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200,000 Tennesseans to be vaccinated by the New Year
The first of 115,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine expected in Tennessee this week came Monday morning, arriving in all of Tennessee’s 95 counties and further laying the groundwork in a race to vaccinate 200,000 Tennessean by the end of this year. The Moderna vaccine shipment follows an earlier delivery of 56,500 doses of the […]
With grace period for unpaid bills over, Nashville Electric disconnections rise
The grace period for Nashville Electric Service customers unable to pay their bills as a result of the coronavirus pandemic ended September 30. By last week, 18,052 of the city’s 418,000 residential customers had been been disconnected. Another 29,939 customers are at risk — these customers received turn off notices between December 1 and December […]
White House task force issue urgent message to state officials, who so far have refused to heed it
The White House Coronavirus Task Force repeated an urgent admonition to Tennessee public health officials this week: “All public health officials must make clear that if you are over 65 or with significant health conditions, you should not enter any indoor public spaces where anyone is unmasked due to the immediate risk to your health; […]
Audit of Department of Children’s Services finds caseloads are still too high, despite law imposing limits
An audit of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services found that social workers continue to juggle caseloads that are too high, two years after lawmakers passed a measure limiting caseworker to an average of no more than 20 children each. The department’s 1,800 case managers investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect, find foster homes […]
Nashville public health officials meet to chart future after public health chief forced to resign
The Nashville Board of Health convenes Friday for a pre-planned retreat that will now focus on how to steer Nashville’s Public Health Department into the future after the reluctant resignation of city’s public health chief on Thursday. Nine months into an often-rocky tenure as the head of the Nashville Public Health Department, Dr. Michael Caldwell […]
21 Metro Councilmembers call for firing of Nashville health director Dr. Michael Caldwell
Metro Councilmembers are formally asking the Board of Health to fire Nashville’s health director Dr. Michael Caldwell a day after a Human Resources investigation substantiated allegations of sexism against him. The letter was released publicly shortly before the Board of Health convenes at 4 p.m. on Thursday to discuss the investigation. “Our experience since then, […]
HR report: Metro Health director accused of gender discrimination
A Human Resources investigation into gender and pregnancy discrimination complaints brought by two women against Metro Public Health Director Dr. Michael Caldwell has recommended Caldwell pursue “professional resources” to address any ongoing discrimination. The 15-page report by HR officials obtained by Tennessee Lookout concluded the complaints were “mostly corroborated and substantiated.” The document also noted […]
19 Guardsmen deployed to Tennessee hospitals under Gov. Bill Lee’s new emergency order
At least 19 Tennessee National Guard personnel have been deployed to two private hospitals at opposite ends of the state to aid with COVID-19 response in order to relieve hospital medical staff — a result of an executive order issued by Gov. Bill Lee last week. Currently the Tennessee National Guard is providing 11 temporary […]
SpaceX’s new frontier: broadband. Rocket builder to provide Internet services in 57 Tennessee counties
SpaceX, the company best known for its rocket technology and test flights into outer space, is hoping to expand its fledgling Starling internet provider services into rural America, including 57 counties in Tennessee. An auction for the rights to provide internet service held by the Federal Communications Commission resulted in winning bids by SpaceX to […]
TBI makes its way through rape kit backlog, but new failures emerge in rape & violent crime investigations
For years, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has worked to resolve a backlog in untested rape kits that have left thousands of sexual assault cases unsolved. State officials are now acknowledging another equally serious failure of investigations into sexual assault and other violent crimes. Local law enforcement and booking agencies across Tennessee have failed to […]
As cold weather and homelessness converge, advocates criticize lack of safe housing measures
At the convergence point of a deadly pandemic and the coldest weather of the year, a plan in Nashville for an overflow shelter for people without homes is drawing criticisms from community advocates who have been frustrated by the city’s response to homelessness throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Nashville’s cold weather shelter opened this week to […]
State Chief Medical Examiner: ‘I have looked at every single (COVID) death certificate’
Dr. Adele Lewis has spent her career documenting death. As Tennessee’s Chief Medical Examiner — and a former deputy chief medical examiner in Nashville — Lewis works out of a downtown Nashville state office building and sometimes at home during the pandemic, overseeing a staff responsible for collecting information on how Tennesseans die and transmitting […]