Metro Property Assessor Claimed Resident Is Avoiding 2020 Property Tax Hike After Receiving Unanimous Council, Legislator Approval to Move Property Lines – Resident Filed Request in 2019

Vivian Wilhoite

Metro Nashville City Council and the Wilson County Commission recently approved a request by Davidson County resident Mason Hunter to move the county line dividing the counties so that his entire property would be located within Wilson County.

Press reports questioned the merits of that decision.

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Commentary: Down with Asa Hutchinson and Other Useless Republicans

On Tuesday, the Republican-led Arkansas legislature overrode Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Monday veto of the aptly named “Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act” (SAFE Act). The SAFE Act would prevent vulnerable minors from irrevocably transforming their bodies according to the dictates of an extreme ideology that sees no value, let alone the reality in, the primordial human sexual dimorphism and all that it implies and demands.

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Tennessee House Passes Resolution Congratulating Candace Owens’ Move from D.C. to Tennessee

The Tennessee House passed a resolution Thursday congratulating acclaimed conservative pundit, author, Daily Wire talk show host, BLEXIT founder, and new mother Candace Owens for her move to Tennessee.

Owens announced her move to Nashville last October, when she also revealed that she would be joining conservative media outlet, The Daily Wire. Last month she debuted her show, “Candace,” with the outlet. 

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CBP Repeatedly Fails to Provide Transportation for Migrants Leaving Them and Agents Exposed for Hours

Illegal migrants are repeatedly held outside overnight, sometimes in the rain and cold, without cover for them or law enforcement officials working to process them after they arrive in the Rio Grande Valley sector of southern Texas.

The Daily Caller News Foundation saw hundreds of illegal migrants held overnight where a handful of law enforcement officials, including a few Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents worked on gathering biographical data while waiting hours for transportation near La Joya, Texas, on March 24 and March 27. CBP officials repeatedly refused to confirm or deny the situation in the Rio Grande Valley.

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Metro Nashville Council Passes Bill Reducing Lifetime Health Benefits for Council Members

A bill to reduce lifetime health benefits for Metro Nashville City Council members passed on Tuesday. Mayor John Cooper quickly approved it on Wednesday. However, there were significant amendments from the initial proposal to the adopted version. 

Notably, the final version of the bill extended the grandfathering deadline – which also required council members to serve eight years or more – from 2023 to 2027. Additionally, Metro government will cover 75 percent of benefits during the first two years of continued participation in their healthcare plan, 50 percent for the next two years, and 25 percent after that. In the initial proposal, Metro government would’ve covered 25 percent.

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Biden Announces Executive Actions on Gun Control, Says Changes Won’t Impact Second Amendment

President Biden on Thursday announced executive order’s he signed on gun control, including ones to address the issue of homemade, untraceable firearms knows as “ghost guns” and strengthen so-called “red flag” laws that allow police or family members to ask a court to order the temporary removal of guns from a person they say presents a danger to themself and others.

“Enough, enough, enough,” Biden, a Democrat, said in a Rose Garden event before announcing the orders, and following a recent series of mass shootings.

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Jobless Claims Increase to 744,000 as Economy Continues Slow Recovery

Unemployment sign

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims increased to 744,000 last week as the economy continues to slowly recover from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics figure released Thursday represented an increase in the number of new jobless claims compared to the week ending March 27, when 728,000 new jobless claims were reported. That number was revised up from the 719,000 jobless claims initially reported last week.

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State Rep. Bruce Griffey Reinstated to Committees by Speaker Cameron Sexton

Less than two weeks after being removed from the House Civil Justice, Criminal Justice, and Education Instruction Committees, Rep. Bruce Griffey’s (R-Paris) membership was reinstated by Speaker Cameron Sexton.

Griffey’s removal came unceremoniously at the end of the March 25 House floor session, three days following a testy exchange on the House floor primarily with House Parliamentarian Daniel Hicks, and to a lesser degree Sexton himself, related to Griffey’s use of Rule 53 of the House Permanent Rules of Order for the 112th General Assembly for his proposed E-Verify legislation.

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Abbott: Biden Administration Is Presiding over ‘Abuse of Children’

Gov. Greg Abbott held a short press conference Wednesday night outside of the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio to discuss allegations about the abuse of migrant minors occurring at a federally run detention center.

