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 said Tuesday a stronger supply of personal protective equipment could allow him to change a decision requiring the state Department of Health to share information about COVID-positive patients with law enforcement to help first responders.
State Rep. London Lamar said Wednesday it is "irresponsible and inconsiderate" to ask tens of thousands of Tennesseans to go to the polls just months after the governor ordered them to stay home to avoid COVID-19.
Ways to get involved in Tennessee’s Day of Service range from COVID-19 relief efforts to disaster relief and virtual volunteer campaigns.
Shelby County lawmakers who missed the final days of hectic mid-March work when the COVID-19 pandemic started are planning to return June 1 when the public will be allowed in the Capitol and Cordell Hull Building as well.
With the spread of COVID-19 appearing to weaken, the state’s Economic Recovery Group announced Friday, May 15, it will lift capacity restrictions on restaurants and retail in areas not covered by local directives, such as Shelby County.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit Friday, May 15, seeking to make absentee voting available to all eligible Tennessee voters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When state lawmakers return to Nashville to grapple with the state budget in a flagging COVID-19 economy, they'll have an incomplete picture of the state's economy because state revenue is trickling in and business tax collections have been delayed until July.
As of Saturday morning, 2,375 people in Shelby County are considered as having recovered from COVID-19.
With more than 12% of Tennessee prison inmates testing positive for COVID-19, an inmate advocate is raising questions about the cleanliness of facilities while challenging the state's numbers and policies.
Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter said there are “no significant barriers” to reopening, but that it would be premature to reopen before the full 14 days.
Vehicle admission will be limited per screen and guests must purchase a carload ticket in advance.
State Rep. Barbara Cooper announced Thursday that free, voluntary testing for COVID-19 will begin next week in many of the city’s housing units in Memphis.
Grappling with finances in the pandemic era, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says the entire budget is up for review, including funds tied to the Education Savings Account, though he favors keeping the program intact as the Legislature gets ready to convene June 1.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals rejected the state's efforts to keep working on the Education Savings Account program while it's under appeal and set an Aug. 5 hearing for arguments, which could make it difficult for the program to get the go-ahead in time to start offering vouchers this year.
"We will not return to campus life just as it was before,” Dr. Jon McCullers said. "... We will do many things differently, with the primary goal of keeping our students and faculty safe while delivering an outstanding educational experience.”
Six counties – Shelby, Madison, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Sullivan – are allowed to continue following individual, county-specific reopening plans created in consultation with state and local health departments.
The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators is asking Gov. Bill Lee in letter form to end a program allowing personal information of COVID-positive people to be shared with law enforcement. Otherwise, it says people should refuse to give their addresses when tested.
Tennessee’s Education Savings Account program faces a tough road for the coming school year after the state Court of Appeals upheld a decision enjoining the state from executing it until the legal case is decided. Arguments aren't scheduled until Aug. 5, about the time school is expected to start.
The Memphis Area Transit Authority is getting more than $2.1 million from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for electric buses as part of a Volkswagen settlement.
Tennessee House Education Committee Chairman Mark White agrees with federal guidelines diverting a great share of CARES Act funds to private schools, but Memphis Democrats say the decision creates a wider gap in education resources.
Gov. Lee pointed out a Harvard study found seven states are testing enough to open their economies; Tennessee was one of them.
State officials are struggling to keep up with an unprecedented number of unemployment claims as residents express growing frustration and desperation.
Gov. Bill Lee said the State Attorney General has filed a request for the Tennessee Supreme Court to take the Education Savings Account case and allow it to move forward while the case is on appeal.
Gov. Bill Lee's Office isn't worried about President Donald Trump’s demand for houses of worship to open, saying he never ordered churches to close but did urge alternative services to avoid spreading COVID-19.