Listen What might be the most ambitious health care data analysis to date is happening in East Tennessee. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is working through a massive batch of records from the Department of Veterans Affairs — the records that VA doctors keep on their more than 22 million patients. About a quarter of a […]
Vandalized Murfreesboro Mosque Plans To Ask For State, Federal Investigation
Listen A prominent mosque in Rutherford County plans to ask state and federal law enforcement to investigate an act of vandalism that occurred early Monday morning. Members of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro say they found obscenities written in spray paint and slices of bacon wrapped around door handles. The vandals also left a signature […]
In Stark Reversal From Recession, Only One County In Tennessee Now Has Unemployment Over 5 Percent
Listen Tennessee’s unemployment rate has approached a low-water mark — 4 percent — and the market for jobs appears to be strong statewide. In a major reversal from a few years ago, only one of Tennessee’s 95 counties has an unemployment rate higher than 5 percent: Rhea County on the Cumberland Plateau in East Tennessee. […]
The Nightmare Of A Single Murder, And How It Haunts One Nashville Community
Listen When 19-year-old Vastoria Lucas was shot multiple times next to a playground in an East Nashville public housing complex, her murder shocked the neighborhood. She was a high school senior, a dedicated basketball player — an all-around good kid. And the brazenness of the killing, on a beautiful day with kids playing all around, […]
Haslam Keeps A Wary Eye On Health Care Proposals’ Potential Impact On Tennessee
Listen Gov. Bill Haslam says he’s continuing to keep tabs on the debate in Congress over health care. He’s one of many governors who’ve said they’re concerned about the measures Republicans in the House and Senate are considering to rein in one big part of the health care system — Medicaid. But Haslam worries Congress […]
As More Drones Hover Over Nashville Crowds, Police Pursue Violators By Chopper, On Foot
Listen Nashville police cited a local drone operator with reckless endangerment for flying over the city’s huge fireworks crowd this week. Yet several other drones were spotted in violation of state and federal rules — and got away.
A Summer Camp Where Grieving Kids Have Permission To Have Fun
Listen Camp Evergreen has all the trappings of a typical day camp. The counselors greet the kids with the requisite amount of cheer at the beginning of each day. They go swimming every day after lunch. They do arts and crafts. But all of the campers also have something in common that they’d rather not: […]
Metro Nashville Teachers Get Crash Course In Coding From Local Charter School
Listen Nashville’s middle schools are adding mandatory coding class for the first time. It’s part of a larger curriculum overhaul for middle grades. But the district doesn’t have many coding teachers because programmers are in such high demand. So administrators turned to a local charter school that faced the same dilemma three years ago.
After Voter Data Backlash, Trump Administration Is Now Asking Tennessee For Info On Voter Purges
Listen The U.S. Department of Justice wants details from Tennessee’s secretary of state on how it purges outdated registrations from voter rolls. The request comes after President Trump’s administration caused a backlash by asking for personal information about all of the nation’s voters. It was sent by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and went […]
Nashville Considers Cash Incentives For Neighborhoods That Keep Themselves Tidy
Tall grass, abandoned vehicles, and broken gutters swaying in the breeze — they all make ready fodder for complaints to the property standards division of the Metro Codes Department. Now a movement by the Metro Council could encourage neighborhood beautification with a powerful tool: cash.
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