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Confederate group seeks to restrain Williamson County from removing flag from county seal
A decision over whether Williamson County can remove an image of the Confederate flag from its official seal now rests with a Chancery Court judge. The Major Nathaniel Cheairs Camp 2138 Sons of Confederate Veterans filed suit against the county and the Tennessee Historical Commission in December seeking to keep the so-called Great Seal of […]
Appeals court temporarily reinstates Tennessee ban on transgender youth care
Editors note: This story has been updated to include additional reactions to the appeals court decision. A federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated Tennessee’s law barring gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, allowing a recently enacted ban on treatments that include puberty blockers and surgery to take immediate effect. In a divided opinion, the three-judge […]
Department of Children’s Services wrestles with solutions for housing kids in state custody
Three months after the Department of Children’s Services announced it had ended the practice of taking abused and neglected kids to state offices overnight, solutions are proving difficult to sustain as several faith-based shelters have closed and some kids remain in hospitals for lack of other options. Kids are sleeping in church-run facilities and spaces […]
That’s lawsuit number four: Metro Nashville draws another lawsuit in Fairgrounds Speedway deal
A professional driver has stepped into the legal fray over the future of Nashville’s speedway. Howard Tucker filed suit against the city on Thursday, seeking a ruling that the city does not need a supermajority vote by the Metro Council in order to approve a deal with Bristol Motor Speedway to renovate the facility. Tucker, […]
Judge puts Sumner County Commissioners on notice they may be held in contempt
A Chancery Court judge is putting members of the Sumner County Commission on notice they could be individually held in contempt in an ongoing legal dispute with the county’s election commission. On Tuesday, Sumner County Chancery Court Judge Louis Oliver, III admonished an attorney during a court hearing over the county commission’s public efforts to […]
Sumner County scraps HR department
The Sumner County Commission has eliminated the county’s human resources department, leaving roughly 1,000 public employees without a dedicated personnel team. The decision this week, approved 19-4, is part of an ongoing approach to “streamline government and decrease bureaucratic function,” Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield said in advance of the vote. Commissioner Baker Ring was among those […]
Judge rules Sumner County Election Commission suit against county commission can proceed
A lawsuit filed by the Sumner County Election Commission against the county’s mayor and its governing body will be allowed to continue, a chancellor ruled Tuesday. The lawsuit was filed in May after members of the Sumner County Commission sought to evict election officials from their offices and warehouse space used to store voting machines […]
‘If you’re pregnant you shouldn’t travel here’
Reproductive rights advocates knew from the start there would be tremendous challenges for Tennessee women seeking abortion access across state lines once the procedure was banned here. One year after the Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion, advocates say those challenges have been far greater than anyone anticipated. Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and Northern […]
AG made sweeping demands for Vanderbilt transgender clinic records as part of fraud inquiry
Editors note: This story was updated Thursday to include an additional response from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. New details about the state attorney general’s inquiry into gender-affirming care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reveal a sweeping demand for documents at all levels of care, from patient records to volunteers’ resumes, communications with outside therapists […]
Parents of trans children ‘feel betrayed’ by Vanderbilt hospital
Vanderbilt University Medical Center notified patients over the weekend, including parents of transgender children, that it provided medical records to the state attorney general as part of a civil investigation into the hospital’s billing practices involving transgender care. The hospital told patients it turned over records with the attorney general’s assurance that they would remain […]
State halts Vanderbilt’s plans for new Rutherford County hospital
An administrative law judge has rejected plans by Vanderbilt University Medical Center to establish a new Rutherford County hospital, siding with a trio of competing inpatient facilities already operating in and around the fast-growing suburban county. The high-stakes battle to build a new 42-bed hospital has been ongoing since 2020. Last December, the Tennessee Health […]
Environmental groups sue Tennessee Valley Authority over proposed new power plant
A trio of environmental groups has filed suit against the Tennessee Valley Authority, claiming the utility violated federal law by failing to properly evaluate climate, environmental and financial impacts of a proposed new gas-fired plant in Cumberland City, Tenn. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Nashville federal court, also claims that TVA quietly inked a […]