Author

Dulce Torres Guzman

Dulce Torres Guzman

Dulce has written for the Nashville Scene and Crucero News. A graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, she received the John Seigenthaler Award for Outstanding Graduate in Print Journalism in 2016. Torres Guzman is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She enjoys the outdoors and is passionate about preserving the environment and environmental issues.

Democrat Caleb Hemmer with his wife and children celebrating his win in Tennessee House District 59 on Nov. 8, 2022. (Photo: Dulce Torres Guzman)

In Nashville, Democrat Hemmer takes redrawn House District 59

By: - November 8, 2022

At Sal’s Family Pizza of Brentwood, Caleb Hemmer celebrated winning the race for State House District 59 with 52% of the vote and will now succeed outgoing state Rep. Jason Potts, a Nashville Democrat who opted not to run for a third term. “The voters chose me and I’m ready to head down to the […]

(Photo: Jon Dragonette for TIRRC Votes)

TIRCC Votes works to reach immigrants, voters of color in rural areas

By: - November 5, 2022

Since 2018, TIRRC Votes, an affiliate of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, has built an infrastructure across the state to harness the power of growing communities of color to have their interests represented in politics.  In August, TIRRC Votes celebrated the election of several pro-immigrant candidates across the state, including Shelby County District […]

Mayor John Cooper hands out a My City Academy diploma to Kosar Kosar. (Photo: Dulce Maria Torres Guzman)

My City Academy holds graduation for Nashville new Americans

By: - November 4, 2022

Nashville Mayor John Cooper handed diplomas to graduates of the My City Academy on Thursday, saying the city needs more people that looked like them in government to reflect its diversity. “You’re graduating into a job, and the job is communicating what the city can do,” said Cooper.  Since 2012, Nashville has sought to create […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority's Cumberland Fossil Plant. (Photo: Courtesy of TVA)

Environmental groups urge MGLW to vote down new TVA contract

By: - November 2, 2022

Environmental groups and Memphis community activists continue to urge the city’s utility provider against signing a “never-ending contract” with the Tennessee Valley Authority, adding that TVA’s promise to provide better service stands in contrast with their past treatment of Memphis customers.  In September, the utility provider Memphis Gas Light and Water announced that it will […]

Youth Villages Counselor Brittney Williams (rt) has a session with client Chalafonte Davis in the Davis home on Aug. 3, 2022. (Photo by © Karen Pulfer Focht)

Youth Villages offers in-home counseling to children and families with mental health issues

By: - November 2, 2022

Nine-year-old Vega was nearing the end of her counseling sessions with Youth Villages, a non-profit organization helping families with troubled children.  Vega and her younger sister had always had difficulty making friends and tended to stick with one another.  When the pandemic began and schools shut down, families were forced behind closed doors. Daily patterns […]

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. Photo by Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)

Memphis Democratic officials slam “right to work” amendment

By: - November 1, 2022

Memphis Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy held a press conference Tuesday addressing the proposed Constitutional Amendment 1,  which seeks to strengthen the state’s current “right to work” laws. The amendment would allow voters to decide whether they support language stating it is illegal to […]

Ronnie Bowan attends a public meeting that the EPA held in a church in Memphis on Tuesday Oct. 18, 2022. The meeting was to help inform residents about an elevated cancer risk for those who live in South Memphis near the Sterilization Services of Tn. located on Flordia Street. There are over 100 commercial sanitization sites in the USA, 23 in various locations of which have been associated with cancer risk levels due to Ethylene Oxide Emissions. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht)

EPA tells South Memphis residents little recourse exists to deal with toxic emissions

By: - October 20, 2022

At Monumental Baptist church in South Memphis, local residents lined up to tell federal officials how cancer possibly linked to their environment had taken their loved ones, friends and family.  Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency flew into town to inform residents of the possible deadly consequences of living near Sterilization Services of Tennessee, […]

A police car blocks entrance to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge over the Mississippi River in Memphis after a substantial crack was found in it May 11. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht)

Shelby County Commission approves 5-year safety plan

By: - October 18, 2022

The Shelby County Commission on Monday approved a five-year plan to increase public safety and tackle the surge of violent crime in Memphis this year.  Memphis recently attracted nationwide attention after the murder of kindergarten teacher Eliza Fletcher by alleged killer Cleotha Henderson and the shooting spree of 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly within a span of […]

Javir, whose last name is withheld for privacy reasons, migrated to the US from Venezuela. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Harassment in Venezuela, political targeting in the US: Migrants to Tennessee tell their stories

By: - October 18, 2022

At 21 years old, Javir and her partner left Venezuela and traveled by foot through seven countries seeking a better life in the U.S.  For months, she walked. She walked through Panama, Nicaragua, Columbia, Mexico. She passed cities and towns, risking assault, robbery and violence from those taking advantage of fleeing migrants.  “You get to […]

Henry Seaton, a Nashville transgender man, said his experience at Vanderbilt University Medical Center showed him the care and seriousness with which the clinic treats transgender minors. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Lots of hoops and checks: A Tennessee man speaks on the furor over transgender care

By: - October 13, 2022

In 2015, Henry Seaton was 17 years old when he first inquired about gender-affirming surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center but was turned away due to his age.  So when right-wing political commentator Matt Walsh posted videos on social media attacking  Vanderbilt’s reputation as a leader in transgender healthcare and Republican lawmakers followed suit. Democratic […]

Memphis City Hall (Photo: City of Memphis Community Affairs page, Facebook)

Memphis hospital declines participation in city’s violence intervention program

By: - October 12, 2022

An intervention program aimed at curbing violence in Memphis by speaking to shooting victims and their families encountered resistance from one of Memphis’ largest hospitals, prompting city officials to intervene.  On Tuesday, Memphis City Council members voted to pass a resolution requesting the Shelby County government help facilitate an agreement between Regional One Health Hospital […]

Sterilization Services of Tennessee in South Memphis is at the center of an Environmental Protection Agency investigation. The EPA is warning people who live near medical sterilizing plants about potential health risks from emissions of ethylene oxide (EtO), a chemical widely used in their operations. (Tennessee Lookout/Karen Pulfer Focht)

In South Memphis, residents cope with toxic chemical pollution as EPA investigates

By: - October 12, 2022

Leona Golster loves her home in South Memphis, but sometimes it’s hard for the 78-year-old to breathe on her front porch.  Every now and then, the wind blows the smell of chemicals from the Sterilization Services of Tennessee, a facility that uses ethylene oxide (EtO) to sterilize equipment for businesses throughout Tennessee.  “Smells like they’re […]