By Steve Williams A little over a week ago, an Arctic blast dropped temperatures into single digits for a couple of days in the Knoxville area. Old Man Winter had a grip on just about the entire nation. Maybe that had something to do with the Tennessee basketball team’s cold shooting in a 38-point showing […]
By Sharon Frankenberg, Attorney at Law Today, being the third Monday in January, we celebrate Martin Luther King Day. It is a legal holiday according to Tennessee law because it is a day “appointed by the governor or by the president of the United States as a day of fasting or thanksgiving, and all days […]
By Sally Absher Mark Twain popularized the phrase, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Judging from the reaction to a couple of recent articles in the Knoxville daily paper about teacher absenteeism, this is still true. The first article, “Understanding teacher absences: Overall numbers show decline, but some schools, days […]
By Joe Rector I drove with fellow workers from a run to Atlanta to drop off cars and then hopped into a van for the return trip. We gabbed about a variety of topics, but then someone uttered that famous line, “I wonder why…” That set me to mulling over some of the things about […]
By Rosie Moore Here are the movies that won awards on the Golden Globe Awards show. Boyhood, Glory, The Theory of Everything, How to Train your Dragon 2, Birdman, Gone Girl, The Imitation Game, and Interstellar. What in the world were these movies about? As I undertook the chore of learning the story of each […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson In these dark and cold days of winter it’s hard to see the days becoming longer even though the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year – is behind us. The Solstice was celebrated in ancient cultures for heralding a “return of the sun” and increasing sunlight hours. Perhaps […]
Schoonmaker selected for 5th District Seat By Mike Steely steelym@knoxfocus.com John R. Schoonmaker, Chairman of the Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals and once a former candidate who stood for election to 5th District seat in 2008, was selected in a split vote by the Knox County Commission to replace Dr. Richard Briggs as that […]
By Sally Absher sallyabsher@knoxfocus.com For this week’s Special Education feature, The Focus spoke with Patti Quinton, the mother of four beautiful girls. Caitlyn, 20, is currently a junior at the University of Tennessee. Kristen, 15, is a sophomore at the L & N STEM Academy. Laci and Elise, 10, are in fourth grade CDC-A at […]
By Ray Hill Tennessee has been quite fortunate in oftentimes having an excellent Congressional delegation. The landscape and economic condition of Tennessee would be much different had it not been for the ability of some of our Congressional delegation to secure projects for our state and keep them flourishing. 1939 was a difficult year for […]
By Mike Steely steelym@knoxfocus.com Here and there around Knox County are several noted buildings that many people pass without knowing the story behind the structures. There are lots of early structures that have a unique beginning and have survived the years to be used for many different purposes. The Fountain City Building, the Emporium Building […]