The Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College will convene a community forum and study group on health care reform, to be held at the Blount County Library on Tues., Sept. 1 from 6:30 until 8 p.m.

No elected officials have been invited to speak, and the program is designed to be a time of non-partisan study for those who may have been confused and seek better understanding of the current health care debates. “Very different from the summer town hall campaigns and debates around the country, we have decided to take a more academic and learning-oriented approach, opening the door for people to better educate themselves on the issues,” said Billy Newton, director of the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College.

Dr. Carole Myers, who teaches courses in health care policy to graduate students at UT, will review basic principles and various reform elements being discussed and debated. Tony Garr, executive director of Tennessee Health Care Campaign, will give an update on the current status and variety of legislative bills that Congress is facing. Members of the League of Women Voters will facilitate a time for participants to submit questions to the speakers. There will also be an opportunity to pick up resources and network with others for further study.

According to Newton, the program is not a rally or campaign for any particular health care bill, and it has been planned for the purpose of study. Autumn Hall, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Blount County, sums up the program. “So much of what’s in the news about health care reform is confusing. We hope the forum will give information to make the needs and issues clearer,” she said.

For more information, please contact Newton at 865.273.8894 or billy.newton@maryvillecollege.edu

Save the dates!

Two new community discussions are scheduled for January 15 & 20*, 2009. Additions to the annual Blount County MLK Week Celebration, these new events aim to bring Dr. King’s thinking to bear on the issues of the day and move us to take action. Please plan now to attend and participate!

Thursday, January 15 (7-8:30pm Maryville College Alumni Gym)
Panel presentation “What would Dr. King say about the issues of the day?”
Historical context (Paula McGhee, Maryville College)
Jobs and dignity at work (June Rostan, AFL-CIO)
Immigration (Elandria Williams, Highlander Research & Education Center)
Impact of war and militarism (Terry Bunde, Maryville College)
Religious diversity (Nour Joudah, Maryville College).
Moderator: Nina Gregg

Tuesday, January 20* (7-8:30pm, Maryville College Alumni Gym)
“What would Dr. King call us to do about the issues of the day and what can we do?”
Facilitators will meet in small groups of community members to discuss what is already going on in our communities and plans of action regarding the issues that were addressed on Jan. 15:
Jobs & dignity at work: Susan Williams (Jobs with Justice of East Tennessee)
Immigration: Lisa Barba (Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Network)
War & Militarism: Carol Green (United Methodist Church) and Shelley Wascom (community activist)
Religious diversity: Dick Cox (St. Andrews Episcopal Church)
Moderator: Karen Coffin

*Yes, Jan. 20 is inauguration day – and what better way to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama than joining in a community discussion about taking action to address these issues in our community? If you are planning to attend the Inaugural Gala, stop by here first and contribute your perspective.

The Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College is hosting these events in partnership with the Blount County MLK Celebration Committee.

Fran Ansley, recently retired from UT law school, will be speaking at Maryville College on Monday, April 28 at 7pm in Lawson Auditorium in Fayerweather Hall. This program is sponsored by the Blount County League of Women Voters.

Fran is a tireless advocate for human rights and her talk (“Labor Rights Meet Global Wrongs: The Search for a Fair and Humane Immigration Policy") promises to be both engaging and instructive.

Dorothy Samuels, a member of The New York Times Editorial Board, has some trenchant observations about who contributes to to judicial campaigns. In the Tuesday, April 15 edition of The New York Times, she writes,

"The perception that money is corrupting the courts would be damaging enough. But often, it seems, special interests are finding that buying up judges likely to side with them in big-dollar cases is a good investment. . ."

Later in the editorial she outlines the West Virginia State Supreme Court's (mis)handling of a case involving Massey Energy:

"In West Virginia, meanwhile, the State Supreme Court’s handling of a case involving a large coal company, Massey Energy, took on a decidedly farcical flavor. For the second time, the appellate court threw out a $50 million verdict against Massey.

The court decided to rehear the case after photographs publicly surfaced of its chief justice, Elliott Maynard, vacationing in Monte Carlo with Massey’s chief executive, Don Blankenship, in 2006, while the matter was pending in the Supreme Court. The chief justice disqualified himself from the rehearing. So did another justice, Larry Starcher, because he had publicly criticized Blankenship and his company. The 3-to-2 outcome in favor of Massey was unchanged from the first round, which might not have been noteworthy except that the deciding vote was cast once again by Justice Brent Benjamin, who declined to recuse himself despite owing his election to the court to more than $3 million spent by Mr. Blankenship."

Samuels offers a solution from a report by the Brennan Center for justice: stronger recusal rules.

See the complete editorial at
Link...

A resolution is going before Knox County Commission stating that the Commission does not want any toll roads in Knox County. This resolution has been introduced by Commissioner Mike Hammond.
The resolution will be considered in committee on April 21, 8:30 a.m., in the main assembly room of the City-County Building. It will be voted on in full commission April 28, 2 p.m., same place.

Why should Blount County residents care about this resolution?
Because allowing toll roads means even more roads will be built across Tennessee when we should be shifting resources to other forms of transportation, and without federal funding these roads will not be subject to federal environmental review (NEPA). Even though this is (for the moment) a Knox County matter, input from the surrounding counties is important. In addition if you have friends and family in Knox County, please forward this information to them.

