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Weekend protests, riots rock state
Peaceful protests over the weekend in Tennessee cities, including Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga and Murfreesboro turned violent in several instances, with police dispersing tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowds and public and private property suffering damage. The Knoxville event remained calm, while both Memphis and Nashville had peaceful organized protests that […]
Nashville riots: Historic Metro Courthouse burns
An afternoon of peaceful protests organized by social justice groups to protest the killing on Minneapolis man George Floyd by police devolved into a night of riots in Nashville. Historic Metro Nashville Courthouse was defaced and set on fire and downtown tourist district businesses being broken into and robbed. Award-winning and two time Pulitzer […]
Commentary: The more things change, the more they stay the same
1968 was a hell of a year. My memories of the year are few, but powerful, as they are some of the earliest ones I have. I turned four that year, and that may have been the year I got a pink birthday cake but I only know that from old photos. I don’t need […]
Tennessee wants nice things, too
Tennessee needs nice things, too Recently, I sat in on a virtual panel discussion hosted by ThinkTennessee, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that conducts research on civic and economic opportunity. The topic? Voting by mail. You’ve probably already heard discussion about voting by mail, as it’s become a hot item nationally and with good reason. […]
Leaders of civic group give detailed economic recommendations to Cooper
Leaders with The Equity Alliance, a statewide non-profit focused on the civic and economic empowerment of the black community have released a detailed set of recommendations for Nashville’s spending of the $121 million of federal CARES Act funding for economic recovery. Charlane Oliver, co-founder and co-executive director of The Equity Alliance is a member of […]
Stand up for the media
First things first: Thank you for your support. The Tennessee Lookout is wrapping up our first full week of coverage and the support we’ve received from across the state has been gratifying. We’ve received social media follows and daily newsletter subscriptions. Readers from all areas of Tennessee have reached out with ideas for stories. But, […]
Nashville COVID chief says ‘data and science matter’
A Monday story from NBC that reported Nashville is experiencing a high spike in COVID-19 cases counted data from a Trousdale County prison outbreak took local criticism. Written by political reporter Jonathan Allen and reporters Phil McCausland and Cyrus Farivar, the story cited a May 7 report by the White House pandemic task force. Dr. […]
Update: DNC Member Owen: “I didn’t give money to McConnell”
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Lookout reported Bill Owen, a former state senator from Knoxville and one of four Tennessee members on the Democratic National Committee, survived a challenge from party officials that would have removed him from the DNC. Among the charges levied against him were his numerous contributions to Republican elected officials. Owen has […]
UPDATE: List of Law Enforcement Agencies with MOUs
The Tennessee Department of Health has provided a list of law enforcement agencies in the state that have entered into memorandums of understanding with the state to accept personal data about COVID-19 patients in their jurisdictions. As the Tennessee Lookout reported earlier, Gov. Bill Lee requested the Department of Health to provide daily updates to […]
Welcome to the Tennessee Lookout
Hello, Tennessee. In a quote often misattributed to German statesman Otto von Bismarck, the American poet and politician John Godfrey Saxe said in 1869, “Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.” That’s a fancy way of saying if we understand the way government works, we might […]
A second Tennessee Democratic Party veteran escapes being booted
On Monday, the Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee held a three hour virtual meeting to vote on removing former State Sen. Bill Owen of Knoxville from his post as a member of the Democratic Committee. The charge? Owen, a lobbyist, has made numerous donations to Republican elected officials, including a 2019 contribution of $8,500 to […]