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Governor Bill Haslam says the state could soon make changes to its controversial system for evaluating teachers. An outside review of the evaluation process is due out this week. Haslam wanted the new teacher evaluations to finish the school-year before any retooling took place. Over winter he asked SCORE the education group founded by former Senator Bill Frist to look at ways to tweak the law. That helped keep legislators off the subject awhile. Now Haslam says SCOREs recommendations wont just be for show: Were going to use them that wasnt just a charade to have SCORE go through that. Im firmly committed to the evaluation process, and for it to work, we need to make certain its the best it can be. Earlier this month Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman doubted SCORE has heard much that state officials havent. Both Huffman and Haslam pointed to two areas likely to draw scrutiny: the amount of time it takes principals to repeatedly grade each teacher; and questions over how to grade teachers of hard-to-test subjects, like art. http://wpln.org/?p=37753
Labor Dept.: Nearly 3K Jobless Tenns Quit Looking for W ork Last Month (TNR)
The states unemployment rate continues to drop, but officials who track workforce trends say some of that decrease can be attributed to thousands of out-of-work Tennesseans who have stopped looking for work. I do think there are some folks who have just permanently, or almost permanently, taken themselves out of the job market saying, I have given up, Gov. Bill Haslam told reporters after speaking at the American Legion Auxiliary Volunteer Girls State assembly at Lipscomb University Tuesday. According to Tennessee Department of Labor statistics, almost 3,000 people who were part of the labor force in March stopped looking for work the very next month, joining a category economists call discouraged workers. Over the last few months, the number of discouraged workers has slowly dropped from this years high of more than 21,000 people. http://tnreport.com/blog/2012/05/29/labor-dept-nearly-3k-jobless-tennesseans-quit-looking-for-work-last-month/
was honored by the House this past legislative session, for her advocacy and bravery. http://www.newschannel5.com/story/18649953/sexual-assault-bill-signed-into-law
First Lady Crissy Haslam to speak at education summit (Cookeville Herald Citizen)
The Highlands Workforce Development & Education Committee is hosting a statewide summit on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Reaching Higher in Tennessee: Economics of Education Summit will take place in the Roaden University Center on the campus of Tennessee Technological University. The goal of the summit is to create awareness of the importance of education and workforce development and its link to economic development. The Highlands W orkforce Development & Education Committee has gained recognition for cutting edge programs to create a 21st Century workforce. The committee, composed of both business and education leaders of the Highlands area, is an active part of the Highlands Initiative; a collaborative public/private sector program designed to boost economic and community development in Jackson, Overton, Putnam, and White counties. It consists of five subcommittees, each with specific goals and programs geared to improve education attainment and job readiness for the current and future workforce of the Highlands. http://www.herald-citizen.com/view/full_story/18757492/article-First-Lady-Crissy-Haslam-to-speak-at-educationsummit?instance=latest_articles
TN banking commish: Lenders doing what they must (Nashville Biz Journal)
The state's top banking regulator sees banks positioning themselves for the future a good thing in his mind, given the market and regulatory challenges at hand. Commissioner Greg Gonzales, head of Tennessee's Department of Financial Institutions, said the intensifying trend of thrifts converting to commercial banks is just one of several examples of lenders trying to find a competitive vantage point. As we reported for full subscribers Friday, the trend is leading to new commercial lenders cropping up around Tennessee, and it's among the shifts Gonzales is watching, too. "I think every institution is trying to figure out in this new environment, 'How do we put ourselves in the best position to be successful?' " he said in an interview today. In the interest of getting a firmer handle on that environment, we asked Gonzales about a number of movements he and others are keeping an eye on. http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2012/05/tennessee-banking-commissioner-gonzales.html
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has launched a new microsite to commemorate the 75th anniversary of state parks. It displays a wide range of content that can be used to plan a visit to one of the 54 parks. Done in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, it also includes an interactive historical timeline. Bob Martineau, commissioner of environment and conservation, said the site stresses the natural, cultural and historical resources at the parks. The site is www.tnstateparks75.com . http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/30/tennessee-state-parks-get-new-microsite/
