Tennessee’s unemployment rate for the month of April was 4.3 percent, a decrease of two-tenths of a percentage point from the March rate of 4.5 percent. That’s according to Tennessee Labor Commissioner Burns Phillips. The U.S. rate for April was 5.0 percent, remaining unchanged from the previous month. Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.9 percent to 4.3 percent, while the national rate declined from 5.4 to 5.0...

Gov. Bill Haslam is questioning the need for a special legislative session that some fellow Republican lawmakers want to have called over a directive issued by President Barack Obama’s administration that public schools must allow students to use facilities consistent with their gender identity. Haslam told reporters on Wednesday that it’s unclear what the strategy or purpose of a special session would be. GOP lawmakers have engaged in a letter-writing campaign since the Obama directive was issued, demanding that the state join lawsuits challenging their implementation. A Tennessee bill seeking to require students to use restrooms and locker rooms...

The first ever Panbalou pancake breakfast & bluegrass will take place this Saturday on the square Downtown Manchester. All proceeds benefit phase 1 of landscaping on Manchester’s historic square. Tickets $10/person. The event starts with the pancake breakfast at 8am. 8:30-9:30am: The students of Becky Buller’s music studio will perform. 9:30-11:30am: Judge Talford Band will perform. For more information about the 1st ever Panbalou, call Ellen 931-247-6674 or Allison at...

An accident occurred on Wednesday morning at approximately 7:44 am in the Gnat Hill community in Coffee County. The 16 year-old female driver was traveling east on Hwy 2A in a 2003 Toyota Camry. The driver was attempting to negotiate a turn when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. The driver was transported to Unity Medical Center in Manchester by Coffee County EMS with non-life threatening injuries. No charges...

Tennessee has entered into a contract with Pearson Education to have it score the TNReady assessments this year after the previous vendor was fired this spring. News outlets report that the Tennessee Department of Education gave Pearson the $18.5 million job, avoiding a competitive bidding process because of a law that allows for the state to enter into non-competitive bidding in cases of emergencies arising from unforeseen causes. The state is still looking for a testing vendor who will administer the state’s standardized tests next year after the state announced in April that it had terminated its five-year contract...

Beekeepers across the country report losing nearly 44 percent of their colonies over the last year, according to an annual report just out. It was put together by the USDA’s Bee Informed Partnership in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America and the USDA. The report says climate change, loss of habitat and pesticide use are killing off bees by the millions. Beekeeper Dave Shenefield, says varroa mites are also part of the problem in Tennessee and elsewhere. “How they kill the honeybees is they feed on the unhatched babies, that’s where they reproduce,” he explains. “Bees are like...

The Coffee County Jail has been recommended by the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) for certification. Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves says this is the first time for certification in 12 years. Graves says the new jail on County Jail Lane in Manchester, that was opened one year ago, met the required standards for the certification. TCI is required to establish minimum standards for adult local jails, lock-ups, workhouses and detention facilities in the state. The agency’s Board of Control establishes the standards to inspect and certify local correctional facilities. Inspections and re-inspections are conducted within the mandated timeframe to...