State Senator Mark Pody Shares Insights on Franchise Excise Tax Issue and Legislative Timelines

Mark Pody

State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) told listeners on Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy that legislative timelines could be impacted after lawmakers were sent home for the week due to severe winter weather. Pody added that the new bill filing deadline could be extended, but it currently stands on February 1.

The Wilson County-area state senator also offered an update on his newly introduced school safety measure and noted that its funding would be included in the current budget.

Pody also confirmed that the possible constitutional issue concerning out-of-state companies threatening legal action over the franchise excise tax is being studied and added that the fiscal fallout may cause some programs to be delayed by a year.

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Clint Brewer: This Week’s Big Winner is the First Amendment, but a Languishing Speedway Project Puts Mayor Cooper on the Loser List Again

For this week’s installment of Clint Brewer’s Winners and Losers, the Nashville-area public policy expert and recovering journalist lauded the First Amendment as the big winner, while once again Nashville Mayor John Cooper makes the Loser list as the Speedway project flounders on Thursday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report’s with Michael Patrick Leahy.

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Lebanon Special School District Closes for the Week due to COVID

The Lebanon Special School District announced this week that they would be suspending in-person classes for the week due to the surge of Omnicron cases. The announcement includes Byars Dowdy Elementary, Castle Heights Elementary, Coles Ferry Elementary, Jones Brummett Elementary, Sam Houston Elementary, Walter J. Baird Middle, and Winfree Bryant Middle.

The announcement said due to an overwhelming number of positive COVID cases, the school “reached a level which makes us unable to staff our classrooms and buildings.” Based on information gathered, the school district decided that there would be too many teachers absent from school to be able to conduct class in a normal manner. 

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Wilson County Re-Opens Drive-Thru COVID Testing Center at the Fairgrounds

The Wilson County Health Department announced that COVID testing would be moved from the Health Department building back to the Fairgrounds. Beginning Tuesday, anyone needing a COVID test may go to the Fairgrounds, but vaccines will still be offered at the Health Department building.

The Health Department said that those who need a COVID test can enter the Fairgrounds at James E. Ward Ag Road off of Tennessee Boulevard and follow the signage to the testing site. Testing will be held Monday – Friday, 8:30 – 10:30 AM, excluding holidays.

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Nashville Area’s Population Approaches Two Million People

The Nashville metropolitan area was the 20th-fastest growing statistical area in the country since 2010, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

With a growth rate of 20.9% from 2010 to 2020, the Nashville area now is the 36th-largest metropolitan area in the country with nearly 2 million residents. The census numbers showed the metro Nashville population increased by 343,319 people to 1,989,519.

Tennessee’s population grew by 8.9% between 2010 and 2020; lower than the 11.5% and 16.7% increases during the previous two census counts. Four of the past six census counts have shown double-digit increases in Tennessee’s population growth.

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Tennessee Man Arrested After Feared Copycat Vehicle Attack

Police in Rutherford County arrested a man Sunday afternoon when they feared he was about to perpetrate a copycat attack similar to the Christmas day bombing in downtown Nashville.

“Sheriff’s deputies in Rutherford and Wilson Counties are investigating a box truck parked at a store playing audio similar to the Christmas explosion in Nashville. The driver was stopped by deputies and detained. Residents evacuated. Investigation active,” the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) said on Twitter.

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Mt. Juliet Church Pastor Says Vandalism Likely Happened Because Roger Stone Will Speak There

Mt. Juliet’s Global Vision Bible Church was vandalized, possibly because Roger Stone is to speak on Sunday, Aug. 30, WSMV said.

Pastor Greg Locke on Sunday posted photos of the damage, available here. The church shared his post on its Facebook page, available here.

One graffiti tag read, “Locke & Stone will burn in h***.” Another tag read, “Fascists beware.”

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The Tennessee Star-Wilson County Town Hall Coming This Monday February 17 at DT McCalls in Lebanon from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

On Thursday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed former Wilson County GOP Chair Terri Nicholson on the newsmakers line to talk about the Tennessee Star-Wilson County town hall this Monday evening which will address the Wilson County refugee resettlement issue.

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The Tennessee Star to Host Wilson County Town Hall February 17 to Discuss County’s Decision to Table Refugee Resettlement Resolution

On Thursday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed former Wilson County GOP chair, Terri Nicholson on the newsmakers line to talk about the upcoming Wilson County town hall.

