Lowe in the News

March 9 - SEN. FINNEY SUPPORTS UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR MILITARY SPOUSES

NASHVILLE – Sen. Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) and Sen. Tim Barnes (D-Adams) want to help Tennessee military families by extending unemployment benefits to individuals who leave their jobs to accompany their spouses on a military transfer...
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March 8 - SEN. FINNEY LISTENS TO FARMERS AT CARROLL COUNTY AG FORUM

HUNTINGDON – Sen. Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) met with a group of farmers from across Carroll County Monday morning for a light breakfast and a farm and agriculture forum at the Carroll County Co-op...
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March 5 - SEN. FINNEY CALLS FOR PER DIEM FREEZE

Sen. Lowe Finney is calling for a freeze on lawmakers’ per diem rate until 2014, saying that legislators shouldn’t receive an increase in per diems until Tennessee’s economy fully recovers...
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February 22 - SEN. FINNEY WANTS MORE SCHOOLS LIKE CARROLL ACADEMY

From Jackson's WBBJ-TV: "We don't need less Carroll Academies. We need more," said Randy Hatch, Senior Administrator of Carroll Academy in Huntingdon. That is just what the state of Tennessee could receive thanks to Senator Lowe Finney...
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FEBRUARY 15 - SEN. FINNEY LISTENS TO FARMERS AT GIBSON COUNTY AG FORUM

TRENTON – Farmers from across Gibson County turned out on an icy Monday morning for a light breakfast and farm and agriculture forum hosted by Sen. Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) at the Ed Jones Agriplex...
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JANUARY 27 - CARROLL ACADEMY RECEIVES FUNDS TO STAY OPEN FOR ANOTHER YEAR

Carroll Academy, a school for at-risk youth, will stay open after the state announced Thursday that it will provide funds for the coming school year. The Huntingdon school currently teaches about 75 students who would otherwise enter the state’s juvenile justice system. Without the state’s $650,000 appropriation for the 2010-11 school year, the school would have been forced to close...
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JANUARY 24 - REFORM THAT MATTERS FOR ALL TENNESSEANS' FUTURES

The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned from special session Thursday after passing long-overdue and significant education reform for the students in our state. We focused on two themes: accountability and achievement. Tennessee ranks near the bottom on nearly every educational measure, and we are doing something about it. The Tennessee First to the Top bill significantly changes K-12 education in Tennessee...
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JANUARY 21 - SEN. FINNEY: COLLEGE REFORM WILL HELP ECONOMY

Sen. Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, cosponsored a higher education reform bill passed Thursday that aims to help more Tennesseans earn degrees and obtain better jobs. "Education is the state's most powerful economic tool," Sen. Finney said. "By removing barriers to education, we build bridges to a better economic future."...
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JANUARY 20 - GUEST EDITORIAL: ACCOUNTABILITY WILL BE KEY THIS SESSION

Just as citizens sit down with their family budgets and make hard decisions, the state must do the same. Gov. Phil Bredesen has led this state responsibly through both good economic times and the difficult ones we are in now, but we must do more. In everything we do, we must require accountability...
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JANUARY 15 - SEN. FINNEY HELPS LEAD APPROVAL OF RACE TO THE TOP APPLICATION

Sen. Lowe Finney, helped lead the passage Friday evening of the Tennessee First to the Top Act of 2010 bill. The bill will now go to Gov. Phil Bredesen as part of the state's application for $485 million in federal funds for education. The Senate approved an amendment sponsored by Sen. Finney to establish a teacher professional development fund...
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MAY 27 - SENATOR FINNEY MEETS MEMBERS OF GUARD AT FORT SILL

Senator Lowe Finney met Wednesday with Tennessee National Guard troops in Fort Sill, Okla., as they prepared to leave for the Middle East. The 1/230th Unit from Jackson mobilized to Fort Sill in March to begin training for the mission. Members of the Unit will return home for a short visit with family members before deploying to Iraq in the coming days...
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MAY 14 - SEN. FINNEY SAYS SOLAR FARM WILL MEAN JOBS FOR WEST TENNESSEE

