NASHVILLE (AP) — The House voted Wednesday to pass the governor’s preschool initiative, despite concern from some lawmakers about using lottery money to fund it and unexpected costs down the road. The “Voluntary Pre-K for Tennessee Act of 2005” passed 75-21, and is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Finance Committee next week. “We…

NASHVILLE (AP) — A move to cap the rates hospitals charge uninsured patients is gaining steam in the Legislature, touted as a way to save patients thousands of dollars and curtail medical bankruptcies. Sen. Doug Jackson, D-Dickson, said uninsured people often are charged more than insurance companies for the same health care — sometimes by…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen will attend the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner Saturday in Washington as the guest of The New Republic, the magazine that billed him as a “star” in a January cover story. Guests must be invited by a journalist attending the exclusive dinner. The several thousand who attend the…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Charter schools could enroll at-risk children from any Tennessee public school rather than just students at low-performing schools under a bill moving through the Legislature. The Senate Education Committee approved the legislation 5-2 Wednesday, and it’s scheduled to be considered by a House education subcommittee next week. “It allows moms and dads…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee state tax collections rose about 8 percent in 2004, but Tennesseans continue to pay some of the lowest taxes in the country, according to a report Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau. On a per person basis, Tennesseans paid $1,616 in state taxes in 2004. That ranks 44th lowest among the…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Republicans leaders said Thursday they would prefer a special session to appropriate $100 million to finance a TennCare settlement than pass a budget with a contingency allowing Gov. Phil Bredesen to make payment after the Legislature recesses. Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey said at a weekly GOP news conference that the settlement…

By Jim Mullen You can see the signs of spring everywhere: the grass seed commercials on TV, the Miracle-Gro commercials on TV, the allergy commercials on TV, my losing baseball team on TV.For me, the true sign spring has sprung is yesterday’s removal of my snow tires. The guy at the garage gave me a…

By Cokie & Steven Roberts / Columnists Reporters in America are taking almost as much fire as reporters in Iraq. Two of them are about to go to jail for refusing to reveal a confidential source. Another just spent six months under house arrest for the same crime. There’s only one solution: a federal shield…

The first time I remember hearing the term “gonzo” was in association with late writer Hunter S. Thompson, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Aspen, Colo., Feb. 20, 2005, at 67.Sources indicate the term was born when Thompson did a feature story on world-class snow skier, ladies’ man extraordinaire…

BABY GIRLShazareeyah Unique Reed arrived March 18 at River Park Hospital weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces.She is the daughter of Christy Rutledge and Vincent Reed. She has a sister, Tanisha Reed, and a brother, Vincent Reed Jr.Grandparents are Linda and Bobby Rutledge of McMinnville, Charles and Rose Reed of Los Angeles, Calif. BABY BOYThe son…