Tag: Knoxville

Steve Gill Remembers John Ward, the ‘Voice of the Vols’

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Steve Gill, John Ward

In the final segment of Friday’s Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville, Steve Gill reflected on the life and times of legendary Vols sports broadcaster, John Ward. Ward passed away this week at age 88 after a lengthy illness. The segment opened up with a 1995 recording of Ward calling a classic moment in Vols football history: a first-down, first play touchdown by then-quarterback Peyton Manning and his wide receiver, Joey Kent. “What did he do?” Ward said in his trademark galloping cadence – the live Vols fans roaring in the background – “All he did was score!” “The Voice of the Vols has passed,” Steve Gill said, “But his legacy lives on as long as someone shouts ‘BOTTOM’ whenever a Tennessee basketball player scores a basket; or ‘Give him six!’ when they cross the checkerboard; or ‘It’s football time in Tennessee!’ when those crisp, Fall Saturdays begin.” He continued: You know, when I was a kid – eighth or ninth grade – we lived in Colonial Heights Virginia, near Richmond, and late at night I could tune in and just barely catch the Vol basketball games. I would have to actually turn the dial sightly…

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Memphis, Knoxville Among Worst Cities, USA TODAY Says of Towns It Calls Home

Jason M. Reynolds
Memphis

Media giant Gannett has compiled a list of what it says are the 50 worst cities to live in, and some of the top locations are towns where it operates newspapers, including two in Tennessee. USA TODAY compiled the list using data from 24/7 Wall Street, a website that publishes financial news and opinion. 24/7 Wall Street created an index of eight categories: crime, economy, education, environment, health, housing, infrastructure and leisure, to identify the 50 cities. Memphis comes in as the 4th worst city in which to live, just ahead of Cleveland, Ohio, at 5th worst. The 36th worst is Knoxville. Gannett owns The Knoxville News-Sentinel and The Commercial Appeal in Memphis. Nashville, home of The Tennessean, did not make the list. USA TODAY admits that quality of life is a subjective measure. “Quality of life is subjective, and difficult to measure,” Gannett’s story says. “Still, there is a wide range of quantifiable factors that can impact quality of life in a given area. Affordability, safety, job market strength, quality of education, infrastructure, average commute times, air quality, and the presence of cultural attractions are just a few examples of factors that can influence overall quality of life. “Cities…

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Transit Improvement District Bill Could Impact Major Knoxville Property Owners Like Randy Boyd

Laura Baigert
Transit Improvement District Bill Could Impact Major Knoxville Property Owners Like Randy Boyd

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – State Rep. Eddie Smith (R-Knoxville) and State Sen. Becky Duncan Massey (R-Knoxville) are the sponsors of a bill that would permit the creation of Transit Improvement Districts and is currently targeted to the Knoxville area. HB2361/SB2354, filed as a caption bill on February 1, by March 14 had a 14-page amendment that “makes the bill” and will add a new part to the Central Business Improvement District Act of 1971, the new part to be known and called as the “Transit Improvement District Act.” During the presentation of the Act as an amendment to SB2354 to the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee on March 14, Sen. Massey stated that the Transit Improvement District Act mirrors the Central Business Improvement District Act of 1990 before deferring to a witness. Massey’s witness, former Democrat Knoxville council member and failed Knoxville mayoral candidate, Joe Hultquist, began testifying without any introduction as to his credentials, qualifications or interest in the bill, other than stating his name. The presentation of the HB2361 amendment to the House Transportation Subcommittee a week later was handled by the House sponsor himself, State Rep. Smith. The amendment is still not available on the Tennessee General Assembly…

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Report: ‘At Least’ One Middle East/Southeast Asia Refugee Rejected By Australia To Be Resettled in Knoxville

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At least one of the 600 Manus Island, New Guinea refugees rejected by Australia is scheduled to arrive in Knoxville for resettlement, the Australian news outlet SBS News reported on Wednesday. “Since 2013, Australia has paid Papua New Guinea, its closest neighbor, to house hundreds of migrants caught at sea while trying to reach the continent,” The New York Times reported in November. “About 600 migrants, all men, and mostly from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, remain at the center [on Manus Island]. Most of them have sought status as refugees or asylum seekers,” The Times noted. Now, many of these refugees rejected by Australia are coming to the United States, and one is headed to Knoxville. “American officials said dozens if not hundreds of refugees from Manus and Nauru would be accepted in the coming weeks and months. About 50 men already moved to the United States in September under a deal brokered by former President Barack Obama,” The Times noted last year. SBS News reported on Wednesday that dozens of refugees–all men–are currently heading for the United States to at least five cities: Knoxville, Tennessee; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth, New Jersey; Atlanta, Georgia, and somewhere in North Carolina. Through a complex arrangement of refugee resettlement efforts, a 22-year-old man named Sajid Hussain will arrive in Knoxville…

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Knoxville Monument Protest Ends Without Violence

