Tag: John Cooper

Biden-Harris Admin Colluded with Nonprofits to Send Thousands of Illegal Immigrants to Tennessee Before Lawsuit by A.G. Skrmetti Lawsuit Halted Process

Tom Pappert
Illegal Immigrants

The Biden-Harris administration worked with former Nashville Mayor John Cooper and non-profit organizations to move thousands of illegal immigrants from federal facilities in Louisiana to Nashville, according to internal emails and documents published Wednesday by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, whose office successfully sued to stop the practice.

A press release from the attorney general’s office reveals that the plan was enacted by officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with cooperation from Cooper’s office. However, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), as well as Governor Bill Lee, opposed it.

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Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Deal Withdrawn Until New Mayor Arrives

The Center Square

A deal estimated to cost taxpayers at least $120 million to revamp Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway will have to wait for a new Nashville mayor.

The proposal was officially withdrawn from the council’s Tuesday night meeting and will not have enough time to pass before current Mayor John Cooper’s term ends. It would have needed to have three readings before being approved as Nashville’s Thursday mayoral election and a potential runoff that follows.

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Tennessee Titans Stadium Proposal Submitted to Metro Council for Approval

Kaitlin Housler

A final budget proposal for how the new Tennessee Titans football stadium will be funded has been submitted to the Nashville Metro Council by Nashville Mayor John Cooper and the football team.

The legislation will be subject to three readings, beginning at the council’s next meeting on March 7th. April 4th is the earliest possible date for the agreement to be finalized.

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Meharry Medical College and City of Nashville Agree to Settle Lease Dispute Through 2027

Kaitlin Housler

The city of Nashville and Meharry Medical College have reached a lease agreement through 2027 for the buildings on Meharry’s campus that house Nashville General Hospital.

In the agreement, all outstanding issues are resolved, and a new rent structure is established for the buildings Meharry leases to the city’s safety net hospital, Nashville General Hospital, Nashville Mayor John Cooper, announced in a press release.

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Nashville Could Commission $200K Study on Titans’ Stadium Lease Obligations

The Center Square

Nashville will consider spending $200,000 on a “stadium study” to evaluate the Tennessee Titans’ claim that the city would owe $1.839 billion under the terms of the team’s current lease if Nissan Stadium in Nashville was renovated instead of having a new estimated $2.2 billion stadium built.

The line item called “study of Nissan Stadium obligations” appeared on a revised city budget from Metro Nashville Budget and Finance Chair Burkley Allen. The amendments will be discussed at Tuesday’s council meeting.

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Culture Clash: Exec Chairman Of Pro-Trans Oracle Backs Ortagus as Tennessee Leaders Work to Support Birth Gender Distinctions, Parental Rights

Neil W. McCabe

The executive chairman, and chief technology officer, of software giant Oracle, was revealed as the sole contributor to Tennessee Conservatives PAC, the Super PAC backing GOP Tennessee-5 House hopeful Morgan Ortagus, presents a clash of Silicon Valley values, such as attacks on those defending birth-gender in the Volunteer State.

Lawrence J. “Larry” Ellison donated $1 million to the Super PAC, according to the committee’s Friday filing posted on the Federal Elections Commission website at 12:19 p.m.

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Nashville Mayor’s Chief of Staff ‘Thrilled’ T.J. ‘I Will Destroy You’ Ducklo Now Running Mayor’s Comms Shop

Neil W. McCabe

Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s chief of staff told The Tennessee Star she thinks it’s great that T.J. Ducklo, the Biden White House press secretary, fired for threatening a White House reporter with: “I will destroy you,” joined the mayor’s staff. “T.J’s experience and energy will be a valuable addition to our team, and we are thrilled to have him on board,” said Chief of Staff Jennifer Rasmussen-Sagen. The mayor’s office did not issue a press release, but in addition to the statement from Rasmussen-Sagen, Bradon Marshall, the mayor’s digital director, told The Star he was happy Ducklo was coming home. “T.J. made a mistake, for which he apologized and paid the consequences. He’s good at what he does, and we are excited to have him back in Nashville,” he said. Marshall also told The Star that Ducklo would have the full authority and discretion expected with his job. “T.J. will serve in the full role of chief communications officer, including working with reporters,” he said. Vanity Fair reported Feb. 12, 2021, that Ducklo had a direct and robust conversion with Politico reporter Tara Palmeri on Inauguration Day after she and another reporter reached out to him about his intimate relationship…

