Reminder ELCTION COVERAGE IS FREE AT COMPASSKNOX.COM Early voting ended with a surge last week, easily surpassing early turnout in the 2020 election. In this week's episode, Scott and Jesse look at the available data and also talk about two races in particular: U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett's quest for a fourth term in Congress, facing Democratic candidat…

Don't forget ELECTION COVERAGE IS FREE TO SHARE FOR FREE at compassknox.com It's election season! On this week's episode, Scott and Jesse take a look at early voting numbers at the halfway point and talk about developments in two state legislative races, for the 15th and 18th districts. Also, some competing endorsements for the City of Knoxville's …

Early voting kicked off this week in Knox County, with a big first-day turnout. In this week's episode, Jesse and Scott look at a few major items on the ballot, including the race for state Senate District 6. Also: the Knox County Sheriff's Office is hit with a civil rights lawsuit by a Muslim woman. In an interview segment, the guys hear contrasti…

A citizens' group has come together to push for a climate action plan in Knox County. But the county's leadership under Mayor Glenn Jacobs denies that there's any such thing as climate change. Nevertheless, both the City of Knoxville and Knoxville-Knox County Planning are working on long-term efforts to mitigate East Tennessee's climate impact. Sco…

The devastating floods from Hurricane Helene that swept through East Tennessee and Western North Carolina dominated the thoughts and efforts of people across the region last week. On this week's episode, Scott and Jesse talk about the local response to our neighbors' suffering, from political leaders to grassroots community groups. Also: City Counc…

You can still use cash on the bus. After a proposal to move Knoxville Area Transit buses to an all-cashless system drew concern from some riders and transit advocates, KAT decided last week to continue accepting dollars and coins — at least for now. Scott and Jesse look at the cashless controversy on this week's episode. Also: A look at the closely…

Should County Commission rezone property against the property owners' wishes? That was the question raised last week by new County Commissioner Andy Fox. His attempt to put a proposal to downzone multiple properties in South Knox County did not make it onto the agenda of this month's zoning meeting, but he can bring it back next month. Flying solo …

Local law enforcement spent all last week arresting Knox County Schools students — many of them middle-schoolers — for making or circulating violent threats. The wave of online rumors about planned attacks at local schools followed the murders at Apalachee High School in Georgia, where a 14-year-old boy is charged with killing four people and wound…

Meet the new bosses — same as the old bosses? Well, some of them. With a new slate of county officials sworn in last week, the partisan makeup of both Knox County Commission and the school board shifted a bit, and Commission chose new leadership at the helm. In this week's episode, Jesse and Scott look at what's changed on our two county legislativ…

What's in a name? When it comes to the new downtown Knoxville stadium, that's a good question. In this week's episode, Scott and Jesse take a look at the naming rights deal between Covenant Health and Boyd Sports — including why we know so little about the financial details. Also: The huge Prosperity Crossing development at the county's western edg…

Emails and documents from the University of Tennessee provide some context for the departure of WUTK General Manager Benny Smith — including tensions over programming and the structure of the student radio station. Jesse and Scott dig into the backstory on this week's episode, including the on-air promotional spot that sent Smith's new supervisor i…

Will a proposal to change the structure of City Council make it more responsive and representative — or less? That's the question facing city voters in a referendum set for the November election, which would change all nine Council seats to at-large positions. In this week's episode, Scott and Jesse sort through the arguments for and against the ch…

Knoxville voters will decide in November whether to change all nine City Council members to at-large representatives or keep local district seats. Which one would better represent the views of Knoxvillians? Scott and Jesse talk about that in this week's episode. Also, a look back at what exactly happened with voter turnout in the Aug. 1 election; s…

Democrats flipped a seat on Knox County Commission and took two seats on the school board, but the balance of power remains in Republican hands. With Jesse out of town, Scott and Owen break down the election results this week. They also take a look at Turn Up Knox, the violence interruption nonprofit, and the low-power independent radio station WOZ…

This week, with Jesse across the pond, Scott and Owen recap early voting for the Aug. 1 election and review the candidates’ financial situations heading into the campaigns’ final days. They also take a look at the charter referendum questions on changes to the city election system that Knoxville voters are likely to consider in the November electio…

ELECETION 2024 COVERAGE is free at Compassknox.com Elections to the right of us, elections to the left, elections up ahead! This week, Scott and Jesse catch up on electoral news in both national and local races. They check in on Tennesseans with speaking slots at the Republican National Convention, survey the state of early voting in the Aug. 1 cou…

