VOL. 41 | NO. 16 | Friday, April 21, 2017
By any measuring stick, Randy Boyd is a renaissance man. The founder of Radio Systems Corp. served as commissioner of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for two years before he stepped down earlier this year.
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
State Rep. Raumesh Akbari grew so emotional she couldn’t speak. On the verge of tears, the Memphis Democrat started to talk about a high school from her Shelby County district with a large number of undocumented immigrant students.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
As the housing market flourishes in the Greater Nashville area, new construction is leading the way. And the success new construction is enjoying is the result of builders adapting to the demands of the market.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
In Jon Robinson and Mike Mularkey the Tennessee Titans trust – completely. They’ve earned that respect with moves made in free agency and the draft, as well as the culture shift they’ve helped instill in the locker room.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
The first time I heard the term “good locker room” in relation to an NFL team, I figured it had something to do with TVs, air conditioning and nearby shower accommodations.
DAVE LINK: UT SPORTS
Tennessee football coach Butch Jones knew he got a special player when he signed five-star offensive lineman Trey Smith of University School of Jackson.
NEWSMAKERS
The law firm of Baker Donelson has named Christy Tosh Crider chair of its Health Care Litigation Group.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Ford has raised the price of its affordable Escape for 2017, but it has given its lowest-priced SUV new styling touches, safety features and engine options that should keep it popular with consumers.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Collect them all. Those three words put a smile on every marketer’s face and fear in every parent’s heart. “Collect them all,” as you may remember, was kid-code for “bug your parents until they buy stuff,” making you the envy of everyone in third grade.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Nearly every growing company faces a phenomenon – at multiple points in its growth trajectory – at which the leadership team feels stuck, growth stalls or halts, and everything starts to feel complex.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Legislature on Wednesday passed a bill that revamps state charter school law by requiring the publicly funded but privately run schools to be evaluated based on their performance.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Senate could be voting on a bill on Thursday that would make it easier for people with low-level criminal convictions to get their records wiped clean.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd's campaign says it has raised $1.25 million for the Republican's gubernatorial bid.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week for the first time in five weeks. The benchmark 30-year rate pushed back above the key threshold of 4 percent.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Internet radio broadcaster Sirius XM said Thursday its profit rose 20 percent in the first three months of the year as it added more subscribers.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes ticked higher on Thursday, part of a mixed day for markets around the world.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but applications remained at a low level that suggests most workers enjoy job security.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's team boasted Wednesday that its tax-cut plan would lighten Americans' financial burdens, ignite economic growth and vastly simplify tax filing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's plan to overhaul the U.S. tax code leaves much of the heavy lifting to Congress, while ignoring years of hard work by the guy who will have to do a lot of that lifting: House Speaker Paul Ryan.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday told the leaders of Mexico and Canada that he will not immediately pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, just hours after administration officials said he was considering a draft executive order to do just that.
NEW YORK (AP) — Internet companies are readying for a showdown with a Republican-controlled government over a policy near and dear to their hearts: net neutrality.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump "has no intention" of releasing his tax returns to the public, says Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, asserting Americans have "plenty of information" about the president's financial matters.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26
STATE LEGISLATURE
Legislation by House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh seeking to create a $250 million education fund may have to fit through the eye of a needle to get into the governor’s $37 billion budget plan.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee bill to require seat belts in new school buses bought after July 2019 is in budget limbo while lawmakers examine the cost and whether the state will cover it.
Questions about student testing within a proposed pilot voucher bill affecting Shelby County Schools forced the bill’s sponsor to postpone it until next year.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Lawyers for several media organizations are raising concerns that that a proposed new court rule could bar both citizens and the press from getting court records.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Legislature has passed a measure that allows students to take American Sign Language and get credit for their foreign language requirements.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — More than two acres of state-owned properties in downtown Nashville are being auctioned off in June.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Nashville music executive and metro councilman is proposing cheaper parking rates for musicians who play their music in Lower Broadway honky-tonk bars and elsewhere downtown.
REGION
SPRING CITY (AP) — Tennessee Valley Authority security officers at nuclear power plants will soon be prohibited from carrying handguns.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the lifting of a federal hiring freeze, the Department of Veterans Affairs is leaving thousands of positions unfilled, citing the need for a leaner VA as it develops a longer-term plan to allow more veterans to seek medical care in the private sector.
Health insurers are pressing President Donald Trump and Congress to guarantee a crucial customer subsidy for the Affordable Care Act's shaky insurance exchanges, and one of the biggest carriers has thrown in its participation as bargaining chip.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
LONDON (AP) — Global stocks were subdued Thursday as investors assessed the scant details of President Donald Trump's U.S. tax overhaul. The Bank of Japan and European Central Bank kept their policies on hold as expected, though the euro took a modest hit when ECB President Mario Draghi said he wasn't confident that inflation across the 19-country eurozone was heading toward target.
