In its annual Pork Report published earlier this week, the Beacon Center of Tennessee highlighted three areas of waste, fraud, and abuse of Tennessee taxpayer money in East Tennessee. The report specifically identified the issues of the city of Knoxville’s lawsuit against Netflix and Hulu, synthetic turf athletic fields in Johnson City, and pickleball courts in Bristol.
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Two police officers are dead and another is seriously injured after a shooting in Bristol, Connecticut, police said Thursday.
The suspected gunman waited outside as officers responded to a domestic incident call in a residential area of Bristol on Wednesday evening, Connecticut State Police said. When the officers arrived, the suspect opened fire, killing one officer on site, officials said. The other officer died in the hospital.
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Tennessee Hills Distillery officials announced Monday that the company will invest $21.3 million to expand in Northeast Tennessee by adding a Bristol location to serve as the company’s new headquarters. The company’s newest investment joins its existing operations in Jonesborough and Johnson City.
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Advanced Call Center Technologies (ACT) announced Monday it will establish new operations in Bristol and Kingsport, creating 650 new jobs in Sullivan County. ACT’s expansion in the region will create 350 new jobs at its Kingsport facility and 300 jobs in Bristol, according to a press release by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD).
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An anti-gun group will host protests in five cities later this month, as part of a nationwide effort to push gun control in the wake of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
“What we are demanding from our state’s legislators should not be controversial, and will help to prevent preventable deaths in our communities,” said Carson Ferrara, a rising senior at Vanderbilt University and representative of March For Our Lives. “Last year, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a law that allows anyone to carry a loaded gun in public without a permit. He signed it at a weapons manufacturing plant.”
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Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, covered a Bristol, Pennsylvania, town hall held by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Senate GOP candidate endorsed by President Donald J. Trump, where the heart surgeon and former TV star addresses questions about his dual citizenship with Turkey.
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Tri-City Extrusion, Inc. (TCE) officials recently announced that the company will invest $30.8 million to expand its manufacturing operations in Northeast Tennessee.
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The Bristol, Tennessee City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to move forward with a lawsuit against its neighbor Bristol, Virginia over the Virginia city’s stinky landfill. The motion authorizes law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP to issue a notice of intent to sue to potential defendants, which is required at least 60 days before filing the suit. It does not obligate the Tennessee city to pursue legal action or block it from seeking a non-judicial settlement.
“We’ve suffered a lot, all of us. I don’t think there’s anybody in the room or sitting up here that wants to take legal action, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. So, I just want to tell you that I’m sorry that you’re going through it. I thought many times that maybe we have gotten past it. I thought the last two days I didn’t smell anything, and right when I pulled up today, I smelled it here,” Bristol, Tennessee City Council Member Chad Keen said.
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The former district manager for the Bristol-Bluff City Utility allegedly misappropriated more than $294,000 in district funds and spent it on herself. This, according to an audit that Tennessee Comptrollers released this month.
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Virginia’s GOP nomination process for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general is grabbing headlines but early voting in the Democratic primary is still ongoing, and the final day of voting is in June. On Wednesday and Thursday, Democrats held debates between their candidates for attorney general and governor.
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Governor Ralph Northam announced newly-signed legislation Friday that will require approximately eight percent of model year 2025 vehicles sold in Virginia to be zero-emissions vehicles. HB 1965, introduced by Delegate Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico), adds Virginia to the list of states following California’s vehicle emissions standards, which are stricter than the federal standards Virginia currently follows.
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Four cities have voted to bring casinos to Virginia for the first time, according to unofficial results reported on The Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP). Although Norfolk City is only reporting 93.9 percent of its votes, over 42,611 of those votes are in favor of the initiative versus 22,822 against.
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Eight churches in Bristol, Virginia are fighting against a proposed $400 million Hard Rock casino; residents will vote on the referendum this November. The coalition cites studies claiming that casinos prey on gambling addicts and questions whether a casino would draw high numbers of tourists as claimed by supporters of the referendum. Proponents say the casino would bring Bristol $15-$20 million a year in taxes and over 2,000 jobs averaging salaries of $46,500.
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The superintendent of the Bristol, Tenn. City School System reportedly wants school leaders across Tennessee and around the nation to have a comprehensive cybersecurity plan — immediately. Whether phishing attempts or outright hacks, cyberattacks on schools are reportedly increasing in grades K-12, according to a new article in EdScoop.com. The article discussed how Lilly joined two other superintendents to discuss school cybersecurity during a recent national webinar. The three superintendents, the website went on to say, offered five reasons to make cybersecurity a priority. The first reason must do with liability, according to EdScoop.com “Districts and school leaders can be held liable for network breaches. Individual superintendents and principals can even be sued. School management needs to take reasonable steps to ensure protection beyond data sharing policies,” the website reported. “Lilly explained that his schools, for instance, have frequent administrative access audits to ensure they can’t see information they shouldn’t, like Social Security numbers.” The other two superintendents on the webinar were Steve Bradshaw, who is a school superintendent in Montana, and Juan Cabrera, a school superintendent in El Paso, according to the website. “Bradshaw recommended all districts hold cybersecurity insurance so that the school can take care of problems…
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