Month: April 2017

New Chattanooga City Councilwoman Has Criminal Past

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  A woman who won a seat on the Chattanooga City Council last week has an extensive past arrest record, including for armed robbery. Demetrus Coonrod, who spoke openly about her troubled past on the campaign trail, trounced longtime councilman Yusuf Hakeem with 700 votes to his 467 in Tuesday’s run-off election for the District 9 seat. She has served as vice chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party. The online news site Chattanoogan.com on Wednesday posted a lengthy article detailing Coonrod’s criminal history. Charged along with others in robberies in 2001 and 2002, she pleaded guilty to involvement in holdups at Popeye’s and a plasma center as well as conspiracy to commit armed robbery. She received an 84-month sentence and was sent to prison in Tallahassee, Florida. Her sentence was reduced by 21 months after she cooperated in an investigation of corrections officers accused of bringing contraband into the prison in exchange for money and sex. After her release, she went to stay at a Salvation Army halfway house in Chattanooga. She racked up numerous violations for misconduct at the house, including for failing to pay subsistence and for yelling obscenities. In one angry outburst directed at her case manager,…

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No Evidence Haslam Administration Requires Reporting of Female Genital Mutilation to Tennessee Department of Health, Despite High Potential Risk in Nashville

Chris Alto

  The Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 20th in the country for the potential risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) being performed on women and girls, as reported by the Population Reference Bureau. Among state rankings Tennessee is number 18  overall for risk to women and girls from FGM. Yet under the administration of Governor Bill Haslam, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) does not require any reporting of FGM by Tennessee healthcare providers to the TDH, so far as The Tennessee Star can determine based on publicly available records. The 2017 mandated reporting to the TDH by healthcare providers of “diseases, events, and conditions” which includes both communicable diseases and “events” such as lead levels and carbon monoxide poisoning, but does not include any form of female genital mutilation (FGM), despite a state law passed in 2012 specifically for the purpose of reporting FGM. The TDH’s Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block Grant FY 2017 Application and Annual report which is administered in part for TDH initiatives related to Maternal and Child Health (MCH), specifically references the FGM prohibition as one of the state laws that provide “basic protections for the MCH population” and which applies to TDH’s use of…

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Commentary: To Make America Great Again Trump Must Trust Conservatives to Help Him

Tennessee Star Staff

  Jeffrey A. Rendall Is the trouble Donald Trump is experiencing with filling out his administration due to his not having enough friends? The annual arrival of Good Friday reminds us all that even the most exalted of individuals can find himself without supporters when times get tense. Donald Trump is certainly not Jesus in any sense of the word or concept but there is one slight analogy here – the savior died on the cross because he was betrayed and keeping promises denied by those around him when he needed their help the most. Everyone wanted Jesus to be what they thought he should to be – liberator, teacher, arbiter, provider, governor, philosopher, miracle worker, enforcer of the law and last but not least, scapegoat. None of these things were his mission and Jesus wouldn’t change to please anyone or even to save his life. In the end Christ was virtually friendless – at least among the powerful – but he accepted his fate as necessary to save us from ourselves. Something similar can be said for the president today – that he’s friendless among the powerful – though many of his follies are of his own doing and others are due to simply…

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Ruling That Williamson Strong Is Not a PAC Becomes Final

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance decided this week not to contest a ruling by an administrative law judge that found that Williamson Strong is not a political action committee, registry attorney John Allyn confirmed to The Tennessee Star. Judge Michael Begley ruled March 28 that the parent group did not spend any money on “express advocacy” in supporting candidates. He also said in his ruling that Williamson Strong met the media exception in that members “posted factually accurate information and commentary regarding issues related to public education.” Formed shortly before the 2014 school board race, Williamson Strong portrays itself as nonpartisan but its blog on its website and its Facebook page are highly critical of conservative groups, including the Tea Party, Americans for Prosperity and Glenn Beck’s 9/12 Project. Former conservative school board member Susan Curlee, elected to the board in 2014, filed a complaint against Williamson Strong with the registry in December of that year. In May 2015, the registry fined Williamson Strong and the group appealed. The group was issued a $2,500 fine for failing to register as a PAC by filing a form for appointing a treasurer. A second $2,500 fine for failing to file campaign financial disclosure…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, April 16

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing April 16, Easter Sunday John 20:16-18 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,“Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” – and that he had said these things to her.

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Centennial High School Students Rank High on List of Spring Break Arrests in Northwest Florida

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Centennial High School in Franklin ranks high in the number of students arrested for spring break underage drinking, according to an article in the Northwest Florida Daily News. The newspaper compiled lists of the top 10 colleges and top 10 high schools with the highest number of underage drinking arrests so far in 2017, based on arrest records in Okaloosa and Walton counties. The article was published March 31, with three and a half weeks of spring break left. On the high school list, tying for first with 17 arrests were Huntsville High School in Huntsville, Alabama, and St. James High School in Montgomery, Alabama. Next came Centennial High School as well as Montgomery Academy of Montgomery, Alabama, with 13 arrests. The newspaper contacted a Williamson County Schools spokeswoman who said she could not confirm that Centennial students were the ones arrested because she did not have the arrest records. Other Nashville area high schools with fewer arrests but still making the top 10 were Independence High School, also in Williamson County and number nine on the list, and Pope John II High School in Hendersonville at number five. Christian Brothers High School in Memphis was number eight. Sgt. Jason…

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Kentucky Governor Says Bible Is Welcome In Kentucky Public Schools

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has signed two bills into law emphasizing that the Bible is welcome in state schools, the Baptist Press reports. This week the Republican governor signed legislation allowing students to take Bible literacy as an elective. Last month, he signed a bill clarifying that students can express religious and political viewpoints in K-12 schools and colleges. Bevin had declared 2017 the Year of the Bible. A Republican state senator sponsored the legislation about expression after a Johnson County elementary school took out biblical references from a presentation of Charlie Brown’s Christmas Carol. There are already rights in place for religious expression, but the law is intended to clear up misunderstandings on the part of some teachers and administrators. As for Bible literacy classes, some schools already offer them but the law will offer more protection. C.B. Embry, a Republican state senator from Morgantown, was quoted by the Baptist Press as saying that children need a basic understanding of the Bible. “I don’t think there is another document in the history of our culture that has had more impact on our culture, our society or our values than the Bible,” Embry said. Even most of the Democrats in…

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Is a Populist Christian Movement Needed to Renew the Faith?

