SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2011 Big Apple Bound again (TN Report)

Gov. Bill Haslam will do double duty in New York early this week, working on job creation while also appearing at the NBC event called the Education Nation Summit . Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty and a small team from ECD will be along for the trip in an effort much jobs the the governor like trek made to California early September. Weve asked our folks Commissioner Hagerty and others to in ECD put together three or four different groups of both site selection people and some existing businesses, so again we can continue to sell Tennessee, Haslam said. http://www.tnreport.com/2011/09/big-apple-bound-again/

Schools expand focus on science and math (Leaf-Chronicle)

The line between some science and math classes in Montgomery County is beginning to blur, and that's just the way school officials want it. If all goes as planned, students will be learning about percentages and ratios at the same time they're studying genetics, or practicing temperature conversions while learning the properties of different liquids. Not every aspect of science and math can be taught together and they will still be separate classes, said Clarksville-Montgomery County School System Chief Academic Officer B.J. Worthington, but science and math teachers alike are being encouraged to combine content whenever possible. http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20110925/NEWS01/109250318/1002/rss

Displace GM workers eager to come home (Williams/Tennessean)

There are hundreds of displaced Tennessee autoworkers eager to return to their homes and families from assembly line jobs in Michigan and other distant locales as prospects of the General Motors plant reopening here grow brighter. Count full-time autoworker and part-time musician John Huntley among them. Huntley, whose family bluegrass band plays on without him near the Alabama border in tiny Loretto, Tenn., said he never thought about moving my family to Michigan ever. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110925/BUSINESS/309250059/2275/RSS05

Memphis and Shelby County Prepare for School Unity (Memphis Flyer)
For students of history in Memphis and Shelby County, there are few precedents to guide them through the extraordinary synthesis that is about to get underway as Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools begin their two-year path toward merger. On October 1, an enlarged interim school board will become official, comprising the MCS boards current 9 members, the SCS boards 7, and 7 new members just selected from as many freshly designed districts by the Shelby County Commission. The new board won't have its first real meeting until October 3, but the members of that board, as well as those of the equally new 21-member transitional or planning committee created by this years Norris-Todd bill to assist the merger, have already had a joint, get-acquainted session. http://www.memphisflyer.com/JacksonBaker/archives/2011/09/24/e-pluribus-what-memphis-and-shelby-countyprepare-for-school-unity

Would you vote to increase the sales tax? (Johnson City Press)
Revenue generated from a successful campaign by the Johnson City and Washington County school systems to increase the tax would be used to pay for needs that very few would deny are genuine. Ultimately, local voters would make the call if this request manages to find its way onto the March ballot. But a serious hurdle is looming, and it does not require voting booths. http://johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=94562

Valley Counties massage budgets (Benton/Times Free Press)

The Sequatchie Valleys three cash-strapped counties are using cuts and property tax hikes to balance budgets amid dwindling revenues and climbing costs. Over the past three weeks, Marion County boosted its property tax rate by 50 cents to help cover a $1.5 million budget shortfall. Sequatchie passed a seven-cent increase Monday to shore up its fund balance and help support fire services, the rescue squad and senior citizens center. Bledsoe officials, who backed away from a 41 cent hike last week, are testing the waters with public discussions on a likely increase. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/25/valley-counties-massage-budgets/

Mayor: Years of no taxes caught up to city (Daily News Journal)

Mayor Senna Mosley now says she was partly to blame for the city's property tax rate not being increased gradually over time to keep up with the growing population's needs the political path she now suggests should have been taken long ago by the city. As a La Vergne alderman from 2004 to 2010, she passed on previous suggestions for a tax hike. In June, the current Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 4-1 to double the tax rate less than a month after it raised water rates by 40 percent and sewer fees by 60 percent. http://www.dnj.com/article/20110925/NEW S01/109250329/1002/rss01

Whitfield, Chattanooga looking at regional future (Dalton Daily Citizen)

Dalton isnt technically part of the Metropolitan Chattanooga area. But theres no doubt that we are economically linked, say Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce President Brian Anderson. Our political connections are to Atlanta, but our economic connections are to Chattanooga. Chattanooga is the economic hub of this region, Anderson said. Anderson is part of a task force called the Greater Chattanooga Regional Growth Initiative that is looking at how to handle the challenges and growth the regional will face over the next 40 years. Spearheaded by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, it includes representatives from nine counties in Tennessee, two counties in Alabama and five counties in Georgia, including W hitfield and Murray. http://daltondailycitizen.com/local/x1243297946/W hitfield-Chattanooga-looking-atregional-future

From big to small, utilities search for financial footing (Fowler/KNS)

