This editorial is from Tennessee/Lookout As a special education advocate and former high school teacher, the mother of two sons who have attended public school, private school, and homeschool, and the wife of a high school teacher, I am a strong defender of our public school libraries. Unfortunately, it seems Speaker of the Tennessee House Cameron […]

Mr. Johnston, in response to your letter of April 9th.  The tax increase that Mike Chauncey, Mayor Williams, and the City Council approved helped raise much needed funds that provided new police cruisers, fire trucks, and EMS service upgrades.  Do you happen to know the millage rates for the different areas of Hamilton County?  Do […]

This editorial is from Tennessee/Lookout. Gallup, the nonpartisan analytics organization that became famous for public opinion polls, has a fascinating monthly tracker of how Americans identify themselves politically dating to 2004.  In the early and mid- aughts, the percentage of Americans who identified as independent and not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties hovered in […]

I am supporting my friend, Tucker McClendon, as the next County Commissioner for District 8. Tucker has served with character and integrity on the Hamilton County School Board. Serving on the school board is a difficult challenge under the best of circumstances. Tucker has served District 8 well during his term. For many years, East […]

Many of you received a mailer from my opponent yesterday that attacked me and contained many false narratives. Sadly, my opponent has resorted to negative campaigning to earn your vote. The type of mailer you received from my opponent is one you will not receive from my campaign.  I believe campaigns are about ideas and […]

Well, the playground has been open for only a few days and already there has been trouble according to police reports. Actually there was trouble before it opened. People were tearing down the fence that kept it closed before an inspection could be done to declare it safe for use. I hate to be a […]

This editorial is from Tennessee/Lookout. Until two weeks ago, I had heard neither of Mason, Tenn., nor of Joshua Lipscomb but thanks to a couple of government agencies, I am now very familiar with them and I bet there are many other Tennesseans who have learned about them. Mason is the small West Tennessee town located […]

This editorial is from the Tennessee/Lookout. In July 1989, I was lying on the sofa of my brother’s Knoxville apartment one night. It was the summer I’d quit work to go back to school and finish the degree I abandoned to work on political campaigns a few years back. The TV was turned on, the volume […]

This commentary is from Tennessee/Lookout. Lawmakers in Tennessee are pushing some bills that would ease the removal of books from school libraries, limit diversity initiatives in higher education, and restrict the teaching of diversity and equity concepts at the college level (the so-called ban on Critical Race Theory).  These bills represent an effort to legislate away […]

The phrase “build it and they will come,” comes to mind. I hope East Ridge city officials saw the movie Field of Dreams because we seem to be groping in the dark when it comes to having some vision and leadership. What we’re talking about here is Bob Martino’s $150 million investment in a project […]

Had a meeting with the mayor last Monday morning to talk about the Border Region Act and liquor stores. Mayor Brian Williams had a nine-page power point presentation waiting for me to explain how it all works. He said it is his intention to take this presentation to the citizens and educate them on the […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: On Monday of last week, the East Ridge Industrial Development Board voted unanimously to allow millions of dollars of future state sales tax money to be pocketed by the owners of a liquor store that is under construction. The following Thursday, the City Council approved an agreement under the Border Region Act that […]

I never dreamed that a dustup over paying officials at rec league games at Camp Jordan would lead to the resignation of the director and two city employees. Are you kidding me? We don’t get rid of employees over minor stuff like that around here, do we? Last time I looked the city manager was […]

I was talking on the phone with a buddy the other day about last Thursday’s council meeting and the city awarding a multi-million dollar contract to pave and beautify a portion of Ringgold Road. I told him that the city is going to spend more than $6 million to add a 10-foot wide sidewalk on […]

To the city workers at the Sanitation Department … I am about to embark on a constant tirade about the city stopping the bagged leaf pickup. I just wanted to let the workers know that I appreciate all the work that they do. I especially want to thank the guys that picked up my bagged […]