Tennessee
Gov. Lee signs Executive Order to lead the nation in workforce development – WBBJ TV
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF TENNESSEE GOVERNOR BILL LEE:
Gov. Lee Signs Executive Order to Lead the Nation in Workforce Development
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Governor Bill Lee signed Executive Order 109, ensuring Tennessee continues to lead the nation in workforce development by demonstrating an innovative strategy to meet the needs of the state’s dynamic and growing labor market. The Order strengthens the State Workforce Development Board’s work by requiring a unified, results-driven approach that aligns education and training with the evolving needs of employers and high-growth industries.
“The state with the workers will win the future, and that’s why workforce development has been one of my top priorities since day one,” said Gov. Lee. “As companies continue to invest in Tennessee and create high-quality jobs, continued coordination across state government and public-private partnerships will be necessary to unlock our full economic potential and create greater opportunity for all Tennesseans to thrive.”
The Governor signed the Order alongside students enrolled in the Tennessee Youth Employment Program (TYEP) in Knoxville, which engages youth across rural and urban communities, providing hands-on training to achieve full-time employment and meet the needs of Tennessee businesses. In partnership with the General Assembly, the FY25-26 budget invested an additional $7 million into the program to double its participation and establish year-round operations.
The Order elevates the State Workforce Development Board as the central strategic leadership body guiding Tennessee’s broader workforce agenda by leveraging technology and employer partners to personalize career pathways, drive continuous innovation, and maximize public return on investment. By ensuring the state’s programs are effective, every Tennessean will have the opportunity to succeed, no matter what path they choose beyond high school graduation.
During the 2025 legislative session, the Lee Administration made significant investments in workforce development, including:
- $7 million to expand the Tennessee Youth Employment Program to operate year-round, double its participation, and reach even more underserved communities
- $25 million for FastTrack grants to recruit new business to Tennessee and support workforce development
- $6.3 million to create a statewide Micro-Credentialing Program to develop short-term, targeted certifications that equip Tennesseans with high-demand skills identified by industry and state partners
- $25 million to expand the RevV program to connect private companies with Tennessee’s research institutions to drive research and development and job creation
- $5 million to create TNWORKS, a partnership between Tennessee Economic and Community Development and the Department of Labor and Workforce to create customized workforce training programs tailored to the specific needs of incoming and existing businesses
- $5 million for the Tennessee Entertainment Commission to fund incentive grants to strengthen Tennessee’s music and film industry
- $10 million for the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Matching Funds to match federal funds assisting Tennessee startups in securing competitive research and development grants
- $10 million further investment in Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) to support nuclear workforce education, as recommended by the Nuclear Energy Advisory Council
- $4 million to expand the State Workforce Development Board’s role in planning workforce strategies, identifying high-demand industries, and awarding grants to grow Tennessee’s skilled workforce
- $2 million investment in Tennessee Board of Regents’ Center for Workforce Development to expand workforce training for businesses and industries, including specialized onboarding and apprenticeship programs, in partnership with TN Accelerates
To date, the Lee Administration’s most notable workforce initiatives and accomplishments include:
- Delivered more than $400 million in tax cuts for Tennessee families and businesses through the Tennessee Works Act, one of the largest tax relief measures in state history
- Eliminated the nearly 12,000-person waiting list for Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) and invested $1 billion to complete the TCAT Master Plan to improve existing TCATs, replace outdated facilities and build new TCATs at strategic locations across Tennessee
- The Tennessee Youth Employment Program surpassed expectations by placing 4,800+ youths in paid positions, each earning up to $4,000 while gaining career‑aligned experience
- Established Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) Act to expand access to vocational and technical training for students
- Through the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE), the Lee Administration has served 15,500 rural students and helped spark 41,500 new jobs as well as almost $19 billion in capital investment across rural Tennessee
- Created the Future Workforce Initiative to prepare students for jobs of the future in science, technology, engineering and math
- First state in the U.S. to establish a Teacher Occupation Apprenticeship, a “Grow Your Own” program for aspiring teachers
- Created the innovative “New Pathways” program to help adults earn a high school diploma equivalency faster and made Tennessee the first state to offer five high‑school‑equivalency test options, already enabling over 1,000 adults to earn diplomas and reenter the workforce within its first year.
- Strengthened the state’s Apprenticeship Agency, now administering 433 active programs and nearly 10,000 apprentices
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Tennessee softball’s opponent for the Women’s College World Series semifinals is set.
The No. 7 seed Lady Volunteers (49-10) will face No. 2 Texas (49-12) at Devon Park on June 1 (noon ET, ESPN). Tennessee and Texas played each other in their WCWS opener on May 28. Tennessee won 6-3.
In the previous matchup, Tennessee used both of its top two pitchers, Karlyn Pickens (15-7, 1.58 ERA) and Sage Mardjetko (16-2, 1.06 ERA). Mardjetko started and allowed just one hit in the first four innings. Pickens finished the game, allowing four hits and three runs but still recording the save.
“Knowing we’ve got to make quicker adjustments, we’ve seen them already,” Texas infielder Katie Stewart said of potentially facing Pickens and Mardjetko again. “Still knowing they’re a really good pitching staff and they’re going to bring it. Just being ready for that. I think just going back, watching film, looking at how we got out and building off that.”
Stewart, the SEC Player of the Year and Texas’ leader in batting average, home runs and RBIs, went 0-for-3 in that first game.