Tennessee Star Staff

George Rasley, ConservativeHQ Editor April 15, 2017 The populist movement that swept Donald Trump into the presidency here in America, forced the United Kingdom to exit the European Union and that has roiled the politics of other European countries has been driven by the ineffectiveness, arrogance, and the cultural and political corruption of the Western establishment elite. Citizens of Western democracies have finally had enough of politicians who force outrageous ideas of political correctness upon them, but leave the roads full of potholes, legions of citizens un-employed or under-employed, and neighborhoods rife with crime. And the objects of this populist rebellion are not only the politicians who have been voted out of office or defeated, like Hillary Clinton, they have been the other elite institutional enforcers of political correctness. After joining the politically correct Left in enforcing bizarre and dangerous rules allowing men to enter the women’s restrooms and dressing rooms at their stores, Target lost $20 billion in market capitalization as the company’s stock value plunged after the corporation publicly declared its support in April 2016 for the very unpopular “gender identity” transgender political agenda. The losers weren’t the elite company managers who chose to enforce their will on…

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Boss Doss Claim That Tennessee is Lowest Taxed State in Nation Contradicted by Kiplinger Report

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

State Rep. Barry “Boss” Doss (R-Leoma), chairman of the House Transportation and champion of the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” claimed in the Finance, Ways and Means Committee last Tuesday that Tennessee is the lowest taxed state in the nation. The Kiplinger Report, a “leader in personal finance news and business forecasting” put together their list of “10 Best States to Live In For Taxes” in August 2016, and that list does not include Tennessee. In order, Kiplinger’s top 10 are: Wyoming, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama, South Dakota, Mississippi and Delaware. Five states on the list, like Tennessee, do not have an income tax. Other robust criteria Kiplinger used for their ranking was property tax from U.S. Census’ American Community Survey, the Tax Foundation’s figure for average sales tax, fuel tax from The American Petroleum Institute, sin taxes from the state’s tax agency and the Tax Foundation, inheritance and gift taxes from each state’s tax agency, wireless taxes from the Tax Foundation, travel taxes from the state’s tax agency and a lodging tax study by HVS Convention Sports and Entertainment Consulting and the fiscal stability of the states by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Saturday, April 15

Admin
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing April 15, Saturday Mark 15:46-47 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. On this Saturday. Take time to read the entire 22 Psalm. Feel and relate God’s Word to us as you get to verse 19 let it resonate in your spirit, oh the praise and hope we have in His promise! Enjoy allowing Easter to penetrate your heart, soak into your body and fill your mind! Psalm 22 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I…

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Governor ‘Hot Boxing’ Legislators to Get Yes Votes on Gas Tax Increase

Tennessee Star Staff

Governor Haslam is concerned enough about the final outcome of next week’s proposed gas tax increase vote on his IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” to set up a series of private 20 minute meetings with state legislators who are on the fence. In an email sent to staff assistants of fifteen members of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Wednesday obtained by The Tennessee Star, one of the governor’s administrative assistants “requested” these targeted legislators appear in “his conference room on the first floor of the Capitol,”beginning on Thursday. The purpose of these meetings appears to be for the governor to give these state legislators the “hot box” treatment. “Hot boxing” is a method of interrogation in which the person being interrogated “is locked in a ‘hot box’ – a small, hot room,” according to List Verse. In the political world, “hot boxing” usually refers to intense one-on-one pressure applied by a powerful political figure to a less powerful political figure. The treatment is delivered in an environment totally controlled by the more powerful political figure. Its purpose is to coerce the less powerful political figure to comply with the political will of the more powerful political figure.…

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Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin Metro Area One of Top 20 Places in U.S. Where Women and Girls at Risk for Female Genital Mutilation

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

Tennessee outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM) in 1996, but 2013 data collated in a Population Reference Bureau (PRB) report, shows that the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 20th in the country for the potential risk of FGM being performed on women and girls. Tennessee is number 18 in overall state rankings for risk to women and girls from FGM. The Population Reference Bureau is a non-profit supported financially by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Girl Scouts of the USA, and the United States Agency for International Development and several other foundations. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) includes the terms FGM, female circumcision and female genital excision, under the broader heading of “female genital cutting:” “Female genital cutting refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of female genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for any cultural, religious or otherwise nontherapeutic reasons. This practice is common in many refugee populations, particularly those from East Africa (i.e. Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan), although the practice is pervasive throughout the world. This controversial practice is considered a human rights violation by many, and it is illegal in the United States in people under 18 years of age.”  [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/us-fgmc-all-metros-table.pdf”]   Minneapolis, Minnesota,…

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Dr. Ming Wang Encourages Vanderbilt Students To Learn About And Invest In China

