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Youth sent out of state by DCS return with COVID
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services sent five teenage boys out of state to a Kalamazoo, Mich. facility for troubled youth. Three of the boys came back to Tennessee positive for COVID-19. The boys, ranging in age from 13 to 18, are among 52 children currently in DCS custody who have tested positive for the […]
Child care closures make back to work plans tough for parents
Kingsport, Tenn. business owner Bob Feathers operates two entirely separate ventures — a 20-year-old commercial interiors firm with 38 salaried employees and a franchise restaurant with 70 mostly part-time workers who rely on tips to get by. Feathers’ biggest operational question right now cuts across both business models: How do you get employees back at […]
Release of health data to law enforcement raises privacy concerns
The release of private health information of Tennesseans who have tested positive for COVID-19 to law enforcement by Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is facing pushback from lawmakers, advocates for minority communities and at least one police force that originally agreed to get the information. The Tennessee Black Caucus on Saturday called on Lee to end […]
Health department gives names, addresses of Tennesseans with COVID-19 to law enforcement
The Department of Health is providing the names and addresses of Tennessee residents who test positive for COVID-19 to sheriffs and chiefs of police across the state on a daily basis — a practice raising deep concerns about privacy and government intrusion into the lives of ordinary citizens. The offer to share the otherwise protected […]
Abortion wars in Tennessee expand to new fronts during pandemic
A week after Gov. Bill Lee urged Tennessee schools to shut down, as an initial wave of coronavirus cases grew to 600, Tennessee Right to Life filed a little-noticed lawsuit against Planned Parenthood and the city of Knoxville.