Tennessee

Could passenger rail return to Tennessee soon? We asked state leaders

Published

8 months ago

March 15, 2024

Could passenger rail return to Tennessee soon? We asked state leaders

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Back in the 1970s, Nashville residents could walk down to Union Station and hop on an Amtrak line that ran all the way down to Florida. These days, if you’d like to travel by train, you’ll have to drive out to West Tennessee and hop on the Amtrak line that stops in Dyersburg or Memphis.

But could access to passenger rail soon be changing in Tennessee?

On Thursday, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill requiring TDOT to submit a yearly report to the legislature on the state of passenger and freight rail efforts. Two years ago, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations performed a study on expanding rail access.

With all of these studies, NewsChannel 5 decided to ask state leaders if there’s any interest in actually moving forward with plans.

State leaders weigh in

“Well I think in certain areas, it could be beneficial,” said Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge.

“Always feasible to look at what the cost is,” said Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, a Republican from Crossville.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth expressed mild interest before changing the topic to potholes.

“We’ve got some severe damage from this winter. And so I think it’s fine to look at light rail and everything else, but I want to make sure TDOT’s stays laser-focused on getting our roads back up to the high quality we’re used to,” said Lamberth, a Republican from Portland.

Gov. Bill Lee showed a little more skepticism.

“I think it kind of depends on what these studies reveal, right? There have been studies. They’re inconclusive,” said Gov. Lee. a Republican from Williamson County. “I think the answer to that is yet to be determined.”

TDOT is standing by

It certainly doesn’t sound like anything is imminent.

Still, Rebekah Hammonds, a spokesperson for TDOT, says the department is doing a few things in case the urgency changes.

Hammonds tells NewsChannel 5 that TDOT is in active conversations with stakeholders, federal partners and neighboring states to explore future opportunities. Also, TDOT is a participant in a Federal Railroad Administration grant to study passenger rail from Atlanta to Chattanooga and Nashville to Memphis. She says the department is also looking at internal operations regarding rail, and comparing them to other states.

Essentially, if lawmakers want to get moving on rail, Hammonds says the department wants to be ready.

Appetite for alternatives

Even though leaders may not be ready, just yet, to barrel down the tracks, they also admit there’s an appetite for alternative options.

“There’s never a problem with looking at and trying to determine what the options should be for the future, as we are experiencing more growth than we ever have in our state’s history,” said Speaker Sexton.

“I think over the years we’re going to see increased interest in being able to move people from one state to another, in more efficient ways than we do now,” said Gov. Lee.

Carrie recommends:

Arizona journalist explains voucher outcomes before Tennessee considers the same

I have two boys in elementary school, so as the school voucher debate takes center stage again – I wanted to really understand this issue. Arizona started its school voucher program 13 years ago and is the first state in the nation to offer universal school vouchers. That’s what Governor Lee is proposing in two years. I leaned on the expertise of an investigative reporter in Arizona – and she came through with facts, figures and plenty of insight. This reporting gave me a lot to think about as a mom and a taxpayer. I think it will for you too.

-Carrie Sharp

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Tennessee

Titans RB Out vs. Texans

Published

5 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

The Tennessee Titans are finishing up their practice runs before facing the Houston Texans in Week 12, but there is a key player on the offense who won’t be making the trip to the Lone Star State.

According to team reporter Jim Wyatt, running back Tyjae Spears has been ruled out for the team’s game against the Texans as he has yet to clear the league’s concussion protocol.

Spears, a second-year pro out of Tulane, has been bit many times by the injury bug this season. The Week 12 contest will mark Spears’ fourth game missed this season.

So far this season, Spears has ran the ball 43 times for 161 yards and a touchdown.

With Spears out, starting running back Tony Pollard will continue to have a bulk of the carries while Julius Chestnut and Josh Kelley handle backup duties.

Also out for the Titans is offensive tackle Leroy Watson IV. Linebacker Jack Gibbens and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed are also ruled out on the injury report, but both of them will be placed on injured reserve.

Kickoff between the Titans and Texans is set for 12 noon CT on Sunday inside NRG Stadium.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Tennessee

Tennessee must see through Gov. Bill Lee’s new try at expanding school vouchers | Opinion

Published

13 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee must see through Gov. Bill Lee’s new try at expanding school vouchers | Opinion

Vouchers are the school’s choice, not school choice.
Vouchers allow discrimination on special needs kids and any family who doesn’t fit the school’s “values.”

Caleb Hemmer
| Guest columnist

As expected, Gov. Bill Lee and his Republican supermajority in the legislature have filed their latest version of a statewide voucher proposal.

