Author: Tennessee Star Staff

Donald Trump Pardons Kristian Saucier, Navy Sailor Who Used ‘Hillary Clinton Defense’

Tennessee Star Staff

President Trump has pardoned former Navy sailor Kristian Saucier who was convicted of breaking laws by taking a photo inside a nuclear submarine, the White House said Friday. The case gained national attention because the prosecution of Mr. Saucier contrasted sharply with the Obama Justice Department decision not to bring charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified material on her secret email server.

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Marsha Blackburn and Scott DesJarlais Speak at Rally for GOP State Senate Candidate Shane Reeves

Tennessee Star Staff

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) and Rep Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) spoke at a rally in Murfreesboro of enthusiastic Shane Reeves supporters on Saturday, three days in advance of Tuesday’s special election in the 14th State Senate District. The seat was vacated in November when former State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) resigned to accept a position with the Trump administration. Reeves is the Republican candidate in Tuesday’s election, in which he faces the far left self proclaimed atheist Gayle Jordan, the Democratic candidate. The rally was followed by a Day of Action by Reeves’ supporters, who knocked on doors and called voters on behalf of their candidate. Tennessee Republican State Party Chairman Scott Golden also spoke on Reeves’ behalf at the rally. The race has drawn attention in recent days as political observers look for signs that the purported “Blue Wave” of Democratic victories hoped for in the 2018 midterm elections by Democrats has begun to show up in Tennessee. One data point that might support that notion was the surprisingly narrow victory of former Republican State Rep. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) over his Democratic opponent in the December special election to replace former State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) in Wilson County.…

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The Fix Is In: Davidson County Election Commission Ignores Plain Meaning of Law, Votes 3 to 2 to Set August 2 Date for Mayoral Election

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Three of the five members of the Davidson County Election Commission ignored the plain meaning of Tennessee law and voted to set August 2, 2018 as the date for the special election to select a new mayor of Nashville late Friday afternoon, thereby plunging the city into a likely firestorm of lawsuits and threatening the legitimacy of an election held on that date. The meeting was convened in response to the resignation of Mayor Megan Barry on March 6, and the swearing in of Vice Mayor David Briley the same day as acting mayor. Briley has already declared that he will be a candidate for mayor in the upcoming special election. Commission Chairman Jim DeLanis, Commissioner Jesse Neil, and Commissioner Emily Reynolds, all Republicans, formed the three member majority who voted in favor of the motion to set the election date at August 2. Commissioner Tricia Herzfeld and Commissioner A.J. Starling, both Democrats, formed the two member minority who voted against the motion. By the same three to two margin, the commission rejected an earlier motion by Commissioner Herzfeld, an attorney, to submit a request for declaratory judgment before the Chancery Court on Monday to obtain an official ruling…

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WTN Introduces Nashville’s Morning News Host Brian Wilson at Live Town Hall Broadcast

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–WTN introduced Brian Wilson, the new host of Nashville’s Morning News, heard mornings from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. on 99.7 FM, at a round table style town hall event open to the public from the station’s studios on Music Row on Thursday. The one hour event was broadcast live from noon to 1 p.m. on the Dan Mandis Show in front of a studio audience of WTN listeners. All four of the station’s hosts–Wilson, Michael DelGiorno, Dan Mandis, and Phil Valentine–were present for the lively conversation that covered local, state, and national events, and provided WTN listeners with more details about Wilson’s career in broadcast journalism, which began in the oil fields of West Texas, went through Washington, D.C, and has arrived now in Nashville. Audience members traveled from as far away as Manchester, Bell Buckle, and Liepers Fork. Mandis asked Wilson about his career at Fox News. “I worked for the local Fox News affiliate (in Washington D.C.) for 13 years, and then I went over to the Fox News Channel in year number two, and I worked there for 12 years, and eventually rose to be an anchor reporter,” Wilson said. “I had a weekend show…

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Mitt Romney Under Attack in Utah for ‘Liberal Massachusetts Values’

Tennessee Star Staff

Mitt Romney is being hit with the first attack ad of the Utah Senate race Thursday, a slickly produced video that portrays him as a darling of the D.C. establishment and gives him the nickname “flip-flopper Mitt.” The ad from Republican candidate Larry Myers slams Mr. Romney, the presumptive front-runner in the GOP race, with accusations of not being conservative enough for Utah voters. “The D.C. establishment loves Mitt Romney. But Utah voters have a better choice. Larry Myers,” says the announcer.

