in the media lately, with little fuss. But this one may bite him in the backside.

Mercy Health Partners is sponsoring a community meeting this Monday, April 21st, at South Doyle Middle School to discuss their plans for the Baptist Hospital site. The meeting will begin at 6:30 PM, and will be held in the Commons area of the middle school.

The Mercy Health Partners voted this week to make the Baptist Hospital campus the site for their new $400 million hospital. That hospital will replace both the present St. Mary’s Hospital’s main campus and Baptist Hospital’s main campus. This is a major investment in South Knoxville and the south waterfront, and should be of interest to anyone who lives in South Knoxville or has an interest or stake in the area.

Vistors are welcome at this meeting, so please come if you are interested.

Bring your brown bag lunch to the Beck Center, 1927 Dandridge Avenue at at 11:30 on Tuesday, March 18. The program will begin at noon, followed by questions and discussion.

Infill development, as the words imply, is the process of filling in gaps in already developed urban areas. It involves increasing urban density, improving antiquated public facilities, new mixes of activities and land use. It involves more urban design emphasis than traditional land use planning.

Seven of the people most responsible for planning the infill development of central Knoxville will talk about their plans for the Broadway and Central avenue area, the South South Knoxville waterfront, Cumberland Avenue and Magnolia Avenue. Infill development of these
areas , along with the current successes of revitalization in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood, Old North Knoxville and Mechanicsville can create, in effect, a whole “new town in-town” in Knoxville.

Michael Carberry, Comprehensive Planning Manager for Metropolitan Planning Commission, will introduce the topic and the projects. Maps and drawings of the projects will be exhibited. Other presenters will
be Bob Whetsel, Director of Redevelopment , City of Knoxville; David Hill, Senior Director of South Waterfront Development; Mike Reynolds and Jeff Archer, Metropolitan Planning Commission Planners; Anne
Wallace, Cumberland Avenue Project Manager and Jacene England, President of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

City Council members Bob Becker and Joe Hultquist who represent parts of the City involved in the projects will attend to participate in discussion following the presentation.

What: 2008 Knoxville/Knox County Neighborhood Conference

When: Saturday, March 8, 2008 at 8:00 AM

Where: Knoxville Convention & Expo Center (525 Henley St.)

Who: Neighborhood Groups, Homeowners Associations and interested citizens throughout Knox County and the City of Knoxville

Why: To help citizens more efficiently utilize government/community services and to empower neighborhood leaders to make a difference in our community.

Registration for the 2008 Knoxville/Knox County Neighborhood Conference is now available. Please visit our website at Link... or contact us at 215-HELP (4357) to sign up now!

This year's conference will feature several workshops focused on improving and empowering your community with valuable and relevant TWO-WAY communication between constituents and Government, Non-Profit, and Neighborhood organizations.

SIgn up soon, as spaces are limited!

Please forward this message along to your friends and neighbors...

Oh goody, I get to be the one to post this!

Stuff like this.

Why couldn't she just have said "I'll support whoever the Democratic nominee is and I am completely confident that will be my husband"?

Here's Obama's latest:

I have no doubt that once the nomination contest is over, I will get the people who voted for her. Now the question is can she get the people who voted for me?

Way to show Democratic solidarity, dude.

And BTW - get over yourself.

So all day I've been hearing about how Hillary Clinton "cried," "broke down", "let her emotions get the best of her" etc. etc. I finally checked into the video, expecting to see a sobbing out-of-control person.

And this is what I found.

All I see is somebody acting like a real human being who actually cares about something.

And these are "tears"? Geez, I've cried more than that over a sad movie. Heck, I've seen my spouse cry more than that at a sad movie.

I'm not a huge Hillary fan, but I am truly pissed that she's getting attacked over this. We need more intelligent passion like this, not less.

Edwards' response was classless and cost him my primary vote (not that it will matter by Feb. 5). I hope Elizabeth kicked him where it hurts.

That is, contingent on Commission approval. Looks like the City basically got what it wanted.

Here's one for Randy...

Link...

Have you ever wanted to host a Candidate Forum for your organization or neighborhood association but didn't know how? If so, we have a workshop for you!

Candidate Forums are important in educating voters at the local level, and in encouraging more voter participation. We need citizens who know how to help, especially with high interest in the upcoming election season!

On Saturday November 10, 2007 the League of Women Voters of Knoxville-Knox County will host a Candidate Forum Training Workshop at the West High School Library from 9:30am - 11:00am. Attendees will learn all about organizing, planning for and running a Forum. There is no cost to attend.

Please RSVP to Emily Woodle, Voter Services Chair, at saundersek@yahoo.com or 865-604-2882. You can also call committee member Jamey Dobbs, at 548-0818. And spread the word!

This has been in the works since last spring.

Well, I hope Commission enjoyed their time in the courtroom - because both WBIR and WATE led their 11 p.m. coverage with the news that the City intends to sue the County over the stormwater ordinance.

Link...

Geez, Ragsdale is proposing yet another committee study this thing? Are you kidding me?

The annual Neighborhood Conference is scheduled for Saturday, October 13. More info here.

These conferences are usually pretty good. Notice that stormwater and traffic calming, two topics heavily discussed here, are on the agenda.

This will make you wince.

... let's not forget Commission. An excellent piece by local columnist Leslie Snow.

Just so Ragsdale doesn't feel too singled out - here's how Commission made the 1/31 appointments. In their own words, no less.

Cluck, cluck.

There's been a fair amount of discussion on this forum about the Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission. So I thought folks would be interested to hear there is currently a "city" vacancy on Commission (the Knoxville Mayor appoints 7 members; the County Mayor appoints 8). These appts do not require City Council approval, so the Mayor's decision is pretty much his to make.

During his first campaign, Mayor Haslam promised "balance" in MPC appointments. However, over the last few years, MPC has become more unbalanced, not less. It is now pretty much dominated by folks with development or real estate backgrounds.

I very much want to see the Mayor appoint someone this time with a strong neighborhood background. I'm not talking about a NIMBYite knee-jerk anti-development type, but someone who understands the POV and concerns of neighborhoods. It would be nice if that person also understand the functions and workings of MPC so that they can "hit the ground running."

It's not that hard to come up with names that fit this bill. If you're interested in moving MPC in the right direction, you might want to take a few minutes to contact Mayor Haslam about it. His email address is mayor@cityofknoxville.org.