Author
‘Deeply concerned and disturbed;’ Tennessee NAACP demands release of kids taken after traffic stop
MANCHESTER, Tenn. — Leaders of the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP on Friday issued a public demand for the release of five Black children taken from their parents after a misdemeanor traffic stop in rural Tennessee last month, saying they were “deeply concerned and disturbed” by the events. The civil rights organization, joined by […]
Former Mason, Tenn. officials indicted on theft and misconduct charges
Two former employees of the Town of Mason have been indicted on theft and official misconduct charges, an investigative report released Wednesday by the Tennessee Comptroller revealed. The Comptroller’s investigation also determined that former Mason Mayor Gwendolyn Kilpatrick, who left office in 2018, misappropriated more than $8,000 in town funds for unauthorized purchases and on […]
Measure to protect Duck River from industrial development in Maury County advances
A bill to protect a stretch of the Duck River in Maury County from industrial development, including the looming prospect of regional landfills, advanced in the Legislature Wednesday after a tense and occasionally rowdy House hearing. The bill, by Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, and Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Howenwald, would designate a portion of the Duck […]
Kids taken from Black family remain in state custody
MANCHESTER, Tenn. — Five children taken from a Black family after a traffic stop in Coffee County will remain in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services following a hearing in juvenile court on Monday. Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for tinted car windows and driving […]
DCS seeks prosecution of Black parents, lawyers for speaking about kids’ removal after traffic stop
The Department of Children’s Services has filed a motion for prosecution and sanctions against the Black parents of five young children taken into DCS custody on February 17, according to Courtney Teasley, an attorney for the family. DCS accuses the parents, and their attorneys, of breaking juvenile court confidentiality rules, Teasley said. The motion for […]
Tennessee Democrats demand release of children removed from Black family after traffic stop
The Tennessee Democratic Caucus on Thursday demanded that the Department of Children’s Service release five young children taken from their parents, who are Black, after a traffic stop in Manchester last month. The children — ages 7, 5, 3, 2 and a four-month-old infant who was still nursing — were removed from their parents Feb. […]
A Black family fights to get their kids back from Tennessee Department of Children’s Services
A Black family from Georgia is fighting for the return of their five young children from the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services after a traffic stop in Manchester, Tenn. last month. Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were on Interstate 24 heading to a family funeral in Chicago — kids asleep in the […]
Judge: former Tennessee vaccine chief suit must go to trial
A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit brought by the state’s ex-vaccine chief against two of Tennessee’s top health officials will go to trial on May 8. The ruling on Friday clears the way for a jury to consider whether the reputation of Dr. Michelle Fiscus – former medical director of the state’s Vaccine-Preventable […]
Louisiana landfill company pushes back on Duck River protections
The owner of a Louisiana company with plans to develop a controversial regional waste complex on 1,300 acres in Maury County pushed back Wednesday against a bill that would provide protections to a stretch of the Duck River, suggesting it was a thinly veiled effort to tank his business plans. Trinity Business Group plans to […]
Ads to target Gov. Bill Lee’s anti-LGBTQ legislation at SEC tournament
A full page ad in Tuesday’s Tennessean newspaper features a high school yearbook photo of Gov. Bill Lee dressed in drag with a call to action by the Human Rights Campaign against Lee’s anti-LGBTQ legislation. The ad appears a week after Tennessee became the first state to enact a measure that could criminalize public drag […]
Trotline safety bill stalls out in Tennessee legislature
An effort to regulate trotlines — unmanned fishing lines studded with hooks that are strung across some Tennessee waterways — has stalled in the Legislature, frustrating paddler groups who say they pose a safety hazard on the state’s increasing crowded rivers and streams. Rep. Paul Sherrell and Sen. Paul Bailey, both Sparta Republicans, earlier this […]
Effort to protect Duck River advances in Tennessee legislature
A bill to designate a stretch of the Duck River in Maury County a “scenic waterway” advanced in the Tennessee Legislature on Tuesday — a measure that may come into play with local efforts to fight a for-profit mega trash complex along its banks. The measure by Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka and Sen. Joey Hensley, […]