Music Spotlight: Ethan Payne

NASHVILLE, Tennesse – Years ago, I vaguely remember Luke Bryan giving his guitar to a 13-year-old kid on stage who he met via the Make-a-Wish Foundation. That night, a fire was lit in young Ethan Payne. He knew then that performing country music was what he was born to do.

Diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a toddler (18-months-old), Payne was faced with an uphill battle early on. However, that didn’t stop him from following his passions and pursuing a career in country music. I wanted to find out more about this American Idol alum.

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Despite No COVID-19 Case Clusters Since June, Nashville Limits Restaurants to 50 Percent Capacity

Nashville’s restaurants are limited to 50% capacity and subject to a 10 p.m. curfew on food and beverage service despite no record of COVID-19 case clusters being connected to a restaurant since June.

The new restrictions by Nashville’s Metro Public Health Department, which were announced last week by Mayor John Cooper, went into effect Monday.

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Mayor John Cooper Announces Detective John Drake as New Metro Nashville Police Chief

Veteran Detective and Interim Chief John Drake has been selected as Metro Nashville Police Department’s new chief, Mayor John Cooper announced Monday at a press conference.

Drake, 56, is a Nashville native who began his MNPD career in 1988 and has served in a number of jobs throughout the department, the city said in a press release here.

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Nashville Woman Pleads Guilty to Involvement in International Drug Distribution Conspiracy That Was Led From Prison

A Nashville woman pleaded guilty to her involvement in an international drug distribution conspiracy, orchestrated from prison, that pumped a large volume of drugs into the Nashville area, according to a statement issued last week by federal prosecutors.

The defendant, Jennifer Montejo, 32, was charged in a criminal complaint on December 12, 2019, with possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and 400 grams or more of fentanyl, according to the statement by Don Cochran, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

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Nashville Has Arrested 11 Hosts of Large Home Parties During Pandemic, Tennessean Says

Under emergency health orders, Nashville police have arrested 47 people as of mid-November, including 11 accused of hosting large gatherings, The Tennessean newspaper said.

The newspaper said it based its report on its research of court documents and other data. Reportedly, 79 percent were in violation of Metro Health orders by failing to wear a mask in public. Some of the hosts allegedly held house parties of up to 600 people at a time, according to police, which could result in up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

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Faith and Freedom Rally Protests Mayor Cooper Rule of 8: ‘Make America Godly Again’

Monday afternoon in downtown Nashville, a rally of just over 100 people protested the latest gathering limit from Mayor John Cooper. None of the police were present at the Legislative Plaza steps where everyone gathered.

Cooper coined the term “Rule of 8” for the city’s latest pandemic-related order ahead of Thanksgiving. The event description on Facebook described the rule as “ridiculous and unconstitutional.”

Pastor Greg Locke hosted the protest. Locke announced the event during the third “Stop the Steal” rally last Saturday – Trump supporters have pledged to gather every weekend until the general election lawsuits are resolved.

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Knox County Not ‘Following the Science’ in Limiting Restaurant Business, UTK Law Professor Glenn Reynolds Says

University of Tennessee at Knoxville Law Professor Glenn Reynolds is calling out the Metro Nashville Department of Health’s claims over COVID-19 closures, saying they are “not following the science.”

Starting Monday, Nov. 30, Nashville will limit bars and restaurants to 50 percent capacity, NewsChannel 5 reported Monday. They must operate at half capacity with 6 feet of social distancing for a maximum of 100 customers per floor, whichever is less.

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Mayor John Cooper’s Latest Coronavirus Limit on Gatherings Is Similar to ‘Game of Duck Duck Goose,’ Conservative Watchdog Says

Nashville Mayor John Cooper has placed new limits on gatherings just in time for Thanksgiving, leading one conservative watchdog to liken all the mayor’s decrees to a “game of duck duck goose.”

With the dramatically named “Rule of 8,” Cooper announced a limit of eight for public and private gatherings. The limits start Monday.

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‘Stop The Steal’ Rallies a Second Time in Nashville with Double the Numbers

At a second Nashville-based “Stop the Steal” rally, hundreds of Trump supporters descended on the Tennessee State Capitol grounds downtown. Every person wore the hallmark shade of MAGA red. American flags waved alongside deep blue “Trump 2020” or “Keep America Great” flags. Cars decked out with patriotic and pro-Trump flags, stickers, and signs looped the capitol, blaring their horns as they passed. Some wore masks while others chose not to.

All throughout the event, the crowd would chorus chants of “Stop the steal!”, “We love Trump!”, or “Four more years!” Despite the reason behind the rally, the atmosphere was cheerful and confident. The organizers would pause between scheduled speakers to announce they’d found a lost license, or to hand out free copies of the Constitution to teenagers in attendance.

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Citizens Concerned About Election Integrity to March for Trump in Every State Capitol, Washington on Saturday

A series of marches supporting President Donald Trump and to demand election integrity are being held throughout the country at noon local time on Saturday.

The March for Trump will be held in every state capitol as well as at Freedom Plaza, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C., according to the event website. The website links to America First Projects.

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

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

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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Nashville Think Tank Files Lawsuit Against Metro Nashville Over Sidewalks

Members of the Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee this week filed a lawsuit against the city of Nashville on behalf of two homeowners that Metro officials forced to pay for public sidewalks.

Beacon officials said in an emailed press release that they are filing the case to prevent Metro officials from holding building permits hostage until individual property owners agree to pay for public infrastructure like sidewalks.

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Belmont University Professor Criticized Rocketown for Allowing Conservative Event Featuring John Rich and Tomi Lahren

Prior to Turning Point USA Nashville’s Debate Watch Party on Thursday, Belmont University’s College of Theology Assistant Professor David Dark criticized Rocketown for allowing conservatives to speak there.

