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 – The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) proudly announces that “Get Alarmed, Tennessee!” will continue into 2019 after Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials recently approved a $333,334 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant.
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 – Sending and receiving money is easier than ever before thanks to electronic fund transfers, often called person-to-person (or P2P) payment systems. Person-to-person payment systems, like PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle, allow consumers to link bank accounts, debit cards, and/or credit cards in order to send and receive money to another party via mobile and desktop applications.
NASHVILLE - Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Administrator Abbie Hudgens has been named president of a prestigious national association. Members of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) recently elected their 2018 – 2019 board of directors and welcomed Hudgens as the board’s new president.
NASHVILLE - A national association recently honored the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s Chief Judge with its Leadership and Service Award for his role in creating and hosting the first New Judges’ Boot Camp in Nashville earlier this year.
NASHVILLE – In honor of National Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 7-13), the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) congratulates Greenfield Fire Chief Bob Dudley for the 30th anniversary of Greenfield’s Fire Prevention Festival.
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.”
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and ZLINE Kitchen and Bath officials announced today the company will locate its new distribution headquarters in Bruceton. The kitchen range and hood manufacturer and distributor will create 74 new jobs and invest $3 million in Carroll County.
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) and volunteers from the Carroll County Fire Department will install free smoke alarms in homes throughout Carroll County on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018.
LEXINGTON - The Special Investigations Section of the Tennessee Department of Revenue conducted the investigation that led to the indictment and arrest of Tamara James, 36.