NEW YORK (AP) — You'd think Twitter would be able to milk its status as President Donald Trump's megaphone. But the company still faces stagnant user growth, has never made a profit and even reported a quarterly revenue decline Wednesday, a first since going public.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump proposed dramatic cuts in the taxes paid by corporations big and small Wednesday in an overhaul his administration says will spur economic growth and bring jobs and prosperity to America's middle class. But his ambitious plan alarmed lawmakers who worry about ballooning federal deficits.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump "has no intention" of releasing his tax returns to the public, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Wednesday, asserting Americans have "plenty of information" about the president's financial matters.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is proposing "the biggest tax cut" ever, even as the government struggles with mounting debt, in an effort to fulfill his promises to stimulate job creation and middle class prosperity.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is proposing tax cuts for individuals and businesses even as Washington struggles with mounting debt and the populist president tries to make good on promises to bring jobs and prosperity to the middle class.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Not since John F. Kennedy appointed his brother Bobby to be attorney general and his brother-in-law as director of the Peace Corps has a president leaned so heavily on his family. Even Donald Trump's 5-year-old granddaughter Arabella has pitched in.
TUESDAY, APRIL 25
STATE LEGISLATURE
Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris calls the governor’s $125 million supplemental budget a “strong foundation” for completing work on the IMPROVE Act.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's proposed budget amendment includes $50 million for a new Tennessee State Library and Archives building.
Wrapping up wide-ranging legislation that dominated the opening year of the 110th General Assembly, the House concurred Monday with the Senate’s IMPROVE Act, inserting a $7 million measure to increase property tax breaks for veterans.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee attorney general's office says it would defend an amended abortion bill in court if it becomes law, despite previously calling the legislation's key restrictions "constitutionally suspect."
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee House has passed a bill that would allow two Nashville bars to serve alcohol for 23 hours a day.
The House overwhelmingly approved legislation Monday requiring records about officer-involved shooting deaths be open to the public.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — More musicians are using new technology, including 360-degree cameras, virtual reality musical experiences and vertical videos, to reach the smartphone generation of music fans who are discovering new music on their phones and tablets.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a former executive of a now-defunct Franklin-based bank has pleaded guilty to lying to federal regulators.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A former Boy Scout leader in Nashville has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing several boys.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of new homes shot up in March to the fastest pace in 8 months, as more Americans are upgrading their houses in a positive sign for the broader economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose steadily upward in February as more homebuyers chased fewer available properties, a trend that many analysts say may not be sustainable.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has sprinkled some new ingredients into its search engine in an effort to prevent bogus information and offensive suggestions from souring its results.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler and Google for the first time will offer rides to the public in the self-driving vehicles they are building under an expanding partnership.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Counting down to a budget deadline, the White House has toyed with a hardball health care tactic to force Democrats to yield on President Donald Trump's priorities.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Profits are climbing for companies, and so are their stock prices. More big businesses joined the earnings parade Tuesday, saying their profits were even larger in the first three months of the year than analysts were expecting, including Caterpillar and McDonald's.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence slipped in April but remains at high levels.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gannett Co. posted a first-quarter loss as its costs rose, but it still beat Wall Street expectations as acquisitions drove revenue higher.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans who slammed the growing national debt under Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday they are open to President Donald Trump's tax plan, even though it could add trillions of dollars to the deficit over the next decade.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new congressional estimate could upend President Donald Trump's tax plan even before he releases it.
It was the most stunning political victory of the 21st century, one that brought shocked concern in many parts of the world and cheers in others. One uncontroversial certainty was that it would cause reverberations around the globe.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sure enough, the big trans-Pacific trade deal is toast, climate change action is on the ropes and various regulations from the Obama era have been scrapped. It's also a safe bet President Donald Trump hasn't raced a bicycle since Jan. 20, keeping that vow.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has removed its promotional posting about President Donald Trump's Florida resort, after a storm of ethics criticism.
MONDAY, APRIL 24
STATE LEGISLATURE
State Rep. Antonio Parkinson is renewing his call for an end to the Achievement School District amid revelations a charter school operator hired a convicted felon to run Lester Prep in Memphis.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee House is poised to put the finishing touch on months of work on Gov. Bill Haslam's bill that increases the gas tax to fund roadwork and cuts other taxes.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Franklin businessman Bill Lee says he's jumping into the Tennessee governor's race.
COURTS
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Greek yogurt giant Chobani is suing right-wing radio host Alex Jones, accusing the conspiracy theorist of publishing false information about the company.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A free-market think tank is suing Nashville's government over a new policy to expand affordable housing.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville judge Casey Moreland will receive more than $4,500 monthly through a pension. He resigned in March after being charged in an ongoing FBI investigation.
