Ron Shultis, the Director of Policy and Research for both the Beacon Center and Beacon Impact, said Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit plan is subject to major changes if approved by voters on the November ballot.
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A report out of Los Angeles regarding the city’s crime rates on its public transportation services is being flagged by a local watchdog in Nashville as a glimpse of what Music City’s future may look like if Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s multi-billion-dollar transit plan is implemented.
O’Connell’s transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” would be funded by a half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax to construct miles of new sidewalks, bus stops, transit centers, parking facilities, and upgraded traffic signals around Nashville.
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Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, is speaking out about multiple concerns with Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s multi billion-dollar transit plan unveiled last month.
O’Connell unveiled his billion transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” last month.
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Mayor Freddie O’Connell relaunched the Nashville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) on Tuesday. An agenda posted to the city’s website reveals that committee members received a “Transit Referendum Briefing” during their recent meeting.
A Wednesday press release by O’Connell’s office explained the mayor “released a new map related to his Choose How You Move transportation improvement program” and revealed a map of “35 miles of new and improved bicycle facilities that would be covered” under his referendum.
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U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) submitted a total of 11 amended campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Wednesday. The new details provided by Ogles reveal his campaign originally misstated its cash-on-hand in June 2022 by more than $290,000.
Ogles’ 11 amended reports are for reporting periods between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2024. The first amended filing, which includes the $290,000 discrepancy, covers the period when Ogles previously reported a $320,000 personal loan to his campaign.
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A woman found deceased inside a Clarksville residence over the weekend has been identified as 23-year-old Katia Duenas-Aguilar of Mesquite, Texas who was a soldier stationed at Ft. Campbell located on the Kentucky–Tennessee border.
Private First Class Duenas-Aguilar was a member of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the United States Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
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A Tennessee judge on Wednesday ruled to block the auction of Elvis Presley’s (pictured above) home, Graceland, by a company that alleged the singer’s daughter didn’t repay a loan that used the home as collateral.
The auction had been slated for this week, though Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued the temporary injunction, according to The Associated Press.
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Nashville suffered 30 combined overdose incidents across Sunday and Monday, Metro Nashville Police Department told The Tennessee Star about a recent spike in overdose activity in Nashville.
MNPD announced the recent overdose spike in a Tuesday press release, detailing the department’s efforts to fight overdoses in Nashville in response to the rise in overdose activity. For example, MNPD highlighted its detectives distributing kits of Narcan, a medicine that can treat drug overdoses in emergency situations, to about 40 homeless individuals.
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Nashville’s Metro Council voted to reject a sign for Morgan Wallen’s new downtown bar, raising questions about the council’s compliance with the First Amendment.
Wallen, a country music star, is set to open This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen in Nashville over Memorial Day weekend. However, the bar’s main sign, which was planned to hang over the public walkway outside the building, will not be installed because of a 30-3 Metro Council vote.
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Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30) did not respond to a Wednesday inquiry from The Tennessee Star seeking more information to corroborate her previous claim that she and 17 students suffered a “series of hate crimes” on the Rhodes College campus in 2002.
Rhodes College Campus Safety similarly has yet to respond to requests for comment about the alleged hate crimes, nor have they supplied any documentary evidence including police reports, after Crockett claimed she and the other students were sent racist letters to their campus mailboxes.
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An 18-year-old man wanted for a deadly shooting and robbery that took place in an apartment complex in the Raleigh area of Memphis last month was captured on Tuesday by U.S. Marshals and Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers.
The suspect, Demario Wilson, was taken into custody at a residence in the 2200 block of Eldridge Avenue in Memphis, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
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Tennessee’s District Attorneys General Conference will collect and compile data on the costs related to illegal immigrants in the state who are charged or convicted of a criminal offense through at least 2032 after the immigration bill was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee.
The report will be sent to the governor and both the House and Senate speaker.
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The University of Tennessee Police Department (UTPD) confirmed on Tuesday that it is investigating a complaint filed by one of the 11 pro-Palestine protestors arrested on the university’s campus on May 15 during an anti-Israel demonstration.
Yassin Terou confirmed he filed the complaint in a post to the social media platform X, where he appeared to claim his efforts are aimed at changing how UTPD treat protestors.
