Recent editorials from Tennessee newspapers:
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May 12
The Kingsport Times-News on continuing to live-stream local government meetings:
Many local governmental bodies - the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen among them - already were streaming their meetings before COVID-19 made live video a necessity. Others had to play catch-up.
Luckily, streaming and video conferencing capability has improved significantly in recent years. It’s user friendly and accessible. Between Facebook and YouTube and such conferencing platforms as Zoom, anyone with a smartphone or other device can go live.
To paraphrase an old axiom, necessity often is the mother of innovation. In tough times, people get more creative as they work to find solutions, and sometimes, they stumble onto something meaningful.
The more accessible a government is to its constituents, the more effective it will be. Open government is core to our republic, and openness is especially important in times of debate, strife and crisis. An informed citizenry is an empowered citizenry.
It’s possible that many of our local boards are more accessible than ever in light of the sudden need for online meetings. Citizens do not have to leave home to watch and listen. Parents need not find a babysitter. If a meeting is recorded and preserved online, they can watch at their convenience and rewind for clarity. Some boards have not taken the step of preserving videos for access after a live stream ends. They should.
That’s not to say that attending meetings in person is unimportant. Elected and appointed officials must be able to look their constituents in the eyes as they make hard choices. Citizens must be heard in public hearings and comment periods.
Our reporters do a wonderful job, in our view, of keeping readers informed about their governments, especially in explaining the details behind decisions - both before and after meetings. We strive to offer both concise explanations and context. Nothing will ever replace solid community print journalism.
But these new electronic means are another tool in the box for the public’s access to government. That should not end when this crisis finally subsides. Boards who were not streaming before COVID-19 should keep doing so.
While returning to full-access meetings, all local governments should continue to provide online video service and make the recordings available for review later.
Accountability is essential, and that arises from an abundance of access.
Online: https://www.timesnews.net/
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May 10
The Johnson City Press on a partnership between Ballad Health and Ensemble Health Partners which would bring 500 jobs to the Appalachian Highlands area:
If you’re going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk.
Ballad Health Chairman and CEO Alan Levine has been an unabashed advocate of the growing push for regional cooperation throughout the healthcare system’s footprint. At every opportunity, Levine - along with hundreds of business leaders and politicians - has made a case that we’re stronger together because we have so much to offer.
Levine has talked the talk.
On Thursday a concrete example of walking the walk was unveiled when Ballad and Ensemble Health Partners announced a strategic partnership, but with a regional twist. Not only will the two entities partner, but Ensemble will establish a new operations center at a yet-to-be-determined location in the region.
Ensemble provides full revenue cycle services - including billing - for clients all over the United States and in Europe.
“We could place our newest regional operations service center anywhere, but we chose the Appalachian Highlands as a place we want to invest, grow and become part of the fabric of the community,” said Ensemble founder and chief executive officer, Judson Ivy. “We could not have done this without the innovative leadership of Ballad Health. They sold us on the region - from the culture and work ethic of the people here in Appalachia to the incredible access to quality education, low cost of living, and the infrastructure, we believe this is an incredible opportunity to become part of the growth story of this region.”
Opportunity. Investment. Growth.
Ballad leadership and its board of directors saw an opportunity to make vast improvements in its billing system which, frankly, has been a major source of angst and complaints from those most critical of the merger that created Ballad.
The opportunity, unanimously approved by the board, brings to the region a new employer making a significant investment in what we already know is a great place to live, learn, play and work.
With the investment we will see growth we certainly need. We will see growth in incomes which means growth in our tax base which will mean more financial support for services. That all leads to regional success.
Trying to entice business and industry from high-tax states like New Jersey, New York and Connecticut represents a time-consuming and expensive exercise if a region is to compete nationally or even globally.
Optimizing relationships with partners and vendors - as in the case of Ballad and Ensemble - is more direct, less expensive, quicker and will almost always yield more positive results. Negotiations leading to these partnerships have the advantage of a comfort level between entities, individuals and leadership teams that already know one another. That negates much of the initial courtship that can consume months of precious time.
Everyone wants a slam dunk new employer with 5,000 new jobs. Those are nice dreams, but hard dreams to realize. Not impossible, but darn hard and rare.
The 500 new jobs - nothing to sneeze at - promised by the Ballad-Ensemble partnership represent a more realistic vision of how we successfully grow and prosper.
Does your business have such relationships you might optimize? Do you think in those terms? Non-traditional thinking and approaching partnerships with a regional mindset will add more jobs and more regional stability. Ballad and Ensemble proved that Thursday.
Online: https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/
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May 3
The Crossville Chronicle on making choices during the pandemic that respectfully effect others:
Many businesses shut down several weeks ago to comply with Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order asking Tennesseans to stay home unless they were conducting essential business.
Now those restrictions are slowly lifting, which has been met with both praise for getting people back to work and criticism for potentially causing a spike in our COVID-19 cases.
Some businesses are opening and complying with safety measures with plexiglass barriers between customers and employees, masks and gloves, tape on the floor to remind customers to distance themselves six feet and signs telling people where to enter and exit.
These are all worthy ways of keeping the virus from spreading. But we also believe the success of getting people back to work comes down to personal responsibility and common sense.
Just like the Cookeville mayor has reiterated over the past few weeks, you have the freedom to choose how to keep your family safe.
You can choose to drive to the big-box retailers where hundreds of people are shopping, or you can choose to turn into the parking lot of a smaller, locally-owned business that’s reopening this week in spite of the financial hit they’ve taken because of the restrictions.
You can choose to shop for what you need when you need it and leave enough food and toilet paper for others.
You can choose to wash your hands before and after you come into contact with others.
You can choose to limit the contact with others outside of work.
There are many things in this world, and especially with this virus, that we cannot control.
But we can control what we do. How we treat others. How we will support our business owners and those who’ve lost their jobs during this pandemic.
We can choose to stop tattling like third-graders when when someone doesn’t do what we think they should be doing.
We can do what we think we should be doing.
We are all living in a pandemic, but we aren’t all in the same boat.
We can choose to offer others the same consideration to keep their families safe that we would want them to offer us.
Online: http://herald-citizen.com/
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