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Nashville Mayor John Cooper Says City Reached Record Highs of Positive COVID Rates

Morgan Nicole Veysey

Nashville Mayor John Cooper tweeted this week that COVID cases were on the rise in the city. Cooper said the average positive test rate was at 34.4 percent, up higher from the previous week’s 20.6 percent. He added the 10,186 reported cases were double than the high week of January 2021. 

Cooper continued that 62.2 percent of Nashville residents are vaccinated and “Vaccines continue to be highly effective against severe illness if you contract COVID. If you’ve been waiting, please protect your family’s health by getting vaccinated today.”

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Nashville Mayor Cooper Says Recycling Collector ‘Failed Us’

Morgan Nicole Veysey

Nashville Mayor John Cooper tweeted this week his frustration towards the city’s recycling collector for not being able to collect the city’s trash and recyclables in a timely matter. The Nashville Metro Water services released a statement earlier last week that Red River Waste Solutions had not been able to collect all of Nashville’s trash, and would have to halt collections to allow trucks and staff to be reassigned. 

“Our city’s private trash collector, Red River, has failed us.” Cooper tweeted. “As Mayor and a resident, I share your frustration over the problem of collecting the garbage, resulting in a temporary delay in curbside recycling as we put all our resources in collecting the trash.”

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Nashville Mayor John Cooper Moves to Make Juneteenth a Paid Metro Holiday

Morgan Nicole Veysey

In a statement released from the Nashville Metro Government, it said Mayor John Cooper had submitted legislation to make Juneteenth a paid Metro holiday. Cooper said that Juneteenth is a holiday for Nashville and the nation to celebrate the freedom of all African Americans.

“I submitted this request to the Civil Service Commission for their consideration and with their approval, I will sign an executive order for Metro Government to celebrate Juneteenth as a paid holiday beginning in 2022,” said Mayor Cooper. “Adding Juneteenth as a Metro holiday is consistent with the Federal Government’s addition of Juneteenth to the list of Federal holidays this year.”

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Mayor Cooper Announces $20 Million Plan for Second Avenue

Morgan Nicole Veysey

Mayor Cooper announced this week his plans for restoring Second Avenue after last year’s Christmas Day Bombing. In both a statement from his office, and in a live announcement, Cooper said that his plan included a restored tree canopy, better sidewalks, and a nod to local artists. 

In the statement that was shared with The Tennessee Star, Cooper said Nashville Citizens turned a tragedy into an opportunity. “Our community came together, to create a shared vision for the future of our historic downtown. Generations from now, we want our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to look at what we created and say, ‘they did well.’ And that’s a destination we can only reach, all of us, working together.”

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Nashville Mayor John Cooper to Discuss Future of Second Avenue in the Wake of Last Year’s Christmas Day Bombing

Chris Butler

Nashville Mayor John Cooper is scheduled to discuss the future of Second Avenue, nearly one year after it and several businesses got bombed on Christmas Day. Cooper is scheduled to join members of his Second Avenue Task Force at 10 a.m. Wednesday, December 8, at The Wildhorse Saloon at 120 Second Avenue in Nashville.

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Nashville Mayor John Cooper Wants More Revenue Sources to Fund Affordable Housing

Chris Butler

Nashville Mayor John Cooper released a report Wednesday that not only calls for more affordable housing within the city but also calls for new sources of revenue to fund it. The report specifically calls on Metro Nashville officials to pursue additional revenue streams. Metro planners also suggest generating more affordable housing by using land already publicly-owned and underutilized. The report said city officials could expand Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) to support Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). This method, the report went on to say, would fund long-term housing by partnering with nonprofit and private developers. Metro planners also suggested creating “mixed use, mixed income communities.”