Jason M. Reynolds

The Confederate monument protest in Knoxville Saturday ended without violence, police said. The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) tweeted Saturday that the demonstration in Fort Sanders was “peaceful and successful.” The protest was held against a monument in the historic neighborhood that honors fallen Confederate soldiers from the Battle of Fort Sanders on Nov. 29, 1863. WATE reported the city had shut down a portion of 17th Street to vehicles. Earlier in the day, the KPD tweeted that guns, knives and face coverings would not be permitted. Police also reported handing out water to protestors. Petitions were posted online last week calling both for the removal and the preservation of the monument, WATE reported. The monument was vandalized and then cleaned up. WBIR reported about 300 people gathered near the monument. Most protested the structure, while a few showed support. Some chanted “not in Knoxville,” while one woman displayed a sign reading “defend our monument.” The KPD tweeted that the drivers of dozens of cars that towed from the protest area would not have to pay. The department tweeted the name and number of the city impound lot. Democratic Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero tweeted “Thank you @knoxsheriff, @TNHighwayPatrol, @OakRidgePolice, @TBInvestigation, @KnoxvilleFire, @UTPolice &…

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Democratic State Rep. Rick Staples At Knoxville Stand Against Hate Rally: ‘I Decided Today That I’m Going To Be Dangerous’

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

In the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, at a Stand Against Hate Rally held in Knoxville the following day, August 13, State Representative Rick Staples (D-Knoxville), one of several speakers at the event, said “I decided today that I am going to be dangerous.” In comments that lasted about five minutes and were livestreamed on Facebook by the Knoxville News Sentinel, Staples said that, as he approached the stage and “saw the sea of people standing here in solidarity,” he was “struck with an epiphany.” After sharing his perspectives on what is going on in the country, which he refers to as “evil,” Staples then said those things are not why “we are living and witnessing a dangerous time in America,” rather it’s dangerous “because right now today we’re standing together against that evil.” Staples was elected in November 2016 with no Republican challenger after being selected by the Knox County Democratic Party to replace 28-year Representative Joe Armstrong on the ballot. Armstrong was convicted of a felony for filing a false tax return. Staples has had his own legal battles related to non-payment of child support for a minor son he had with his now-estranged partner. Staples…

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Letter to the Editor: Don’t Let America Become Like Soviet Russia

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USA USSR

  Dear Tennessee Star, My name is Florin. I am married, father of six and  a strong conservative Christian. I am this way for my own and personal salvation and my love for God. Thirty years ago I’ve escaped from the former Soviet  regime where Christians were persecuted and killed. The United States of America was the only place for refuge that was known to accept Christians like me and it was also known all over the world as a Christian Country. The United States printed the Bibles in more than one hundred languages and sent out missionaries all over the world. Ever since I immigrated to America I am a fighter for religion rights which are taken away from us Christians every day by those evil groups that are turning this country upside down and destroying it from inside out. I totally disagree with what the Knoxville mayor did. Instead of fighting for the Christian Communities in Tennessee she crashed our Bible to the ground. I am encouraging the Christians in Knoxville, TN to come out and ask for her resignation upon failure to defend the City, State and Country’s Christian Religion faith against all other atheist individuals and…

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Report: Chattanooga, Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville Among the Worst-Run Cities in Country

Wendy Wilson

  Tennessee’s four largest cities all ranked in the bottom third of a list compiled by the online website WalletHub.com analyzing how efficiently cities are run. Called “2017’s Best- and Worst-Run Cities,” the list, published Monday, ranked 150 of the largest cities in the nation. The study compared the quality of services residents receive against a city’s total budget. Cities were compared across six categories: financial stability, education, health, safety, economy, and infrastructure and pollution. Nashville ranked 112 on the list in overall rankings, and Knoxville ranked 127. Almost at the bottom were Memphis, at 141, and Chattanooga, falling just below Memphis at 142. No other Tennessee cities were included. All four cities are run by Democrats: Mayor Megan Barry in Nashville, Mayor Madeline Rogero in Knoxville, Mayor Andy Berke in Chattanooga, and Mayor Jim Strickland in Memphis. However, in a breakdown of results, Knoxville got an approving nod for its three-way tie for third for having the highest quality of roads. On the negative side, Memphis had the fourth-highest violent crime rate. The highest-ranking cities, from first through fifth, were Nampa, Idaho; Provo, Utah; Boise, Idaho; Missoula, Montana, and Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky.    

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Report: Knoxville Among ‘Twenty-One Mostly Sanctuary Cities’ Promising to Make 1 Million US Citizens in Year

Tennessee Star Staff

The Washington Examiner reported that Knoxville, Tennessee is one of “Twenty-one mostly ‘sanctuary cities’ . . . pledging to make 1 million immigrants U.S. citizens this year” identified in a 4th of July statement issued by Mi Familia Vota, a far left open borders group that is part of the Naturalize Now! Coalition. “The “Naturalize NOW!” campaign, which includes liberal and progressive groups and elected officials, heralded the mayors of the cities in joining the national effort,” the Examiner reported. “The cities that have joined the campaign are: Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Cleveland, OH; Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Dayton, OH; Jersey City, NJ; Knoxville, TN; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Miami-Dade County, FL; Montgomery County, MD; Paterson, NJ; Pittsburgh, PA; New York City, NY; Salt Lake County, UT; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, CA; South Gate, CA & Tucson, AZ,” the statement released by Mi Familia Vota said. The “Naturalize Now” campaign was launched in 2015 by a newly formed group known as the New American Democracy Campaign. The coalition includes Mi Familia Vota, “the National Partnership for New Americans and its state-based member coalitions, Mi Familia Vota, Cities for Citizenship, National Council of La Raza (NCLR), iAmerica, Center for Popular Democracy,…

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