NASHVILLE — A Memphis Democrat faces an investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that she broke rules by taking $200 from an undercover FBI agent posing as an executive. The committee’s decision preceded the delivery of recommendations to Gov. Phil Bredesen by an advisory committee to strenghthen ethics laws and hopefully restore the…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen on Thursday received recommendations from an ethics advisory committee to strengthen ethics laws and hopefully restore the public’s confidence in government that’s been overshadowed by recent corruption cases. The panel’s report came on the same day another elected official was charged in the ongoing Tennessee Waltz bribery scandal and…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen opposes calls for a special legislative session to deal with cutbacks in the TennCare health insurance program for the poor and uninsured. The Democratic governor said in a letter to legislators this week that he fears such a forum would lead to a debate over new taxes to bolster…

TO THE EDITOR: There is no doubt the county can run an animal control center for less cost than the Humane Society ran its shelter. And county residents will get exactly what they apparently want, which will be precious little.Their officer will pick up roaming dogs if a complaint is called in (and he can…

TO THE EDITOR: I was shocked when I read your editorial about the Waffle house cook spitting in Lt. John Morgan’s food. You feel spit, or more precisely human saliva, is no big deal.First I would like you to put yourself in his place. Do you savor the thought of eating someone else’s bodily secretions?…

By George Plagenz / Columnist You can pay a lot to tell your troubles to a professional counselor. Or you can avoid the expense by calling out to Mrs. Bloom.Mrs. Who?You may have to be as old as I am to remember the old-time radio show “The Goldbergs.” When something pressing was on her mind,…

By Gene Lyons / Columnist The most telling description of the Bush administration to date may have come from a White House aide who used the term “reality-based” as an insult. According to journalist Ron Suskind, who described the incident in a 2004 article, the aide mocked the stuffy, pedantic, presumably liberal view “that solutions…

By James Clark / Columnist It looks like the animal shelter has decided to get out of the dog business. That’s usually not promising news.I would compare it to police officers deciding to get out of the crime-fighting business, or barbers deciding to get out of the hair-cutting business.But wait ? up in the sky…

By Jan Warren & Jan Collins / Columnists Q: My father remarried shortly after our mother’s death six years ago. At 80, Dad was 22 years older than his new wife. After a year of arguments about his new wife not having any security, my father put her name on the deed to the house,…

October 15 is the date set for the wedding ceremony of Anna DeMonbreun and Matthew Lewis Allen Frye. Anna DeMonbreun of Murfreesboro and Matthew Lewis Allen Frye of Rockvale will be married Oct. 15. The couple will wed in a ceremony at Third Baptist Church of Murfreesboro.The bride-elect is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.…