VOL. 36 | NO. 1 | Friday, January 6, 2012
REALTY CHECK
Over the years, the construction industry has been introduced to various new materials that their manufacturers claim will revolutionize the industry. Many have failed to pass the test of time, and some have become stigmatized.
NEWSMAKERS
Kimberly Vinson, M.D., assistant professor of otolaryngology, has been named assistant dean for Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s newly reorganized Office for Diversity.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
In a normal weeks’ time, you get many applications from many job-seekers.
GUERILLA MARKETING
Pay no heed to the “hottest trends in marketing” hype for the New Year, as there is often little correlation between what’s hot and what actually works. Instead, make your resolution to execute these Top 10 smart marketing trends for 2012.
GUEST COLUMNIST
With all of the hype surrounding stimulus packages and estimates of cost starting at $200,000 per job, it is time we all understand where jobs are actually created.
I SWEAR
Death is a topic that inevitably comes up in court. We cannot hide from it. We just have to take it as we find it. Today’s column will feature four items of sworn testimony where death played a role.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Well, Christmas and New Year’s Day are part. That was a whole lot of partying.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state House has approved a plan to redraw the chamber's 99 districts, overriding Democrats' objections that it placed five African-American incumbents into three seats.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Regions Financial Corp. said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. brokerage subsidiary to Raymond James Financial Inc. for $930 million.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Revamped ethics rules for state judges are designed to increase public confidence in the judicial system. Critics say it could abridge the rights of judges.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state of Tennessee is buying five Nissan LEAF electric vehicles as part of a clean energy initiative.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Civil rights activist and former Memphis judge D'Army Bailey will speak Thursday at Vanderbilt University Law School in commemoration of the Rev. Martin Luther King.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates fell once again to a record low, offering a great opportunity for those who can afford to buy or refinance homes. But few are able to take advantage of the rates.
NEW YORK (AP) — About 1.9 million homes entered the foreclosure process in 2011, the lowest level since 2007 when the recession began, according to a report Thursday by the foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc.
WASHINGTON (AP) — America's retailers enjoyed a record 2011 and their first $400 billion sales months ever. But the final month of the year was a dud.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Applications for weekly unemployment benefits spiked last week, largely because companies let go of thousands of workers after the holiday season.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — What's good for Facebook and its employees could be very good for California's treasury.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mostly lower at midday after an increase in unemployment claims and tepid retail sales countered optimism about strong bond auctions in Italy and Spain.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain says the Supreme Court ruling that led to formation of super PACs was "one of the worst decisions I have ever seen."
WASHINGTON (AP) — What gives? Some of Mitt Romney's rivals are waging a fierce attack that you'd never think would come from the mouths of Republicans who claim Ronald Reagan as their hero. They're blasting the GOP front-runner for aggressive, wealth-creating business tactics.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has announced that he is being endorsed by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam is touting his proposal for more grants for companies investing in Tennessee as fostering transparency in the state's economic development program. But the Republican has also filed a bill to shield information used to make grant decisions from public view.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State lawmakers opposed to legislative redistricting plans are questioning the desire of Republican leaders to pass them so quickly.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Audi of America's president said Chattanooga is an "attractive potential location" as the automaker scouts possible future production sites in the United States.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee is getting $2.8 million in federal funds to help cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged last April during tornadoes and flooding.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The exclusive Belle Meade Country Club is considering offering membership to a woman.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Daymar College has been hit again with a lawsuit claiming that the Kentucky-based for-profit chain of professional schools deceived students in Tennessee about the quality of its degree programs and left students deep in debt with few career opportunities.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Nashville's under-construction convention center has booked more than 600,000 room nights.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — You can usually tell a lot about the health of the U.S. economy by looking at the financial results of banks. They're the people who finance new factories, plant expansions and fatter payrolls.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes are ending mixed as Europe edges closer to a recession that would hurt corporate profits in the U.S.
NEW YORK (AP) — Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, is filing for bankruptcy protection, blaming troubles with its pension and medical benefits obligations, increased competition and tough economic conditions.
Oil prices fell to near $101 a barrel Wednesday as the European Union's efforts to block imports of Iranian oil appeared to be stalling.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Mitt Romney won most of the delegates in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, adding to his overall lead in the race for delegates to the party's national convention this summer.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will focus on American jobs Wednesday, while trying to keep his own.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says he wants to make reductions in the state's estate tax and a small reduction on the sales tax on groceries.
NASHVILLE (AP) -Tennessee lawmakers went back to work Tuesday, opening their session for the second year of 107th General Assembly.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican leaders on their first day back to work Tuesday calledfor the quick passage of legislative and congressional redistricting plans.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The second session of the 107th General Assembly starting Tuesday will test Gov. Bill Haslam's increased assertiveness with fellow Republicans accustomed to getting their way in the legislature.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A federal judge is considering a request for a ruling that favors two political parties that say Tennessee laws make it unconstitutionally hard for third parties to get their names on the ballots.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The New Year's holiday weekend that began this year was the safest on record on Tennessee roads.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is meeting most of its goals for implementing educational reforms tied to a $500 million federal Race to the Top award, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — A Nissan spokesman in Tennessee said the Japanese automaker is not ready to say if an agreement to build Mercedes-Benz gasoline engines at Nissan's plant at Decherd will create new jobs.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Amazon.com plans an expansion of its Chattanooga distribution center that will eventually add hundreds of jobs.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Rep. Curry Todd's hearing on charges of drunken driving and carrying a loaded handgun while intoxicated has been delayed until next month.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Get ready for another dose of Blake Shelton as country's hottest leading man joins Reba McEntire again this year as co-host of The Academy of Country Music Awards.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale businesses barely increased their stockpiles in November, even though their sales grew strongly.
