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Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced the formation of a task force to make recommendations on what an opportunity scholarship initiative might look like in Tennessee based on the best available research. The committee will be tasked with looking at how a program would fit into Tennessees overall education reform strategy and that seeks to provide meaningful education options to disadvantaged students. I support school choice options and believe that opportunity scholarships could be an impactful tool in Tennessee, Haslam said. W e should offer alternatives to low-income students and their parents who may feel stuck in failing schools. Charter schools have been a significant part of that process, and it is appropriate to explore additional opportunities. http://www.tnreport.com/2011/12/governor-appoints-task-force-to-study-school-vouchers/
School voucher legislation put off year; Haslam creates study (NS/Humphrey)
Gov. Bill Haslam moved Thursday to block action in the 2012 legislative session on a bill to create a voucher system for school systems in Tennessee's four biggest counties. Instead, Haslam announced he is setting up a task force to study the issue until fall 2012 and make recommendations on what form any "equal opportunity scholarships" would take. Legislation establishing a voucher system in Knox, Davidson, Hamilton and Shelby counties was approved in the past legislative session by the state Senate, but failed in the House. Since then, school boards in all four of the counties have adopted resolutions opposing the bill. Rep. Bill Dunn, a Knoxville Republican and lead sponsor of the voucher bill in the House, said he had been briefed on the governor's plans and has mixed sentiments. Dunn said he is "not going to close any doors" toward possible action without the governor's blessing but acknowledged the yearlong study likely means a year of waiting before any legislative action.http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/dec/15/school-voucher-legislation-put-off-a-year-haslam/
Davis have awarded $16,452 to Snap-on Tools in Elizabethton. If Tennessee is going to become the number one location in the Southeast for high-quality jobs, then we must offer a well-trained workforce to employers, said Governor Haslam. This kind of training grant not only helps educate workers, but also provides incentive to employers looking to relocate or expand in Tennessee. Both job creation and retention are vital in maintaining a healthy economy in Tennessee, and the Incumbent Worker Training program has played a key role in accomplishing this, said Commissioner Davis. Since the programs inception, Incumbent W orker Training grants have assisted more than 600 businesses by providing $14 million to train approximately 50,000 employees. In their application for the grant, Snap-on Tools stated this training grant will provide consistency in production methods that will result in fewer defects. This improvement will sustain their product quality and competitive advantage. http://www.starhq.com/2011/12/15/snap-on-tools-awarded-16542-job-training-grant/
ETHS's
of the
Year (News-
The East Tennessee Historical Society honored Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday night with its first annual East Tennessean of the Year Award at a celebration dinner held at the Cherokee Country Club. "If there is an award for most blessed East Tennessean, that would be me," Haslam said after accepting the award. The board of directors of the Historical Society established the award to honor an East Tennessee history maker who is not only an ambassador for the region but who also represents integrity, dignity, leadership qualities and the volunteer spirit, according to Tennessee Supreme Court Judge Gary Wade, who is from Sevier County. In this inaugural year of the award, the board of directors unanimously selected Haslam, the only native Knoxvillian to be elected governor in Tennessee's history and the second East Tennessean elected in the past 50 years, Wade said. The award will be presented each year to an East Tennessean who has made significant accomplishments in the fields of history, politics, entertainment, education, research or humanitarian work that improves the lives of those who live in the region, he said. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/dec/15/gov-haslam-named-ethss-1steast-tennessean-of/
Tennessee jobless rate falls to lowest level in nearly three years (M. Biz Journal)
Tennessees unemployment rate fell in November to 9.1 percent, the lowest rate in nearly two years. Novembers rate fell from a revised October rate of 9.5 percent, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development. The national rate fell similarly in November: It was 8.6 percent last month, down from 9 percent in October. Novembers jobless rate is the lowest Tennessee has registered since January 2009, when it was 9 percent. After seasonal adjustments were made, nearly 10,000 jobs were created since October with positive job growth in the service sector such as retail trade and temporary jobs, said Labor Commissioner Karla Davis. The states unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted to account for the hiring and layoff patterns that accompany regular events such as the winter holiday season and the summer vacation season. 3