During the second hour, Leahy and Nicholson discussed plans for a Wilson County Town Hall which will take place at DT McCalls in Lebanon on February 17 at 6:30 p.m. Hosted by The Tennessee Star, this public town hall will give the Wilson County community an opportunity to openly and publicly discuss the resettlement of refugees in their community.

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Nicholson Describes How No Explanation Was Given to Wilson County Residents After Board Kills Refugee Resolution

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.– Leahy welcomed Terri Nicholson former Wilson County GOP chair and current member of the Tennessee Republican State Executive Committee to the show.

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Wilson County Residents Reportedly Want to Know When Yearly Vehicle Emissions Tests Will Stop

Wilson County residents are wondering when they can finally stop paying for yearly vehicle emissions tests, according to this week’s Lebanon Democrat. State Rep. Clark Boyd, R-Lebanon, reportedly said his constituents ask about that all the time. “One of the most common questions that I get from constituents in Wilson County is about the timeline for ending the vehicle emissions testing,” the paper quoted Boyd as saying. “Although we moved quickly last year to pass legislation at the state level, we are now discovering that the wheels of bureaucracy move somewhat slower as we wait on the various stages before going to the federal government for final approval.” Boyd co-sponsored a bill, which former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law, to end vehicle emissions testing if the Environmental Protection Agency approved. “Although all 95 counties have reached attainment status related to ozone, the state must maintain air quality and demonstrate to the EPA that elimination of the testing program will not interfere with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards,” according to The Lebanon Democrat. “Currently, the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation is finalizing its analysis of whether the elimination of testing will interfere with NAAQS. Once the phase…

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Now Wilson County Commission Opposes School Vouchers

Add Wilson County to the list of places whose local governments have written a formal resolution opposing school vouchers. Although, in this case, county commissioners may not have done so out of any strong conviction. They were merely passing along a message from the local school system to state legislators. According to the minutes of the Jan. 28 Wilson County Commission meeting, 21 commissioners voted in favor of the resolution. Two commissioners voted no. One commissioner abstained. Yet another commissioner was absent. Commissioner Robert Fields told The Tennessee Star Thursday that he and his colleagues acted because the county’s Board of Education requested it. “We voted to support the BOE’s resolution that they opposed any legislation that would support school vouchers,” Fields said. Fields voted in favor of the resolution, according to the minutes. The Star asked Fields if he and most county commissioners personally oppose school vouchers. “No, I think it (the vote) was more in support of our school’s board of education,” Fields said. A Board of Education representative spoke to commissioners that night. That person came without any statistics or empirical evidence and otherwise did not attest why school vouchers are bad, Fields said. Fields said he…

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Former Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe, with Past Federal Allegations of Prisoner Mistreatment, Takes Assistant Director Job at Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security

Terry Ashe, the former 30-year-long Wilson County sheriff, reportedly has accepted a job with Gov. Bill Lee’s office. Ashe took a job as deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security in mid-January, according to a story by The Lebanon Democrat. Ashe also works as a Wilson County commissioner, and he told The Democrat he does not believe that is a conflict of interest. He was sheriff from 1982-2012. Gov. Bill Lee’s office has not issued any announcements about the appointment, and Ashe is not listed on the department’s website. Ashe most recently served as executive director of the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association. His biography at the group’s website says he served there since fall 2012 after retiring as sheriff of Wilson County. He was the second-longest serving sheriff in state history and the longest-serving sheriff in Wilson County history. The sheriff’s association said in a Jan. 19 Facebook post, “Our Executive Director and friend, Sheriff Terry Ashe, Ret., has been appointed as the new Deputy Commissioner of the TN Department of Safety & Homeland Security. He has been a great leader and advocate for our Association and our TSA Family across the State. We will all miss…

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Democrats Target Republican Mae Beavers with Facebook Attack Claiming She ‘Opposes Tax Cuts’