A model solar energy project will "sweeten the pot" for businesses to bring good-paying jobs to the West Tennessee megasite, Senator Lowe Finney said Thursday. He joined Governor Phil Bredesen as he unveiled plans for the $62.5 million Volunteer State Solar Initiative. The initiative will include the West Tennessee Solar Farm in Haywood County on the new industrial megasite, a roughly $30 million investment. "This project will put West Tennesseans to work, building and running it...
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APRIL 14 - EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS ARE WAY TO FUTURE JOBS

Sen. Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, has the best interests of Tennessee's high school students at heart with his latest legislation. It should be passed by both houses and signed into law by Gov. Phil Bredesen. Finney's latest legislative initiative, Senate Bill 1084, requires a study of cooperative career and technical programs between high schools and the state's technology centers or other two-year institutions. The bill passed the Senate unanimously on Thursday...
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APRIL 13 - PASS FINNEY'S VITAL MEGASITE LEGISLATION

Sen. Lowe Finney, a Jackson Democrat, has introduced important legislation that deserves passage by the General Assembly and a signature from Gov. Phil Bredesen. The legislation would effect the formation of regional megasites, including the one in Haywood County, if passed into law. Currently, a megasite is defined as "an area of at least 1,000 contiguous acres certified as being suitable and available for development for significant economic and industrial development." Finney's bill would...
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March 24 - SEN. FINNEY PRAISES BREDESEN FOR WEST TENN. MEGASITE FUNDING

The budget presented Monday night by Gov. Phil Bredesen contains $27 million for a "megasite" to draw a major business facility - and the jobs that come with it - to West Tennessee, Sen. Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, said. "I am pleased to see this big boost for West Tennessee," Finney said. "I have been fighting for this for two years....
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March 04 - SEN. LOWE FINNEY APPLAUDS ANNOUNCEMENT OF BRIDGE REPAIRS IN CARROLL, GIBSON COUNTIES

State Senator Lowe Finney praised Governor Phil Bredesen's announcement that the state will replace rural bridges in Carroll and Gibson counties with the first wave of state economic recovery funding. Sen. Finney had previously met with Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely in 2007 and 2008 in support of these bridge projects. The Governor announced that among its first wave of infrastructure developments, the department will replace two sets of bridges in the 27th District...
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January 18 - "BAILING OUT" RURAL AMERICA

President-Elect Obama has unveiled the major themes behind his "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan". There are many pieces, we know it will be costly, but we also know that no other viable options to revive our economy are even being seriously considered. Republican leaders have voiced early support for this plan. So far, I like what I hear. The President-Elect has indicated support for any projects which would be "ready to go" within 90 days; there are dozens of programs in Tennessee that would quite reasonably fit within this category...
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January 15 - FINNEY APPOINTED TO KEY SENATE COMMITTEES

State Senator Lowe Finney was appointed to serve today on two key Senate committees, ending the first full week of the 106th General Assembly. Finney will serve as the Vice Chairman of the Senate State and Local Government Committee...
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OCTOBER 15 - MEET THE SENATOR

The son of a second-grade teacher, state Sen. Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, admittedly has a bit of a soft spot for educators. Before the legislative session begins next year, Finney will have visited several schools in Carroll, Gibson and Madison counties to listen to teacher concerns. Finney talked and ate lunch with teachers at Malesus Elementary on Tuesday....
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SEPTEMBER 17 - FINNEY ASKS STATE TO PROBE GAS PRICES

State Sen. Lowe Finney has asked Attorney General Bob Cooper to investigate whether West Tennessee consumers are being unfairly charged excessive gas prices in the wake of Hurricane Ike, according to a press release. Finney, D-Jackson, said in a Sept. 15 letter to Cooper that many constituents have expressed concerns over gas prices that went up dramatically in just a few hours following the storm in the Gulf Coast...
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SEPTEMBER 17 - GO AFTER THOSE WHO MAY BE PRICE GOUGING

Two of our area representatives - Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, and Sen. Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, are doing the right thing by asking the state attorney general, Bob Cooper, to look into reports of price gouging. We urge Cooper's office to act quickly and to punish aggressively those found to be guilty of this despicable practice. Since Hurricane Ike hit over the weekend, there have been more than 500 complaints of price gouging from across the state...
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