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Which Democrat Is Obstructing Confirmation on Trump’s Openly-Gay Nominee for Ambassador to Germany?

Tennessee Star Staff

An intriguing fact about the fate of Richard Grenell, President Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to Germany, was revealed Tuesday on the Hugh Hewitt Show. Hewitt began an interview with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) with a question on the fate of Grenell’s nomination: Hewitt: Rick Grenell not getting confirmed is an embarrassment.

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Nashville Business Coalition: Let’s All Support David Briley and Not Have A Contested Election to Select a New Mayor in August

Tennessee Star Staff

Nashville Business Coalition (NBC) asked on Wednesday that residents of Nashville forego the opportunity to choose among competing candidates in the special election to select a mayor to serve out the remaining year of former Mayor Megan Barry’s term in August. On Tuesday, Vice Mayor David Briley was sworn in as Mayor of Nashville after former Mayor Megan Barry resigned in disgrace after pleading guilty to a felony. “The business coalition, which operates a political action committee, wasted little time after the resignation of former Mayor Megan Barry on Tuesday to get behind Briley, voting Wednesday morning to back the former vice mayor,” The Tennessean reported on Wednesday morning. The Tennessean also reported these comments from NBC’s chair of the board of directors, Nancy Stabell: “We encourage all qualified candidates to give the voters of this great city ample opportunity to do what they have done so very well over the last quarter century — elect a great mayor,” said Nancy Stabell, the coalition’s chair. “We simply don’t believe that there is sufficient time between now and the August special election to allow voters that opportunity. “Additionally, continuity of leadership over the next 18 months is absolutely critical to sustain Nashville’s success, and…

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Bill Lee Resigns From Board of Nashville Business Coalition After Group Endorses Democrat David Briley for Mayor of Nashville

Tennessee Star Staff

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee resigned from the board of the Nashville Business Coalition Wednesday afternoon after he learned the group had endorsed David Briley for Mayor and asked other candidates not to contest their chosen pick in the August special election to select a replacement to serve out the balance of former Mayor Megan Barry’s term. Lee sent out this tweet shortly after he learned of the Board’s decision when The Tennessee Star asked his campaign for comment. I strongly disagree with the Nashville Business Coalition’s decision about the Nashville Mayoral race, and I opposed them taking this action. As a result, I have resigned from their board, effective immediately. — Bill Lee (@BillLeeTN) March 7, 2018 “Leadership groups should not discourage others from entering the political process,” Lee added in a statement released to The Star. “Nashville has many talented individuals who are extremely qualified to be considered for leadership roles and our community would benefit from their ideas. We should encourage more people to enter the political arena, not less,” Lee concluded. Among the social media responses to Lee’s resignation from the Nashville Business Coalition board was this one on Twitter:   Good. The race should be open…

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Judson Phillips Commentary: What Kind of Deal Did Megan Barry Get?

Tennessee Star Staff

On Tuesday, Megan Barry resigned as Nashville’s mayor. But before she announced her resignation, she made a trip to criminal court. What happened there? Here is what WKRN said about it: Nashville Mayor Megan Barry pleaded guilty in Davidson County court to felony theft charges Tuesday morning. One condition of her plea agreement was to resign from the office of mayor. Barry pleaded guilty to felony theft of property over $10,000 charges. It is a conditional plea agreement for which Barry will receive three years unsupervised probation. She also must pay $11,000 in restitution and if she follows her plea agreement for next three years, the charges can be dismissed and expunged. In plain, non-lawyer English, Megan Barry walked into the courtroom never having been convicted of a felony. When she left, she still was not a convicted felon. Barry entered a plea under Tennessee’s judicial diversion statute, Tennessee Code Annotated 40-35-313. This is often referred to as a conditional guilty plea. In this type of case, the defendant makes a conditional plea but the judge does not enter the judgment (the legal instrument that convicts someone). The person then serves a period of probation and if they successfully complete…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Resigns In Aftermath of Extramarital Affair With Bodyguard

