Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Theresa Carl president of the Governors Books from Birth Foundation. A former strategy consultant at Solutions Simplified, Carl brings more than 20 years of experience in fundraising, relationship building, resource connecting and creative marketing to GBBF. She will focus on developing strategies for promoting and strengthening the statewide Imagination Library program, established in 2004 in each of Tennessees 95 counties. Carl has worked as director of development for LEAD Public Schools, Inc.; vice president of fund development for Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee; and director of development for the First Center for Visual Arts. A native of Union City, Carl has a B.A. with distinction in political science and urban studies from Rhodes College. http://nashvillepost.com/news/2012/5/16/haslam_appoints_president_of_books_from_birth
Gov. Haslam puts his signature on $31B spending plan (Associated Press)
Gov. Bill Haslam has signed the states more than $31 billion annual spending plan. The budget includes funding for reducing the sales tax on groceries from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent, increasing the exemption for the inheritance tax from $1 million to $1.25 million and enhanced penalties for gang and gun crimes. The House voted 63-27 to adopt the budget proposal agreed to in a rare conference committee following disagreements over local projects. The Senate passed it 31-2 shortly afterward with little debate. According to a spokesman for Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, the last time a conference committee was held on the state budget was in 2000. The governor also signed into law a bill to allow the state to exceed a constitutional spending cap long championed by Republicans. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120517/NEWS0201/305170067/Gov-Haslam-puts-his-signature-31Bspending-plan?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UPS1EO1.htm
State Gets $4M To Plan For Precarious Healthcare Overhaul (WPLN-Radio Nash)
Tennessee is getting another $4 million to plan an insurance exchange as part of the politically uncertain federal healthcare overhaul. The grant is the fourth and so far biggest for planning Tennessees exchange, which would be a state-run marketplace online, like Expedia for people choosing insurance plans. The healthcare requirement could be undone by a Supreme Court decision this summer, or by this falls election. If it stands, Governor Bill Haslam has said Tennessee ought to be ready to set up its own exchange. And that puts the states Brian Haile in planning mode. Were doing that with federal money so that were not having to spend any state resources on this project. Were also doing it as diligently as we can, by consulting with a number of stakeholders, including people in the insurance industry, so that we approach this really, really smartly. Detailing the states plan calls for help from consultants on insurance risks, as well as complex computer systems. http://wpln.org/?p=37325
With the federal health care reform law awaiting a Supreme Court decision due by the end of June, Tennessee officials continue to hedge their bets as they move to implement a key part of the law. On Wednesday, the state accepted an additional $4.3 million in federal funds to establish a state-based health insurance exchange, bringing the total the state has received to more than $9 million. However, lawmakers adjourned their session earlier this month without passing legislation to implement an exchange where consumers can shop for health insurance. "No one wants to invest a lot of money in a concept when we're not sure, that come July 1, after the Supreme Court has made its decision, whether we have to deal with it or not," Sen. Bo Watson said Wednesday. "My understanding is that we are fine and there is no need to be too urgent." The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the grant W ednesday as part of $181 million awarded to six states. So far, states have been awarded more than $1 billion over the last two years to create the exchanges. States will have until Nov. 16 to submit a blueprint for their health exchange and must have an operational exchange by January, 2014, officials said. That blueprint will have to include information about how the state will authorize the legislation. But actual passage of the legislation does not need to be in place, officials said. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/17/tennessee-state-gets-money-for-health-care-changes/? businesstnvalley
their licenses be suspended for one year. Those five members and two others were suspended without pay in April after the county schools' central office staff investigated their behavior during the five-day cruise to the Bahamas in March. They were chaperones on the trip. Hamilton County school board Chairman Mike Evatt said the school received notice of the state action Tuesday. "Our office is obligated to send a report to the state. They evidently thought this was serious enough to do something further about it," Evatt said. Prinicipal Tom McCullough -- who announced his retirement early Wednesday -- said the incident did not affect his decision to retire, though he acknowledged that "any time a school principal has to deal with issues like this it can cause a lot of stress." The staff members have 30 days to request an appeal hearing. If they do, an administrative law judge in Nashville would determine whether to enforce the state board's recommendation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/17/signal-mountain-state-flags-staffers-licenses/?local
