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While Tennessee is doing "great" in many respects, Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday in his annual State of the State address that the state needs to do even better when it comes to efficiency and serving citizens' needs.

"Is the current state of our state good enough?" Haslam, a Republican, asked state lawmakers. "I think we can believe in better. We can believe in better for how state government serves Tennesseans. We can believe in better when it comes to ...

In 2002, Chattanooga State Community College received nearly two-thirds of its financial support from the state, with student tuition and fees making up most of the remainder.

Ten years later, dwindling state support has turned that equation on its head.

Today, students are paying more than twice as much for tuition and fees, accounting for 62 percent of the college's annual $34 million in revenues.

And Chattanooga State isn't alone. Of the other four public colleges and universities ...

Lawmakers say they’re hearing concerns about the governor’s plan to authorize more local control on class size and teacher pay, but they predict the outcry will not be as heated as last year’s.

“We’re going to work real hard to get some consensus. Everybody may not agree 100 percent, but I think we’re going to be doing some moving here before we do anything to make sure everybody’s kind of on board and is ...

NASHVILLE -- State Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, says he finds the idea of working on Chattanooga issues as the city's next mayor appealing but emphasizes he has made no decision yet about running for the post.

Faced with a redistricting plan that weights his Senate district toward Republicans, Berke said his legislative focus on issues such as education and economic development should serve him well regardless of whether he opts to run again for the Senate or try for the ...

Some East Tennessee legislators outside of official leadership who may play a noticeable role in shaping the course of events during the 2012 session of the 107th General Assembly:

Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville. An outspoken critic of the state's judicial selection system as a "fraud on the voters," Bell is in a new position this year to put more power behind his voice. He has been named chairman of the Senate Government Operations Committee, which has first shot at ...

Following the release of a concept map, which would push the district he serves to Republican-leaning areas of Hamilton and Bradley counties, Sen. Andy Berke, a Democrat, said the outcome of redistricting would not have any effect on his future decisions.

"Redistricting is irrelevant for what I'll decide to do," Berke said. "I want to think about the ways I can help the people of Chattanooga and where I can be most effective on the issues I care about ...

State Senator Andy Berke applauded Governor Bill Haslam’s announcement Thursday of a comprehensive, statewide public safety action plan.

“This plan will serve as a model for Chattanooga to take the necessary measures to cut down the violent crime that plagues areas of our city,” Senator Berke said. “I look forward to working with the governor in implementing this plan to fit our area.”

Among cities with populations of 100,000 or more, Chattanooga has the 11th highest crime rate ...

A redistricting plan could pit local Democratic leaders against each other.

Senate Republicans released their proposal this week.

It would split Bradley County, making the Republican area part of Senate District 10, now held by Democratic Senator Andy Berke.

Both Senators Berke and Bo Watson spoke at Thursday's chamber meeting.

"I am in favor of non-partisan independent redistricting, that's not what we have. Whatever senate district I end up with, I certainly feel confident about what I've ...

A statewide school health program could be on the chopping block as the Tennessee General Assembly and governor get ready to draft the coming year's budget.

Russell Cliche, of Hamilton County's Coordinated School Health division, worries that the state-mandated program could vanish from the budget because it's not scheduled for automatic renewal of funding.

"I'm very concerned," he said. "Every year, we're very concerned."

Coordinated School Health was in every Tennessee school district by 2007 ...

The executive committee of the Bradley County Republican Party voted unanimously on Friday to approve a resolution against splitting Bradley County into two State Senate districts because it would “disrupt the cohesive, clear and unified voice” of the county in Nashville.

The executive committee urged all three Tennessee Senatorial Redistricting Regional Coordinators and current elected officials to maintain the entirety of Bradley County in a single state senatorial district.

Bradley County Republican Party Chairman David Smith said, “We have been ...

Some of public education's most sacred cows vanished this year as the Tennessee General Assembly took on one of its most aggressive education reform sessions ever.

At home in Chattanooga, a changing of the guard also took place as school board members ousted Hamilton County's five-year superintendent in favor of a longtime schools administrator.

In what reformers say were long-overdue changes, the Republican-controlled Legislature rewrote the teacher tenure law, stripped away teachers' collective bargaining rights and enacted a ...

NASHVILLE — Senate Republicans are eyeing new lines for the 10th District Senate seat that could swap Democratic areas in Marion County for GOP-leaning territory in Hamilton and southern Bradley County.

If that happens, state Rep. Vince Dean, an East Ridge Republican, said he would consider running for the seat next year against Democratic incumbent Andy Berke of Chattanooga.

Redrawing the 10th District also might impact Chattanooga politics if Mayor Ron Littlefield can’t fend off an August recall election.

Littlefield ...

Despite a cancelled appearance from Gov. Bill Haslam, state and city officials managed to mark the official opening of Chattanooga's new TDOT Management Center at Enterprise South.

Haslam, who had been scheduled to speak at the event, was forced to back out after heavy fog delayed his flight. 

"That's why you should travel the roadways," joked TDOT Commissioner John Schroer, who filled in for Haslam behind the podium. "You can get places a lot quicker on the roads ...

Not long ago I visited a prominent bakery in my home county. Like most people who do not work in that type of environment, I expected to find a workplace filled with manual labor, such as workers lifting bags of flour. Instead, I witnessed a highly automated system of making the foods, with workers programming and servicing the computers running the lines. When I asked about their biggest need, the company leaders lamented the status of the available workforce and ...

