Criminals growing outdoor crops of marijuana in Tennessee could start harvesting in the next few weeks, and law enforcers say it looks to have been a hearty season. One official says efforts to find and seize plants are on track for an average haul this year, even as federal budget woes have cut the number of helicopters in the hunt.

Pain management clinics in Tennessee will face new, stricter rules after the first of the year, as the state tries to clamp down on the over-prescribing of pain medications.

There haven’t been many chestnuts roasting over open fires since a fungus wiped out much of the species in the first part of the 1900s. But the U.S. Forest Service is now helping the American Chestnut start an artificial comeback, and many of the trees are growing in Tennessee.

In some Metro Council district, last night was just the beginning. Five races are going to a runoff.

It didn’t take long for shareholders of Nashville-based Emdeon to threaten a lawsuit over a private equity buyout announced this week.

Residents in Humphreys County overwhelmingly rejected a wheel tax, but narrowly said yes to increasing local sales tax yesterday.

The sun hadn’t yet set last night when Metro Council member Jason Holleman’s front yard erupted into cheers.

Not a single countywide office changed hands in yesterday’s Metro elections. Incumbent Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors won reelection handily along with all five of the city’s at-large council members.

Yesterday Nashville voters made it harder for city officials to do away with the state fairgrounds.

Metro Mayor Karl Dean cruised to an easy victory over token opposition today, winning nearly 80 percent of the vote. His early campaign war-chest, more than half a million dollars, scared off any real challengers. That allowed Dean to focus on the positives of his first term.