By LISA HOBBS City officials voted unanimously to allow James C. Hailey and Company to move forward with the preliminary work for phase two of the Downtown Economic Revitalization Project. Although the vote was unanimous, it didn’t happen without some reservations. Alderman Billy Wood was hesitant to spend thousands now just to decide later that…

As storms ripped through the area Wednesday, high winds knocked down less-resilient trees like the one located in the back yard of Cindie Releford’s Morningside Drive home. Pictured is Releford flanked by Keeli Green, left, and Kylie Green, right, beside the tree that barely missed their home but succeeded in knocking out their electricity and…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON Warren County residents who pay their property taxes early will now be eligible for a discount. The new program is thanks to county commissioners who voted unanimously at this month’s commission meeting to allow Trustee Darlene Bryant to implement the discounts this year under a state law that authorizes Tennessee county…

Alex Ellis, 8, reads a book under the watchful eye of Big Bird in the brand new children’s section of the Col. Gentry Moffitt addition at Magness Library. The library held a gala last night to celebrate the occasion, which will continue with grand opening ceremonies today and tomorrow at the facility.

By LISA HOBBS Residents are one step closer to jumping into an indoor pool. McMinnville officials voted unanimously Tuesday night to try for a $500,000 grant that would be used in the construction of a $1.5 million addition to McMinnville Civic Center. McMinnville Parks and Recreation director Carlene Brown asked officials for permission to apply…

By LISA HOBBS In addition to catching motorists who run red lights, intersection cameras can be used to determine who is at fault after an accident. Redflex officials say their technology is capable of providing a 12-second video of the incident. Will the city receive cameras to monitor its traffic lights? The idea of installing…

By LISA HOBBS The city won’t be trying to retrieve its 1 cent of local option sales tax given to the county for schools. Instead, McMinnville officials received a million-dollar lesson in future contract wording. In June, officials began discussing how to get back the 1 cent in local option sales tax. This is not…

By Duane Sherrill Drive-by shooting victim David Estrada testifies through an interpreter as a picture of his alleged shooter, Deonray Fisk, is projected on the wall of the courtroom for jurors. Fisk is on trial for shooting Estrada in the back during a drive-by in 2005. A man shot in the back while returning home…

COOKEVILLE (AP) ‘ An 11-month-old boy was fatally mauled when two Siberian huskies got into his playpen at a home where he was visiting, authorities said. Detective Jimmy Patterson of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department said Trey Paeth was pronounced dead Monday afternoon after the mauling in a bedroom at the home of Allen McCaffrey…

By Kathryn Lopez For most of its history, Hollywood has been a liberal enterprise, with occasional exceptions like “The Passion of the Christ.” And it’s also been too darn predictable. Hollywood needs to make more movies that don’t use its typical formula. One outside-the-box example is the raunchy summer comedy “Knocked Up” – its adolescent…