May 9, 2019 - Tennessee Star

More Evidence The Tennessean Is Just a Mouthpiece for the Democratic Party

May 9, 2019May 9, 2019 Julie Carr

On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – host Steve Gill reviewed the convoluted story created by The Tennessean claiming that the Twitter feed, #ResignCasada was representative of all Tennesseans when in fact all tweets were from liberal Democrats and former failed former Democratic party candidates in the state. You can read the full transcript of Steve Gill’s comments here: Just another example of how The Tennessean is literally a mouthpiece, literally a propaganda screed for the Tennessee Democratic party. There’s a new story up by a character named Dustin Barnes in The Tennessean that highlights #ResignCasada is trending on Twitter. Now it’s interesting if you kind of go through this story. It’s on the Tennesseean.com calls for House Speaker Glen Casada resign started trending on social media shortly after his chief of staff had solicited and text messages and used illegal drugs in the legislative office building. He resigned Monday after the Tennessean published a story that he asked one intern for oral sex and nude photos. Other 2014 and 2016 texts showed he was hitting on…

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Stewart County Director of Schools Charged with Driving Under the Influence

May 9, 2019May 9, 2019 Chris Butler

Authorities arrested Stewart County Director of Schools Leta Jo Joiner this week and charged her with driving under the influence. Members of the Stewart County School System declined The Tennessee Star’s request for comment Wednesday, but they did say they would eventually release a formal statement on the matter. School system officials had not released that statement as of Wednesday night. “According to arrest records, the 57-year-old Joiner was booked in around 7:33 p.m.,” according to the Nashville-based WSMV.com “She is due in court on Tuesday, May 28 to answer to the charges.” The station went on to say Joiner posted bond a short time later, and authorities released her. The Clarksville-based LeafChronicle.com, meanwhile, said Joiner took the position in Stewart County in 2014. Joiner joins a list of other school system directors in Tennessee who made headlines for alleged wrongdoing. As The Tennessee Watchdog reported in 2016, two former Tennessee superintendents, Jimmy Long of Humphreys County and Martin Ringstaff of Cleveland, faced allegations of gross sexual misconduct in 2015. In Ringstaff’s case, someone anonymously posted sexually explicit online conversations involving Ringstaff— who was married — and a woman who isn’t his wife. Some of those conversations included graphic photos…

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Commentary: Claremont Institute Stands Up to Google Strategy to Silence Conservatives

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Glenn Elmers Google tried to censor the Claremont Institute last week. The tech giant backed off under pressure, but the tactical maneuver was hardly a failure. To see why, we only have to think strategically. The Claremont Institute is a conservative think tank devoted to preserving the original meaning and vitality of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Claremont has launched a new campaign against the dangers of multiculturalism, as Institute President Ryan Williams announced in an essay last month in its digital publication, The American Mind. The essay explains how multiculturalism and identity politics are anathemas to the American principles of equal natural rights. Google decreed that essay, and indeed Claremont’s whole American Mind site, to be “a racially oriented publication”—an absurdity belied by Claremont’s long-standing fight against racial classifications, and Google’s indifference to rampant leftist obsessions with racial and ethnic differences. When the Institute responded aggressively, publicly challenging Google, several conservative outlets expressed outrage. Google-backed off, claiming it had made a “mistake.” Given the facts and applying the most basic logic, this is obviously false. The most relevant fact is that Institute staff had to spend two hours on the phone asking Google how its ban…

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New York City Councilman Wants ICE Back in the Courthouse to Make Immigration Arrests

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Nick Givas New York City Democratic Councilman Robert Holden said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should be allowed to make arrests in and around state courthouses, without a signed warrant. Holden was responding to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s support for the Protect Our Courts Act, which would bar ICE agents from apprehending illegal immigrants without authorization from a judge. “We want to actually deport the criminals, I guess, right? I mean that’s what we’re trying to do,” Holden said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends.” “ICE, that’s their job, along with stopping drug trafficking and you know all sorts of other nasty things,” he said. “New York’s already thrown ICE out of the jails. So I mean they should be in the jails, actually looking up the people that are obviously committing these crimes. Do we want to import criminals? Is that what we want to do in the United States?” The New York Office of Court Administration issued new guidelines in April, preventing federal agents from making arrests in and around the courthouse. Holden directly criticized Cuomo for supporting the measure and accused the New York governor of pandering to voters for political reasons. “He used to be…