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2011/12/15/tennessee-jobless-rate-falls-to-lowest.html
were not properly considered by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Byron Black, 55, was sentenced to death in 1989 in Nashville after he was found guilty of killing his girlfriend, Angela Clay, and her two minor daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6. Black has lost several appeals on various claims in the years since. But Thursday the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision that the state Court of Criminal Appeals did not properly evaluate whether Black has a mental disability. In 2001 and 2002, respectively, the Tennessee and U.S. supreme courts ruled that the execution of mentally disabled people violates state and federal constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment. In 2006, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals upheld a lower courts ruling that Black was not mentally disabled. The court chose not to consider factors that could affect the accuracy of IQ tests, such as the standard error of measurement or the Flynn Effect, which calls for adjusting downward the score that a subject receives on an older I.Q. test based on the idea that the general populations level of knowledge increases over time. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111216/NEWS03/312160068/Federal-appeals-court-rules-favor-TN-deathrow-inmate?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News
Lt. Gov. Ramsey talks workers' comp, judicial elections (Nashville Biz Journal)
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Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey today alluded to complications with workers compensation reform and opined on a range of other business issues in advance of the Tennessee General Assembly reconvening. Ramsey, the colorful conservative Republican from Blountville who serves as head of the Senate, spoke to reporters about numerous issues, including workers compensation and the controversial matter of whether Tennessee should elect all of its judges. He expressed support for reforming the workers compensation system along the lines that business interests have been exploring, but was doubtful that the legislature would be able to accomplish all he would like on the issue during the upcoming session, which begins in January. Ramsey said workers compensation deserves attention, but he wants to do more than tinker around the edges. Apparently we are getting behind the eight-ball, he said. Ramseys supportive but cautious note on the political likelihood of broad reform is a sign of possible complications on what was shaping up to be a top issue for the legislature. http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2011/12/15/ramsey-republican-tennessee-workers-comp.html
Lt. Gov. Ramsey wants to wait on health care exchange decision (WSMV-TV Nash.)
Tennessee has some big decisions to make when it comes to health care reform. A top lawmaker said Thursday he wants to wait until after the elections to deal with Obama's plan. It's a move health care advocates say could put Tennesseans at risk. The state needs to decide whether to set up it's own health care exchange. It's a big undertaking that something one million Tennesseans would use. But the lieutenant governor says he doesn't want to make a decision until he knows for sure what the U.S. Supreme Court has to say about the health care law. Bobby Joslin, of Joslin and Son Signs, has been making signs for 35 years, and providing health insurance to his employees is important to him. But those costs are skyrocketing, and he fears federal health care reform is going to make it even worse. "We see this as a job killer. We can't afford to add on employees if we don't know what the costs are going to be with this new 'Obamacare,'" Joslin said. http://www.wsmv.com/story/16333636/lt-gov-ramsey-wants-to-wait-on-health-care-exchange-decision
Hamilton County Commissioner Joe Graham invited a state methamphetamine expert to brief colleagues Thursday on the annual costs of methamphetamine use in the area. Graham is proposing that commissioners vote next week to ask the Tennessee General Assembly to make pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in meth, a controlled substance. Then residents would have to have a prescription to obtain cold medicines containing it. Tennessee Meth Task Force Director Tommy Farmer did not take a position on pseudoephedrine as a controlled substance, but he said there are three or four methods for cooking it. "In all of those, the common denominator is pseudoephedrine," Farmer said. He said that pseudoephedrine was a controlled substance before 1975. These days, he added, there are 137 alternative cold treatment products on the market. Graham said similar moves in Mississippi and Oregon greatly have reduced costs associated with methamphetamine labs and their cleanup in those states. "The County Commission funds the sheriff's department, and the sheriff's department takes care of these methamphetamine-contaminated properties," he said. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/dec/16/hamilton-county-eyes-meth-costs-resolution/?local
