Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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State Building Commission backs Moccasin Bend psychiatric hospital despite Chattanooga opposition – Tennessee Lookout
The State Building Commission is plowing ahead with construction of a new Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga in spite of concerns about a potential clash with Native Americans and a national park plan. The commission recently authorized work to start on a $260 million replacement facility for the state’s psychiatric hospital there after…
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Election map: 2023 Nashville mayor race looks like 2020 Presidential election – Tennessee Lookout
Nashville’s mayoral runoff election turned into a classic Democrat versus Republican race despite being classified nonpartisan. The August general election effectively served as a 12-person party primary, producing a known Republican in Alice Rolli and a more liberal candidate in Metro Council member Freddie O’Connell. O’Connell then fully embraced his Democratic Party ties in the…
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House minority leader blasts Republican rep’s letter supporting Tuberville delays – Tennessee Lookout
House Minority Leader Karen Camper is criticizing state Rep. John Ragan’s letter backing delays in key military appointments until the Pentagon relents on abortion policy. Camper, a Memphis Democrat and mayoral candidate, issued a statement Monday saying she is “shocked by the level of vitriol and carelessness for the men and women in uniform expressed”…
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A bloody clipboard and biodiesel car: The story behind Freddie O’Connell’s rise to Nashville mayor – Tennessee Lookout
Nashville Mayor-elect Freddie O’Connell addressing supporters on Aug. 3 2023. (Photo: John Partipilo) It didn’t take long for Nashville mayor-elect Freddie O’Connell to learn that even the best-laid plans can go astray. O’Connell, a former chair of Metro Nashville Transit Authority, scored his first electoral victory to the Metro Nashville Council in 2015, thinking he…
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Department of Children’s Services spending $400M on intake, juvenile detention projects – Tennessee Lookout
The Department of Children’s Services is embarking on more than $400 million worth of construction projects to handle children entering state custody and improve problematic detention centers. Six months after removing the last children from state offices because they had nowhere else to go, the department received approval to start work on an assessment center…
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Immigrant, Black voters play key role in Metro Nashville elections – Tennessee Lookout
Immigrant and Black voters played a critical role in Metro Nashville’s municipal elections. Of the 26 candidates endorsed by TIRRC Votes, the political arm of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, 21 won their races — including Mayor-elect Freddie O’Connell. Other winners include Delishia Porterfield, Olivia Hill and Quin Evans Segall, who claimed seats…
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Memphis rep’s new PAC to give $100K to Turner in city’s mayoral race – Tennessee Lookout
First-term state Rep. Justin J. Pearson’s newly-formed political action committee is set to inject $100,000 into Van Turner’s Memphis mayoral campaign during the final three weeks of the race. Pearson, who raised about $1 million this year amid international outrage after being expelled from the state House for leading an anti-gun rally on the chamber…
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Tennessee Attorney General, ACLU, agree to end suit over sign ban in legislature – Tennessee Lookout
In a coda to a bruising special session of the Tennessee Legislature that wrapped up last month, lawyers representing three women who silently defied a House ban on signs and attorneys for the state have agreed to bring a First Amendment legal challenge to a close. The challenge to new House rules that barred protest…
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Special session bills expected to revive in 2024 – Tennessee Lookout
A measure by House Speaker Cameron Sexton designed to stiffen sentences for serious juvenile crimes is one of several bills expected to be revived in 2024 after dying in a truncated special session on public safety. Sexton, a Crossville Republican, contends Memphis officials, including Mayor Jim Strickland and District Attorney General Steve Mulroy, support his…
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