TBI investigating disappearance of thousands from Monroe County Red Cross (NS)
State authorities are investigating the disappearance of more than $20,000 from the Monroe County chapter of the American Red Cross, an official said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation launched an inquiry at the request of the District Attorney General's Office May 9, according to TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm. Helm said 3
the investigation is focused on several "questionable ATM withdrawals" made in Sweetwater, Madisonville and Athens. TBI officials are working with local agencies and they expect to turn over the results of their investigation to the DA's office once complete. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/29/tbi-investigating-missing-funds-from-monroe-red/
leadership of the mosque, said the ruling was disappointing but his group remains committed to building the Islamic center. They have been worshipping for many years at a smaller site in the community. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120529/NEWS03/305290046/Murfreesboro-mosque-construction-stopsafter-judge-s-ruling?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|s
Nashville proposal would allow farmers to sell crops on their property (TN/DeVille)
John Morton grows more produce than he and his family could possibly ever eat. He wants to sell some of the squash, tomatoes, cantaloupe and other crops, and he has the clientele ready to buy. But under the citys current law, Morton and other farmers are prohibited from selling their produce on their property, as retail sales are not allowed in agricultural zoned districts in Davidson County. Not being able to sell anything off your farm, youre 5
putting a small farmer out of business, said Morton, who helps his mom staff HomePlace, the familys 166-acre farm in Antioch. A proposed city ordinance could give the Mortons, and other farmers with at least 5 acres of land, the chance to sell their seasonal agricultural items on their property. Products sold or given away free would be limited to those produced on the property, such as produce, nuts, seeds, herbs, flowers, plants, baked goods and handicrafts. Farmers throughout the city are praising the proposal, which many say will help them grow their businesses and possibly add agricultural jobs. As the subdivisions are taking over the farms, people are looking for something like this where people can run down the street and pick up produce, Morton said. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120530/NEWS01/305300064/Nashville-proposal-would-allow-farmers-sellcrops-their-property?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News
Commission facing hike requests for senior transport, school plans (NS/Donila)
A Knox County Commission public forum Tuesday brought out more than 60 residents, some touting a multimillion-dollar plan to better local schools, but most encouraging commissioners to pass a minor property tax increase to help seniors and the disabled pay for public transportation. The so-called transportation tax would increase property taxes by 1 cent per $100 of assessed value. For the owner of a house valued at $150,000, that would be an additional $3.75 a year in taxes. It would raise an extra $1 million in revenue. The new money would be dispersed by the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee Office on Aging to local organizations, such as Knoxville Area Transit, to help provide free or reduced public transportation for seniors and those who are disabled. "A lot of seniors are outliving their ability to drive, so this is a public safety issues as well as a quality of life issue," said Commissioner Amy Broyles, who is spearheading the increase. "But public transportation also gives people their independence and that's what we all want as we age." The commission, which met Tuesday without Commissioner Jeff Ownby, will officially decide on the proposal Monday when the board also votes on Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett's overall $673.7 million proposed spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, which beings in July. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/30/commission-facinghike-requests-for-senior-plans/
Memphis City Council budget proposals bear contrasts from Wharton's (CA/Maki)
Memphis City Council members on Tuesday began sifting through three council-generated proposals to fund city government for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The theme running through all three proposals is reducing the property tax burden on Memphians, a contrast to Mayor A C Wharton's call for a 47-cent increase to cover the cost of court-ordered funding for Memphis City Schools. "I think it's a real healthy discussion when we're talking about the big issues," said council member Shea Flinn. "I would say the debate has shifted from what type of property tax increase we'll have to what kind of property tax reduction we'll have," he said Council members Jim Strickland, Harold Collins and Edmund Ford Jr. have each proposed budgets that would reduce the city's current tax rate of $3.19, which includes $3.01 for city operations and 18 cents for the school district. Strickland's proposal would set the city's tax rate at $2.91, Ford's budget calls for a $2.98 tax rate while Collins includes a $3.11 tax rate. The budget W harton presented to the council for the coming year calls for a combined tax rate of around $3.66, with $3.01 for city operations and the rest for schools. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/30/budgets-bear-contrasts/ (SUBSCRIPTION)
