Uncategorized
Tennessee faces shaky landscape for jobs and public aid to low income residents
Despite a pandemic that has hit Tennessee particularly hard, crippling many businesses, taxing healthcare resources and devastating the loved ones of more than 3,800 Tennesseans who have died, the state’s measures of economic growth are showing some unexpected bright spots. Sales tax collections for October are almost $47 million above the same month last year, […]
Defunct HOA leaves South Nashville neighborhood in quandary with TDOT
Homeowners associations are typically associated with suburbia, but they play critical roles in the city neighborhoods as well, as residents of a Nashville community found out in recent years. While the role of an HOA is to keep land value up, it serves many other purposes. More people moving to Nashville necessitates road-widening projects, and […]
TennCare adds more than 83,000 as pandemic drives more Tennesseans into poverty
More than 83,000 Tennesseans have been added to the TennCare rolls since March in one sign of a marked slide into poverty experienced by many individuals, especially children, as a result of the economic fallout of the pandemic. Children’s enrollment increased the fastest, with upwards of 34,000 added to the state’s health insurance program for […]
Commentary: Time for America return to 1980s can-do populism
The populist conservative movement known as the New Right enjoyed unprecedented growth in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Its greatest salesman was Ronald Reagan. It appealed to evangelical Christians, anti-tax crusaders, advocates of deregulation and smaller markets, advocates of a more powerful American presence abroad, disaffected white liberals, and defenders of an unrestricted free […]
Tennessee group advocates for conservative Latino voters
Latino voters have historically leaned Democratic, but more Latinos than ever voted Republican in the 2020 election and showed they can’t be taken for granted by either political party. The Latino vote provided decisive leads. In Florida, Latinos cast votes for President Donald Trump. In Arizona, they helped decide the election for President-elect Joe Biden. […]
Tennessee non-profit teaches veterans to make a living in civilian life
At one point in his life, Jerome Hardaway was just a veteran trying to get back into civilian life. Today he runs a successful nonprofit teaching other vets to compete in a modern world. Launched in 2014, Vets Who Code is a nonprofit that teaches veterans technical skills to earn a stable income in the […]
SCOTUS hears oral arguments Tuesday in pivotal Obamacare challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in a closely-watched challenge to the Affordable Care Act brought by the Trump Administration and Attorneys General from 20 states, including Tennessee. Should the challenge prevail — and in the absence of any Congressional or executive action to replace Obamacare before the court is expected to […]
Vanderbilt seeks Latino families for study on intersection between autism and music
Vanderbilt researchers are seeking Latino families to learn more about COVID-19’s effects on family relations and how music plays a part in the development of young children, especially those on the autism spectrum. COVID-19 created a unique situation for families having to deal with quarantine, and researchers believe music has been a successful coping mechanism. […]
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat
A truism of politics is that there’s always a winner and always a loser. In the case of the 2020 presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden has emerged as president-elect, after clinching Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes Saturday morning. Sitting President Donald Trump has not conceded and shows no indication he is going to, with attorneys general […]
Metro Council member to Trump-backing colleague: ‘(Expletive) off’
The same political rancor that has divided friends and families across the country played out in spectacular fashion among Metro Council members over the weekend, culminating in one member telling a conservative colleague to “(Expletive) off.” The drama was triggered by a group email sent to council members from a person named Bruce Crawford, who […]
Workers compensation elusive for many Tennessee workers stricken by coronavirus
Since the onset of the pandemic, thousands of Tennesseans have filed claims for workers compensation tied to COVID-19, seeking help with lost wages and medical bills due to illness. As of mid-October, more than 44% of initial claims were denied, illuminating the challenges for some ill employees of connecting their illness with their workplaces. The […]
Once almost forgotten, Black artist given historic marker
A Tennessee artist largely ignored in his own neighborhood now has a historical marker to solidify his legacy. William Edmondson, the first Black artist to have his own exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), was commemorated Saturday with a historical marker near the corner of 14th Avenue, S. and Wade Avenue in Edgehill. […]