The City of Knoxville said Tuesday it will opt-out of sharing the names and addresses of COVID-19 patients with law enforcement following a statewide controversy over the practice.
Mayor Indya Kincannon and Police Chief Eve Thomas said that the Knoxville Police Department will leave a state program that allows law-enforcement officers across Tennessee to access a database of persons who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Read the full story
The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators wants the state to quit giving names and addresses of COVID-19 patients to police.
The caucus made the request to Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee Department of Health, WATE reported, citing a press release from Democratic Caucus Chairman Ken Jobe. Lee sent letters to Tennessee police offering to provide personal information to their departments once they’ve entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the state.
Read the full story
Former State Sen. Reginald Tate, 65, has died, multiple outlets report.
Read the full story
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – During the announcements portion of the House Floor Session on Thursday, an emergency meeting of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators was called, commencing immediately after session ended. The announcement was made by the Black Caucus Chair, Representative G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis), who was elected in January to the position. According to the Facebook page of the Black Caucus, other newly-elected positions included the following Democrats: Vice Chairman – Rick Staples (Knoxville), Treasurer – Vincent Dixie (Nashville), Secretary – London Lamar (Memphis), Chaplin – John DeBerry (Memphis), Parliamentarian – Jesse Chism (Memphis) and Sergeant at Arms – Antonio Parkinson (Memphis). According to Hardaway’s emergency meeting announcement, the meeting would be held in Conference Room 4A, which is located on the 4th floor of the Cordell Hull Building, and that pizza would be available. Prior to all of the members arriving to conference room 4A, The Tennessee Star inquired if the meeting would be open to the public. Caucus Chairman Hardaway responded that the meeting would not be open to the public, but representatives would be available after the meeting to answer questions. Legislators seen in or entering the 4A conference room (in alphabetical order) were: Senator…
Read the full story