State Sen. Andy Berke says he had no expectations of what public office would be like when he was elected in 2007.

In fact, he says somewhat sheepishly, he “literally had not been to the legislature since my fourth-grade field trip. … By the way, that’s a mistake. I now realize I should have been paying more attention all along.” When he speaks to groups, he says, he asks audiences to learn from his mistake.

Since his arrival, however, the ...

It’s weird how you can lose track of our ever-changing world. For instance, until recently, I thought “reality TV” meant games about people who were stuck on an island or locked in a house together for the summer. Then, suddenly, I noticed that there were seven different regularly scheduled shows about real housewives, three about people who bid on abandoned storage lockers and two about people who kill wild hogs for a living.

And then there was online education ...

Tennessee college students receiving the HOPE scholarship may see their funding cut in half. That's if a state committee has its way.

The Lottery Stabilization Task Force says the cut would save the program 13 to 17 million dollars.

Right now students receive $2,000 to 4,000 dollars if they earn a 21 on the ACT and a 3.0 in high school. Under the new plan, students who only meet one of those requirements would get half ...

As police continue to combat prescription drug abuse across Tennessee and Georgia, lawmakers are trying to help with new laws that target a main source of the scourge -- pill mills.

"If you talk to law enforcement around the area, they'll tell you one of the biggest problems is the pill mills," said Tennessee Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, who co-sponsored a bill this year that aims to regulate pain clinics.

Clinics with lax restrictions continue to pop up across the ...

State and local Democrats announced Tuesday they will support a call to repeal Tennessee's new photo ID voter law, but said in the meantime they are promoting a statewide education plan to help residents most likely discouraged from voting.

"We are not saying that a person should not have to identify themselves," state Rep. Joanne Favors, D-Chattanooga, said at a news conference in front of the Boynton Center. "But this is voter suppression and we cannot allow this to ...

Earlier this month the world lost a great leader and visionary in Steve Jobs. Jobs’ leadership and drive led Apple to become one of the greatest companies in history. Jobs said, “Apple’s goal isn’t to make money. Our goal is to design and develop and bring to market good products.” Our schools’ goals are similar: to educate and enrich students to prepare them to be good citizens and lead productive lives.

Leadership drives a company’s success, and ...

HAMILTON COUNTY, TN (WRCB)- For many veterans and the families of those who have served, it is a chance to recover and preserve precious keepsakes.

Today a Tennessee State Senator introduced a new law that preserves military medals to return them to veterans and their families.

Senator Andy Berke is trying to raise awareness of the new law. It requires the State Treasurer's Office to hold any abandoned military medal as unclaimed property until it can be returned to ...

The ties that bind state Sen. Andy Berke to Bruce Springsteen formed early.

The year was 1980. Springsteen's fifth studio album, "The River," was at the top of the Billboard charts. Berke was only twelve, growing up in Chattanooga.

"I started to pay a lot of attention then," Berke said. "Two years later, I bought "Nebraska" on the first day it was released, at The Record Bar at Northgate Mall. Ever since, I've been a Springsteen fanatic."

Berke ...

There are 6 megawatts of solar panels installed in Tennessee. In Germany, more than half of 20,000 mega-watts is in-stalled on residential rooftops.

The difference is in the incentives offered and how government manages the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Dr. Erk Thorsten Heyen, vice president, marketing, sales and finance of Wacker Polysilicon Division of Wacker Chemie AG, was in Chattanooga Friday to participate in an energy forum hosted by State Sen. Andy Berke.

Heyen is a ...

A top Wacker Polysilicon official said in Chattanooga on Friday that recent high-profile bankruptcies of solar companies are failures of those firms and don't reflect the industry's health.

"The solar market is exploding worldwide," said Erk Thorsten Heyen, vice president of marketing, sales and finance for the company building a $1.5 billion plant in Bradley County.

Heyen, in an interview after a clean energy forum at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said the solar market has ...

Did you know the Tennessee Valley has more potential for Solar Energy than the world leader right now.

Local and state leaders in clean energy want to ramp up renewable energy production in the area...and bring more jobs here.

State Senator Andy Berke convened a panel to hash out how to make it happen.

The proof is in the pudding as the saying goes.

In the case of Southeast Tennessee, the pudding is companies like Volkswagen, Wacker and Alstom ...

The Bradley County Democratic Party enjoyed political conversation and laughs over political cartoons at its annual Heritage Dinner Saturday.

State District 10 Sen. Andy Berke and State District 29 Rep. JoAnne Favors, who both represent parts of Hamilton County, spoke about recent legislation passed in the Tennessee General Assembly and the need to work together for their goals.

“I think its important that we in East Tennessee come together and galvanize our efforts,” Favors said.

She pointed to Democrats being ...

NASHVILLE – House Speaker Beth Harwell and Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey are urging citizens to submit proposals for changing the boundaries for state legislative districts, while the Tennessee League of Women Voters is holding a contest for plans submissions.

But there almost certainly will be a big disconnect between any plan that the Republican-controlled Legislature will approve and any plan likely to win part of the $4,000 in prizes offered by the League for the best plans submitted.

The League ...

The temperature inside the tent pitched on the Bicentennial Mall in downtown Nashville was not the only chill felt on Saturday night as loyal Tennessee Democrats gathered for their annual Jackson Day dinner and festivities. No, the other source of shivers seemed to be the collective realization of how far the once-mighty party has recently fallen.

But there was also warmth to be found, in the heartfelt tribute to former Gov. Ned McWherter that dominated the proceedings—and in the ...