MLGW board gives workers year-end bonus instead of pay hike (CA/Callahan)
The Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division board voted Thursday to give employees a year-end bonus instead of a proposed 1 percent raise. Thanks to the unanimous 5-0 vote, MLGW's full-time employees will receive a $750 bonus while part-time employees will get a $200 bonus. That money will appear in checks issued Dec. 23. The bonuses will cost the utility approximately $2 million, MLGW president Jerry Collins said. "It's not unreasonable," Collins said, citing increases in cost-of-living expenses. Added MLGW board chairman Darrell Cobbins: "(The thinking is), let's give our employees a small bump since they haven't received anything in the last couple of years." MLGW followed both city and county governments in approving bonus payments for their employees in recent weeks Combined, the three public entities will use taxpayer money to award about $10.3 million to employees. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/dec/15/memphis-light-gas-and-water-considers-bonus-instea/ (SUBSCRIPTION)
outlet, which could energize metal in the vicinity of the power source and risk electrocuting people in that vicinity. No explanation was given to the Occupy Nashville group as to why the power was cut off, said protester Matthew Hamill, who has been living on Legislative Plaza since Oct. 22. They just did it and left, he said. No letters were sent to our legal team, nothing. The electrical problems began after the outlet overloaded early Tuesday morning, Hamill said. W e opened the box and noticed that the wiring was out of date and posing a fire hazard, he said. We had an electrician come out and fix the box. He rewired it, and fired it up. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111216/NEWS01/312150063/State-cuts-off-Occupy-s-power-safety? odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News
Area lawmakers tout competition as fix for high Memphis airfares (CA/Sullivan)
Members of the Tennessee congressional delegation from the Memphis area and Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker were asked to comment on the high airfares out of Memphis and whether they'd support an antitrust investigation. Three of the five addressed the cost of airfare. "The fact that Memphis has the undesirable distinction of having the highest airfare prices in the nation is very concerning," said Rep. Steve Cohen, D8
Memphis. "I've reached out to Delta Air Lines and the Memphis Airport Authority to see what can be done to lower prices. Not only are these high prices limiting the ability of Memphians to travel, but they have a significant negative economic impact since they are a deterrent for tourists hoping to visit Memphis as well as businesses looking to relocate here." Added Alexander: "The best way to lower ticket prices to any airport is to increase competition among airlines. The best way to lower fuel prices -- which would also lower ticket prices -- is to find more American energy and use less of it." Laura Herzog, a spokeswoman for Corker, said: "Senator Corker recognizes that rising airfares in Memphis and throughout the country are primarily a function of the marketplace and that recruiting more competition to the airport is the most effective way of bringing fares down." http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/dec/16/area-lawmakers-tout-airline-competition/ (SUBSCRIPTION)
Official: 9 states to share $500M in Race to the Top grants (Associated Press)
Nine states will share $500 million in grant money won in a high profile competition intended to jumpstart improvements in often-overlooked early childhood programs, The Associated Press has learned. The winners to 9
be announced Friday at the White House are California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the winners had not been officially announced. The money to aid the nation's youngest learners is part of the Obama administration's cornerstone education initiative Race to the Top which has states competing for federal dollars to create programs that make schools more effective. Last year, it handed out $4 billion in such grants focused on K-12 education. The goal of this competition was to get more children from birth to age 5 ready for kindergarten. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-12-16/race-to-the-top-winners/52005184/1
will be held at the Central Office located on Bransford Avenue beginning at 4:30 p.m. Currently 240 students attend the school. Many of the children are bussed from throughout the city and were previously zoned to attend low performing schools. http://www.wkrn.com/story/16333483/school-officials-to-discuss-charter-schools-future