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A viral video has emerged of a shootout outside a Nashville bar that took place two weeks ago, during which three people were injured and more than 50 shots were fired.
The video, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on X alone, was reposted by conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong.
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A new law that will take effect on July 1 could put school bullies behind bars.
HB 2590, which was sponsored by State Representative Lowell Russell (R-Vonore), “makes bullying and cyber-bullying offenses subject to the same penalties as harassment; requires an officer to make a report of bullying and notify a parent or guardian when victim is a minor,” according to its summary.
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Metro Nashville Police Department handed out kits for Narcan, medicine that can treat drug overdoses in emergency situations, to about 40 homeless people on Monday in response to a spike in overdoses on Sunday and Monday.
Detectives are investigating the overdose spike, according to an MNPD press release. In only one incident downtown, eight individuals overdosed together, causing two fatalities while the other six were revived with Narcan.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday that would censure U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito and remove him from litigation related to the 2020 election or the January 6 Capitol riots.
Last week, The New York Times reported that an inverted U.S. flag was photographed flying from the front lawn of Alito’s residence on January 17, 2021.
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Caroline Glick, senior contributing editor at Jewish News Syndicate, sat down for an exclusive interview with The Michael Patrick Leahy Show on Monday during the first day of the 2024 Israel Summit at the Ramsey Event Center in Franklin.
Glick said she attended the Israel Summit to show “appreciation” for those “willing to stand up and make themselves heard” regarding supporting Israel.
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The Tennessee Student Solidarity Network will hold a “Justice School” in July to teach individuals as young as 15 how to organize protests and campaigns for “progressive movements.”
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A spokesman for Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30) provided new details to The Tennessee Star about the alleged hate crimes the Democrat experienced as an undergraduate student in Memphis around 2002.
Pressed for details about the incidents, Crockett’s spokesman told The Star, “they consisted of racist slurs and hate mail that were put in her and 17 other students’ campus mailboxes,” and Crockett “described them as using letters cut from newspapers and magazines.”
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Actress Patricia Heaton, known for her roles in Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle, took a public stand against rising antisemitism in America by starting her own nonprofit, the October 7 Coalition (O7C).
Heaton, who lives in Nashville, founded O7C as a Christian grassroots group meant to serve as a network for Christians and pastors to take public stands against antisemitism in the U.S. Heaton and the group have been involved in protests against antisemitism, like at Columbia University which has previously been embattled by anti-Israel demonstrations and encampments by students.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee– A group of Israeli artists gathered in a Nashville recording booth Monday to make music for a special initiative to fight antisemitism organized by actress Patricia Heaton.
Heaton, an Emmy winner for her role as Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond, serves as founder of the October 7 Coalition (O7C), a nonprofit organization meant to be a network of Christians taking visible stands against rising antisemitism in the United States in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
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A three month operation organized by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and executed with the help of nearly 20 local, state, and federal law enforcement partners has resulted in the arrests of 12 people on child sex crime charges.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Protecting Tomorrow,” was designed to “identify and locate children who were victims of sextortion and online sexual exploitation, along with identifying and arresting individuals who aim to harm children online,” according to TBI.
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Pete Barrett, the founder of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, has endorsed the new “Gun Owners for Trump” coalition organized by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and former President Donald Trump.
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A record high number of Tennesseans are expected to travel during this year’s Memorial Day weekend, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
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The arrest of a Ukrainian national previously in Tennessee on a student visa to study at Carson-Newman University was announced Thursday, with federal authorities alleging the foreign national participated in an “illicit revenue generation” scheme to aid the government of North Korea.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that Oleksandr Didenko, a 27-year-old university student originally from Kiev, Ukraine, was arrested in Poland on May 6 on charges including identity theft of U.S. citizens for use by North Koreans.
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An independent accounting of the costs associated with the transportation referendum put forward by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Thursday claims the true cost of the mayor’s goals will swell to $6.93 billion over the 15-year life of the project.
O’Connell originally announced the cost of building the transportation improvements in his referendum would amount to about $3.1 billion, with additional annual operating costs of about $111 million.
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Two Memphis men have pleaded guilty to committing arson at three tax service businesses, according to the United State’s Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.