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Renowned Nashville eye doctor Ming Wang spoke to Vanderbilt students Friday about his life and work and recent appointment as CEO of U.S. operations for an eye hospital chain in China. The appointment is the latest in Wang’s 15-year relationship with Aier Eye Hospital, the largest private eye group in China with 154 hospitals countrywide. Wang Vision Institute in Nashville will be a flagship for Aier and a training site for doctors. Aier-USA plans to build centers across the U.S. In 2005, Wang performed the first bladeless all-laser LASIK surgery in China at the Aier Eye Hospital in Shanghai. Wang escaped from communist China in 1982 and arrived in the U.S. with only $50 in his pocket. He went on to graduate with high honors from Harvard Medical School and MIT. He also is known as a ballroom dancer and is skilled at playing the Chinese violin. Raised in an atheist family, Wang later became a Christian and has spoken often about how his faith influences his work and involvement in charity. Speaking before an audience at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management, Wang encouraged students to learn all they could about China because of its growing economy. “It is…

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If Education Committee Follows House Rules Mark White’s Bill Will Fail Again

Chris Alto

Section 5 of Rep. Mark White’s (R-Memphis) bill, HB660, would have allowed the governing boards of state colleges and universities to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students. Despite amending his bill to remove Section 5, the bill failed for lack of a majority in the House Education committee this week. If the Education committee follows the Permanent Rules of Order of the Tennessee House of Representatives the 110th General Assembly, White’s bill will not be revived for a new vote by the committee. White has put his bill back “on notice” for the committee’s meeting on Tuesday, April 18th.  However, before the committee can vote on the bill again, a motion for reconsideration would need to be offered and passed. It has been confirmed with the House Office of the Chief Clerk, that a motion to reconsider White’s bill would have to be offered by a committee member of the “prevailing party.” It was also confirmed that when a bill fails to achieve a majority vote as in this case of the 6-6 vote on White’s bill, the “prevailing party” would be someone who voted against the bill. Should any of the committee members who voted “no,” move to reconsider the…

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Gas Tax Increase Lobbyists Begin Advertising Campaign on Ralph Bristol’s WWTN Show

Laura Baigert

Regular listeners to Nashville’s Morning News With Ralph Bristol on 99.7 FM WWTN may have noticed a new advertiser on Thursday–the Transportation Coalition of Tennessee. The Coalition is a group of 39 lobbying groups that support Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017,” the majority of which will directly benefit from the additional $10 billion in taxpayer-funded road projects. Several of the lobbying groups, such as the Tennessee County Highway Officials Association, Association of County Mayors and Tennessee County Commissioners Association, are funded by membership dues paid for by taxpayers through county budgets. Reports indicate that the ads are only being played on WWTN during Nashville’s Morning News with Ralph Bristol. Bristol has been a proponent of the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” since its introduction and continued his support in the second hour of Thursday’s show with an 8-minute “rant,” as Ralph often refers to them. The full transcript can be found here. In the third hour of the program, the one-minute advertising “spot” by the Coalition went like this: “Governor Bill Haslam’s IMPROVE Act responsibly funds important road and bridge work in all of Tennessee’s 95 counties. The IMPROVE Act funds transportation infrastructure and at…

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Debate Rescheduled For Brentwood City Commission Candidates

Wendy Wilson

A candidates debate for those vying for positions on the Brentwood City Commission has been rescheduled for April 19. The debate was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was canceled. “We have had some major issues scheduling this debate for Brentwood,” Matt Largen told The Tennessee Star. Largen is president of Williamson, Inc., the chamber of commerce and economic development office for Williamson County. Wednesday’s debate time ended up conflicting with a meeting on school rezoning and construction of a new school in Brentwood, which drew the candidates and several hundred community members, Largen said. The rescheduled debate will be held at 6 p.m. at Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, the same place as originally scheduled. LBMC is a CPA firm in the new Hill Center development at the corner of Franklin Road and Maryland Way. Williamson, Inc. board chair Jeff Drummonds is the CEO of LBMC and offered space for the event, Largen said, noting that it’s a central location. Four candidates are running for three seats on the city board in the nonpartisan race. The election is May 2. Three candidates are incumbents. They are Mayor Regina Smithson, Mark Gorman and Rhea Little. The only challenger is John Byers.…

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Islamic Group Aligns with LGBT Advocates to Oppose Tennessee’s Mark Green Appointment as Army Secretary

Tina LaFleur
Tennessee Star

  The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), perhaps best known as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding scandal, issued a statement denouncing Tennessee state senator Mark Green’s nomination to serve as President Donald Trumps Secretary of the Army. CAIR – who forcefully label people and groups with whom they disagree with the Muslim Brotherhood term, “Islamophobic” – announced its opposition to Green’s confirmation due to past remarks and policy positions. Offered as proof of his “Islamophobia,” CAIR’s statement included a laundry-list of quotes by Sen. Green, apparently all from a single appearance at a Chattanooga Tea Party meeting last year. Perhaps most interesting about the pro-Islamic organization’s statement is at the end, with its acknowledgment and alignment with LGBT advocates against Green: Other groups are opposing Green’s confirmation because of his criticism of federal attempts to bar discrimination in workplaces and businesses. SEE: L.G.B.T. Advocates Criticize Nominee for Army Secretary State Sen. Mark Green is a medical doctor, West Point graduate, and a career military veteran with a distinguished record of service. He is a staunch advocate for limited government, secure borders, and fiscal responsibility. Before being tapped for the Army Secretary position, Green was strongly considering a run for…

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions Is More Trump Than Trump White House