Hamilton County schools seek science and math program funding (TFP/Hardy)
The Hamilton County Board of Education unanimously approved on Thursday a grant application for about $1.8 million to help fund a science, technology, engineering and math school here. Board members voted 7-0 on the district's application to the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, a partnership of the Tennessee Department of Education and the Battelle Memorial Institute, an independent research and development organization. Board members Joe Galloway and Everett Fairchild were absent. If approved, the new school, planned for the Chattanooga State Community College campus, would eventually house about 300 high school students The STEM school will be jointly funded by the grant, the school system and donations (cash and in-kind) from local businesses. Officials said Hamilton County Schools would have to put up about $462,000 in the school's first year. That part still had some board members hesitant Thursday. "Where is the money coming from?" said board member Jeffrey W ilson. "I know we don't have an answer. I am probably going to support this, but with much reservation." Wilson pointed to the projected deficit of as much as $10 million in next year's schools budget. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/dec/16/schools-seek-science-math-program-funding/?local
Allied Arts of Greater Chatt. wants arts boost in Hamilton Co. schools (TFP/Garrett)
Elementary schools that don't integrate painting, dancing and acting into their curriculums are setting students up for faulty imaginations and lower test scores, arts activists say. Of 44 elementary schools in Hamilton County, only eight have full-time visual arts teachers, and four of those are funded by parent-teacher associations. They get $100 for supplies from the school and typically pay $500 to $1,000 out of their own pockets for paintbrushes, canvases, paint and materials, supporters say. "W e are the only major system in the state of Tennessee that doesn't have a certified art teacher in every elementary school," said Karla Riddle, director of innovative programs for Hamilton County Schools. "When they say you have to lose a position, the first they look at is art." Officials with cultural development group Allied Arts said an investment of nearly $300,000 is needed to reverse 11
a trend of uneven and underfunded art education. The group is pushing to launch a program to train teachers how to use the arts to drive home tough concepts in English, math or science. The program is modeled after one begun in Dallas a decade ago. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/dec/16/allied-arts-wants-arts-boost/? local
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OPINION Editorial: Gov. shows pragmatism on sunshine, tax debate (Daily News Journal)
We were glad to see Gov. Bill Haslam recently come out against a proposal that would water down the state's open meetings law as well as efforts to eliminate the state's estate tax and Hall income tax. Wrapping up his first year as the state's chief executive, Haslam has shown a knack throughout his first year in office for taking pragmatic approaches to a variety of issues. And in the case of the open meetings law, he fell back on his experience as Knoxville mayor to decide that Tennessee's sunshine law is in place for a good reason. "Those rules actually worked and led to better discussions at city council meetings," Haslam told The Associated Press. And that's the whole point. Public officials should do the people's business in public, with genuine meeting discussions that give voters valuable insight into their representatives' decision-making process. Voters can then weigh those decisions at the ballot box and make an informed choice, because just as important as knowing how an elected official voted on an issue is knowing why. It's unfortunate that the Tennessee County Commissioners Association is pushing a change in the sunshine law that would allow closed-door talks among officials as long as a quorum is not present. http://www.dnj.com/article/20111216/OPINION01/112160324/Editorial-Gov-shows-pragmatism-sunshine-taxdebate
Charlie Daniel Political Cartoon: Deck the Hall Tax (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
http://media.knoxnews.com/media/img/photos/2011/12/15/121611charlie_t607.JPG
