Compass Points

Democrats flipped a seat on Knox County Commission and took two seats on the school board, but the balance of power remains in Republican hands. With Jesse out of town, Scott and Owen break down the election results this week. They also take a look at Turn Up Knox, the violence interruption nonprofit, and the low-power independent radio station WOZO FM. The guys also look ahead to meetings this we...

This week, with Jesse across the pond, Scott and Owen recap early voting for the Aug. 1 election and review the candidates' financial situations heading into the campaigns' final days. They also take a look at the charter referendum questions on changes to the city election system that Knoxville voters are likely to consider in the November election. And they talk about a UT-Michigan State project...

ELECETION 2024 COVERAGE is free at Compassknox.com  Elections to the right of us, elections to the left, elections up ahead! This week, Scott and Jesse catch up on electoral news in both national and local races. They check in on Tennesseans with speaking slots at the Republican National Convention, survey the state of early voting in the Aug. 1 county general election, and look at some proposals...

Early voting is under way in the Aug. 1 election, and Scott and Jesse take a look at some local races on this week's episode: School board races in districts 2 and 5, a County Commission contest in District 5, and primaries for House District 15 and state Senate District 6. Also: County Mayor Glenn Jacobs attempts to smooth out controversy over the future of South Knox County's Bower ballfields; a...

With early voting starting next week in the Aug. 1 election, Scott and Jesse look at local races for property assessor and County Commission's 9th District in South Knox County. They also check in on local Democrat Gloria Johnson's bid for U.S. Senate. Plus, the school board considers a new policy that could remove many books from school libraries. Looking ahead to the coming week, the guys previe...

With early voting for the Aug. 1 election starting in just a few weeks, in this week's episode Scott and Jesse look at two interesting County Commission races (in districts 2 and 4) and dig into some controversial letters sent to naturalized citizens by state election officials. Also: Randy Boyd is granted another five-year term as president of the University of Tennessee; the City of Knoxville fa...

Growth and development dominated local news last week, with a report from Knoxville-Knox County Planning showing a surge in new residential construction. Scott and Jesse look at that report in this week's episode, along with its impact on the District 6 County Commission race and one controversial new downtown development in particular. Also: The woeful state of Knox County's road paving budget, a...

The City of Knoxville's African American Equity Restoration Task Force was set up largely to attract outside funding and investment to areas of East Knoxville that were devastated by urban renewal programs. But this past week, the task force took a small but significant step in awarding some small grants of its own to community groups. Scott and Jesse look at that shift in this week's episode and...

This week Scout and Jesse reconvien for a chat on Knoxville City Council's continued discussion on alternative task force, confusion surrounding Knox County School's new salary schedule, the City's plans to offload a protion of Chillhowee Park, Mom's for Liberty's continued advocacy to remove books from school libraries, and a few groups announce candidate endorcements regarding our upcoming Count...

Knoxville City Council adopted Mayor Indya Kincannon's $461.6 million budget last week, but things got chippy between Council members Lauren Rider and Amelia Parker. Jesse was unavailable for this week's episode, but Compass intern Owen McCarthy joined Scott to talk about the spending plan and and the fireworks.. Also: The city is funding renovations at Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, ph...

A last-minute plea for more funding by Sheriff Tom Spangler ran into the cold hard facts of limited revenues last week as County Commission approved County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' budget with no changes. On this week's episode, Jesse and Scott take a look at why the county budget is so tight, and why it might not change any time soon. Also: Graduate student workers at the University of Tennessee are o...

As pro-Palestinian protests continued this week on the University of Tennessee campus, a well-known and respected community leader was among those arrested: Yassin Terou, owner of the popular Yassin's Falafel House restaurants. On this week's episode, Jesse and Scott talk about the protests and the ongoing tension between freedom of speech and institutional order. Also: the City of Knoxville recei...