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

ConservativeHQ Staff While President Trump’s White House staff is allegedly engaged in a debilitating internecine war between those who wish to pursue the agenda the President campaigned on and the so-called “West Wing Democrats” led by chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, one leading figure in the Trump administration is hewing relentlessly to the President’s campaign agenda. And that person is Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Yesterday, Sessions paid a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border during a trip to Nogales, Arizona, where he spoke to a group of Customs and Border Protection agents and prosecutors. (You can read General Sessions’ remarks in their entirety through this link.) In his remarks, the Attorney General announced that he has issued a memo to United States Attorneys that mandates the prioritization of criminal immigration enforcement. The memo directs federal prosecutors to focus on offenses that, Sessions believes, if aggressively charged and prosecuted, can help prevent and deter illegal immigration. Sessions declared: “For those that continue to seek improper and illegal entry into this country, be forewarned: This is a new era. This is the Trump era. The lawlessness, the abdication of the duty to enforce our immigration laws, and the catch and release practices of…

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Tennessee Republican Assembly Calls on Speaker Harwell to ‘Address Our Concerns’ About Boss Doss Conflict of Interest Over Gas Tax Increase

Tennessee Star Staff

The Tennessee Republican Assembly is calling on Speaker Beth Harwell “to fulfill her oath and address our concerns” about State Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma) “having a conflict of interest while serving as Committee Chair for the Transportation Committee.” “On March 28, 2017, a letter from the Tennessee Republican Assembly (TRA) was hand delivered to Speaker Beth Harwell’s office. The letter contained well-defined examples of Rep. Barry Doss as having a conflict of interest while serving as Committee Chair for the Transportation Committee,” the TRA said in a statement released on Thursday. “This was an official request for a meeting with Speaker Harwell to discuss our valid concerns and it is not acceptable for Speaker Harwell to refuse to acknowledge or meet with the Board to discuss the matter, after repeated attempts to get her to do so,” the statement continued. “We are now publicly calling on the Speaker to fulfill her oath and duties and address our concerns,” the statement concluded. You can see the TRA statement here: [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Harwell_Doss_pr_41317.pdf”]   “The Tennessee Republican Assembly has asked Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) to begin an ethics investigation of the business conduct of State Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma), a vocal supporter of…

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Pro Wrestler Glenn Jacobs Will Run For Knox County Mayor

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Glenn Jacobs, also known to WWE professional wrestling fans as Kane, has announced he will run for mayor of Knox County. Jacobs, 49, has lived with his family in East Tennessee for the past 22 years. “This is a great place to work, live and to raise a family,” he said in formally announcing his intention to run in the May 2018 race. But Jacobs said there’s often one thing standing in the way of business owners and community leaders who want to make Knox County an even better place: government.   A Republican businessman who has been active in libertarian politics, Jacobs said as mayor he would keep taxes low, eliminate waste and reduce red tape. He said Tennessee is fortunate to have a strong environment for business but that as a result, Knox County faces “intense competition” from other parts of the state. He said he would work hard as mayor to recruit new businesses to Knox County and maintain an environment in which existing businesses can flourish. He also said he would strengthen efforts to prepare students for college or the workplace after graduating from high school. Jacobs said he would ensure that government remains open and…

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State Rep. Mark White Bringing Failed Bill for Illegal Immigrant In-State Tuition Back to Committee

Chris Alto

Rep. Mark White’s (R-Memphis) second bill, HB660, that if left unamended, would have allowed the governing boards of state colleges and universities to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students, failed in the House Education committee yesterday, but he has put it back on next Tuesday’s calendar and will ask the committee to reconsider its action. Republicans Jimmy Matlock, Terri Lynn Weaver, Ron Lollar, Roger Kane, Debra Moody and Dawn White, voted “no” on the bill. Republicans Eddie Smith, Mark White and Harry Brooks, along with all Democrats on the committee, voted “yes,” except that Democrat Rep. John DeBerry was absent when the vote was taken making it more than likely that the bill would have passed had he been present. Mark White could have chosen to roll his bill until all members were present to vote, but chose not to and let the vote move forward. According to sources at the legislature, Rep. DeBerry, a proponent for giving illegal immigrants in-state tuition, is pushing for a motion to reconsider White’s bill. It is not clear whether any motion to reconsider White’s bill will require a two-thirds vote of committee members, which would take ten votes to revive the bill, or…

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Transportation Coalition of Tennessee Set to Air ‘It’s Smart’ Ads to Promote Gas Tax Hike

Christina Botteri
Tennessee Star

  The Transportation Coalition of Tennessee (TCofTN), will launch a series of radio ads touting Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017”, the Times Free Press reports. With the legislation heading to the state House and Senate floor as early as next week, the Transportation Coalition of Tennessee plans to begin airing the 60-second spots starting Thursday, going through April 21. The $127,000 buy’s hits the Chattanooga, Jackson, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Tri-Cities markets. TCofTN describes themselves in a statement announcing the ads as a coalition of “businesses, citizens, community leaders, public officials and organizations that are interested in continuing Tennessee’s transportation infrastructure for the long haul.” Their membership includes senior citizen’s insurance group AARP, auto club AAA, the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, the American Heart Association, Tennessee Road Builders Association and some 33 others. The series, called “It’s Smart,” feature spots voiced by a comforting, grandfatherly persona praising the Governor’s plan, saying: Gov. Bill Haslam’s IMPROVE Act responsibly funds important road and bridge work in all of Tennessee’s 95 counties. The IMPROVE Act funds transportation infrastructure and, at the same time, gives a tax cut to all Tennesseans through a 20 percent tax cut on food. Listen: All the ads are available to enjoy here.…

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WWTN’s Ralph Bristol Blasts Conservative State Representative Who Opposes Haslam’s Gas Tax Increase Bill

