Does County Commission Really Have the Authority to Crack Down on Illegal Aliens?
Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010
On one of his last forays before being voted out of office, former County Commissioner Paul Pinkston aimed a punitive county ordinance at employers who hire illegal aliens. Full story »
Knoxville-based Physician Group at Forefront of New Patient-care Model
Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010
Health care reform is by no means something that’s just being imposed from the top down by governmental mandates. It’s also emanating from the bottom up with initiatives on the part of doctors to change the way they practice medicine and get compensated. Full story »
UT’s Laggard Graduation Rate
Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010
After years of listening to University of Tennessee officialdom proclaim its resolve to achieve big gains in the university’s graduation rate, it’s disheartening to learn that the percentage of undergraduates earning degrees on the Knoxville campus has scarcely budged over the past five years. Full story »
Bill Baxter’s Sour Grapes
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Bill Baxter’s disparagement of Bill Haslam in a recent guest column in the News Sentinel supporting Zach Wamp for governor reeks of peevishness on Baxter’s part. Full story »
County Commission’s Growing Stature
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
After having stooped low in recent years, I’m encouraged to believe that Knox County government is on the verge of standing tall and becoming a major source of community strength and pride. Full story »
Amid Ballooning Federal Deficits, Estate Tax Should Be Reinstated
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Amid growing concern across the political spectrum over mounting federal deficits, it’s hard to fathom how legislators could countenance the roughly $20 billion revenue loss that would result from letting estates go untaxed this year. Full story »
Zach Wamp Is Reprehensible
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
>One of Bill Haslam’s most daunting challenges and crowning accomplishments as mayor of Knoxville was giving birth to the Regal Riviera cinema on Gay Street that has contributed so much to downtown’s vitality Full story »
Push Back for Teachers
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Granted that times are tough all over and granted further that not all of the position cuts would result in layoffs due to attrition. But reducing the number of public school classroom teachers is the last way the county should be looking to economize. Instead, it’s become the only way that will result in a loss of jobs. Full story »
Demonizing Wall Street
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
In their zeal to enact financial regulatory reforms (many of which are needed), Democratic leaders in the Senate have chosen to heap most of the blame on Wall Street for the near collapse of the financial system in 2008 that led to a deep recession and 10 percent unemployment. Full story »
Madeline Rogero Makes Her Mark
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
If Madeline Rogero lacked experience managing a complex organization when she accepted the post of director of the city’s Community Development Department in late 2006, she’s certainly got it now. Full story »
Health-care Reform Is Welcome But Falls Short in Training Providers
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
When its major provisions take effect in 2014, the health-care legislation that Congress exacted last month will extend coverage to 32 million Americans who are presently uninsured and millions more whose coverage is deficient.Yet, while generating a huge increase in the effective demand for medical services, the legislation does next to nothing to meet the nation’s need for more doctors to supply them. Full story »
Trusting Burchett over Hutchison
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Without a doubt, restoring trust in Knox County government is what voters are most looking for in the new county mayor they will elect this year. Full story »
A Private Boost for Knox County Schools
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
A bright spot amid the gloomy outlook for public school funding in Knox County is the activation of a foundation whose goal is to raise several million dollars a year in private contributions to complement the school system’s public funding. Full story »
A Big Step Forward for Downtown in Urban Outfitters
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
While landing Urban Outfitters is by no means a done deal, the prospect of doing so is testament to a number of attributes now working in the city’s favor. Full story »
First-term Sen. Bob Corker Breaks Ranks from Republicans
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010
The gumption with which Sen. Bob Corker has broken ranks with his Republican Senate party leadership to collaborate on shaping a bipartisan financial crisis resolution bill qualifies him for a profile in political courage. Full story »