In praise of the late Gov. Ned McWherter’s record on education, House Democratic Leader Craig Fitzhugh reignited battles of this year’s legislative session Saturday night at the Tennessee Democratic Party Jackson Day Dinner.

“Ned wouldn’t have backed down when my colleagues across the aisle began to attack teachers in this state, and neither did we in the House and Senate Democratic Caucus,” Fitzhugh aid to applause. “Ned would have stood for teachers when politicians decided to stop ...

A newly launched national network focused on championing ideas of pro-growth progressives has announced its selection of state Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, as one of six new leaders. 

The NewDEAL—an acronym for "Developing exceptional American leaders"—is a nonprofit founded by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley  and Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska. The group, created in March of this year, exists to foster and share ideas of local and state leaders that may be applicable to people of influence across ...

A non-profit headed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) that promotes local and state Democratic leaders is highlighting another crop of rising stars.

The NewDeal, which highlights up-and-coming Democrats with fresh ideas, has added six names to its list of honorees. The six are: Tennessee state Sen. Andy Berke, Kansas state House Minority Leader Paul Davis, Massachusetts state Senator Barry Finegold, Montgomery County (Ohio) Commissioner Dan Foley, Delaware state Rep. Helene Keeley, and Maryland ...

Today, Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland and U.S. Senator Mark Begich of Alaska announced that six rising elected officials from across the country have been selected as the next group of NewDEAL leaders for their work championing ideas ranging from clean energy investment to fostering small business growth and investing in workforce development.

The NewDEAL is a recently launched national network committed to elevating pro-growth progressive state and local elected leaders and their innovative ideas from across the ...

KNOXVILLE – Tennessee House and Senate Democrats spent all of Friday in Knoxville speaking to business owners throughout the city as their statewide jobs tour explored emerging career fields.

“All of the companies we visited would either not exist or not be nearly as successful without the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner. “Their workforces and their partnerships with local businesses make up the economic hub of this area.”

Tour members started ...

The number of employed Tennesseans rose slightly in August, though economists downgraded the state's economic outlook in light of projections that point to high levels of long-term unemployment.

A report released Thursday by the University of Tennessee projects that both state and national joblessness will linger above 9 percent until 2013, and the state's rate "will surpass the national unemployment rate through the short-term forecast horizon," said economist Matt Murray, associate director for the UT Center for Business ...

House Democratic Leader Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, traveled to Chattanooga Thursday to join up with fellow Tennessee Democrats for part of a six-day jobs tour. 

Fitzhugh was met by area Reps. JoAnne Favors and Tommie Brown, along with Sen. Andy Berke. Together they spent the day touring Chattanooga State Community College, the city of Chattanooga Office of Sustainability, and the facilities of SIAG Aerisyn to discuss with leaders how to best grow jobs in Tennessee.

"We've had a great ...

Democratic House and Senate leaders met today to talk about jobs and they are visiting businesses to find new ways to create them.  One way could be cashing in on new power technology.  Andy Berke, a Democrat in the Tennessee State Senate said,

"One of the real opportunities we have here in southeastern Tennessee is clean energy and it's sustainable programs. We got Wacker, we got Volkswagen, we got Alstom, we got SIAG. If we can leverage those we ...

Despite a down economy and skyrocketing gas prices, Chattanooga's hotel tax revenues, a yardstick for the tourism industry, increased by 18.6 percent between June 2010 and June 2011.

That figure put Chattanooga's tourism growth double that of competitors such as Atlanta; Asheville, N.C.; and Savannah, Ga., which all saw less than 10 percent growth, according to Bob Doak, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau. Nationally, hotel tax revenue increased 10 percent, Doak ...

A Tennessee lawmaker says down-blended radioactive waste poses "uncertainties and potential hazards" for both his own state and Utah, and in a recent letter he urges regulators here to block EnergySolutions Inc. from burying it in the company’s Tooele County landfill.

But it seems unlikely the letter by state Sen. Andy Berke will have much impact on EnergySolutions’ pending request.

"It adds no technical information," said Utah Radiation Control Director Rusty Lundberg, who expects to have a preliminary decision ...

NASHVILLE -- A top state election official defended a new law requiring Tennesseans to have government-issued photo IDs to vote.

But State Election Coordinator Mark Goins acknowledged he can point only to one, possibly two, instances of someone being convicted of impersonating someone else when trying to vote.

"Well, it's kind of like the speed limit," he said in an interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "If you don't have a speed limit, how many [speeders] do you ...

NASHVILLE -- The political equivalent of a school-yard brawl has broken out between one of the nation's largest for-profit providers of online learning programs, K12 Inc., and a state legislator from Chattanooga who is proving to be one of the company's toughest Tennessee critics.

In an Aug. 28 column published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, labeled the Virtual Public Schools Act as "possibly [the] most destructive" bill to pass the Republican-controlled General Assembly this ...

NASHVILLE — As many as half of the more than 2,000 students applying to attend the state’s first public online academy have yet to be enrolled some three weeks into the beginning of the privately-operated institution’s school year, officials say.

Union County Schools Director Wayne Goforth and officials at K12 Inc., a Herndon, Va., for-profit virtual school company that runs Union County’s Tennessee Virtual Academy, blame problems on a variety of factors.

They range from more students ...

Eighteen-year-old Anthony Stewart sat in a chair Thursday at Nashville State Community College and pondered his future.

He was registering online for three classes, the first step in getting to the university he’d always dreamed of attending, Middle Tennessee State University.

