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Tyson Foods’ expansion in west Tennessee is pitting longtime farmers against one of the nation’s biggest protein suppliers
BEECH BLUFF, TN — Larry Blankenship and his wife, Monica, lived in a trailer on his father’s farm for more than 30 years while saving for a home of their own. They finally did in 2019, moving into a pretty one-story ranch built where their trailer used to be. But their joy was short-lived; the […]
Debate over license plate readers returns to Metro Council Tuesday
A long-delayed debate over the use of license plate reader technology on Nashville’s public streets returns to Metro Council on Tuesday night with competing arguments over privacy versus over-policing. License plate readers—typically mounted on road signs, bridges, traffic poles and police cars —can capture thousands of digital license plate images each minute. Those images can […]
Mobile vaccine clinics target Tennessee’s homeless individuals
Bobby Lloyd was hanging outside with friends in an empty east Nashville lot on Wednesday, enjoying the sunshine, when a doctor from Neighborhood Health walked by asking if anybody wanted to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Lloyd, 52, jumped at the chance, taking the short walk back with Dr. Peter Cathcart to the parking lot outside […]
ETSU kneeling controversy the latest in series of racially-tinged incidents at school
In northeast Tennessee, a controversy over the decision by college basketball players to take a knee during the National Anthem continues to reverberate across the campus and community, with the looming possibility state lawmakers will act to punish any future protests by student-athletes at public campuses across the state. On February 15, players and coaches […]
Waste Management landfill refused Nashville flood debris after expansion request rejected
Less than one week after the Solid Waste Region Board rejected a proposal to expand a landfill in Bordeaux, the landfill’s owner told the city it could not accept flood debris cleared by Metro crews. Metro reached out to the Southern Services landfill owner, Waste Management, regarding disposal of debris from last weekend’s floods, a […]
For-profit sewage providers are seeking access to public funds, a move environmental groups oppose
Last spring, neighbors in the River Rest Estates subdivision in Williamson County made an unpleasant discovery: a sewage-smelling sludge surging out of a manhole cover next to soccer fields in the community’s recreational areas. Strewn around the manhole were blobs of soiled toilet paper. In the nearby Cartwright Creek, some of the fish were dead. […]
Cumberland County settles sexual harassment lawsuit for $1.1M
Cumberland County officials have settled a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice for $1.1 million and an agreement to revise the county’s personnel and training policies while it remains under court supervision for 18 months. The lawsuit alleged that the director of the county’s solid waste department subjected at least 10 […]
Board denies landfill expansion plans in northwest Davidson County
Nashville’s Solid Waste Board has denied plans for the expansion of a controversial landfill that has, for decades, been the source of anger and frustration in Bordeaux, the largely African-American suburb northwest of downtown. The decision at the end of the four-hour meeting on Wednesday is not likely, however, to be the last say on […]
Bipartisan bill would aid victims, law enforcement in tracking rape kits
In the latest effort to address a history of failures in Tennessee to collect, preserve and process sexual assault evidence, a bill moving through the state legislature would create an electronic tracking system for victims and law enforcement to monitor the status of rape kits. Currently, 30 states and the District of Columbia have implemented […]
Elected officials add voices to debate over Nashville landfill in Black neighborhood
A public oversight board will meet Wednesday to weigh the future of a landfill in northwest Nashville that takes in 90 percent of all construction waste generated in the city but will reach capacity within the next three years. For decades, the Southern Services landfill has been the final destination for debris from commercial and […]
Bill requires local emergency centers to accept texts from 911
When Molly Anderson got into a wreck last March — crashing her car into a hearse loaded with a coffin on busy Knoxville highway — she wasn’t hurt but she needed help. The problem: Anderson cannot speak, a result of a speech disability she has had since birth. In tears and feeling helpless, Anderson relied […]
State parks sexual harassment lawsuit can go forward, Tennessee Court of Appeals rules
A sexual harassment lawsuit against the state of Tennessee by a woman who claims she was assaulted by a supervisor at a staff Halloween party in Paris Landing State Park will be allowed to go forward, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled. Kelly Phelps is one of at least five female state employees who alleged […]