Many of Tennessee's utility districts and municipal utility systems are quietly enduring crises and exposing their ratepayers to the turmoil. For varying reasons, they're in financial hot water. And those fiscal woes often wind up hitting ratepayers' wallets at a time when the economy continues to limp along. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/25/from-big-to-small-utilities-search-for-financial/?print=1

Sullivan County sales tax collections jump in July (Times-News)

Sales tax collections were up, countywide, in July, according to a report prepared last week by Sullivan Countys budget office. Most of the countywide growth again came from businesses inside the city of Kingsport. Those July sales tax collections came back to the county and its cities as revenue this month. http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9036171

Wanted: Schools close to home (Gonzalez/Tennessean)

Around 8:15 a.m. each school day, students and their parents pad onto the grounds of Nolensville Elementary School on a walking path connected to their nearby neighborhood. The path, also popular for scooters and bikes, is a source of pride for school and town officials who worked together to get funds for it. About the same time the walkers are arriving, a line of cars forms, and school staffers wave their arms to coax parents along. Children know to exit their minivans quickly. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110918/NEWS04/309180026/Wanted-schools-close-home?odyssey=tab| 2

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More teachers take non-traditional path (Hubbard/Tennessean)

Odds are, a Tennessee student will learn from at least one educator who never got a bachelors degree in education. Nearly 3,000 Tennessee teachers this year started their professional careers in some other field, up from 2,500 last year. Its a trade-off, those teachers and their students say. The industry professionals may come in knowing more about their subject matter, having used it outside the school grounds. But with only a few weeks to learn classroom management before taking over classes, some come off as disorganized or unable to handle discipline. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110925/NEWS/309160096/More-teachers-take-nontraditional-path? odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|p

TN Lawmakers give negligent nursing homes a break (Roche/Tennessean)

When Dennis Matthews hears lobbyists and nursing home operators in Tennessee talk about the high cost of lawsuits and the need for tort reform, he can only shudder. Matthews sued Tennesseebased Life Care Centers of America after his mother, Verdie, died from dehydration and malnutrition at one of the chains nursing homes in Cleveland, Tenn. After an 11-day trial, the jury found that the nursing home was negligent and awarded the family $11.5 million, but Bradley County Judge Ginger Buchanan threw out the verdict. She granted the nursing homes motion for a new trial, saying that the evidence did not support the amount of the jury award. Matthews eventually reached a settlement with the nursing chain for a fraction of the jury award. http://www.tennessean.com/print/article/20110925/NEWS/309160097/TN-lawmakers-give-negligentnursing-homes-break

Nashville learns a thing or two from peer cities (Marsteller/Tennessean)

Better than Birmingham, about to surpass Charlotte but still aced by Austin. Thats how the Nashville regional job market and economy shape up compared with rival cities across the South, according to several recent reports and interviews with economists. Nashville and Austin are well-positioned, Charlotte is a big question mark because of whats going on in banking, and Birmingham is still struggling, said Howard Wial, a Brookings Institution economist and fellow. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110925/BUSINESS01/309250029/2275/RSS05

TN Lawmakers ethics panel has own critics (Gee/Tennessean)

Over two days of hearings last week, lawmakers criticized the panel that disciplines Tennessee judges for being too secretive and panned the state Supreme Courts role in appointing judges to investigate ethics complaints against their own. W hat lawmakers did not mention is that their own ethics board operates in much the same fashion as the Court of the Judiciary. And in some respects, the Tennessee Ethics Commission is even more taciturn. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110925/NEWS/309230140/TN-lawmakers-ethics-panel-has-own-critics? odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

State: Awareness a must to enact voter photo ID (Daily News Journal)

Retired teacher Nell Blankenship isn't waiting on a Nov. 1 town hall meeting to educate people about the state's new voter photo ID law. The Halls Hill Pike resident believes problems will crop up that could keep people from casting ballots in 2012, so she's been going to the St. Clair Senior Center, Rutherford County Historical Society and AdamsPlace senior living center, among other places, to pass out literature to let people know about the looming photo ID requirement. http://www.dnj.com/article/20110925/NEW S01/109250315/State-Awareness-must-enact-voter-photo-ID? odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Need a voter photo ID? (Daily News Journal)

The state's new voter photo identification law goes into effect in January. Rutherford County Administrator of Elections Nicole Lester has reserved the County Courthouse for Nov. 1 to hold a town hall meeting to educate 3

residents on the new law. There will be exemptions for: those who vote absentee by mail; who are residents in a licensed nursing home or assisted living center and who vote at the facility; voters who are hospitalized; voters with a religious objection to being photographed; or voters who are indigent and unable to obtain a photo ID without paying a fee. http://www.dnj.com/article/20110925/NEW S01/109250314/Need-voter-photo-ID-