TDOT looking to minimize I26 improvements' impact on East Lawn Cemetery (T-N)
Tennessee Department of Transportation representatives will meet with other resource agencies next week to talk about potential improvements to the 8-mile section of State Route 126 between Center Street and Interstate 81, a TDOT spokesman told the Times-News Monday. TDOT will propose some design changes to further minimize impacts to East Lawn Cemetery, TDOT Region 1 Community Relations Officer Mark Nagi said. Those changes, of course, will involve other regulatory agencies, Nagi said. We are currently working with those agencies to see if these changes are feasible before bringing anything to the public. Two months ago, TDOT canceled a scheduled public hearing on a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the SR 126 project. That document outlines how three alternatives would impact among other things homes, businesses, historic sites, graves, wildlife and plantlife along the corridor. http://www.timesnews.net/article/9046682/tdot-looking-to-minimize-i26-improvements39-impact-on-east-lawncemetery
Tennessee Squeezes $45 Million Out of Skechers for Shape-Ups Claims (WPLN)
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Consumers who bought sneakers with rounded soles thinking the shoes might improve their health and appearance may be eligible for a partial refund. The Tennessee Attorney General helped lead a national investigation into advertising claims about Shape-ups. Footwear manufacturer Skechers has not admitted wrongdoing. But Jeff Hill with the Tennessee Attorney General says the company hasnt been able to back up its advertising. Some of the claims that were made were that without even entering the gym, people could lose weight, burn calories, tone and strengthen their thighs, buttocks and backs. The settlement is one of the largest ever for cases involving advertising substantiation. It requires Skechers to pay $45 million, most of which will be available as $20 or $30 refunds. The company also has to stop saying the rocker-bottom shoes can get rid of cellulite unless it can be proven. http://wpln.org/?p=37276
Skechers agrees to $40M settlement with TN, 41 other states (N. Biz Journal)
Skechers USA Inc. has reached a $45 million settlement regarding allegations of unsupported health claims about Shape-Ups and other "rocker-bottom" athletic shoes. Following an investigation led by the Federal Trade Commission , the Tennessee and Ohio Attorneys General Offices led a multistate investigation including 42 states, according to a news release from Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper. The settlement resolves alleged deceptive advertising complaints against Skechers USA. According to Cooper's lawsuit, Skechers made unsubstantiated health-related claims regarding its line of rocker-bottom shoes. The lawsuit alleges that Skechers ads touted the shoes as helping trim weight, burn calories, improve circulation, combat cellulite and tone the legs and back despite insufficient evidence of such benefits. Despite the settlement, the company does not admit wrongdoing and denies the allegations. http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2012/05/16/skechers-agrees-to-40m-settlement.html
silently occupying a seat near the end of the second row, trying not to look nervous. On one side sat her husband, Robert, a native-born American citizen. On the other side, her sample citizenship test booklet, meticulously wrapped in red Christmas paper, offering what she hoped would be a gift of family stability, her dream job and the chance to vote. After seven years of lawyers, paperwork and studying, Maria Evans watched minutes tick away before an interview at the Nashville Public Library, one that would make or break her attempt to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. It was the last step, the end of an immigration process so lengthy, confusing and expensive that it keeps many in the shadows of regular American life. In banking, Ive realized the importance of becoming a citizen to get a specific position, the Clarksville, Tenn., resident said in perfect English, using grammar she started learning in Mexico. It has been a barrier. Seven thousand immigrants became citizens last year through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Memphis, which serves Tennessee and parts of Arkansas and Mississippi. It costs $680 for the naturalization application alone, never mind thousands more spent on lawyers and trips to Memphis. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120517/NEWS01/305170058/Citizenship-journey-Tennessee-goessmoother-little-help?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News