Two separate state agencies received reports of child abuse and neglect occurring at the Freeman Coliseum, problems Abbott says “are a byproduct of [President Joe] Biden’s open border policies and lack of planning and fallout from those disastrous policies.”

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Pentagon Promotes Radical Resources to Kill ‘Extremism in Ranks’

The Defense Department is promoting reading resources on opposing “systemic racism” that include radical authors as part of a program to combat extremism within the ranks of the military.  

In a virtual meeting for “all hands” last month, the agenda—obtained by The Daily Signal—counted the scandal-plagued Southern Poverty Law Center as a credible resource alongside the Department of Homeland Security and the University of Maryland. 

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CDC Director Wants Stricter COVID-19 Measures in Michigan as Cases Surge

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has suggested that the Michigan should implement stricter COVID-19 measures as hospitalizations from the deadly virus surge in the state.

“I would advocate for sort of stronger mitigation strategies, as you know, to sort of decrease the community activity, ensure mask-wearing, and we’re working closely with the state to try and work towards that,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky reportedly said regarding Michigan in a Wednesday briefing. 

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Fairfax to McAuliffe in Democrat Forum: ‘You Treated Me Like George Floyd’

  Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Justin Fairfax, a Democrat, and State Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) are not backing down from a fight with fellow Democrat and former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. Fairfax is one of the many candidates who is locked in a fiercely competitive primary with McAuliffe; which includes State Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), Delegate Lee Carter (D-Prince William), and former Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Prince William). During Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate for Governor, Lieutenant Governor Fairfax made a statement that floored Virginia politicos of all political stripes. Mr. Fairfax, when asked about past allegations of sexual assault stated: I was falsely accused in 2019. Everyone here on the stage called for my immediate resignation, including Terry McAuliffe, three minutes after the press release came out. He treated me like George Floyd, treated me like Emmett Till. No due process. Immediately assumed my guilt. (emphasis added) After the debate, former Governor Terry McAuliffe was endorsed by incumbent Ralph Northam in an apparent snub to not only Lieutenant Governor Fairfax, but the rest of the field of progressive Democrats. While Democrat voters and activists continue to move the party farther to the left, the Democratic Party of Virginia establishment continues…

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‘I Ate Too Many Drugs:’ Focus in Chauvin Trial Turns to Floyd Statement During Arrest

The trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin focused Wednesday on a statement made by George Floyd during his arrest, which sparked disagreement between state prosecutors and Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s attorney. 

“Did you hear Mr. Floyd say, ‘I ate too many drugs,’” Nelson asked Special Agent James Reyerson, who was called as a witness by the prosecution. 

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Abrams Blames Republicans for Economic Blow After Leading MLB Boycott

After leading a boycott against Major League Baseball’s All-Star game, originally scheduled to be held in Atlanta, failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is backtracking and blaming Republicans for the negative economic impact that the boycott will have on Georgia. 

“Republicans who passed and defended Senate Bill 202 did so knowing the economic risks for our state,” Abrams said in a statement posted to her Twitter account. “They prioritized making it harder for people of color to vote over the economic well-being of Georgians.” 

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Democrats Approve Northam’s Investigation into Parole Board Investigation

Democrats approved Governor Ralph Northam’s proposal for an investigation into a 2020 investigation of the Virginia Parole Board. In Wednesday’s veto session, legislators passed a Northam budget amendment funding a $250,000 investigation into the 2020 Vincent Martin parole investigation. Although both Republicans and Democrats have been calling for a new investigation, Republicans said the proposal was too narrow and criticized the decision to allow the Attorney General any oversight.

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Tennessee Senate Pulls Back on Bill Removing Local Health Authority Powers, Rendering Them Advisory Bodies During Health Emergencies

A bill which proposed removing local health authorities’ powers during health emergencies was re-referred to the Senate Calendar Committee on Thursday. State Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville) requested this action without explanation during the bill’s third and final hearing.

If passed, the bill would specify that county mayors have the authority to establish and implement health policies during county-wide health emergencies – not local health officials or bodies. Instead, all county health directors, health officers, and boards of health could only serve in an advisory capacity to the mayor.

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