Category: News

Total tax revenues for June were above budgeted expectations in Tennessee. Finance and Administration Commissioner Larry Martin announced that overall Tennessee tax revenues in June, led by strong growth in franchise and excise (F&E) taxes, were $1.4 billion, which is $112.1 million more than the state budgeted.
General fund revenues exceeded the budgeted estimate in the amount of $109.3 million. The four other funds that share in state tax revenues were also in excess of budgeted expectations by $2.8 million.
Sales tax revenues were $24.4 million more than the estimate for June. The June growth rate was positive 6.72%. For eleven months, revenues have exceeded the original budgeted estimate by $273.3 million. The year-to-date growth rate for eleven months was positive 3.64%.
Privilege tax revenues were $15.2 million below the June estimate.
Business tax revenues were $1.1 million more than the June estimate.
Inheritance and estate tax revenues were $0.9 million below the June estimate. For eleven months revenues are $0.5 million above the budgeted estimate.
Hall income tax revenues for June were $1.6 million less than the budgeted estimate.
Tobacco tax revenues were $0.9 million above the budgeted estimate of $22.4 million.
Motor vehicle registration revenues were $2.9 million above the June estimate.
Gasoline and motor fuel revenues for June were $0.4 million less than the budgeted estimates.
All other taxes for June were above budgeted estimates by a net of $0.5 million.
Year-to-date revenues for eleven months were $789.6 million more than the budgeted estimate.

Christina Lynn Sain of Estill Springs is accused of cutting her friend’s throat on Friday night outside the Dollar General on North Main Street in Estill Springs.
According to Estill Springs Police Chief Allen Rhodes, the 40-year-old Sain allegedly used a pocket knife to attack the victim while in a parked car at the store.
Sain is in the Franklin County jail charged with attempted criminal homicide and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Her bond was set at $300,000.
Chief Rhodes said the victim, whose name was not given, was taken to a hospital where she was treated and released.
The incident remains under investigation.

A now-former Grundy County Sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on charges of domestic assault.
Sheriff Clint Shrum says that Alan LaLonde was arrested the evening of July 12, after an incident at a woman’s home.
The alleged assault was witnessed by a second person.
LaLonde was released on bond, with a GPS monitor.
“I am extremely disappointed in the actions of our team member that has resulted in his termination from this office. An incident of this nature is unacceptable to me and only serves to tarnish and disdain the hard work done by the other members of this agency. Domestic violence is a serious allegation and will be taken as such by this agency,” Shrum said in a news release.
LaLonde has been relieved of his duty for conduct below the standards of the office and conduct unbecoming.

Two teens and Blackman High School students died in a Saturday (7/15/17) morning accident in Rutherford County. The wreck occurred around 3:30AM in the morning.
Apparently, the car ran off the roadway and into a creek near the Dilton Mankin Road and Wilson Overall Road intersection.
Life Flight helicopter flew at least one other teen to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. A 4th and possibly 5th teenager believed to be in the car were also injured. However, the Tennessee Highway Patrol has yet to verify details as the instigation remains open and ongoing. (WGNS Radio)

As the Federal Communications Commission takes steps to reverse net neutrality, a term for a free and open internet, researchers say a key assumption for the move does not hold water.
In his argument to revisit the Obama-era rule, current FCC chairman Ajit Pai cited a paper published in an academic journal that claimed the agency had failed to consider the economic impacts on industry. Muhlenberg College assistant professor Jefferson Pooley, co-author of a new study published in the same International Journal for Communication, said Pai’s position is based on a paper riddled with factual errors and unsubstantiated claims.
“We showed that this core claim was incorrect,” he said, “that in fact, economists had been perhaps more active in coming up with the net-neutrality rules than ever before.”
Pooley’s team also found that the article cited by Pai was paid for by CALinnovates, a public-relations group that specializes in promoting policy for AT&T, an internet service provider that Pooley said could benefit if open-internet rules are reversed. Proponents of rolling back net neutrality have said regulating internet service providers as a utility hampers innovation and investment.
Pooley said he believes the failure to disclose industry funding amounts to “information laundering,” making it possible for the FCC director to cite an academic publication without any trace of AT&T’s fingerprints. He said it’s important for the public, and public officials, to know whose interests are behind research.
“We would probably dismiss a claim that AT&T made directly against net neutrality, since they stand to gain financially,” he said. “So instead of making the argument directly, they funded academics who published an article in an academic journal.”
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, has spoken out in support of rolling back federal regulations.
The CALinnovates article is online here, and Pooley’s research is here.

The 2018 governor’s race in Tennessee added a new name to the list on Sunday.
Tennessee’s Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Beth Harwell announced her campaign for governor of Tennessee.
Harwell joins fellow Republican candidates Mae Beavers, Randy Boyd, and Bill Lee and Democratic candidate Karl Dean as those who have announced they’re running for governor.
It is predicted that 6th District Republican Congresswoman Diane Black will soon announce her run for governor. Tullahoma Republican State Rep. Judd Matheny is already campaigning for Black’s congressional seat.

Investigators with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department are currently searching for James Lucas “Luke” Sain of 3072 Hickerson Road in Manchester. Sain has warrants for violation of probation, failure to appear, and theft of property. Sain has allegedly been involved in multiple vehicle thefts and is being investigated currently for a stolen vehicle recovered out of Warren County that was reported from Coffee County.
Sain was last seen in McMinnville on July 11, 2017 with a female companion.
If you have any information leading to the whereabouts of James Lucas “Luke” Sain please contact Sheriff’s Investigator James Sherrill at the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department at 931-570-4409 or call 931-728-9555.

63 counties will receive Three Star Competitive Grants from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
The grants will be used for a variety of local programs addressing economic development, public safety, health, education and workforce development.
Warren and Moore counties will be among 23 counties receiving $5,000 grants and Grundy County will receive a $25,000 grant.
A total of $975,000 in grant money is being distributed by the Department of Economic and Community Development.

Monday, July 17, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) will be joined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Georgia State Patrol, and local law enforcement for a press event to launch “Operation Southern Shield,” a regional mobilization to crack down on speeding from July 17 to July 23, 2017. The purpose of “Operation Southern Shield” is to increase enforcement during this heavy vacation travel period when the rate of fatal crashes is highest throughout the Southeast. Other participating states include Alabama and South Carolina.
According to the Tennessee Integrated Traffic Analysis Network (TITAN), the number of Tennessee speed-related fatalities increased by approximately eight percent from 2012 to 2015. According to the NHTSA, the number of speed-related fatalities in Georgia increased nearly 50 percent during this time period. In an effort to reduce fatal crashes, the THSO and partners will target our region’s major highways and high-risk locations.