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Shelby Commission approves new voting machines amid discord
Shelby County commissioners voted Monday to spend $5.8 million on voting machines for the November elections as tempers flared and in spite of an ongoing lawsuit pitting county officials against one another. The Shelby County Commission and the Shelby County Election Commission are currently embroiled in litigation to decide which body has jurisdiction over deciding […]
Tennessee’s Arabic speakers work to add their language to driver license tests
When Ashraf Fam, an Egyptian immigrant, first came to Nashville 16 years ago, he quickly sought to get a driver’s license, knowing that transportation was key to survival in the U.S. The Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicles offers its driver license test in five languages—English, Spanish, German, Korean and Japanese—but not in other languages more […]
Smiley drops policy platform
On Friday, Memphis City Council member J.B. Smiley, Jr., laid out his policy platform in the Democratic contest for governor. “It’s time we do more than simply identify the issues, but put a plan in place to address them moving forward. With your help, we can create a better Tennessee, together,” said Smiley in a […]
National civil rights advocate Rev. William Barber takes on Dollar General
Dollar General workers and advocates protesting poor working conditions and wages marched to the corporation’s stakeholders meeting in Goodlettsville, only to be met with a locked door. On Wednesday, labor advocacy groups, community leaders and Dollar General employees from several states—including Louisiana and Mississippi— met to protest the poor conditions many employees say they face […]
Memphis council presses TVA for study to no avail
The Memphis City Council passed a resolution urging the Tennessee Valley Authority to study the potential impacts of having coal ash transported through and stored in south Memphis communities. Before the afternoon council meeting, council members on the Parks and Environment Committee recommended passage of the resolution requesting that the TVA conduct a Supplemental Impact […]
Grief at The Griff: Nashville construction boom exacts deadly toll on Hispanic workers
Across the street from The Griff, a luxurious apartment complex in Germantown, protesters dressed in black held flowers and crosses in memory of the Hispanic construction workers that have died over the last two years in Nashville’s booming construction industry. Across from the crowd stood a towering chain link fence preventing trespassers from entering another […]
With 21 public defender vacancies in Shelby County, chief pleads for more funding
Shelby County’s Public Defender’s Office struggles to hire and retain staff because experienced attorneys working as public defenders make far less than most attorneys in the state, said Chief Public Defender Phyllis Aluko on Wednesday. During the Shelby County Budget and Finance Committee, Aluko requested $138,000 to hire an investigator and to cover other costs […]
Leaked Supreme Court abortion draft raises fears for future of gay marriage, LGBTQ rights
Standing at the top of Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains, Mario Oranday waited until his partner, Andrew Baumgarten, surveyed the endless tree-lined hills before kneeling down and reaching for the ring he had been carefully carrying. He had asked a nearby couple to film his proposal, and Baumgarten’s resounding “Yes” was forever captured […]
Abortion rights supporters rally in downtown Nashville
On Saturday, thousands of abortion-rights protesters marched through downtown Nashville, part of coordinated national “Bans off our Bodies” organizing effort to hold rallies in support of Roe v. Wade. A diverse and multigenerational crowd of roughly 500 people met at the Legislative Plaza and listened intently to organizers speaking about a potential future where abortion […]
Public records show TVA planned coal ash storage months before informing Memphians
In July 2021, the Tennessee Valley Authority shocked Memphis residents and officials after informing them that south Memphis would soon house potentially toxic coal ash from the now defunct Allen Fossil Plant. TVA officials informed Memphians that the decision to use the South Shelby Landfill in south Memphis—a primarily Black and low-income community– “cannot be […]
Judge upholds suit against Williamson County Planning Commission
A judge is allowing a lawsuit against the Williamson County Planning Commission from a conservation group to proceed on the grounds the group has standing to represent the interests of residents in preserving historically significant land from development. The Vaughn Road property belonging to the late Alice Hooker, a well-known civic figure in the county, […]
Shelby County effort to fix tax rate fails at first pass
Shelby County commissioners failed to pass an ordinance fixing the tax rate as tensions continue over the possibility of losing $2 million or raising taxes. During a Shelby County committee meeting, commissioners grilled Trustee Regina Morrison Newman, Chief Administrator Dwan Gilliom and Budget Director Michael Thompson while discussing the county’s inability to have a tax […]