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  Ralph Bristol, host of Nashville’s Morning News on 99.7 FM WWTN, blasted a leading conservative Republican State Representative who opposes Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase proposal, the IMPROVE ACT “Tax Cut Act of 2017,” on his program Thursday morning. Earlier this month, State Rep. Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station) called on Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) “to hit the restart button in regards to the IMPROVE Act and to send the bill back to Transportation Subcommittee to be debated fairly and openly,” as The Tennessee Star reported. Bristol is no fan of Sexton or his opposition to the gas tax increase, and made that point very clear on his program Thursday. Recent developments “will hopefully bury Jerry Sexton in the graveyard of political one-hit blunders,” Bristol said near the end of a lengthy soliloquy in which he praised the current version of Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase bill. The IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017,” he said, “is still, in my opinion, by far the most conservative plan on the table to increase funding for transportation in Tennessee.” Bristol also seemed eager to participate in the debate on the floor of the Tennessee House or Represenatives next week when the…

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The Best Diet Book Doesn’t Exist

Patrick Rooney

  In my debut piece last week, I Made It Back to Good Health, I discussed the long, hard, but ultimately satisfying road I traveled to become more fit today, in my mid-50’s, than I was twenty years ago, and along the way became a knowledgeable fitness professional. The article primarily dealt with my uphill journey overcoming injuries and surgeries. In today’s column, I want to talk about about the nutrition side. Many experts have said it is at least 75% of the game, when it comes to losing weight and body fat. I concur. I have spent thousands of hours studying and implementing many “diets” over the years, putting in a ton of reading, including the most cutting edge information in the fitness industry, in the quest for more mental and physical energy, a clean and efficient body, more muscle, and less fat. Let me save you a lot of time and trouble: the best diet book, written, or video program does not exist. “What? Come on!” you say. “There are some great diet books and programs out there – amazing breakthroughs!” Yes, that’s true. Science has come a long way. And there are some great diets out there. But…

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Bill To Help Teacher Organizations Other Than TEA With Payroll Deductions Fails In House Subcommittee

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  A bill failed in a House subcommittee Wednesday that would have ensured that school districts that allow for payroll deductions for the dominate teachers union would also allow payroll deductions for membership in any professional employee organization. The bill was an attempt to give groups besides the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) legislative backing in asking for payroll deductions. The TEA is affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), the largest U.S. labor union. The House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee shot down the bill on a voice vote. Rep. Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville), who sponsored the bill in the House, told the committee before the vote that “some districts are picking winners and losers” and that this legislation “levels the playing field.” The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville). The bill was promoted by Professional Educators of Tennessee (ProEd), an association that is not a union and does not endorse political candidates. Some districts do allow payroll deductions for organizations other than TEA but policies across the state are “inconsistent and arbitrary,” Audrey Shores, chief operating officer for ProEd, told The Tennessee Star on Tuesday. Automatic payroll deduction is often a preferred way of collecting membership dues…

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FACT’S David Fowler Praises ‘Little Guys’ In Fight Against Gas Tax

Wendy Wilson

  David Fowler of the Family Action Council of Tennessee has waded into the gas tax debate, writing in a blog post last week that while the issue is outside the focus of his group, it is “just too interesting to let slide.” “To appreciate what’s going on, you need to understand that the state House has always had a top-down management style,” wrote Fowler, who served in the state Senate for 12 years before joining FACT as president in 2006. “It works sort of like this,” Fowler wrote. “The Speakers typically give the rank-and-file Representatives (hereafter, the ‘Little Guys’) the freedom to represent their folks back home, so long as their views on something important don’t conflict with that of the Speaker or the Governor, to whom the Speakers for some reason seem to always take some kind of fealty oath. But when there is a conflict, the Speaker uses the loyalty of his or her committee and subcommittee chairs, engendered by their being given a position of ‘importance,’ to bring down the hammer and get the ‘preferred’ agenda rammed through.” Fowler applauds the “Little Guys” who won’t “shut up and go along” with the gas tax, part of Gov.…

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A Push To Drop The Word Easter From Egg Hunt Faces Backlash In England

Wendy Wilson

An effort to drop the word Easter from a national egg hunt in England to appeal to non-Christians was criticized by Prime Minister Theresa May and the Church of England, the Washington Post reports. The egg hunt is sponsored by the National Trust, a charity that promotes conservation. Around 300,000 children are expected at 250 National Trust sites for this year’s event. Cadbury will provide the chocolate eggs for the hunt. The Post received a statement from the Church of England saying that the marketing campaign “highlights the folly in airbrushing faith from Easter.” May was quoted in an ITV News video calling it “ridiculous.” “Easter’s very important. It’s important to me, it’s a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the world,” she said. Following the criticisms, the National Trust blamed Cadbury for the rebranding and added the word Easter to its website to describe the egg hunt. It’s unclear how eggs became part of Christian Easter celebrations, according to the Post. Some say the egg serves as a symbol of new life dating from ancient times and others say the egg represents the Christian belief celebrated at Easter that Jesus was resurrected from his tomb. England has…

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The 962 Road Construction Projects Costing $10.5 Billion in The Gas Tax Increase Bill Can Be ‘Modified’ by TDOT

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

Governor Haslam and other administration officials have stated since announcing the IMPROVE Act , now the “Tax Cut Act of 2017,” on January 18 that the purpose of the gas and diesel tax increases included in the bill is to fund 962 needed road construction projects in all 95 counties for a price tag of $10.5 billion.

These projects, however are the seventh in priority in a list of seven things for which the additional funds raised in the bill can be used.

