Beacon Center’s 2022 Pork Report Identifies Three Biggest Wastes of Taxpayer Money in East Tennessee

In its annual Pork Report published earlier this week, the Beacon Center of Tennessee highlighted three areas of waste, fraud, and abuse of Tennessee taxpayer money in East Tennessee. The report specifically identified the issues of the city of Knoxville’s lawsuit against Netflix and Hulu, synthetic turf athletic fields in Johnson City, and pickleball courts in Bristol.

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Tennessee Health Department Confirms Measles Case in East Tennessee

"Measles" by Dave Haygarth

The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed the first 2019 case of measles in East Tennessee. The department said is investigating after the State Public Health Laboratory confirmed a positive test for the illness in a resident of East Tennessee. While the investigation is currently centered in East Tennessee, all Tennesseans should be aware of measles and its symptoms, the Health Department said. These symptoms may include fever, runny nose, body aches, watery eyes and white spots in the mouth. The illness is typically accompanied by a red, spotty rash that begins on the face and spreads over the body. Nearly one in three measles patients will develop ear infections, diarrhea or pneumonia. Measles can be fatal in about one to two out of every 1,000 cases. “Our efforts are focused on preventing the spread of illness to others,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Tim Jones. The measles virus is highly contagious and can stay airborne or live on surfaces for up to two hours. People recently infected with measles may not have any symptoms of illness, but can transmit the virus for about five days before the typical measles rash appears. “Most people in Tennessee are vaccinated against measles and…

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions Selects Eastern District of Tennessee to Participate In New Opioid Fraud And Abuse Detection Unit Pilot Program

Tennessee Star

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Wednesday during a speech at the Columbus Police Academy a new Department of Justice (DOJ) pilot program, Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, and named eastern Tennessee as one of the 12 districts selected to participate in the program. According to the DOJ website, the program will “utilize data to help combat the devastating opioid crisis that is ravaging families and communities across America.” As part of the program, the DOJ will fund twelve Assistant U.S. Attorneys whose focus will be to investigate and prosecute health care fraud related to prescription opioids. The opioid epidemic has received much attention in the state, following a Tennessee Department of Health report that 1,451 people lost their lives to drug overdose in 2015 alone. Since then, House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) created an opioid task force to address the state’s epidemic. While well received, the formation of the task force was not without controversy, because none of the Representatives named to it are from Northeast Tennessee – the area hardest hit by the crisis with more than double the number of admissions for opioid treatment as compared to any other region in the state. More recently, the Tennessee…

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