My Dad Was Sweet And Kind, But No Sissy

By John J. Duncan Jr. duncanj@knoxfocus.com My father passed away in 1988, but I still think of him at some point almost every day. I once described him in an article in the News Sentinel as the “sweetest, kindest, toughest, hardest-working man I ever knew.” I put the...

Knox County finally getting another charter school

By Dr. Harold A. Black blackh@knoxfocus.com haroldblackphd.com   The fact that there is only one charter school in Knox County is not surprising because the system is set up to minimize the number of charters. The applications must be voted on by the local board...

Deep Fakes

When you want to help people you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. Thomas Sowell These days, is anything real or as portrayed? Most have heard about the long-awaited Durham report which revealed that Hillary...

The Rate of Pay for Appointed Attorneys

By Jedidiah McKeehan In TV shows and movies, when they are arresting the bad guy (or occasionally, the wrongfully arrested good guy), the officer putting the handcuffs on will read the person their rights. As part of those rights they will say, “If you cannot afford...

The Beautiful Tennessee River

By Ralphine Major It is one of the state’s greatest natural resources—the beautiful Tennessee River.  Formed by the merging of the Holston and French Broad rivers, the Tennessee flows through Knoxville south to Chattanooga before dipping into the northern tip of...

Geriatric concert with Keb’ Mo’

By Joe Rector I had no idea who Keb’ Mo’ was, not until Covid hit and drove us all inside. Amy and I made a habit of watching “The Opry” every Saturday night, and on one show the man was performing with Vince Gill. Since that minute, I’ve enjoyed Keb’ Mo’, and he’s...