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VOL. 35 | NO. 40 | Friday, October 7, 2011

Leaders of the Pack

Unconventional label searching for success with free recording sessions in custom motorcycle shop

“Sticks or brushes?” asks drummer Matt Prince, a young Florida transplant dressed in white T-shirt, brown corduroy cut-offs and flip-flops.

‘Panhead’ Phil’s investment earns smiles, good karma

“Panhead Phil” is best known as a custom motorcycle maker and repairman, operating Music City Motorcycle shop for 10 years. He also has been driving tour buses for decades, and Hipsher served in the Navy in the 1980s.

Nashville-area bloggers find audience, second career

Making money wasn’t John Gotty’s initial motivation when he began his blog, The Smoking Section, in 2005.

Memphis-area banks see opportunity in Midstate

With its announcement just days ago that it’s chosen a Nashville market president, Metropolitan Bank – which is co-headquartered in Memphis and in Ridgeland, Miss. – became the latest to direct some attention east of the Tennessee River. As part of its expansion into Nashville, Metropolitan announced it is looking for an office location and key talent with which to staff it up pending regulatory approval of the expansion.

Local Weather
Currently
Nashville, TN
44.1°F
Overcast
Wind: Northwest at 6.9 mph
Humidity: 60%

EVENTS

The Americana Music Festival and Conference, for fans and music industry professionals alike, features concerts, panels, workshops, parties and more through Saturday. Nearly 100 artist showcases (including Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, Marty Stewart, the Civil Wars and Marshall Chapman) will play at 5 venues throughout Nashville, highlighted by the Americana Honors & Awards show at the Ryman Auditorium on Oct. 13. Lineup and ticket information: http://www.visitmusiccity.com/visitors/americana

more events »

LEGISLATIVE PROFILE

Beavers builds case around conduct of Tennessee judges

It took a budget shortfall in the Wilson County school system and her husband knocking on doors to get Mae Beavers elected the first time.

REALTY CHECK

Gullibility is keeping Internet scammers busy

Craigslist provides an outlet for almost everything, from real estate to lingerie and all the materials necessary to fill both or either. The Craigslist visitor may buy or lease, hire or fleece and, according to a CNN documentary, the founder and president worried more about the transaction fee then the legality of the transaction.

TERRY McCORMICK

Hasselbeck gives Titan fans overdue glimpse of new NFL

Is it really possible to have a career year at age 36? You wouldn’t think so, but Matt Hasselbeck is on pace to do just that.

GREEN BUSINESS

Community buy-in key to green programs

As the president of Balfour Beatty Energy Solutions, Tabitha Crawford knows a thing or two about energy efficiency. As part of a global construction management organization committed to sustainable infrastructure development, she makes sure her company identifies and executes practices that help increase efficiency, reduce costs and generate income.

GET A JOB!

Quality resume opens doors, improves pay

You have only a few tools to help you land a good job, one being a resume. Not having the right one can cost you.

NEWSMAKERS

Wood honored as volunteer of the year

Jack L. Wood, chairman emeritus of architecture and engineering firm Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon, Inc. (BWSC), has been honored by the Nashville Downtown Partnership as its 2011 Volunteer of the Year.

I SWEAR

Life’s too aphoristic to be cajoled in a game of words

MEGILPH. Ever heard of it? Neither had I. But there it was. On the “Words with Friends” board, earning my opponent, whose name remains unknown to me, 96 points. With a hard-earned 50-point lead down the drain, I was on my way to another loss.

KAY'S COOKING CORNER

Who cooked up the idea of tailgating?

Well, it is the football time of year, which includes tailgating, outdoor parties around a fire, big-screen TVs and traveling to your team’s home field. This doesn’t go on just for the college and professional crowd. High school football is just as important, and requires the entire family’s participation!

NASHVILLE AREA

Vanguard names Bredesen to board

NASHVILLE (AP) - Hospital operator Vanguard Health Systems Inc. said Thursday former Tennessee Gov. Philip N. Bredesen has joined its board of directors.

STATEWIDE

House firearms panel postponed after Todd arrest

NASHVILLE (AP) - House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick said Thursday that he will postpone and possibly disband a special firearms task force following the arrest of its chairman, Rep. Curry Todd, on drunken driving and gun charges.

Local clerks to help issue photo driver's licenses

NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials say 30 county clerks across Tennessee have agreed to issue photo driver's licenses at no charge to registered voters who do not have them.

NATIONAL BUSINESS

Trade gap narrows to $45.6 billion in August

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in August because imports fell a little more than exports. The trade gap with China hit a record high for a single month.

Applications for unemployment aid barely changed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, a sign the job market isn't getting much better.