“Dantoni Colbert, 35, and Edward Matthews, Jr., 33, pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit arson, and arson of three separate tax service businesses,” says a release from United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz’s office. “According to the information presented in court, on February 6 and 7, 2023, Colbert and Matthews conspired to set fire to three different buildings that were occupied by Washington Tax Services in the Memphis area.”
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Jeff Clark, former acting assistant attorney general during the Trump administration, said it is unlikely any officials in the Biden Administration will be charged and prosecuted under a provision of the 1939 Hatch Act for election interference and affecting the 2024 election.
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Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry on Sunday explained her decision to reenter politics with a challenge to U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07), asserting “now is the right time” for her foray into the public arena.
Barry resigned as Nashville mayor in 2018 after it was reported she financed an affair with her bodyguard using almost $175,000 in taxpayer money and used taxpayer resources and vehicles to facilitate the affair at the Nashville City Cemetery.
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Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30) claimed in a 2020 interview that she and other black students were the victim to multiple hate crimes in 2002, when she was attending Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.
Crockett told Darling Society in September 2020 that she was “the victim of a series of hate crimes” at Rhodes College that required the university to enlist the help of The Cochran Firm, a Memphis-based law firm made famous by its founder, Johnnie Cochran Jr., who secured a not guilty verdict in the O.J. Simpson murder trial often dubbed the “Trial of the Century.”
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Nashville-area public policy expert Clint Brewer said the Republican primary race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District will heavily be influenced by fundraising.
Incumbent Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) and Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston are running in the GOP primary for the 5th Congressional District on August 1.
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While the Biden administration claims that the U.S. inflation rate is only 3.4 percent, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) released a guide disputing that figure, with evidence showing that Americans are suffering far more than the administration is letting on.
“Inflation is a top concern for Tennesseans and Americans,” says a guide called “The True Cost of Bidenflation. “Under the Biden administration, inflation has hit its highest rate in 41 years, and prices across the board are up nearly 20%. Meanwhile, the administration touts that inflation is ‘only’ at 3.4%.
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Nashville’s Beacon Center, a politically conservative think tank, explained the “downright inexcusably awful” portions of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s mass transportation plan Choose How You Move in an analysis published Friday.
Choose How You Move is a $3.1 billion mass transportation plan proposed by O’Connell that would upgrade nearly 600 traffic signals, build or upgrade 86 miles of sidewalks, provide 24/7 public transportation, and more features planned to be funded by a half-cent sales tax increase. The plan fell under criticism by political conservatives who have argued Choose How You Move is a misuse of tax dollars.
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A bill to combat street racing has passed the Tennessee General Assembly and is awaiting the signature of Gov. Bill Lee (R).
HB 2062 “creates a street racing task force to study and determine best practices for curbing illegal street racing in this state,” according to its summary.
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A far-left activist and DEI consultant ha launched an anti-gun political action committee (PAC).
Heather Gee-Thomas, whose LinkedIn profile describes her as an “Entrepreneur, DE&I Consultant [and] Activist/Advocate (Equality and Justice),” founded the Tennessee Mom PAC.
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One month after announcing a transportation plan focused on more busses, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell reportedly requested a full safety review of the city’s public transportation service, WeGo, after a man was shot six times on the steps of the bus station located at Rep John Lewis Way & MLK Jr Blvd, according to WSMV.
On Thursday, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) announced that a 31-year-old convicted felon was arrested for the shooting of an 18-year-old at the bus stop earlier in the day.
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Former President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he had agreed to participate in a fourth presidential debate with President Joe Biden and that he had accepted a Fox News proposal to hold the vice presidential debate on behalf of his as-yet-unselected running mate.
“I have accepted a fourth Presidential Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, this time with NBC & Telemundo,” Trump announced on Truth Social. “It is important as Republicans that we WIN with our Great Hispanic Community, who Biden has devastated with Crippling Inflation, High Gas Prices, Crime in our Streets, and Border Chaos.”
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Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner on Wednesday said he will be compelled to file a lawsuit against the Shelby County Commission if the county proceeds with a plan to cut his budget. He warned that the county must provide the funding to comply with Tennessee law and promote public safety.
Bonner and Chief Administrative Officer Alicia Lindsey said the county budget proposed by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris would force his office to cut 441 positions. They asserted that such severe cuts would jeopardize public safety, precluding him from consenting to the budget.
