The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and other partners will announce a major accomplishment in the effort to protect some of Florida’s most imperiled species by acquiring land, restoring wetlands and establishing a wildlife conservation corridor. It will also benefit Everglades restoration goals. ... (click for more)

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has settled a major wetlands protection lawsuit brought against it by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). While the settlement approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee addresses only a handful of sites where TDOT did not perform required wetland restoration or creation, it has ... (click for more)

A horse trainer featured in a secretly taped video beating a horse faces up to five years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, supervised release for up to three years, and a $100 special assessment after pleading guilty in Federal Court in Chattanooga on Tuesday morning.  Jackie Lynn McConnell, 60, of Collierville, Tn., appeared before Federal Court Magistrate ... (click for more)

Hamilton County School Superintendent Rick Smith has notified Tom McCullough that he is suspended from his job as principal of Signal Mountain high school and middle school. The suspension will be for the remainder of the contract period and will be without pay. Dr. McCullough is retiring at the end of this year. He has long been an educator in the Chattanooga area including ... (click for more)

I've watched how some in the media have attacked Scottie Mayfield for not debating. I've never been to a debate, and I am not going to vote for someone because they are able to remember and recite from memory, the well crafted answers they came up with the night before.   Often times, candidates focus on attacking each other instead of influencing undecided voters on any ... (click for more)

As Jackie McConnell was being told he now faces up to five years in prison and a multitude of other penalties after pleading guilty to just one of 48 counts in violation of the Horse Protection Act on Tuesday, the outcry from Tennessee Walking Horse owners was incredible and there is a groundswell of support growing to either clean up a very crooked industry or actually ban it. ... (click for more)