US foreclosure activity edged higher in 3Q

LOS ANGELES (AP) — More U.S. homes are entering the foreclosure process, but they're taking ever longer to get sold or repossessed by lenders.

BlackBerry services come sputtering back

NEW YORK (AP) — BlackBerry services buzzed back to life across the world Thursday, after a three-day outage that interrupted email messages and Internet services for millions of customers.

US seeks record sentence for hedge fund boss in NY

NEW YORK (AP) — A hedge-fund founder once recognized as one of the country's richest citizens would serve the longest sentence in history for an insider trading conviction if a federal judge grants the government's request to send Raj Rajaratnam to prison for two decades.

JPMorgan Chase's income falls 4 percent in 3Q

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase says its third-quarter income fell 4 percent on weaker investment banking and trading results.

WSJ links publisher's resignation to sales deal

LONDON (AP) — The Wall Street Journal says its publisher in Europe resigned after an internal investigation determined that he had tried to influence editorial content to favor a partner in a cut-price circulation deal.

Oil hovers above $85 amid demand forecast cuts

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices hovered above $85 a barrel Thursday in Asia after the International Energy Agency joined OPEC in cutting its forecasts for crude oil demand amid a slowing global economy.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Warren Buffett brings tax fight to supercommittee

WASHINGTON (AP) — Warren Buffett is bringing his fight to raise taxes on the super-wealthy to Congress' deficit-reduction supercommittee.

Obama applauds passage of 3 free-trade agreements

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says congressional passage of free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama is a major win for American workers and businesses.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12
STATEWIDE

Lawmaker arrested on drunken driving, gun charges

NASHVILLE (AP) — The sponsor of the law that made it legal to carry a gun into bars in Tennessee is facing charges of possession of a handgun while under the influence and drunken driving.

Tennessee Hispanic chamber has new name

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has changed its name to the Tennessee Latin American Chamber of Commerce.

Tourism officials announce 9th driving trail

NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials on Wednesday will announce the ninth of 16 self-guided driving trails in the Discover Tennessee Trails & Byways program.

NASHVILLE AREA

News media and open government lawyer Knight dies

NASHVILLE (AP) - Nashville attorney Alfred H. Knight III, an expert on news media law who helped craft Tennessee's open government statutes, has died.

NATIONAL BUSINESS

Companies posted fewer job openings in August

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers advertised fewer jobs in August than the previous month, a sign some may have pulled back on hiring plans in the face of wild stock market swings and renewed recession fears.

EU unveils plan to boost health of banks

BRUSSELS (AP) — Banks in Europe should temporarily raise their capital reserves to better withstand market turmoil over the continent's debt, the president of the European Commission said Wednesday as he presented a broad new crisis plan.

Bigger corn surplus could slow food inflation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Food prices could rise more slowly next year because farmers have a bigger surplus of corn on hand than previously thought.

Chrysler, United Auto Workers agree on contract

DETROIT (AP) — The last of Detroit's carmakers has reached a deal with the United Auto Workers union.

Gov't pulls back on junk food marketing proposal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam can rest easy. Government officials fine-tuning guidelines for marketing food to children say they won't push the food industry to get rid of colorful cartoon characters on cereal boxes anytime soon.

Oil rises to above $86 on weaker dollar to euro

Oil prices inched up above $86 a barrel Wednesday, supported by a weaker dollar even as concerns persisted about the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the International Energy Agency slightly lowered its demand growth forecasts.

EU raises stakes in crisis with new plan

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union hopes to push its member states to take firmer action on the debt crisis when it presents Wednesday a broad new plan to fight market turmoil, from strengthening weak banks to lowering Greece's debt burden.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11
NASHVILLE AREA

County clerk's emails show wedding fee charged

NASHVILLE (AP) - After an investigation by WTVF-TV showed the Davidson County Clerk was taking $40 from couples to perform marriages, he defended himself by call the money a "gratuity."

Nissan pledges $2.5M for Habitat for Humanity

FRANKLIN, (AP) — Nissan Americas pledged $2.5 million to Habitat for Humanity to build greener and more sustainable homes across the U.S. and even in the automaker's backyard of Franklin.

STATEWIDE

New state workers' comp exemptions take effect

NASHVILLE (AP) - A new state law allows more people to become eligible for exemptions from workers' compensation.

State sales taxes post largest growth since 2006

NASHVILLE (AP) — An 8.3 percent growth rate in Tennessee's monthly sales tax collections marks the state's highest rate since January 2006.

State to sell estimated $584 million in bonds

NASHVILLE (AP) — The state of Tennessee plans to sell an estimated $584 million worth of bonds this week, the largest sale in the state's history.

