Our RIGHT NOW coverage is going inside the Nashville Municipal Auditorium as President Trump’s rally begins… This is a link to a livestream of the event: UPDATE: UPDATE: If you have pictures or short video you want to share, text them to 615-538-8526, or email us at [email protected]. Developing…
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As the afternoon rolls on, an estimated 30,000 people are lined up to see President Trump speak tonight at 6:30pm. We have pictures coming in from the airport where Gov Haslam is waiting to welcome Air Force One, as well as in and around the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. UPDATE: UPDATE: UPDATE: First video from inside the venue… Developing… – – – The Tennessee Star is on-the-ground now with RIGHT NOW coverage all day.
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The New York Times is reporting that State Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) is under consideration by President Trump to be named Secretary of the Army. Senior admin official confirms Mark Green is being considered for secretary of the Army. — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 15, 2017 Several sources have independently confirmed this report to The Tennessee Star. Green is considered a front runner in the race for the Republican nomination for Governor of Tennessee in 2018. Should he not run, there will no longer be a strongly conservative candidate in the race to challenge Randy Boyd and potential candidate Rep. Diane Black (R-TN).
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A spokesperson for Gov. Haslam has admitted that up to $70 million of highway user fees collected by the State of Tennessee, primarily from gas taxes, can be spent on mass transit in the FY 2017-2018 budget. In that budget, which he transmitted to the Tennessee General Assembly on January 30 of this year, Gov. Haslam estimates that $314.7 million of the $1.2 billion in highway user fees the State of Tennessee will collect in the upcoming fiscal year will be given to cities and counties. Those “Funds may be expended by municipalities receiving the funds for the purpose of funding mass transit systems,” Gov. Haslam’s top aide, Dave Smith, says in an email statement provided to The Tennessee Star by 99.7 FM WWTN’s Ralph Bristol, host of Nashville’s Morning News. “No more than 22.22% of the funds may be used for the purpose of funding mass transit,” Smith continues, citing Tennessee Code Annotated § 54-4-203-204. “No more than 22.22% of county funds may be expended for the purpose of funding mass transit,” Smith adds, citing Tennessee Code Annotated § 54-4-103. The total amount cities and counties may expend “for the purpose of funding mass transit” in FY 2017-FY 2018 under the budget…
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“The Metro Transit Authority asked Nashville Mayor Megan Barry for a 427 percent capital budget increase on Monday,” Fox 17 WZTV reports. MTA’s request for this quadrupling of its capital budget comes as the Tennessee General Assembly is debating Gov. Haslam’s IMPROVE Act proposal, which would increase gas taxes by 7 cents per gallon and diesel taxes by 12 cents per gallon. As The Tennessee Star reported earlier this week, in FY 2015-2016, highway user fees, primarily gas and diesel taxes, generated $1.2 billion in revenue for the State of Tennessee. $309 million of these highway user fees were given by the State of Tennessee to cities and counties for “transportation” projects: The Haslam administration has not, as of yet, presented evidence that all of the $309 million in highway user fee taxes sent to city and county governments for “transportation” projects is spent on road construction. “The money in the cities and counties column is their share of the collected taxes,” State Rep. Lynn asserted in her email to a constituent. It is at present unknown how much of these $309 million in highway user fee taxes sent to city and county government is spent on projects such as parks,…
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President Trump will rally in Nashville at 6:30pm, and The Tennessee Star will be here with RIGHT NOW coverage all day. – – – The chilly Nashville morning is no match for these dedicated Trump supporters! UPDATE: UPDATE: UPDATE: UPDATE: UPDATE: Developing…
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State Rep. Courtney Rogers (R-Goodlettsville), Vice-Chair of the House Transportation Committee, acted as Chair when the committee convened on Tuesday in the absence of Chairman Barry Doss (R-Leoma), who was not present at the hearing. Acting Chair Rogers reported to the committee members present that Chairman Doss had asked that HB 534, the “caption bill” for the IMPROVE Act, be “rolled” for one week. The request, which constitutes the second delay in as many weeks of a vote on the bill, seemed an unexpected turn of events to the full-to-capacity meeting room that included media, camera crews, and several Tennessee Department of Transportation representatives. As The Tennessee Star reported last week, the committee voted 9 to 8 when it met one week earlier on March 7 to “roll” the bill forward to this Tuesday’s meeting in order to allow the committee members to review the numerous amendments proposed to the bill. A point of order raised at the March 7 meeting by State Rep. Timothy Hill (R-Blountville)–whether it was in order for Chairman Doss, as sponsor of the bill, to preside over the hearing–was raised indirectly at Tuesday’s meeting. Hill’s earlier point of order was resolved at the March…
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It was that desire for freedom, education and the wish to control their own destiny that so many Irish left Ireland. As a son of St. Patrick, it is important to remember we are still a country of dreamers. We may have different religious and political persuasions, but we are linked by shared necessities and joint aspirations. Education is the key equalizer.
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The Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development operates like a closely held, family-owned business hiring family members of friends and friends of friends, but whose salaries are paid by state taxpayers. Former commissioner Bill Hagerty established this culture which was maintained by Randy Boyd. Shortly after taking office in 2011, Governor Haslam appointed Bill Hagerty as Commissioner of Economic & Community Development (ECD). One year later, in 2012, Hagerty promoted Sen. Lamar Alexander’s son Will Alexander, from assistant commissioner for strategy to ECD’s chief of staff. That same year, Hagerty hired Samar Ali and Alice Rolli. “Samar Ali is a superstar,” Steve Gill tells The Tennessee Star. “She had huge academic credentials, international credentials. She’s a Vanderbilt Law graduate,” Gill notes. “Her credentials are impeccable. The real question is, have other people been hired who are not as strong?” he concludes. When concerns started circulating regarding Ali’s hiring as International Director because of her background in sharia finance, Hagerty, speaking at a “First Tuesday” gathering defended his decision: “When it was known we were looking to fill a position in our office, I got a call from her father asking me if I would look at her resume. Like any…
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VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing March 15, Wednesday 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
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