VOL. 35 | NO. 47 | Friday, November 25, 2011
Soldiers are increasingly putting down roots in the Clarksville area, easing the economic strains once caused by extended deployments.
Medium skin fades are $11 at Bo’s Barber Shop on Fort Campbell Boulevard.
Fort Campbell’s impact on Clarksville goes far beyond the 30,000 or so active military personnel who are in the process of finishing their redeployment to the 105,000-acre military post at Clarksville’s edge.
A sudden influx of 30,000-plus into a community can be a great bonus. It also can cause problems.
Managing stormwater wasn’t a burning issue for most Nashvillians until the May 2010 flood shone a glaring spotlight on where the city is lacking, stormwater runoff and sewage overflow.
The report includes an “Emerald City” green infrastructure scale to assess how each is doing.
TERRY McCORMICK
When it comes to Jake Locker, Titans fans must feel like kids who are just a few days away from Christmas.
REALTY CHECK
When James Franklin arrived on the scene as the new football coach at Vanderbilt, he began spewing a positive “change the world” philosophy and promised to transform the perennially lackluster loser into a team that could compete in the nation’s most powerful football conference, the SEC.
NEWSMAKERS
Shirley Zeitlin, CEO and founder of Zeitlin & Company, Realtors, has won in the “Lifetime Achievement” category in the international Stevie Awards for Women in Business.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Your customer base is changing.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
I read an article this morning that stated getting rid of belly fat is as easy as eating whole grains. Diet drinks and artificial sweeteners add inches to the waist also. Well, today, I am adding something else to that list: the amount of food we eat.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Nashville judge ruled Thursday that private prison company Corrections Corporation of America must turn over more documents to a magazine that advocates for the rights of prisoners.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal magistrate has recommended dismissal of a former Sumner County Jail inmate's lawsuit over a ban on Islamic head coverings.
MURFREESBORO (AP) — A man who claims to have been abducted by alien beings will be among the speakers Saturday in Murfreesboro at an annual conference sponsored by the Tennessee chapter of the Mutual Unidentified Flying Objects Network.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state has issued about 6,600 photo IDs for voting purposes.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factories grew last month at the fastest pace since June, helped by a jump in new orders and production.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. builders spent more in October on new homes, offices and shopping centers, pushing construction spending up for a third straight month. Despite the gains, construction spending remained depressed.
DETROIT (AP) — People are finally replacing the cars and trucks they held onto during the economic slump, giving a boost to sales at Chrysler, GM and Nissan in November.
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers are reporting strong sales gains in November, boosted by a discount-fueled spending binge for the start of the holiday shopping season last weekend. Now, the challenge is to keep shoppers spending throughout the most important selling period of the year.
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales for the four-day holiday weekend, starting with Thanksgiving Day, rose 8.7 percent from a year earlier, a key data service said Thursday.
NEW YORK (AP) — In an unexpected twist, TVs are topping many Christmas shopping lists this year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hovered above its record low for a fifth straight week. Despite the great opportunity, few have the means or stomach to buy or refinance in the depressed housing market.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Kroger Co.'s fiscal third-quarter net income slipped 2 percent, but the performance beat analysts' expectations and the nation's largest grocery chain raised its full-year earnings forecast.
MOSCOW (AP) — A rally on global markets stalled Thursday as euphoria over major central banks' coordinated cut to borrowing costs wore off and investors sought confirmation that European leaders will next week deliver a long-term solution to the debt crisis.
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices edged higher to near $101 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid a surge in global stock markets after major central banks pledged to lower borrowing costs.
NATIONAL POLITICS
NEW YORK (AP) — For more than two months, they were open-air communes where people came to rebuild society and start a nationwide discussion on how to close the wide gap between the rich and the poor. But as Occupy Wall Street tent cities fade away, a growing number of protesters are pushing to put a clear message ahead of the movement.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican congressional leaders stressed a willingness Wednesday to extend a Social Security payroll tax cut due to expire Dec. 31, setting up a year-end clash with Democrats over how to pay for a provision at the heart of President Barack Obama's jobs program.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday moved ahead with plans to speed the pace of union elections, even as Republicans in Congress threatened to derail the process.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Country music superstar Tim McGraw won a court ruling Wednesday allowing him to keep recording while a lawsuit against him by Curb Records makes its way through the courts.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Fisk University's decade-long quest to generate cash from a 101-piece art collection donated by the late painter Georgia O'Keeffe is one step closer to fruition.
FRANKLIN (AP) - Civil War re-enactors will commemorate the 147th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin with a candle-lighting ceremony tonight.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service in Nashville has $2.1 million in tax refund checks it has been unable to deliver to Tennesseans.
NASHVILLE (AP) - More than $1 million remains for energy efficient appliance rebates in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE (AP) - About 100 public libraries across Tennessee will soon be sharing an online library catalog.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes jumped in October to the highest level in a year. But the gain follows three months of declines and isn't enough to signal a housing recovery.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. workers increased their productivity over the summer by the most in a year and a half but the gain was smaller than initially thought.
Airlines are no place for conservative investors, as the dramatic rise and fall of AMR Corp. shares in recent years illustrates.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Major central banks around the globe took coordinated action Wednesday to ease the strains on the world's financial system, saying they would make it easier for banks to get dollars if they need them. Stock markets and the euro rose sharply on the move.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil surged to $101 per barrel Wednesday, as the U.S. and other countries tried to make it easier for banks to lend money and keep the global economy growing.
A move by the world's central banks to lower the cost of borrowing exhilarated investors Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average soaring 490 points and easing fears of a global credit crisis similar to the one that followed the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers.
