Ridership on Tennessee’s one line of Amtrak service has dropped considerably since pre-pandemic numbers as the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations prepares a study on passenger service in the state.
The line of Tennessee service runs daily on a route between Chicago and New Orleans that stops in both Memphis and Newbern-Dyersburg.
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A U.S. Senator from Tennessee, along with several of her colleagues, announced Friday that she had introduced legislation aiming to stop the federal government from kicking soldiers out of the National Guard due to their COVID-19 vaccination status.
“Joe Biden announced the ‘pandemic is over,’ and therefore has no reason to continue to fire our servicemembers using his politically-motivated vaccine mandate,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn in a press release. “America’s national readiness should not be jeopardized because this White House is hellbent on preserving their forever pandemic. My legislation continues my work to strengthen our armed forces and prevent yet another unconstitutional power grab from the Biden administration.”
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Tennessee’s governor is calling for an investigation after a scandal emerged involving a transgender clinic at Vanderbilt University.
“The ‘pediatric transgender clinic’ at Vanderbilt University Medical Center raises serious moral, ethical and legal concerns,” Lee said in a statement. “We should not allow permanent, life-altering decisions that hurt children or policies that suppress religious liberties, all for the purpose of financial gain. We have to protect Tennessee children, and this warrants a thorough investigation.”
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Health care settings that advertise surgical and hormonal procedures for gender-confused youth as young as 13 are throwing their offerings down the memory hole, following exposure by critics of such procedures for children.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center took down the pages for its transgender clinic and pediatric counterpart after conservative author Matt Walsh posted videos Tuesday of its officials calling the clinics financially lucrative and warning that resistant VUMC employees would face “consequences” for not participating.
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Tucker Carlson Thursday night ripped Tennessee’s governor for what he sees as soft-on-crime policies in the wake of a murderous rampage that left four dead in Memphis.
“So this happened in a city that is collapsing due to violence,” Carlson said on his show “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “Memphis set an all time record for homicides last year. Earlier this week, a woman called Eliza Fletcher, as you know, was kidnapped and murdered while she was out for a jog in her neighborhood. Her killer had just gotten out of jail on a kidnapping charge. He was let out years early. So, he got out and committed the same crime, this time with murder.”
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Author and former MSNBC contributor Jon Meacham was named to the Board of Fellows of the University of Tennessee’s newly established Institute for American Civics last week by University of Tennessee President Randy Boyd.
German-owned Politico reported that Meacham helped President Joe Biden “frame” his now infamously divisive “speech from hell” delivered in Philadelphia last week in which he attacked the 74 million Americans who voted for former President Donald Trump as a “threat to American democracy.”
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Economic incentives from states such as Tennessee toward private businesses looking to move to the state continue to increase.
But academic research shows that the largest impact of the spending of public dollars is to bring political and financial benefit to the politicians who approve those incentives.
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One of the world’s largest tire companies is making a $500 million investment to expand its operations in Tennessee, creating more jobs in the Volunteer State.
Bridgestone’s investment strengthens the global competitiveness of the company’s U.S. manufacturing operations and commitment to its U.S. labor force. Bridgestone will create 380 new jobs at its Warren County facility, increasing its existing headcount of 1,100 to more than 1,400, and bringing the total number of Bridgestone’s U.S. manufacturing workforce to nearly 10,000,” according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD).
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A major abortion law is set to take effect in Tennessee following the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which effectively overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Pursuant to the Human Life Protection Act, 2019 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 351, $ 3, this letter serves to notify the Tennessee Code Commission that the U.S. Supreme Court issued the judgment today in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022). Dobbs overruled, in whole or in part, Roe v. Wade … thereby restoring to the states their authority to prohibit abortion,” says a letter to the Tennessee Codes Commission written by Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III.
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Tennessee collected $4.6 billion more than budgeted in taxes and fees for the fiscal year that ended in July on an accrual basis.
The number was $4.3 billion after June.
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Tennessee’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security says it has launched an application for school safety, called SafeTN.
“SafeTN is a secure, open door communications platform where you can send in tips and access useful resources to help keep your school and community safe,” according to the government agency.
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According to the governor’s office and the cities of Memphis and Nashville, more than 40 independent have committed to allowing families to enroll in Education Savings Account (ESA) programs beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year.