Tennessee Star Staff

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry announced her resignation at a brief press conference held Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. at Nashville City Hall. The announcement came shortly after she pleaded guilty to felony charges of theft in a Nashville criminal court. “Today is primarily about the smooth transition of power from my administration to that of Vice Mayor David Briley,” Barry said in a statement that lasted less than three minutes:   Nashville, with its boundless energy its infectious optimism . . . will in years ahead continue its steady march to the very top of the list of great American cities. It’s a continued climb that I will watch, but I will watch as a private citizen. Barry’s bodyguard and lover, MNPD Sgt. Rob Forrest, also faces criminal charges, apparently. “Sgt. Forrest is being led into the Court House right now,” NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams reported at 10:15 a.m.  

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Tennessean Report: ‘Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Is Expected to Announce Her Resignation Tuesday Morning’

Tennessee Star Staff

UPDATE:  At 9:05 a.m., WKRN reported “JUST IN: Davidson County Criminal Court says Mayor Barry is expected to appear in criminal court this morning.” 8:15 a.m. The Tennessean is reporting that “Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is expected to announce her resignation at a press conference Tuesday morning.” The mayor has begun calling close advisers to inform them of it, according to multiple sources. The resignation comes amid an investigation of an affair with her former bodyguard Metro police Sgt. Robert Forrest. The resignation means that Vice Mayor David Briley will become acting mayor. This report comes less than 24 hours after The Tennessee Star reported that “On Monday embattled Nashville Mayor Megan Barry called a report by WTN’s Brian Wilson that sources say the mayor and her bodyguard boyfriend Sgt. Rob. Forrest visited Mt. Olivet Cemetery at sunset on several occasions over a six month period “false and slanderous.” The Star has asked Mayor’s Office spokesperson Sean Braisted for comment, but has not yet received a response. Metro Councilman Steve Glover, however, did respond to an inquiry from The Star. “That is my understanding,” Glover told The Star when asked if he can confirm or deny whether Mayor Barry is…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Calls Report by WTN’s Brian Wilson That Sources Say She Visited Mt. Olivet Cemetery with Bodyguard Boyfriend ‘False and Slanderous’

Tennessee Star Staff

On Monday embattled Nashville Mayor Megan Barry called a report by WTN’s Brian Wilson that sources say the mayor and her bodyguard boyfriend Sgt. Rob. Forrest visited Mt. Olivet Cemetery at sunset on several occasions over a six month period “false and slanderous.” Last week, NewsChannel 5 reported, based on sources as well as security video footage shot by nearby local businesses, that Barry and Forrest’s SUV had repeatedly visited the Nashville City Cemetery on a number of mornings for short periods of time, ranging from 12 minutes to 24 minutes. Wilson’s report, which aired on 99.7 FM WTN’s Nashville’s Morning News at 5:05 am and again at 7:05 am on Monday, relied upon sources he considers credible.   At 9 a.m Monday, Mayor Barry sent out this tweet:   Mr. Wilson, your story is false and slanderous and I would appreciate it if you would stop spreading these lies. — Megan Barry (@MayorMeganBarry) March 5, 2018   Wilson punched back, inviting the mayor on his show for a full hour on Tuesday to discuss these and other allegations.   The Tennessee Star contacted Mayor Barry’s office and asked for responses from the mayor to two questions: 1. Mayor Barry today…

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Daughter of WKRN’s Davis Nolan Follows in Dad’s Footsteps

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Amanda Nolan, who served as the Youth In Government Press Corps video producer this weekend, comes by her interest in news and media naturally. Her father is WKRN meteorologist and weekend anchor Davis Nolan. “My wife Ami and I are very proud of Amanda. Her video production comes mostly for her love for music and producing music videos,” Amanda’s proud dad told The Tennessee Star on Friday. “I used to play in a band, and music and weather were my interests. I am glad Amanda is ‘carrying the torch!’ for the music. We are also very proud of her interest in political science. She has really enjoyed YIG [Youth In Government] over the years,” Nolan added. The Star caught up with Amanda Nolan on Saturday as she carried out her video producer duties–which include producing a daily video newscast–at the 65th Annual Youth In Government General Assembly at the State Capitol. We read her dad’s comments to her–which she heard for the first time as we read them–and asked for her reaction. Here’s what she said:   “It made me feel so happy. I love my dad,” Amanda told The Star. “He’s so caring, and he’s always so proud of me…

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Judson Phillips Commentary: Conservatives and Republicans, Here Is Your Wakeup Call!