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Letter to the Editor: Haslam’s ‘Tax Cut Act of 2017’ Straight Out of Orwell’s 1984

Admin
Tennessee Star

  Dear Tennessee Star, In George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece 1984, the unfortunate character Winston is battling desperately to grasp objective truth. Meanwhile the power mongers ruling the Ministry of Truth tell him, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Orwell thought he was writing satire; too bad he couldn’t witness our Tennessee General Assembly, where a tax increase is hawked as a tax cut. Gone is the IMPROVE Act; now we have the “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Same steaming cowpie, just an added dash of Haslamian perfume. We must assume our politicians dreamed this up supposing that average Tennesseans are complete imbeciles who salivate at the mere mention of tax cuts. Well, tax cut for whom, you may ask? Good question. Short answer – it ain’t us. Longer answer – the bulk of the tax cuts are specifically in the Franchise and Excise tax, targeted to save some of Tennessee’s largest corporations about $113 million. Most conservatives might be fine with reasonable corporate tax reductions as the state runs a $2 billion surplus, but not in the same bill that seeks to slam average Tennesseans with a huge increase in fuel taxes. The Governor and his political…

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State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver: School Bus Seat Belts a Bad Idea

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver on Wednesday called a bill that would require seat belts on Tennessee school buses “emotionally-driven” and  “bad policy.” Weaver (R-Lancaster) made her comments when the proposed legislation was brought before the House Education Administration and Planning Committee. The bill is sponsored in the House by Rep. JoAnne Favors (D-Chattanooga) and in the Senate by Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga). It comes in the aftermath of a Chattanooga school bus crash in November in which six children were killed and others injured. Bus driver Johnthony Walker was charged with vehicular homicide. Police say Walker was speeding when the bus crashed into a tree and flipped over. Weaver said requiring seat belts could lead to more deaths as a result of little children not being able to work themselves out of their restraints, especially if a bus caught fire or ended up in water. “This is a very dangerous bill,” Weaver said. The bill originally called for any bus purchased starting July 2018 to be equipped with a restraint system and required any bus currently in use to have seat belts by July 2023. The bill was later amended to require only buses purchased starting July 2019 to have seat…

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BREAKING: Mark White’s Second Bill That Would Have Granted In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrants Fails

Chris Alto

Rep. Mark White’s (R-Memphis) second bill, HB660, that if left unamended, would have allowed the governing boards of state colleges and universities to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students, failed in the House Education committee for lack of a majority on a 6-6 vote. During committee testimony, the TN Board of Regents lobbyist explained that for their institutions, this bill was about revenue – filling seats in their schools and being able to make their own rules about border state recruiting.  The UT lobbyist explained that flexibility in being able to offer in-state tuition as part of the universities’ business model could be more beneficial than the revenue generated by out-of-state tuition. In sponsoring this bill, Rep. White wanted to uniformly expand the authority of the new school governing boards that were created by the Governor’s FOCUS Act, but White also used the bill as an opportunity to have a second bite at the apple to give illegal immigrant students access to in-state tuition should his other bill, HB863 fail to pass.  That bill was defeated in the House Education committee yesterday. During an earlier House Education subcommittee hearing, concern was raised by Chairman Harry Brooks, as to whether…

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BREAKING: Majority of House Republicans Oppose Gas Tax Increase in ‘Secret’ Whip Vote, 37 to 30

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  Earlier this week the House Republican Caucus Chair Rep. Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville) conducted a secret poll of the House GOP Caucus members to gauge support for the Haslam IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Williams distributed popsicle sticks to members of the Caucus for them to cast their votes in favor or opposition to the bill as it currently stands. The Tennessee Star has obtained a copy of the Williams vote tally, which shows a clear majority of the Caucus poised to vote against the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” that was passed out of the Finance Committee yesterday by voice vote. The “secret” vote among the Republican Caucus members revealed that there are currently 37 “no” votes, 30 “yes” votes, 2 “present and not voting”, and 4 popsicle sticks that were not returned. The GOP Caucus is currently comprised of a total of 73 House Members. Passage of the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” on the House Floor will require 50 votes. Therefore, if the numbers revealed in the secret vote tally hold, Governor Haslam will have to secure the votes of almost the entire Democratic Party Caucus to pass his tax plan,…

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Next Bill That Could Grant In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrant Students on Education Calendar Today

Chris Alto

  Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) and Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) have sponsored two bills this session that would grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students. HB863 failed in the House Education committee Tuesday on a 7-6 vote but Rep. White’s other bill, HB660, looks like it will be the first bill considered by the committee on Wednesday morning. This White/Gardenhire bill would authorize the new college and university governing boards to decide which students are eligible to pay in-state tuition rates. “The bill is designed to allow each local community and institution to do what is best for their institution” is how Rep. White’s office described the bill in an email to the Tennessee Star. Importantly, however, HB660 “exempts the extension of in-state tuition that this amendment provides from the definition of ‘state or local public benefit’ under the ‘Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act’” according to an earlier email statement from Paul Marsh in Rep. White’s office. Last year, the Tennessee legislature passed Governor Haslam’s FOCUS Act enabling the six universities in the Board of Regents system, including Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State University and MTSU to have their own boards that among other duties, will oversee tuition. When White’s HB660…

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Bill Would Make Payroll Deductions Easier For Teachers In Professional Organizations Other Than TEA

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

A bill advancing in the Tennessee state legislature would ensure that school districts that allow payroll deductions for union dues would also allow payroll deductions for membership in any professional employee organization. The bill is backed by Professional Educators of Tennessee (ProEd), an association that is not a union and does not endorse political candidates. The Tennessee Education Association (TEA), the dominate union in Tennessee that is an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), has had a “virtual monopoly” on payroll deductions for more than 30 years, according to ProEd. Some districts do allow deductions for other organizations but overall policies are “inconsistent and arbitrary,” with other districts coming up with various reasons for why organizations other than TEA can’t be accommodated, said Audrey Shores, chief operating officer for ProEd. The bill goes before the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday. Automatic payroll deduction is easy and convenient because it allows teachers to spread out payment for their dues over the entire year, according to ProEd. Some districts don’t do payroll deductions for any group, Shores said. The proposed legislation leaves it up for districts to decide whether they want to do payroll deductions, but says that if…