U.S. stocks rose solidly Tuesday after European markets rallied and corporate bellwether Alcoa predicted stronger demand in 2012. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at its highest level since July.
NEW YORK (AP) — WebMD Health Corp. shares plunged Tuesday morning after the healthcare information website said CEO Wayne T. Gattinella has resigned, and it expects earnings to drop this year.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is sifting through the photos and commentary on its blossoming social network so its Internet search results can include more personal information.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. said Tuesday that its sales growth weakened in the U.S. and Europe during the holiday season, raising fears that the wealthy may be beginning to rein in spending.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is considering whether government regulators may still police the airwaves for curse words and other coarse content at a time when so many Americans have unregulated cable television, and the Internet is awash in easily accessible adult material.
NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian government has formally agreed to allow foreign companies to own 100 percent of stores that sell a single brand.
MONDAY, JANUARY 9
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Sen. Jim Tracy says he's decided against a congressional bid in a redrawn 4th House District.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Charges will not be filed against two state lawmakers who used heavy-handed tactics to help three nurse practitioners get their licenses back, the Davidson County District Attorney General said Monday.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Video streaming of the Tennessee Legislative Session will now be available on mobile devices.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Women's Running Magazine has picked Nashville's Warner Parks as one of the top five trail running destinations in the country.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Is health-care relief finally in sight? Health spending stabilized as a share of the nation's economy in 2010 after two back-to-back years of historically low growth, the government reported Monday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans increased their borrowing in November by the largest amount in a decade.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service is reviving a program that lets Americans who are hiding their assets overseas avoid criminal charges by paying their back taxes plus penalties.
Stocks are closing slightly higher after a fourth straight listless session. Traders were waiting for quarterly financial results from Alcoa Corp. that might offer clues about the economic recovery.
DETROIT (AP) — The Hyundai Elantra has won the North American Car of the Year award.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices started the week lower after analysts said that nations should have ample supplies regardless of Iran's threats to block exports from the Persian Gulf.
NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Hanks' long gestating Web series is coming to Yahoo.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama announced Monday that chief of staff William Daley was quitting and heading home to Chicago, capping a short and rocky tenure that had been expected to last until Election Day in November. Obama budget chief Jack Lew will take over the job.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Executing a classic Washington dodge, Newt Gingrich told Americans that Medicare and Medicaid could be kept solid merely by ending fraud in the system, a promise of gain without pain that ignores the aging population and other great forces pressing on the programs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment is higher than it's been going into any election year since World War II.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The federal government has declared 14 Tennessee counties as agricultural disaster areas after drought and excessive heat last summer.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Tea Party, one of several tea party groups in the state, is disbanding after three years.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A harsh economic environment is being cited as the reason for a rise in the number of Tennessee lawyers disciplined for stealing or misusing client funds. And some attorneys are taking money from clients and then closing shop without performing the legal services they were paid to do.
NASHVILLE (AP) - More than 19,000 rebates totaling more than $4.5 million have been paid to Tennesseans this year for using Energy Star appliances.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republicans appear in no hurry to reveal their plans for reshaping Tennessee's congressional districts.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday announced a coordinated plan to fight drug abuse, gangs and domestic violence in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican lawmakers don't plan to divide Nashville among several congressional seats as some Democrats had feared, according to plans released Friday.
NASHVILLE (AP) - An appeals court has ruled the state does not have to repay a soldier whose wages were garnished for child support when he was deployed to Iraq, even though the child turned out not to be his.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Officials at a Tennessee metal powders factory where five people died in accidents last year knew about the explosive danger of dust that coated much of the plant but did little to reduce the risk, a federal investigative agency concluded.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation added 200,000 jobs in December in a burst of hiring that drove the unemployment rate to its lowest in almost three years. The figures raised hopes that the economy might finally be healthy enough to power an even stronger job market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The job market is looking a little brighter at the start of the new year.
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. is the latest automaker to open a research lab in Silicon Valley, where it hopes to scout out new technology and keep ahead of trends.
WASHINGTON (AP) — 2012 looks to be another year of opportunity for the few who can afford to buy or refinance a home.
NEW YORK (AP) — The 2011 holiday shopping season will go down in the record books as the year the Grinch stole stores' profits.
The stock market offered a reminder Friday that even if the U.S. job market is improving, there's plenty to worry about elsewhere in the world.
NEW YORK (AP) — Barnes & Noble is considering options for its quickly growing but expensive Nook e-book reading business, its latest attempt to regain profitability as the publishing industry adapts to the rising popularity of digital books and magazines.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — With an eye on the upcoming South Carolina primary, Republican presidential candidates on Thursday assailed President Barack Obama for bypassing the Senate to name three new members to the National Labor Relations Board.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new independent study says Republican Mitt Romney's tax plan would increase taxes on low-income families while cutting taxes for the middle-class and the rich.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Here's where the 2012 Republican presidential candidates stand on a selection of issues.