Mae Beavers

A Democrat Party PAC is hitting conservative Republican candidate for Wilson County Mayor Mae Beavers with a Facebook ad that claims she “opposes tax cuts.” The Tennesseans for Common Sense PAC, with leadership that includes longtime liberal Democrat activist Carol Andrews, is also running radio ads, purchased at least one billboard and has done one county wide mailing so far. The PAC, in the supposedly non-partisan County Mayor’s race, clearly intends to help re-elect Democrat Randall Hutto.  Andrews herself is a candidate for the Democratic Party State Executive Committee in the August 2 Democrat Primary. The Democrat PAC is targeting Beavers for her vote in opposition to the Improve Act, which Hutto favored. The Improve Act raised fuel taxes and registration fees about $350 million a year at a time when  Tennessee enjoyed a $2 billion surplus. A narrow majority of Republicans in the House supported the tax increase, 37-35, but proponents relied on Democrat votes to get enough to pass it.  Beavers was one of only about 6 Republicans in the Senate to vote against the tax increase. Advocates of the plan have argued that the Improve Act cut taxes on the sales tax on food; but even when…

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Mae Beavers Endorses Bill Lee for Governor

Bill Lee, Mae Beavers

Former State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) announced her endorsement of Williamson County businessman Bill Lee for governor on Wednesday. “I endorse Bill Lee because I believe he’s the true conservative in the race for governor. He has said he will clean up state government, reduce the number of departments, and he has said he will reduce the influence of lobbyists,” Beavers told The Tennessee Star in an exclusive interview Wednesday afternoon. “It is an honor to have the support of a Tennessee conservative leader like Mae Beavers,” Lee said in a statement released by the campaign. It continues: Maria and I got to know Mae and her husband Jerry on the campaign trail, and I know they both have a deep passion and love for Tennessee and our nation. Her leadership in the conservative movement and in the legislature is well known to all, and I am humbled and grateful to have her joining my team. The campaign notes that Wednesday’s endorsement by Beavers makes Bill Lee the only candidate in the Republican Primary to have the endorsement from a former gubernatorial candidate in this election cycle, and that it demonstrates “the continued momentum for his campaign and shows…

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Politically Motivated Complaint Against Mae Beavers Unanimously Dismissed by Tennessee Registry of Election Finance

Mae Beavers

A complaint filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance by a supporter of former Republican State Senator Mae Beavers’ opponent in the upcoming Wilson County Mayor election has been dismissed by the Registry. The dismissal, by unanimous vote of the members of the Registry, came after a “light audit,” which consisted of a simple review of financial records relative to donations and ex-penditures related to Beavers’ disposition of campaign funds from her gubernatorial campaign. The complaint against Beavers was filed by Ann Calabria, a member of the Wilson County Election Commission who is publicly support-ing incumbent County Mayor Randall Hutto — whom Beavers is seeking to replace in the August 2 general election. Calabria was accompanied at the hearing on June 13, 2018 by Delores Mackey, who is a long-time political adversary of Beavers. Calabria and Mackey arrived together for the hearing in a vehicle sporting large “Hutto for Mayor” signs. “This complaint was politically motivated to generate headlines, which some media like, the Lebanon Democrat, were only happy to provide, despite the complete lack of any evidence of any wrongdo-ing on my part,” Beavers noted after the dismissal of the complaint. The political nature of the Complaint itself…

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Mae Beavers Confirms She Is Running for Wilson County Mayor

Mae Beavers

In an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star on Saturday, former gubernatorial candidate and former State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) has confirmed she is running for Mayor of Wilson County. “I met with a group of citizens last week and they were asking me to run for County Mayor. We took the week and thought about it, and decided to go for it,” Beavers told The Star. “I just picked up a petition at 3 p.m. Friday, and it kind of snowballed from there,” Beavers added. The Lebanon Democrat first reported Saturday morning that Beavers had pulled a petition Friday afternoon to run for Mayor of Wilson County: After less than two months away from politics, former state Sen. Mae Beavers has pulled a petition and set her sights on the Wilson County mayor’s office. Beavers pulled the petition Friday afternoon, and will challenge incumbent Randall Hutto, who has filed his petition ahead of the April 5 deadline, and Bob Richie, who has not filed his petition. If elected, Beavers will be returning to the same Wilson County Government where she began her political career in 1990 when she was elected to the Wilson County Commission. In 1994 she was…

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JC Bowman Commentary: The Role of a School Board

Tennessee Star

Local school boards reflect the needs and aspirations of the communities as well as the interests and concerns of professional and nonprofessional employees. We believe non-partisan control is what is best for our communities. This is best ensured when educational policy is made by representatives vested in the community they live, and whose undivided attention and interests are devoted strictly to education of the children in that district. What we stress in a nutshell: Public education is a federal concern, a state responsibility, and a local operation.

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