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Today is Earth Day.

Dr. Mary Headrick says, " April 22 is our chance to pause and think. Are we good stewards of our Garden of Eden, Earth? There is no Planet B."

I couldn't find a single Republican candidate statement on Earth Day. Sustainability is still a UN plot to destroy America, apparently.

That said there's this:

Roane County has achieved the lowest rung of a TVA sponsored community sustainability program.

TN First Lady Crissy Haslam is launching a program that will teach children how to identify trees in honor of Earth Day.

Dr. Mary Headrick, a retired physician and 30 year advocate for Health Insurance Reform, says that the economic benefits of the Affordable Healthcare Act and Medicaid expansion should appeal to anyone with a brain. The Democratic Candidate for Congress in Tennessee's 3rd District also says, "Tennessee's refusal to take the Federal Dollars means two of our citizens needlessly die every single day. That is a tragedy to anyone with a heart!"

Headrick, an expert on what the numbers are and what they mean to Tennesseans, will address Dr Don Bruce's Health Economics class on Tuesday April 22 on the Knoxville Campus of the University of Tennessee.

From Ken Yager's District Office:

The 108th General Assembly adjourned sine die Thursday, April 17, at 1:57 p.m. Central Time. The Session lasted 69 days, a record for early adjournment. The words "sine die" are Latin which means that the legislature adjourned without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing. In other words April 17 is the last day of the 108th General Assembly unless the Governor should call it back into special session. Our leadership figured that there was no need to come back for a veto override session. The 109th General Assembly will convene the first Tuesday in January, 2015.

Several significant laws were passed in 2014. Here is my pick of the litter:

Want to see what the water quality is in your favorite stream? TDEC has a site that shows the good, the bad, and the ugly. Go to the site and zoom in on Roane County( Or any other place you're interested in). Click on "Stream Assesment" and take that in. When you are ready, click on "Waterbody Assessment" and prepare to be mad.

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The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has decided to drop its objections filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over what it had claimed was illegal interference with a vote to unionize at a Chattanooga, Tennessee Volkswagen plant in February, the company said in a press release on Monday. The union said this “effectively terminate[s] the NLRB review process,” in which it had asked for the election results to be thrown out so that it could have a new one.

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Many of us like to believe that popular opinion influences policymakers, at least indirectly. So ordinary voters may be dismayed to hear that “the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy."

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Sunrise has moved north east over the gorge and actually hits the house much later in the morning than in winter months.

The proposed $10-12 million project would turn former prison land and buildings into riding stables, gift shops and a distillery. Sales tax generated on the property would go towards paying off the loans.

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So let me get this straight...In the best interests of advancing and protecting the rights of TN citizens and workers, Haslam shouldn't have to answer questions on what he did, particularly since what he did was quite possibly illegal?

"The petitioners are high-ranking officials and staff of the State of Tennessee with a duty to advance the interests of the State of Tennessee and to advance and protect the rights of its citizens, including those employed at the Volkswagen facility in Chattanooga," the filing said.

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This is like a keystone cops comedy except an innocent person gets locked up, harassed, and then put out on the street with no transportation home. Somebody should lose their job over this..maybe several somebodies.

Brittney L. Boyd, a 28-year-old white woman from Chattanooga, was arrested in East Ridge early Sunday morning on a 2008 "failure to appear" warrant for a Brittany F. Boyd, a 26-year-old black woman from Riverdale, Ga.

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On the last day of session, Republicans blocked a proposal by House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner to prevent state and elected officials from using tax dollars to interfere with a lawfully organized labor election. Amendment 5 to HB1687 would have created specific criminal penalties to condition incentives for the purposes of disrupting the outcome of a legal union election.

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How's My Waterway?

Crockett has all the TN buzz:

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This is what those "Take Back America" people want to take us back to. Problem is, my home state is already there!

If you’re worried about where America is heading, look no further than Tennessee. Its lush mountains and verdant rolling countryside belie a mean-spirited public policy that only makes sense if you believe deeply in the anti-collectivist, anti-altruist philosophy of Ayn Rand. It’s what you get when you combine hatred for government with disgust for poor people.