Council Weighs Three Tax Roll Back Proposals (Memphis Daily News)
Three Memphis City Council members have presented plans that would roll back the citys current property tax 6
rate to varying degrees and come up with the citys last mandatory funding to Memphis City Schools using differing combinations of one-time funds. Council members Jim Strickland, Harold Collins and Edmund Ford Jr. presented their plans during a Tuesday, May 29, budget committee session. No votes were taken in committee. That will happen at the Tuesday, June 5, budget committee session, hours before the full council is to vote for a third and final time on a budget and setting a new tax rate both for the fiscal year that begins July 1. This weeks committee session was the clearest indication that not only is the council unlikely to approve the 47-cent property tax hike proposed in April by Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. solely to fund MCS. The council appears likely to approve some plan that actually lowers the property tax rate for the first time since the councils 2008 decision to cut MCS funding and roll back the tax rate by 18 cents. http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2012/may/30/council-weighs-three-tax-roll-back-proposals/
desire to milk the editorial pages for all they're worth. In a mass email sent Friday afternoon, Mayfield staffer Abby Robinson asked an undisclosed list of supporters to write letters to the editor. She also told them what to say. "I have attached 12 talking points that we have put together for you as a guide when writing your letter," the letter states. "If you decide to write a letter to a media outlet next week, we encourage you to follow up with an additional letter to a different outlet the following week." Mayfield is challenging U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann in Tennessee's 3rd District Republican primary on Aug. 2. His appeal to write the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the Knoxville News Sentinel and Chattanoogan.com came three days after his campaign distributed a fundraising letter blasting "the big liberal media" for asking "whether I know what I believe." It's not unusual for campaigns to simultaneously attack the media and encourage letters to the editor, but aides to Fleischmann and his other Republican challengers, Ron Bhalla and Weston W amp, said they don't spoon-feed themes to supporters. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/30/scottie-mayfield-implores-supporters-to-stay-on/?local
Pilgrim's Pride may lay off 400 workers in Chattanooga, state says (TFP/ONeil)
Pilgrim's Pride may lay off or relocate as many as 400 workers in Hamilton County by June 15. The poultry processing company, which operates two downtown Chattanooga plants with nearly 1,500 workers, said the job cuts are because of improved plant efficiencies. Pilgrim's Pride said it will continue to process as many chickens as it has in the past and will not cut its orders from contract growers in the area. After announcing last week it was laying off 85 employees in Chattanooga, Pilgrim's Pride told state regulators the company could lay off another 170 employees next week and another 140 workers on June 15. Margaret McDonald, spokeswoman for Pilgrim's Pride, said the company has not decided how many more employees will be laid off. "We don't have any further numbers to report," she said Tuesday afternoon. "We are still working through an evaluation of this." Representatives of the Tennessee Department of Labor and W orkforce Development said Tuesday that agency officials will hold meetings next month to help workers being displaced find other work or file for jobless benefits http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/30/tn-pilgrims-pride-may-lay-off-400-state-says/?local
Two
new
charter
schools
aim
for
2013
opening
in
Nashville
(Tennessean/Anderson)
Metro rejects plan of firm criticized for catering to rich The Metro school board granted approval to two new charter schools, one specializing in literature and language and the other hoping to teach financial literacy along with academics. Intrepid Preparatory Charter School in Antioch and Nashville Classical Charter School in East Nashville were approved by the Metro school board Tuesday. Both schools hope to open by 2013. They will join 12 charter schools already operating in Metro. They were among a record number of applicants, eight of which the board denied Tuesday. Those denied included proposals from Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Tennessee State University and a charter chain based in Arizona that has drawn fire from some parents. Several parents were concerned that Great Hearts would serve only affluent families in West Nashville. But Great Hearts application was ultimately denied for its scope. It proposed five schools throughout Metro to cover transportation requirements set by the district. Alan Coverstone, director of charter and magnet schools, said there was no precedent for opening five schools at once from the same provider. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120530/NEWS04/305300073/Two-new-charter-schools-aim-2013-openingNashville?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News
