VOL. 36 | NO. 21 | Friday, May 25, 2012
Authors, especially first-timers, are finding self-publishing to be an easier path to success
When Mark Trogdon lost more than 100 pounds in just 220 days, his doctor encouraged him to write a book about it his experience.
Chances are the last time you ordered a book from Amazon, it wasn’t sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting for the click of your mouse to find a home. More than likely the printing process didn’t even start until after you made the purchase.
Vanderbilt University Press releases academic titles in the humanities and social sciences, including health care and education.
Looking back over his years in the Tennessee Legislature and on the eve of his retirement from that body, House Representative Mike McDonald, Democrat from District 44, says, “My focus has always been on trying to pass legislation that would benefit Sumner County or the people that I represent there. I’ve passed five bills this year and all of them came from constituents.
REALTY CHECK
Last week thousands of Realtors descended on Washington in order to attend a legislative rally and meet with their congressional representatives in order to discuss issues that challenge the real estate industry.
REAL ESTATE
Top commercial sales for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
NEWSMAKERS
Nelson Eddy, partner and creative director at DVL Public Relations & Advertising, has been named Silver Medalist for 2012 by the Nashville chapter of the American Advertising Federation.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Business owners and marketers around the globe are clamoring to assess the viability of Facebook advertising. After all, Facebook has amassed over 900 million active users in eight short years, making it easy to see what all of the fuss is about.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
Flashback-ish Welcome back to 2011. Global growth jitters have returned, the U.S. has re-engaged in fiscal brinkmanship and the fate of the euro is back in question. Will 2012 be any different than 2011? Perhaps. This time Greece is not fighting to remain in the euro, it’s fighting to withdraw.
SMART STUFF 4 WORK
One of the most significant problems I hear about in my consulting practice is: “I never have enough time to get everything done.”
I SWEAR
In 1975-76, I had Ken Gould for torts. Two years later, I had him for practice skills. In the latter, he surprised us one day with a written exercise: “Take out a sheet of paper and write out, informally, what you think would be your ideal legal career. Take 15 minutes.”
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Our family has been celebrating graduations for the past few weeks: Kindergarten graduations, high school graduations and, this past Saturday evening, a college graduation.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Grand Ole Opry owner Gaylord Entertainment has agreed to sell its hotel brand and the rights to manage its four hotels to Marriott for $210 million in cash.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A group called the Fan Freedom Project has asked for a state investigation into possible ticket scalping in Nashville.
MIDSTATE
LEBANON (AP) - Casual dining chain Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. said Thursday that it has named two new board members, expanding the size of the board to 13. At the same time, it said two board members plan to retire when their terms expire.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Construction is continuing on a new mosque outside of Murfreesboro as attorneys debate the import of a judge's ruling that voided approval of the site plan.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is looking slightly weaker one day before a critical report on May job growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates on 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages dropped to record lows again this week, with the 15-year loan dipping below 3 percent for the first time ever. Low rates have helped brighten the outlook for home sales this year.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell Thursday morning, promising another nerve-wracking day for investors who just endured one of the worst losses of the year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the first three months of the year, slower than first estimated.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to a five-week high, evidence that the job market remains sluggish.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is falling again on reports that the U.S. economy isn't growing as expected.
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans loosened their purse strings in May to update their wardrobes with bright new styles and take advantage of Mother's Day promotions.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homes in some stage of the foreclosure process saw their share of overall U.S. home sales grow in the first quarter even as sales of bank-owned homes fell.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Target Corp. says a key sales figure rose 4.4 percent in May as shoppers spent more on food and spring clothing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-six bus operations that transported more than 1,800 passengers a day along Interstate 95 between New York and Florida have been closed for safety violations in what federal officials say is the government's largest single safety crackdown of the motor coach industry in at least a decade.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state can go after the family houses and property of people who died owing money for end-of-life care even if that property has been left to family members in a will.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Supreme Court has overturned a ruling that said an insurance company must pay $2.7 million in damages for a bar fight in Hendersonville that left one man dead and injured another.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A gauge of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes fell in April from nearly a two-year high in the previous month.
Fearing a financial rupture in Europe, investors around the world fled from risk Wednesday. They punished stocks and the euro, and the yield on a benchmark U.S. bond hit its lowest point since World War II.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is headed for its biggest monthly decline since December 2008.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's executive office on Wednesday said the 17-country eurozone needs a "banking union" that can centrally oversee and — if needed — bail out the sector, which has become a weak link in the continent's financial system.