Tennessee Star Staff

by Judson Phillips Conservatives and Republicans have just gotten a wakeup call. The problem is, no one is paying attention. In Texas, a new record has been set for early voting in a non-Presidential election. Who is turning out these votes? It is the Democrats, not the Republicans. Democrats, across the nation, are turning out in record numbers, while conservatives and Republicans are staying home. If conservatives and Republicans don’t get off their collective backsides and get involved now, this fall will be a disaster of biblical proportions. The Republicans should hold the Senate. The Democrats have 24 seats they are defending, including 10 in states carried by President Trump. The Republicans are only defending 8. At least four of the Democrat seats are rated as tossups and only one Republican seat. The House is much more problematic. The Republicans have a 25 seat majority in the House but the Democrats are putting on a full court press. Where are the Republicans? The Republicans are playing safe ball, just trying to keep their majority. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who pulled off what most people considered impossible in 1994 and gave the GOP its first majority in the House in…

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Nathan Deal, Georgia Governor, Signs Bill Without Delta Tax Break After NRA Rift

Tennessee Star Staff

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed Friday a tax-reform bill that eliminated a lucrative tax break for Delta Airlines over dropping its partnership with the National Rifle Association, but the airline insisted that there are no hard feelings. Delta CEO Ed Bastian called the Republican governor a “great friend” despite the signing of the $5 billion tax-cut legislation, which was shorn by the state Senate of a $50 million jet-fuel tax exemption last week in retaliation for Delta’s ending of its discount deal for NRA members.

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Politicizing Parkland: DNC Enlists Student Survivor for Election-Year Voter Drive

Tennessee Star Staff

Not only have major left-wing activist groups partnered with Parkland students to push for gun control, but the Democratic National Committee has enlisted at least one shooting survivor to campaign on its behalf. The DNC issued a get-out-the-vote email Friday signed by Sara Imam, who wrote a first-person plea urging people to join the Democratic Party’s…

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Could Robert Mueller Be Giving Up on Russia-Trump Collusion?

Tennessee Star Staff

Responding to a congressional Republican’s call to end the House investigation into Russian election meddling, former Whitewater prosecutor Solomon Wisenberg noted Thursday night that the probe appears no closer to implicating President Donald Trump than when it first began. Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told Fox News earlier in the day that the panel has “gone completely off the rails and that this investigation needs to end.”

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GOP Senator Demands Answers on Anthony Weiner Email Delay

Tennessee Star Staff

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) wants answers from the Justice Department. He wants to know why the FBI waited for weeks before acting on the discovery of thousands of State Department emails on the laptop of ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, according to Fox News. Fox obtained a letter sent to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosentein by Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Text messages between then-FBI supervisor Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page indicate the two were aware of the emails long before the agency sought a warrant in late October 2016 to search Weiner’s computer.

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Metro Nashville Public Schools Budget Debacle: System ‘Unexpectedly’ Discovers $7.5 Million Shortfall

Tennessee Star Staff

The Metro Nashville Public Schools admitted the school system has a $7.5 million budgeting shortfall in a blockbuster announcement released on Friday. “Teachers braced for impact after Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Dr. Shawn Joseph made the stunning admission that the district was set to lose $7.5 million in state funding, due to a unpredicted drop in student enrollment numbers,” NewsChannel 5 reported. A grim fiscal outlook for next fiscal years, means some principals may be forced to cut as many as 17 positions at schools where enrollment decreases are the highest. For the first time in 15 years, Metro Nashville Public School’s enrollment numbers have dropped. District officials thought they would add more than 1,500 students in 2017 instead the district lost 500 students. Because of the drop in enrollment, the district is expected to lose $7.5 million in state funding, which had already been built into the budget. MNPS School Director Dr. Shawn Joseph offered no explanation for the administrative budgeting fiasco that failed to anticipate the enrollment decline in a letter sent to teachers on Friday. Instead, he simply acknowledged that a budget shortfall existed for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. “Budgeting for the many needs in our…