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Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act Supporters Prepare Media Counterpunch

Chris Butler

The people who oppose the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act this week began a paid media campaign to tarnish the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act as the brainchild of “radical extremists.” But Nashville attorney Jim Roberts, one of the architects of the referendum, told The Tennessee Star this week that he and his supporters are currently crafting their own media counteroffensive.

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Left-Wing Business and Religious Interests Form Group to Fight July 27 Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act Referendum

Chris Butler

A group of people involved with various civic and faith organizations oppose Nashville’s Taxpayer Protection Act and have formed their own group to fight the people who introduced the referendum — people whom they call “radical extremists.” Members of this group, Save Nashville Now, have a website where they urge Davidson County residents to vote no on July 27.

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GOP Candidate for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District Robby Starbuck on Rand Paul Endorsement and Why He’s Running

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed GOP candidate for Nashville’s Fifth District, Robby Starbuck, to the newsmakers line to discuss his motivation for running, an endorsement by Senator Rand Paul, and his upcoming Critical Race Theory event in Franklin on May 19.

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Steve Glover Suggests Alternatives Before Burying Nashville Further in Debt

Chris Butler

Metro Nashville At-Large Council Member Steve Glover warned Sunday that his colleagues on the Metro Council are about to turn Nashville into “a debt-ridden city” that will burden current and even future residents. Glover urged Metro Council members to first have “a meaningful, logical discussion” before they pass a nearly half a billion dollar Capital Spending Plan. This, after Metro officials imposed a 34 percent to 37 percent tax increase on residents, which Glover described as “the highest one I have ever seen.”

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Feds at Nashville Bomb Site Announce Plans to Finish Crime Scene Work

Chris Butler

Federal officials said they may soon complete the crime scene where a massive Christmas Day explosion damaged at least 41 businesses on Second Avenue and collapsed one building. “FBI Evidence Response Teams and the ATF National Response Team members continue to recover evidence at the blast scene in downtown Nashville,” sad FBI Special Agent Jason Pack in a press release that Metro Nashville officials published Wednesday.

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Christmas Day Bombing in Nashville Prompts Curfew as Surrounding Buildings Still in Possible Danger

Chris Butler

Metro Nashville authorities have imposed a curfew on parts of downtown Nashville after a massive Christmas Day explosion damaged at least 41 businesses on Second Avenue and collapsed one building. Nashville Mayor John Cooper, Nashville Fire Chief William Swann, and Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake updated the public at a Friday evening press conference.

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Tennessee Titans and Nashville Mayor John Cooper Reportedly Discuss Nissan Stadium Upgrades

Chris Butler

Tennessee Titans officials and members of the Metro Nashville Government reportedly want to upgrade Nissan Stadium. This, according to Thursday’s Tennessean, which reported that Titans’ officials will soon announce formal discussions with Nashville Mayor John Cooper and members of his administration. As the paper reported, they will discuss extending the city’s lease with its NFL franchise. This, “while launching a gigantic project that will – in the words of the team and Cooper himself – ‘secure the Titans’ future’ in Nashville.”

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More Evidence That Nashville Mayor John Cooper Misled Public About COVID-19 Data Is Forthcoming, Metro Council Member Says

Chris Butler

Even more emails are coming that reveal how Nashville Mayor John Cooper and members of his staff mishandled the COVID-19 emergency, Metro Council Member At-Large Steve Glover told The Tennessee Star Wednesday.

This, on the same week that the Nashville-based FOX 17 published emails showing that Cooper’s staff downplayed the number of COVID-19 cases coming from the city’s bars and restaurants. Cooper later ordered those bars and restaurants closed.

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New Tennessee Law Goes After Local Officials Who Hinder Police During Violent Protests

Chris Butler

A new Tennessee law holds local government officials legally liable if they prohibit law enforcement or fire and rescue services from doing their jobs, enforcing Tennessee’s laws, or protecting citizens during public demonstrations.

Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly passed the bill into law in August with Gov. Bill Lee’s signature. They said in an emailed press release that Tennessee needs the law, especially after violence erupted during protests in downtown Nashville in May.

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