AUTO INDUSTRY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal from General Motors Co. seeking to block dozens of lawsuits over faulty ignition switches that one plaintiffs' attorney said could expose the company to billions of dollars in additional claims.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Vive le rally. U.S. stocks joined a worldwide surge higher Monday after the first round of France's presidential election raised expectations that the European Union will hold together. A candidate seen as pro-business won the most votes Sunday, and many investors expect him to win a runoff against the remaining anti-EU candidate, which is set for May 7.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The head of Bethel Heights Vineyard looked out over the 100 acres of vines her crew of 20 Mexicans had just finished pruning, worried about what will happen if the Trump administration presses ahead with its crackdown on immigrants.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Partisan disputes over health care and President Donald Trump's border wall threw must-pass spending legislation into jeopardy Monday days ahead of a government shutdown deadline.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says that the administration's tax reform will generate so much economic growth that the budget deficit will be held in check.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of delay, the Senate is expected to confirm former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue as agriculture secretary with bipartisan support.
WASHINGTON (AP) — For nearly 100 days, President Donald Trump has rattled Washington and been chastened by its institutions.
A transcript of an Oval Office interview Friday with President Donald Trump by AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace. Where the audio recording of the interview is unclear, ellipses or a notation that the recording was unintelligible are used.
FRIDAY, APRIL 21
CAREER CORNER
Loyalty is an important quality. It’s what helps bind friendships and loved ones. It’s what holds teams together. But – dare I say it – there are limits to loyalty.
PREDATORS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Now that they've swept the Western Conference's top seed out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Nashville Predators want to continue making history by finally advancing beyond the second round.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee legislative leaders appear to agree on a bigger property tax break for disabled veterans, which should put the finishing touch on months of work on Gov. Bill Haslam's bill that increases the gas tax to fund roadwork and cuts other taxes.
Forty-one state lawmakers signed a letter requesting the state put a hold on its outsourcing plans until the General Assembly can scrutinize its effect on state workers and services.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A state attorney general opinion says legislation requiring use of the "natural and ordinary meaning" of undefined words in Tennessee code could, in some cases, conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling and state law about interpreting gender-specific words as inclusive.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee House has put off a vote on a bill that would allow two Nashville bars to serve alcohol for 23 hours a day.
MIDSTATE
COLUMBIA (AP) — After being missing for more than a month, a 15-year-old Tennessee girl was found near a cabin in a remote part of northern California and the 50-year-old teacher accused of kidnapping her was arrested, authorities said.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will meet on May 1 to consider six applicants to fill the seat of retiring Sullivan County Circuit Court Judge R. Jerry Beck.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eager for a victory, the White House expressed confidence Thursday that a breakthrough on the mired Republican health care bill could emerge in the House next week. The chamber's GOP leaders, burned by a March debacle on the measure, were dubious and signs were scant that an emerging plan was gaining enough votes to succeed.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans purchased homes in March at the fastest pace in over a decade, a strong start to the traditional spring buying season.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average U.S. mortgage rate fell below a key threshold of 4 percent this week, its lowest level in five months.
AUTO INDUSTRY
SHANGHAI (AP) — General Motors Co. plans to launch 10 electric and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles in China by 2020, an executive said Friday, as automakers speed up the rollout of alternative vehicles under pressure from Beijing to promote the industry.
DETROIT (AP) — A judge on Friday ordered Volkswagen to pay a $2.8 billion criminal penalty in the United States for cheating on diesel emissions tests, blessing a deal negotiated by the government for a "massive fraud" orchestrated by the German automaker.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors became the latest corporation to have a factory or other asset seized by the government of Venezuela, and the Detroit automaker faces an uphill battle to recover any damages.
MONACO (AP) — It may not be quite like the Jetsons, but for a few hundred thousand dollars you too can soon fly around in a car.
SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. (AP) — Sunita Halasz has tips for "driving electric" along lonely roads in New York's Adirondack Mountains: know the locations of charging stations, bring activities for the kids during three-hour recharges, turn on the energy-hogging window defroster in just 10-second bursts.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slumped Friday as financial and health care companies moved lower. Industrial companies rose as stocks continued the up-and-down pattern they've been stuck in for the last month.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wells Fargo agreed Friday to expand a recently settled class-action lawsuit by an additional $32 million as well as extend claims for fraudulent accounts that may have been opened going back to 2002.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Global finance leaders are defending globalization against an assault from President Donald Trump and European populists. They argue that blocking free trade would hobble economic growth instead of saving jobs from foreign competition.
Shares of Fox News' parent company, 21st Century Fox, are gaining ground following the firing of longtime and top-rated segment host Bill O'Reilly.
Whether it was fear, racism or economic concerns that led the U.S. in the 1930s to ban growing or even possessing marijuana, the nation's wall against pot lasted a generation. Now, it's showing signs of wear.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More people sought U.S. unemployment benefits last week, yet total applications remained at a historically low level that suggests workers are enjoying solid job security.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hoping to improve economic growth, the Trump administration embarked Friday on new efforts to study and possibly dismantle some of the tax and financial regulations established by former President Barack Obama.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Office of Management and Budget has begun taking routine steps in preparation for a potential government shutdown that the White House is hoping to avoid.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of a House investigations panel are asking the Trump Organization for specifics on how it will donate its profits from foreign government payments to the U.S. Treasury.