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Sonesta International Hotels Corporation and HaYovel, one of the organizers of the 2024 Israel Summit, have reportedly reached a “resolution” following the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel’s decision last week to breach its contract and withdraw from hosting the summit.
Sonesta and HaYovel released a joint statement on Friday announcing the update.
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CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson and criminal defense attorney Bill Brennan, who previously represented former President Donald Trump, said that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s star witness Michael Cohen experienced a beatdown on Thursday.
Cohen, who previously represented Trump, testified under cross-examination again Thursday, with legal commentators raising the prospect the witness committed perjury. Jackson and Brennan agreed on “CNN News Central” that Cohen’s testimony was brutal for the witness and that Trump’s defense attorney Todd Blanch made significant progress during the cross-examination.
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by Lee Rizzuto In today’s political discourse, conversations about saving our nation and its future are increasingly common. Key issues such as border security, increasing crime, economic stability, and rising inflation dominate headlines. However, amidst these pressing concerns, there is a critical, yet often overlooked, issue that demands our immediate attention. Ronald Reagan famously said, “The family has always been the cornerstone of American society.” We are witnessing in America, a systematic erosion of that cornerstone. Family values are defined as the principles which allow one man and one woman the opportunity to marry, have children, and earn a living to pay for the care and raising of their children – in short, family values are laid out early in our nation’s founding – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Across America, there is a palpable sense of concern as these core principles are under threat. Divisive ideologies that preach blatant falsehoods have infiltrated our communities, our schools, our homes, our minds, our children’s minds. A man cannot become a woman and vice versa – a biological truth, yet one that is treated as bigotry by those seeking to destroy the cornerstones of society. Those spreading these falsehoods…
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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced in his first State of Metro address on Tuesday that his Choose How You Move mass transit plan passed a required independent audit.
O’Connell’s mass transportation plan Choose How You Move includes public transportation available 24/7, almost 600 upgraded traffic signals, 86 miles of sidewalks, and other features, all proposed to be funded by a half-cent sales tax. The plan must meet certain requirements under Tennessee’s IMPROVE Act, like the independent audit, before being considered by Nashville voters on a November ballot.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) led a group of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives in introducing the Let Trump Speak Act on Thursday.
The bill, filed as H.R.8410, would prohibit judges from issuing gag orders to defendants in any criminal or civil proceeding.
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Penske Truck Rental employees in Nashville successfully voted to remove the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union from power, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation announced Thursday.
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The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) is asking for the public’s help in solving a decades-old cold case.
“Do you know what happened to Ricky Rydell Young, 36?” asked a Thursday post on MNPD’s Facebook page. “On May 14, 1998, A resident on Greenwood Avenue in East Nashville was walking his dog when he discovered Ricky suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest in a nearby driveway. There were no witnesses to his murder. Someone knows what happened to Ricky Young.”
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A new Forbes study ranks Tennessee the 11th worst state in the country when it comes to porch piracy, stealing packages delivered to homes before the homeowner receives them.
“Porch piracy peaked during the pandemic when more people shopped online than ever before, according to Security.org’s annual package theft report,” according to Forbes. “Theft of parcels in general tends to increase during the holiday season as well. As online shopping continues to be on the rise, so do incidences of porch piracy.”
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Tennessee U.S. Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) and Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) were among 11 Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives who traveled to New York on Thursday to support former President Donald Trump in his hush money trial.
While speaking to reporters outside of the Manhattan courthouse, Harshbarger called the trial involving Trump “the persecution of a patriot,” saying, “We’re watching in real time the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice interfere in a case that should have never been brought in the first place.”
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Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, said he believes state lawmakers will craft a final bill for Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice proposal before the General Assembly convenes in January.
Lee’s school choice bill, the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, failed to pass the General Assembly during its recent convened session.
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A Washington D.C.-based left-wing advocacy group called the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is behind a lawsuit against the Williamson County Board of Education challenging a state law that restricts students from using multi-person restrooms that do not match their sex.
The plaintiff, a transgender minor, is represented by two attorneys with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a nonprofit organization under the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). HRC describes itself as “the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization” on its website with local groups in most states.
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