Candidates steer clear of Dean's tax hike on council's first vote (CP/Garrison)
A handful of Metro Council members led by those campaigning for higher offices made it clear Tuesday they dont want their fingerprints on Mayor Karl Deans proposed property tax hike. But other than that, the councils 30-4 vote, with three abstentions, Tuesday to approve the mayors property tax increase on the first of three required votes amounted to very little. The same can be said for the 30-3 vote to sign off on the mayors $1.71 billion budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year. Both actions were made to advance the proposals to the councils committee system. Even a few anti-tax council members voted for the tax hike. Though Deans proposed 53-cent increase to Metros combined property tax rate will now move on to a crucial second of three votes in June, Tuesdays initial vote didnt signal a clear ringing endorsement. It doesnt mean much to the outcome, At-large Councilman Ronnie Steine said of the nights events. What you saw was the council members that are running for other offices this summer wanting to be Nos Under council procedure, virtually all legislation is approved on first reading to move the items to council committees for further debate. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/candidates-steer-clear-deans-tax-hike-councils-first-vote
200 police officers may lose jobs if Dean's budget proposal fails (TN/Haas)
City has to fund officers or repay grant money Mayor Karl Dean warns that he may have to lay off 200 police officers if his proposed budget and tax increase fail to pass. His $1.71 billion budget proposal, which would be funded partly by the first property tax increase in years, includes $6.3 million in increases dedicated solely to public safety. The increase would fund a new police DNA forensics lab and 50 police officers hired under a federal policing grant. Dean says if those officers arent funded, the city would lose not only those 50 officers, but also an additional 150 who would have to be laid off so the city could repay the grant money. We have been able to make, I think, tremendous progress in public safety and now is not the time to back off, Dean said Wednesday. Wed be foolish not to fund the fourth year. That would be a dramatic reduction for public safety in Nashville. But critics say that Metro government should look to cut elsewhere. I would want to allocate resources from other areas to make sure that department was made whole, said Metro Councilman Robert Duvall. Hes not sure where the money would come from but is certain other departments could absorb the cuts. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120517/NEWS0202/305170051/200-Nashville-cops-may-lose-jobs-Dean-sbudget-plan-fails?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News
Hamilton County corrections officer seeks pay increase (TFP/Haman, Sohn, South)
Hamilton County corrections officer Jonathan W alker says he knew he might be laying his job on the line Wednesday when he appeared before county commissioners to ask for a raise for the department's officers. Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond's budget, which seeks an extra $1.85 million next fiscal year, doesn't include a salary increase for staff members who haven't had a raise in four years. W alker, a six-year department veteran, cited problems in the jail such as high turnover among corrections officers who work one or more mandatory overtime shifts a week. "We asked the sheriff several years now for a raise," W alker said. "I was just told that you all are the ones that gave the raises." Hammond told the Times Free Press Friday he requests additional money for his staff every year. He told his officers the County Commission controls raises, Walker said 6
Wednesday. Commissioners are currently considering department budget proposals for the 2013 fiscal year, which begins July 1. County Mayor Jim Coppinger will present the full budget to the commission on June 14. County Commissioner Fred Skillern told Walker that the sheriff is a constitutional officer who is responsible for administering his personnel policies and setting his own budget. Commissioners just appropriate the money, Skillern said. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/17/corrections-officer-pay-increase-hamiltoncounty/?local
Bed Tax Hike Talks Turn To High Airfares (Memphis Daily News)
This weeks discussion by the Memphis City Council about raising the hotel-motel bed tax sprouted wings and was bound early on for the much larger and emotional topic of high airfares at Memphis International Airport. The council voted down the proposed 2.7 percent tax increase proposed by council member Edmund Ford Jr., which he said amounted to an additional 75 cents a night on an average daily room rate in Memphis of $74. Seventyfive cents on a room average, Ford said, holding up three quarters. I dont think you can compare it to an air fare that is $400 or $500 more in Memphis. Doug Brown, general manager of The Peabody put it at $6 extra for an average four-day convention stay in a $200 a day room there. And he and other tourism industry leaders said that combined with high airfares into the city could be enough to discourage convention and meeting planners already looking at places like Nashville, whose new convention center is about to open. Ford originally proposed 7