“I’m anxious. I’m ready to get started,” said Stewart, a 2011 graduate of La Vergne High School. “It was always the plan for me to go to college, but I couldn’t afford to pay for ...

Backwards planning is one method teachers and educators use to teach students. The central idea is to look at the standards and outcomes and implement various strategies to reach them.

If we are to achieve our economic development goals, governmental leaders need to engage in some backwards planning of our own. In Tennessee, it is projected that by 2018 over 50 percent of new jobs will require some post-secondary education. Currently, only one third of Tennesseans have college degrees. There ...

Most private employers will tell you that one of their foremost concerns is employee morale. In service companies in particular, a customer’s experience with a particular employee determines whether that business survives or dies.

In government, however, too many public officials disregard employee morale. Teachers are an acute example. More and more, I hear from education leaders across the state who worry about our teachers’ morale. It is an issue that we must confront if we are to achieve ...

Angry parents in Chattanooga want to know why state funding for the Team Center has been canceled. The resource center has been providing services for the intelectual and physically disabled for 47 years. Worst of all, the state agency gave the local center only 60 days notice.

TRISH COX, PARENT   "If I had had false teeth, they would have been on the floor now."

Trish Cox expected a state cut-back but she and hundreds of other parents were shocked to ...

With less than two weeks before the state pulls grant money for a clinical program that serves 2,700 developmentally disabled Tennesseans, advocates have organized an 11th-hour effort to save it.

Geared toward supporting TEAM Centers Inc., parents last weekend fired off numerous emails to reporters and state lawmakers, asking for help in a situation they say gets more urgent as Aug. 12 nears -- the day TEAM officials have designated as the program's last.

"At this point, we have ...

These days, immigration is a perpetual topic of debate in almost every state legislature.

Year after year, states across the nation grapple with immigration, and lawmakers introduce more and more bills to deal with the issue.

In the first quarter of 2011, legislators in the 50 states and Puerto Rico introduced 1,538 bills and resolutions relating to immigrants and refugees, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That’s up from the 1,180 bills introduced during the ...

Since this is my first blog post for SCORE, I wanted to use the opportunity to introduce myself. Born in Chattanooga, I now live just miles from where I grew up.  I have two young children, one of whom just finished 5th grade at Normal Park Museum Magnet, a Hamilton County public school, and another who just completed the 2nd grade at the same school.  It has been a wonderful experience.

When the kids began at Normal Park, both my ...

Joe Lance's, "High Road" is a thoughtful and nicely worded opinion about partisan redistricting. Also, it underscores the civic-mindedness and strong bi-partisan leadership of State Senator Andy Berke in taking the “high road,” in putting forth legislation to set up a procedure for a fair redistricting process.

Since Senator Berke's effort to establish an independent redistricting commission did not pass, we must deal with the commission we have. County Commissioner Larry Henry just appointed Commissioners Fred Skillern and ...

Competitive Knoxville bicycle racer Steve Hancock, 53, was completing an hour of interval training May 5 on Foothills Parkway.

That's when his world changed.

A car going twice Hancock's speed on the parkway collided with his left leg, shooting him at least 50 feet through the air.

Hancock said he suffered from multiple fractures and doesn't know if he will ever ride again.

The harshest charge drivers currently face for injuring or killing a bicyclist is a ...

Publix. Costco. Whole Foods. The news has been nothing but bright in recent months for local grocery shoppers.

That is, unless you live in one of the 20 Knoxville neighborhoods that are federally designated food deserts. If you’re counting, that’s 59,887 people, out of the city’s 178,874 residents. That’s almost exactly a third of Knoxville’s population.

Not all of those 60,000 people are in the same dire straits, of course. If you ...

The 2010 census reveals that Tennessee’s midsection has seen growth (um, in population), while the northwest and northeast corners of the state have lost residents. Locally, Hamilton County could be losing half a representative in the upcoming reapportionment.

The process for adjusting the boundaries seems simple enough, given the guidelines set forth in Tennessee Code following the historic Baker v. Carr decision in the U.S. Supreme Court—you know, the one that gave us the phrase “one man ...

The effort to breathe life into a high-profile, vacant 140-acre tract on Chattanooga’s Southside could see a boost with a new law that offers another financing tool for developers.

“It makes development more financially viable,” said Michael Mallen, a principal in the group that owns both the former Wheland Foundry and U.S. Pipe properties.

The legislation, signed earlier this month by Gov. Bill Haslam, will enable tax increment financing for the site, officials said. It permits most of ...

Federal funds for cleaning meth labs recently ended, forcing police administrators to ask the city for help. Chattanooga police must contract with a private company to handle disposal of the drugs and equipment.

“We cannot take possession of it,” he said. “If we put it on our property we will be considered a storage facility and we could face all kinds of federal penalties and fines.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has designated a fund to help local authorities cover the ...

Most Likely to Never Succeed (in the Legislature [because he’s too damn sane]):Sen. Andy Berke

Wait, a state politician from East Tennessee who’s a moderate? Who seems to actually be sane? Who doesn’t really appear to be in any one special interest group’s pocket (any more than any politician is, at least)? Who actually votes against things that he doesn’t support? Who’s from Chattanooga, which has never been known for sending sane legislators ...

NASHVILLE — Special interests this year spent millions of dollars seeking to influence the Tennessee General Assembly on issues ranging from a proposed cap on personal injury lawsuit awards to letting grocery stores sell wine, records show.

