http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ en-us mpowell7@utk.edu 2012-02-03T09:03:20-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/02/000721-politifact_tennessee_03_knoxville_news_sentinel_nashville_bureau_chief_tom_humphrey.html Each Friday morning, WUOT and the Knoxville News Sentinel bring you a feature called PolitiFact Tennessee. PolitiFact is a national Pulitzer-Prize-winning movement weighing the truth in the news... And Tennessee is the tenth state to join. WUOT's Chrissy Keuper... 721@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-02-03T09:03:20-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/02/000720-southern_education_desk_reporter_christine_jessel_possible_changes_to_class_size_teacher_pay_in_store_for_2012.html Governor Bill Haslam wants to put more decision-making power in the hands of local school districts across the state, something that has Tennessee's teachers union worried. Christine Jessel covers education issues in East Tennessee for the Southern Education Desk. On... 720@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-02-02T18:16:14-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/02/000719-dialogue_five_years_since_black_wednesday.html (Photo Credit: Matthew Dixon, TN Journalist) Tennessee's sunshine law reads in part: "The General Assembly hereby declares it to be the policy of this State that the formation of public policy and decisions is public business and shall not... 719@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-02-01T13:00:00-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/02/000717-john_mcrae_and_wyn_miller_rebuilding_haiti.html It's been just over two years since a powerful earthquake hit the country of Haiti. Among the many efforts to rebuild the country, University of Tennessee architecture professor John McRae and former graduate-student Wyn Miller are working in an... 717@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-02-01T09:35:46-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/01/000714-the_innovative_world_of_charles_and_ray_eames.html Charles (left) and Ray Eames, circa 1948. Credit: Library of Congress From 1941 to 1978, the husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames changed the course of American art and design, from their sleek molded plywood furniture to remarkable... 714@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-01-31T16:21:34-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/01/000713-politifact_tennessee_02_knoxville_news_sentinel_washington_dc_reporter_michael_collins.html Each Friday morning, WUOT and the Knoxville News Sentinel will bring you a new feature called PolitiFact Tennessee. PolitiFact is a national Pulitzer-Prize-winning movement to weigh the truth in the news... And Tennessee is the tenth state to join.... 713@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-01-27T09:46:25-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/01/000712-y12_historian_ray_smith_what_really_goes_on_at_y12_national_security_complex.html This year, East Tennessee PBS is broadcasting a series about the history of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. Ray Smith has worked at Y-12 for more than 40 years. He began in maintenance and at one... 712@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-01-26T09:52:50-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/01/000711-politifact_tennessee_01_knoxville_news_sentinel_nashville_bureau_chief_tom_humphrey.html Each Friday morning, WUOT and the Knoxville News Sentinel will bring you a new feature called PolitiFact Tennessee. PolitiFact is a national Pulitzer-Prize-winning movement to weigh the truth in the news... And Tennessee is the tenth state to join.... 711@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-01-20T09:41:06-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/01/000710-politifact_tennessee_what_it_does_and_how_its_done.html Two Tennessee newspapers are joining forces to get to the facts behind political statements. PolitiFact Tennessee launched this week, as reporters from the Knoxville News Sentinel and Memphis Commercial Appeal search for the truth behind claims made by elected... 710@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-01-19T16:46:11-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/01/000708-battle_lines_drawn_in_redistricting_effort.html Proposed state House districts in East Tennessee. Click on the image for a larger version. (Credit: Tennessee House of Representatives) The Tennessee General Assembly is getting ready to approve a brand-new map that could change the political lay of... 708@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-01-11T15:20:17-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/01/000707-southern_education_desk_reporter_christine_jessel_two_topics_the_general_assembly_wont_discuss_this_session.html As the Tennessee General Assembly begins a new session, education issues will be on the agenda. But there are two issues that won't be before the legislature this session: the state's new teacher evaluation system and the subject of school... 707@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-01-10T09:28:53-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2012/01/000709-dialogue_a_look_ahead_at_2012.html 2011 was a busy year in Tennessee news. And 2012 is shaping up to follow a similar course. Governor Haslam enters his second year in office, the General Assembly considers legislation on a wide range of issues, and the state's... 709@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2012-01-04T15:56:00-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/12/000706-a_christmas_diploma.html Some East Tennessee teenagers might be hoping to find an iPad or a new Smartphone under the Christmas tree this year. But WUOT's Christine Jessel of the Southern Education Desk found some teens who are looking for something a... 706@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-12-20T12:59:04-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/12/000705-in_the_wake_of_the_baumgartner_ruling.html (Photo credit: knoxnews.com) The situation surrounding former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner is complex. It almost takes a lawyer just to understand it all. So we called one. Former federal prosecutor Hugh Ward joins WUOT All Things... 