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Constitution Series: The Separation of Powers

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

    This is the third part of the second of twenty-five weekly articles in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Series. Students in grades 8 through 12 can sign up here to participate in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Bee, which will be held on September 23.   The Separation of Powers between three equal branches of the national government–legislative, executive, and judicial– along with Federalism are the two foundational concepts of the Constitution of the United States that protect the freedoms and liberties guaranteed to individual citizens. Both foundational concepts are the practical implementation of the Founding Fathers’ belief in the need for checks and balances to prevent the rise of uncontrolled abuses of power within one branch of government. “It is safe to say that a respect for the principle of separation of powers is deeply ingrained in every American,” the National Archives website says: The nation subscribes to the original premise of the framers of the Constitution that the way to safeguard against tyranny is to separate the powers of government among three branches so that each branch checks the other two. Even when this system thwarts the public will and paralyzes the processes of government, Americans have rallied to its defense. One Founding Father,…

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Tommy Vallejos Will Run For Mark Green’s State Senate Seat

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Montgomery County Commissioner Tommy Vallejos says he plans to run for state Sen. Mark Green’s vacated seat. Green (R-Clarksville) was recently nominated by President Trump to become secretary of the army. There will be a special election to replace Green once he is confirmed. Vallejos, a county commissioner since first getting elected in 2010, also serves as board chairman for Latinos For Tennessee, a group that promotes conservative values and policies. A retired army veteran, he is an associate pastor at Faith Outreach Church in Clarksville and has been involved in prison ministries and gang awareness and prevention. Vallejos told The Tennessee Star he wouldn’t run as a Republican but then legislate as a liberal once at the Capitol. “We have too many RINOs there now,” he said, referring to the moniker Republicans in Name Only. “I don’t want to be one of those. You’ve got to stand on principles.” Vallejos, 54, lives in Clarksville and has been married almost 35 years. He and his wife have four children and seven grandchildren. He is a native of New Mexico. Early in the 2016 presidential election cycle, Vallejos campaigned for Ted Cruz but later stood by Trump after he became the Republican…

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Steve Gill Commentary: Gaming the System

Steve Gill
Tennessee Star

How the Teachers Union Has Manipulated the State into Subsidizing Political Action For over three decades the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) has held a privileged position in regard to payroll deduction of membership dues for Tennessee teachers. It is a virtual monopoly that is inherently unfair to both educators and taxpayers. The primary purpose is retaining political power rather than promoting professional growth for the members. Tennessee has clearly established that teachers should have the right to join the professional association of their choosing, so it follows that we should establish a process that makes the payment of their dues to their chosen organization fair, honest and simple. Many of the districts who currently offer payroll deductions to support the TEA are not allowing the choice of other organizations, or they impose barriers to equal access to the teachers in the system in order to create an almost insurmountable obstacle to competition. With the union’s unified dues structure, this means school districts are not only collecting local and TEA dues, but NATIONAL Education Association (NEA) dues as well. FUNDING POLITICAL ACTIVITIES Determining political activity has never been fully vetted or explained. In Tennessee the Attorney General confirmed last June (AG…

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Letter to the Editor: Mandatory Union Dues Fund Leftist Causes at the Expense of Conservative Union Members

Admin
Tennessee Star

  Dear Tennessee Star, It really is simple the more members who pay union dues affords greater political clout for that union and feed the union bureaucracy. Most people still have a lot to learn about unions, especially in education. Many have likened unions to being an ATM to left-wing politicians and causes. Too many people vaguely equate the union with that classroom teacher whom they know and respect, not with the hard-as-nails political entity that dictates bad school policy. It makes little sense for teachers to contribute their hard-earned dollars to political and ideological causes they oppose. For example, a teacher union’s goal, of course, is political power, not education. This means of course they funnel union money to politicians who support their agenda. So how do the government unions, whose leaders run to the left of the average worker, get away with spending dues dollars on candidates and causes that so many of its members revile? The answer very simply is because its members let them. In fact, in all elections since 1989, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has given $76,446,797 to Democrats and liberals and just $363,000 to Republicans and conservatives. In other words, less than…

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Gas Tax Increase Passes House Finance Committee on a Voice Vote

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin), chairman of the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee, presided over a voice vote on Tuesday that advanced the controversial IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” to the Calendar and Rules Committee, where it awaits scheduling for a vote on the floor of the full House. Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma), as sponsor of the bill, once again presented the features of the  IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Doss unexpectedly made a point of saying that the renaming of the bill last week to include The Tax Cut Act of 2017 was something that was not important to him, but it was to its sponsor, Rep. Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga). Chairman Sargent allowed a leisurely-paced question and answer period from Committee members to Rep. Doss, which came primarily from Democrat members of the Committee. Rep. Mike Carter (R-Ooltewah) pointed out that while he wished it wasn’t included in the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017”, he wouldn’t vote for a bill that didn’t include the change from the franchise and excise tax to the single sales factor due to the loss of Polaris from his district to the state of Alabama. Rep. David Hawk (R- Greeneville)…

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Metro Nashville Police Forced To School People In The Obvious: Don’t Leave Your Keys In Your Car

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  It seems like it should go without saying. But Metro Nashville police find themselves having to remind people to remove their keys from their cars when they park. A review of stolen vehicle reports in Nashville from March 26 through April 1 showed that 39 of 49, or 80 percent, of vehicles taken were easy targets because the keys were left or made available to thieves, according to a MNPD news release. Even more shocking: 17 of the 49 vehicles stolen were left running without the driver present. The problem is nothing new, especially at convenience stores. In 2000, the MNPD launched a program called Park Smart! and began putting up signs at convenience markets to remind people of the obvious. And they still need reminding. The recent news release said that the police department “strongly urges citizens to lock their automobile doors, secure any valuables and REMOVE THE KEYS.”      