Fights in these and other areas, including education policy and telecommunications competition, often played out not only in committee rooms and on the House and Senate floor but behind the scenes in lawmakers’ offices, legislative corridors and sometimes lavish receptions for lawmakers.

Groups also ...

The Republican railroad stayed mostly on the tracks during the legislative session that ended last weekend, delivering boxcar loads of conservative agenda items, thanks to the new super majority.

The chief engineers, House Speaker Ron Ramsey and Senate Speaker Beth Harwell, deserve much of the credit - or blame, depending on your perspective. It's fair to say, though, that Harwell applied the brakes more often than Ramsey.

Contrary to last session, when Democrats still had a substantive presence, the House ...

The law in Tennessee governing how many times lenders have to run a newspaper notice before they can foreclose on a property won’t be changing too much after all.

Lawmakers this month appeared to have coalesced around a compromise proposal of reducing the frequency of the notices from three times to two after originally debating language that would require only one newspaper notice before a foreclosure could occur.

The two-notice compromise didn’t survive in the Senate, however, which ...

States are moving to make the roads safer for bicyclists as more Americans hit the road on two wheels.

"It is increasingly important for policymakers to find ways to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe on the road," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says. "In the last 20 years, walking and biking trips have more than doubled as more people look for opportunities to leave the car at home, reduce their impact on the environment and stay in shape."

Bicyclists are demanding ...

NASHVILLE — The Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly adjourned earlier than they have in years, but Democrats say the contentious tone caused by some of the GOP legislation that passed this session is going to linger — and could hurt at the ballot box.

As they adjourned Saturday, Republicans boasted of finishing a week before Memorial Day and passing the state’s $30.8 billion spending plan that includes most of new Gov. Bill Haslam’s agenda. It was the earliest the General ...

NASHVILLE — Senate Republican leaders today are celebrating the final approval of legislation abolishing collective bargaining powers for teachers.

The GOP-controlled House passed the bill late Friday night on a 55-40 vote, repealing a 1978 law that allowed the Tennessee Education Association and its affiliates to engage collective bargaining.

Earlier Friday, senators passed it on a 19-12 vote.

“It matters who governs,” Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, the Republican Senate speaker, in a news release. “For years upon years, one union has ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Legislature's progress toward passing Tennessee's $30.2 billion annual spending plan has hit a snag over efforts to extend unemployment benefits to thousands of jobless Tennesseans.

The House plan includes about $3 million in state funds to help draw down about $60 million in federal money, but the Senate has refused to go along. Both chambers were expected to vote on the budget bill Friday.

"Obviously your heart goes out to people that are on ...

A bill close to passing the state legislature would require judges to consider how to maximize a parent’s involvement in a child’s life when making custody decisions.

Although not the only factor to be considered, the call for “maximum participation possible” could lead some judges to increase visitation time or divide custody 50-50 more often, legal experts say.

The bill, whose main sponsor is Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, was to be heard on the Senate floor Wednesday. It ...

Last year was a losing year for Tennessee Democrats. Republicans increased their majorities in the General Assembly and seized the only two Democrat-held Northeast Tennessee seats in the state House.

There are now no Democratic state senators in Northeast Tennessee, and the closest Democratic House member is in Knoxville.

Republican Bill Haslam also defeated Democrat Mike McWherter in a landslide last year to take the governor’s race. Republican lawmakers are now advancing their agenda, including capping lawsuit awards and ...

State lawmakers have voted to reverse Metro’s new anti-discrimination law, overruling a decision by city leaders last month to require contractors to follow Metro’s rules that protect gay, lesbian and transgendered people.

The state Senate voted 19-8 Thursday in favor of the Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act, a bill that bans local governments from requiring businesses to follow nondiscrimination rules that go beyond those laid out in state law. The state House approved the measure late last ...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — State leaders' plans to push community colleges into a more prominent role in Tennessee higher education is working, according to a recent study released by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

While public universities such as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga are increasing their overall share of college students, more local students are choosing two-year schools close to home.

"With the recession, the technology centers and community colleges were the greatest beneficiaries," said David Wright, associate executive director ...

Kathy Albright knows that a law could never bring back her daughter, but she believes advocating for a bill on the brink of passage in the Tennessee legislature might save someone else’s loved one.

Albright’s daughter Shellie Hernandez was the victim of a domestic violence homicide on Dec. 2, 2008, when she was shot in Nashville by a man with a history of ignoring protective orders and violently abusing her.

Hernandez’s killer, Michael Williams, stalked her until ...

State Senator Andy Berke of Chattanooga has been named Legislator of the Year by the Southeast Tennessee Development District, a member of the Tennessee Development District Association (TDDA).

“It is an honor to be recognized by an organization that provides critical infrastructure support and promotes economic development throughout our area,” Sen. Berke said.

The TDDA is an association of Tennessee’s nine development districts, which are regional planning and economic development organizations. These policy boards within each District are made ...

Lipscomb University’s Institute for Sustainable Practice has named state Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, as its 2011 Green Business Leadership Public Official of the Year.

The institute named Berke from public officials throughout the Southeast for his efforts to protect the region’s environment, promote a sustainable state economy and further promotion of green energy jobs, according to a Senate Democratic Caucus news release.

Berke has sponsored several initiatives to promote clean energy. Among them was Gov. Phil Bredesen’s ...

A bill by State Senator Andy Berke to preserve unclaimed military medals passed 7-0 through a Senate committee Tuesday.

