Reporter
Sam Stockard is a Nashville-based reporter with more than 30 years of journalism experience as a writer, editor and columnist covering the state Legislature and Tennessee politics for The Daily Memphian.
There are 1058 articles by Sam Stockard :
Gov. Bill Lee hasn’t asked Mississippi and Arkansas governors to declare “safer at home” guidelines even though their residents could carry COVID-19 back and forth into Shelby County, which has more than 400 cases.
Gov. Bill Lee warned lawmakers Wednesday the COVID-19 crisis is expected to “surge” in two to four weeks, putting a heavy burden on the state’s health care system.
Health Department medical director Dr. Bruce Randolph said 5,506 have been tested, with 9% positive.
Projecting an April 19-20 COVID-19 peak, Gov. Bill Lee predicts the state will need 7,000 more hospital beds to handle the worst scenario of patient demand.
State lawmakers say schools likely won't reopen this year amid the COVID-19 threat, and some are questioning the state Department of Education for rolling out applications for education savings accounts during an emergency.
Governor Bill Lee will sign Executive Order 23 requiring that Tennesseans stay home unless they are carrying out essential activities as data shows an increase in citizen movement across the state.
Voter registration advocates are applauding the repeal of “onerous” restrictions and potential criminal penalties for large drives with the signing into law of new legislation passed in March.
The Registry of Election Finance held an email vote just before the April 2 qualifying deadline and cut a civil penalty against state Rep. Joe Towns by $44,100, enabling him to run for re-election.
Gov. Bill Lee issued a “shelter at home” order Thursday, April 2, but said it was based on traffic data rather than the urging of physicians who asked him more than a week ago to take extra steps to restrict the transmission of COVID-19 with a surge approaching.
Memphis resident Nick Kenney is getting in more miles than ever during a “shelter at home” order with few people or cars on the streets. Jogging and many other outdoor activities are allowed, as long as people keep their distance.
The funding comes from the Federal Transit Administration through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that became law.
Tennessee is expecting a much smaller surge in COVID-19 hospital patients than projected a week ago as people stay home and the number of new cases begins to dwindle, Gov. Bill Lee said Monday.
The number of coronavirus cases in Shelby County currently stands at 789, according to the Shelby County Health Department.
A Tennessee Registry of Election Finance member is raising questions about the validity of an email vote the board took amid the COVID-19 pandemic when it approved a settlement for civil penalties against state Rep. Joe Towns of Memphis.
Gov. Bill Lee pushed a federal paycheck protection program Tuesday, April 7, for small businesses as well as relief for independent contractors who can qualify for unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic, appearing to reverse or clarify his stance the previous day.
Shelby County has 19 fatalities compared to 9 in Davidson County.
The Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee is set to vote Wednesday on whether remove Memphis state Rep. John DeBerry from the August primary ballot after a Memphis woman challenged his bonafide Democratic status.
Gov. Bill Lee is extending the postponement of elective medical and dental procedures, but he’s not ready to push out the April 14 date for a “stay at home” order even though the virus isn't expected to peak until three days later.
State Sen. Raumesh Akbari will serve on a panel overseeing spending billions of dollars in federal funds coming to Tennessee as part of the COVID-19 crisis response.
After serving 26 years as a Memphis Democrat in the Tennessee General Assembly, state Rep. John DeBerry is being removed from that party’s August 2020 primary ballot.
Twice this week, county Health Department officials have said they were forbidden from releasing hospitalization figures, including numbers of patients in ICUs and on ventilators, because the statewide Hospital Resource Tracking System is not public data.
Tennessee’s request for Medicaid funding to treat COVID-19 patients appears to be on life support as the federal government looks to the CARES Act to distribute billions of crisis dollars to state governments.
The best-case scenario assumes statewide testing and improved contact tracing.
Leading Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly are knocking the Tennessee Democratic Party’s decision to take veteran state Rep. John DeBerry of Memphis off the August primary ballot.
The best-case scenario assumes statewide testing and improved contact tracing.