NASHVILLE, TN –Metro school children marched to the State Capitol Friday to demand immediate action on climate change. Inspired by teenager Greta Thunberg, who started protesting every Friday in front of the Swedish parliament a year ago, millions of young people rallied in Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the U.S. in a one-day Global Climate Strike on Friday, September 20. Children in the Solomon Islands rallied on the shoreline wearing traditional grass skirts and carrying wooden shields. In Canberra, the Australian capital, 10,000 students skipped school. Eighty thousand turned out in Sydney. One hundred thousand marched in Melbourne. Thousands marched…
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By Amy Goldstein NASHVILLE, TN -— Tennessee unveiled a plan on Tuesday to convert Medicaid into a block grant — an idea long supported by conservatives that would rupture the federal government’s half-century-old compact with states for safety-net insurance for the poor. Tennessee is setting up the nation’s first test case of how far the Trump administration is willing to go to allow a state the “flexibility” that has become a watchword of the administration’s health-care policies. If TennCare, as that state calls its Medicaid program, wins federal approval for its plan, it could embolden other Republican-led states to follow…
NASHVILLE, TN — The portion of 25th Avenue South in front of Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium will be ceremonially renamed “Perry Wallace Way” in memory of the trailblazing Vanderbilt student-athlete who integrated SEC varsity basketball in 1967. Wallace passed away on Dec. 1, 2017. The university worked with Metro Councilwoman Burkley Allen on renaming the portion of the street crossing Vanderbilt’s campus earlier this year to honor Wallace’s legacy, and the Nashville Metro Council approved the measure Tuesday night. “Perry Wallace was a trailblazer whose courage made a critical imprint on Vanderbilt, the city of Nashville and the nation,” Interim Chancellor Susan R.…
MURFREESBORO, TN — Former Vice President Al Gore’s passion for environmental issues rose to the fore at a tribute to his late father, Albert Gore Sr., before a capacity audience Monday, Sept. 16, at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre. Gore, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, connected the worldwide climate crisis to Hurricane Dorian, at one point a Category 5 storm that devastated portions of MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee’s native country, the Bahamas. McPhee, whose 24-year-old grandniece perished in the storm, has accompanied two planeloads of relief supplies to the…
By Ken Paulson The newspaper business didn’t get off to a good start in America Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick, the first real newspaper in America, was supposed to be a weekly, but it lasted exactly one issue. It was shut down by the colonial government, in part because it published speculation about the king of France having intimate relations with his daughter-in-law. I assume this came from confidential sources. I share this ancient account because at a time when many are writing the obituary of America’s newspapers, it’s helpful to remember that things have rarely been rosy for…
NASHVILLE, TN — Since Election Day, John Cooper has begun the process of listening and meeting with parents, business people, community leaders, and former Mayors to discuss the transition to the Office of Mayor. Incorporating the feedback from these conversations, collection of ideas, and understanding of best governing practices, John will be leading the transition with the aide of his two transition co-chairs: Brenda Haywood and Mary Falls. John Cooper’s transition website is available at johncooperfornashville.com/transition and includes information for those interested in working in Cooper’s administration. Councilwoman Brenda Haywood, who currently represents District 3 on Metro Council, serves as…
During a critical time for reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood has made a shift in leadership, announcing that Alexis McGill Johnson will serve as the acting president and CEO of the organization. In a statement released by In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda (NBWRJA), they expressed their support of the newly appointed McGill Johnson. In the U.S., where Black women are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth or pregnancy than White women, it is urgent for the intersections of race and access to quality reproductive care to be prioritized. “As a woman of…
There are parties with a purpose and then there is Red Alert: A Charity Affair. Sponsored by the Minerva Foundation, Inc., in conjunction with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Nashville Alumnae Chapter this premiere day party jump starts the summer season with a great reason to celebrate. Held on the first Saturday in June, the Red Alert: A Charity Affair raises funds to provide scholarships to graduating seniors in Cheatham, Davidson, Robertson, Sumner, Wilson and Williamson counties. On June 1, 2019, the upper concourse of Nissan Stadium was transformed into an oasis of crimson and cream for the annual fundraising…
By Sari Harrar, AARP Evaluating medical marijuana research disease by disease is not easy, hampered as it is by the federal government’s ban on government-supported data collection. Observational studies — in which users simply report their experiences — may look rosy. Animal and test-tube studies also can sound promising. But plenty of stuff that helps mice or a clump of cells in a petri dish may not help us humans. Despite these obstacles, there are some conditions and diseases for which cannabis is clearly a useful treatment. Others, not so much. Chronic pain. More than 600,000 Americans turn to cannabis…
NASHVILLE, TN — This week, Cheekwood launched a new permanent exhibition in connection with a recently established partnership with the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation (GBBF) and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, promoting literacy statewide in children from birth to age five. On Tuesday, September 17, Governor Bill Lee gave remarks during the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the new Storybook Trail exhibit in the Turner Seasons Garden at Cheekwood. “The Governor’s Books from Birth Storybook Trail program combines exercise and learning into a fun family activity, connecting books with the beautiful landscapes of Tennessee,” said Gov. Bill Lee. “Thank…