705@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-12-16T17:45:00-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/12/000703-knoxvilles_next_mayor.html (Photo Credit: knoxnews.com) On December 17th, 2011, Madeline Rogero will be sworn into office as the next Mayor of Knoxville. Rogero is a long-time community activist, former Knox County Commissioner and served in the administration of former Mayor Bill... 703@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-12-16T06:35:00-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/12/000702-december_dialogue_knox_county_attorney_general_randy_nichols.html Earlier this year, area law enforcement officials claimed that 99% of crime in our area and statewide is drug-related and that crimes related to methamphetamine and the illegal use of prescription narcotics are now the major problems. In this episode... 702@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-12-08T09:14:38-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000701-southern_education_desk_reporter_christine_jessel_on_teachers_and_unions_in_tennessee.html Knox County Assistant Law Director David Sanders, county school board member Kim Sepsi and Knox County Education Association President Sherry Morgan (L to R) review the results of a Nov. 28 vote on collaborative conferencing. Credit: Christine Jessel At... 701@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-29T15:42:02-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000700-knox_county_public_library_turns_125.html The former Lawson McGhee Library building, located on Knoxville's Gay Street. This postcard dates from the late 1930s to early 1940s. Credit: University of Tennessee Archives 125 years ago, a donation from Charles McClung McGhee helped establish the first... 700@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-28T15:32:27-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000699-geologist_linda_kah_investigates_the_mysteries_of_mars.html The Mars Science Laboratory rover "Curiosity" roams the Martian surface, in this artist's rendition. Credit: NASA/JPL On Saturday morning, November 26, an Atlas-Five booster will blaze away from its Cape Canaveral launch pad, and with it will go the... 699@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-22T13:55:17-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000698-kirk_huddleston_on_the_states_jobs4tn_plan.html In April, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and state Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty rolled out a program called Jobs4TN. The plan is to overhaul the way the state gets businesses to come here, grows businesses already here,... 698@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-22T09:44:57-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000697-violinist_william_harvey_cultures_in_harmony.html (Photo by Jonji Balajadia, Philippines) In 2005, violinist William Harvey founded a non-governmental organization called Cultures in Harmony. Just like any non-profit, the NGO needs funding, so Harvey has a full-time job: After serving as concertmaster of the Spokane... 697@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-18T09:38:33-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000696-headed_to_the_principals_office.html A new program in East Tennessee is training teachers to become principals. It's one of four programs across the state changing the way schools are identifying and hiring school leaders. In Knox County, Christine Jessel introduces us to an... 696@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-17T09:37:12-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000695-duncan_maysilles_documents_one_of_the_souths_greatest_environmental_disasters.html Author Duncan Maysilles. Credit: Chris Rank Starting in the 1850s, an area of Polk County, Tennessee, became the center of a copper mining universe. For more than a century, the area around the Ducktown community was stripped bare, burned... 695@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-14T15:56:09-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000694-david_sedaris.html Since his "SantaLand Diaries" first appeared on NPR's Morning Edition back in 1992, author David Sedaris' work has placed him in the elite class of American humorists. His work appears regularly in the New Yorker and his self-deprecating observations... 694@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-11T17:50:00-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000693-aarons_story.html In recent years, a practice known as "inclusion" has put special education students with speech, hearing and communication difficulties in regular classrooms. The method has strong supporters ... and strong critics. From the Southern Education Desk, Christine Jessel has... 693@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-10T14:52:44-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000692-knoxville_city_mayor_daniel_brown.html Last November, then Knoxville City Mayor Bill Haslam was elected Governor of Tennessee. After 11 rounds of voting, City Council Member Daniel Brown was elected to serve as Interim Mayor until a new city mayor is elected. WUOT's Chrissy... 692@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-07T09:04:37-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000690-tennessees_latino_population_by_the_numbers.html People in Tennessee have all kinds of opinions on the state's Latino population. The rhetoric from state lawmakers, media outlets and word of mouth might convince you the number of Hispanics in the state is huge. But W-U-O-T's All Things... 690@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-02T12:03:31-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/11/000691-november_dialogue_immigration_issues_in_east_tennessee.html The subject of immigration in the US and all over the world is becoming increasingly controversial and complex. As a global economic recession continues, there are mass migrations of people looking for jobs, backlashes against multiculturalism are happening more... 691@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-11-02T09:44:59-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/10/000689-planetary_scientist_josh_emery_moongazes_in_the_asteroid_belt.html The asteroid Ida (left) with its tiny moon, Dactyl. Ida was the first asteroid known to have a natural satellite. (NASA photo) In the centuries since Galileo first turned his telescope to Jupiter and found four previously unknown moons... 689@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-10-14T16:17:14-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/10/000688-disbanding_tennessees_local_oversight_committee_susan_gawarecki_on_the_doe_watchdog.html A controversial vote will decide whether the 20-year-old Local Oversight Committee should be dissolved. The LOC was formed as part of an agreement between the state of Tennessee and the US Department of Energy, called the Tennessee Oversight Agreement.... 