Gov. Bill Lee isn’t saying whether his proposal to keep firearms away from dangerous people has enough support inside Tennessee’s Republican-dominant Statehouse to survive the upcoming special legislative session.

In roughly three weeks, lawmakers are expected to be called back to Nashville to address possible changes to the state’s gun laws, an effort that gained momentum after a shooter opened fire at a Nashville elementary school earlier this year and killed six people, including three 9-year-old children.

Yet even as traumatized families closely connected to the shooting have pleaded and lobbied for more restrictions on who can access guns, GOP lawmakers have appeared hesitant to adopt any pro-gun control proposals.

Back in May, Lee announced that he would call a special session after the Republican lawmakers initially refused to consider his proposal designed to keep guns away from people who could harm themselves or others.

Since then, Lee says he’s met with “hundreds of people” to go over not only his proposal but also others on mental health, violent crime and juvenile justice that will also be considered during the special session. His office has also received thousands of public comments largely in support of passing some sort of gun control legislation.

However, Lee wouldn’t say whether he had the votes to get his own proposal past the Republican supermajority and wouldn’t answer who would be sponsoring his legislation.

“You know, whenever you bring a piece of legislation, you certainly hope that it does (pass),” Lee says. “But that’s up to the General Assembly.”

Yellow Corp. shuts down, heads to bankruptcy

Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters union and multiple media reports.

After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week – as the Nashville-based company saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees Friday.

In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters says that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.

“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”

The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company’s reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.

Three-month grocery tax holiday underway

A three-month grocery tax suspension started Aug. 1 and will run through Oct. 31, part of the recent passage of the Tennessee Works Tax Act.

The grocery tax holiday will give Tennesseans the opportunity to save up to 6.75% in state and local option sales tax on food and food ingredients. Tennesseans are expected to save an estimated $273 million in taxes total.

Food and food ingredients are defined as liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried or dehydrated substances that are sold to be ingested or chewed by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value. Food and food ingredients do not include alcoholic beverages, tobacco, candy, or dietary supplements.

“We’re proud to be able to offer three months of tax-free groceries to help hardworking Tennesseans save money,” says Department of Revenue Commissioner David Gerregano.

Summer affects county unemployment numbers

The seasonal impacts on employment, such as school breaks, continued to have an impact on Tennessee’s county unemployment numbers in June, according to newly released information from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

County unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted to take into account the effects of seasonal layoffs, while the statewide unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted.

The June 2023 data showed unemployment rates increased in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties during the month. Seventy-seven counties had an unemployment rate of less than 5% in June, while the remaining 18 counties had rates of 5% or greater but less than 10%.

At 2.8%, Williamson County reported the lowest unemployment rate in June. Its new statistic was 0.3% higher than the previous month’s rate. The rates for both Cheatham and Sevier counties were 2.9% for the month. The rates in both counties increased by 0.3% between May and June.

Bledsoe County had Tennessee’s highest unemployment rate for the month. At 6.5%, the county’s June rate jumped 1.2% when compared to its May rate. Scott and Van Buren counties shared the next highest rate of 5.9%. That represented a 0.6% increase for Scott County and an increase of 1.8% for Van Buren County.

Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate matched the state’s all-time low statistic of 3.2%, which represented a 0.1% decrease from the previous month.

Comcast adds Tennessee markets to ‘10G’ network

Comcast is accelerating the nation’s largest and fastest multi-gig deployment and announced that its latest Xfinity 10G Network updates are rolling out to homes and businesses across Middle, West and East Tennessee.

These network enhancements will benefit customers at all speed-tiers and price points. With these improvements, Comcast is also rolling out new download speeds up to 2 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) and up to 10 times faster upload speeds.

These Tennessee markets are the latest communities in Comcast’s southeastern region to roll out these Xfinity 10G Network enhancements, setting the stage for the introduction of new symmetrical multi-gigabit internet options that can be delivered across Comcast’s existing networks with less cost.

