NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Michael E. Spitzer as Circuit Court Judge for the 21st Judicial District, which serves Hickman, Lewis, Perry, and Williamson counties. The appointment fills the new trial court judgeship established by the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year.

NASHVILLE – Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam on Wednesday partnered with five-time National Football League MVP Peyton Manning to raise awareness and funds for The Pat Summitt Foundation, financing research, treatment and support for those facing Alzheimer’s disease. Both a lunch event at Wellspire Nashville and a private, ticketed dinner held Wednesday at the Tennessee Residence together raised more than $550,000 to benefit the fund established by the late head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer basketball team, Pat Summitt.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen today announced that all 147 school districts in Tennessee have completed the first-ever statewide assessment of school facilities and safety procedures. Additionally, all districts have submitted applications to receive their allocations of the $35 million school security funding and may now use these funds to implement identified school security and safety needs. “We have made security for children at our schools a priority, so there was an urgency to have all schools assessed and the funding allocated to increase school safety as we started the school year,” Haslam said. “I thank the members of the School Safety Working Group for their work to identify solutions, the General Assembly for making these funds available, and state and local public safety officials for promptly completing the assessments.”

NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s unemployment rate remained near historic low levels in August, despite a slight increase, according to the latest statistics released today by Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips. The preliminary, seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate for August was 3.6 percent, just 0.1 of a percentage point higher than it was in July. Prior to August, Tennessee’s unemployment rate remained at 3.5 percent for three consecutive months.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today named Jennifer Donnals as director of communications for his administration. Donnals most recently served as press secretary to the governor. “Over the past three years, Jennifer has been a key member of our team, leading many of our communications and media relations efforts,” Haslam said. “Jennifer’s expertise and relationships both within the administration and without will only help us as we continue to share Tennessee’s successes in education, jobs, and efficient and effective government.”

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced a multi-phase plan, highlighted by a statewide listening tour, to improve delivery of the state’s elementary and secondary assessments known as TNReady.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips today released the statewide unemployment rate for July 2018, and for the third consecutive month the statistic has remained at a historically low 3.5 percent. Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has not only remained unchanged since May, it mirrors the 3.5 percent recorded during the same time period in 2017.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced the first-ever statewide assessment of school facilities and safety procedures will be fully completed by the end of August, with unprecedented school security funding now available to school districts to implement identified school security and safety needs. In March, the governor’s School Safety Working Group recommended the statewide review of school facilities and safety procedures and precautions. The recommendation, accepted by the governor, led to immediate safety assessments by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, in coordination with the Department of Education and local school officials. To date, 1,796 schools – or about 99 percent of Tennessee’s public schools – have completed the security assessment with the remaining 1 percent set for completion by August 31.

NASHVILLE – Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam today honored 23 state employees who are helping Tennessee lead by providing outstanding state services every day. The employees, who were nominated by their departments’ leadership for the Governor’s Excellence in Service Awards, were invited to attend a luncheon at the Tennessee Residence for providing efficient and effective service to the state and their fellow Tennesseans. “The employees honored today are on the forefront of improving how Tennessee state government delivers services,” Haslam said. “By exceeding leadership and customer expectations, creating innovative solutions or improving processes and services, these state employees are helping provide taxpayers with the highest quality service at the lowest possible cost.”

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today praised the Commission on Pain and Addiction Medicine Education for identifying core competencies for Tennessee’s medical education institutions to ensure future doctors, nurses, dentists and other prescribers receive in-class training on how to best manage patient pain and properly treat addiction in response to the state’s opioid epidemic. Haslam established the 19-member commission by executive order in January as part of the TN Together plan to fight opioid addiction in Tennessee. The commission submitted a report to the governor outlining 12 competencies for health care educators, as well as strategies to assure they are successfully adopted.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today granted executive clemency to four Tennesseans. “These individuals have distinguished themselves in both their rehabilitation and their individual contributions to the community,” Haslam said. “After thoughtfully considering the circumstances of each of their cases, I believe exercising the executive clemency power will help further these individuals’ positive influence on their communities and the lives of their fellow Tennesseans.”

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips today released the statewide unemployment rate for June 2018 and it marked an entire year the jobless figure in Tennessee has been 3.5 percent or lower. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June is 3.5 percent, which is unchanged from the May 2018 figure. In a year-to-year comparison, the June rate is 0.1 of a percentage point lower than it was in 2017.

CHAPEL HILL – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer announced today the award of a $1,784,102 Transportation Alternative Grant to the city of Chapel Hill for downtown bicycle and pedestrian improvements (Phase I). This project includes construction of a multi-use path along both sides of SR-11/US-31A from City Hall to West Depot Street (Phase 1). The project also includes ADA upgrades, pedestrian signals, landscaping, pedestrian lighting, pedestrian amenities, signage and pavement markings.

LEWISBURG – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe announced today that Marshall County will receive a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) totaling $525,000 and a ThreeStar Competitive Grant totaling $5,000. “I want to congratulate Marshall County on receiving CDBG funding and a ThreeStar Competitive Grant,” Haslam said. “These grants help communities across the state better prepare for future economic development opportunities and continued growth. With the assistance of these grants, not only will Marshall County continue to succeed in our state, Tennessee as a whole will continue to lead in economic growth and the creation of high quality jobs.”

NASHVILLE – Tennessee was listed today among five states that are leading the way in the use of data to create evidence-based results for citizens, in a report issued by the national nonprofit organization Results for America. Tennessee joined Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota and Washington as states recognized for outstanding performance. The recognition was announced at an event today in Washington hosted by the National Governors Association.