Folks who have been to our place know that we don't care much for lawns beyond the minimum required for the proper raising of children. Our ornamentals are mostly native with accents of showy bloomers or heirlooms from the grand parents' old home place. My personal favorite of the natives is Farkleberry.

Office of Management and Budget recently added four counties to the official Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area — Campbell, Grainger, Morgan and Roane counties joined the existing MSA composed of Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon and Union counties.

Link...

A pig farmer on the panel that hears environmental bills, voucher bills to take funding from our local schools, and the requirement that owners of any dog that might be a pit bull or have pit bull in it buy $25,000.00 in insurance...and you thought last years Legislature was bad...

Link...

Predictions for the Roane County tax rate are not looking good.

The Humane Society video that resulted in huge fines for a hog farm was ostensibly taken to stop animal abuse. What it also exposed was the horrendously unsanitary conditions where our food was produced. The TNGOP is now rushing an ALEC bill through that would force videographers to turn over their unedited videos to the police, thereby eliminating the possiblity of producing the effective documentaries that show the American people what is really going on. Here's the KNS story:

Link...

So it doesn't matter if he had multiple affairs, pressured mistresses into abortions, smoked pot or had been proven to be a smarmy, rotten bastard: He was their smarmy, rotten bastard, and that was enough for (1) the base to ignore his sins and (2) the party to stick by him, rather than condemn him.

Who are they talking about? Link...

Pretty noteworthy news for little Kingston, but no talk about it anywhere - Link...

Congrats David!

Link...

Since January, the Department of Children's Services has reported that 73 children who were brought to its attention died in 2012, but the state now says the correct number is 105.

Link...

TVA has failed to adequately protect Sequoyah and Watts Bar nuclear plants from the potential for the failure of dams and berms upstream and the flooding that would ensue, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NRC on Friday confirmed that NRC sent TVA six citations and placed both plants under new "yellow" safety flags, indicating what NRC calls "substantial safety significance."

Link...

Conservative used to not mean hating on liberals. It used to mean having different ideas on how to make this world better. Is this the start of a rejection of Tea Party reactionism and a return to true conservative values?

...From our "I told you so" department.

From TVA:

Beginning today, March 18, 2013, maintenance will begin at the Kingston Fossil Plant on one of the scrubber absorbers, which leaves one absorber in service. This makes it necessary to partially bypass part of the scrubber system and utilize the south stack for emissions. Currently three of nine units are operating; however four more units are going to be turned on today, making a total of seven units in operation.

The maintenance is scheduled to last approximately 30 days. We will keep you informed of any changes to the schedule.

Go read the whole thing. It's about how our media don't do the job for which they are given special privileges under the Constitution for doing:

Randy Neal has the short list:

Link...

Guns in trunks law is signed...Local governance is best except where lobbyists need it overruled.

Link...

I love this guy...If only I could write like this...

“We figured, ‘If our Legislature has us on the leading edge of a backward charge, why not demand a fee from those who want to follow our trailblazing?’ ” he said. “We’ll sell our ditzy bills to other states, instead of them copying them. Given our zany lawmakers, exporting crazy legislation may just become the engine that drives Tennessee’s economy.”

Link...

Today is the anniversary of Patrick's death. He was captured and taken to Ireland as a slave to tend sheep. He escaped, went home, and only returned back after a vision. He was considered an outcast in Ireland because he wouldn't accept gifts from the various Pagan kings. He wasn't Irish and most of what we think we know about St. Patrick is fiction.

NRC cited TVA for six apparent violations of its regulations, four at its 1,210-MW Watts Bar plant and two at the two-unit 2,367-MW Sequoyah station.

Link...

On Roane County Native, Walter Douglas Smith, having his statue installed at Francis Marion State in SC, his sister, Jean Roberts of Rockwood:

She credits Harriman schools, in part, for his success.

“Harriman High School was a good school then,

Link...

Sen. Stacey Campfield did his best today to make it harder for University of Tennessee students to vote against him in the next election. But the rest of the Senate—possibly hoping to get rid of the clown prince of Tennessee politics once and for all—defeated his amendment to stop students from using their college IDs to vote.

Link...

Link...

Here's the actual quote:

“You know, if you’re not wearing a helmet, you’re in the morgue. That’s bad and that’s terrible, but it’s not something where we’re worrying about dollars here. We can’t worry about that side of it.”

The Story Via Post Politics

Most of the energy savings reported by utilities is in lighting. All of our Roane County municipalities could save a ton of money by replacing the unshielded lights with full cut off fixtures which use 2/3 less energy and give better light. Efforts to move in this direction have been opposed by our local utilities who seem to see it as cutting into their revenues. It's time to put old thinking away.

Link...

I like to think this is rare. I wonder what the statistics are for our County?

Brothers Joseph Franklin Capps III, 24, of Kingston and Brady Alan Capps, 27, of Harriman, along with Ron Allen Arwood, 24, of Harriman are charged with especially aggravated burglary and robbery

.

Link...

"'Governor,'" I said, 'You know we give all these tax breaks to the wealthy. We take collective bargaining rights away. We're going to address the pension system and make state employees pay more and get less. When are we going to do something for the working people in this state?'

Link...

The new hours for Cruisin' are 3:30 to 7.

CLICK HERE to see cars from past years shows!

Annexation into a city would require majority approval of impacted residents in a referendum under legislation approved by a House committee Tuesday despite contentions the move breaks an agreement that was supposed to last for 20 years.

Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, said his bill, HB475, is simply a matter of fairness to people and respect for their property rights.

Of course the TN Municipal League is against this. Midtown residents should let Yager and Calfee know how they feel.

Link...

The state would transfer $6,300 for each child using a voucher to a private school. If 5,000 children participated as outlined in Haslam’s bill, the state would transfer up to $15.8 million. About $1,200 would continue to flow to the child’s public school.

In the second year, when 7,500 children would be eligible, the transfer would increase to $24.4 million.

Link...