VOL. 40 | NO. 6 | Friday, February 5, 2016
Can’t-miss favorites for Valentine’s Day
Romance can be found all around, in quiet, 50-seat rooms and bustling of-the-moment hot spots. It’s all about the food, the ambiance, the service and, most importantly, your companion for the evening.
With Valentine’s Day on a Sunday this year, romance will enjoy a three-day weekend celebration of love, shared experience and excellent food.
If you’ve ever seen someone at a local meat and three restaurant order sweet tea and still add sugar, then Nashville’s sweet tooth is no surprise.
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
It’s little wonder state Rep. Jeremy Durham had to take a two-week break from the General Assembly. He was probably feeling faint from the evolution of his own devolution as a leader in the House Republican Caucus.
LEGISLATIVE PROFILE
Lee Harris says he ran for state Senate because he felt Memphis could do better on Capitol Hill, defeating Ophelia Ford in 2014.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
Each year those in leadership roles of the various Realtor associations are required to take a class on the Realtor Code of Ethics. By taking this class, the association is protected somehow should the leader ever do anything inappropriate.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell for the fifth straight week amid volatility in world financial markets.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
It’s the question that won’t go away – will the Tennessee Titans be sold. On the day the Titans formally introduced Jon Robinson as general manager and Mike Mularkey as head coach, team president Steve Underwood admitted that the NFL is not happy with the team’s ownership structure, which is split evenly among Bud Adams’ heirs.
NEWSMAKERS
LocalShares Inc., a community-focused investment firm, has attracted veteran leadership to head new divisions of the company.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The Lexus IS got its first turbocharged engine in 2016, making the luxury brand’s smallest and least expensive sedan more powerful and fuel efficient.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
History has already been made at this year’s Super Bowl of advertising, thanks to a record price tag of $5 million for a 30-second spot.
CAREER CORNER
Reviews have become a standard way to communicate our satisfaction or displeasure with one another.
I SWEAR
Nine or 10 years ago, in a court I know well, something along the following lines was said between a judge and a somewhat aggrieved defendant in traffic court:
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
February is a month of fun. Other than being the “sweetest” month of the year, Super Bowl month, and sporting the famed groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, February holds many other surprises.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The leaders of the state House and Senate are moving to end a total gun ban at the legislative office complex.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The House sponsor of a proposal to create a school voucher program in Tennessee says he doesn't have the votes to pass the measure aimed at covering private school tuition for children attending some the state's worst public schools.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week for the sixth straight week as markets around the globe continued the whipsaw trading that has marked this year so far.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Major U.S. stock indexes veered sharply lower in morning trading Thursday as concerns about global economic weakness intensified. The latest slide followed steep market declines all around the world. Financial stocks were among the biggest decliners as investors worried that interest rates in the U.S. and elsewhere would remain low.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week in a sign of a stable job market despite the slowing global economy hitting stocks and commodities.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Morgan Stanley will pay $3.2 billion in a settlement over bank practices that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, including misrepresentations about the value of mortgage-backed securities, authorities announced Thursday.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A bid to freeze tuition at public colleges and universities and colleges in Tennessee is advancing in the state Senate.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The historic Jack Daniel's Distillery is planning a $140 million expansion project to help meet global demand for prized Tennessee Whiskey.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A student-testing company's president defended his firm Tuesday after Tennessee's education commissioner said she no longer had confidence in its ability to administer a new academic assessment test online.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Voters are going to the polls Wednesday in the first day of early voting to make their choices in Tennessee's March 1 presidential primary.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Computers that control cars of the future can be considered drivers just like humans, the federal government's highway safety agency has found.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen and Audi say they are recalling 850,000 vehicles with suspect air bag inflators in the United States.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Nissan reported Wednesday a 25 percent increase in fiscal third-quarter profit to 127.2 billion yen ($1.1 billion) on strong sales.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
The Federal Reserve's latest signals on interest rates gave U.S. stocks a lift for much of Wednesday, but the rally didn't last.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen cautioned Wednesday that global weakness and falling financial markets could depress the U.S. economy's growth and slow the pace of Fed interest rate hikes.
NEW YORK (AP) — Staples has received European approval for its buyout of Office Depot and in exchange, it said Wednesday that it would split off some operations in Europe to allay monopoly fears.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The administration of President Barack Obama is vowing to press ahead with efforts to curtail greenhouse gas emissions after a divided Supreme Court put his signature plan to address climate change on hold until after legal challenges are resolved.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Health Department officials say they have a confirmed case of the Zika virus in Tennessee, the first recorded case in the state.