Once again, this new version is jam-packed with all kinds of seemingly nice things tacked on to try and distract people from the fact that this is all a scam designed to defund public education. Lee and his voucher scammers want you to pay attention to the long overdue teacher raises and the newly-dedicated funding source for school construction projects promised in the bill.

But let’s face it − if they were really serious about the proposals, they would have already done them. They wouldn’t have to tie them to a bait-and-switch scheme to designed to undermine public education and make out-of-state billionaire voucher backers happy.

Vouchers aren’t improving student school test scores

Here’s what’s underneath all the pretty packaging. Here’s what Governor Lee is not telling you about his voucher scam:

First of all, Lee wants you believe that he wants to expand vouchers statewide because of the success of the pilot program. However, the pilot program is not a proven success.

In fact, Lee’s own handpicked education commissioner had to admit before the Senate Education Committee this past January that the academic scores of the students in the voucher program, well, in her own words: “aren’t anything to write home about.”

In fact, according to the Department of Education’s annual report on the pilot program, the “exceeded expectations” scores for the state’s participating Education Savings Accounts schools only grew by an average of 0.4% in math and 1.2% in English Language Arts − and far less than the margins of public schools.

So since, the test scores aren’t dramatically improving, the governor wants to direct your attention to how the parents currently enrolled the program are satisfied with it. But again, let’s look at who those parents really are.

Vouchers do not cover the cost of the average private school

The average price of a private school in Nashville is estimated to cost around $12,000. In Memphis, it’s a little under $10,500. So, if you wanted to send to your child to a private school, you’re still going to have to be able pay thousands of additional dollars a year just for tuition.

That doesn’t include transportation or any other needs.

So, the people Lee claims he really wants to help − the working people who are struggling to put food on the table − are still priced out.

For example, according to a 2023 Time magazine article, in Arizona more than 75% of new voucher applicants had never actually attended public school before and not to mention the uncontrolled $1.4 billion hole vouchers caused in Arizona’s budget.

Vouchers leave out the most vulnerable students

Finally, as the governor gives out these “entitlement” payments to families that can already afford it, our public schools get further left behind.

Private schools get to pick their students, meaning that many students are excluded, including the most vulnerable who need the most help.

Vouchers end up excluding most disadvantaged students because they simply aren’t desirable for many private schools. That includes students with disabilities who use Individualized Education Plans, which this bill expressively says private schools don’t have to continue.

Vouchers are the school’s choice, not school choice.

Vouchers allow discrimination on special needs kids and any family who doesn’t fit the school’s “values.”

I would urge people to not be fooled by all of the shiny bells and whistles attached to this new voucher scam bill. Don’t be fooled by the words the governor is saying − take a good, hard look at what he’s not telling you.

Vouchers aren’t good education policy or conservative; it’s just a scam to defund your local school to align to a misguided political ideology.

State Rep. Caleb Hemmer, D-Nashville, represents District 59 (part of Davidson County) in the Tennessee General Assembly.

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Tennessee

Watch: Gretchen Walsh Cracks NCAA Record in 100 Butterfly (Tennessee Invite Day 2 Race Videos)

Published

22 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Watch: Gretchen Walsh Cracks NCAA Record in 100 Butterfly (Tennessee Invite Day 2 Race Videos)

2024 Tennessee Invite

The third day of the 2024 Tennessee Invite saw lots of action, with the unique setup of the meet, the A-finals were contested in a 1-on-1 format that brought many fans to their feet and proved to bring an extra layer of excitement to the meet. UVA’s Gretchen Walsh built on that excitement to continue her record-breaking streak, shattering her own American, US Open, and NCAA Record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 47.35.

Even though the day might be over, you can relive all of the action with the race videos below. Courtesy of the University of Virginia.

WOMEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY- TIMED FINALS

NCAA Record: 1:31.73, Virginia- 2023
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:36.24
2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:36.76

Virginia A- 1:32.58 A
Tennessee A- 1:34.35 A
Virginia B- 1:35.89
Tennessee B- 1:37.94
Kentucky A- 1:39.66
Kentucky B- 1::41.35

Race Video:

MEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY- TIMED FINALS

NCAA Record: 1:20.15, Florida- 2024
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:23.62
2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:23.90

Tennessee A- 1:21.71 A
Tennessee B- 1:25.31
Kentucky A- 1:26.75
Kentucky B- 1:27.48
Virginia A- DQ
Virginia B- DQ

Race Video:

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – FINALS

~~NCAA Record: 47.42, Gretchen Walsh (UVA) – 2024~~ 47.35, Gretchen Walsh (UVA)- 2024
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.52
2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 53.34
2024 NCAA Cutline: 51.88