Snuffing Out Indoor Smoking
A divided City Council moves forward with a ban on smoking and vaping in age-restricted establishments. The ordinance takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
New at Compass
May 27, 2026Superintendent Jon Rysewyk says banning the book 'weighed heavily on me.' But the law that led to the removal remains.
May 26, 2026A weekly mystery photo to test your knowledge of the local landscape.
May 22, 2026Local Republicans engage in a tempestuous text-messaging thread about party unity heading into the August general election.
May 21, 2026Henson Developments plans to build a low-rise office/residential building on South Central Street near Neyland Drive.
May 20, 2026Ijams Nature Center outing allows paddlers to observe eagles and otters and other wildlife from kayaks on the Tennessee River.
May 19, 2026County commissioners decline to hear Fox’s Nuclear Family Month proclamation, which critics say doesn’t recognize many familial arrangements.- May 18, 2026A weekly mystery photo to test your knowledge of the local landscape.
May 15, 2026Authorities allege that Assistant Chief Deputy David Amburn, former Sheriff Jimmy ‘J.J.’ Jones and others used drug-unit funds for personal gain.
May 14, 2026Taking advantage of a change in state law, City Council gives initial approval to a smoking ban in bars that allow entry only to adults 21 and older.
May 13, 2026Rachel Milford and Cattywampus Puppet Council transform public spaces into theaters of joy, visibility and collective imagination.
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Recent Highlights
All free to read and share.- County commissioners are taking up immigration issues as outrage grows over federal agents’ killing of a man in Minnesota.
- Every month we run down notable news items from the area’s businesses.
- Lou Gauci, chair of the KMA board, has curated a career of disciplined design and designed a life of contemplative creativity.
- All of our city election coverage, now out from behind the paywall.
- Single-issue advocacy committees have formed on both sides of the city’s referendum question on raising the local-option sales tax.