Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, politics and general assignment beats. He was won public service, investigative, deadline and project awards from the Tennessee Press Association, Common Cause of Tennessee, the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists and Remove Intoxicated Drivers. Andy grew up in Chattanooga. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Andy is a past chairman of the Tennessee Capitol Hill Press Corps and served as an acting director of the Regional Reporters Association while in Washington. Contact Andy at 615-255-0550 or asher@timesfreepress.com
A Tennessee Republican lawmaker says he will push for the state to follow Montana's lead and pass a law banning COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment here during a special legislative that GOP House and Senate leaders intend to hold later this month.
by Andy SherTennessee is committing to spend nearly $900 million on incentives, infrastructure work and a new technical college as its part of an agreement with Ford Motor Co. and South Korea battery maker SK Innovation for a multibillion battery plant and assembly facility in rural West Tennessee.
by Andy SherAn often-provocative Tennessee House Republican lawmaker is lashing out at those he called "medical Nazis" in the General Assembly whom he said appear supportive of a "financial elite" comprised of businesses and other entities that favor mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees.
by Andy SherLeaders of Tennessee's House Republican super majority say they have informally met the required legal threshold to call themselves into special session on coronavirus-related matters.
by Andy SherTennessee government has agreed to repay the federal government $6.85 million to settle what one U.S. Justice Department official described as "shocking" allegations the state Department of Human Services violated the False Claims Act in its food stamp program.
by Andy SherGov. Bill Lee says his administration will conduct a review of Tennessee's nearly 30-year-old funding formula for public school districts and explore changing the current system to one where state money "follows" a student to the school he or she attends.
by Andy SherTennessee Republican legislative leaders have penciled in Oct. 27 for the start of a special session at which GOP members are expected to push back on COVID-19 restrictions and mandates by government and, possibly, businesses.
by Andy SherA new audit by the Tennessee comptroller of the treasury finds that while Chattanooga State Community College has made strides over the past two years in addressing deficiencies identified in its 2019 examination, four of 13 unspecified problems remain.
by Andy SherTennessee child care providers are seeing a 10% jump in payment rates for children whose families are enrolled and meet requirements in the state's assistance programs for low-income families.
by Andy SherGov. Bill Lee on Tuesday unveiled Tennessee's new standard license plate, scheduled to hit the roads in January.
by Andy SherThe same day Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Ford Motor Co. executives announced last week's agreement to put a $5.6 billion electric vehicle plant in rural West Tennessee, conservative opponents of school mask mandates and federal vaccination requirements rallied in Lt. Gov. Randy McNally's Oak Ridge hometown to pressure Lee and other Republicans into backing their efforts.
by Andy SherOne special session of the legislature deserves another, some GOP lawmakers are saying, as they look for an opening to ban mask requirements and vaccine mandates amid a pandemic that has killed 700,000 Americans.
by Andy SherFifty-eight federally qualified health centers in Tennessee and Georgia are getting some $39 million in federal grants under the American Rescue Plan Act, U.S. Health and Human Services officials say.
by Andy SherA federal judge has ruled that Tennessee and Kentucky officials are free to disregard provisions in a congressional coronavirus-related spending measure that bar states from using the money to allow for tax cuts.
by Andy SherIn the biggest single business investment in Tennessee history, Ford Motor Co. plans to build its first totally new assembly plant in more than a half century in the state to make electric-powered pickup trucks.
by Andy Sher and Dave FlessnerState Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, and some fellow Black Democrats are calling for more transparency from the Republican-led Hamilton County Commission as officials begin work on the once-a-decade redrawing of political boundaries for commission and school board districts to reflect population changes.
by Andy SherHamilton County Health Department officials say they will begin administering Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots Monday.
by Andy Sher and Sarah Grace TaylorState Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, has vowed to return next year with his effort to provide more Black history instruction to Tennessee public school students after the bill was omitted from a summer education study committee.
by Andy SherState Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, is questioning why House Republicans aren't honoring what he views as their commitment to return to a Black history bill he sponsored that GOP lawmakers in April set aside for summer study.
by Andy SherAs he prepares to make the first full-fledged overhaul to Tennessee license tags in nearly 16 years, Gov. Bill Lee is asking residents to "rate the plates" of his administration's four proposed redesigns.
by Andy Sher