“Connecting Tennesseans to fast, secure and reliable internet service has never been more critical,” says Jason Gumbs, regional SVP at Comcast. “Through our network innovation and investments, we continue to connect more residents and businesses while partnering with the state to expand our network to rural and underserved areas.”

Comcast has invested nearly $629 million in technology and infrastructure improvements in its Tennessee network over the last three years.

HopSkipDrive launches for Nashville schools

HopSkipDrive, a leader in innovative, supplemental school transportation solutions for families, school districts and government agencies, announced that it will be launching in Nashville this school year, partnering with Metro Nashville Public Schools and others in the area to expand transportation options for students.

With HopSkipDrive, schools in Nashville and other organizations will be able to book safe, reliable rides for students, especially those students whose needs cannot be met with traditional school buses and fixed routes.

Metro Schools entered into an agreement with HopSkipDrive and three other entities last year to support the district’s HERO program, which serves students experiencing homelessness, are in foster care, or are experiencing other circumstances that require additional support from the district.

While the district has been providing similar services for several years, the new agreements allow for MNPS to have additional service providers on call who can provide transportation when needed. The services provided are in addition to the district’s regular and special education bus services which are led by MNPS staff.

HopSkipDrive’s approach to safety begins with highly vetted caregivers behind the wheel (known as “CareDrivers”) and extends to every aspect of the company’s operations.

Every CareDriver has at least five years of caregiving experience and must pass a rigorous 15-point certification process, including fingerprinting, background screenings and ongoing driving and criminal record checks. CareDrivers on the HopSkipDrive platform must use a four-door vehicle newer than 10 years old, and vehicles must pass an annual inspection by a certified mechanic.

Vanderbilt Transplant Center reaches record

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center performed a record number of solid organ transplants in fiscal year 2023, 665 lifesaving procedures among its adult and pediatric programs.

The total number of transplants from the period between July 2022 and the end of June 2023 is up 3% from the 645 transplants during the same period in fiscal year 2022.

Vanderbilt’s lung transplant program had a record fiscal year, with 80 transplants, a 29% increase over FY 22. Growth was also driven by kidney transplants, increasing 7% to 315 adult and pediatric transplants.

“Performing 665 solid organ transplants in a single year is an incredible accomplishment that could not be achieved without extraordinary teamwork and commitment,” says Joseph Magliocca, M.D., professor of surgery and director of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center. “It is truly a testament to the dedication of all people within the entire Vanderbilt University Medical Center.”

In the Adult Transplant program in FY 23, teams performed 301 kidney transplants (including simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplants and pancreas-after-kidney transplants), 112 heart transplants, 130 liver transplants and 80 lung transplants.

Pediatric transplant teams with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt performed 14 kidney transplants, 21 heart transplants and seven liver transplants.

In 2020, VUMC exceeded 10,000 total transplants of all organs since its first kidney transplant in 1962.

TSU engineering nets $2.25M NSF grant

Tennessee State University’s College of Engineering has been awarded a $2.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation that will go into effect fall 2023.

The grant will create a five-year pilot engineering curriculum that includes a pre-engineering program and an immersive engineering studio based on course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), aiming to focus on student retention and graduation at Tennessee State University.

TSU alumnus Malik City, a 2020 graduate who is now a software development engineer with Amazon, says the rigorous TSU program played a pivotal role in his current success within the company.

“The same courses that may discourage first-year students are the same courses that many successful engineers had challenges with,” City says. “The first-year student grant is huge because the extra support is needed.”

A STEM Enhancement Institute will also be established this fall as part of the grant to provide support to students who struggle with their STEM courses in their pre-engineering program. $150,000 per year will go toward the STEM institute.

The overall goal is to enhance the retention and success of students in engineering programs at TSU through innovative practices and interdisciplinary research.

This is the third time the National Science Foundation has provided the Implementation Project grant to the university.