2018 Archives for Special Reports

Takeovers, makeovers and other transitions mark a busy year in the economic life of Knoxville and Knox County.

Newcomers on City Council, public improvements projects and a new zoning code are signs that major changes are in store for Knoxville.

The turnover in county offices was expected, but some of the results were still surprising.

Three months in, Glenn Jacobs is finding his feet -- and his voice -- as chief executive of Knox County.

The Black Wednesday scandal still reverberates through Knox County political culture, even though most of those involved are no longer in office.

In Knox County politics, the stage was set for this year to be mostly an encore performance, with lots of familiar faces in slightly different roles.

Knoxville’s city government is in a period of relative calm before next year’s election. Mayor Madeline Rogero is finishing her second term in office, which ends in December 2019. Potential successors are lining up to run, and thanks to term limits four new Council members will be elected next year as well.

Local government is complicated, but don’t despair! We have compiled a handy set of quick guides to the structure and history of our local institutions.

Tennesseans get to elect only three offices statewide -- governor and the state’s two U.S. Senate slots. This year, two of the three are up for grabs with no incumbent in the mix.

One of the long-noted ironies of life in East Tennessee is that in a region dominated politically for a century and a half by the Republican Party and its limited-government philosophy, the economy relies significantly on the federal and state governments.

The University of Tennessee has been a remarkably unstable place for the last two decades.

The Knox County School Board is in something of a muddle. Three seats turned over in this year’s elections.