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Former Agriculture Commissioner L.H. “Cotton” Ivy dies at 91
Former Democratic state representative and Tennessee Secretary of Agriculture L.H. “Cotton” Ivy died Tuesday at the age of 91 in Decaturville, Tennessee, his home town. The son of a sharecropper, Ivy was the principal agent with Farm Bureau Insurance in Union City before running for the state legislature in 1984. He served two terms before […]
Longmire files campaign paperwork, nabs endorsement for judge
The primary for Metro Nashville judicial elections is almost a year away but attorney Wendy Longmire got a jump on the competition Wednesday, filing paperwork necessary to officially start her campaign and snagging her first endorsement. Retired Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman gave her endorsement of Longmire, who announced May 10 she is running for […]
Editor’s column: The real ‘welfare queens’ are our GOP legislators
I’m old enough to remember when President Ronald Reagan created the myth of the “welfare queen.” In the 1970s and 80s, Reagan and other conservative politicians cited one woman, Linda Taylor. Originally from Tennessee, Taylor was used as an example of how poor and predominantly Black Americans were too lazy to work. “Welfare queens” would […]
Editor’s column: Look away from the shiny objects
The Tennessee legislature is wrapping up the first half of the 112th General Assembly, and it’s been one filled with plenty of shiny objects to distract Tennesseans from crucial and life changing matters. That the Tennessee legislature is obsessed with matters pertaining to the LGBTQ community is nothing new. I first took notice in 2016, […]
New PAC targets Lee’s re-election bid
Gov. Bill Lee’s reelection bid is more than a year away but a PAC aimed at unseating him launched Thursday mornings and backers say they’ve already got $100,000 in committed funds. A press release from “Beat Bill Lee,” which is led by former Tennessee Democratic Party communications director Emily Cupples, said the goal is to […]
Editor’s column: With Chauvin’s conviction, the arc bent a little further, but has a long way to go
As America waited Tuesday afternoon for the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year, I scrolled through my Twitter feed watching for the first tweet announcing the outcome. A tweet from a 30-year old caught my eye: “Is this what the OJ trial felt like? […]
Tennessee officials respond to Chauvin verdict
Tuesday afternoon a Minneapolis found police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on three charges resulting from the killing of George Floyd. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. His bail was revoked and he was handcuffed and led from the courtroom. As social media exploded with the new, few Tennessee elected […]
Editor’s Column: Criminal justice reform needs to account for women in the system
Gov. Bill Lee held a criminal justice roundtable discussion on Wednesday as part of “Second Chance Month.” Since 2017, April has been declared “Second Chance Month” to raise awareness about the ongoing consequences of criminal convictions—including the inability to find jobs and housing after release—and to urge the offering of new opportunities to those released […]
School shooting at Knoxville high school leaves one dead
A student is dead and a Knoxville police officer is wounded following a shooting at Austin East Magnet High School for the Arts in Knoxville on Monday. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into the incident, which occurred when Knoxville Police were summoned to Austin East for a report of an armed […]
Legislature has pattern of harassing Black Tennesseans, says Democratic leadership
Democratic legislative leaders said on Thursday the controversy that began when East Tennessee State University basketball players knelt during the playing the National Anthem is part of a pattern of harassment of Black Tennesseans. The remarks came during a weekly press conference held by the Democratic House and Senate Caucus leadership. Republican legislative leadership holds […]
Editor’s column: Republicans need to lose the crazy
Thursday, I was speaking to a bipartisan group about the current political environment and giving a recap on all that’s happened since the Nov. 3 Election Day. As the resident progressive, I was joined by a well-known Republican consultant who has carved out a solid career in Tennessee and national politics. For the last question […]
Nashville COVID-19 clinic vaccinates 10,000 in one day
Even before the sun rose over Nissan Stadium Saturday, the first day of Spring was brimming with the renewal that comes after a long winter. By 6 a.m., volunteers stood ready to direct the traffic backed up not for a Tennessee Titans game but for a COVID-19 vaccine clinic. The Nashville Department of Health offered […]