Good morning, Lookers. Call us naive, but seems to us that being compared to a dictator might not bode well for a governor preparing to push a plan to raise revenue for roads. The quote of the week goes to Republican Sen. Frank Niceley, who said of Gov. Bill Lee's plan for public-private partnership that could include toll roads: “Mussolini liked those public-private partnerships. They called it facism back then." A couple of notes here. First, it's Frank Niceley, a walking gaffe machine who earlier this year suggested homeless people might look to Adolf Hitler —another fascist — as a good example. Second, who wants to be compared to Benito "Il Duce" Mussolini, the Italian dictator who coined the term 'fascism' but was ultimately strung up with his mistress by his own countrymen? There's a lot going on in that quote but let's don't get hung up on that. Senior Reporter Sam Stockard takes a deep dive into TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley's Lee's plan to raise money for roadwork and finds Niceley isn't the only lawmaker with reservations. Scroll down for that. Hard to top that but: - Progress for Dreamers? Ariana Figueroa reports U.S. senators are working on a bipartisan agreement to create a pathway to citizenship through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — but time is running short. Read more.
- From the Wamp beat: In the latest from Chattanooga, the Chattanoogan reports that Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp is leasing a county car for the cool cost of "a little more than $1,100" a month.
- Here we invite you to insert your favorite emoji — we like the expressionless one with no mouth — while you ponder exactly how fancy that Chevy Tahoe is to cost that much and how big of a slap in the face Wamp's choice is to Volkswagen, given there's a big friggin' VW factory in Chattanooga.
On that note, carry on. |
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