From Chas Sisk in the Tennessean:
A year that began with Gov. Bill Haslam’s inauguration on War Memorial Plaza ended with protesters occupying the exact same spot.
(A subhead says it’s the year ‘fed-up Tennesseans fought back.’
From Jeff Woods in The City Paper:
The debate over repealing collective bargaining for public school teachers was the most contentious of this year’s state legislative session, with opponents rallying at the Capitol in raucous demonstrations like those that put the national spotlight on Wisconsin.
It took two tie-breaking votes from House Speaker Beth Harwell before Tennessee Republicans succeeded in stripping the teachers’ union of most of its power.
Fantasy from Greg Johnson in the News-Sentinel on what’s coming next year:
In January, capitol police summon Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell to Gov. Bill Haslam’s office to intervene in an altercation between the guv and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey
The AP’s list of Tennessee’s top 10 stories for 2011 is HERE..