Day: March 21, 2017

Outraged Vanderbilt Students Demand Wendy’s Ouster in ‘Boot the Braids’ Protest

Christina Botteri
Tennessee Star

Vanderbilt students, outraged by purported unfair farm worker labor practices took some time to take a walk outside to get some fresh air protested forcefully against fast-food giant, Wendy’s. Nashville’s News Channel 5 reports: Vanderbilt students hit the streets to demand the school cut ties with the fast food chain Wendy’s. The group, which also included Nashville residents, marched from Vanderbilt’s campus to the Wendy’s location on West End. The event was organized by the group “Nashville Fair Food.” The march was part of the “Boot the Braids” campaign led by students at universities across the country. Their parents must be so proud.

Read the full story

Under Governor Haslam, Tennessee Department of Transportation ‘Overhead’ Costs Have Grown 63 Percent, While ‘Highway Infrastructure’ Spending Has Shrunk By 33 Percent

Laura Baigert

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) total costs for “Administration” plus “Headquarters Operation,” what would be considered “overhead” in the business world, have grown by 63 percent, from $78.9 to $117 million, in the seven years between Gov. Haslam’s first budget in FY 2011-12 and his  proposed budget for FY 2017-18. While TDOTs overhead has skyrocketed, spending on one of the main Programs for road improvements, “Highway Infrastructure,” has gone down by more than 30 percent in that same time period. Table 1 provides the details of TDOT’s “Recommended Budget By Program and Funding Source” obtained from multiple years of budget documents and includes the links to the source documents and the page references. The table demonstrates that since fiscal year 2010-11, the last year of Governor Bredesen’s administration, there are multiple Programs, including Administration, Headquarters Operation, State Industrial Access, Planning and Research, Interstate System and Highway Infrastructure and TDOT as a whole, for which the funding was reduced by Gov. Haslam’s in his first year and have never recovered. Table 1  Department of Transportation  Recommended Budget by Program Source Source Source Source Source Sheet 46 of 656 Sheet 46 of 550 Sheet 46 of 558 Sheet 47 of 558…

Read the full story

Tennessee Department of Transportation Says it ‘Needs’ $46 Million For Distracted Driver Programs

Laura Baigert

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has identified 15 projects in a budget category best described as “distracted driver programs” that will cost $46.4 million, part of the 962 total statewide transportation projects it has scheduled over the next 12 years at a total cost of $10.5 billion. All these projects will be built, TDOT says, provided the governor’s IMPROVE Act, which contains four state tax increases, including a 7-cent gas tax, a 12-cent diesel tax, $5 on motor vehicle registrations and 3 percent on rental cars, becomes law. The department categorized the 962 IMPROVE Act projects into eight program types: Interstate Modernization, Primary Trade Corridors, Rural Access, Safety, Urban Economic Opportunity, Highway and Facility Maintenance, Technology/Intelligent Transportation System, Local Bridges. “Through this process we have made decisions to include only ‘needs’ vs. ‘wants,’ ” Commissioner John Schroer said at the conclusion of the TDOT budget presentation for FY 2017-18. Among these ‘needs’ are the $46.4 million of projects within the “Technology/Intelligent Transportation System” category that is probably better described as “distracted driver programs.” According to SPOT, a TDOT interactive page (short for Statewide Project Overview Tracker), the program type “Technology/Intelligent Transportation System . . .  [includes] TDOT’s cameras, overhead…

Read the full story

Grover Norquist’s Endorsement of Gov. Haslam Gas Tax Increase Backfires

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

Gas tax increase supporters initially believed they had scored a great political coup on Monday when Washington insider Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), declared his support for the amended version of Gov. Haslam’s IMPROVE Act that passed the Senate Transportation Committee last week. That amended version reduced the proposed gas tax increase from 7 cents per gallon to 6 cents per gallon. But the fierce backlash from conservative opponents of the gas tax increase in Tennessee to the last minute attempt by supporters of the governor’s plan to bolster its chances by calling in a “celebrity ” who has never lived in the state and knows little of the intricacies of the bill or the state’s budget, spells more, rather than less, political trouble ahead for the governor and his allies. “The recent amendments made by the Senate, and supported by Gov. Haslam, have improved the bill to the extent that the bill is now a net tax decrease, and thus not a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge…ATR scores the amended version of SB 1221 / HB 534 as a net tax cut and therefore Taxpayer Protection Pledge compliant,” Norquist wrote “in a memorandum to…

Read the full story

Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith Among 100 Catholic and Evangelical Leaders Critical of Trump’s Plans to Cut Foreign Aid Funding

Wendy Wilson

More than 100 Christian leaders from across the country have signed a letter asking Congress to protect funding for America’s foreign aid programs. The letter reveals divides among Christians over President Trump, whose plans continue to enjoy the support of many other Christians. The letter comes as Trump is proposing a 28 percent budget reduction for relief programs run by the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Trump’s budget for 2018 also calls for a 35 percent reduction in spending for the Department of the Treasury’s International Programs. Signers of the letter include Catholics and evangelical pastors, heads of faith organizations and recording artists and authors. Prominent names include Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Both Dolan and Rodriguez spoke at Trump’s inauguration. Other signers include World Vision USA president Rich Stearns, former Southern Baptist Convention president Ronnie Floyd, Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford and Alec Hill, president emeritus of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Musical artists include Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Third Day. The letter noted that “many countries experience unparalleled suffering and loss of  life due to extreme poverty, disease, natural disasters and conflict.” “Matthew…

Read the full story