BEIJING (AP) — China's Cabinet said Wednesday it has approved plans to promote development of seven emerging industries including clean energy as it tries to restructure the economy and boost growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It took Mario Parker-Milligan less than a semester to decide that he was paying too many fees to Higher One, the company hired by his college to pay out students' financial aid on debit cards.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed legislation that renews the charter of the Export-Import Bank for three years and increases the bank?s lending cap to $140 billion from the current $100 billion. The bank is the government?s vehicle for promoting U.S. export sales.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It seemed like a good idea at the time.
TUESDAY, MAY 29
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Construction of a Tennessee mosque that has been strongly opposed by critics of Islam likely will be stopped after a judge ruled Tuesday that local officials didn't give the public adequate notice before the meeting where it was approved.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
You could hear the mountains of North Carolina in Doc Watson's music. The rush of a mountain stream, the steady creak of a mule in leather harness plowing rows in topsoil and the echoes of ancient sounds made by a vanishing people were an intrinsic part of the folk musician's powerful, homespun sound.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Country music singer Randy Travis is accusing his ex-wife of divulging confidential information about him in order to damage his reputation and career.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A new, free exhibit at the Tennessee State Library & Archives in Nashville includes photographs taken by James L. Bailey, who became known as "Mr. Conservation."
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Dollywood has a new roller coaster. Elvis has a different side to see. And you can prepare to take a nip at the Jack Daniel distillery.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is desperately looking for good news.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Home prices rose in March from February in most major U.S. cities for the first time in seven months. The increase is the latest evidence of a slow recovery taking shape in the housing market.
NEW YORK (AP) — Here we go again.
NEW YORK (AP) — Investor jitters about Europe lead to an abrupt reversal in the price of oil on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook's stock has fallen below $30 for the first time since its much-awaited public debut this month.
NEW YORK (AP) — Sprint Nextel Corp. on Tuesday said it will shut down the Nextel network as early as June 30 next year, cutting off service for its characteristic walkie-talkie-like Nextel phones.
FRIDAY, MAY 25
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Two giants in the wrestling world are getting ready to rumble - in a courtroom.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Ten Belmont University music industry students will get hands-on experience in June when they leave Nashville and go on the road for behind-the-scenes work with the "Happy Together Tour."
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A measure to set up a state fair commission has been signed by Gov. Bill Haslam.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a proposal that allows parents to grade themselves on how involved they are in their children's schooling.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A measure to require drug testing as a condition for receiving welfare has been signed by Gov. Bill Haslam.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a measure that allows college professors to teach high school courses.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a proposal to help Tennesseans get off unemployment and find a job.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A measure that requires roll-your-own cigarette retailers to pay a licensing fee and tax and adhere to certain restrictions has been signed by Gov. Bill Haslam.
MIDSTATE
MURFREESBORO (AP) - A Murfreesboro restaurant that's been a landmark on the city's public square for more than a century was abruptly closed by the Tennessee Department of Revenue for uncollected taxes.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Profits at big U.S. companies broke records last year, and so did pay for CEOs.
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple says CEO Tim Cook is giving up $75 million in dividends on restricted stock.
NEW YORK (AP) — Another flare-up in Europe's debt crisis knocked U.S. markets lower Friday. This time, it was more trouble at a major Spanish bank.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil held near the lowest levels of the year on a quiet Friday ahead of the holiday weekend.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. bank earnings rose in the first three months of the year to the highest level in nearly five years and the number of troubled banks fell for the fourth straight quarter.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — European leaders insist they want to keep Greece in the eurozone, but are putting off any agreement on how they hope to accomplish that. Greece says it, too, wants to stay in the eurozone, but until after elections it's uncertain whether it can implement the austerity that Europe has set as a condition for doing so.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits changed little last week, signaling modest job growth.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is sidestepping an election-year confrontation with the hotel industry and other pool owners to give them more time to comply with access rules for the disabled.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Food stamp recipients are ripping off the government for millions of dollars by illegally selling their benefit cards for cash — sometimes even in the open, on eBay or Craigslist — and then asking the government for replacement cards.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that three families cannot sue a mortgage company for allegedly charging them a loan discount fee without giving them a lower interest rate.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department's internal ethics watchdog said Thursday that two prosecutors in the bungled corruption case against then-Sen. Ted Stevens engaged in reckless professional misconduct by failing to disclose information favorable to the lawmaker, who eight days after his 2008 conviction lost re-election to the seat he held for 40 years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel has approved a $631 billion defense budget for next year, the same amount that President Barack Obama proposed for the military.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge says auto dealers who use consumers' bad credit histories to charge them more interest on car loans must tell buyers they have negative information on their credit report, even if the loan is farmed out to a bank or finance company.