A Sevierville arcade owner has slotted the White House’s new border-wall arcade game between Skee-Ball and the claw machine, at the same ticket payout as everything else in the row.
TDOT official who cleared contract of red flags joins company that won it
Steve Townsend’s last TDOT review found no red flags in the state’s $9.2 billion Choice Lanes contract. Three days later, he started work for the company that won it.
AgriCentre East signs its first document that isn’t a rendering
Knox County Commission approved a $150,000-a-year ground lease for 120 acres of AgriCentre East — the site’s first real document, after $140,000 spent just branding it.
Commission orders 140 Flock cameras removed; KCSO applies for 270 more
Knox County ordered its Flock cameras removed within 30 days. Three days earlier, the sheriff’s office asked the state for money for 270 more.
Monkey now counts as a dog, city confirms
City Council votes 7-1 to regulate monkeys with an ordinance written for dogs. “We have one number. The number is four.”
Brewery census again fails to produce a number
The Greater Knoxville brewery census has again certified a final count of “between 24 and 38, inclusive.” Two breweries have opened since the census ended.
Last known White Stores cart pulled from Third Creek
The last known White Stores shopping cart, recovered from Third Creek after roughly forty years, is headed to a museum. “I knew by the handle. You don’t forget the handle.”
City can afford one firework, Boomsday study finds
A $180,000 feasibility study on reviving Boomsday concludes the city can afford one firework — an eight-inch chrysanthemum, $340 through state contract. “Nobody specified the quantity. It’s the same sky.”
Hawk founds Little Venezuela on East Knoxville brownfield
Two weeks after losing the county mayor’s race, Beau Hawk has broken ground on Little Venezuela, raising a flag he describes as legally distinct from any national banner. “I’m older, and the optics are on purpose.”
Tennessee Valley Fair unveils AgriCentre East, currently a pasture
The fair is “thrilled to explore the next chapter of the fair experience” at AgriCentre East, a branded destination campus that is currently 120 acres of cattle pasture on Rutledge Pike.
TDOT commends drag racers’ traffic control plan
Five men charged with drag racing on I-140 executed what TDOT is calling “the smoothest lane closure Pellissippi has seen in a decade” — at midnight, with three sedans and zero barrels.
Unbuilt Kerbela tunnel nominated as historic landmark
The contested pedestrian tunnel at the Kerbela site becomes Knox County’s first landmark designated before construction. The draft plaque reads, in full, “ON THIS SITE, A TUNNEL.”
Knox County proposes shunning Flock CEO at Rotary
After Sullivan County proposed hanging Flock Safety’s CEO, Knox County advances a measured alternative: shunning him at Rotary, per the county’s new five-tier Vendor Displeasure Matrix.
Maryville man settles First Amendment debate by disabling comments
A 900-word First Amendment analysis posted to Maryville Speaks Out! with commenting disabled has been declared constitutionally unanswerable. “Hamilton never faced this,” legal scholars concede.
New dog park dedicated to dogs who died waiting
Knox County officials cut the ribbon on the last dog park approved by the 2020 community vote, dedicating it to the dogs who didn’t make it. A bronze plaque beside the gate reads “They Waited Patiently.”