This article is from Tennessee/Lookout A sentencing hearing for former Rep. Robin Smith, who is set to cooperate with the prosecution in Rep. Glen Casada’s trial, is being postponed until January 30, a court document filed Monday shows. Smith’s sentencing hearing was scheduled for Oct. 17. Her plea agreement to fraud charges anticipates she will testify […]
Former House Speaker Casada, Aide Indicted on Bribery, Kickback Charges
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout Former Tennessee House Speaker Rep. Glen Casada and his chief of staff were arrested at their homes by FBI agents Tuesday morning after a federal grand jury on Monday issued an indictment on 20-counts involving bribery, theft from programs receiving federal funds, kickbacks, conspiracy to commit money laundering and other charges, […]
Tennessee Supreme Court Revives Home Business Lawsuit
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout The Tennessee Supreme Court on Thursday revived a lawsuit by Nashville music producer Lij Shaw and beauty salon owner Patricia Raynor challenging Metro Council’s restrictions on their home-based businesses. A lower court had tossed the suit after city leaders tweaked an ordinance that had effectively shut down Shaw’s home-based recording studio […]
Cothren Challenges Subpoena Order by State Registry
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout The former chief of staff for ex-House Speaker Glen Casada is continuing to fight a subpoena to testify before the Registry of Election Finance about a political action committee he ran secretly to attack political adversaries. Cynthia Sherwood, the Nashville attorney for Cade Cothren, claims the court should not hold him […]
Sinback Named New Executive Director of ACLU
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout Nashville attorney Kathy Sinback will take the reins as the new executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, replacing longtime director Hedy Weinberg as of September 6. Sinback, whose career began with the Metro Nashville Public Defender’s Office in 1997, is known for her work with the Davidson […]
Skrmetti Will be Next State Attorney General
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed Gov. Bill Lee’s chief counsel to serve as the state’s Attorney General. The high court chose Jonathan Skrmetti to take the helm of the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. Skrmetti will replace current state Attorney General Herbert Slatery III, who has completed an eight-year term […]
Corker Leads Tennessee Group Urging ‘Yes’ Vote on Anti-Slavery Amendment
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout Former U.S. Sen. Bob Corker will lead a statewide, bipartisan coalition of elected leaders urging Tennesseans to approve a measure that would remove language permitting a form of slavery from the Tennessee Constitution. The Constitution is currently worded: “That slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, whereof the […]
Study Shows Tennessee Ranks 36th for Overall Child Well-Being
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout Tennessee has experienced slight improvement in providing stability for children, families’ struggles with poverty, health and security kept the state ranked 36th in overall child well-being, according to a 2022 report. A 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation showed that Tennessee children are still […]
Violence is as American as Apple Pie
This editorial is from Tennessee/Lookout In the wake of the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas, someone desperately asked: “Why is this happening?” I was shocked by the question because to me, as a theologian, the answer is painfully obvious. American history, culture and social norms are built upon the foundational equation: […]
Is This What Our Veterans Died For?
This editorial is from Tennessee/Lookout Memorial Day usually makes me a bit nostalgic, as I think about not only the men in my family who risked their lives in combat to protect America’s freedoms but about all the families who didn’t get to witness their loved ones return home. I get a little emotional as I […]
Shakeup at TWRA after Clearcut Controversy
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout A shakeup inside the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has led to the abrupt terminations of key leadership staff after a months-long stretch in which the agency drew the ire of both Republican and Democrat lawmakers over plans to clearcut forests — and lost a major legal fight. No longer with TWRA […]
Delays in Processing Disability Applications Impose ‘Significant Hardships’ in Tennessee
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout A longstanding backlog in the processing of disability benefits applications from people who are too sick to work has surpassed 1.1 million people nationally — a 27% increase from pre-pandemic levels two years ago and a level not seen in more than a decade. In Tennessee, the number of people waiting […]
Normalize Abortion Conversations
This editorial is from Tennessee/Lookout Like many women across the U.S., I’ve been reeling from the news that broke last week about the U.S. Supreme Court’s draft decision that would reverse Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1971 ruling that legalized abortion at the federal level. As soon as I tweeted, “Looks like the Supreme Court has […]
Tennessee Health Billing Firm Accused in Court of ‘Cartel-Like’ Behavior
This article is from Tennessee/Lookout A Tennessee firm that pioneered the outsourcing of hospital emergency medical care now stands accused in courtrooms across the nation of scheming to turn emergency rooms into corporate profit centers through “cartel-like” behavior, including price fixing, legal intimidation, and fraud. TeamHealth’s accusers say the Knoxville-based corporation is intentionally fleecing patients, shortchanging […]
Tennessee’s Community Oversight Boards Restricted by State Law
This article is from the Tennessee/Lookout. Across Tennessee police-oversight boards were created to play a role in mediating between a critical public and an often self-regulating police force. Each of the four largest cities in Tennessee have a police-oversight board, each with their own ordinances, bylaws and inception dates. Both Chattanooga and Nashville’s police-oversight boards were […]