A pipeline supplying water from the Cumberland River to the fast-growing Maury and Williamson counties is feasible, but it could cost up to $1.9 billion in 2025 dollars, according to a feasibility study released this week by the Mallory Valley Utility District. From @cstephenson.bsky.social.

Tennessee House Speaker wants state to activate an anti-gang “strike force" working w National Guard to target gang activity in Memphis. He said U.S. attorney could prosecute, bypassing local DA, considered soft on crime by Republicans tennesseelookout.com/2025/09/12/s... @tennesseelookout.com

In a win for wetlands conservation, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is potentially a few months away from purchasing about 7,500 acres of land along the Hatchie River for conservation and outdoor recreation. @cstephenson.bsky.social reports.

As federal prosecutors push harder for swift deportations and accounts of immigration officers arresting people at court hearings circulate, a Memphis-based legal nonprofit and clergy members are working together to ensure these events don’t go unwitnessed. From @cstephenson.bsky.social.

Memphis legal nonprofit and local clergy are putting together an immigration court watch program as federal government sends immigration agents to detain those showing up for routine immigration hearings tennesseelookout.com/2025/09/08/m... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

Trump administration moves rapidly closer to ending protections for 58M acres of national forests, including 85,000 in Tennessee - announcing an abbreviated public comment period before the rule allowing logging, mining takes effect tennesseelookout.com/briefs/trump... @tennesseelookout.com

A company looking to make clean drinking water more climate-resilient and accessible during disasters found an ideal testing ground in an unlikely place: singer-songwriter Amy Grant’s Williamson County farm. From @cstephenson.bsky.social,

Pools covered in “mats of algae and slimes,” a state inspector described a Mt. Juliet wastewater area in a neighborhood. @cstephenson.bsky.social reports environmental groups plan to sue Wilson County's wastewater authority over discharge of polluted water.

USDA invests $89M, mostly in loans, to improve rural Tennessee utilities tennesseelookout.com/briefs/usda-... @cstephenson.bsky.social

Trump creates ‘quick reaction force’ out of state Guard troops for law enforcement tennesseelookout.com/2025/08/25/r... @fischler.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released today pending trial on human smuggling charges in Tennessee. His wrongful deportation to a Salvadoran prison brought scrutiny of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown tactics. @anitawadhwani.bsky.social reports:

The board controlling the West Tennessee Megasite — home to Ford’s BlueOval City electric vehicle campus — unanimously approved zoning rules that require more protections for Memphis Sand Aquifer, the region’s drinking water source. tennesseelookout.com/2025/07/24/w... @cstephenson.bsky.social

Tennessee, local governments will forgo sales taxes on $4.5B nuclear facility coming to Oak Ridge, Tenn. after lawmakers carved out exceptions earlier this year, catching Oak Ridge/Anderson Co officials by surprise tennesseelookout.com/2025/07/23/t...

South Memphis neighborhood to shape plan to protect Memphis Aquifer drinking water tennesseelookout.com/briefs/south... @cstephenson.bsky.social

Memphis is asking community members how it should spend the tax money Mayor Paul Young wants set aside for neighborhoods within a five-mile radius of Elon Musk's xAI’s two local facilities. mlk50.com/2025/07/18/3... @mlk50.com

Three and a half months after a tornado destroyed more than 100 buildings in Selmer, Tennessee, the city is now removing piles of debris from the storm’s scar. As @cstephenson.bsky.social reports, it's not an easy process to clear so much wood, vinyl flooring, carpet and even material with asbestos.

A Tennessee family adopted a child from the state's foster care system. Now, state agencies are denying care to the child for ongoing mental health treatment -- in part from trauma he incurred in foster care -- and may return the child to the Department of Children's Services to be in state care.

Nashville LGBTQ+ community leaders decry layoffs at VUMC office supporting access to care tennesseelookout.com/2025/07/08/l... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tnequality.bsky.social

FEMA approves $1.8M in aid for Tennesseans affected by April storms; Applications ongoing tennesseelookout.com/2025/07/03/f... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

Kilmar Abrego Garcia will remain temporarily in jail at the request of his own attorneys, who cited conflicting positions taken by the government over whether he is at risk for immediate deportation. @anitawadhwani.bsky.social reports.

ICE used the pretense of a national emergency to justify a secret, no-bid contract with CoreCivic that would pay the company $4.2 million per month to house detained immigrants at its vacant Leavenworth prison #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2025/07/01/i...

