NASHVILLE (AP) — A sponsor of Tennessee’s “move over” law says he’ll try to boost the fine from $50 to $500 because motorists aren’t moving over or slowing down when they see flashing lights on the side of the road. Rep. Joe Fowlkes, D-Cornersville, says the stiffer penalty could save lives. State highway officials are…

RINGGOLD, Ga. (AP) — Georgia kindergarten teacher Andrea Sims says she sees the benefits every day of the state’s preschool program for 4-year-old children. “If they come to kindergarten without any experience at all, they are already a little bit behind,” said Sims, a teacher at Boynton Elementary. “Kindergarten is what the first grade used…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Alcohol-related traffic accidents in Tennessee increased by 14 percent in 2004, according to a recently released traffic safety report. Tennessee had the sixth highest increase last year compared to 2003, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s report. The statistics show a 2.4 percent decrease in such accidents nationally during the…

NASHVILLE — Beginning at 1 p.m. today, the Middle Tennessee Medical Reserve Corps (MTMRC) will open a warehouse within the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, located on James Robertson Parkway in downtown Nashville, to receive personal items as well as medical supplies to assist hurricane disaster relief efforts. Beginning tomorrow, warehouse hours will be 7 a.m.-7 p.m.…

WASHINGTON — After the Sept. 11 attacks, the newly elected President Bush needed to be seen as a strong leader. He gripped a bullhorn at Ground Zero in New York and bellowed to rescue workers: “I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you!” In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Bush — a…

By Donald Lambro / Columnist The devastation and death that Hurricane Katrina left in its wake once again tests America’s inexhaustible ability to quickly recover from catastrophe.That’s happening in New Orleans, La., and the other Gulf Coast regions that have been laid waste by a storm of previously unimaginable destruction, which led to the population’s…

By Thomas Vaughn / Columnist As Iraqi leaders continue to try to cobble together a new constitution for a new Iraq, it’s “two steps forward and one step back.”The process took two steps forward last weekend, when the Shiite-Kurdish majority finalized the draft constitution, which is to be submitted to the Iraqi people for ratification…

By Charles W. Johnson / Columnist Back in May I introduced readers to a humorous Web site called BuzzWhack, which is dedicated to those wonderful bits of invented language called buzzwords. I had so much fun with that one I thought it might be interesting to revisit the site to see what new and amusing…

Our Viewpoint Hundreds of thousands of people will donate money to the Hurricane Katrina victims from across the United States and throughout the world.While these monetary donations are greatly needed and appreciated, local residents have a unique opportunity to make a truly meaningful impact by donating housing to these displaced Americans.As detailed in a front-page…

Our Viewpoint Local officials have already begun the process of establishing a county-run animal control center. For a county that has long disagreed with the Humane Society about the best way to operate an animal shelter, this is welcome news.Officials are currently considering sites and have plans to hire an animal control officer who will…