NATIONAL POLITICS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a massive show of force, 1,400 police officers, some in riot gear stormed the Occupy Los Angeles camp early Wednesday, driving protesters from the park and arresting more than 200 who defied orders to leave. Similar raids in Philadelphia led to 50 arrests, but the scene in both cities was relatively peaceful.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are maneuvering to short-circuit an effort by Democrats on the National Labor Relations Board to approve rules that would quicken the pace of union elections.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — States have cut funding for tobacco prevention programs 12 percent this year, to the lowest level since 1999, according to a new report that a coalition of public health groups released Wednesday.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state Department of General Services billed Occupy Nashville $1,045 to provide two troopers for security the night before they began arresting the protesters and clearing their encampment.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A committee of Tennessee legislators is considering cutting in half the amount of scholarship money for some college students.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — TennCare officials on Monday again proposed eliminating counseling services to hospice patients and their families if the state's expanded Medicaid has to reduce spending by 5 percent, though Gov. Bill Haslam stressed that it's his "firm hope" that the deepest cuts can be avoided.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — A jump in U.S. consumer confidence sent stocks modestly higher Tuesday. Investors were also encouraged by new efforts from European leaders to find more aggressive cures for the region's debt crisis.
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans' confidence in the economy in November bounced back to its highest level since July, the latest sign that consumers are beginning to feel more cheerful about spending during the holiday shopping season.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices are falling again in most major cities after posting small gains over the summer and spring, the latest evidence that the troubled housing market won't recover any time soon.
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook might finally be laying down the groundwork for a highly anticipated initial public offering, long expected to take place sometime after April 2012.
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook says it is settling with the Federal Trade Commission over charges it deceived consumers.
DALLAS (AP) — The parent company of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday, seeking relief from crushing debt caused by high fuel prices and expensive labor contracts that its competitors shed years ago.
NEW YORK (AP) — For the 240,000 passengers who fly American Airlines each day, the airline's bankruptcy filing should have little noticeable impact.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jewelry seller Tiffany & Co. said Tuesday its fiscal third quarter profit rose 63 percent on strong sales globally, particularly in Asia.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The knockoff designer bags look close enough to the real thing that few would notice at a casual glance. Same goes for the imitation replica football jerseys or popular boots. And the online prices seem too good to pass up.
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Europe must amend its treaties to create a fiscal union to counter its crippling debt crisis.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Robert Mueller on Monday raised significant concerns about requiring military custody for captured suspected terrorists, arguing that the divisive provision in a sweeping defense bill could harm ongoing terrorism investigations.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted to expand the Joint Chiefs of Staff to include the National Guard despite the opposition of the current chairman and service chiefs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The top GOP aide to a House committee investigating Solyndra Inc. once worked for a lobbying firm that helped the now-bankrupt solar company apply for a half-billion-dollar federal loan.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A U.S. Department of Labor report has questioned how well Tennessee is overseeing unemployment payments to an estimated 120,000 people as the state's jobless rate lingers at near historic high levels.
NASHVILLE (AP) — TennCare is scheduled to make the final budget presentation Monday in Gov. Bill Haslam's series of hearings on state spending.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — A strong start to the U.S. shopping season and new hope for a far-reaching solution to Europe's debt crisis sent stocks sharply higher.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans bought slightly more new homes in October, a hopeful sign for the troubled housing market. But the median sales price fell to its lowest level of the year, and the overall sales pace is trailing last year's — the worst in half a century.
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Monday struck down a $285 million settlement that Citigroup reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission, citing a need for clarity about the financial markets and the SEC's responsibility to ensure the truth emerges.
More Americans hunted for bargains over the weekend than ever before as retailers lured them online and into stores with big discounts and an earlier-than-usual start to the holiday shopping season.
LONDON (AP) — Global stocks advanced Monday as further proposals to get a grip on Europe's debt crisis were touted amid signs that the U.S. Christmas shopping season has started off strongly.
BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices rose above $99 a barrel Monday in Asia, taking a cue from gains in stock markets after a strong start to the U.S. holiday shopping season.
DURBAN, South Africa (AP) — Global warming already is causing suffering and conflict in Africa, from drought in Sudan and Somalia to flooding in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma said Monday, urging delegates at an international climate conference to look beyond national interests for solutions.
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's president unveiled a futuristic concept car resembling a giant smartphone to demonstrate how Japan's top automaker is trying to take the lead in technology at the upcoming Tokyo auto show.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts does not intend to seek re-election in 2012, his office said Monday, closing out a career of more than three decades in Congress capped by last year's passage of legislation imposing new regulations on Wall Street.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's become a symbol of sorts for the federal government's budget dysfunction: Unless Congress acts before Jan. 1, doctors will again face steep Medicare cuts that threaten to undermine health care for millions of seniors and disabled people.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The union representing workers at Vanderbilt University says the base pay for workers is now above the poverty line.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
Deutsche Telekom and AT&T vowed Thursday to press ahead with the planned sale of the German company's T-Mobile USA unit to the U.S. cell phone operator despite concerns raised by American authorities.
LONDON (AP) — Europe's major stock markets resumed their long losing streak Thursday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed calls for the European Central Bank to play a bigger role in resolving the debt crisis that's threatening the 17-country eurozone.
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya's oil production is quickly increasing and now stands at more than 600,000 barrels a day, a prominent Libyan oil expert said Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Wednesday expanded its lawsuit against the government in a long-running battle that has stopped Mexican trucks from coming deep into the United States.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Moody's Investors Services warned on Wednesday that it could downgrade the U.S. government's top credit rating, if Congress backs off $1.2 trillion in automatic deficit cuts scheduled over the next decade.