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Historic Auto Insurance Reform Passes Michigan Senate

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Tyler Arnold The Michigan Senate on Tuesday passed legislation that would eliminate a mandate requiring all drivers to purchase unlimited, lifetime medical coverage in their insurance plan. Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Sen. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton, passed on a vote of 24-14, receiving some bipartisan support but also Democratic dissent. Supporters of the legislation say the lifetime medical mandate, which is unique to the state, is the main contributor to Michigan having the highest auto insurance costs in the country. Michigan motorists pay an average of $2,693 annually for auto insurance, which is nearly twice the national average of $1,470. Detroit drivers pay on average $5,464 per year, the highest rates in the country. “We can all agree that Michigan drivers have the right to be upset,” Nesbitt said before the vote. “They want this problem solved.” Nesbitt urged the Senate to vote in favor of the legislation to provide more choices for Michigan motorists, who would be able to choose plans that have the coverage they want for prices they can afford rather than being forced to subscribe to a one-size-fits-all insurance plan. “We will have lower rates, provide choice, crack down on fraud and end lawsuit…

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Report: Colorado Shooting Suspects Motivated By ‘Revenge And Anger,’ One Suspect Transgender

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Mary Margaret Olohan The motive of the Colorado shooting suspects “went beyond bullying and involved revenge and anger towards others at the school,” sources close to the investigation told the Denver Channel. The shooting resulted in one death with eight other students wounded. At least one of the suspects had been in therapy and illegally used drugs, the Channel also reported. One of the suspects, Devon Erickson, is an adult while the other unnamed suspect is a minor. Facebook posts reveal that 18-year-old Devon Erickson previously expressed hatred for Christians, according to Heavy. “You know what I hate? All these Christians who hate gays, yet in the bible, it says in Deuteronomy 17:12-13, if someone doesn’t do what their priest tells them to do, they are supposed to die. It has plenty of crazy stuff like that,” Erickson wrote in one Facebook post several years ago. “But all they get out of it is ‘ewwwwww gays.’” The second suspect, identified by police as a “juvenile female” was transitioning from female to male at the time of the attack, the Channel reported. Erickson is a registered Democrat who has praised former President Barack Obama and criticized President Donald Trump…

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Leftist Groups Begin Push to Censure Memphis Judge Jim Lammey Over Facebook Post

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Chris Butler

A coalition of left-leaning activists is reportedly pushing for authorities to formally censure Memphis Criminal Court Judge Jim Lammey after he published a Facebook post they considered inflammatory. As The Tennessee Star reported, people unloaded a torrent of anger after Lammey shared an article from someone the mainstream media later identified as a Holocaust denier. Lammey said, however, he did not know that about the author at the time. In his role as a judge, Lammey also makes illegal immigrants register with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In Tennessee, there is a process to censure a judge. “The Administrative Office of the Courts cannot censure judges. Judges are censored by the Board of Judicial Conduct, which was created by the legislature to investigate, and, when warranted, act on complaints about a judge,” said Barbara Peck, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. “The Board of Judicial Conduct normally does not confirm or deny whether a complaint has been filed against a judge. However, according to Judge Dee Gay, who serves as chair of the BJC, because Judge Lammey’s conduct is a matter of public record at this point, he can confirm that an investigation is under…

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Commentary: It’s No Coincidence North Korea’s Missile Test Happened Just as Trade Talks with China Broke Down

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Robert Romano It is no coincidence that just as U.S. trade talks with China were breaking down last week, North Korea on May 4 conducted its first missile test since Nov. 2017. As a result, separating the trade issue from the national security concerns of North Korea’s ongoing nuclear arms program may difficult if not impossible. North Korea has long been a satellite state and ally of China. During the Korean War, when U.S. forces pushed toward the Sino-Korean border in the summer of 1950, China immediately intervened, pushing the U.S. back to the 38th parallel. Until 1953, the war was a stalemate. It never officially ended. Today, North Korea largely depends on China for sustenance, with 90 percent of its trade conducted solely with China. The sticking point in the trade negotiations is said to be over enforcement. Traditionally, the U.S. retains the right to levy tariffs against trade partners when agreements are not adhered to and any U.S.-China trade deal will be no different. On May 3 China trade negotiators told the South China Morning Post that trade talks were far from finalized. The story also noted that a social media account used by Beijing, Taoran…

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Report: Trump Administration Orders Asylum Officers to Get Tougher with Applicants