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WATE has the story: Link....

-- OneTahiti

This is BIG!

“Our request is part of an inquiry to understand the extent to which the activities of Tennessee state officials may have undermined, or attempted to undermine, federal rights guaranteed to workers in Chattanooga,” the letter said.

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Elvis is back on the Princess stage April 19th (this Saturday) at 6PM.

Senators Vote 32-0 to have schoolchildren recite ‘Salute to the Flag of TN’ after Pledge of Allegiance

Crockett News Roundup

Well done, People! This is a wonderful and positive event for our county. The racers seem to have really enjoyed it and went away with a very positive view of Roane County and its people.

“It was beautiful,” said Johnny Hayes of the Village Volkswagen team. “I absolutely loved the course. It was one of the better courses I’ve raced on in a long time.”...
“This is a good place to race,” Ed Hoover said. “All the residents have been very nice and welcoming.”

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This was a stupid deal for Roane County back when it was done. I seem to remember that there was more money spent than is being quoted now. At any rate, Commissioner Kelly, who was not on the Commission when this was done, is exactly right on this:

“There’s two requirements for something to pass that board,” Kelley said. “One is it has to be a majority vote and the other is there has to be at least one vote from each county. If we could get our board members to say we’re not going to vote to approve anything until we get some changes in our agreement, that gives us a little leverage.

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This is an absurd waste of money in what appears to boil down to a contest of who can hate Obamacare the most. This is going to be fun to watch, especially since Obamacare is working rather well at the moment. (Haslam care, not so much)

Fleischmann spokesman Jordan Powell said Tuesday the Ooltewah Republican has about $640,000 on hand, after raising $300,000 from Jan. 1 to March 31.

Funny!

Dave Hart thinks it’s the fans’ fault that Cuonzo Martin is the new men’s basketball coach at Cal.

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If it's R B Morris...it's a Good Friday! Listen

7:30 BYOB $10

Have a great meal at the Market Street Bistro in Ladd Landing, Kingston, TN. Then come on up to the Ladd Landing Clubhouse for a killer show.

This is unbelievable...

Across the state, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says about 20,000 rape kits were never submitted for testing by police. In November in Memphis, police revealed that up to 12,000 kits had gone untested, some dating back 30 years.

Each untested kit represents a potential rapist walking free, a potential victim without justice.

An amendment to allocate state money to ending this backlog was defeated. That story and more from Crockett News Buzz.

When Rep. Mike Stewart, D-Nashville, asked sponsor Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, whether the bill would “allow the state board to put charter schools in our districts without any local involvement,” she shut him off, banging her gavel and declaring, “On the amendment.”

Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, was similarly ruled out of order when he asked whether the amendment takes into consideration “the huge property taxes this is going to cause” when money for public schools goes to new charter schools authorized by the Board of Education without local approval.

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Bill Haslam, Bob Corker, and Robin Smith. Robin Smith has been struggling to be relevant in the R party in TN. She's lost every election but she just keeps trying.

Robin Smith: Chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party, Smith compared the UAW to an "infestation" of "Ichneumon wasp larvae." When the NAACP expressed support for an investigation into Haslam's secret offer, Smith tweeted: "@NAACP supports @UAW at @VW in Chattanooga. Those allies tell the tale." As indicated by her comments, the Tennessee GOP establishment intervened in the election in a disgraceful manner.

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The last thing Roane County needs is a new nuke program, but that hasn't stopped TVA from charging ahead with Babcock & Wilcox. Turns out that B&W are having trouble finding anyone who wants to invest in nuclear power right now.

Expect a revised timeline for small nuclear units at TVA

The venture has secured $150m of Department of Energy (DOE) cost-share funding to help develop the first 180-MW mPower SMRs at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Clinch River site in 2022. Now it is not entirely clear what impact the B&W news will have on the 2022 deployment date.

They also fired their CEO. Could TVA just forget about this project?

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