“Veterans’ medals are timeless treasures that should never be sold or auctioned,” Sen. Berke said. “This bill would ensure that they are given the respect they deserve and are returned to their rightful owners.”

Senate Bill 572 would require the state treasurer to hold any abandoned military medal until the owner or the proper beneficiaries could be identified for the return ...

NASHVILLE — Laura Beaver cringed as she listened to discussion last week among the state Senate Education Committee on a proposal to eliminate teachers' collective bargaining rights.

"I'm hoping that our legislators can do something for us," said Beaver, who teaches at Rose Hill Middle School, and has traveled to Nashville a few times for meetings of the 107th General Assembly.

Beaver and fellow teacher Mal Matthews left Jackson early Wednesday to make their desires known to any legislator on ...

by deleting all language after the enacting clause and by substituting instead the following:

            SECTION 1.  Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 5, Part 6, known as the Education Professional Negotiations Act, is amended by deleting the part in its entirety and by substituting instead the following:

49-5-601.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1)  "Professional employee" means any person employed by any local board of education in a position that requires a license issued by ...

Fourteen years ago, Sherry Fortner was a single mom living on a Tennessee teacher’s salary.

Money was short, so when she found out that, for just an hour’s drive, she could earn an additional $12,000 annually doing the same teaching work in Trion, Ga., it was a no-brainer.

On the roads every morning, Fortner finds herself in good company today. Across the region, more than 700 Hamilton and Bradley County residents commute each day to teach in ...

Lawmakers want to give victims of domestic violence a way to make sure their attackers aren't getting close to them. A plan to mandate GPS tracking devices on some offenders would allow the victims to keep tabs on their whereabouts.

Two years ago, Shellie Hernandez took an order of protection out on her boyfriend, Michael Williams. That wasn't enough to keep him away, and he's now in prison for killing Hernandez in front of her children.

Those ...

NASHVILLE — Defendants in domestic violence or stalking cases could be required by judges to wear global positioning monitoring systems as a condition of bail under a bill approved unanimously today by the Senate Finance Committee.

Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, said judges already generally instruct defendants when they are setting bail not to go near alleged victims.

“What this will do, if they [judges] so choose, is to say, ‘We’re going to GPS track and don’t come around the ...

NASHVILLE, April 4 (UPI) -- A bill in the Tennessee legislature would allow teachers to freely discuss alternate theories to evolution such as intelligent design, its sponsors say.

Proponents of the bill say teachers and students should be able to weigh all sides of the question of creation and evolution when it comes up in the classroom, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported Sunday.

"Evolution may not be controversial in the scientific community, but may be in our greater community," bill sponsor Sen ...

NASHVILLE — Sen. Bo Watson said Wednesday his bill letting teachers discuss “weaknesses” in “controversial” scientific theories in the classroom is not an attack on evolution, but critics denounce as a backdoor effort to undercut teaching of it in Tennessee public schools.

“It’s not an evolution bill. That’s a red herring. It germinates an emotional response that [critics] want,” said Watson, R-Hixson, a day after former House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, derisively referred to the measure in a House ...

NASHVILLE — Though Democrats on the Senate Education Committee fought it, Gov. Bill Haslam’s bill to allow any student to attend a charter school cleared its first hurdle today when it was approved on a largely partisan 7-2 vote.

The bill’s sponsor, Senate Speaker Pro Tem Jamie Woodson, R-Knoxville, said charter schools promote innovation and choice and are simply one “tool” in efforts to transform Tennessee schools.

But critics such as Sen. Charlotte Burks, D-Monterey, worried about “skimming the ...

Evander Rollins is the recipient of the Boys & Girls Club of Chattanooga 2011 Youth of the Year award. Mr. Evander, a senior at Howard School of Academics and Technology. He will be competing with participants from 20 other Boys & Girls Clubs from across Tennessee in the state youth of the year competition in Nashville this week.

The winner of the state competition will compete at the regional level, and five regional winners will go to Washington D.C. to interview ...

An East Tennessee plant recently applied to import and treat 1,000 tons of German radioactive waste, a move some say makes good business sense but has environmental activists concerned for the state’s health.

EnergySolutions, a Utah-based multinational company, operates radioactive waste disposal facilities in Oak Ridge, Tenn., including an incineration facility at Bear Creek. The commercial plant has treated low-level radioactive waste — such as x-ray equipment and medical waste — for American businesses and the government since it opened ...

NASHVILLE — Gov. Bill Haslam said Tuesday that overheated rhetoric among Republican and Democratic lawmakers is widening a “partisan divide” that may eventually hinder efforts to tackle state challenges.

In remarks to reporters following a speech to the Nashvill e Area Chamber of Commerce, Haslam, a Republican, said the situation is not “healthy for solving problems.”

“We really don’t want to get where Washington is, where good people don’t want to get there to serve,” Haslam said. “If you ...

The Senate Education Committee voted along party lines today to abolish collective bargaining between teachers unions and school boards across the state.

The vote was 6-3 for SB113 with all Republicans voting for the bill and all Democrats against.

Sponsor Sen. Jack Johnson said passage of the bill remove "an albatross from around the neck of our school boards" across the state" and remove a roadblock to education reform.

Democrats such as Sen. Andy Berke of Chattanooga said the bill ...

Paying $600 a month for health insurance can be difficult for retirees living on fixed incomes.

This and other health care cost issues were at the top of Chattanoogans' minds Thursday as about 40 people filled a town hall meeting with state Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga.