Early voting is under way in the Aug. 1 election, and Scott and Jesse take a look at some local races on this week's episode: School board races in districts 2 and 5, a County Commission contest in District 5, and primaries for House District 15 and state Senate District 6. Also: County Mayor Glenn Jacobs attempts to smooth out controversy over the…

With early voting starting next week in the Aug. 1 election, Scott and Jesse look at local races for property assessor and County Commission's 9th District in South Knox County. They also check in on local Democrat Gloria Johnson's bid for U.S. Senate. Plus, the school board considers a new policy that could remove many books from school libraries.…

With early voting for the Aug. 1 election starting in just a few weeks, in this week's episode Scott and Jesse look at two interesting County Commission races (in districts 2 and 4) and dig into some controversial letters sent to naturalized citizens by state election officials. Also: Randy Boyd is granted another five-year term as president of the…

Growth and development dominated local news last week, with a report from Knoxville-Knox County Planning showing a surge in new residential construction. Scott and Jesse look at that report in this week's episode, along with its impact on the District 6 County Commission race and one controversial new downtown development in particular. Also: The w…

The City of Knoxville's African American Equity Restoration Task Force was set up largely to attract outside funding and investment to areas of East Knoxville that were devastated by urban renewal programs. But this past week, the task force took a small but significant step in awarding some small grants of its own to community groups. Scott and Je…

This week Scout and Jesse reconvien for a chat on Knoxville City Council's continued discussion on alternative task force, confusion surrounding Knox County School's new salary schedule, the City's plans to offload a protion of Chillhowee Park, Mom's for Liberty's continued advocacy to remove books from school libraries, and a few groups announce c…

Knoxville City Council adopted Mayor Indya Kincannon’s $461.6 million budget last week, but things got chippy between Council members Lauren Rider and Amelia Parker. Jesse was unavailable for this week's episode, but Compass intern Owen McCarthy joined Scott to talk about the spending plan and and the fireworks.. Also: The city is funding renovatio…

A last-minute plea for more funding by Sheriff Tom Spangler ran into the cold hard facts of limited revenues last week as County Commission approved County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' budget with no changes. On this week's episode, Jesse and Scott take a look at why the county budget is so tight, and why it might not change any time soon. Also: Graduate st…

As pro-Palestinian protests continued this week on the University of Tennessee campus, a well-known and respected community leader was among those arrested: Yassin Terou, owner of the popular Yassin's Falafel House restaurants. On this week's episode, Jesse and Scott talk about the protests and the ongoing tension between freedom of speech and inst…

To arm or not to arm? Teachers, we're talking about. That was a major point of discussion last week at the Knox County school board, and it led to a resolution that more-or-less says that the board would prefer not to have non-security personnel bringing concealed weapons to school. But the discussion again highlighted the partisan divide on the ni…

Protests against Israel's military operations in Gaza escalated across the country last week, including in Knoxville. In this week's episode, Scott and Jesse talk about protesters speaking out at City Council and on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Also: an update on the new downtown stadium; Knox County's estimated population clears 500,…

As the state Legislature came to a close last week, the state House and Senate signed off on a bill that would allow some school employees to carry concealed weapons in the classroom. On this week's episode, Jesse and Scott talk about the reaction to the new law both statewide and local, including pending action by the Knox County school board. Als…

Last week, County Commission considered several possible changes to Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' proposed new comprehensive land use plan — and Jacobs fired back by urging them not to touch a thing about it. On this week's episode, Jesse and Scott talk about the complexities of the plan and the underlying politics between development interests a…

The Town of Farragut completed a 180-degree turn on the Knox County growth plan last week, voting to approve changes proposed by County Mayor Glenn Jacobs just two weeks after first rejecting them. That sets the stage for updating the county's entire planning system, and it leads off this week's episode. Scott and Jesse also talk about Knox County …

The Farragut Board of Aldermen's whiplash-inducing reversals on the Knox County growth plan fueled local political drama last week. It leads off this week's episode as Jesse and Scott talk through the different parties and pressures brought to bear on the usually overlooked town legislature. Also: TDOT's big I-40 announcement; Knox County Schools w…

The holiday-shortened week ended with a bang last Thursday night when the Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen torpedoed County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' changes to the county growth plan. This week, Jesse and Scott look at the vote, the underlying politics, and what could happen next. Also, in the interview segment, they talk to state Sen. Becky Massey …

It's Big Ears week, but before Scott and Jesse get to talking about Knoxville's most unusual annual festival, they have other business to attend to: the city and county mayors host a summit on homelessness; County Commission considers whether to crack down on abandoned utility poles; Knox County Schools wrestles with how to use discipline data; and…