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Youth In Government Press Corps Produces Daily Video Newscast from Temporary HQ in New Cordell Hull Building

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Youth In Government Press Corps video editor Chasity Chambers and video producer Amanda Nolan, along with their student team of on-air talent, are documenting the daily events at the 65th Annual Youth In Government General Assembly, a program of the Tennessee YMCA Center for Civic Engagement, at the State Capitol with daily video newscasts. Nolan, a senior at Mt. Juliet High School, comes by her interest in media production naturally. Her father, Davis Nolan, is the long time weather forecaster at WKRN TV in Nashville. Nolan will be attending Vanderbilt University in the fall. Chambers, a veteran of the Youth In Government Press Corps, attends Smyrna High School. The General Assembly, which runs for three full days and one half day, began here in Nashville early Thursday morning, and wraps up at noon on Sunday. The Press Corps team delivered daily video newscasts and Thursday and Friday, and will finish up with a third newscast late Saturday. The Tennessee Star sat down with Chambers and Nolan at the temporary headquarters of the Press Corps in Hearing Room 4 of the Cordell Hull Building late Friday to hear how the leadership duo puts together their newscast. “It’s been a super…

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Hot Off the Presses! Student Journalists Publish Daily Editions of Hard Copy Newspaper

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–In an era where hard copy newspapers are shrinking in size and, in many cases, disappearing from the scene entirely, the student journalists who form the Press Corps at the 65th Annual Youth In Government General Assembly held this week in Nashville are bucking the trend. Led by Press Corps print editor Emeline Sharpe, the crew of nine student journalists are writing, producing, publishing and distributing at least one edition–and sometimes more–a day of The Ledger, a 6 to 8 page hard copy newspaper that documents the events making news at the conference. The Tennessee Star spoke with Sharpe Friday afternoon at the temporary headquarters of the Press Corps in Hearing Room 4 of the Cordell Hull Building at the State Capitol to hear the behind-the-scenes details of this student-run media operation. “I definitely couldn’t do it without everyone in the Press Corps. We have a bunch of members this year,” Sharpe told The Star. “I work with InDesign” to produce the paper, she added. “Thankfully, we have a format from years past, so the startup isn’t too bad. I go through Google Drive, and make sure there’s lots of organization and no one’s confused and all my articles…

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65th Annual Youth In Government General Assembly Convenes in Nashville

Tennessee Star Staff

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–More than 500 high school student delegates from across Tennessee gathered in Nashville on Thursday to attend the first day of the 65th Annual Youth In Government General Assembly, a Tennessee YMCA Center for Civic Engagement program. Susan Moriarty, executive director of the Tennessee YMCA Center for Civic Engagement, who, along with associate director Elise Addington Dugger runs the annual event, told The Tennessee Star that more than 2,500 Tennessee high school students in grades 9 through 12 participate in Youth In Government events scheduled throughout the year. On Thursday, delegates met at the Nashville First Baptist Church. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday they will meet at the House Chambers, the Senate Chambers, and the Cordell Hull Building of the State Capitol. The closing ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday in the House Chambers. Delegates are assigned specific roles, either as members of the General Assembly in the House or Senate, judges on the Supreme Court or lawyers arguing before the Court, lobbyists, members of the Governor’s Cabinet, or members of the Press Corps. The 30 member press corps this year publishes two to three editions of the newspaper each day, as well as a daily video…

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Analysis: Vanderbilt University ‘Barry Poll’ Relies Upon Suspect Methodology That Has Little Political Applicability

Tennessee Star Staff

A new Vanderbilt University poll of 800 “residents” of Davidson County purports to claim that Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has seen little slippage of popularity despite her ongoing sex scandal, including new revelations regarding nude photos, questionable use of overtime security details at non-official events, and continued investigations into potential misuse of public funds and lack of transparency. The “poll” indicates that Barry has see a decline in her approval rating from 72% in a similar poll a year ago to 61% today. The Vanderbilt Poll, which will be released with further details on March 4, 2018, was provided in a “limited preview release” to The Tennessean on February 27. The methodology of the “poll” raises serious questions concerning both the political applicability as well as the means by which the data was collected. 1. The survey was conducted from February 8-19, 2018. No serious polling operation ever conducts a poll over eleven days, particularly when new information is coming forth on a daily basis. 2. Polling “residents” rather than “registered voters,” or more appropriately “likely voters,” limits the political application of the polling data because those who are not even registered to vote tend to be less informed and…