Berke said health care is high on his agenda.

"If it's not affordable, then you don't have any access," Berke said.

The main solution called for by the crowd was to lower ...

Watch Andy talk about the Chattanooga town halls on Wrbctv.com:

http://www.wrcbtv.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?clipId1=5504791&flvUri=&partnerclipid=&at1=News&vt1=v&h1=Sen.%20Andy%20Berke%20talks%20about%20the%20upcoming%20legislative%20session&d1=560533&redirUrl=&activePane=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat=flv&rnd=44759134

Tennessee State Senator Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) will hold two town hall meetings in Chattanooga on Thursday, Jan. 27, to discuss priorities for the 2011 legislative session.

“I continue to hear a lot of great ideas from residents about what they want to see from their elected officials,” Berke said. “We’ve had great attendance at these events so far, and I’m looking forward to seeing more familiar faces – and hopefully some new ones, as well.”

Berke will hold events ...

State Senator Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) spoke at three town hall meetings in Marion County on Tuesday, Jan. 18th.

The senator re-emphasized the correlation between education and workforce preparation with commercial and industrial development.

Attendees echoed this sentiment in the shadow of the failed effort to strengthen and broaden Chattanooga State’s offering in Marion County because of their priority to the main campus in Chattanooga.

Berke also acknowledged the new governor Bill Haslam’s administration and the addition of many ...

http://marioncountynews.net/berke-makes-town-hall-tour-in-marion-county-p2371-98.htm

Immigration will be a hot-button issue — again — in upcoming state legislative sessions.

State legislators say they have to act against illegal immigration because the federal government won't.

"To me these bills are about frustration with the federal government and its ability to manage our borders," said Tennessee Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga. "This is a national security problem when people cross our borders illegally, and people are simply fed up with the federal government's response."

Tennessee and Georgia are ...

Everyone knows that jobs are today's number one issue. Tennessee's unemployment rate is 9.4 percent, meaning close to 300,000 people are out of work.

If that weren't enough to get someone's attention, talking to some of my constituents certainly would. Recently I ran into Jimmy, who lost his job 18 months ago. His wife works part-time, and Jimmy has only been able to find temporary work. With Christmas approaching, he tearfully told me about ...

NASHVILLE -- Departing Gov. Phil Bredesen says his successor can run state government without a sales tax hike, but the record shows that, while Bredesen didn't raise the sales levy, other taxes and fees soared close to $1 billion on his watch.

Acting at Bredesen's behest in 2007, for example, lawmakers passed a cigarette tax hike expected to bring in $160 million to $180 million a year, most of it going toward education.

Earlier this year, faced with Bredesen ...

The Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus re-elected Senator Lowe Finney of Jackson as Caucus Chairman and Senator Jim Kyle of Memphis as Democratic Leader on Wednesday.

Senator Andy Berke of Chattanooga was elected Caucus vice chairman, and Senator Beverly Marrero of Memphis was chosen as secretary/treasurer.

“I am honored by the trust that my fellow caucus members have placed in me, and I am ready to go to work for the people of Tennessee,” Senator Finney said. “Now more than ...

CHATTANOOGA, (WRCB) Hamilton County's Council of PTA members had lunch with their legislators Wednesday.

  It's a December tradition.

  The PTA invites the local legislative delegation to share their thoughts on the upcoming session in Nashville.

  State representative Richard Floyd joined state Senators Bo Watson and Andy Berke on the panel.

Read the rest of the story and watch the video here.

The fight has gone on for some years now and taken various forms, but it took a petition from a lame-duck governor to gain at least a temporary halt to surface mining where land meets sky along Tennessee’s Northern Cumberland Plateau.

It is hoped that this prohibition eventually will be made permanent.
Just before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Department of Interior announced it will review the petition from Gov. Phil Bredesen that asked that “ridgelines on lands with public ...

Through­out this year, I have been steadily opti­mistic about the direc­tion of edu­ca­tion in Ten­nessee, and with good rea­son: We received a $501 mil­lion Race to the Top grant to fund statewide edu­ca­tion reform and imple­mented tougher test­ing stan­dards that will put our chil­dren on a level play­ing field with the rest of the country.

If Gov.-elect Bill Haslam fol­lows the exam­ple ...

Its not a new problem, but "Driving under the Influence" continues to be one of the most troublesome of offenses.

DUI drivers take thousands of lives every year.

Why can't the police and the legal system get these people off the roads?

Conviction and punishment is not an exact science.

Not all DUI cases go to a jury trial like this one. Most violations involve a single person who probably did not hurt anyone. In this case, a young ...

State Senator Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) was named Outstanding State Senator of 2010 by the County Officials Association of Tennessee on Wednesday.

“It’s an honor to receive this award from the dedicated public servants across our great state,” Sen. Berke said. “I look forward to continuing to serve as an ambassador between the association and the General Assembly.”

The County Officials Association of Tennessee is a non-profit association made up of more than 400 county clerks, state court clerks, registers ...

By Callie Starnes
Eyewitness News Reporter/Weekend Anchor

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) - Friends and church members gathered to honor the life of Pastor David Strong.

More than a hundred people gathered at Warren Chapel A.M.E. Church on Market Street. They prayed not only for Strong's family, but the young men who have admitted to killing the pastor.

"He loved the people of God," said Dr. Terrence Mayes, "he loved people whether they were in church, or out of ...

When I meet people while traveling, they ask me where I’m from. When I tell them I’m from Chattanooga, the question inevitably follows: “Does it really have a Choo Choo?”