Knox County road watchers are asking people to write a quick e-mail before April 21 to all the county commissioners (see list with e-mail links below). The remainder of this post comes from our Knox County allies:

TDOT is holding meetings across the state as part of an I-40/I-81 corridor study. This study will identify 'improvements' for the 550-mile Interstate 40/81 corridor between Bristol and Memphis. See Link...

Among the alternatives under study is the benefit of shifting freight to rail vs. adding new lanes to I-40 and I-81.

In Virginia, a comprehensive study of using rail vs. interstates for freight along I-81 will be released in May. Norfolk Southern is willing to share their data with state Departments of Transportation along the I-40/I-81 corridor.

We need to encourage TDOT to review the Virginia data before reaching any conclusions about what will be best for Tennessee. TDOT is currently relying on flawed analyses from over three years ago. And TDOT is already saying that widening the interstates will be more cost effective than shifting freight to rail.

Some observers think TDOT intends to avoid thorough environmental analysis of the major transportation options for the I-40/81 corridor. For example, if they segment the widening of I-40 and I-81 into dozens of small construction projects these will have NEPA clearances under categorical exclusions.

A full-corridor environmental impact statement is necessary for the rail alternative to be properly defined and a full accounting of costs and benefits done. In a thorough benefit/cost analysis, adverse environmental impacts are recognized and accounted for even if, in some cases, you cannot put a dollar value on them.

Please attend the Knoxville area TDOT meeting and urge TDOT to look at Norfolk Southern’s data. The Knoxville meeting is Monday, April 7, 5-7pm in the auditorium at TDOT headquarters, 7345 Region Lane, Knoxville (this is at the Strawberry Plains exit of I-40).

Written comments will be also accepted within twenty-one (21) days after the workshop date to the following address: Project Comments, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Suite 700, James K. Polk Building, 505 Deaderick Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0332.

The EPA issued new ozone standards on Wednesday. The new standard is not as low as what EPA scientists and public health specialists recommended in 2006, but the new standard will have an impact on transportation and land use planning in East Tennessee and the rest of the state.

A press release from the Southern Environmenal Law Center says,
"To improve air quality, Tennessee must focus on strategies to reduce how much and how far its citizens drive such as investing in transportation alternatives and coordinating transportation and land use planning to reduce sprawl."

See Link...

Tuesday March 11 is the postmark deadline for comments to TDOT on the PPE and the Feb. 19 public meeting. Tell TDOT you want existing roads improved first.

For CAPPE's analysis go to Link...
and click on CAPPE's response to Feb 19 2008 TDOT public meeting

See also an earlier Blountviews posting at Link...

Mike Treese's Letter to the Editor in today's Daily Times raises additional questions Link...

Send comments to:

Tennessee Department of Transportation
Suite 700, James K. Polk Building
505 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN 37243-0332

OR by e-mail to mike.russell@state.tn.us

You can write your own letter or download TDOT's comment form at Link...

The surprise announcement (at the Tuesday Feb. 19 2008 TDOT meeting) of the necessity of the Southern Loop and Alcoa Parkway to make the PPE worth building got the attention of lots of people and the press Link...

The Southern Loop is a 26-mile beltway around Maryville and Alcoa.
Drivers heading south on 129 could get onto the Loop and continue west and south.

Five years ago CAPPE said the PPE wouldn't aid traffic congestion by itself because most drivers are going south on 129 and 411. At the time local officials said the Southern Loop 'would never be built.' But the Southern Loop is still in the Long Range Transportation Plan for our region. That plan is voted on by representatives of our local governments.

Even UT's Center for Transportation Research, in their review of TDOT's planning for the PPE, said more attention needed to be given to the terminus of the PPE on 321 and if the long term plan was to build the Southern Loop, that TDOT needed to study the impact of the entire beltway.

Now even TDOT is saying that the PPE will relieve traffic congestion ONLY if the Southern Loop AND Alcoa Parkway are built.

If our elected officials didn't know that the supposed benefits of the PPE require the Southern Loop, what else don't they know? What will the impacts of the Southern Loop and Alcoa Parkway be on our communities?

To read CAPPE's response to the Feb. 19 meeting, go to Link... or Link... and click on
"CAPPE’s response to Feb 19 2008 TDOT public meeting."

Please plan to attend and speak at the TDOT meeting tomorrow, Tuesday Feb. 19, from 5-7pm at Heritage High School. Postings to Blountviews do not get counted in TDOT's tally! Also send a letter expressing your concerns to TDOT before the deadline (March 10). The address is:

Project Comments
Tennessee Department of Transportation
Suite 700, James K. Polk Building
505 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN 37243-0332

This is a reminder that ChiliFest is today, Saturday, Feb. 2 from 4-7pm at Broadway Methodist Church in downtown Maryville. We have lots of contestants -- which means lots of chilis to taste in order to vote for the People's Choice winner! Also door prizes, a bake sale, made-to-order tortillas and quesadillas, and the talented Omega Dogs performing a blend of musical styles at 6pm.

See you there!

CAPPE (Citizens Against the Pellissippi Parkway Extension, Inc.) members are preparing for the upcoming TDOT meeting on October 25 at Heritage High School from 5-8pm. For initial analysis, see below. For background, see Link...

Also worth noting is that TDOT gave less than 3 weeks notice for this meeting, in violation of their own policy to provide 30 days notice for all public meetings. See Link...

At the Oct. 25 meeting TDOT will present the ‘Purpose and Need’ for the PPE as well as ‘initial alternatives.’ The public will have opportunities to comment on the Purpose and Need and the alternatives. Written comments can be sent to TDOT for 21 days after the Oct. 25 meeting.