New legal and ethical questions surrounding the business practices of Facebook seem to surface daily, but at the same time, a new survey finds most Twitter users don’t realize that university researchers and others collect and analyze their “tweets” in the name of science. Social computing researcher Casey Fiesler, an assistant professor in the University of Colorado’s Department of Information Science, is co-author of a study on how tweets are used. Of about 68 million active U.S. Twitter users, Fiesler said 268 were surveyed, with an average age of 32. “So this was a survey, and we asked people...

The Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee back in March approved a recommendation to the full commission that would give commissioners a raise in pay. The recommendation was approved on Tuesday night during the full county commission meeting. The compensation will be raised from $100 to $150 for each meeting of the full commission and each commissioner will receive $75 for each standing committee meeting. According to Tennessee Code Annotated (5-5-107), compensation for committee meetings should equal half the compensation paid for regular sessions of the full legislative body. For the first time in a few years Wright Paving...

The Tennessee Highway Patrol issued 1,816 distracted driving citations during a crackdown from April 2 through April 4. That’s 911 more citations than were issued during 2017’s crackdown. The Tennessee Highway Safety Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol joined local law enforcement for Tennessee’s third statewide bus tour to crack down on distracted driving. In 2017, the THP provided two large, black and tan buses marked with THP logos to help promote awareness for the initiative. This year, the focus shifted toward the effectiveness of enforcement efforts, which meant utilizing additional passenger vehicles that could travel more efficiently on...

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced Wednesday that more than 10,000 adults have applied for Tennessee Reconnect, the state’s program for adult learners to earn an associate degree or technical certificate tuition-free. The application for Tennessee Reconnect opened on February 15 and 10,497 applications had been submitted as of April 10. Tennessee Reconnect is Haslam’s groundbreaking program that covers tuition and mandatory fees at a Tennessee community or technical college for eligible adults that do not yet have a college degree. Among those who have applied for the scholarship, more than two-thirds have previously enrolled in college and just more...

The Tennessee Legislature has passed a bill that would allow seven-day liquor and wine sales, despite opposition from religious conservatives. Afterward, the Tennessee Pastors Network called the measure “despicable.” If signed by the governor, liquor stores would be able to open for business on Sunday and grocery stores would be allowed to sell wine that day. Liquor and wine could also be sold on holidays, with the exception of Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. The measure passed in the Tennessee Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 17-11. It cleared the House earlier in the week. Liquor stores can begin...

Early voting for the May 1, 2018 Coffee County primary election begins Wednesday (April 11, 2018). Those wanting to take advantage of the early voting have two options. In Tullahoma voting will take place at the C.D. Stamps Center from 9 a.m. to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. In Manchester early votes may be cast at the Coffee County Election Commission office in the county administrative plaza. Voting there will be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Early voting will...