In a Facebook post, Dark asked his peers to persuade Rocketown to “rethink the decision to host an event like this.”

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Carol Swain Tells Nashville Crowd That Critical Race Theory Is Unacceptable

Former Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain told hundreds of people at a presidential debate watch party Thursday that “we are backwards” when it comes to race.

As The Tennessee Star reported Friday, Turning Point USA of Belmont University hosted the debate watch party that featured various well-known speakers, including Swain. Turning Point USA hosted the event at Rocketown.

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Sean Feucht Proves Critics Wrong, Points Out Not a Single Attendee of Nashville Worship Rally Contracted COVID-19

Christian evangelist and worship leader Sean Feucht said that Metro Nashville Mayor John Cooper could not trace a single coronavirus case to his Let Us Worship prayer rally on October 11.

Feucht on Thursday posted on his public Facebook page, “Nashville Mayors Office today confirms ZERO new cases tracked to our #LetUsWorship. (and they looked real hard too). Someone tell the squad at @rollingstone @cnn @abcnews @nbcnews @cbsnews PLS.”

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Nashville’s Fatal Drug Overdoses So Far Surpass 2019 Total

Nashville officials have recorded more fatal drug overdoses in the first nine months of 2020 than they did in all of 2019.

This, according to a press release that members of the Metro Public Health Department emailed late last week.

As The Tennessee Star reported in May, Nashville, at the time, had an increase in the number of overdoses since March. Mid-March was right around the same time that local, state, and federal officials in the United States first restricted people’s movements and other freedoms because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act Trial Date Set

The dispute concerning the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act will go to trial October 26 through October 28, per the orders of Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle.

This, according to Nashville attorney Jim Roberts. As reported, Roberts is fighting the Davidson County Election Commission to get the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act referendum on the December 5 ballot. He said Commission members are playing unfair games with him and the public.

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Music Spotlight: Drew Parker

One of my favorite type of artists to interview are “Highway Finds” from SiriusXM The Highway. The Highway plays new mostly unheard artists on their weekend show, On the Horizon and if they get enough response from their subscribers, they move the song over to their weekly rotation.

Even though Drew Parker has had a #1 song as a songwriter, Jake Owen’s “Homemade”, he has never been on the radio as a performer until recently when Sirius radio introduced him to the world with his title track to his up and coming EP, While You’re Gone.

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Nashville Judge Rules Against Save Our Fairgrounds Group

A Davidson County Chancery Court judge this week ruled that a group of plaintiffs did not prove that construction of a Major League Soccer stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville violates the Metro Charter.

Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle announced the ruling Tuesday in a case between Save Our Fairgrounds — the plaintiffs — and the defendants, the Metro Nashville Government and Nashville Soccer Holdings.

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Recall Cooper Effort is ‘Issue of Right and Wrong,’ Organizer Says

Citizens opposing Mayor John Cooper’s property tax hike and war against bars and restaurants filed a petition to recall him and seven Metro Council members Monday.

Restore Nashville and Re-open Nashville, were among the groups that held the “Recall Mayor Cooper Petition Kickoff Rally” Monday at Public Square Nashville.

Stop Mayor Cooper was another group on Facebook organizing the rally.

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Nashville Mayor’s Office Says Across-the-Board Cuts Unlikely If Property Tax Repeal Prevails

Despite dramatic threats to cut essential city services if a referendum to repeal Nashville’s 34 percent property tax increase prevails, necessary budget cuts likely will not be made as Mayor John Cooper has laid out.

Cooper has called the referendum a “poison pill” and said repealing the city’s property tax hike would be a “self-inflicted crisis” that would “gut essential city services.” Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Adrienne Battle has said potential cuts could “render the school district unrecognizable.”

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Nashville Attorney Files Suit, Tells Davidson County Election Commissioners to Do Their Jobs on Taxpayer Referendum

  A Nashville attorney filed a motion Thursday to challenge members of the Davidson County Election Commission, who still refuse to put the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act referendum on the ballot for December 5, as originally intended. That man, Jim Roberts, on Friday explained what he filed with the Davidson County Chancery Court. “It’s real simple. Governments generally have two ways that they act. They either have ministerial duties, which means they do exactly what the law says or they have discretionary duties, which means they have a lot of discretion for when they make a decision,” Roberts said. “The Election Commission’s duties — once the citizens have gathered the petitions and once the signatures have been verified — include an obligation to put it on the ballot [and it] is ministerial. They don’t have a choice. That is just what they do. They are in this position now where they don’t want to do their job. It is not really any more complicated than that. They just don’t want to do it.” Roberts said his lawsuit asks for several different types of relief, one of which asks that the court direct members of the Election Commission to put the ballot on…

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Nashville Metro Council Gives Mayor John Cooper the Power to Deputize Certain City Employees to Cite Bars and Restaurants That Violate Coronavirus Rules

The Nashville Metro Council on Tuesday gave Mayor John Cooper the authority to deputize certain city workers to issue citations against bars and restaurants that violate his coronavirus restrictions, The Tennessean reported.

Metro Health Department employees are overworked in trying to combat businesses, the newspaper said. Only workers who already have citation powers will be authorized to serve as restaurant police, according to the bill that passed on third reading. The mayor must still given written permission to workers to use this new power.

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Rally Against Nashville Mayor John Cooper Scheduled for Monday

Organizers have scheduled a rally against Nashville Mayor John Cooper between 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, at Nashville’s Public Square, located at 1 Public Square.

This, according to a Facebook group called “Stop Mayor Cooper.”

The event, the Facebook group said, will include music and art, a food truck, and opportunities for people to sign a petition against Cooper.

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