Baker School student Awarded Boren Fellowship
Elan Fleetwood, a graduate student at the Baker School at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has been awarded a fellowship to study for a year in Vietnam.
Elan Fleetwood
Fleetwood earned her undergraduate degree from Coastal Carolina University, where she double majored in business management and hospitality and resort tourism management. She is currently a second-year master’s student concentrating in global security and diplomacy. After spending a year abroad, she will return to the Baker School to complete her Master of Public Policy degree.
The opportunity holds personal significance for Fleetwood, whose mother and maternal relatives immigrated to the United States from Vietnam. The Boren Fellowship is awarded by the National Security Education Program. It includes a summer program which provides intensive language instruction and cultural immersion.
Fleetwood will use these experiences to support her research with Dr. Krista Wiegand, director of the Center for National Security and Foreign Affairs (NSFA). “It’s an incredible experience for Elan to study the Vietnamese language and learn about the culture, history and politics in-country,” Weigand said.
“Vietnamese language proficiency will allow me to conduct research, analyze regional media and build stronger relationships with local partners – skills that are crucial to work in security, defense and intelligence,” Fleetwood said. She aims to work in federal agencies or policy offices where her expertise can inform and strengthen U.S. policymaking in Southeast Asia.
Van de Vate speaks at national convention
Victoria Van de Vate
Victoria Van de Vate, director of government affairs at NACCHO, spoke at the group’s 360 conference in Anaheim, California, last week.
“I’m always grateful for the opportunity to connect with our members and share how NACCHO advocates on behalf of local health departments at the federal level,” she said.
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is a national organization representing local health departments.
Van de Vate graduated from the University of Tennessee with majors in political science and global studies and got a master’s in public policy from George Washington University. Her parents are Tracy and Dwight Van de Vate of Powell, Tennessee.
Everything you always wanted to know about city elections
Chris Davis, administrator of elections, has published a fascinating look at recent city elections. My takeaway is how few eligible voters actually vote (10-20 percent). Take a look: Knox Election Commission stats on city elections
Police Blotter
KPD: Knoxville Police Department lists every call for service online. (KPD probably has been doing this for some time, but this writer just found out. The list is updated every two hours and some 20 calls had been posted between midnight and 1 a.m. on July 21, including a “dead person” on Cook Drive in the Montgomery Village area. Find the full report here.
KPD: The victim from the deadly shooting that occurred at 3 a.m. on July 15, 2025, at a Dante Road Motel has been identified as Jakhory Dortch, 22, of Athens, Tennessee. Based on the findings of the still ongoing investigation, Dortch and another man were involved in a physical altercation outside of a room at the Days Inn when Dortch was shot. The other involved individual was detained at the scene by responding KPD officers and questioned by Homicide Unit detectives. No charges have been filed at this time.
District Attorney: DA Charme Allen said prosecutors in the Major Crimes Unit obtained convictions against a 50-year-old man who murdered his girlfriend on April 25, 2024, by shooting her 13 times. Judge Scott Green ordered him to serve 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Cellular data was used to track the man’s movements immediately after the shooting. He was ultimately arrested in Kentucky. More here.
www.dag.knoxcountytn.gov
Notes & Quotes
Steven Colbert and The Late Show have been canceled by CBS effective when Colbert’s contract ends in May 2026. The network says revenue is down and it is correct. According to John Koblin in The New York Times, late night television has experienced a sharp decline in advertising revenue in recent years. “In 2018, network late-night shows took in $439 million in ad revenue, according to Guideline, an advertising data firm. By last year, that figure had dropped to $220 million, a 50 percent drop in just seven years,” he wrote.
Viewers down for Late Night: Emily Yahr and Geoff Edgers, writing in The Washington Post here, reported: “At its peak, during Johnny Carson’s long stint as host, NBC’s time-slot champion Tonight Show drew 17 million viewers, according to Adweek, whereas Colbert’s top-rated Late Show has averaged about 2.5 million viewers this year.”
Maurene Comey, yes, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was fired as a federal prosecutor last week and issued a statement to her colleagues at the Justice Department: “Yesterday was unexpectedly my last day in the Office. I was summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not give a reason for my termination. … If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. …”