The idea of the Chattanooga Choo Choo sprang from our role as a transportation hub that connected the East Coast, providing access to major stops like Atlanta en route to Florida. It has been nearly 70 years since the birth of that catchy tune, and people around the ...

NASHVILLE — The Republican chairman of a Senate panel that spent two days this week scrutinizing the Tennessee Board of Regents’ hiring of Deputy Gov. John Morgan as chancellor says at least one more hearing is needed.

But Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, questions whether his GOP colleagues are more interested in “keeping the issue in the headlines” than moving forward.

As hearings concluded Wednesday into the Regents’ hiring of Morgan, Gov. Phil Bredesen’s deputy, Senate Education Committee Chairman Dolores Gresham ...

Transportation planners are facing a grim road.

Over the past six years, Marion County Road Commissioner John Graham has watched his costs for materials such as rock and asphalt balloon by 149 percent, while his revenues shrank 5 percent.

The constraints have tied his hands when it comes to regular road maintenance, let alone improvements, Graham said.

“We’re at a crisis here,” he said during a panel discussion held Friday at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. But it ...

Transportation planners are facing a grim road.

Over the past six years, Marion County Road Commissioner John Graham has watched his costs for materials such as rock and asphalt balloon by 149 percent, while his revenues shrank 5 percent.

The constraints have tied his hands when it comes to regular road maintenance, let alone improvements, Graham said.

“We’re at a crisis here,” he said during a panel discussion held Friday at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. But it ...

CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) - The future of transportation in Tennessee is the topic of discussion Friday in Chattanooga.

State Senator Andy Berke is in the Scenic City moderating a panel entitled "A Transportation Plan for the Next Decade".

See the full story at:

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13251614

When I meet people while traveling, they ask me where I’m from. When I tell them I’m from Chattanooga, the question inevitably follows: “Does it really have a Choo Choo?”

The idea of the Chattanooga Choo Choo sprang from our role as a transportation hub that connected the East Coast, providing access to major stops like Atlanta en route to Florida. It has been nearly 70 years since the birth of that catchy tune, and people around the ...

View the entire article here: http://chattarati.com/metro/government-politics/2010/9/24/insider-expecting-more-students/

This week on Tennessee Insider:

While local school officials brace themselves for the results of last year’s tough new tests, Gov. Phil Bredesen is traveling the state as part of a large-scale effort to educate the public about higher standards and subsequently low student achievement scores. Panelists will discuss what this means for district administrators, students in the classroom as well as teachers — their lesson ...

Full article can be viewed at http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_184118.asp

Governor Phil Bredesen has appointed State Senator Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) to the Interagency Coordinating Council for the Tennessee Early Intervention System, an educational program for young children with developmental disabilities.

“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to help children who need all the support and attention we can give them,” said Senator Berke. “We have a duty to help our Tennessee families break down the ...

Tennessee Conservation Voters presented its Legislative Friend award to Senator Andy Berke Tuesday night at a reception at 212 Market Restaurant.

“Andy Berke leads by example in the General Assembly,” said TCV Board President Mary Helen Clarke. "We applaud him for his commitment to key pro-environmental legislation and specifically for his courageous support for a statewide ban on mountaintop removal mining.”

“I thank Tennessee Conservation Voters for this honor, and I look forward to continuing to work on common sense ...

Tennessee Conservation Voters (TCV) is hosting Nature Votes Chattanooga, a fund raising reception honoring State Senator Andy Berke on Tuesday from 5:30-7 p.m. at 212 Market St.

"We are celebrating Andy Berke's leadership in Nashville, most notably his outspoken support for a ban of the senselessly destructive practice of mountaintop removal mining," said TCV Executive Director Chris Ford. "Our goal is to achieve a multi-partisan conservation majority to work with Andy in the General Assembly."

Proceeds from ...

Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely joined Congressman Lincoln Davis, and state and local officials in Marion County today to break ground on a new project to improve the interchange on I-24 at Exit 152 in Marion County. 

During the project, workers will replace the bridge on I-24 at the Kimball/South Pittsburg exit and will make a number of changes to the interchange to improve traffic flow and safety. 

“The new bridge on I-24 will be higher to ...

$1,080,148 Grant Will Pay For Pedestrian/Bike Path To Moccasin Bend

State officials on Wednesday announced the award of a $1,080,148 transportation enhancement grant to the city of Chattanooga for Phase One of the Manufacturers Road/Hamm Road Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities.



Greenway grants were also announced for South Pittsburg, Dunlap and Tracy City.



The Chattanooga project will install 5,130 linear feet of 12-foot pedestrian sidewalk and multi-modal bike path running east and west on ...

Lottery revenues haven't been able to cover the entire cost of the scholarships for 97,000 students in Tennessee. Some of the options lawmakers are considering include slashing the scholarship amount, eliminating programs or adding an income cap.

"It's very important. It's helped me pay for all my school," said Kalina Neely, a student at Middle Tennessee State University.

Right now, lawmakers are using reserves to cover the costs of student scholarships, but they don't want ...

http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/5631

CHATTANOOGA – The Tennessee Department of Agriculture today announced the recipients of the animal spay/neuter grants at the Humane Educational Society in Chattanooga. The grants supports low cost spay/neuter programs in Tennessee and are funded through Animal Friendly license plate sales.

“This is a great program that not only helps control the number of unwanted animals but it also provides important animal and public health benefits,” said Ken Givens, Commissioner. “Every dollar the ...