State Ponders Special Courts for Veterans

State lawmakers are thinking about setting up a special court for Tennessee veterans who find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Vets can struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injuries and addiction. So if they land in court for a minor offense, lawmakers want to steer them into treatment instead of jail.

Music Lovers are finding satisfaction in both bytes and grooves.

A laid-off worker could lose his unemployment benefit by refusing to take a job paying less than his previous paycheck, under a bill passed by the state House on Thursday.

When the interstate nearest to East Nashville shuts down this weekend, ambulance and fire-truck drivers say they’re ready to navigate the detours and traffic. It’s the first of maybe a dozen weekends when I-24 will be closed near downtown for bridge work.

The Nashville Film Festival got more submissions this year than ever before: in excess of 28-hundred movie-makers from points around the globe vied for a spot on the schedule. But as the festival opens tonight, the focus will be closer to home, with movies from Tennessee.

Christian students at Vanderbilt are trying to attract the attention of university trustees during their final meeting of the school year. Groups who’ve chosen not to comply with a newly-enforced nondiscrimination policy want the board to intervene.

The state senate will soon take a floor vote on a proposal backed by the governor to overhaul the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. The board oversees private rates for utilities like water and gas.

About 40 schools take part in it every year, but that number is about to double, with financial help from Franklin-based Nissan North America.

This weekend, Cheekwood will reopen a garden with its roots in East Nashville. Wildings was the private garden of Cora Howe, but it was enjoyed by thousands every year for nearly four decades.

Earlier this spring, student groups at Vanderbilt University fought back against a requirement that they accept “all comers.” The rule upset some Tennessee lawmakers, too, and they can vote on Thursday for a bill to essentially express their disapproval. But one is asking for an opinion on whether the bill passes legal muster.ristian groups said if they couldn’t require potential leaders to be Christian, they’d leave the campus.