of the merger. The group, which is drafting the blueprint for the consolidated school system to come, voted down the resolution. But it never got to the question of Aitken over Cash as it debated where the work of the commission ends and where the work of the school board begins. http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2012/may/30/school-talks-now-turning-to-new-supt/
Dr. faces health fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, weapon charges (TFP/South)
A Chattanooga doctor accused of running a "pill mill" faces a 105-count federal indictment that includes charges of health care fraud, income tax evasion, money laundering and using a firearm in the operation of a criminal enterprise. Arrested Tuesday morning in O'Neil Medical Clinic at 4719 Brainerd Road, Ihsaan al-Amin was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Susan Lee late the same day. The 61-year-old man faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and an additional five years for the weapons charge if convicted. The doctor and his retained attorney, Rich Heinsman, declined to comment after the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney John MacCoon and agents with the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, who conducted the operation, also declined to comment on the pending case. Officials claim that al-Amin was running a cash-only "pill mill" in which he prescribed or sold large quantities of painkillers and other drugs for other than medical purposes to local residents and out-of-state buyers. The indictment against al-Amin alleges that, on 99 separate occasions from at least 2009 to 2010, he prescribed or dispensed pain medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone to patients "not for a legitimate medical purpose." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/30/chattanooga-doctor-faces-health-care-fraud-tax/?local
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OPINION Editorial: Demand better K-12 results, rethink higher education (Jackson Sun)
There is widespread agreement that post-secondary education is a must for todays students if they hope to land a good-paying job. But several issues stand in the way of achieving education success. Most notable are the poor results from the K-12 education and the high cost of post-secondary education programs. New approaches are needed to address these issues. Todays employers demand applicants with significant oral, written and computer skills. Many good-paying jobs also demand solid math skills. Many high school students look forward to going to college or to a post-secondary technical school. A two-year associates degree, four-year bachelors degree or technical certification is seen as an academic must to prepare students for todays high-tech workplace. But achieving these demanding goals is harder than ever. The first challenge for many students is that they are unprepared for the academic demands of higher learning. That means they must take remedial 11
classes in reading, writing and math before they can begin earning a degree or certification in earnest. Some students can spend a year taking non-credit remedial classes. That drives up the cost of post-secondary education and slows the process of achieving a degree or certification. http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20120530/OPINION/305300004/Our-View-Demand-better-K-12-resultsrethink-higher-education
Greg Johnson: Justice for who in the Joe Keener case? (News-Sentinel)
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A Sevier County district attorney general and Special Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood have struck again. Last year, retired district attorney general Al Schmutzer, representing the people, and Blackwood, representing justice, signed off on a plea bargain that let disgraced former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner skip jail time after Baumgartner was found to have used illegal drugs and engaged in illicit sex in the courthouse. Last week, current 4th Judicial Circuit District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn and Blackwood agreed to a plea bargain that allowed former Sevier County Clerk Joe Keener to escape incarceration after Keener admitted taking almost $100,000. Keener had repaid $94,645.50. He pleaded guilty to theft and official misconduct, received 10 years' probation, must make restitution of $14,000 for an audit conducted that found his theft and must do 500 hours of community service. Blackwood is the constant in these cases. In the Baumgartner case, Blackwood failed to dig deep enough to find the expansiveness of Baumgartner's wrongdoing. In the Keener case, Blackwood had little time to ask many questions Keener's hearing was over in 15 minutes. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/30/greg-johnson-justice-for-who-in-the-joe-keener/
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