By CHRISTOPHER BUTLER Officials in 11 government entities throughout Tennessee wasted or misused $2.2 million of taxpayer money, according to audits that the State Comptroller released in May. SOUTH SIDE UTILITY DISTRICT OF SMITH COUNTY The chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the District is also an employee of the District, in violation of Tennessee law.   The [...]Read More>>

By CHRISTOPHER BUTLER For people who succumb to the lure of tobacco, claim they do not know how to control their waistlines, or lack the discipline needed to forestall any general health problems, fear no more. Your government is here is motivate you — and it has more money at its disposal than any exercise guru or [...]Read More>>

By CHRISTOPHER BUTLER Officials in five government entities throughout Tennessee wasted, stole, or misused almost $1.7 million of taxpayer money, according to audits that the State Comptroller released during April. NOLACHUCKEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL/GREENEVILLE: The former bookkeeper at Nolachuckey Elementary School in Greeneville stole at least $2,484 from the school over a five-month period. The Greene County Grand [...]Read More>>

By CHRISTOPHER BUTLER Metro Nashville officials have given the OK to pilot a program that will regulate where and when mobile food truck vendors may operate — with regulations more strict than what Memphis, for instance, imposes on similar vendors. “The regulations that we have are directly correlated to traffic and parking regulation for the city. We [...]Read More>>

By CHRISTOPHER BUTLER Officials in 33 government entities throughout Tennessee wasted or misused almost $11.7 million of taxpayer money according to audits that the State Comptroller released during March. City of Whitwell More than $6,200 in overdraft fees was added to two of the city’s bank accounts. The city paid more than $2,200 for unnecessary Internet [...]Read More>>

by Justin Owen After the recent appointment of Governor Phil Bredesen’s top aide to head the state university system, much attention has been turned on the board that made the selection. The Tennessee Board of Regents is an 18-member board that oversees 45 universities, community colleges, and technical schools across the state. It is the nation’s [...]Read More>>

In a show of what could only be described as abject thuggery, elected members of the Tennessee House yelled down and ultimately bullied Associated Press reporter Erik Schelzig from the House floor's media area. Schelzig's transgression was attempting to take a picture with his cell phone of House Speaker Kent Williams who collapsed while presiding over a live session of the State House.Read More>>

The Bredesen administration - with some complicit Republican sponsors in the legislature - is trying to expand the scope of the Tennessee Small Business Investment Company Credit Act, also known as the TNInvestco program. A closer examination of the law, an amendment offered by Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin) and the Bredesen administration’s process to award $120 million in tax credits under TNInvestco all suggest an agenda that is as much about doing government business with taxpayer dollars in secret as it is about creating jobs.Read More>>

Download Davidson County Chancellor Russell T. Perkins' ruling in the TNInvestco open records lawsuit by clicking this link, courtesy of Tennessee Watchdog.Read More>>

Here at Tennessee Watchdog, we believe bringing our readers primary documents from the public record is an important part of our job. Perhaps there is not a court case going on in Tennessee right now with more relevance to the future of government transparency than the suit to open the files on the TNInvestco program.Read More>>