Texas coach Mike White is hopeful that the Longhorns’ familiarity with Pickens and Mardjetko from just a few days prior will help them “pick up where they left off.”
All three of Texas’ runs came in the later part of the game, with the Longhorns scoring off a throwing error and a two-run homer hit by Leighann Goode.
However, he also noted that Tennessee has another talented pitcher in Erin Nuwer (15-1, 0.99 ERA), whom the Longhorns could face for the first time.
“Well, it won’t help us if they throw Nuwer at us,” White said. “They have another one that’s out there that’s pretty good. We’re not forgetting her as well.”
Nuwer hasn’t pitched since Game 2 of the super regionals against Georgia, when she allowed two hits, two hit-by-pitches but no runs in 1⅓ innings. Nuwer’s last start was a complete game against Northern Kentucky in regionals on May 15.
“They have the luxury of us having to beat them twice,” White said. “These pitchers are so good now, they’re able to study what we did, what they did. It becomes that cat-and-mouse game of strategy. That’s what we love about the game, is all the strategy, kind of pitching nuances of the game. It’s going to be a fun matchup.”
Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.
Tennessee
Nashville’s Eastpoint Neighborhood groundbreaking marks largest affordable housing project in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville’s newest neighborhood is starting to take shape. The Fallon Company broke ground on the Eastpoint Neighborhood, which developers say is the largest affordable housing project and investment in Tennessee right now.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell says the mixed-use development is designed to benefit all families, accommodating incomes from $20,000 to $80,000 a year. In addition to housing, the development will include upgraded parks and green space, on-site childcare, and retail space.
“This is gonna be how we build Nashville’s next great neighborhood,” O’Connell said.
“We’ll have upgraded parks and green space, it will literally have on-site childcare here,” O’Connell said. “Basically all the ingredients that happen in a great neighborhood are going to be here.”
The development comes as many Nashville families struggle to make ends meet.
“They’re working jobs that are $10, $12 an hour jobs and they cannot afford basic living expenses,” Tony Turntine said.
Turntine and his family are success stories of UpRise Nashville’s free career training program. Through that experience, he has seen firsthand how getting to a better life requires studying, working, mentorship — and help with housing.
“The affordable housing that gives them an opportunity to come out of some of the really lower income neighborhoods they’ve been in and have better, quieter, more wholesome places to live,” Turntine said.
“If people can afford a better opportunity, we see everyone blossom from it. It’s a great day,” Al Brady with UpRise said.
Turntine says the tough choices Nashville families face are real.
“Whether I’m gonna pay the car out or whether I’m gonna get food for the kids,” Turntine said.
Now living and thriving in a new opportunity, Turntine has made it his mission to help others get there too.
“We’re living in a better neighborhood now — we actually just moved last weekend to a house twice the house of what we were in before,” Turntine said. “When you make different choices in life, that gives you different opportunities.”
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
101st Airborne veterans get Purple Hearts years after an insider attack
As we honor those who have served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice, it is also heartening to see the military right a wrong. Chris Davis brings us the moving story of a Purple Heart ceremony two decades in the making. It’s worth a watch.
A heartfelt thanks to all who bravely serve.
– Carrie Sharp
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A new Tennessee law aimed at protecting utility customers from the growing energy demands of data centers will take effect in July.
The legislation comes as more than 60 data centers power artificial intelligence and other cyber operations across the state, with about one-third located in the greater Nashville area. As the race to build and power AI infrastructure accelerates nationwide and globally, Tennessee lawmakers say they’re working to ensure ratepayers are not saddled with the added costs of serving these massive facilities.
“We want to have data centers. But we want to put guardrails around that to protect our ratepayers,” said state Rep. Ed Butler, R-Rickman, during a legislative committee hearing in March.
Under the new law, data centers must pay for any new infrastructure required to support their operations, including substations and other power-related upgrades. Utilities are prohibited from passing those costs on to residential and business customers.
“In the rural areas they’re putting a lot of these. And we have had a lot of increased utility bills,” said state Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro, during the same March committee hearing on the legislation.
Powers questioned if data centers could be contributing to ratepayer costs. That question wasn’t clearly answered. Regardless, legislators voted the measure through, and Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law to help prevent that from happening.
“If there was a substation that was needed to be put in to provide power for this data center, then the data center would pay for the substation,” Butler said during the hearing.
As communities across Tennessee consider proposals for new data centers, and new laws to regulate (or contain) them, some local leaders remain opposed to bringing the facilities to their areas.
“I don’t think they fit in Robertson County, and definitely not in my community,” said Cedar Hill Mayor John Edwards, who is proposing a two-year moratorium on data centers in his city.
Electric providers and utilities are also preparing for future demand. The Tennessee Valley Authority reports data centers currently account for about 18% of its industrial power load, a figure that’s predicted to potentially double by 2030.
The new law also allows utilities, including TVA, to establish a separate customer or rate class specifically for data centers, providing an additional safeguard against shifting costs to other customers.
As energy demand continues to surge, state lawmakers say the goal is to ensure Tennessee stays competitive, while families and businesses do not see higher electric bills because of data center expansion.
Data center advocates, meanwhile, say many facilities generate much of their own power on-site and use advanced cooling systems that require little or no water.
If TVA moves forward with creating a separate customer or rate class for data centers, FOX17 will continue to follow those developments.
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