“There was an urgent need for school choice in 2019, and finally, parents in Memphis and Nashville won’t have to wait another day to choose the best educational fit for their children,” said Gov. Bill Lee (R). “I thank each school that has partnered with us to swiftly implement a program that will change the lives of Tennessee students, and I invite interested families to begin the enrollment process today.”
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Tennesseans can expect to enjoy three tax holidays over the next several months, according to the state’s Department of Revenue (DOR).
Annually, Tennessee holds a sales tax holiday for the month of July, letting them off the hook for state and local sales taxes, which can be up to 10 percent.
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A Tennessee National Guard source told The Tennessee Star that more than 500 guardsmen remain without a COVID-19 vaccine past Big Army’s June 30 deadline.
“The number that I got about a month ago was 400; however, I have now heard it is actually 585-some,” the source said.
These are straight-refusals, the source said, not guardsmen awaiting the adjudication of their request for a religious or medical waiver. Those guardsmen continue in their service until and when their cases are resolved.
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After an attempted arson at a pro-life pregnancy center, Tennessee’s governor is speaking out.
“This is terrorism and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Gov. Bill Lee (R) said Thursday in response to news that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) are investigating an arson at Hope Clinic for Women in Nashville.
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A Tennessee bill that bans biological males from participating in female athletic competition will take effect this week.
HB 1895, which passed through the Tennessee General Assembly in April and was subsequently signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee (R), says “the commissioner of education to withhold a portion of the state education finance funds that a [Local Education Association] is otherwise eligible to receive if the LEA fails or refuses to determine a student’s gender, for purposes of participation in school sports, by the student’s sex at the time of birth…”
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State registration fees for personal vehicles and motorcycles will be waived starting on July 1 for a full year.
The move comes out of legislation passed at the end of this year’s session and then signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee earlier this month.
The law applies to registrations that expire after July 1 and before June 30, 2023.
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As part of the state’s 2022-2023 budget, Tennesseans can expect that the state’s tax on food and “food related items” will not apply during the month of August.
“As Americans see their cost-of-living skyrocket amid historic inflation, suspending the grocery tax is the most effective way to provide direct relief to every Tennessean,” said Gov. Bill Lee said upon signing the budget bill. “Our state has the ability to put dollars back in the pockets of hardworking Tennesseans, and I thank members of the General Assembly for their continued partnership in maintaining our fiscally conservative approach.”
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A department of the Tennessee state government dedicated to helping those who have been released from prison is touting a Vanderbilt University study aimed at understanding reentering LGBT people into society.
“Thank you to Ms. Danait Issac out of or including us in the first part of her study on reentry efforts for the justice-involved LGBTQ+ population. These are important conversations and we look forward to your work in the future! #PrideMonth,” said the Tennessee Department of Reentry on Twitter, attaching the study.
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In a rare showing of bipartisanship, the entire federal congressional delegation from Tennessee this week signed a letter addressed to President Joe Biden (D) urging him to approve Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) request to declare a major disaster emergency.
An early April wildfire tore through 3,700 acres in Sevier County in early April, prompting the request for the federal declaration.
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Tennessee’s governor Monday signed an executive order meant to enhance school safety in the wake of a mass shooting at a high school in Uvalde, Texas.
“Parents need to have full confidence that their children are safe at school, and thankfully, Tennessee has built a firm foundation with our practical approach to securing schools, recognizing crisis and providing confidential reporting of any suspicious activity,” said Gov. Bill Lee (R) in press release. “This order strengthens accountability and transparency around existing school safety planning and assures Tennessee parents that our efforts to protect students and teachers will continue.”
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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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A Vanderbilt University poll of 1000 registered voters in Tennessee shows that support for President Joe Biden has dropped among Democrats, Independents and Republicans.
Compared to the spring of 2021, Biden’s approval rating among Democrat voters has dropped from 92 percent to 79 percent, a full 14 point fall. Among Independent voters, the decline is even steeper, dropping from 46 percent to only 27 percent, or 19 points. Republican support for the President in the state dropped from five percent to two percent.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee didn’t waste time signing a new public school funding formula bill just four days after it was passed on the floor of the Tennessee Legislature.