To arm or not to arm? Teachers, we're talking about. That was a major point of discussion last week at the Knox County school board, and it led to a resolution that more-or-less says that the board would prefer not to have non-security personnel bringing concealed weapons to school. But the discussion again highlighted the partisan divide on the nine-member board, as Scott and Jesse discuss in thi...

Protests against Israel's military operations in Gaza escalated across the country last week, including in Knoxville. In this week's episode, Scott and Jesse talk about protesters speaking out at City Council and on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Also: an update on the new downtown stadium; Knox County's estimated population clears 500,000; and a look ahead at the Aug. 1 ballot. The gu...

As the state Legislature came to a close last week, the state House and Senate signed off on a bill that would allow some school employees to carry concealed weapons in the classroom. On this week's episode, Jesse and Scott talk about the reaction to the new law both statewide and local, including pending action by the Knox County school board. Also: County Commission approves Mayor Jacobs' new co...

Last week, County Commission considered several possible changes to Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' proposed new comprehensive land use plan — and Jacobs fired back by urging them not to touch a thing about it. On this week's episode, Jesse and Scott talk about the complexities of the plan and the underlying politics between development interests and local residents and conservationists. Also: Cit...

The Town of Farragut completed a 180-degree turn on the Knox County growth plan last week, voting to approve changes proposed by County Mayor Glenn Jacobs just two weeks after first rejecting them. That sets the stage for updating the county's entire planning system, and it leads off this week's episode. Scott and Jesse also talk about Knox County Schools' proposed budget increase for next year, a...

The Farragut Board of Aldermen's whiplash-inducing reversals on the Knox County growth plan fueled local political drama last week. It leads off this week's episode as Jesse and Scott talk through the different parties and pressures brought to bear on the usually overlooked town legislature. Also: TDOT's big I-40 announcement; Knox County Schools wrestles with objections to library materials; and...

The holiday-shortened week ended with a bang last Thursday night when the Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen torpedoed County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' changes to the county growth plan. This week, Jesse and Scott look at the vote, the underlying politics, and what could happen next. Also, in the interview segment, they talk to state Sen. Becky Massey about a study that shows a need for new state ment...

It's Big Ears week, but before Scott and Jesse get to talking about Knoxville's most unusual annual festival, they have other business to attend to: the city and county mayors host a summit on homelessness; County Commission considers whether to crack down on abandoned utility poles; Knox County Schools wrestles with how to use discipline data; and City Council once again declines to weigh in on I...

The City of Knoxville received a $42.6 million grant to provide better connections between East Knoxville and Downtown. In this week's episode, Scott and Jesse look at the major award and what it could mean for those communities. Also: a closer look at some of the March 5 primary results, a new golf attraction planned just north of Downtown, and the Legislature weighs in once again against efforts...

The primary topic this week is ... the primary! Jesse and Scott talk through the results of the March 5 Knox County primary races, including seats on County Commission, school board, and that razor-thin margin in the property assessor's race. They are joined by guest Mike Cohen for some analysis of what we learned — or didn't — from election day. Also: the plans to renovate the historic Sanitary L...

With the March 5 primary just around the corner, Jesse and Scott take a look at final early voting numbers and zoom in on the competitive Republican primary in the South Knox 9th District. Also: The county's new Growth Policy Plan wins conditional approval form County Commission; the city proposes a task force to study an alternative response model for mental health crises; another crack at a fede...

Knoxville lost a civil rights leader and invaluable community resource last week with the death of Bob Booker. Scott and Jesse kick off this week's episode with a remembrance and appreciation of Booker, who after a career of activism and government service became the de facto voice of local Black history. Also: As the March 5 primary approaches, they look at early vote #s and zoom in on County Com...

It's election time in East Tennessee! Early voting has begun for the March 5 primary, and in this week's episode Jesse and Scott talk about turnout in the first days of voting. They also take a deeper look at a few contests in particular: Republican primaries in the law director's race and the 5th and 8th County Commission districts. Plus: Mayor Indya Kincannon's new comprehensive housing plan. Lo...