Tennessee opts out of higher federal unemployment benefits
Tennesseans on unemployment insurance won’t get the extra $300 per week provided by the federal government as of July 3, Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday, May 11.
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Tennesseans on unemployment insurance won’t get the extra $300 per week provided by the federal government as of July 3, Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday, May 11.
Lawmakers wrap up legislative session viewed differently by Democrats and Republicans.
Tennessee legislators moved in the final days of their just-completed session to ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, both changes sought by activists in the wake of the police-involved deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
While neither side is completely happy, the law allowing Tennessee gun owners to carry openly with or without a permit sailed through the legislature — and with relatively little pushing from gun advocacy groups.
In early April, the City of Memphis was giving 60,000 shots a week. Monday, April 26, it gave a total of 1,100 shots across all of its public drive-thru venues.
About 60,000 Shelby County families will have to return their children to classrooms or transfer to a virtual school next year due to a mandate by the Tennessee Department of Education.
Gov. Lee has requested counties with independent health departments — Shelby, Madison, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Sullivan — that have remaining business restrictions or mask requirements to lift all measures no later than May 30.
The measure applies to firearms that are concealed and ones that are openly carried.
Pervis Payne, a Shelby County man on death row for 33 years, has gained new supporters as a reprieve is set to expire and the state Supreme Court may set a new execution date.
The bill, which had already passed the Senate, passed the House 64-29 Monday. Some Republicans defected to vote against the measure, whose opponents include influential law enforcement entities.
All residents age 16 and older will be eligible to get vaccine appointments beginning next week, Shelby County Health Department Deputy Director David Sweat told county commissioners Monday afternoon, March 22.
When Shelby County Schools students entered their school buildings this month, many did so for the first time in about a year. But children attending smaller suburban municipal districts had been back for months.
The vaccine distribution debacle on Mayor Lee Harris’ watch will figure prominently in the GOP campaign to retake his office, the party’s Shelby County executive director says.
Gov. Bill Lee said he plans to reintroduce a constitutional carry bill. It’s a move local law enforcement leaders say they will once again oppose.
SCS teachers are preparing to be joined in their classrooms by students for the first time in nearly a year.
‘We are in a crisis situation,’ said Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, who chairs the Senate Democratic caucus. A GOP spokeswoman responded that the Republican Party is proud of its record on education since taking control of the legislature in 2010.
After a tense exchange between two Memphis-area lawmakers, the Senate Education Committee voted 8-1 for a measure that would ensure Gov. Bill Lee could legally force Shelby County Schools to offer in-person learning.
But when it comes to serving up political red meat – in both coded and straightforward language – to far right conservatives, Lee has perfected that nicely.
Lee defends his administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Democrats including Raumesh Akbari of Memphis say the state has not invested in what is important to Tennessee families. Related stories
Gov. Bill Lee touted progress on the economy, COVID-19, the Medicare block grant and other goals of his administration.
Proposed budget includes money for teacher and school worker raises and $63.2 million for 4% salary increases in higher education.
What do the changes to the state’s TennCare program mean? Here’s a breakdown of the changes.
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Lee to deliver State of the State, with focus on economic recovery
The order keeps alive Tennessee’s quest to create an education savings account program that would provide taxpayer money to eligible families in Memphis and Nashville to pay toward private school tuition.
Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray has stood firm with all-remote learning, and accuses state leaders of being out of touch with the needs of Memphis students, who are mostly Black and disproportionately affected by the deadly virus.