More Homeless Getting Disability Benefits

More homeless people are receiving disability benefits thanks to a new program started by the Metro Homelessness Commission earlier this year. The project is helping homeless people with either physical disabilities or mental illnesses access federal disability benefits that include health insurance through Medicare or Medicaid. Nashville’s Park Center, a community mental health center, runs […]

Harpsichordist Polly BrechtBefore the advent of the piano and the organ, there was the harpsichord. Polly Brecht is an Illinois native who came to Middle Tennessee in 1989. The keyboard teacher and recitalist (music starts here) at Westminster Presbyterian Church and Blair School of Music is also a member of the Stones River Chamber Players. She’s working on a collection of Harpsichord arrangements by church music composer Charles Wesley. As part of WPLN’s on going series, ‘Playing in the Band’, Polly Brecht talks to WPLN’s Andy Scheinman about the earliest keyboard, the harpsichord.

Tennessee Valley Authority customers will likely see a decrease in their electric bills soon. The TVA board voted today to a 4.5 percent rate reduction effective October 1. It’s the first time TVA has reduced rates in 14 years. The last reduction came in 1988 when rates were lowered by 6 percent. It also follows […]

Tennessee is considered to be one of the least healthy states in the nation, but a report from the state Department of Health finds that the situation is especially bad for African-Americans. According to the report, African-Americans are less likely to have health insurance or access to preventative care and health screenings. They experience higher […]

An immigrant rights coalition launched a state-wide billboard campaign today to ask that Tennesseans approach the immigration debate with sensitivity. The billboards read, “Welcome the immigrant you once were,” on a background of ethnically diverse faces. Organizers of the Welcoming Tennessee campaign say those words are meant to remind viewers of America’s history as an […]

With about a week to go until the state’s primary election, the candidates for the US Senate are bashing each other with a new round of television advertising. Former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker aired an ad last week that criticized his primary challengers for raising their pay while in Congress, and for being lobbyists afterward. […]

According to a new survey released today by the American Association of Retired Persons, most of those polled in Tennessee say they are opposed to diverting Social Security taxes into private accounts. AARP polled its members in June on the issues of Social Security, Medicare spending, and retirement security. The survey also noted the party […]

For the first time since 2001, two TennCare managed care companies will assume full financial risk. The TennCare bureau announced today that it awarded two new managed care contracts for the Middle Tennessee region after a competitive bid process. TennCare director Darin Gordon says that means the companies will be paid a set amount for […]

This morning the state granted approval to plans for a new HCA hospital in Spring Hill. In a hearing before the Health Services and Development Agency supporters argued that Spring Hill is growing at a fast enough rate that it needs its own 56 bed hospital. But the proposal met stiff opposition from surrounding communities […]

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he expects the “Child Custody Protection Act” will pass the Senate this evening. In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, Frist says the bill will penalize adults taking girls under 18 across state lines for an abortion, without informing their parents. “Transporting a minor across state lines to […]