Albright Grove Brewing Company will host a viewing Wednesday, Sept. 29 of “Hidden Rivers,” a documentary detailing the smaller, gilled denizens of Southern Appalachian creeks, rivers and streams and the threats they face.

The screening of “Hidden Rivers” by Freshwaters Illustrated is planned for 6 p.m. at Albright Grove Brewing, 2924 Sutherland Ave. in Knoxville.

“This film aims to show off the stunning freshwater biodiversity of the Southern Appalachian region, and to highlight conservation efforts, beauty, and vulnerability of these ecosystems,” according to Conservation Fisheries, a Knoxville-based nonprofit geared toward the preservation of native Appalachian fishes and their ecosystems.

Conservation Fisheries is in its 35th year of breeding, sharing and releasing broods of threatened fishes collected from points ranging from the Conasauga River to Little River and beyond.

UPDATED: Opponents of Pellissippi Parkway Extension hammer bureaucrats, unelected economic development officials at public meeting

(This story has been updated with this link to the Tennessee Department of Transportation recording of the Sept. 21 public hearing on the proposed Pellissippi Parkway Extension project).

Raw emotions spilled over at a Tennessee Department of Transportation public meeting to collect citizen input on a nearly 5-mile, four-lane highway that would carve through creeks, forests, farms and homes in rural Blount County in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

The meeting was held Tuesday evening at Heritage High School, not far from where the proposed Pellissippi Parkway Extension (which would originate at the terminus of the current parkway near Rockford) would abruptly bisect East Lamar Alexander Parkway, just to the west of Walland Gap and the Little River Gorge.

As Hellbender Press has reported on the Pellissippi extension, many people aren’t happy with the proposition of spending at least $100 million on a 4.5-mile stretch of highway, and people are uncomfortable with both the use of eminent domain to force them from their homes or seize portions of their property and the unavoidable and long-lasting environmental and cultural impact such a project would have on the rural areas of Blount County. The projected cost of the project has vacillated by millions of dollars.

East Lamar Alexander Parkway (U.S. 321) terminates in Townsend; along the way are turnoffs to many valuable pieces of real estate and immensely successful high-end hospitality venues, such as Blackberry Farm. Hellbender Press reached out to Blackberry Farm through its Nashville-based public relations team about the nearby highway project and was simply told “we have no comment.”

One of the biggest electric vehicle loads in state history is set for Saturday at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville.

The Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association; Pellissippi State Community College; and Drive Electric Tennessee are all plugging to make the 2021 Knoxville Drive Electric Week Event the largest ever in the state, according to organizers.

Vendors, test drives and educational activities will be held on the PSCC Hardin Valley campus just off Pellissippi Parkway from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25.

The only criteria for displaying your electric scooter, ATV, car or motorcycle: They must be plugged in to recharge. Everyone who drives an electric vehicle, or is interested in alternative fuel sources, is welcome to attend.

TDOT says right-of-way funds already secured despite protest; questions remain about cost that could exceed $100 million for 4.5 miles of new roadway

Those who want to weigh in on the proposed Pellissippi Parkway Extension in Blount County have another opportunity this week to voice their opinions on the controversial $60 million, 4.4-mile highway extension. 

An earlier, virtual public hearing on the matter was deemed insufficient by members of the public and, notably, Blount County commissioners.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation will hold an in-person public meeting 5-7 p.m. Tuesday at Heritage High School, 3741 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville.

The state transportation department is holding the meeting at the request of Blount County Commission and in conjunction with the virtual design meeting that was open April 15-29.

As previously reported by Hellbender Press, the proposed 4.4-mile stretch of four-lane highway would lengthen State Route 162, known as Pellissippi Parkway, from where it ends at Knoxville Highway (State Route 33) to East Lamar Alexander Highway (State Route 73/U.S. 321) in Maryville.

Transportation projects are developed in four phases: planning and environmental; design; right of way; and construction. The Pellissippi Parkway Extension is in the design phase.

“The public meeting is one of the first things we do as we kick off and get a lot of input with the initial design,” says TDOT Region 1 Director Steve Borden in a video uploaded to YouTube on Sept. 15. “After we complete this phase, we will be heading into the right of way phase, which is funded, so once this process is complete we will start the right-of-way phase of the project.”

The purpose of Tuesday’s meeting is to allow affected property owners and the general public to comment on the proposed design elements for the Pellissippi Parkway Extension.

A formal presentation will begin at about 5:30 p.m., followed by a short Q&A, according to TDOT.