Vanderbilt University Medical Center grant cuts may include faculty, research diversity initiatives tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/30/v... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

ACLU sues Tennessee on behalf of 7 members of the Nashville Metro Council over new law making it a felony for any elected official to vote in favor of immigrant ‘sanctuary policies’ tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/24/a... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

Trump approves FEMA aid for some Tennessee counties as state disaster costs mount tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/24/t... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

Video taken by @cstephenson.bsky.social shows a gun-carrying man being taken into custody by Metro Nashville police as crowd members yell, "Shame, shame!"

Chants of “Todos somos Kilmar” — “we are all Kilmar” — punctuated a gathering of immigrant, labor, faith and civil rights organizations who gathered at a downtown Nashville church Friday ahead of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s arraignment. @cstephenson.bsky.social reports.

Just in from @cstephenson.bsky.social: The wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia — who was wrongfully deported to an El Salvador prison as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown — shared a message from him at a downtown Nashville church ahead of his arraignment Friday morning:

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia -- the Maryland man wrongfully deported to an El Salvador prison -- speaks at Nashville's First Lutheran Church, two blocks from the federal courthouse at which Abrego Garcia's arraignment will begin shortly. Video shot by @cstephenson.bsky.social.

A disturbing assault on a transgender woman was captured on video. Nashville police declined to pursue criminal charges. tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/12/n... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

Federal prosecutors on Monday detailed legal arguments for the detention-until-trial of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man mistakenly deported by the Trump Administration. @anitawadhwani.bsky.social reports.

Report seeks federal funding for preserving Ohio River Basin, including Tennessee River tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/09/r... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

13 of Tennessee’s 33 senators declared a conflict of interest before voting on a $1.9B business tax break Some lawmakers own/work for companies that reaped the benefits of these state dollars, even after pocketing prior state grants. tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/05/c... @tennesseelookout.com

Tennessee’s newly-released list of 60,000 companies netting a whopping $1.5B in business tax refunds does not reveal how much each company got and isn't posted in an easily searchable way. It's also set to expire online in 30 days. tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/04/t... @tennesseelookout.com

Tennessee’s newly-released listing of companies netting a business tax refund creates the appearance of transparency without providing the public a true picture, according to an open government advocate.

Appeals Court upholds 2023 state law brought by GOP to cut the size of the Metro Nashville Council from 40 elected members to 20 tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/03/a... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

“Big Beautiful Bill” cuts to Medicaid, food aid raise alarm in Tennessee tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/04/b... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

From @cstephenson.bsky.social: Tennessee has closed a loop of electric vehicle chargers across the state even as a federal program intended to round out an EV charger program remains on ice.

U.S. border czar: Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell, a critic of recent immigration sweeps in the city, now faces Congressional probe Seemingly in retaliation, Tom Homan pledged even bigger enforcement activities in Nashville. We'll "flood the zone," he said tennesseelookout.com/2025/05/29/u...

▶️ THIS LIST FROM TENNESSEE ILLUSTRATES THE IMPACT OF FEDERAL CUTS via @tennesseelookout.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/see-...

Congress may be poised to roll back electric vehicle tax credits and institute new annual taxes on electric vehicle owners — moves that could spell trouble for electric vehicle manufacturers in Tennessee and across the country, according to industry organizations. From @cstephenson.bsky.social.

Industry orgs: Budget bill’s electric vehicle tax credit rollback could hamper Tennessee momentum tennesseelookout.com/2025/05/29/i... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

As DOGE and the Trump administration cut federal grants, axed projects at Tennessee universities include vaccine education, support for STEM students with disabilities, rural mental health program. From @cstephenson.bsky.social.

See what research at Tennessee universities was defunded in Trump’s federal grant cuts tennesseelookout.com/2025/05/27/s... @cstephenson.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

My colleague @kirstenfiscus.bsky.social was among several journalists to witness Oscar Franklin Smith's execution yesterday, an event that included an interaction with spiritual advisor Rev. Monica Coakley, an Episcopal priest. Here's her first-person dispatch: www.tennessean.com/story/news/c...

The politics of disaster aid: multiple states are waiting for the Trump Administration to approve requests for FEMA aid after spring tornadoes and flooding, but small towns may be left out. From @cstephenson.bsky.social, @illanireland11.bsky.social. @agwaterdesk.bsky.social.

Tennessee plans to execute Oscar Smith in just under 80 minutes. Before that happens, you can read up on his case here:

BREAKING: Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada guilty on 17 counts of federal corruption; ex-aide Cade Cothren guilty on all 19 counts in bogus Phoenix Solution scheme. Full story here.

President Donald Trump’s administration has pulled the plug on roughly $37.7 million in federal funding across 42 grants for the University of Tennessee System. From @cstephenson.bsky.social.

University of Tennessee System loses $37.65M in federal grants. Here's what we know www.knoxnews.com/story/news/e...