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Jason Hopkins A directive from the White House is reportedly ordering asylum screeners to be more skeptical and confrontational with applicants, marking the administration’s latest attempt to weed out fraud. Asylum officers are to more aggressively pursue inconsistencies they see from applicants who claim they are facing persecution in their home countries, according to emails and documents obtained by The Washington Post. Officers will also be required to provide comprehensive justifications prior to determining an applicant has a legitimate fear of harm if deported from the U.S. Additionally, officers are to focus on any discrepancies between what a migrant might have told an arresting Border Patrol officer and what the migrant said during an asylum application interview. “Officers conducting credible fear interviews should also be addressing any more detailed inconsistencies between the applicant’s testimony during the credible fear interview and other testimony in sworn statement,” read a staff email from John Lafferty, the chief of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) asylum division, obtained by The Washington Post. The new directive follows numerous other changes the Trump administration made to clamp down on immigration fraud at the U.S.-Mexico border. Border Patrol agents are rolling out a DNA-testing…

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Iran Says Will Withdraw from Obama’s Nuclear Deal, Threatens Resumption of Uranium Enrichment

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Jason M. Reynolds

Iran’s president said Wednesday the country will stop complying with parts of former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal, Fox News said. Hassan Rouhani set a 60-day deadline for new terms before resuming higher uranium enrichment, Fox News said. It has been a year since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from Obama’s 2015 agreement. The breakaway could further escalate tensions between Iran and the United States. ABC News reported that the recent decision to send an aircraft carrier and bombers to the Middle East to deter Iran stemmed in part from intelligence that the nation was possibly transporting missiles on boats in the Persian Gulf. In response to Iran’s announcement, U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07), gave the following statement: “President Trump was absolutely right to back out of the Iran Deal in 2017. Technically, the Obama administration willed the JCPOA into existence. Iran never signed the deal in the first place and it was never a treaty approved by Congress. Now Iran is announcing it is pulling out of that same nuclear deal and sets an ultimatum to renegotiate terms. How do you back out of a deal never acknowledged in the first place? “Clearly, Iran is…

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Lyft Opposes Proposal to Impose Sales Tax on Rides

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Todd DeFeo Levying a sales tax on transportation network companies in Ohio could have a potentially dangerous effect on the state’s residents, Lyft told members of the Ohio House Finance Committee. State lawmakers are looking to mandate ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft collect a sales tax on the base fare or fees based on distance or time. Officials say the proposal could bring in more than $50 million over the two-year budget. But, in written testimony filed with members of the House Finance Committee, Lyft said the tax would be more harmful than helpful. “A sales tax – plus the recently increased gas tax set to go into effect this summer – could have (a) severe and disproportionate impact on those who can least afford it, not to mention the impact on Lyft drivers themselves,” the company said in its testimony. “Of additional concern, the sales tax being considered by the Ohio House of Representatives will force passengers to pay one of the highest sales taxes on ride-sharing in the nation.” Last month, Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill increasing Ohio’s gas fuel tax by 10.5 cents per gallon starting July 1. DeWine originally asked for…

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Senate Intel Committee Reportedly Subpoenas Don Jr.

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Chuck Ross The Republican-controlled Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. as part of its Russia investigation, Axios reports. The subpoena is the first believed to have been issued in any of the Russia investigations for one of President Donald Trump’s children. According to Axios, the committee wants Trump Jr. to answer questions about his previous Senate testimony. It is not clear what parts of Trump Jr.’s previous testimony the committee wants to review. The real estate executive has faced scrutiny over his involvement in the June 9, 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a group of Russians who had offered to provide information about Hillary Clinton. He was also involved in negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in the special counsel’s investigation on Nov. 29 to lying to the Senate Intelligence and House Intelligence Committees about the extent of his negotiations on the Trump Tower skyscraper. Trump Jr. did not face any charges in the special counsel’s probe related to his testimony about the Trump Tower negotiations. Special counsel Robert Mueller also investigated the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, but declined to bring charges over…

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Commentary: Major Media Stories Ignore Immigration Status of High-Profile Murderer

