The Williamson County-based Tennessee Stands published an online column on their website Sunday that called on Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee Department of Health to enforce an already-existing state law enacted late last year. Gary Humble, of Tennessee Stands, referenced House Bill 9077 and its equivalent Senate Bill 9014.
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Along with 15 other governors on Wednesday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called on President Joe Biden to work with states as partners and provide states with maximum flexibility to determine the best use of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds.
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On Wednesday in a press release, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced he will deliver his fourth State of the State address to the General Assembly and fellow Tennesseans on Monday, January 31 at 6 p.m. CT. The joint session will take place in the House Chamber of the Tennessee State Capitol.
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The Tennessee Department of Education announced in a press release it has pioneered a new way to develop teacher pipelines. As of Thursday, Tennessee is the first official state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor to establish a permanent Grow Your Own model, with the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and Austin Peay State University’s Teacher Residency program becoming the first registered apprenticeship program for teaching in the country.
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The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate that would apply to large U.S. businesses. The mandate, which would have been enacted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), could have forced businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate the vaccine or weekly testing.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced appointees to a series of key boards and commissions, according to a Tuesday press release by the Office of the Governor.
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On Tuesday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation marked National Human Trafficking Awareness Day by urging Tennesseans to educate themselves on how to identify human trafficking and support those who have been impacted by it.
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Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Carol Swain in studio to react to critical theory incentives for University of Memphis professors and failed leadership in K12 Tennessee education.
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Staff for Tennessee Governor Bill Lee won’t comment on the matter, but State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) said Thursday that members of the Tennessee National Guard should decide on their own whether to vaccinate against COVID-19. Tennessee National Guard officials said in November that their troops must take the COVID-19 shot or face discharge. This, per a mandate from the U.S. Department of Defense and President Joe Biden.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee appointed Mark Hayes as circuit court judge for the 29th Judicial District to fill the Honorable Russell Lee Moore’s vacancy, effective immediately, according to a Monday press release.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced on Monday that he requested federal emergency assistance for nine counties impacted in the tornado outbreak over the weekend, according to a press release by the Tennessee Department of Military.
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Three Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) employees have come forward to say they will not take the COVID-19 shot, and, subsequently, their employer has forced them into unpaid leave. The ORNL employees have taken the matter to federal court.
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A new Tennessee law prohibits COVID-19 mask mandates in schools, but Governor Bill Lee’s legislative counsel warned in a recent and now heavily publicized email that the law violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Legislative Counsel Liz Alvey sent the email October 30. The AP obtained Alvey’s email through a public records request.
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On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced in a press release two actions he has taken in order to address and tackle the ongoing supply chain crisis happening across the nation.
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The head of the Oklahoma National Guard won’t require his troops to comply with the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but Tennessee National Guard (TNG) troops should not expect their superiors to follow the Oklahoma’s commander’s lead.
TNG spokesman Darrin Haas said Monday that his commanders will enforce Biden’s vaccine mandate.
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On Sunday, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) announced that masks will remain necessary in the school system until further notice despite Governor Bill Lee signing legislation into law that prohibits schools from implementing mask mandates.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Friday signed the COVID omnibus bill into law. This, according to a press release that Lee’s office published Friday evening.
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Along with the seven bills that passed Tennessee’s Legislature during its recent COVID-19 related special session, a joint resolution also passed both chambers of the legislature and sits on Gov. Bill Lee’s desk.
While the bills become law if Lee signs them, “resolutions differ from bills in that they do not become law but simply serve to express the views of the majority of one or both houses of the Legislature.”
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced he will be extending the COVID-19 State of Emergency for two weeks, according to a tweet he sent out Friday afternoon.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee Stands, Gary Humble to the newsmakers line to discuss the Omnibus legislation from last weeks special session.
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On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee awarded Tennessee Department of Correction Special Agent Joe Frye with the U.S. Marshals Service Purple Heart. On November 2, 2020, Frye was shot multiple times on duty in an attempt to capture fugitive Bobby Joe Claybrook. Once Joe was shot, he was immobile, but now has fully recovered from the incident.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed official guest host Grant Henry in studio to weigh in on the integrity of the administrative oversight board for the new Ford Motor Mega Site.
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Members of the Williamson County-based Tennessee Stands on Sunday published their priorities for a presumed special session of the state’s general assembly, and certain priorities address government overreach in the age of COVID-19. “There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed ranging from mandates to education to elections, immigration and the list goes on. But we have to be realistic,” said Tennessee Stands spokesman Gary Humble, in an email to supporters.
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Tennessee State Representative Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) said this week that “history (and Tennessee voters) will not be kind (and will have harsh ridicule) for those in favor of [COVID-19] vaccine mandates.” Griffey, in an emailed statement to the press, said, in his opinion, COVID-19 vaccines do not stop the spread of the virus. But also said state officials must give Tennesseans a choice and educate them about the vaccine’s effectiveness.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Grant Henry for another edition of Grant’s Rants calling for an equal balance of church and state, government and humanities.
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On Friday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn invited Tennesseans to participate in the full review of the state’s education funding formula and explore possibilities for a more student-centered approach.
