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Cumberland County in lawsuit with U.S. Department of Justice
Over a three year period− between February 2015 and February 2018 — the director of Cumberland County’s solid waste services is alleged to have subjected at least 10 women to unrelenting sexual harassment. Michael Harvel forcibly kissed, fondled and propositioned the women for sex, according to the women’s accounts. He put his hands under their […]
COVID-19 numbers plummet among disabled with vaccine rollout
The numbers of new COVID infections among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and staff who care for them, decreased by more than 80 percent from December 2020 to February 2021, according to newly released data from the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Tennessee was the first state in the nation to prioritize people […]
Report: Tennessee rural jail expenses climbing
While Tennessee’s biggest cities have reduced their jail populations, suburban and rural counties increased incarceration rates —and local spending on jails — according to a new report by the Vera Institute of Justice which includes an online tool to examine trends in each of the state’s 94 local lockups. Expenditures fluctuated widely from county to […]
Tennessee prioritizes COVID-19 vaccine for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities
There was a “terrible spell” beginning last October, when 22 individuals with disabilities fell ill in group homes or other programs operated by Development Services of Dickson County. Katie Powers, associate executive director of the nonprofit organization, said she watched helplessly as one in every five individuals aided by her agency got sick with COVID, […]
Nashville’s Freedom Riders: HBCU students risked all to end segregation
On Feb. 27, 1960, John Lewis, then a student at American Baptist College, joined other college students in Nashville as they sat down at the “whites only’’ lunch counter at Woolworth’s in the heart of downtown to begin their work integrating the city’s stores. Students at HBCUs, including Tennessee State University, Fisk University, Meharry Medical […]
State to investigate new allegations that Tennessee funeral director continues to exploit grieving immigrant families
A Tennessee funeral director and embalmer who surrendered his licenses early in 2020 after he failed to return bodies to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala for burials has continued to offer funeral services in immigrant communities — and, in at least one recent instance, neglected for months to deliver remains to a grieving family. Roommates and […]
Non-profit clinics struggle to get underserved Tennesseans vaccinated
Over the past decade, Patricia Carswell, 73, and James Burroughs, 84, forged a friendship as neighbors, each living alone in separate studio apartments in a Nashville high rise building for low income seniors. The pandemic has been tough on both of them. Burroughs can no longer spend his days in the game room, where he’d […]
A Tennessee funeral director made promises to immigrant families; he didn’t deliver
Ramy Jadiel Ajualip Primero, the baby in his family, died unexpectedly at just 18 months old. He was rushed to the hospital after experiencing convulsions. A grim prognosis ensued. With no hope for recovery, the boy was taken off life support 15 days later. In shock, Ramy’s parents were certain of one thing: they wanted […]
Federally-guaranteed paid family and sick leave for employees may be left unused, advocates say
While extra unemployment benefits and stimulus checks have been the hallmark of the federal government’s response to workers during the pandemic, advocates say a lesser-known but critical benefit guaranteeing paid family and sick leave for employees has been underutilized. The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, guarantees 80 […]
Recent unemployment numbers show women of color slammed in pandemic
Deenean Wilson-Henderson has spent most of her career working in management positions in Memphis-area nonprofits, but in early September she got a call at home from her boss: her position was eliminated. There was not enough work, she was told. It was a blow, but not a complete shock. Wilson-Henderson, 55, described her work environment […]
Tennessee’s Eastman Chemical subpoenaed by Mexican authorities for alleged cartel connections
Eastman Chemical Company, a global corporation headquartered in northeast Tennessee that is among the state’s largest employers, is under investigation by Mexican authorities over alleged ties to cartel-controlled suppliers of raw materials processed at its plant in the state of Michoacán. A subpoena issued to Eastman Chemical on Oct. 2 by Mexico’s Federal Public Ministry […]
New guidance from Tennessee officials says hospitals cannot limit vaccines to existing patients
Tennessee hospitals may no longer restrict their still-limited supply of vaccine only to established patients under new guidance issued by the Tennessee Department of Health, Dr. Lisa Piercey, commissioner, said Friday in a briefing with reporters. “For hospitals to continue vaccinating on a forward going basis we have asked them … to do a few […]