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by James D. Agresti Amidst an intense national debate over illegal immigration and crime, major media outlets are reporting on a grisly, high-profile murder while failing to reveal that the killer is an unauthorized immigrant. On Monday, May 6th, Esdras Marroquin Gomez, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, pled guilty to the murder of philanthropist and community volunteer Lois Colley. Gomez killed Colley on her 300-acre horse farm in Westchester County, NY by beating her head with a fire extinguisher. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino Jr. described the “murder scene” as “horrendous” and said that Colley was slain in the “most brutal fashion.” Colley, who was 83 years old, was married for 65 years to Eugene Colley, a successful entrepreneur. The couple owned a small bakery in the 1960s, which they converted to a McDonalds. Over time, the Colleys built one of the largest McDonalds franchise firms in the country, with about 100 locations. The Westchester Journal News profiled Lois Colley as a devoted family woman, equestrian enthusiast, and supporter of “numerous local causes.” Many journalists are calling her a “socialite,” but her husband says: “She was not a socialite. She was a farmer, a gardener.” Due to the…

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House Judiciary Committee Passes Vote to Hold Attorney General William Barr In Contempt of Congress

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Henry Rodgers The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for not giving the committee special counsel Robert Mueller’s full, unredacted report. The committee, led by New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, originally gave Barr a deadline of 9 a.m. Monday to turn in the full report with no redactions, which many Republicans believe would be dangerous due to the possibly sensitive material that could be leaked. Nadler scheduled the congressional contempt vote for Wednesday at 10 a.m. All Democrats present voted to advance the vote to hold Barr in contempt of Congress in the procedural vote Wednesday morning. The committee later voted along party lines, with 24 Democrats voting yes for Barr to be held in contempt of Congress. No Republicans joined. Before the vote, The White House said the president would use executive privilege to prevent Democratic lawmakers from getting the materials they’re requesting. “Even in redacted form, the Special Counsel’s report offers disturbing evidence and analysis that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice at the highest levels. Congress must see the full report and underlying evidence to determine how to best move forward with oversight, legislation,…

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Commentary: The Three Phases of Socialism

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by John Phelan Venezuela is in a state of turmoil. After 20 years of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, or PSUV), its economy is collapsing. As Venezuelans have tried to vote the PSUV out of office, its leader, Nicolás Maduro, has responded by creating a rival body to the National Assembly made up exclusively of government supporters and rigging the country’s May 2018 presidential election. Left with no alternative, members of the opposition have taken to the streets where they have been met with merciless brutality by the socialist government’s forces. The Three Stages of Socialism in Venezuela Venezuela is only the latest country to go through the cycle all socialist countries go through. In his excellent new book, Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies, Kristian Niemietz of the Institute of Economic Affairs describes the process: 1. The honeymoon period…during which the experiment has, or at least seems to have, some initial success in some areas…During the honeymoon period, very few dispute the experiment’s socialist character. 2. The excuses-and-whataboutery period. But the honeymoon period never lasts forever. The country’s luck either comes to an end, or its already existing failures become more…

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Ohio Senate Passes Bill Requiring State Agencies to Cut Regulations By 30 Percent

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

The Ohio Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would require every state agency to cut its rules and regulations by 30 percent over three years in order to encourage economic growth. Senate Bill 1, sponsored by State Sens. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) and Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson), requires that state agencies “amend or rescind rules identified in its inventory of regulatory restrictions as necessary to reduce the total number of regulatory restrictions by thirty percent.” “When a reduction of any percentage in regulatory restrictions, whether or not as specified in this section, has been achieved, the state agency may not adopt or maintain regulatory restrictions that would negate the reduction,” the bill adds. During Wednesday’s Senate session, Roegner noted that there are more than 246,000 restrictions on Ohio’s businesses, making Ohio third worst in the county for regulatory restrictions. “Although passed with the best of intentions, the accumulation of new laws and new regulations, over time, will slow economic growth. I’m guilty of it as well. We see a need in our district or in the state and we pass a law and then the rules promulgate and over the years it is like sludge in our economic engine,” she said.…

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Arizona Passes Resolution Proclaiming Pornography a Public Health Crisis

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Admin

by Mary Margaret Olohan Arizona senators passed a resolution Monday calling pornography a public health crisis and pushing Arizonans to take action against porn. The resolution calls on the state of Arizona to recognize the perils of pornography and to educate people on pornography’s addictive qualities leading to dangerous sexual behavior, the hypersexualization of teenagers and children, mental illness, and more. The state House approved the resolution, HCR 2009, in February. The resolution also calls pornography “a crisis leading to a broad spectrum of individual and public health impacts” and says that pornography “perpetuates a sexually toxic environment that damages all areas of our society.” The state Senate passed the resolution, which next goes to the secretary of state’s office, with a 16 to 13 vote, according to the Arizona Capitol Times. HCR 2009 serves mainly as a statement on pornography rather than law. Arizona Republican state Sen. Sylvia Allen recognizes the resolution does not outlaw pornography but insists it is important “because it’s the first time we’re making a statement … about the epidemic of pornography.” “Billions of dollars worldwide are being made upon this industry that is poisoning the minds of our citizens,” Allen said, according to…

