http://metropulse.com/news/knoxville-issues/insights/MetroPulse Stories: Insights by Joe Sullivanen-usknoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/aug/27/ousting-ragsdale-isnt-justified/Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/aug/27/ousting-ragsdale-isnt-justified/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/aug/13/worst-yet-come/Insights by Joe Sullivan: The much-publicized horribles include a steep drop in home sales and prices, a near meltdown of the mortgage and related financial markets, declining employment in each of the past seven months, and a stifling surge in oil and gasoline prices. This vicious combination has been characterized by a leading economist—Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley—as a “perfect storm” calculated to drive the economy into a recession. ]]>Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/aug/13/worst-yet-come/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/jul/30/john-petersens-irons-fire/Insights by Joe Sullivan: John Petersen has so many irons in the fire, to use his phrase, that it’s no wonder that the University of Tennessee’s president occasionally gets burned ]]>Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/jul/30/john-petersens-irons-fire/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/jul/16/uts-ear-pain/Insights by Joe Sullivan: One need only visit the quarters of the University of Tennessee’s Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology (ASP) in the bowels of Neyland Stadium to realize it’s a stepchild in the UT College of Arts and Sciences. Despite the fact the department is highly regarded in its field and also provides much-needed clinical services, it doesn’t really fit or sit well in the college’s academic scheme of things ]]>Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/jul/16/uts-ear-pain/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/jul/02/fiscal-sinkhole/Insights by Joe Sullivan: Even niggardly County Commissioner Paul Pinkston knows Knox County needs to raise more revenues to cover a $6 million annual sheriff’s pension plan liability that’s draining county reserve funds to the point where there won’t be anything left for new schools or roads or any other capital projects within a year or so ]]>Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/jul/02/fiscal-sinkhole/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/jun/18/south-waterfronts-merciful-blessing/Insights by Joe Sullivan: ]]>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/jun/18/south-waterfronts-merciful-blessing/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/jun/04/uts-empty-research-chairs/Insights by Joe Sullivan: UT is sitting on state appropriations from prior years that would be more than sufficient to cover the painful cuts in this coming year’s operating budget. ]]>Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/jun/04/uts-empty-research-chairs/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/may/21/school-budget-legerdemain/Insights: County Mayor Mike Ragsdale’s spin on the budget he presented last week is that despite hard economic times he’s increasing the county’s commitment to education while cutting back in other areas. ]]>Wed, 21 May 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/may/21/school-budget-legerdemain/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/may/07/states-chronically-ill-are-missing-out/Insights: n the absence of some form of comprehensive health care coverage in this country, perhaps the most pernicious gap has been the inability of individuals with chronic diseases to get any form of health insurance at any price. Until TennCare terminated coverage for some 60,000 uninsurables in 2004, Tennessee had gone further than any other state toward closing this gap. But especially given the budgetary bind in which the state now finds itself, it’s hard to quarrel with Gov. Phil Bredesen’s conclusion that escalating TennCare costs had become prohibitive. ]]>Wed, 07 May 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/may/07/states-chronically-ill-are-missing-out/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/apr/23/making-our-schools-more-rigorous/Insights: After lowering its standards of student proficiency a few years back as a stratagem to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Tennessee is now commendably in the forefront of states that are raising them. More rigorous curriculum standards recently adopted by the State Board of Education will take effect next school year, and the state’s TCAP exams are due to be upgraded to reflect them starting in 2010. ]]>Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/apr/23/making-our-schools-more-rigorous/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/apr/09/drawing-line-tifs/Insights: The time has come to draw a line on property tax abatements that subsidize developers. The prevalent form of abatement, known as Tax Increment Financing (TIF), has proven to be a valuable tool in downtown revitalization by making it financially feasible for developers to restore to active use the many vacant and often dilapidated buildings that once lined Gay Street. And as long as they are confined to historic buildings and blighted or underdeveloped areas such as the South Knoxville Waterfront, the use of TIFs continues to be justified. ]]>Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/apr/09/drawing-line-tifs/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/mar/27/charter-amendment-turmoil/Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:47:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/mar/27/charter-amendment-turmoil/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/mar/13/teacher-pay-requirements/Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:09:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/mar/13/teacher-pay-requirements/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/mar/06/one-question-nine-charter-amendments/Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:54:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/mar/06/one-question-nine-charter-amendments/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/feb/28/market-squares-indigenous-growth/Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:27:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/feb/28/market-squares-indigenous-growth/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/feb/14/restoring-trust-county-government/Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:58:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/feb/14/restoring-trust-county-government/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/feb/07/knox-voters-are-loud-and-clear/Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:15:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/feb/07/knox-voters-are-loud-and-clear/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/jan/31/county-commission-reformation/Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:38:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/jan/31/county-commission-reformation/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/jan/24/theres-presidential-primary-here-too/Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/jan/24/theres-presidential-primary-here-too/knoxville-issues/insightshttp://metropulse.com/news/2008/jan/17/ut-exodus/Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:00:00 -0000http://metropulse.com/news/2008/jan/17/ut-exodus/knoxville-issues/insights