Shelby Farms Greenline, Memphis pathways secure $4.7M in grants for trail, bike lanes (Charlier/Commercial Appeal)
Plans to extend the Shelby Farms Greenline eastward to Cordova cleared a major obstacle last week as state transportation officials agreed to earmark $3.3 million in federal funds to help pay for the work. The 4.3-mile extension of the bicycle-pedestrian trail was one of two Shelby County projects that the Tennessee Department of Transportation recommended receive Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grants from the Federal Highway Administration. The other was a $1.4 million plan to install 50 miles of bike lanes in Memphis. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/sep/25/state-oks-funds-for-trail-bike-lanes/

Agencies try and curb meth cleanup costs (11 Connects)

By conservative estimates, a meth lab can cost around $400 to clean up; a bill that local agencies have worked to reduce since federal funding dried up earlier this year. Costs have been cut by using in-house officers to deal with the chemical mess, by using local disposal agencies and by enlisting aid from the state. In Tennessee, the states Meth Task Force can take charge of the cleanup, said Charlie Thomas, a captain with the Bristol Tennessee Police Department. http://www2.tricities.com/member-center/share-this/print/?content=ar1334790

OPINION Editorial: Business park at the heart of good news (Leaf-Chronicle)

Although the country as a whole has been teetering on the verge of a double-dip recession, Clarksville-Montgomery County has been blessed with positive economic announcements this year that revolve around the Clarksville-Montgomery County Corporate Business Park. The 1,600-acre business park near Exit 8 of Interstate 24 is marketed in an ongoing basis to national and international companies in the alternative energy manufacturing, medical equipment manufacturing, distribution and warehousing, and shared services/backoffice sectors. http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20110925/OPINION01/109250310/1014/RSS05

Editorial: Future Looks Bright, For Now (CA)

Acknowledging the strengths of both the Memphis and Shelby County public school systems, state deputy education commissioner Patrick Smith expressed the belief last week that "the whole can be better than the sum of the parts." He was speaking, of course, of the future of public education in Shelby County, when Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools are melded into what hopefully will be a new, improved school district. The chances of achieving that result depend largely on how much support is given and the level of trust that is placed on the architects of that system -- a 21-person merger transition commission and a unified county school board that will start work in October as a 23-member group. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/sep/25/editorial-future-looks-bright-for-now/

Otis Sanford: Unified School District Off to Symbolic Start (CA)

The process of consolidating public schools in Shelby County has officially begun. There will be lots more meetings in weeks ahead. But despite meeting in the Fishbowl and eating chicken salad, the inaugural gathering at the U of M last week was less about symbolism and more about leadership. And thankfully, there appeared to be plenty of that on display -- starting with Shelby County Mayor 4

Mark Luttrell, who served as facilitator. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/sep/25/unified-school-board-off-to-symbolic-start/

Editorial: Jobs picture worse than it looks (Free Press)

The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 9.1 percent -- and has been in the 9 percent to 10 percent range for practically all of President Barack Obama's time in office. But even that dreadfully high "official" unemployment figure masks the true extent of how ominous the jobs picture is becoming in the United States. Besides the more than 14 million Americans who are "officially" jobless, nearly 9 million more are scraping by with part-time jobs when they really need full-time work. They are labeled "underemployed." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/25/0925-f5-fp1-job-picture-worse-than-it-looks/

Editorial: GOP attacks economic help (Times)

It's been clear for most of this year that Republicans are determined to suppress any and all attempts by President Obama to boost the economy, never mind that unemployment and under-employment plague some 25 million Americans and further undermine an economy already vulnerable to a double-dip recession. http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/25/0925-f4-t2-gop-attacks-economic-help/?opiniontimes

Guest Columnist: GOPs Photo ID law is more voter suppression (CA)

When my 94-year-old mother was born, women were not allowed to vote. But then Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment, and for seven decades Mother has voted faithfully. This year, my Republican colleagues in the legislature took away that right when they made it harder for her -- and as many as 675,000 other Tennesseans -- to continue to vote. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/sep/25/guest-column-gops-photo-id-law-is-more-voter/

McElroy: TVA ash spill could prove to be a good thing, if (News Sentinel)
Remember the shocking aftermath of the Challenger disaster, when engineers with Morton-Thiokol revealed the concerns they had about their booster rocket's O-ring? One engineer said he had tried to call attention to the danger with a memo headed "Help," hoping his bosses would read at least the first sentence. Another went home and, when his wife asked what was wrong, he answered, "Oh, nothing. We just had a meeting to go launch tomorrow and kill the astronauts." One even was praying during the countdown: "Oh Lord, make me and all these other engineers wrong." http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/25/ash-spill-could-prove-to-be-good-thing-if-133/?print=1 ###