Politics
Stockard on the Stump: Jack in the bag sparks new look at gifts
Jack Daniel’s owner Brown-Forman didn’t violate any rules on gifts to lawmakers when it handed out bottles of sipping whiskey to lawmakers in February. But the gift bags are causing the Tennessee Ethics Commission to take a new look at the guidelines for giveaways. The Ethics Commission voted recently to have staff review a 2008 […]
North Nashville residents will get to decide how to spend $2 million through participatory budgeting
Residents of North Nashville and Bordeaux will be able to direct some public money to community gardens, potholes, reparations or whatever else they choose over the next year, through a process called “participatory budgeting.” Metro named a group of local leaders to a committee on Thursday night, in a dance studio at the Hadley Park […]
Gilmore laments lack of action on Forrest bust removal
An order by the Tennessee Historical Commission to relocate the busts of Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and two U.S. admirals to the State Museum from the State Capitol is set to take effect Friday. But the Tennessee State Museum still has no plan or time frame to put together a new exhibit with […]
Amid investigation, Hakeem raises questions about state suspension of Baptiste Group license
Allegations of sexual abuse at a Baptiste Group home for migrant children gave the state an excuse to suspend the facility’s license as political pressure mounted, a Chattanooga Democrat says. “That’s my perspective,” state Rep. Yusuf Hakeem said Tuesday. “And what concerns me is that supposedly the state would have been doing on-site reviews every […]
Analysis: How the Delke plea affects DA Glenn Funk’s political future
The starting point for any analysis about District Attorney Glenn Funk’s political future is the acknowledgment that Funk would not be district attorney in the first place had it not been for the support of Black voters. But a high profile plea deal could put that support in jeopardy a year out from the next […]
Nashville Power Poll: Power poll respondents strongly oppose tax reduction referendums
Nashville Power Poll members are overwhelmingly opposed to rolling back the city’s recent property tax hike. They also oppose amending the Metro Charter in a host of other areas, such as requiring elections if taxes are increased by more than 3%. Requiring such referendums would significantly weaken the mayor, and Metro Council, and turn us […]
Education funding lawsuit could head to new 3-judge panel
A six-year-old lawsuit over the adequacy of Tennessee’s funding of public education could head to a three-judge panel, providing immediate ramifications of a new state law passed by Republicans seeking more favorable judicial outcomes. The dispute over the state’s basic education formula dates back to 2015. The lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit had been Shelby […]
A fight over bus routes, an awkward budget hearing and growing skepticism over Metro’s new NDOT
Drowned out in a Metro budget cycle largely defined by a chorus of cooperation was an 11th hour dust-up between Mayor John Cooper’s administration and Councilman Freddie O’Connell over mass transit funding. With minor tinkering, Cooper’s budget sailed through council on a unanimous voice vote. But an amendment filed by O’Connell to re-route $1.1 million […]
As permitless gun carry law takes effect, some Second Amendment advocates urge continued training
Even some Tennessee gun enthusiasts are hard-pressed to say that the state’s controversial new permitless gun carry law won’t have negative effects. Starting today, permits will no longer be required to carry a handgun publicly in Tennessee, nor will new gun owners be required to take training. But that’s not to say gun owners shouldn’t […]
U.S. House backs select committee to probe Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol
WASHINGTON—The U.S. House voted Wednesday to establish a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection, in which a mob of pro-Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol. In a 222-190 vote that was almost entirely party-line, just two Republicans joined Democrats in passing the resolution, which calls for a probe into “one of the darkest […]
Republicans push back against federal approval for changes in state voting laws
WASHINGTON—Republicans during a U.S. House Judiciary panel hearing on Tuesday argued that a bill that would reinstate a preclearance section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act is unnecessary because there is no discrimination in voting. The top Republican on the panel, Rep. Mike Johnson, (R-La.), said that the legislation is not needed and that the […]
ACLU challenges Tennessee transgender bathroom law
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday challenging a new Tennessee law requiring businesses that offer transgender restrooms to post government-required warnings signs. Filed on behalf of Nashville and Chattanooga business owners who object to the message, the lawsuit claims the law violates the First […]