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Tina Jones Announces Campaign for Rutherford County Mayor

Tennessee Star Staff

Former Rutherford County Commissioner Tina Jones announced her candidacy for Rutherford County Mayor on Wednesday. Current Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess has said he will not seek re-election, and State Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) has already he is seeking the job as well. Here is the full statement of Jones’ announcement: Tina Jones, a Republican businesswoman with 7 generations of her family having lived in Rutherford County, has launched her campaign for County Mayor. Jones is a 38-year resident of Rutherford County and served as a Rutherford County Commissioner for 12 years, serving on the Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission for 8 of those 12 years. Jones is known as being one of the most effective leaders during her tenure in office and a forceful advocate for keeping taxes low. “These are challenging times for our county because of the rapid growth, traffic congestion, increasing crime rates and the need to ensure that our children are getting the best education possible,” Jones noted in making her announcement. “But this is also a time of great opportunity if we make the right decisions to move our county forward, keep taxes low and retain the values that have made our community such…

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Judge: Charlottesville, VA Must Take Shrouds Off Confederate Statues

Tennessee Star Staff

A Charlottesville, Va., judge ordered the city Tuesday to uncover its two Confederate statues. Richard E. Moore, judge for the Charlottesville Circuit Court denied the city’s request to keep its Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson covered in black curtains until a year after the death of Heather Heyer, slain at the August “Unite the Right” rally, reported The Washington Post.

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Defiant Mayor Megan Barry Refuses to Resign: ‘The Tennesseean Is Welcome to Their Opinion’

Tennessee Star Staff

Embattled Nashville Mayor Megan Barry responded defiantly late Wednesday to the call from the Editorial Board of The Tennessean earlier in the day for her to resign. That call comes in the aftermath of her admission to an extramarital affair with her former bodyguard, Metro Nashville Police Sgt. Rob Forrest. “I was elected to serve as mayor by the voters of Davidson County, and I will continue to do so. The Tennessean is welcome to their opinion,” she said in a statement released by Sean Braisted, director of communications for the Mayor’s Office. The Tennessean’s call for her resignation, written by the paper’s very liberal opinion page editor, David Plazas, pulled no punches: A leader must put the interests and the needs of the people she serves above her own. We thought Nashville Mayor Megan Barry was doing just that. However, it has become abundantly clear in recent weeks that this is not the case after the revelation of her affair with her subordinate and former head of security, retired Metro Nashville Police Department Sgt. Rob Forrest. This is a confounding and disappointing situation: – How he could rack up more than $170,000 in overtime pay over three years, which…

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Williamson County School Board Stonewalls Public, Votes Unanimously to Support Superintendent Looney, Arrested for Assault Last Week

Tennessee Star Staff

FRANKLIN, Tennessee–The Williamson County School Board held a special meeting Monday night in Franklin, and voted unanimously to issue a statement of support for embattled Superintendent of Schools Mike Looney, who was arrested last week on assault charges. The vote was 12 to zero. The highly choreographed meeting lasted barely half an hour, and left many in the estimated crowd of 100 members of the public in attendance frustrated, as they were not permitted to speak or ask questions of the board during the meeting or prior to the vote. Williamson County School Board Chairman Gary Anderson began the meeting by reading, in its entirety, the statement of support, which, after one small amendment, was unanimously approved by the Board. During the discussion period, Board Member Eric Welch said “As a parent of a Williamson County Schools student, if my child ever has a psychologically stressful situation in school, I hope that Mike Looney is present,” a remark that caused audible ripples of laughter and headshaking in the crowd. One remarkable admission was made by the School Board in the statement: There is currently no governing law in the state of Tennessee that addresses the issue of how a Superintendent…

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Bob Corker Will Not Seek Re-Election to U.S. Senate