the 2.7 percent increase in the tax to finance the operation of city museums. But he said Tuesday the additional revenue could be used to fund a $2 million deficit in Memphis Convention Center operations the council learned about Tuesday in committee sessions. http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2012/may/17/bed-tax-hike-talks-turn-to-high-airfares/
Checks
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balances:
Corker
opponents
share
spotty
financial
pasts
(NS/Humphrey)
U.S. Senate candidate Brenda Lenard said Wednesday that she has been urged to leave the race and endorse another of incumbent Sen. Bob Corker's opponents in the Republican Party primary because of a bad check felony conviction and bankruptcies in her background. Lenard, a Tea Party activist and single mother working on a doctorate in political science at the University of Tennessee, said she will "absolutely not" do so and believes that her life experiences including the 1990s financial problems make her a better person and a better 8
candidate. "There is not one thing in my past or even now that I'm ashamed of," said Lenard, 45, of Sweetwater. "Life is tough and sometimes you have to roll with the punches." InvestigativeCheck, a Washington-based firm that conducts research for corporate and political clients, turned up the information on Lenard when running background checks on all U.S. Senate candidates, according to company CEO Jim Popkin. The review also showed a bankruptcy in the background of Larry Crim, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. Through a spokesman, Crim says that is one reason he decided to enter the race. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/17/checks-and-balances-sen-corker-opponents-share/
Federal Grant Helps RTA Add Route from Clarksville (WPLN-Radio Nashville)
The Regional Transportation Authority is rounding out its express bus service with a new route from Clarksville. The money to pay for it comes from a federal grant meant to air quality. With ridership at record levels, RTA officials say theyre asked to add routes all the time. They just dont have the money to do it. The new Clarksville service still required matching money for the federal grant. That funding comes from city coffers and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The twice-a-day trips to and from Clarksville will cost passengers $4 each way. RTA says it could also work for reverse commuters who live in Nashville and work in Clarksville. RTA already operates express bus service to Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner and Williamson Counties. Wilson County has the regions only rail service. RTA contracts with Gray Line to operate the express service, using 54passenger buses with restrooms and TVs. The highest ridership is on the route between Murfreesboro and Nashville. http://wpln.org/?p=37320
Ritz says tax-hike projections for suburban school districts too low (CA/Kelley)
Proposed municipal school districts will cost more than suburban leaders think and voters need better information before deciding in the Aug. 2 election, Shelby County Commissioner Mike Ritz said Wednesday. Ritz, a retired banker and investor, made those claims in a report distributed during the Commission's Education Committee meeting Wednesday. Ritz challenged the financial assumptions suburban leaders have been using that were included in reports delivered early this year by Southern Education Strategies LLC, hired by the suburbs to conduct feasibility studies. With a different set of assumptions, Ritz estimated that additional property tax increases needed to fully fund new school districts -- beyond the tax hikes that suburban leaders already concede -- would begin at $1.36 for Bartlett, $1.06 for Germantown, $.84 for Collierville, $3.91 for Arlington, $1.28 for Millington and $.34 for Lakeland. Suburban residents need to hear a neutral analysis of the costs, several commissioners agreed Wednesday. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/17/ritzchallenges-suburban-districts-cost/ (SUB)
each suburb of buying the existing Shelby County schools within their borders and the annual cost of operating those schools. With those added in, Ritz estimated a 60 to 400 percent increase in taxes for all those suburbs. In most cases they are starting up a school system thats as big as their government. In Germantown, the school board is supposed to have a $62 million budget to start, Ritz said. The city of Germantowns budget is $73 million. The SES reports were each built around an assumption from attorneys the firm consulted that the existing schools in the suburbs would be transferred to the new school districts at no cost. http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2012/may/17/ritz-districts-will-see-cost-run-ups/
