Second Harvest Food Bank’s PACK THE BAG Campaign Supporting the 14,000+ students in the Food for Kids Program. May 1 – 14 Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee will be hosting their “Pack the Bag” fundraiser to benefit their Food for Kids Program with the aim to feed over 14,000 in 14 days. Food for Kids is a collaboration between Second Harvest and over 298 participating public schools to provide nutritious, easily prepared food to children likely to miss meals on a regular basis. For $100, a child can be sponsored for the entire year.  Second Harvest thanks several crucial corporat ..read more

TENNESSEE STATE PARKS, TWRA PARTNER WITH AMERICAN CANOE ASSOCIATION FOR ‘KAYAKING 101’ INSTRUCTION TO KICK OFF NATIONAL SAFE BOATING WEEK For the third year, Tennessee State Parks and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) are joining the Tennessee chapter of the American Canoe Association (ACA) to offer low-cost kayaking instruction Saturday, May 18.   The event is part of National Safe Boating Week. Last year, the event trained 279 students across North Carolina and Tennessee in 24 simultaneous Kayaking 101 classes led by nationally certified ACA instructor volunteers.  ..read more

‘Often in error, but never in doubt’ By Tom Mattingly Several years ago, my wife and I went to Chattanooga to meet the posters on one of the “chat boards” so prevalent on the Internet. It was a chance to see the faces behind the names of those guys who freely offer their opinions on any number of subjects, mostly the ebbs and flows of Tennessee football. I had been asked to share my thoughts on Tennessee football history, When I arrived, there was someone there I didn’t expect, but someone I was glad to see. He had already commandeered the podium and showed no signs of letting go. I had been ..read more

Is this the best time of the year for sports? By Mark Nagi I got home recently from a long day of fighting crime and wanted to do nothing more than to make dinner, give Bailey (my seven-year-old double doodle) treats and hugs, and watch something sports related on TV. And folks, currently there are many options.  Which leads me to something that seems like sacrilege when there is no NFL or college football… Is this the best time of year for sports? I’m talking mid-March to mid-June. Let’s discuss. First, we are only three weeks removed from the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament ..read more

The NAACP’s latest salvo at Ron DeSantis By Dr. Harold A. Black blackh@knoxfocus.com haroldblackphd.com Last year the NAACP issued a “travel advisory” warning blacks that Florida was a “hate state” hostile to people of color. This probably was a surprise to the 6 million black and Hispanic residents. When I took one of my two annual trips to Florida later in the year I was only attacked by mosquitos, fire ants and love bugs. Personally, I think it is a testament to how badly people want to flee the North if they move to Florida. I guess the aforementioned mosquitos, fire ants, love bugs and of ..read more

Congress Passes Mega-Billions More For Ukraine By John J. Duncan Jr. duncanj@knoxfocus.com Last week, Congress voted to send $95 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The largest portion was to Ukraine – $61 billion – after the Congress had previously approved $114 billion, for a total of $175 billion. The total GDP of Ukraine in 2022 was $160.5 billion. In other words, we basically could have bought the whole country for less than we have sent them. Of course, most of this money was approved due to the tremendous lobbying effort made and the big campaign contributions given ..read more

Still Alive By Joe Rector This past weekend, I was thrilled to find out that my neighbors weren’t dead. I mean nearly all of them. They disappeared at the end of October 2023. So few sightings of them had me wondering if they’d moved or died. Not until last Saturday did they prove to be kicking and living normal lives. Out from their houses did they exit, and the rest of the day the entire neighborhood was alive. Such things happen every spring. The weather cooperated for the first time in several weekends. Cold temperatures, biting winds and rain gave way to blue skies with a sun warming ever ..read more

Delusional Thinking   When debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of losers. Socrates   By Dr. Jim Ferguson   Becky and I enjoy watching sports, but I focus on the sport that is “in season.” I’ll watch some of the National Hockey League playoffs because I played ice hockey into my sophomore year of college and the ridiculous fighting is virtually absent in the playoffs. However, it’s really baseball season and this caused me to think of an old comedy routine by Abbott and Costello entitled “Who’s on First?” I’m sure most of you remember this classic shtick, but if not, searc ..read more

Free Legal Advice Clinic for Veterans DATE Wednesday, June 12, 2024   TIME Noon – 2:00 P.M.   LOCATION Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office 1101 Liberty Street, Knoxville, TN 37919   Attorneys will be available to provide consultations on legal issues such as: Landlord/tenant Veterans Benefits Bankruptcy Criminal defense Consumer protection Contract disputes Estate Planning Child support Personal injury General Legal Issues   Please note: This is not a wills clinic.  Clients can expect legal advice, but no wills are drafted at this clinic. The Veterans ..read more

World premiere of The Doctor and the Devils by Jason Overall Marble City Opera will present the world-premiere performances of The Doctor and the Devils by Knoxville composer Jason Overall on Thursday, June 6 and Saturday, June 8, 2024 in the Old City Performing Arts Center, 111 State Street, Knoxville. Both performances will begin at 7:00 p.m. Tickets to The Doctor and the Devils are available at MarbleCityOpera.com/tickets  General admission tickets are $40 each. VIP tickets are $50 each. VIP tickets include an invitation to meet composer Jason Overall at a pre-show reception with refre ..read more