Tennessee Star Staff

On Tuesday, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) publicly confirmed that he will not be seeking re-election to a third term in the U.S. Senate. Corker announced back on September 26 that he would not seek a third term, but earlier this month stated that he was reconsidering that decision. Corker’s chief of staff broke the news early Tuesday morning in Politico, then issued a written statement picked up by other media outlets. The icy reception Corker received when he spoke at the Shelby County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday night may have played a role in his decision to bow out without risking a humiliating defeat against front runner Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) in the August Republican primary. The Tennessee Star reported on Saturday’s event in Memphis: Corker and his consultants have been trying to generate the perception of momentum for him to get in the race by “encouraging” speculative stories in national publications over the past several days, including in USA Today and ABC News. Those efforts, however, have fallen flat. Sources in the Corker camp had previously indicated to the press that he was going to make and announce a decision on the Senate race one or the…

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Former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey Endorses Marsha Blackburn in U.S. Senate Race

Tennessee Star Staff

Just a few days after nearly twenty current Republican Tennessee State Senators endorsed Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn in her race for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate a former State Senator has joined her team as well. Former Tennessee Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey expressed his support for Blackburn in a tweet earlier today: “I’m proud to support my good friend @VoteMarsha and join grassroots supporters that make up #TeamMarsha. We fought the state income tax together and I know that she will take that same conservative spirit to put Tennessee first all the way to the U.S. Senate. I #StandWithMarsha.” Ramsey, a Republican from Blountville, served as the 49th Lt. Governor of Tennessee and Speaker of the State Senate from 2007 to 2017. He was the first Republican to serve as Speaker of the Senate after140 years of Democratic Party control. He was succeeded by current Republican Lt. Governor Randy McNally (Oak Ridge). Current U.S. Senator Bob Corker announced his decision not to seek reelection for a third term last September. However, he has recently indicated that he is “reconsidering” his decision.

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Steve Gill Commentary: Teacher’s Union Salaries Far Exceed Payments to Classroom Teachers

Tennessee Star Staff

The State Board of Education instituted a minimum teacher’s salary of $33,745 in 2017, which essentially established a starting salary for the approximately 10 months a year that teachers work each year. Overall, Tennessee teachers receive an average annual salary of over $50,000. How does that stack up against income earners across the country? According to the National Taxpayers Union (ntu.org) the starting salary for most teachers would place the near the top half of income earners. The AVERAGE teacher salary would place an individual teacher at about the top THIRD of income earners. There is no question that the best teachers deserve better compensation, but education bureaucrats and the teachers’ unions have long fought to preserve a system that essentially pays the best and the worst the same amount. Every day, millions of teachers’ union members have money taken from their paychecks to support their union’s liberal political agenda. The TEA/NEA use teachers’ dues money to almost exclusively support the Democratic Party nationally. The activism of the TEA/NEA nationally includes endorsements of candidates like Hillary Clinton, demonizing 2nd Amendment advocates, and supporting abortion with donations to Planned Parenthood . Are Tennessee teachers’ union dues being used to promote their own beliefs…

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Aggressive ‘NRA Boycott’ Expands and Organizes

Tennessee Star Staff

Boycott NRA, a newly formed activist group, has launched a public petition calling for commercial concerns to cut ties with the National Rifle Association. The cause already has topped 30,000 signatures, and it is one of about a dozen similar petitions launched on Change.org, which provides a free online platform for public pleas and causes – to the tune of 1,000 petitions a day.

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Megan Barry Has Increased Size of Mayor’s Office Staff by 60 Percent

Tennessee Star Staff

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has increased the size of the Mayor’s Office staff from 22 in August 2015, the month before she was elected and sworn in to office, to 36 in February 2018. The Tennessee Star asked Sean Braisted, director of communications for the Mayor’s Office, to explain why Mayor Barry increased the size of her office staff by more than 60 percent during her two and a half years in office, but received no response.   News of this massive increase in her personal entourage comes on the heels of revelations of her increased use of security personnel in contrast to her predecessors and the burgeoning scandal over her extramarital affair with Sgt. Rob Forrest, the former Metro Nashville Police Dept officer who headed her security detail until Jan. 31.   It also highlights a growing concern about a lack of checks and balances and the failure to apply standard internal controls to financial and personnel operations within Metro Nashville Davidson County Government during Barry’s tenure. At least five other examples of these failures have come light in the month since Mayor Barry admitted to an extramarital affair with her former bodyguard. The so-called “computer glitch” in which for…

