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Tennessee Comptroller report identifies 49 school shootings in past 25 years
Just ahead of a promised special session on public safety called for by Gov. Bill Lee, a Tennessee Comptroller analysis has identified 49 Tennessee school shootings over the past 25 years resulting in 12 fatalities — half of them victims of the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville earlier this year. The analysis […]
Master falconer sues three TWRA officers after sweeping home search, seizure of 13 raptors
A master falconer has filed suit against three Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency law enforcement officers, alleging her constitutional rights were violated when they unlawfully seized 13 birds of prey, phone, computer, video and other records from her Nashville home in 2022 — an action a criminal court judge called “egregious,” “an abuse of the law” […]
Nashville General Hospital board defers action on half-million-dollar marketing and PR contracts
Nashville General Hospital’s oversight board, for a second time, deferred a vote on a pair of high-dollar, no-bid public relations and lobbying contracts with a single firm co-founded by former Metro Councilmember Jerry Maynard and his sister, Misha Maynard, who serves as president. The company, Community Health Marketing, is seeking a three-year contract for government […]
Department of Justice opens civil rights probe of Memphis after Tyre Nichols death case
The U.S. Department of Justice initiated a civil rights investigation Thursday of the city of Memphis and Memphis Police Department stemming in part from the death of Tyre Nichols, who died in January after being beaten by police officers during a traffic stop. “Public safety requires public trust in police officers,” said U.S. Attorney Kevin […]
Nashville General Hospital board questions cost of $500K PR, lobbying contract with Jerry Maynard
Nashville General Hospital’s oversight board meets Thursday to consider a pair of lobbying and public relations contracts involving a single firm that, together, add up to nearly half-a-million dollars a year — a significant expenditure for the cash-strapped public hospital, which in recent years has operated $7 million in the red. Both contracts are with […]
Patients sue Vanderbilt for releasing transgender clinic records to Tennessee AG
Vanderbilt University Medical Center failed in its duty to protect transgender patients, caused them serious harm and violated state law and its own privacy policies when it yielded to demands from the Tennessee attorney general to turn over private medical records, a lawsuit filed Monday claims. The lawsuit, filed by two patients seeking class action […]
Lawsuit: State officials illegally disqualified Nashville nonprofit from longstanding HIV grant
State health officials have declined to re-up a grant with Nashville CARES, a nonprofit sexual health clinic that has administered the Ryan White Insurance Assistance Program in Tennessee for more than 20 years, connecting thousands of low-income HIV-positive individuals to federally subsidized medical care. The decision, upheld by a state panel in May, serves as […]
Cheatham County elected officials join fight against proposed TVA plant
Elected officials are joining a community fight in Cheatham County against a proposed new Tennessee Valley Authority gas-fired power plant, which is slated to be built on 285 acres of mostly forested land that lies in close proximity to a local drinking water source. The Ashland City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of […]
Report: Johnson City Police failed sexual assault victims
The Johnson City Police Department failed to adequately investigate numerous reports of sexual assault over a four-year period, an independent review of the northeast Tennessee police force has found. The report, made public Tuesday, included a review of more than 300 sexual assault reports and concluded that officers failed to collect evidence, interview suspects and […]
Tennessee AG asserts right to out-of-state abortion, transgender care medical records
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined Republican counterparts in 18 states in an effort to prevent the federal government from shielding the medical records of those who cross state lines to obtain legal abortion or gender-affirming care from investigations in their home state. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed […]
Tennessee Children’s Services to open new transitional facility for kids coming into custody
State lawmakers on Thursday approved the first steps in a plan by Department of Children’s Services to open a new transitional facility for kids coming into custody and to expand and add more security to buildings that house delinquent youth. In the near term, the child welfare agency expects to add more than a 100 […]
Attorney general threatens Fortune 100 companies order with legal action for race-based policies
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is leading a coalition warning the nation’s largest companies — many of which have diversity and equity programs — they could face legal action for using race-based policies. A Thursday letter from Skrmetti and 12 other attorneys general put Fortune 100 companies on notice they could be hit with legal action for […]