But the process for other bills passed in the waning days of session has taken longer. Several key late-session bills have not been sent to Lee yet for his signature.
After bills are passed by the Legislature, they are enrolled and then signed by the speakers of the House and Senate before heading to the governor’s desk. Lee can then sign the bill, allow it to pass without signing or veto the bill. He also can reduce or veto an appropriation in a bill, but vetoes can be overridden by a majority vote in the Legislature.
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Tennessee has suspended executions for those on death row after an “oversight” in the lethal injection process of one prisoner caused the execution process to be halted in the prisoner’s final hours.
During the suspension period, a review of the execution process will be conducted, according to Monday reports.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) has signed a bill that makes ivermectin, an antiviral drug that has been found to be an effective early treatment for COVID-19, available in the state without a prescription.
Lee signed SB 2188, approved by the State Senate, 66-20, and the State House, 22-6, which authorizes a pharmacist to provide ivermectin to patients 18 years of age or older, “pursuant to a valid collaborative pharmacy practice agreement containing a non-patient-specific prescriptive order and standardized procedures developed and executed by one or more authorized prescribers.”
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The Tennessee Legislature approved $500 million of bonds for a new Tennessee Titans stadium as part of a record $52.8 billion budget on Thursday.
The Titans stadium funds were not initially included in budget appropriations passed by the Senate in the early afternoon after they were removed in committee on Wednesday, but later in the day the Senate concurred on the budget that the House had passed, including the Titans stadium funds.
The $500 million in bonds for the stadium will require $55 million in annual payments.
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Tennessee GOP Gov. Bill Lee has invited the private conservative Hillsdale college to open 50 charter schools in his state that will teach so-called “anti-woke” curriculums.
The offer for Hillsdale, a liberal arts college with about 1,500 students in Michigan, to use public funds includes $32 million for charter facilities.
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee has asked the state of Tennessee to release all records regarding an announced charter school partnership with Hillsdale College.
The organization sent open records requests on Monday, requesting information about Governor Bill Lee’s (R-TN) “developing partnership with Hillsdale College to establish a number of publicly funded charter schools in Tennessee,” a press statement said.
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Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) and Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn presented details Thursday of the legislation for the new student-based funding formula, known as the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement formula (TISA).
During a livestream presentation, the governor said that, following input from people all over the state, they now have “a piece of legislation and a funding formula that Tennesseans can understand, that parents can understand, that teachers and districts can understand.”
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A Knox County Schools (KCS) parent group fighting the end of school mask mandates has filed an ethics complaint against three members of the school board, alleging they violated one of the board’s own policies and also appeared at a Knox County Commission meeting without giving adequate public notice.
Parent Amanda Collins, who chairs Knox County Schools Parent Advocates for School Safety (KCS PASS), said in a press statement KCS board members Betsy Henderson, Susan Horn, and Kristi Kristy violated the board’s policy when they submitted a proposal to the Knox County Commission to hire private attorneys to help in the board’s fight against a lawsuit over masks in schools.
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Sixteen states again are challenging a federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers who work at facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding.
Friday’s filing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana comes after the issuance of final guidance on the mandate from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), arguing the guidance is an action that is reviewable.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled by 5-4 vote Jan. 13 against the original Louisiana challenge to the mandate and a similar Missouri filing.
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A federal appeals court has allowed a Tennessee law that prohibits abortions sought due to sex, race, or prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, to go into effect until the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit allowed the Tennessee law to be enforced while litigation against it continues. The court also postponed hearing the case until after the Supreme Court issues a decision in Dobbs, a case involving a Mississippi law that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
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Hillsdale College announced Thursday it will begin to offer its support to classical charter schools in the state of Tennessee.
Through a partnership with American Classical Education, Inc. (ACE), Hillsdale will provide assistance to classical charters in the state entirely free of charge.
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Governor Lee and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development awarded a dozen grants to communities across the state to assist economic development programs.
The grants, which total $8 million, are to be used for infrastructure and engineering improvements on industrial sites throughout the state.
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The Tennessee House Select Committee on Redistricting made public Friday its plan for new state House legislative districts.