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‘Hamlet on the Tennessee River’: Bob Corker Attends Shelby County GOP Dinner, Says ‘I Don’t Have Anything to Say’

Tennessee Star Staff

Both Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), the incumbent senator who said on September 26 he would not run for a third term but has been “reconsidering” that decision in recent weeks, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat Corker is vacating, spoke at the Shelby County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday night. “I don’t have anything to say but at some point I might,” was all Corker had to say after Saturday’s event about a potential reversal of his decision not to run for re-election. Even the national press corps is finding Corker’s constant back and forth on this a source of amusement. “Hamlet on the Tennessee River,” Washington Post correspondent and NBC News contributor Robert Costa tweeted late Saturday night Hamlet on the Tennessee River https://t.co/N6tBjCWjEu — Robert Costa (@costareports) February 25, 2018 Vaughn Hillyard of NBC news tweeted the following after Saturday’s event in Shelby County: Corker after this Memphis dinner on possible re-elect bid: “I don’t have anything to say but at some point I might.” https://t.co/chUuCKbfbF — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) February 25, 2018 Several commenters on Twitter pointed out that Memphis is on the Mississippi River,…

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Interior Is Weeks Away From Holding the Largest Oil and Gas Lease Sale in History

Tennessee Star Staff

The Interior Department next month will offer 77.3 million acres for offshore drilling in what the federal agency calls the largest oil and gas lease sale in U.S. history. “Responsibly developing our offshore energy resources is a major pillar of President Trump’s American Energy Dominance strategy,” Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt said in a prepared statement.

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Judson Phillips Commentary: Diane Black and Freedom

Tennessee Star Staff

One of the issues I have worked on for several years has been IRS abuse. The attitude and actions of the Internal Revenue Service towards conservatives has been nothing short of shocking. IRS employees gave 94% of their political contributions to Hillary Clinton. IRS workers were busted for telling people to vote for Barack Obama. Lois Lerner, the infamous former IRS executive, targeted conservative and Tea Party groups. Lerner and her ilk did not simply delay non-profit approval for these groups. Conservatives and conservative groups were targeted for auditing and worse. In 2014, every 501(C)(4) group that was audited by the IRS was a conservative group. What a lot of people do not know is that when the IRS scandal broke in 2013, Lerner and Obama appointees from the Department of Justice were conspiring to prosecute conservatives for the crime of being conservative. All of this leads to something called Schedule B and Diane Black. Schedule B is an addendum that has to be filed by non-profit groups, listing their donors. Left wing groups and left wing Attorneys General want these documents. Why? Because with a donor list, they can harass the donors for conservative organizations and some of these…

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McCain Associate Invokes Fifth Over Anti-Trump Dossier

Tennessee Star Staff

An associate of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself to avoid revealing information to Congress about the so-called Steele dossier assembled to damage Donald Trump in run for the White House. David J. Kramer, a former State Department official, pleaded the Fifth in response to a subpoena issued in December by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Fox News reported.

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Report: Four Broward County Sheriff’s Deputies Waited Outside Florida School During Shooting, Failed to Enter

Tennessee Star Staff

Coral Springs Police officers responded to a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14th and were “stunned” to find that four Broward County Sheriff’s Deputies who’d arrived before them had not yet entered the school building where the shooting was taking place, according to an explosive report first posted by CNN.

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CPAC-Times Poll: Conservatives Love Trump — But Not So Much the Tweeting

Tennessee Star Staff

President Trump has taken firm reins of the conservative movement in the U.S. according to the CPAC-Washington Times poll that found grassroots leaders on the political right thrilled with just about everything he’s doing – except his tweeting. Mr. Trump scored a massive 93 percent approval rating from the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

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White House Releases Democrats’ Memo on Russia Probes

Tennessee Star Staff

The White House on Saturday released a redacted version of a Democratic congressional memo that rebuts a Republican account of alleged FBI surveillance abuses. The release of the Democratic memo came three weeks after the release of the Republican version of events, which was compiled by staffers of House intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes of California.…

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