SFMO: Safety First When Visiting Haunted Houses This Halloween Season
Consumers might know them as haunted houses or haunted mansions. But in Tennessee, they’re called Special Amusement Buildings – and they have their own set of regulations. As the Halloween season ramps up, the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) reminds consumers that safety features at Special Amusement Buildings are in place to help protect […]
Murder Suspect Taken Into Custody
Breaking News UPDATE: Michael Brandon Ratliff, who was wanted for Second Degree Murder, was taken into custody by officers from the Morristown Police Department and the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office following a traffic stop at approximately 4:00 pm this afternoon. Ratliff was apprehended after he was seen leaving the property of 1845 Cedar Creek Road. […]
Creatures of the Night: Zombie
With the changing of the leaves and the approach of Halloween, the mind turns to the things that go bump in the night, and the creatures that live in our dreams and nightmares. Returning for it’s second season, “Creatures of the Night” is a series dedicated to the time of year when everything seems just […]
Jefferson City Holds 31st Annual Old Time Saturday
Jefferson City held their 31st annual Old Time Saturday fall festival this weekend. The day of fun took place in the revitalizing downtown area. The annual street festival celebrated the theme of yesteryear in the old city. Tents lined downtown and citizens filled the streets as the community came together to enjoy the festivities. The […]
Weather Advisement in Anticipation of Tropical Storm Nate
Great Smoky Mountain National Park officials advise that the effects of Tropical Storm Nate may impact Great Smoky Mountains National Park as early as Saturday afternoon. Preliminary estimations from the National Weather Service suggest that the storm may pass the park Saturday afternoon, overnight into Sunday and on into Monday. Current rainfall predictions range from […]
Harvest Moon Makes Rare Show in October
One of the first signs of fall people look forward to is the Harvest Moon. The full moon that usually occurs closest to the first day of fall has always made lovers of autumn excited, but this year’s Harvest Moon is special. The Harvest Moon gets its name for the bright light that it produces, […]
Park to Open Chimney Tops Trail October 6
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials will open the Chimney Tops Trail to a newly developed observation point starting Friday, October 6, 2017. The entire trail has been closed to the public since the Chimney Tops 2 Fire event occurred in late November 2016. “We are excited to complete the work on the Chimney Tops […]
Keychain Detector Could Catch Food Allergens Before It’s Too Late
For kids and adults with food allergies, a restaurant outing can be a fraught experience. Even when care is taken, freshly prepared or packaged meals can accidentally become cross-contaminated with an offending food and trigger a reaction. Now researchers report in the journal ACS Nano the development of a new portable allergen-detection system — including a keychain […]
A Stinging Report: FSU Research Shows Climate Change a Major Threat to Bumble Bees
New research from a team of Florida State University scientists and their collaborators is helping to explain the link between a changing global climate and a dramatic decline in bumble bee populations worldwide. In a study published today in the journal Ecology Letters, researchers examining three subalpine bumble bee species in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains found that, […]
Database of Earthquakes Triggered by Human Activity is Growing, With Some Surprises
The Human-Induced Earthquake Database (HiQuake), the world’s most complete database of earthquake sequences proposed to have been triggered by human activity, now includes approximately 730 entries, according to a report published October 4 in the “Data Mine” column of the journal Seismological Research Letters. Mining projects (37%) and water impounded behind dams (23%) are the […]
Scientists Develop Broad-Spectrum Inhibitors of Influenza Virus
A team of researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Janssen Research & Development (Janssen) has devised artificial peptide molecules that neutralize a broad range of influenza virus strains. Peptides are short chains of amino acids – like proteins but with smaller, simpler structures. These designed molecules have the potential to be developed into […]
TDCI Announces Approval of Rates for 2018 Individual Marketplace
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) announces today the approval of insurance rates requested by the three carriers offering coverage on the Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) ahead of Open Enrollment for 2018. The rates sought by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Cigna, and Oscar Health for coverage on the FFM in 2018 are as […]
Tennessee Grants Certificate of Public Advantage for Wellmont, Mountain States
Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, today announced the request for a Certificate of Public Advantage from Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance has been granted. The approval allows the two entities to combine under the corporate umbrella of Ballad Health. “This has been an unprecedented and complex process, and […]
Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission: Beware Flood-Related Vehicle Scams
Consumers who are shopping for a new vehicle should be aware that flood-damaged cars and trucks from states ravaged by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma will eventually surface in Tennessee. In an effort to raise awareness, the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission, which is part of the Department of Commerce & Insurance’s Regulatory Boards division, is warning […]
State Releases August Revenues
Tennessee revenues were less than the budgeted estimates for the first month of the state’s fiscal year. Finance and Administration Commissioner Larry Martin today reported that overall August revenues were $980.7 million, which is $32.5 million more than August 2016, and $14.9 million less than the budgeted estimates. The growth rate for all taxes in […]
Tennessee Court Of Appeals Overturns Lower Court In Favor Of Citizen Group
The Tennessee Court of Appeals has returned a unanimous decision in favor of the plaintiffs, a citizen’s group that filed suit against the Jefferson County Economic Development Committee (formerly EDOC now re-branded as EDA) for open records. Following several years in the court system, the Court of Appeals at Knoxville overturned a previous ruling of […]