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Rep. Mark White Says ‘Right Thing to Do’ to Help Illegal Immigrant Student Go to UT Law School; Committee Rejects His In-State Tuition Bill

Chris Alto

  Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) applauded the testimony of an illegal immigrant student before the House Education committee moments before his bill to provide in-state tuition to all illegal immigrant students failed to pass the committee on Tuesday. Karla Mesa Cruz from Knoxville told the committee today that she wants to go to UT Knoxville and get a law degree from UT Knoxville Law School. She told the committee that she had come to Knoxville when she was three but when she began to investigate going to college, learned that she would have to pay out-of-state tuition.  She told the committee she just didn’t “understand why.” Rep. Mark White told the committee that this was the third time he was trying to pass a bill that would allow illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition, because “it’s the right thing to do.” Repeating many of the same talking points as in years past, White’s bill was defeated on a narrow vote of 7 against and 6 in favor on Tuesday. Democrats Raumesh Akbari, Johnnie Turner, John DeBerry and Craig Fitzhugh voted yes, joined by Republicans Mark White and Harry Brooks. Republicans voting no were Jimmy Matlock, Eddie Smith, Terri Lynn…

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LGBT Groups Mount Opposition to Tennessee’s Mark Green as Army Secretary

Tina LaFleur
Tennessee Star

  LGBT advocates like Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Army Military Partner Association (AMPA) are organizing to block the confirmation of Tennessee state senator Mark Green as President Trump’s next Army Secretary. In what appears to be a coordinated media campaign, several news outlets are reporting Green’s policy positions and record on so-called LGBT issues are “deeply concerning.” Friday, the New York Times reported: A Tennessee state senator who has criticized federal attempts to bar discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in workplaces and businesses was nominated on Friday to be President Trump’s next secretary of the Army. After a brief bio, the Times quoted from a blog post by AMPA: On Tuesday, the American Military Partner Association, the largest organization of L.G.B.T. military families, accused Mr. Green of making “a shameful political career out of targeting L.G.B.T. people for discrimination.” Monday, TheHill.com published: LGBT groups are raising pressure on President Trump’s nominee for Army secretary, just three days after the pick became official, and are vowing a fight. Trump “couldn’t have picked a worse nominee to pick a fight with Congress,” David Stacy, government affairs director at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), said Monday. Tuesday morning, the Washington post…

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In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrants Fails in House Committee

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  A Tennessee bill that would have offered in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants died in a House committee Tuesday morning, effectively ending its path forward this legislative session. The Education Administration and Planning Committee shot down the bill in a close and emotional 6-7 vote. The bill was sponsored in the House by Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) and has been sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga). Both are Republicans. “I cannot pass the burden onto the taxpayers of Tennessee,” said Rep. Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) during a discussion before the vote. She said Tennessee would become a magnet for illegal immigrant families who would want their children to be able to take advantage of in-state tuition. The influx would create a need for more schools at the K-12 level and raise property taxes at time when some schools already have a number of portable classrooms, she said. Similar legislation passed in the Senate in 2015 but failed by just one vote in the House. Rep. Mark White, the House bill sponsor, was overcome with emotion Tuesday and seemed near tears as he asked for support for the bill. He said young people brought to the U.S. through no…

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Rep. Judd Matheny and Conservative Majority Caucus Denounce In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrant Students

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee–State Representative Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), joined by more than a dozen conservative state house members, held a press conference Monday to voice their strong opposition to the push by Governor Haslam and the Republican leadership to extent in-state tuition privileges to illegal immigrant students. “We are standing up because believe the hard-working families and small businesses that make up our great state need an advocate in Nashville who will put them first. We will stand up for the rights of Tennesseans when legislators fail to hear their constituents,” Matheny said. Tennessee Star cameras were rolling: The Star has covered the developments surrounding the in-state tuition push closely, from state Senators White and Gardenhire’s repeated bill proposals to the Tennessee Farm Bureau’s outspoken support. “Today, our goal is to shine the light of truth on a bill that will give in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants. We believe HB 863/SB 1014 is unconstitutional and it will cost Tennessee taxpayers dearly. It will make us a magnet for illegal immigrants – which will further strain our public education system,” Matheny said. “Our position regarding this bill is simple. Our state cannot afford to subsidize public college tuition for illegal aliens, nor should it.…

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Open Borders La Raza Affiliate Adds Office in Memphis

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

Nashville based TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a formal affiliate of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), recently opened an office in Memphis. They are sharing office space with the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center (MSPJC), a “multi-issue, multi-race organization whose mission is to engage, organize, and mobilize communities to realize social justice through nonviolent action.” TIRRC has been the lead organization lobbying for “tuition equality” (meaning citizens and illegal immigrants get the same state benefit), when the first bill was introduced in 2014.  MSPJC, itself a coalition of member organizations was an early supporter of the campaign for “tuition equality.” Establishing a store-front in Memphis brings TIRRC back to its roots since it’s first executive director, David Lubell started his advocacy career with Latino Memphis as a community organizer, leaving in 2001, to start TIRRC in Nashville with an early infusion of funding from a U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement grant to the Nashville Chamber of Commerce for the Building the New American Community initiative, a pilot program designed to facilitate immigration and integration in non-traditional gateway cities like Nashville. The grant emphasized training new immigrants how to be civically engaged which translated into working for political power…

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