The committee heard several publicly submitted plans and responses, along with the House Democrats’ plan, during Friday’s meeting before committee Vice Chair Rep. Pat Marsh, R-Shelbyville, introduced the committee’s plan.
The House must approve the plan during the General Assembly’s upcoming legislative session, which begins in January, before sending the plan onto the Tennessee Senate and Gov. Bill Lee for his signature.
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Tennessee’s Republican House Speaker is celebrating after a federal judge Tuesday struck down President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.
“Speaker Sexton has always maintained that federal mandates imposed on Americans by the Biden administration were unconstitutional,” Doug Kufner, Communications Director for Tennessee’s House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) told The Tennessee Star Wednesday. “These injunctions are the first step in preserving the constitutional rights of Tennesseans and all Americans.”
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation requested a $59 million budget increase in its budget hearing this week with Gov. Bill Lee and advisers.
The request includes $24.9 million for a career path initiative that will assist with recruitment and retention of staff, an issue many government agencies cited in hearings this week.
TBI’s proposal also included requests for $11.7 million for one-time training and equipment and $10.2 million to hire forensic services positions, including $5.65 million in recurring expenses and $4.5 million in one-time expenses.
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Governor Bill Lee on Wednesday spoke out against President Joe Biden’s federal coronavirus vaccine mandate, arguing the president has “politicized” the issue.
Detailing the mandate has caused division throughout the country, Lee explained that state lawmakers are working to limit the federal government’s “overreach.”
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The Tennessee Legislature finished its special session on Ford’s $5.6 billion electric truck project Wednesday by approving $884 million in spending and creating a Megasite Authority of West Tennessee board to oversee operations.
“This is the largest single economic investment in rural Tennessee’s history,” Gov. Bill Lee said. “… It is, most importantly, a win for western Tennessee’s workforce.”
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As Tennessee begins looking at revamping its Basic Education Program (BEP) to fund public schools, one factor looming in the discussion of a new funding formula is teacher pay.
Legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle recognize teacher pay and how the BEP funds teacher pay are an issue.
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Ford Motor Company announced on Monday that the Memphis Regional Megasite will be the location of a new electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility.
The decision by the automobile manufacturer will invest a total of $5.6 billion in the area, as the group builds a 3,600-acre campus called Blue Oval City.
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Tennessee’s attorney general is appealing the recent decisions of two federal judges related to Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order allowing parents to opt out of school mask mandates.
Judges in Shelby, Knox and Williamson counties recently granted injunctions in lawsuits filed by parents of students with disabilities in each county. Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s appeals will be in the Shelby County and Knox County cases.
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A rally was held in Nashville Sunday as the state prepares to resettle at least 300 refugees from Afghanistan in Middle Tennessee.
According to WKRN, dozens of people attended the rally, some of whom are Afghan refugees who previously fled the country due to Taliban violence
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Federal judge J. Ronnie Greer on Friday blocked the implementation of an executive order from Governor Bill Lee that allowed parents to opt out of mask mandates.
The ruling, which forces Knox County to implement a system-wide mandate, is the second blow to Lee’s executive order and is a temporary injunction until the lawsuit continues through the legal system.
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Governor Bill Lee announced on Wednesday that results from policies passed during the January 2021 special legislative session have provided “encouraging data.”
According to Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, the Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act allowed students across the state to attend summer programs with the goal of mitigating the setbacks produced during remote learning.
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Former President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed the reelection campaign of U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01).
Harshbarger, who was first elected in 2020, is seeking her second term in Congress, representing the northeastern Tennessee district.
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A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday that will allow Shelby County Schools to continue to mandate all students wear masks as a way to mitigate COVID-19.
The order blocks Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order that allowed parents to opt children out of school mask mandates. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Sheryl Lipman previously issued a temporary restraining order in the case, which prevented the enforcement of Lee’s executive order through Friday.
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A Montgomery County elementary school teacher died from complications after she contracted COVID-19, according to her family.
Christie Litchfield, who works at Woodlawn Elementary School as a first-grade teacher, joined the growing list of Tennesseans who have fallen victim to the virus.
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Wilson County Schools will be closed for an entire week, due to a rise in positive coronavirus cases throughout the school district.
The school district said the closure, which is an attempt to slow the spread of the virus throughout all schools, will end on September 7th.
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