Deadline Nears for Fisk Paintings

A deadline set last month for Fisk University to find an alternative to selling-off two prized paintings from the school’s collection comes Sunday. And still, there’s no confirmed buyer who’s agreed to purchase the works and keep them at the school as the donor wished. One of the paintings is Georgia O’Keeffe’s iconic work Radiator […]

Governor Phil Bredesen and Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey both say one senator’s decision yesterday to leave the Republican Caucus won’t affect most issues. Now that East Tennessee Senator Mike Williams is an independent, the two parties hold an equal number of seats in the state’s upper house. But the governor suggests not much has changed. […]

Animal protection activists are targeting cock-fighting as well as dog-fighting in the state legislature. Senator Doug Jackson of Dickson has pushed a bill to increase the penalty for attending dogfights. Now John Goodwin, an official of the U-S Humane Society, is arguing that Tennessee should increase the penalty for watching one rooster kill another. “Specially […]

Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander says President Bush needs to stop using the Iraq Study Group’s report as a bookend and take its advice. Alexander made his remarks as the U-S Senate began debate todayon a Democratic resolution calling for the withdrawal of most U-S troops in 2008. Senator Alexander says he won’t vote for any […]

Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell began his budget hearings with each Metro department (today/yesterday), but with significant gaps left by unknown figures from the state and federal government. The Metro Council passed legislation last year to move the mayor’s proposal up by two months, giving the council more time to study and make changes before passing […]

The son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was in Nashville (this afternoon/yesterday) speaking to civil engineers at Vanderbilt University about reconstruction efforts in his home country. Qubad Talabani, who also represents the Kurdistan Regional Government, says that the state of Iraq is improving daily and that citizens there support the mission of U-S troops. He […]

A maverick Republican today redefined himself as an independent, instantly changing the Tennessee State Senate to a body deadlocked with sixteen Republicans, sixteen Democrats and one independent – Mike Williams of Maynardville. Williams says he will judge legislation by how it serves the citizens of the state and not by whether it is brought by […]

Governor Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee Arts Commission presented annual awards to the state’s best artists and arts supporters last night at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in downtown Nashville. Out of 70 nominations, seven groups, individuals and even buildings were chosen to receive the awards. The two awards given for Folklife Heritage were accompanied by […]

Mayor Bill Purcell begins his budget hearings with each Metro Department tomorrow/this) morning, but for the first time the month is March, not May. Last year the Metro Council approved – and Davidson County voters confirmed – a new timeline that allows the council longer to rework the budget. It moves the mayor’s deadline up […]

On what may be his last day as a state senator, Shea Flinn of Memphis watched a Senate committee kill his bills to allow grocery stores to sell wine and liquor stores to open on Sunday. Flinn is an appointed legislator who will be replaced by whoever wins a special election in Memphis today. Flinn […]