“Beyond this initial presentation and group Q&A, most of the evening will be reserved for one-on-one conversations between TDOT representatives and individual attendees,” according to TDOT’s Pellissippi Parkway webpage. “TDOT asks that questions and comments raised during the group Q&A be limited to the general design of the project and that questions or comments regarding a single property be reserved for the one-on-one conversations while reviewing project displays.”

A Design Meeting Display, a Design Meeting Handout and a Design Meeting Video Flythrough that were available for April’s virtual design meeting are still online for those who want to review the design before Tuesday’s meeting.

Borden noted the virtual design meeting was held because of COVID-19 and that TDOT will record Tuesday’s meeting for those who are uncomfortable attending in person due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

“We are going to videotape the meeting so they will be able to hear all the questions and all the answers, see all of the presentations online, and they will also be able to comment on our website as well so that we can extend that period of comments,” he said.

The Pellissippi Parkway Extension has been part of the Knoxville regional transportation planning vision since 1977, according to a 2010 Draft Environmental Impact Statement. A Record of Decision issued in August 2017 selected a preferred route for the new stretch of road, which would cross Old Knoxville Highway, Wildwood Road, Brown School Road, Sevierville Road and Davis Ford Road before terminating near Morning Star Baptist Church in Maryville.

TDOT estimates the project would impact 56 properties and result in 11 single-family relocations, according to the Record of Decision. Cost estimates have ranged between $60 million and $65 million, an estimate prepared by TDOT in June 2017, and $194 million in “Horizon Year 2026” dollars, according to the TPO’s Mobility Plan 2040 finalized in 2016.

Nagi told Hellbender Press earlier this year that the discrepancy in the figures was due to a change in methodology. No new figures are available for the project on the TDOT website.

Hard Knox Wire: City takes media and politicos on a spin aboard KAT’s newest electric bus

The city demonstrated and offered rides aboard the Knoxville Area Transit’s new electric buses at Caswell Park on Thursday. The city and Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) plan to acquire a total of 18 electric buses as part of a plan to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 80 percent over the next thirty years. Five of the buses, built by Canada-based manufacturer New Flyer, have arrived.

“In the United States, transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and consequently climate change. Transit has the power to change that,” city transit director Isaac Thorne told Hard Knox Wire.

“By drawing new people to consider transit, reducing reliance on cars, opening up opportunities, and providing sustainable mobility choices, transit can make cities more livable, make the air cleaner, and help meet our challenging but achievable climate goals,” he said.

The city plans to have 18 electric buses representing 26 percent of KAT’s fleet in regular operation by the end of next year. Another 41 percent of the existing fleet are hybrids, according to KAT.

The Knoxville Utilities Board is installing multiple chargers to service the electricity needs of the new fleet.

The new buses will undergo multiple trial runs before they hit the road with public passengers in January, probably along the Sutherland and Magnolia routes.

“KAT’s fleet of 71 buses carry around 3 million passengers each year on its 23 bus routes and three downtown trolley routes. There are 1,150 bus stops scattered throughout the city, and bus routes come within a half-mile of 80 percent of the population,” Hard Knox Wire reported.

“Today marks a dramatic milestone for Knoxville — this is a major step on our path toward a more clean and resilient future for our children and grandchildren,” Mayor Indya Kincannon said in a news release from KAT.

“These high-efficiency electric buses are an investment in clean air, in healthy neighborhoods, and mobility for our residents.”

A public input session has begun as part of a joint effort between the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service to establish limited helicopter tour routes over Great Smoky Mountains National Park along with protocols geared to reduce the environmental and visitor impact of the flights.

The flights are already occurring, and have been for years; park service officials said in a news release that 946 flights per year would be allowed under the Air Tour Management Plan, in line with current levels of helicopter tours conducted each year by two operators outside the park.

The park service and FAA plan a virtual public meeting on the proposed tour routes at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 16. Public comment is accepted through Oct. 3, and can be entered into the record at the Smokies Air Tour Management Plan website.

"Great Smoky Mountains National Park is among 24 parks of the National Park System developing air tour management plans in cooperation with the FAA," park officials said in a press release.

"The agencies hope to complete all air tour management plans by the end of August 2022. The schedule is part of a plan approved by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for the agencies to comply with the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 within two years."

Bats, birds and all winged creatures are the guests of honor at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville this weekend.

The center plans a celebration of science and our flighty friends from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The educational event is open to all ages and will feature bird-banding demonstrations/projects; food trucks; guided walks; expert speakers; arts and crafts; and a chance to meet a number of raptors and animals native to East Tennessee. Citizen science demonstrations will show how anyone can contribute to the study and conservation of our natural world. 

You can get tickets online for the Hummingbird Festival and Celebration of Wings.

