Day: January 3, 2018

After More Than Thirty Years, Local News Icon Demetria Kalodimos Is Summarily Fired from WSMV

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After more than three decades, Nashville’s Demetria Kalodimos will no longer be a part of the WSMV news broadcasts. Word of the beloved anchor’s ouster is yet another in a string of scintillating stories of ageism, abuse, firings, and lawsuits that have roiled longtime viewers of the NBC affiliate. According a statement by Kalodimos to The Nashville Scene, she learned of her dismissal from a letter left on her desk by management. “I have spent more than half of my life at WSMV, working long and unpredictable hours, winning awards and ratings, serving and understanding the community and building trust,” she said. “It is quite sad to end a nearly 34 year career the way this company chose to end it, with a letter left on a desk, no conversation, no face to face meeting, no thanks.” A quick search of the WSMV website shows she has been removed, and a short statement has been posted: Demetria Kalodimos’ contract with the station expired on December 31, and as a result she is no longer a daily part of the Channel 4 broadcast team. Channel 4 offered an extension of her contract for the purpose of discussions, and hoped to continue supporting her journalistic work. However, we received no…

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Trump Calls for Justice Department to ‘Finally Act’ Against Huma Abedin

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President Donald Trump ripped Huma Abedin in an early Tuesday tweet for “disregarding basic security protocols” while serving as Hillary Clinton’s personal aide at Foggy Bottom and urged the Justice Department to “finally act.” The Daily Caller that Clinton’s deputy chief of staff at the State Department forwarded sensitive emails containing government passwords to her personal Yahoo email address.

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State Senate Candidate Shane Reeves Made No Contributions to President Trump’s Campaign in 2016

Tennessee Star Staff

Shane Reeves’ initial mail pieces and television spots in the special election for the 14th District State Senate seat vacated by former State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) highlight his support for Presidential Donald Trump and his anti-Establishment agenda.  However, an examination of Reeves’ record finds scant evidence of support for President Trump either during the Tennessee Presidential primary election or during last year’s general election. While Reeves has a record of supporting moderate candidates in Tennessee and nationally with campaign contributions, including Tennessee Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, and 2012 Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, there is no record at the Federal Election Commission of Reeves making any contribution to President Donald Trump in 2016. Reeves has also made a contribution to, and endorsed, self described “moderate” Republican candidate for Governor Randy Boyd. As reported by The Tennessee Star in November 2016, then ECD Commissioner Randy Boyd directed a million dollar “fast track” grant to Reeves’ company.  Then, once Boyd left ECD to pursue his campaign for Governor, Reeves donated $5000 to Boyd through his PAC — and endorsed him during a campaign stop in Murfreesboro. The Boyd-Reeves connection is particularly relevant to Reeves’ campaign claim of support for President…

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Commentary: The Not-So-Hidden Costs to 2018’s Minimum Wage Hikes

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by Mark J. Perry   In a 2014 letter written by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) to President Obama and congressional leaders in support of an increase in the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, more than 600 economists apparently agreed with, and endorsed this statement: Research suggests that a minimum-wage increase could have a small stimulative effect on the economy as low-wage workers spend their additional earnings, raising demand and job growth, and providing some help on the jobs front. More recently, EPI endorsed a $15 an hour federal minimum wage and estimated that: The rising wage floor would generate $144 billion in additional annual wages, which would ripple out to the families of these workers and their communities. Because lower-paid workers spend much of their extra earnings, this injection of wages would help stimulate the economy and spur greater business activity and job growth. Seems almost like economic magic right? Through a government edict in the form of an artificial price control (minimum wage law), we can stimulate the entire US economy and increase national income, prosperity, and jobs! And here’s the latest from EPI on the pending increases in state minimum wages next week: At the beginning of 2018, 18 states will increase their…

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Prankster ‘Welcomes’ California’s Sanctuary State Status

Jason M. Reynolds

California became an official sanctuary state at the start of 2018, and at least one prankster mockingly marked the occasion with fake “Welcome” road signs. The California Department of Transportation confirmed the discovery of five official-looking signs declaring the state as an “official sanctuary state,” the Washington Examiner reported Jan. 2. The signs are posted underneath official “Welcome to California” highway signs and appear genuine. There were no reports of the identity of the prankster or pranksters. A sanctuary city, or state, is one in which federal immigration policies will not be honored. One sign posted on Interstate 15 at Mountain Pass near the California-Nevada border has been taken down, California Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Dinger told the Washington Examiner. There was no word on the fate of the other fake signs. The Alternative News Media’s Instagram page showed a photo of one of the signs, which reads, “OFFICIAL SANCTUARY STATE Felons, Illegals and MS13 Welcome! Democrats Need The Votes!” The state seal and a logo with the Democratic Party’s donkey mascot adorn the fake signs as well. The law that took effect on Jan. 1 prevents police from asking people about their immigration status or participating in federal immigration…

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America’s Opioid Crisis Has Doctors Warning Nashville Patients, ‘You Will Feel Pain’

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Nashville Public Radio reports Tennessee’s medical community is in the midst of a major turnaround in the way they treat patients’ pain in response to the opioid addiction crisis gripping the nation: The big hospital chains based in Nashville are accepting some of the blame for the country’s opioid crisis, which grows more deadly by the year. They admit they were going overboard with opioids to make people as pain-free as possible. So in an effort to be part of the cure, they’re issuing an uncomfortable warning to patients — you’re going to feel some pain. Even for those who’ve never struggled with drug abuse, studies are finding that patients are at risk of addiction anytime they go under the knife. In short, one of the most common gateways to addiction is medical treatment, itself. NPR reporter Blake Farmer shares the all-too-common story of Las Vegas mom and paramedic Michelle Leavy, a healthy mother who underwent a c-section and was prescribed opioids to manage the post-surgical pain: [Leavy] welcomed the high-dose intravenous narcotics while she was in the hospital. And as she went home, she gladly followed doctors’ orders and kept ahead of the pain with her Percocet pills. But then she needed…

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Pakistan Summons US Ambassador Over Trump Tweet

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Pakistan has summoned the US ambassador, an embassy spokesman said Tuesday, a rare public rebuke after Donald Trump lashed out at Islamabad with threats to cut aid over “lies” about militancy. Ambassador David Hale was asked to go to the foreign office in the Pakistani capital on Monday night, after Islamabad responded angrily to the US President’s allegations that it provided safe havens for militants in the latest spat to rock their alliance.

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OFF THE RECORD: The Tennessee Star’s Awards for Best of the Best in 2017

Tennessee Star Staff

On Tuesday, we dished out last year’s “bad” awards with our “Worst of the Worst for 2017.” Today, we hand out the “good” stuff, with our “Best of the Best for 2017.” “The envelope please…” COMEBACK KID. Congresswoman Diane Black caused many political pros to question her decision to accept the Budget Committee Chair while prepping a run for Governor, knowing that getting anything done would be a heavy lift. Yet, she dodged most of the landmines and when the Trump tax cuts passed she was standing right next to the President accepting accolades in word and tweet for a job well done. Look to see those Trump comments in commercials this year as she works to “out Trump” her opponents. As she and Randy Boyd start spending their respective personal fortunes on media in the coming weeks, the noise will drown out the pack and one of the two will emerge as the frontrunner. Thanks to Trump, who will be in Tennessee next week, Diane may have the slight edge at this point. BIGGEST SURPRISE. When Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett entered the race to succeed longtime Congressman Jimmy Duncan in the 2d District the biggest question mark was…

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