NASHVILLE (AP) - State education officials say they take responsibility for a series of computer glitches caused by a vendor that forced students to stop using a new online assessment test known as TNReady.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The former president of the truck stop chain owned by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to participating in a conspiracy to defraud customers.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Radnor Lake State Park in Nashville has been named Tennessee's top state park.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight states saw a significant drop last year in the number of residents going without health insurance, according to a government report out Tuesday that has implications for the presidential campaign.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. stocks extended their three-day losing streak Tuesday, closing slightly lower after spending most of the day wavering between gains and losses.
For the first time since 2004, U.S. drivers are expected to pay an average of less than $2 a gallon for gasoline, the government said Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies advertised more available jobs in December and more Americans quit, trends that could lift wages in the coming months.
PARIS (AP) — The International Energy Agency says oil supply is set to outpace demand this year, keeping a lid on any expected price increases.
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Following a "challenging" holiday season, Sears will accelerate the closure of some of its stores.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is unveiling his eighth and final budget, a $4 trillion-plus proposal that's freighted with liberal policy initiatives and new and familiar tax hikes — all sent to a dismissive Republican-controlled Congress that simply wants to move on from his presidency.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee education officials say they no longer have faith that a brand new education assessment test known as TNReady can be administered online after a series of computer glitches, including one Monday that forced school officials across the state to halt testing on the first day of its rollout.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A special House committee has voted to designate Tennessee's attorney general to investigate sexual harassment allegations against Republican state Rep. Jeremy Durham.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Proponents of a creating a limited school voucher program in Tennessee first feared that snow flurries would keep enough supporters from arriving for a House floor vote Monday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee law requiring drug screening and testing of people applying for a cash assistance program has yielded few positives for illicit drugs.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen says its quality control chief is leaving the company.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Major U.S. stock indexes moved lower in afternoon trading Tuesday, on course for their third drop in a row. Energy stocks led the decline as a slide in oil prices accelerated. Investors were weighing the latest batch of company earnings news and looking ahead to the beginning on Wednesday of two days of testimony before Congress by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. European markets fell following steep losses in Japan.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers during Super Bowl 50 — and there were clear winners and losers off the field, too.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is taking new steps to protect students amid increased scrutiny of for-profits colleges and other schools.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is asking Congress for more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding to help fight the Zika virus. In an announcement Monday, the White House said the money would be used to expand mosquito control programs, speed development of a vaccine, develop diagnostic tests and improve support for low-income pregnant women.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5
NASHVILLE AREA
Presidential preference and county primary early voting for Davidson County starts Wednesday and continues through Feb. 23. Election Day is March 1.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee State University is one of five schools nationwide to win the Andrew Heiskell Award for innovation in international education.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A colony of bees on the roof of Nashville's new convention center didn't survive the winter.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Supreme Court says a lawyer who was embroiled in a sex-scandal with a drug-addicted client deserves more punishment than a board's recommended 30-day suspension of his law license. The state's highest court on Thursday said Knoxville attorney Robert Vogel should have his law license suspended for a year.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Clean Water Network found the state issued 93 percent fewer enforcement orders against water polluters in 2015 than it did in 2007, the first year the nonprofit began tracking those orders.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday joined four other states in calling for a national convention on amending the U.S. Constitution to bring about limits to federal power - what one supporter touted as the "atomic bomb of politics."
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple for the first time is accepting banged up iPhones as a trade-in from those wanting to upgrade.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Bridgestone-Firestone North America is recalling more than 36,000 heavy truck tires in the U.S. and Canada because the tread can separate from the body and cause the tires to fail.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen says it is postponing release of its full-year earnings as well as its annual shareholder meeting due to open questions about its diesel emissions scandal.
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's quarterly profit rose nearly 5 percent as the weaker yen and cost reductions offset declining sales in some markets. The automaker raised its full-year earnings forecast.
DETROIT (AP) — Another problem has developed with automotive air bags, and this one will bring recalls of up to 5 million vehicles worldwide.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks closed sharply lower after a weak jobs report cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in January, a slowdown from recent months but still a sign of a solid job market. Employers raised pay, more people felt confident enough to look for work and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.9 percent, its lowest level since 2008.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit rose in December as American exports fell for a third straight month, reflecting the pressures of a stronger dollar and spreading global weakness. Those factors contributed to the first annual drop in U.S. export sales since the Great Recession shrank global trade six years ago.
CHICAGO (AP) — Tribune Publishing is getting a $44.4 million cash boost from an investor in Chicago who will become the nonexecutive chairman of the company that owns the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Infuriating members of Congress, a smirking Martin Shkreli took the Fifth at a Capitol Hill hearing Thursday when asked about his jacking up of drug prices, then promptly went on Twitter and insulted his questioners as "imbeciles."