More low-income people have government healthcare now that TennCare has been effectively prohibited from taking away coverage. It’s a big shift from before the pandemic when the agency frequently took people off the rolls.

Lee and Schwinn gave few details about whether or how much the state would increase funding for schools. But Lee said he suspects the state will increase funding, and will have the proposal ready for the state legislature when it meets in January.

Last month, more than 300,000 Tennesseans chose from four new license plates designed by Memphis-based digital marketing agency Speak Creative. We now know the winning selection.

Two Memphis organizations providing meals to children in the summer of 2020 billed the state for meals they didn’t serve. Federally funded food programs have been susceptible to fraud for years.

Three federal judges have said the mask opt-out order is unlawful, but analysts say it doesn’t matter. Lee can still say he tried.

State Sen. Katrina Robinson was found guilty Thursday, Sept. 30, on four of five counts of wire fraud.

The opt-out policy has been blocked in three metro counties, including Shelby County.

Gov. Bill Lee will call a special session of the General Assembly on Oct. 18, he announced in a tweet Thursday, Sept. 30. COVID-related legislation may also be on the table.

The second of two online public hearings hosted by the Tennessee Valley Authority is Thursday at 6 p.m. After pausing the process following City Council opposition, TVA is again talking about a detailed plan to move the waste by truck from southwest Memphis to a landfill in Capleville.

The jury in state Sen. Katrina Robinson’s trial, where she is accused of wire fraud ,will deliberate on Thursday. If convicted of the charges, Robinson faces up to 20 years in prison. 

If federal guidance on who needs a booster shot seems complicated and long, the state commissioner of health shortens it to two words: “should” and “may.”

Katrina Robinson testified Tuesday, Sept. 28, in the federal wire fraud and embezzlement case against her. 

Some groups may get a booster dose, while other groups should get it, state health officials said. 

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn announced good news last week — new summer literacy and math programs were a statewide success, with students seeing significant progress. But, some teachers and Democrats questioned the results, saying it’s too early to celebrate the data.

Some of the reaction called for an immediate look at the causes of such violence as part of a national debate while others called for supporting those grieving from the loss of life, at least for now.

While some say anonymity provides safety for those at risk of retaliation, the witnesses told emotional stories of the state taking their children away, based on false, anonymous reports.

A bill that some fear could have a chilling effect on reporting child abuse is back in the Tennessee General Assembly.

The Biden administration’s recent announcements regarding COVID-19 vaccines have set up a challenge with conservative states like Tennessee and raise legal questions. 

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) Friday, Sept. 17, appointed seven senators to an ad-hoc committee on redistricting. State Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) is one of two Democrats and will serve as one of two co-chairs. 

Days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a restrictive abortion ban, with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to intervene, an important decision came down from another court that invalidated a similar law signed last year by Gov. Bill Lee.

Compromise possible but lawyers say it’s more likely restraining order will be extended.

Prosecutors, sheriffs, judges, criminal justice reform advocates and others testified to a General Assembly committee on the money bail system Monday, Sept. 13. But lawmakers leaned more to small changes than sweeping reform.

The Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday morning their expanded marketing campaign for their Tennessee SAVIN (Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification) system. 

State Sen. Katrina Robinson’s federal trial on theft and fraud charges is slated to begin Monday, Sept. 13, in Memphis.

A ruling is expected before the temporary restraining order expires on Sept. 17.