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Byrd takes oath of office after long COVID battle, brush with death
Emerging from a fight for his life against COVID-19, state Rep. David Byrd took the oath of office Friday, urging Tennesseans to take the disease seriously and strongly consider getting vaccinated. Sworn in to represent Hardin, Lewis, Wayne and part of Lawrence counties in House District 71, the former basketball coach and principal entered and […]
Stockard on the Stump: Senator predicts Delta variant will spur vaccinations
State Sen. Ferrell Haile, a pharmacist by trade, is not on the fence when it comes to vaccines. He was writing an opinion piece on the importance of vaccinations when other senators found out and wanted to join the push. Seventeen Republican senators signed the letter and sent it out this week hoping to bolster […]
Senator renews questions about failed state COVID testing contract
State Sen. Heidi Campbell is urging state auditors to complete an investigation into no-bid contracts awarded by Gov. Bill Lee’s administration since the COVID-19 pandemic started, pinpointing a botched contract with Nomi Health last year that cost the state nearly $6 million. A member of the Legislature’s Fiscal Review Committee, Campbell raised questions Wednesday about […]
Tennessee residents sue governor for ending federal unemployment
A group of Tennesseans is suing Gov. Bill Lee for stopping federal unemployment benefits two months early, saying they need the money to survive. Represented by Nashville attorney Gary Blackburn, residents from Shelby, Carter, Knox, Davidson and Williamson counties filed the class action lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Nashville against the governor and […]
Griffey stance conflicts with Senate leadership
Rep. Bruce Griffey says he’s not “anti-vax,” yet he is one of a growing number of legislators leery of masks and vaccination campaigns and gaining a bigger voice in the General Assembly. In fact, the Paris Republican believes only a small group of people should take the shots, those over 60 with co-morbidities. That outlook […]
House Speaker wants more elected “voices” on monument decisions
In the wake of the State Building Commission vote to relocate the busts of Nathan Bedford Forrest and two U.S. admirals, House Speaker Cameron Sexton is set to push for a change in state law, likely to involve more legislators in future decisions to move statues. Sexton issued a statement last week saying, “From the […]
Forrest carted out of Capitol in straps and chains
Strapped and chained, the bust of Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was lowered by a boom and unceremoniously rolled out of the second floor of the State Capitol Friday morning, more than 40 years after legislators voted to place him there. The Rev. Venita Lewis, a 40-year civil rights activist, cheered the removal as […]
Stockard on the Stump: Republican lawmakers split over Fiscus firing
The group of anti-vax legislators whose complaints about the Department of Health vaccine campaign led to the firing of Dr. Michelle Fiscus won’t say much about her termination. But there is a clear break between that group and others who think the state made the wrong move. The topic is so sensitive that most lawmakers […]
Years in the making, Forrest busting out of State Capitol
Black lawmakers have been fighting for years to relocate Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s bust from the State Capitol. They were in reserved celebratory mood Thursday. Finally, after a 5-2 vote Thursday by the State Building Commission, including a rare one cast by Gov. Bill Lee, the bust is bound for the State Museum. […]
State lawmakers urge against push to vaccinate children
Two Tennessee lawmakers who chair the Joint Government Operations Committee warned schools Wednesday not to “bully,” “cajole” or “coerce” students to be vaccinated. In a rare crowded gathering for the panel, Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield, co-chairman of the committee, sought to head off upheaval over the recent firing of the state’s chief immunization officer Dr. […]
Chattanooga center for immigrant children sues state over license suspension
The Chattanooga organization that runs a short-term center for immigrant children sued the state Tuesday, seeking to have its license reinstated, after the Department of Children’s Services suspended it over allegations of sexual misconduct. Baptiste Group, which runs La Casa de Sidney, and holds a contract with the federal government to accept immigrant children until […]
Forrest bust removal question to go to State Building Commission
Nathan Bedford Forrest’s days in the State Capitol could be numbered. The State Capitol Commission is set to request Thursday that the State Building Commission concur with its decision to relocate three busts, including one of Confederate Lt. Gen. Forrest, to the State Museum, moving them out of the State Capitol after years of upheaval. […]