688@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-10-14T09:31:42-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/10/000685-final_rights_for_the_dead_and_those_left_behind.html Most of us accept the idea that funerals are very expensive, no matter how they're planned. But funeral consumer advocate Joshua Slocum disagrees. In his book, Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death, he says consumers pay far... 685@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-10-06T15:23:47-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/10/000684-tennessee_performance_pay_debate_overshadowed_by_evaluation_concerns.html (Teacher Gina Feldblum, far left, at a teacher town hall in Knoxville.) When Tennessee received $500 million in federal Race to the Top money, part of it was earmarked for a teacher merit pay system. The U-S Department of... 684@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ General 2011-10-06T13:54:42-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/10/000686-october_dialogue_human_trafficking_in_east_tennessee.html Earlier this year, the TBI and the Vanderbilt Center for Community Studies surveyed Tennessee counties and found that 85 percent had recorded at least one sex-trafficking case in a two-year period. The FBI cites the area's crowded tourist areas... 686@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-10-05T07:54:52-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/09/000683-scott_sherks_mapping_sound_the_art_of_sound_sculpture.html (Scott Sherk's "Blind" at the UT Downtown Gallery) Sculptor Scott Sherk has been learning how to sculpture sound, too. WUOT's Chrissy Keuper has this tour of Sherk's exhibit at the University of Tennessee's Downtown Gallery in Knoxville...... 683@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-09-23T09:31:57-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/09/000682-ambassador_linton_brooks_on_nuclear_security_past_present_and_future.html Ambassador Linton Brooks knows a little bit about nuclear security. He was Director of Arms Control for the National Security Council and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. He's now a Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic... 682@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-09-22T11:30:26-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/09/000681-freedom_school_faces_an_uncertain_future_part_2_of_a_series.html In 1964, teaching at a Freedom School in rural Mississippi could get you killed. But college students and civil rights workers still traveled to the deep South that summer to teach African-Americans how to read. Now, there are one... 681@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-09-21T09:32:46-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/09/000680-freedom_school_hopes_to_write_new_chapter_for_atrisk_students_part_one_of_a_series.html Students can lose up to two months' worth of skills over the summer, especially in reading and math. It's called "summer learning loss." Students back in class at low-income schools may be even further behind. But from the Southern... 680@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ General 2011-09-20T11:11:14-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/09/000679-director_kate_buckley_takes_audience_on_a_walk_through_moonlight_and_magnolias.html "Moonlight and Magnolias" director Kate Buckley. Credit: Clarence Brown Theatre In the spring of 1939, Hollywood producer David Selznick had a big problem. His pet project, a film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone With the Wind, was bogged... 679@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-09-12T13:54:09-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/09/000678-i_dont_want_to_forget_i_dont_want_to_remember.html (Photo: Amy Sancetta/AP Worldwide Photos) Last year, we met University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropologist Amy Mundorff when she stepped into the StoryCorps mobile booth in Knoxville. She was there with her husband Kurt to recall her harrowing and haunting... 678@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-09-09T06:51:00-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/09/000677-dialogue_suicide_prevention.html About every fifteen minutes, somewhere in America, someone commits suicide. In the U.S., suicide is the 11th leading cause of death. It's the 3rd leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults. Men are 4 times more likely... 677@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-09-07T13:00:00-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/08/000676-hugh_gusterson_the_human_terrain_systems_program.html The Network of Concerned Anthropologists In 2006, the US Army instituted the Human Terrain Systems Program, an effort to team social scientists with military intelligence. The social scientists are embedded with military intelligence teams, patrolling Iraq and Afghanistan. Hugh... 676@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-08-30T09:42:22-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/08/000675-the_rising_cost_of_college_part_02.html (Photo of Tennessee Tech student Josh Donegan courtesy Christine Jessel) Shrinking state budgets and increasing costs are driving college tuition up at public universities across Tennessee. At the same time, studies show many high school graduates, especially low-income students,... 675@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-08-16T06:35:30-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/08/000672-the_rising_cost_of_college_part_01.html (Photo of University of Tennessee student Jonathan Dailey courtesy of DoPFliX, YouTube. October 2010) Tennessee is steadily putting measures in place to get college students into the workforce faster. The first of those measures, the Complete College Act, goes... 672@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-08-15T06:35:30-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/08/000671-hydraulic_fracturing_on_the_cumberland_plateau.html A process for natural gas drilling known as hydraulic fracturing is rife with controversy. People from Pennsylvania to Wyoming complain it taints groundwater and causes health problems. Hydraulic fracturing is also taking place in Tennessee, but the results so far... 671@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-08-12T18:14:33-05:00 http://wuot.org/mt/archives/2011/08/000670-the_knoxville_utilities_board_and_trees.html WUOT's Brandon Hollingsworth and Chrissy Keuper look in on the cleanup following violent storms in late June. Those storms led to the Knoxville Utilites Board's largest power outage, ever...... 670@http://sunsite.utk.edu/wuot/mt/ 2011-08-10T09:55:54-05:00