Day: March 21, 2020

Davidson County Sheriff Reduces Jail Population During Coronavirus Emergency

Chris Butler

Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall announced he has initiated plans to reduce the number of inmates in sheriff’s office custody as the coronavirus emergency continues.

This, according to a press release Hall put out this week.

Those plans include expanding pre-trial release criteria and eliminating the work release program. PTR participants are expected to double over the next few days and all work release inmates are being furloughed immediately, the press release said.

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Judge Warren Commentary: Electronic Learning During the Times of the Coronavirus

Admin

With the coronavirus, schools across America are scrambling to put together a hodgepodge of solutions to continue teaching for learning while their buildings are closed.  Many are valiantly attempting to leverage technology to create on-line and virtual learning opportunities. Unfortunately, weaknesses in technological infrastructure, teacher preparation shortfalls, inequities among students, and ill-equipped students and parents are barriers to success.  The information highway has more than one virtual flat tire.

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Feds Waive Standardized Testing for Current School Year Because of Coronavirus

Chris Butler

On Friday U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said the federal government would waive standardized testing for the 2019-2020 school year because of the ongoing coronavirus emergency.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, (R-TN-07), in a press release, said he appreciated DeVos and U.S. Republican President Donald Trump for this action.

“The gravity of the situation our schools continue to face while navigating the COVID-19 outbreak would have created an undue burden for preparing and administering statewide assessments,” Green said.

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Number of Confirmed Coronavirus Cases in Tennessee Surpasses 200

Chris Butler

Tennessee had 228 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Friday evening, according to the Tennessee Department of Health’s website, although Friday’s news brought cause for some optimism, at least in Davidson County.

Davidson County continued to have the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, 101, according to the TDH website. This, even though Alex Jahangir, who chairs that county’s Metro Coronavirus Task Force, said the number was higher at a press conference Friday morning.

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New American Populist Founder Jeff Webb Proposes the ‘Temporary Income Replacement Act’ as a Bold Solution to Help Bolster American Families and the Economy

Julie Carr

Live from Nashville, Tennessee Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Jeff Webb, founder, and chairman of The New American Populist (TNAP) joined Leahy on the newsmakers line.

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Ohio Department of Health Defies CDC, Refuses to Require Labs to Report Both Positive and Negative Results from Coronavirus Tests

Zachery Schmidt

  Ohio is one of only two states in the union that are refusing to cooperate with requests from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to provide accurate data on the total number of positive and negative tests of coronavirus tests conducted in the state. (Maryland is the other state, as reported in the COVID Tracking Project.) “Having data on negatives, as well as positives, helps us understand the burden of disease. Having that data also gives us insight on the amount of testing being done overall,” a spokesman for the CDC told The Ohio Star on Friday. Earlier this week the CDC, through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, told states they need to send it aggregated data of coronavirus testing. Section 1702 of that law makes it absolutely clear that states are required to provide “aggregated data on testing and results from State and local public health departments.” Aggregated data means complete and comprehensive test results, including both positive and negative results: States and local governments receiving funds or assistance pursuant to this division shall ensure the respective State Emergency Operations Center receives regular and real-time reporting on  aggregated data on testing and results from State and local…

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ACLU, Other Activist Groups Demand Voter Registration Deadline in Ohio Be Moved with New Primary Election Date

Jordyn Pair
early voting

A collective of activist groups submitted a letter to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose demanding that the changes to the primary election also follow the National Voter Registration Act and the Ohio Constitution.

The letter from League of Women Voters of Ohio, A. Philip Randolph Institute Ohio, ACLU of Ohio, Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, and Demos reminded La Rose that the deadline for voter registration must be no more than 30 days before a federal election.

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DeWine to Business Owners: ‘The Reckless Behavior Must Stop’

Zachery Schmidt

Gov. Mike DeWine, during Friday’s press conference on the coronavirus, told business owners that if they don’t follow social distance rules and keep their employees safe there could be consequences.

“Let me make it very clear: I will err on the side of protecting people,” DeWine said at the press conference. “The bad behavior, the reckless behavior, must stop. The protection of life is the most important obligation that I have.”

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22 Percent of New York State Residents Tested for Coronavirus are Positive, Ohio Refuses to Release Negative Test Data So No One Knows Rate in State

Jason M. Reynolds

How many people have tested negative for the coronavirus in Ohio? That’s on a need to know basis, and Gov. Mike DeWine has decided you don’t need to know.

Meanwhile, in New York State, 22 percent of people who took the test were positive, according to The COVID Tracking Project, so residents there at least know what they’re facing.

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Gov. Lee Says Churches Are ‘Risking People’s Lives’ By Continuing to Hold Services

Anthony Gockowski

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said during a Friday press conference that churches that continue to hold services are putting people’s lives at risk.

“Churches that continue to meet and gather with elderly and putting groups of people in the same setting, quite frankly, they’re risking people’s lives,” Lee said during an update on the COVID-19 outbreak in Tennessee. “There are ways to worship and there are ways to serve without congregating people, and I’m urging and challenging churches to do just that.”

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