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Trump Announces New Occupant for Lordstown Plant

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Mitch Shirley

President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that he spoke with General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who said GM will sell the vacant Lordstown factory to Workhorse, an electric truck manufacturer. The president also mentioned that GM is going to invest $700 million into three separate locations in Ohio. Trump expressed his support for Ohio’s “great governor, and Senator Rob Portman” for their work in filling the GM void. Gov. Mike DeWine, although proud of the achievement, warned that it could be a year before the Cincinnati-based firm Workhorse has the plant up and running. ….in 3 separate locations, creating another 450 jobs. I have been working nicely with GM to get this done. Thank you to Mary B, your GREAT Governor, and Senator Rob Portman. With all the car companies coming back, and much more, THE USA IS BOOMING! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2019 “This is probably not yet a day to celebrate … a lot has to happen,” said DeWine. But it would bring “hundreds of jobs” back to the region after the GM closure left more 1,400 people out of work since closing over two months ago. Workhorse is in the process of obtaining a contract to…

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2018 Ohio Attorney General Candidate Signs Letter Saying Trump Should Be Prosecuted

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

Steven Dettelbach, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and 2018 Democratic attorney general candidate, joined nearly 800 U.S. Department of Justice alumni in suggesting that President Donald Trump obstructed justice in a Monday letter. “Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting president, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice,” the letter begins. It goes on to state that the “Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge.” These acts include, according to the letter, conduct “that obstructed or attempted to obstruct the truth-finding process.” The letter claims that the “evidence of corrupt intent and connection to pending proceeding is overwhelming.” It discusses in detail the “attempts to fire Mueller and then create false evidence,” the “attempts to limit the Mueller investigation,” and the evidence of “witness tampering and intimidation.” “As former federal prosecutors, we recognize that prosecuting obstruction of justice cases is critical because unchecked obstructions—which allows intentional interference with criminal investigations to go unpunished—puts our…

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Klobuchar Joins Fox News for Town Hall Event in Wisconsin

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined Fox News Wednesday night for a town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a state Hillary Clinton famously skipped during the 2016 election. According to Fox News, the network allows candidates to select the location for their town halls and Klobuchar picked Milwaukee, which will also host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was the first to join Fox News for one of its town halls, and it was later reported that candidates were “flocking” to the network, even after the DNC announced in March that Fox News would not “serve as a media partner for the 2020 Democratic primary debates.” Moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum covered a number of topics, but began by asking Klobuchar if she agrees with the House Democrats’ vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt. “Yes, the Attorney General is the people’s lawyer,” Klobuchar responded, saying “he should be showing up and answering questions.” Klobuchar said that although the economy is doing well, when “you go out there and talk to real people, they feel like they’re not sharing in this prosperity.” “There are jobs out there, we know that,” she said. “But it’s become harder…

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California Businessman Wants to Build Another Sports Stadium in Nashville, This Time for Major League Baseball

May 9, 2019May 8, 2019 Jason M. Reynolds

California businessman John Loar is leading a charge to build another taxpayer-funded sports stadium in Nashville – this time for Major League Baseball. Loar and other baseball boosters plan to travel to New York City to meet with Major League Baseball, WSMV said. “What intrigued me about Nashville is just the growth, the corporate growth,” said John Loar, who is leading the efforts, earlier this year. “With the existing sports teams and just the music element to it, it has the Las Vegas vibe without the gaming.” The group, called Music City Baseball LLC, wants to build a stadium in a mixed-use project near Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans, or the PSC Metals scrapyard. Loar has previously discussed finance options with public officials, according to a story by Ballpark Digest. That publication said his venture is called Music City Equity Group. Montreal, Portland and Las Vegas also are interested in pursuing baseball franchises, Ballpark Digest said. As The Tennessee Star reported last September, the Metro City Council decided to pay $275 million for a new soccer stadium instead of using the Titans’ Nissan Stadium, which itself needs $300 million in upgrades. Who is the man leading the…

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