The 2021 Ijams Hummingbird Festival: Celebration of Wings is sponsored by Ergon Terminaling Inc., The Trust Company of Tennessee, WBIR-TV Channel 10, HomeTrust Bank, Stanley's Greenhouse, and Tennessee Wildlife Federation.

The Tennessee Theatre announced Monday it will require proof of inoculation against Covid-19 or a recent negative test for the virus before entry into the historic, storied theater on Gay Street in Knoxville. The theater will also require that all audience members be masked. The new rules are effective immediately.

The theater said in an email that increasing rates of infection in the Knoxville area and elsewhere in the country — predominantly in the Southeast — prompted the public-safety decision.

”Because of this, the Tennessee Theatre is enacting some new (Covid) protocols to allow us to continue presenting events while doing our best to keep our audiences safer and healthier.“ The rules will be in place at least through Halloween, according to the theater.

”While we take these necessary steps to remain open and serving the community while providing a safer environment for all, we ask for patience and understanding as we continue to navigate a challenging period in the Tennessee Theatre’s 93-year history.”

The negative test must have been administered within the preceding 72 hours.

Some upcoming shows and events at the Tennessee Theatre into October include this week’s screening of the Goonies; three Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series performances; the Righteous Brothers; and an Alton Brown appearance.

Alex Pulsipher holds a sign demanding that TVA transition to 100 percent renewable energy at a rally Wednesday in Market Square in Knoxville. Courtesy Amy Rawe/Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

Varied environmental groups offer unified plea for clean energy, coal ash management and accountability from TVA

It was people power generating energy at Market Square in downtown Knoxville on Wednesday.

A coalition of civic and environmental groups and their representatives met at the bottom of the two Tennessee Valley Authority towers urging the public utility to reopen meetings to public comment; swear off all fossil fuels by 2030; and carefully tend to the needs of those affected by coal ash and devise a plan to contain it for the safety of current and future generations.

Looking for something to do after work? Want to be part of a rising movement urging TVA to move away from fossil fuels in the face of the global climate crisis? Support transparency from the largest public utility in the country?

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Appalachian Voices, Center for Biological Diversity, the Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, and other local organizations are hosting a clean-energy rally from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. today (Aug. 18) on Market Square near TVA’s headquarters in downtown Knoxville.

TVA hasn’t had a public listening session in over a year, according to rally organizers. Rally participants will demand that TVA: 

-Restore public listening and input sessions;

-Commit to 100 percent clean energy by 2030;

-Not build new fossil gas plants;

-Protect coal ash workers, and; 

-Dispose of coal ash properly with public health and safety as the utmost priority. 

The rally will feature songs from local musicians, a reading of demands for TVA, speakers discussing pressing issues for TVA and our region, and a short march around Market Square. 

Masks and social distancing are encouraged. For those unable to attend in person, a virtual option is available at Tennessee Valley Energy Democracy Movement Facebook page.

Coal miners who contracted black lung disease are at risk of losing their healthcare options as mining companies wind down operations.

Join Appalachian Voices for an online overview of the disease, testimony from the afflicted and potential cures for this blemish on public health.

From Appalachian Voices:

“Rates of black lung are at their highest level in decades, and a wave of bankruptcies have enabled some coal companies to quit paying for healthcare and disability benefits for miners with the disease.

“This means that more and more miners must rely on the federal Black Lung Disability Trust Fund to provide these critical resources. But the small tax coal companies pay to finance the trust fund is in jeopardy. Industry lobbyists and some in Congress want to give coal companies a tax break at the expense of miners, even though the trust fund is already billions of dollars in the red.

“This webinar, at 6 p.m. Aug. 11, will feature a panel of coal miners and other advocates discussing the impacts of black lung disease, the policies that are needed to address this public health crisis, and what you can do to support the miner-led grassroots movement for black lung benefits and healthcare.”

Sign up for the black lung webinar.

Attendees raise concerns about coal ash; call for more clean energy, transparency and public engagement from TVA

Nearly 100 people from Tennessee and other states served by the Tennessee Valley Authority joined a virtual People’s TVA Hearing. The hearing on Aug. 4 was organized by the Tennessee Valley Energy Democracy Movement (TVEDM). It included a public comment session and multiple breakout sessions for attendees to discuss specific issues facing TVA and the Tennessee Valley. 

TVA has not held any public listening sessions in a year and a half because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and attendees called on TVA to resume such sessions as soon as possible when the pandemic ebbs.

“TVA talks a good game about being public power but they are simply not walking the walk,” said Barbara Mott of Knoxville. “Hiding from the people is not the answer.”