The City of Knoxville received a $42.6 million grant to provide better connections between East Knoxville and Downtown. In this week's episode, Scott and Jesse look at the major award and what it could mean for those communities. Also: a closer look at some of the March 5 primary results, a new golf attraction planned just north of Downtown, and th…

The primary topic this week is ... the primary! Jesse and Scott talk through the results of the March 5 Knox County primary races, including seats on County Commission, school board, and that razor-thin margin in the property assessor's race. They are joined by guest Mike Cohen for some analysis of what we learned — or didn't — from election day. A…

With the March 5 primary just around the corner, Jesse and Scott take a look at final early voting numbers and zoom in on the competitive Republican primary in the South Knox 9th District. Also: The county's new Growth Policy Plan wins conditional approval form County Commission; the city proposes a task force to study an alternative response model…

Knoxville lost a civil rights leader and invaluable community resource last week with the death of Bob Booker. Scott and Jesse kick off this week's episode with a remembrance and appreciation of Booker, who after a career of activism and government service became the de facto voice of local Black history. Also: As the March 5 primary approaches, th…

It’s election time in East Tennessee! Early voting has begun for the March 5 primary, and in this week’s episode Jesse and Scott talk about turnout in the first days of voting. They also take a deeper look at a few contests in particular: Republican primaries in the law director’s race and the 5th and 8th County Commission districts. Plus: Mayor In…

Rep. Gloria Johnson's decision to seek re-election to her legislative seat while also running for U.S. Senate created some political stir on both sides of the aisle last week. In this episode of Compass Points, Jesse and Scott talk through the implications and possible legal battles set up by Johnson's double campaign. Also: School vouchers feature…

The announcement of the closing of a low-barrier homeless shelter illustrates the ongoing challenges in meeting the needs of the chronically homeless. Scott and Jesse talk about the forces affecting the operation of the Foyer shelter on this week's episode, and the city's plans to replace it. Also: UT once again under NCAA scrutiny, and coverage of…

The snow’s finally gone, and on this week’s episode Jesse and Scott look back at the local response to the record-setting winter storm — including a first-time effort to provide community warming centers for the homeless population. Also: Rep. Jason Zachary’s new abortion bill, a challenge to the state education commissioner’s qualifications, City …

There's no business like snow business! The weather inevitably takes center stage this week, as Scott and Jesse review the events surrounding the great winter storm that buried Knox County in snow and ice. They talk about the city and county government responses, efforts to keep the unhoused warm, how local utilities fared, and a little controversy…

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs moved his proposed changes to the county's growth plan one step forward this week, in the face of questions and opposition from an array of county residents who fear it will open the way for development to overrun rural areas. Jesse and Scott talk about that, along with two controversial development proposals in Choto…

It's a new year, and Scott and Jesse devote this episode to previewing major initiatives, projects and challenges to come for our city, county and state governments, as well as our local education institutions. 2024 promises to be a lively year for all. They also look ahead to meetings this week of the Knox County school board, Knoxville City Counc…

This week Scott and Jesse look back at the top stories from 2023. Share this free service of CompassKnox.com and help Scott and Jesse have a great 2024.Bởi Barking Shark Media and Barberian Productions

Mayor Indya Kincannon officially began her second term last week, and Scott and Jesse take a look at her upcoming priorities in this week's episode. Also, opposition grows to proposed changes in Knox County's growth plan; a detailed makes 41 recommendations to improve culture and accountability at the Knoxville Police Department; and the state fina…

The City of Knoxville took significant steps last week toward encouraging redevelopment of the Magnolia Avenue corridor in East Knoxville. Scott and Jesse take a look at the plans in this week's Compass Points podcast, along with progress on the city's "Middle Housing" plan. Also: School board members prepare for the coming fight over school vouche…

There's a lot of talk about energy in this week's Compass Points podcast, as Scott and Jesse talk about the Tennessee Valley Authority's plans for small "modular" nuclear reactors, as well as alternative fuel steps by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Pilot/Flying J. They also follow developments in discussion of controversial books in school libra…

Debate continued to swirl around proposed changes to Knox County's long-term Growth Plan, with critics fearing the loss of valuable agricultural land to development. Jesse and Scott look at this in this week's episode, along with Gov. Bill Lee's push for statewide school vouchers; the City of Knoxville's change to its Animal Control services; new s…

Knox County approved a new ambulance contract this week, although not without some friction (including between a county spokesman and a News Sentinel reporter). Jesse and Scott talk through the details in this week's podcast, and also take a look at City of Knoxville efforts to address contracting disparities. Meanwhile, the local Moms for Liberty …