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On Tuesday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee unveiled the state’s next standard license plate design chosen by Tennesseans through optional statewide participation. The new plate sports a navy blue background with white letters and numbers. In its center is the state’s Tri-Star emblem with the words “The Volunteer State” in the top left corner.
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In September, the Wilson County School Board approved a temporary mask mandate for students, teachers, and staff in the entire school system. The mandate expired on October 4th which led the school board to vote on whether to extend it or not during their meeting Monday night.
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On Thursday, firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson announced that they were moving their headquarters and significant elements of their operations from Springfield, Massachusetts to Maryville, Tennessee in 2023, creating 750 new jobs in Blount County. The move to Tennessee is an investment worth more than $125 million.
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On Wednesday, September 22nd, a group of parents in Williamson County sued the county school system over its mask mandate that impacts students, staff, and faculty. The lawsuit, which was filed by four parents, asks for the federal court to set aside the mask mandate and declares the policy is unconstitutional.
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Staff for Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Friday would not say whether he will follow the lead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and purchase thousands of monoclonal antibody treatments directly from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). GlaxoSmithKiline manufactures the monoclonal antibody treatments.
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Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson to the newsmakers line to weigh in on the confusion regarding monoclonal antibody treatment in Tennessee.
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Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Maury County Tennessee State Representative Scott Cepicky to the newsmakers line to discuss monoclonal antibody guidelines, calling a special session, and circumventing the federal government.
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On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) invited Tennesseans to “Rate the Plates” and help choose the state’s next standard license plate by selecting their favorite design at tn.gov/ratetheplates.
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Officials with two pharmaceutical companies who produce monoclonal antibody treatments said Wednesday that the U.S. government distributes the currently-available supply of those treatments and that those companies may not sell them to hospitals or state governments. A spokesman for the New York state-based Regeneron, who identified himself only as Alex, said the U.S. government owns the currently available supply of REGEN-COV, which is the company’s monoclonal antibody treatment. The U.S. government allocates that product to state governments.
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On Monday, during a routine school board meeting, the Williamson County Board of Education voted to extend the temporary mask requirement for students, staff and visitors at all grade levels, inside all buildings and on buses, through January 19, 2022.
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On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) joined 25 other Republican Governors in signing a letter requesting to meet with President Joe Biden regarding the southern border crisis within the next 15 days.
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Governor Bill Lee’s staff would not say Saturday what measures he or other state officials could take if Afghan refugees relocate to Tennessee without the feds scrutinizing them first for health or security risks. Members of Lee’s communications team did not return The Tennessee Star’s request for comment before Saturday’s stated deadline.
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On Monday, Tennessee State Senator Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) sent a letter to Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally asking for a special session in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order on vaccine mandates.
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On Friday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee appointed A. Blake Neill to serve as circuit court judge for the 25th Judicial District to fill the Honorable Joe H. Walker III’s vacancy, effective immediately, according to a news release from Lee’s office.
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In a proclamation on Friday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee declared the month of September as Campus Fire Safety Month. The declaration is supported by the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) and the Tennessee State Fire.
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Roughly 300 Afghan refugees are headed for Nashville, but one of the organizations taking them in refused to say Monday whether someone or some entity is vetting those refugees for health or security risks. Staff at the Islamic Center of Nashville did not return The Tennessee Star’s repeated requests for comment Monday.
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On Wednesday, Memphis City Council member JB Smiley Jr. announced he is running for Tennessee Governor. Smiley, a Democrat, held an event at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis and posted a video on social media debuting his announcement.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed All-Star Panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to weigh in on Joe Biden’s idea of unity for America.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee this week announced he will fight U.S. President Joe Biden’s stricter and newly-announced COVID-19 vaccine requirements. “To be clear: the vaccine is the best tool we have to combat the pandemic but heavy-handed mandates are the wrong approach,” Lee tweeted Thursday.
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The Tennessee-based Bridge Refugee Services is preparing to accept more Afghan refugees and send them to East Tennessee. The Tennessee Star twice on Wednesday contacted Governor Bill Lee’s communications’ staff to ask for comment and to ask what action, if any, he deemed necessary to respond to new Afghan refugees.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to discuss the course events of Shelby County’s mask mandate lawsuit against Governor Lee.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee commented Saturday evening on the death of Ryan Knauss, an East Tennessean who was one of the 13 American service members killed in a deadly terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan last week “Maria and I are heartbroken and mourning the loss of U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss, a Tennessean who was killed in the tragic terrorist attack on Kabul. On behalf of all Tennesseans, we offer our full support in the difficult days ahead,” Lee tweeted Saturday.
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Shelby County has announced a lawsuit against Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) over his executive order allowing parents to opt their children out of mask mandates. The county says that the order puts children at risk of contracting COVID and even dying.
The complaint, filed Tuesday, says that “Governor Lee’s executive order makes the maintenance and support of a system of free public schools impossible.” The lawsuit opens by stating that Shelby County is in the middle of a “global pandemic, the likes of which the world has not seen in over a century.”
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Members of the Williamson County School (WCS) Board have scheduled a special meeting for Thursday to discuss COVID-19 response strategies related to health and staffing. According to the WCS website, the board meeting will commence at 6 p.m., Thursday, August 26, at the Williamson County Administrative Complex at 1320 West Main Street in Franklin.
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