Proposed School Budget Hike Includes Unprecedented iPad Program (M. Pulse)
Are county residents ready to fund an iPad for every student in Knox schools? The topic of the morning in Dexter Murphys fifth grade class at Pond Gap Elementary School is recognizing the difference between facts and inferences. On a big computer screen, he displays an article about prairie dogs accompanied by four short statementstwo of which are drawn directly from the text and two of which draw conclusions from it. As he asks his students to categorize them, the same display pops up on iPad screens on each of their desks that are linked to his. To enter her responses, Cailee Patterson deftly manipulates her keyboarda skill that Murphy taught her when each fifth-grader at Pond Gap was furnished with an iPad at the beginning of this school year. At most schools, you sit there and use books. I think its a lot more interesting to use computers, Patterson says. Pond Gaps principal, Susan Espiritu, is convinced that the many iPad applications now in use have made her students more engaged and are enhancing their performance. I just got the writing results back [on a state assessment for fifth-graders], and we had the best results in 11 years, she says. http://www.metropulse.com/news/2012/may/16/proposed-school-budget-hike-includes-unprecedented/
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Nebraska: Battle Lines Are Drawn in Nebraska Senate Race (Wall Street Journal)
Hours after state Sen. Deb Fischer's upset win in Nebraska's Republican Senate primary, the campaign battle lines were drawn, with Ms. Fischer stressing her deep roots as a rancher in the state and former Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Democrat, emphasizing his record of deviating from his party's orthodoxy. "We don't need the same type of person who's supposedly going to represent us in Washington," Ms. Fischer told supporters Tuesday night. "We need somebody different, somebody who's tough, somebody who's effective, somebody who's a Nebraskan." That might have been a dig at Mr. Kerrey, who has lived in New York for a decade as president of the New School in Manhattan, though he's served as Nebraska governor and senator and owns restaurants and fitness clubs in the state. Mr. Kerrey, in an interview, said solving the country's biggest problems requires lawmakers willing to buck their parties, and he questioned whether Ms. Fischer would do that. "I do not think we will get the deficit behind us unless people are willing to break from their caucuses," Mr. Kerrey said. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303879604577408551549070784.html?mod=ITP_pageone_1 (SUBSCRIPTION)
OPINION Editorial: Gov. Bill Haslam correct to ignore Agenda 21 resolution (News-Sentinel)
Of all the measures considered this year by the Tennessee General Assembly that drew ridicule from many quarters, perhaps none was as silly as the resolution condemning a United Nations program called Agenda 21. Gov. Bill Haslam prudently declined to sign the nonbinding resolution, a show of restraint that represents the triumph of common sense over the forces of paranoia. The "saggy pants bill" produced chuckles, a bill that would have prevented teachers from discussing homosexuality elicited jokes from comedians around the country and the bill allowing unscientific questioning of evolution prompted comparisons to the Scopes Monkey Trial, but the resolution condemning Agenda 21 conjured images of legislators looking for intergalactic aliens. Agenda 21 has an Orwellian ring to it, but it's actually benign. It is a nonbinding set of actions that states can take to promote sustainable development, based on a set of principles set forth after a U.N. conference in Rio De Janeiro in 1992. Some, however, see a nefarious plot to rob Americans of their property rights. 12
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/17/editorial-gov-bill-haslam-correct-to-ignore-21/
Guest columnist: 58 years after Brown, Metro, other schools still divided (TN)
I read with some disappointment but not surprise Tuesday of Metro Schools Director Jesse Registers testimony in a federal court school rezoning case that hes not in favor of achieving school diversity by forcing black students from Nashvilles urban area on buses to predominantly white suburban schools. Yes, there are probably better ways of desegregating schools than busing but where are they? In Sundays New York Times, there was a news story that said New York classrooms are among the nations most segregated. At a Brooklyn charter school, students and teachers wrestle with the lack of diversity. Why Dont We Have Any White Kids? read a headline about Explore Charter School in Brooklyn, where 92.7 percent of the students are black and 61 percent of teachers are white. But that picture could have been here in Nashville. In a city where AfricanAmericans make up less than 25 percent of the overall population, blacks accounted for 37,138, 45.8 percent, of the students in Metros public schools in 2011, according to the Tennessee Department of Education. W hites 13
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