NEWS SENTINEL EDITORIAL BOARD

• Editorial: Grins and Grimaces Published 05/18/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Special game: More than 20 people with special needs got the chance to play baseball Wednesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium against members of the University of Tennessee baseball team.

• Editorial: Ongoing disclosure about lobbyists is public necessity Published 05/17/2013 at 3 a.m.

  There are about four times as many lobbyists in Nashville as state legislators, and the amount spent on influencing the votes of lawmakers is almost twice the amount spent on the General Assembly’s operating budget — $67 million to $38 ...

• Editorial: Interim commissioner of DCS should open records on deaths Published 05/16/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Jim Henry, the interim commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, is taking some long-overdue steps to fix the broken agency. He says he is committed to giving more training to DCS investigators and case managers, which is a ...

• Editorial: Haslam deserves praise for veto of "Ag Gag' bill Published 05/15/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Gov. Bill Haslam took a principled stand Monday on the side of free speech and animal rights by vetoing the so-called “Ag Gag” bill.

• Editorial: Commission should censure Ownby after violation of law, trust Published 05/14/2013 at 3 a.m.

  The court-ordered apology issued by Knox County Commissioner Jeff Ownby on Friday was blunt. It also was long overdue.

• Editorial: Making teachers reapply for jobs is the right decision Published 05/13/2013 at 3:30 a.m.

  Knox County Schools Superintendent Jim McIntyre recently announced he would throw open all the teaching and staff jobs at Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology Academy in an effort to rescue the foundering school.

• Editorial: Internet sales tax payments bill would benefit Tennessee Published 05/12/2013 at 3 a.m.

  The U.S. Senate last week voted to restore balance to the nation’s retail market and to sales tax collections nationwide with the passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act.

• Editorial: Grins and Grimaces Published 05/11/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Donations welcome: A May 5 story about former football standout Michael Cofer’s battle against an incurable disease has prompted the establishment of a fund to help defray his considerable medical expenses. Cofer, who played at Rule High School, the University ...

• Editorial: Testing welfare recipients for drugs wastes time, money Published 05/10/2013 at 3 a.m.

  Pam McMichael, executive director of the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, noted recently that the state’s attempt to have applicants for welfare benefits tested for drug use was an extension of “an already unsuccessful war on drugs.”

• Editorial: Fee increases are unwanted but necessary funds Published 05/09/2013 at 3 a.m.

  The Tennessee Legislature rolled back taxes in the 2013 session, but the same can’t be said for fees paid to state agencies.

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