If you’ve listened to the news or late-night TV lately, you know that President Trump is governing by executive order rather than the traditional way of Congress passing laws and the President implementing them.
We’ll see how this plays out, but it’s no wonder there is conflict. Trump is in a hurry and Congress can’t pass much of anything, including a budget.
A weird rumor made the rounds yesterday. After Trump locked down the offices of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), right-wing bloggers said the agency had spent $8.2 million for subscriptions to Politico. I made the mistake of repeating that to Betty Bean. Oh. Hell. No, said Bean. She sent me this link. Here’s CNN’s version.
I checked Fox News to learn that the bloggers had it somewhat right. The federal government paid $8.2 million to Politico over nine years, but that was for all departments. USAID apparently spent “just” $44,000 over two years for subscriptions.
With a $36 trillion national debt, we’ve got to cut spending. Media subscriptions is a good place to start.
All of this got me to wondering what Knox County government has spent with local media lately. It’s a shocker.
In May 2021, Mayor Glenn Jacobs recommended and Knox County Commission approved a resolution to direct legal notice advertising to the Knoxville Focus rather than to the Knoxville News Sentinel. Here’s a link to my story at the time.
The Focus is a free circulation weekly paper distributed in retail establishments. You may have seen them. The stack stays static through the week (few readers). The News Sentinel is a subscription paper – the paper of record.
- FY 21 – News Sentinel $90,362.07 – Knoxville Focus $10,881.48
- FY 22 – Knoxville Focus $8,151.22
- FY 23 – Knoxville Focus $87,078.17
- FY 24 – Knoxville Focus $115,099.94
Since the change at the end of FY21, the Focus has received $210,329.33 from Knox County for legal notice advertising. The News Sentinel has received zero.
These numbers came from Chris Caldwell, Knox County director of finance and co-chief of staff for Mayor Jacobs.
Good grief, people. Put the ads on the county’s website. Get the law changed if necessary. You won’t save $8.2 million, but you’ll save more than $44,000.
Term limits: A blessing and a curse
Knoxville City Council is fixing to lose some very good members to term limits. Not able to run again are:
- Tommy Smith – District 1
- Andrew Roberto – District 2
- Seema Singh – District 3
- Lauren Rider – District 4
- Gwen McKenzie – District 6
Qualifying deadline for candidates is noon Thursday, May 15, 2025; primary election is Tuesday, August 26; general election is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Thanks to a new law from Nashville, voters will be able to vote only for the council member from their district of residence. Here are three announced candidates:
District 1: Karyn Adams is running for an open seat from South Knoxville and Fort Sanders. She promises “energetic leadership and a progressive vision for our shared future.” Adams has served on Knox Planning since 2020. She is a former president of the Ijams Nature Center board and currently serves as the Lindbergh Forest neighborhood representative on the South Knoxville Neighborhood & Business Coalition. In her day job, Karyn works in marketing and communications as principal and owner of HA ThirtyOne. Info: https://www.karynforknoxville.com/
District 4: Matthew DeBardelaben is running in a district that runs from Holston Hills to part of Fountain City. He pledges to be “a thoughtful and creative steward of our city and its growth,” Housing availability is one of his issues. A renter himself, DeBardelaben has “felt the pressures of the housing crisis firsthand.” A resident of Old North, Matthew works in commercial real estate. An advocate of positive design, he serves on the city’s Design Review Board. He is the curator of Pechakucha Knoxville and Square on the Square. Info: https://www.matthewforknoxville.com/
District 2: Nathan Honeycutt is running from the Bearden/West Hills district. “As a father, local business owner and architect, I understand what it takes to build great communities,” he said. He wants to put his experience to work for Knoxville’s future. The campaign will hold its official kick-off on Tuesday, March 25, from 5:30-7 p.m. at The Plaid Apron, 1210 Kenesaw Ave. “Our city’s future lies in building a Knoxville where smart growth meets local values. Nathan is a principal at McCarty Holsaple McCarty. His wife, Amy, is a teacher at Sequoyah Hills Early Enrichment Program. They have two children. Info: https://www.nathanforknoxville.com/
In memoriam
Condolences to Knox County Commission chair Gina Oster on the death of her father-in-law, Howard Stanton Oster Jr. He lived in Knoxville, coaching and playing ball in the West Haven area for about 30 years. Services were held February 1 at Holley Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton.
Condolences to the family of Kathleen Sevier Kavanagh Benson who died on January 18, 2025. Known as “Katsy,” she served for 20 years on the Knox County Board of Education at a time when few women held any elective office. She is survived by her son, Gregory King Benson III, his wife Diane, their son Emery Paul Benson and his wife Maria. She is also survived by her daughter Mabry Bond Benson, her sons Gabriel LeNoir Lang and Benjamin Cameron Lang, his wife Kayla and their daughter Avery Marie Lang.
Our family’s deepest sympathy go to Gina Oster and familly in their time of grief.
I have said for a very long time the federal government wastes too much of our money. Remember $300 for a hammer and $1,000 for toilet seats (or something like that)? And this doesn’t count the pet projects, such as the high speed train from LA to Vegas, or allowing billions to be spent to get rural people on high speed internet where not person has been added. But it’s safe to say state and local governments do the same. Who’s going to miss a little money here and a little money there when the budgets have many, many zeros at the end of it?!?