Everything On Campus is 'For Sale' as UTK Inks Deal with Food City

As a continuation of the 'cancel culture' that is ripping through the country, UT has made a deal with Food City to add their name to the Thompson-Boling Arena.  In an article by Adam Sparks, of the Knoxville News-Sentinel (8/23/2023), the headline of the article reads, "Tennessee Vols fans OK with renaming Thompson-Boling, but leave Neyland Stadium alone."  In the article Sparks' further quotes three sources, rather anonymously, as "a UT fan said," and "one fan said," and then "another fan said."   In any verifiable poll, 3 out of over 1,000,000 plus Tennessee Volunteer's fans is hardly a representative sampling of the group; to assert that VOL's fans are 'OK' with the change.

I certainly received no 'survey' and do not approve of 'renaming' Thompson-Boling Arena.  If you want to put signs on the side of the building showing Food City as a sponsor, then certainly do so; and Tennessee will greatly benefit from the revenue, but when you talk about renaming a facility, that is reaching to the absurd.

What's so important about a name change?  First, and I'm sure UT only thought about the money, but Thompson-Boling Arena is a map designation.  It appears in every search, in maps in every smart phone and other devices, and on current road maps.  It appears on every campus map that the university publishes, and in other online searches about basketball on the University of Tennessee campus.  And secondly, since searches will pull up any name reference, visiting fans will become confused about whether they are searching for Thompson-Boling, or Food City Arena.  as this confusion grows, UT will be tempted to drop Thompson-Boling all together and that I am not 'Okay' with.

The article went on to, in my opinion, mock 'Garza Law,' and 'Pilot Truck Stops,' citing again "fans cringed," "a fan said," and "two other fans, with gritted teeth, suggested,".  This falls under the category of editorial comment much more than it does news reporting.  I doubt anybody is really shocked by that.

UTK likes to go after the big paydays and that is understandable, but please don't sell out our collective heritage, eliminating the names and deeds of former greats, on campus and in life.  Leave the individual names alone on buildings, stadiums, arenas, and other special places around campus that individuals invested their time and hearts in helping to build.  My diploma has Ed Boling's signature, and it wouldn't mean nearly as much with a 'Food City' logo.

(PS - I shop Food City and love that they offer more of the brands that I like to buy, rather than filling the shelves with only their store brand like two of the area's other large grocers.  I appreciate all they do for our area, the cleanliness of their stores, and their courteous staff.)

This post is editorial content and is intended for the enjoyment of those who read it.  

Save the Planet: Demand Better Products!

 We have our kids growing up thinking that electric cars are better for the environment, than anything that has come before them.  I don't agree with that, and believe electric cars are more toxic than anything that has come before.

If you listen to experts, not vested in the electric car market, then you hear the negative attributes.  We don't have the electric power grid to support all these cars.  The power to charge them comes from electricity which is still not clean energy.  There has been no discussion on the disposal of electric car batteries, or the mining processes for producing new batteries in such quantities.  Electric cars are not the solution.

If you want something truly better for the environment, then pick a car model and make that same car for the next 50 years.  This would eliminate cars piling up in junkyards because they couldn't be fixed for lack of replacement parts.  Make cars where transmissions, engines, mufflers, etc all fit the same brackets, space, and configuration.  Manufacturers thrive on selling parts long after the car is sold.  If they keep producing new models, where the components of the new model dosen't match the next model, or the older model, then you have to buy a new part.  What if you could buy a new car that had the same parts as your old car?  You could keep the old car as a 'parts' warehouse.  The old car may be worn out, but windows, doors, fenders, a bracket, etc. may still have a lot more life left in it.  We need to ditch the 'Newer is Better' mentality and look at how we can 'Build to Reuse.'  

In the 1940's and 1950's, cars and appliances were made to be 'repairable.'  Now everything is made to be disposed of, and replaced.  We need to look at making things that last, or where at least the components of an item can continue on.  Marketing Directors would disagree and say that people want new items, not old worn-out models.

This is destructive, non-environmentally sound thinking that causes a greater toll on our environment.  We continue to add to our landfills and increase the space allocated to our junk yards.  We need to refurbish and reuse, but that begins with the design process.  The old adage, 'If you build a better mousetrap they will beat down the door to get it,' needs to be replaced, with a demand from the consumer, 'We want a better product and will not buy until we get it.'

Demand better!

Great Smoky Mountains 'Parking Fee' is a Farce to Federal Law

Beginning yesterday, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) enacted a 'Parking Fee' on all cars visiting the park, which park for more than 15 minutes at any one location.  To steal a concept from Shakespeare, 'A Toll by any other name would still Stink.'  

A federal law (1994 {1964} U.S. Code Title 16) prevented the NPS from charging entrance fees where tolls are prohibited on primary park roads. Because Newfound Gap Road and Little River Road are the primary roads in GSMNP, we are, to this day, unable to charge an entrance fee. [Source: Why No Entrance Fee? - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) ]

The GSMNP is the highest visited park in the country (12,937,633 visitors in 2022); more than doubling the visitors to the Grand Canyon (4,732,101), and tripling visitors to either Yosemite (3,667,550), or Yellowstone (3,290,242). (STATS - Welcome to Visitor Use Statistics (nps.gov).  GSMNP receives less than $20 million dollars annually from tax-payer support and about $4 million from park partners such as the Great Smoky Mountains Association, Friends of the Smokies, the Tremont Institute, and Discover Life in America.  That is less than $1.90 per person that visits the park each year.  

The NPS has never seemed to be able to find enough money to offer the services and upkeep that is necessary to a park that entertains that many people annually.  In the 1980's, the NPS turned down an offer from the residents of Elkmont to extend their individual leases (on less than 50 acres of land).  The impact on the environment of these residences to the Park would be considered negligible, but the National Park Service bowed to pressure from the Sierra Club and other environmental groups and refused the economic support.  [ The Curious Case of Elkmont, Tennessee: The Ghost Town of the Smoky Mountains (tnmuseum.org) ]

The GSMNP at one point took out all of the trash cans around the Cades Cove loop, because, according to a ranger I spoke to, it was deemed too expensive to service them.  

The problem for locals is that we represent a high percentage of 'visits' to the park each year and if we buy an annual tag for $40 it only covers one car.  That means that to cover each car in our family it could cost more than $120 annually.  While visitors from other states who come for the day, or a week, are only going to pay $5-15 depending on their stay.

This is yet another example of a federal entity bending the rules to subjecate the law in their favor.  Our Tennessee representatives need to step up and protect the rights of Tennesseans access to the park; access that is not fettered in fees that would pay for services our tax dollars should be accomplishing.

A fee for parking, in lieu of an admission fee, is government over-reach in triplicate.

Here are some tips directly from the NPS website (Seniors Take Note):

Parking Tag Basics

·      -Three tag durations are available for purchase for all vehicle sizes and types:

o   Daily - $5

o   Weekly - $15

o   Annual - $40

·  -Parking tags are not replaceable, refundable, transferable, or upgradable.

· -Each tag is valid for a single vehicle and must include a license plate number matching the vehicle in which it is displayed.

· -Parking tags are available for purchase both online and onsite.

· -Display of physical parking tags in each vehicle is required.  Digital representations are not accepted.

· -Parking tags are not location specific.  A parking tag is required to park anywhere within the boundaries of the Smokies.

· - Parking tags are not required for motorists who pass through the area or who park for less than 15 minutes.

· -Interagency passes (senior, access, etc.) are not accepted in lieu of a parking tag.