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Editor’s column: 1619
You’d have to be completely out of the political loop—and I suspect you aren’t, if you are reading this—to not have heard of “The 1619 Project” and the brouhaha surrounding it. A publication of journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times, “1619” first appeared in an August 2019 issue of the New York Times […]
Artist McBride drew inspiration from John Lewis
Michael McBride and the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis had much in common. Both grew up similarly, in rural Southern farming communities: McBride in Medon, Tennessee, in Madison County, and Lewis in Troy, Alabama. Both were members of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. McBride, a Nashville-based Black artist and professor at Tennessee State University, never had […]
Editor’s column: Grading congressional newsletters
I spend a lot of time thinking and talking and writing about the Tennessee General Assembly because too few news outlets in our state have the resources or capacity to do the same, and I figure, larger outlets than this one do have the means to check on our federal delegation. But a few months […]
Nashville mayor names transportation director
Nashville Mayor John Cooper has named Diana Alarcon, currently director of transportation and mobility for Tucson, Ariz., as director of the new Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure. Cooper launched NDOT in July and Faye DiMassimo, his senior advisor for transportation and infrastructure, has served as interim director. NDOT was formed after Cooper reorganized […]
Editor’s Column: Tennessee’s GOP representatives blew infrastructure vote
There’s no secret that Tennessee’s infrastructure is in woeful condition. The most notable recent example came in May, when a routine inspection of the Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis prompted frantic calls to 911: Inspectors found a crack in the bridge so large the waters of the Mississippi River below were visible through it. […]
Editor’s column: Rudd’s concern for unruly DAs needs to begin at home
Much ink has been spilled over last week’s special legislative session and much more will continue to be spilled, mostly over the omnibus bill to restrict how school boards and businesses can manage COVID-19 among their students and employees. But that’s not the only poorly thought out and vindictive legislation that was passed during the […]
Editor’s column: A Southern town evolves
Saturday morning, I got up and had coffee as usual before donning my Stetson and walking from my house to downtown Franklin for a Civil War-themed event. The last gasp of the Confederacy in Tennessee came in fall 1864, so there’s no surprise that the weekend featured two Civil War-themed events and it’s not a […]
Nashville redistricting to change Metro Council, school board districts
East Nashville resident Adam Vollrath has concerns about new redistricting maps released by the Metro Nashville Planning Department on Friday morning. “I have specific concerns about splitting McFerrin Park between Districts 5 and 6,” said Vollrath, who served as president of the McFerrin Park Neighborhood Association in 2018-19. “There are obvious logistical concerns about splitting […]
Editor’s column: Sickening systemic abuse in Rutherford County calls for action
I love Tennessee. I’m a native and no matter where I’ve gone, I always thought my home state is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. But for the last few days, I’ve felt sad and sick to be a Tennessean for once again, Tennessee has achieved a place in the national consciousness and once […]
Vanderbilt University sued for gender discrimination and retaliation
A 25-year employee of Vanderbilt University has filed suit against the university for discrimination and retaliation on the basis of sex and gender identity and disability. Olivia Ruth Hill, who was hired by Vanderbilt in 1996 to work in the university’s Facilities Plant, and her legal team filed suit Wednesday on nine counts. They claim […]
Editor’s column: Slatery’s tenure as AG shows mixed legal bag
A week or so ago, a tweet about Tennessee government caught my eye: “We don’t legislate by law, we legislate by lawsuit,” wrote someone in response to another story about Gov. Bill Lee’s legal woes. I don’t remember which one of the Lee administration’s suits to which the Twitter wag referred, and that’s the problem: […]
Editor’s column: Presidential precedent exists for drastic action in times of crisis
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a six-prong strategy to try to get the current surge of COVID-19 under control. His platform includes fairly non-controversial steps that include making home COVID testing kits more readily available and extending the mask mandate in commercial air travel. But the leading piece of Biden’s plan is one that […]