NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced Education Commissioner Candice McQueen will leave state service in January to become the CEO of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), a non-profit organization that helps states, districts, and schools attract, develop, and retain high-quality educators.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe announced today that Amazon will invest more than $230 million to establish a new Operations Center of Excellence in downtown Nashville.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Kathryn Wall Olita of Clarksville as Circuit Court judge for the 19th Judicial District, which serves Montgomery and Robertson counties. The appointment fills a new trial court judgeship established this year by the Tennessee General Assembly.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen today announced changes in the delivery of the TNReady assessment for the current school year and additional changes that will take effect beginning in the 2019-20 school year. The changes are a direct response to a report from educators generated by the recent statewide listening tour that included roundtable conversations and online feedback from educators including teachers, testing coordinators and school administrators on how to make improvements to assessment delivery.

NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Shelley Thompson Gardner of Lebanon as public defender for the 15th Judicial District, which serves Jackson, Macon, Smith, Trousdale and Wilson counties. She replaces Comer Donnell, whose retirement is effective November 1. Gardner, a lifelong resident of Wilson County, has served as assistant public defender in the 15th Judicial District since 2002.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced that Director of Legislation Katie Ashley will leave the administration on November 9 to join Bradley Arant Boult Cummings to serve as senior advisor for government affairs and economic development. As part of the governor’s legislative team for the past eight years, Ashley played an essential role in budget and policy development that led to Tennessee being recognized as a national leader in education, economic development, efficient and effective government, and fiscal strength.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed two additional members to the Board of Trustees of the University of Tennessee. Decosta Jenkins and Jamie Woodson join the board in advance of the meeting scheduled for November 2. The appointments follow passage of the University of Tennessee Focusing On Campus and University Success (FOCUS) Act earlier this year. The legislation restructured the UT Board of Trustees to enhance governance of the UT system.

KNOXVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced today the award of a transportation alternative grant for $1,865,149 to the city of Knoxville for the Northwest Greenway Connector - Phase 2. This project includes construction of a greenway beginning at a new trailhead at Middlebrook Pike (SR-169) and Third Creek Road and ending at the SR-62 Western Avenue Pedestrian Bridge. The project also includes landscaping, a retaining wall, ADA upgrades and fencing.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips today released new labor statistics that showed unemployment across Tennessee continued at near-historic low levels in September. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.6 percent in September mirrored the August 2018 rate and is just 0.3 of a percentage point higher than Tennessee’s all-time low unemployment rate of 3.3 percent.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today made the following statement on death row inmate Edmund Zagorski: “I am granting to Edmund Zagorski a reprieve of 10 days from execution of the sentence of death imposed upon by him by a jury in 1984 which was scheduled to be carried out later today. I take seriously the responsibility imposed upon the Tennessee Department of Correction and me by law, and given the federal court’s decision to honor Zagorski’s last-minute decision to choose electrocution as the method of execution, this brief reprieve will give all involved the time necessary to carry out the sentence in an orderly and careful manner.”

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Darrell L. Scarlett of Murfreesboro as Circuit Court judge for the 16th Judicial District, which serves Rutherford and Cannon counties. The appointment fills a new trial court judgeship established this year by the Tennessee General Assembly. “We are fortunate to have someone with Darrell Scarlett’s experience in the 16th Judicial District,” Haslam said. “That experience prepares him well to serve in this newly created position.”

NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Andrew J. Gibbons of Kingsport as public defender for the Second Judicial District, which serves Sullivan County. Gibbons will replace Stephen Wallace, whose retirement is effective November 1. Gibbons has been an assistant public defender in the district since 2001. In that position, he handled a wide range of criminal defense cases. A lifelong resident of Sullivan County, Gibbons has worked closely with Wallace in his previous position.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today received a report from educators with feedback, recommendations and immediate action steps on how to improve the delivery of the state’s elementary and secondary assessments known as TNReady. The report was generated from a recent statewide roundtable listening tour with teachers, testing coordinators and school administrators, and from educators who submitted comments through an online feedback form.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today granted executive clemency to five current or former Tennesseans. “These five individuals have made exceptional positive contributions to their communities and will be able to contribute even further by these grants of executive clemency,” Haslam said. “After thoughtfully considering their cases, I believe these individuals are deserving of pardons.”

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced a $2,500 reward for information leading to the apprehension, arrest and conviction of Kirby Gene Wallace, doubling the $2,500 reward already offered by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Wallace is wanted for first degree murder, felony murder, aggravated arson, especially aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated burglary, and theft of property. Wallace is currently at large and is believed to be in the Stewart and Montgomery County area.