NATIONAL BUSINESS

In high-tech tributes, Apple fans mourn Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was mourned around the world Thursday through the very devices he conceived: People held up pictures of candles on their iPads, reviewed his life on Macintosh computers and tapped out tributes on iPhones.

Retailers report solid gains for September

NEW YORK (AP) — September offered the latest sign that Americans will shop, but only when they think they're getting a deal.

FDIC backs ban on banks trading for own profit

WASHINGTON (AP) — Banks would be barred from trading for their own profit instead of their clients under a rule federal regulators proposed Tuesday.

Social media companies 'friend' politics

NEW YORK (AP) — Social media companies have "friended" the 2012 presidential contest at a level almost unimaginable just four years ago, hosting debates and sponsoring presidential town halls while remaining indispensable tools for candidates looking to connect with voters in the digital sphere.

OPEC cuts oil demand forecast on growth concerns

VIENNA (AP) — OPEC has cut its estimate for world oil demand this year and next.

Oil prices fall after OPEC trims demand forecast

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices hovered above $85 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, pausing after gains of 13 percent over the past week that were fueled by hopes Europe will contain its debt crisis and avoid a global recession.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Senate Republicans likely to kill Obama jobs bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's jobs bill, facing a critical test in the Senate, appears likely to die at the hands of Republicans opposed to stimulus spending and a tax surcharge on millionaires.

White House adviser says GOP lacks ideas on jobs

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior White House adviser says none of the Republicans who want President Barack Obama's job has offered any substantive proposals to lower unemployment.

FACT CHECK: Jobs plan makes many assumptions

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a startling statistic on the state of American schools: An estimated 280,000 teaching and other education jobs could be lost in the coming year, according to the White House.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10
STATEWIDE

Connecticut's Amazon stance tougher than Tennessee's

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut officials are not giving up on requiring Internet sellers to collect state sales taxes, despite signs from online retailer Amazon.com that it has no immediate plans to abide by the state's new Internet tax law.

AARP to help raise awareness about voter ID law

NASHVILLE (AP) — AARP Tennessee is collaborating with the state's coordinator of elections to help people meet the requirements of a new law requiring photo identification to vote.

NATIONAL BUSINESS

Survey: US gas prices dip 13 cents in past 2 weeks

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — A survey says the average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has dropped 13 cents over the past two weeks.

Oil prices fall after OPEC trims demand forecast

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices drifted lower Tuesday after OPEC cut its estimate for world oil demand for this year and said it expects no growth in demand for 2012.

Americans Sargent, Sims win Nobel economics prize

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Americans Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims won the Nobel economics prize on Monday for research that sheds light on the cause-and-effect relationship between the economy and policy instruments such as interest rates and government spending.

Huffington Post to launch French portal

The Huffington Post is launching a website in France, the latest move by the news and opinion portal to expand to markets outside the U.S.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Deficit 'supercommittee' struggles as clock ticks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The supercommittee is struggling.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7
STATEWIDE

Amazon to collect tax, add 2,000 jobs; retailers unhappy

NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam and Amazon.com announced Thursday that the online retailer has agreed to begin collecting Tennessee sales taxes in 2014, build two more distribution centers and generate 2,000 full-time jobs.

NASHVILLE AREA

Nissan to build factory in Brazil

DETROIT (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. plans to spend $1.5 billion to build a new factory in Brazil and develop new vehicles as part of its plan to become the leading Asian auto brand in the country.

Local protesters join national Wall Street rallies

NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam and Amazon.com announced Thursday that the online retailer has agreed to begin collecting Tennessee sales taxes in 2014, build two more distribution centers and generate 2,000 full-time jobs.

NATIONAL BUSINESS

Stocks turn down on mixed jobs, Europe downgrades

A three-day rally in the stock market faded after a mixed jobs report and cuts to the credit ratings of Italy and Spain.

Consumer borrowing dropped $9.5 billion in August

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers slashed their borrowing in August by the most in 16 months. The drop suggests many worried about taking on new debt while the economy slumped and the stock market fluctuated wildly.

Economy added 103,000 jobs in September

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States added 103,000 jobs in September, an improvement over this summer and just enough to calm fears of a new recession that have hung over Wall Street and the nation for weeks.

Wholesale stockpiles grew 0.4 percent in August

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale businesses increased their stockpiles of autos, computer equipment and heavy machinery in August, boosting inventories for a 20th straight month as their sales rose at the fastest pace in five months.

30-year mortgage below 4 pct. for first time ever

WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage this week fell below 4 percent for the first time ever, to 3.94 percent.

Oil prices above $83 on jobs increase

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are rising after a burst of hiring in the U.S. calmed fears of a new recession.

Retail trade group sees modest holiday sales gain

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, expects winter holiday sales to rise 2.8 percent to $465.6 billion this year.

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