Christian and Christopher Newsom, a young Knoxville couple heinously tortured and killed in 2007. Now public anger and disgust is turning toward an unprepared special prosecutor and an incurious special judge who let one of their own, Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner, off easy after his drug addiction and criminal behavior while on the bench put hundreds of already settled cases in jeopardy. Special Prosecutor Al Schmutzer, retired from decades of honorable service as the district attorney general for Sevier, Jefferson, Cocke and Grainger counties, has been backpedaling this week as to why he did not inform the court of the depths of Baumgartner's addiction and criminality. "I was stunned when (Special Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood) came back with probation (for Baumgartner)," Schmutzer told the News Sentinel. But Schmutzer signed off on the plea bargain. He agreed to a minimal charge official misconduct rather than stiffer penalties that likely would have come if, say, Joe Citizen was scoring drugs and having sex in the courthouse. Schmutzer left a disastrous loose end when he agreed to the maximum two-year penalty "with the manner of service to be determined by the court." That glaring gaffe opened the door for the special judge to grant probation and diversion, effectively allowing Baumgartner to go unpunished into retirement, full pension intact. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/dec/16/greg-johnson-judge-prosecutor-failed-in-case/
Guest columnist: 200 years after New Madrid quakes, are we better prepared? (TN)
It was a warm winter night 200 years ago when the ground and buildings started shaking from a strong earthquake in the upper Mississippi River valley near New Madrid, Mo. The first in a series of quakes struck on Dec. 16 around 2:15 a.m., and the few thousand pioneer settlers in the region did not understand what was happening, much less what to do about it. People panicked and ran outside during several long minutes of strong shaking. Unfortunately, this frightened response probably would be repeated in the central U.S. today, as it was when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck central Virginia on Aug. 23, and again when a magnitude 5.6 quake struck east-central Oklahoma on Nov. 6. The havoc 200 years ago was caused by a powerful earthquake near the southern portion of the Missouri Bootheel, then the edge of the Western frontier. Little did the settlers also know that this would be the start of a remarkable series of powerful earthquakes, each 500 to 1,000 times stronger than the Virginia and Oklahoma events of this year, and each with their own aftershock sequence. Some of the aftershocks were large enough to cause additional damage. At least seven of the earthquakes were felt on the East Coast of the United States. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111216/OPINION03/312160034/200-years-after-New-Madrid-quakes-weany-better-prepared-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|p
Free-Press Editorial: Fleischmann, DesJarlais, Graves rightly back tax relief (TFP)
It is frustrating that Democrats have been holding payroll tax relief for 160 million Americans hostage to the desire to impose higher taxes on upper-income Americans some of whom are the very people who operate businesses that employ a lot of workers. Democrats have at last dropped the demand that tax relief be linked to a surcharge on wealthier Americans. But they have still been holding up the tax relief in opposition to the construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to Texas that would create tens of thousands of desperately needed jobs across several states. It is some comfort to us in this part of Tennessee and North Georgia that our regions U.S. representatives supported legislation this week to extend payroll tax relief without raising taxes on others and to pave the way for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. That tax relief would sensibly be paid for by 13
cutting other federal spending. Tennessees 3rd District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and 4th District Rep. Scott DesJarlais joined with fellow Republican Rep. Tom Graves of Georgias 9th District in voting for a measure that would protect millions of Americans from a tax increase while also creating jobs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/dec/16/fleischmann-desjarlais-graves-rightly-back-tax-rel/? opinionfreepress
Free-Press Editorial: Postal Service can't escape painful workforce decisions (TFP)
There is broad agreement that the U.S. Postal Service is in serious financial trouble. There is less agreement on what to do about it. The problem is that the Postal Service has suffered a huge drop in business over the past several years as millions of Americans have begun using email and the Internet, rather than traditional mail, for bill-paying and correspondence. Postal revenue is way down; the Postal Service expects to lose $14.1 billion next year! But theres no likelihood that Americans are suddenly going to reverse course and start paying to use traditional mail again when they can handle so many things online at no charge. So the Postal Service, which employs more than half a million people, has been casting about for solutions, none of which is very appealing. Some of the main ideas for shoring up the Postal Service include dropping Saturday mail delivery and closing hundreds of mail-processing centers and thousands of post offices around the country. One of the mailprocessing facilities that could be closed is in Chattanooga, on Shallowford Road. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/dec/16/us-postal-service-cant-escape-painful-workforce-de/? opinionfreepress
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