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Juneteenth 2022
Tennesseans across the state celebrated Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the date in 1865 when enslaved Texans learned they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, over the weekend. Photojournalist John Partipilo covered the Music City Freedom Fest in Nashville, which, like other events, featured speakers discussing the history of Juneteenth, food trucks and […]
Williamson County’s Welch rolls out endorsement list for school board
Eric Welch, incumbent member of the Williamson County School Board, has rolled out more than two dozen endorsements from current and former school system administrators and Parent Teacher Organization leaders. Among those endorsing are Dr. Alicia Spencer Barker, Tim Stillings and Kevin Townsel, all members of the Franklin Special School District Board of Education; Mark […]
Gun safety advocates take to Tennessee streets
Laura Brown stood by a table surrounded by red, white and blue posters with drawings of the U.S. Capitol and a message: “Send a letter to Congress.” “Hello, would you like to send a letter to the Senate?” she called out. “I love these things, but people in Congress never seem to hear about them,” […]
Tennesseans petition Gov. Bill Lee for gun reform
More than 70 Tennesseans, including several pastors, walked from Nashville’s Legislative Plaza to Gov. Bill Lee’s office on Wednesday to make a plea for gun reform. The rally comes in the wake of several high profile mass shootings, including last week’s slaughter of 19 elementary school children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in […]
Nashville Soccer Club’s GEODIS Park opens
Nashville Soccer Club’s held its inaugural game in GEODIS Park Sunday and trust photojournalist John Partipilo to get the defining shot of the stadium, the largest professional soccer stadium in the U.S. Partipilo and drone operator Ron Coons waiting until golden hour lighting was perfect to capture a stunning aerial shot of the new stadium.
Tennesseans on the move: People to watch in 2022
As one year passes and another begins, the staff of the Tennessee Lookout brings your attention to a handful of Tennesseans on whom to keep your attention on in the coming year. Politicians, activists and healthcare professionals will stay in the spotlight as we enter our third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and an election […]
Metro Nashville Schools contract, Ford deal top annual Pork Report
A $18 million no-bid contract awarded to a Meharry Medical College offshoot by Metro Nashville Public Schools took the top spot in the Beacon Center of Tennessee’s annual Pork Report. Titled “2021 Pork Report: 12 Recipes for Government Waste, Fraud, and Abuse,” the report is formatted to look like a cookbook that offers “recipes” from […]
Governor requests federal emergency aid, issues executive order for storm-stricken areas
Gov. Bill Lee sought federal emergency assistance Monday for nine counties struck by tornadoes Friday and early Saturday killing four people and doing millions of dollars in damage. The governor also issued an order giving counties flexibility to deal with the disasters. For example, individuals will be allowed to help in storm damage cleanup and […]
Schwinn to hold final funding town hall Tuesday
Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn will hold a town hall meeting in Gainesboro on Tuesday, the final of eight meetings to discuss a revision of the state’s funding strategy of public schools. Jackson County Public Schools will host the meeting at Jackson County Middle School in Gainesboro. Event cohosts include White County Middle […]
Human Rights Campaign Equity Index scores Jackson, Nashville highly for LGBTQ equity
An annual survey that evaluates American cities on measures of equality for members of the LGBTQ community ranked Jackson the highest of the state’s six largest cities. The Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index released its 10th edition, which rates 508 cities across the county on 49 criteria including whether they offer employee benefits to […]
Labor leader Eddie Bryan dies at 88
Edward Lyle “Eddie” Bryan, longtime Tennessee labor leader, died Sunday at the age of 88. A Nashville native and graduate of Hume Fogg High School, Bryan began his career as an installer and repairman for South Central Bell, joining Communication Workers of America Local 3808 before working his way into labor leadership. He served as […]
Group hosts discussion on the First Amendment and disinformation
A Nashville-based civic engagement group will host a panel discussion on Thursday to probe the line between First Amendment rights and tensions arising from disinformation, called “Protected Speech and Fear in America.” As part of its “Conversationalist Series,” Millions of Conversations will share information from global conflict mediation expert Andrew Ladley and Deborah Fisher, director […]