VOL. 40 | NO. 29 | Friday, July 15, 2016
State, local inspectors struggle to implement new standards
It’s not easy being a food inspector in Tennessee, dealing with an updated statewide food code to protect the public from foodborne illnesses and educating restaurateurs, many with their own ideas about their cuisine, on following the rules.
In 2013, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the Tennessee Retail Food Safety Act, the first significant change in how the state regulates and inspects retail food establishments including grocery stores and restaurants in nearly 30 years. Food operators were given two years to implement the code.
Nashville has created a workable, legal and safe system for food trucks, so successful, in fact, that Knoxville has followed the Music City model.
If food recalls seem to have you cross-checking your pantry or freezer more often, it’s likely you are.
TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL
Breedens have harvested many happy memories
MT. JULIET – Bouncing the decade-old John Deere Gator through the golden-delicious orchard – the pastoral locale for so many autumn memories with my kids (when they were kids) – driver and orchard-master Tommy Breeden jostles us around trees, over uneven ground and beneath low-hanging fruit.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
After the disastrous 2012 football season, the University of Tennessee set aside $7.97 million for severance payments to Vols coach Derek Dooley and his staff.
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
A rift within the Tennessee Republican party, whether a tempest in a teapot or the early signs of implosion, isn’t likely to hit the big tent party hard at the polls this fall.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
June home sales increased by 1.7 percent, according to the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.
REAL ESTATE
June 2016 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
Second quarter 2016 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates moved little this week, remaining near historically low levels in the wake of financial disarray in Europe.
NEWSMAKERS
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC has hired two attorneys for its Nashville office.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Cadillac has added new communications and safety equipment to the outsized Escalade for 2016, making it the first version to integrate Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, allowing drivers easy access to their cellphone contacts, music and apps.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Mom always loved you best. I can beat you at that. You got more than me, more from Santa and a bigger birthday cake.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
If you thought we had turned a corner from the days of “Take This Job and Shove It,” think again.
CAREER CORNER
We’ve all been there. Your boss doesn’t appreciate you. Your coworkers are rude. You’re underpaid and getting no respect.
I SWEAR
On a Saturday in February, 1962, Owen gets ticked when he sees that Gravesend Academy school psychiatrist, Dr. Dolder, has again left his VW Beetle in the circular driveway by the Main Academy Building.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials say 29 cities and counties will receive more than $999,000 in grants to help communities improve their tourism infrastructure.
HEALTH CARE
Federal regulators are suing to stop two major health insurance mergers because they say the deals will increase health care costs for Americans and lower the quality of care they get.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans bought more homes in June, the fourth straight monthly gain as the sales rate reached its highest level in more than nine years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged higher this week, remaining near historically low levels as a continued enticement to prospective homebuyers.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors' second-quarter profit more than doubled to a record $2.87 billion, even as the company cut sales to rental car companies and saw its sales fall in the U.S., its most lucrative market.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined slightly last week, falling to the lowest point in 13 weeks.
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest says it has fixed computer problems that caused hundreds of flights to be canceled, but it is telling passengers to get to the airport early because there could be long lines.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes were listless in midday trading Thursday after the European Central Bank held interest rates at record lows and a series of U.S. companies reported mixed earnings.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged at record lows on Thursday as it assesses the impact on the economy of Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - House Democrats are calling for a special session to expel a Republican lawmaker accused of sexually harassing at least 22 women before he can qualify for a lifetime pension.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials say White County has been added to the list of counties under quarantine for the emerald ash borer, an invasive pest targeting ash trees.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A survey of Tennessee residents and businesses has found that about 13 percent do not have access to broadband internet service.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — A record terrorism-related forfeiture order benefiting families of some Sept. 11 victims and others has been reversed on appeal.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen shares soared Wednesday after the German car giant revealed that its first-half earnings before charges related to its diesel-emissions scandal were "significantly higher" than market forecasts.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks took another modest step further into record territory Wednesday after several companies reported profits that were stronger than expected, if not strong. Technology stocks led the way following an encouraging report from Microsoft.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Consumer products giant Unilever says it has agreed to buy the fast-growing California-based men's grooming business Dollar Shave Club for an undisclosed sum.
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's is testing a mobile tool using artificial intelligence that lets shoppers get answers customized to the store they're in — like where a particular brand is located or what's in stock — that they would normally ask a sales associate face-to-face.
CHICAGO (AP) — Raising kids costs a lot of money, so when they finally strike out on their own it stands to reason that parents would have more money to spend, save or invest. How they spend that money can have large consequences for their retirement security.
NATIONAL POLITICS
NEW YORK (AP) — The Republican Party has taken a page straight out of the campaign books of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
TUESDAY, JULY 19
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Education Lottery contributed $394 million to education programs for the fiscal year ending June 30, a record high contribution that is $46 million more than last year's record.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Officials say Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd will lead the state's delegation at an economic development meeting in Japan.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee state Sen. Bill Ketron has invited controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders to the Republican National Convention.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction of new homes posted a solid increase in June, led by a surge of building in the Northeast and the West.
AUTO INDUSTRY
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state, Massachusetts and Maryland are suing Volkswagen and its affiliates Audi and Porsche over diesel emissions cheating, alleging that the German automakers defrauded customers and violated state environmental laws by selling diesel vehicles equipped with software allowing them to cheat emissions testing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Experts say the development of self-driving cars over the coming decade depends on an unreliable assumption by many automakers: that the humans in them will be ready to step in and take control if the car's systems fail.
HEALTH CARE
UnitedHealth's second-quarter earnings jumped 11 percent to trump expectations even though the nation's largest health insurer took a bigger hit than expected from coverage linked to the Affordable Care Act.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ending mostly lower on Wall Street as a three-week rally loses momentum.
TOKYO (AP) — For Nintendo, "Pokemon Go" just keeps on giving. Shares in the Japanese game maker closed up 14 percent at 31,700 yen ($300) on the Tokyo Stock exchange Tuesday and have more than doubled in value since the wildly popular augmented-reality game was launched on July 6.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After years of spectacular success, Netflix is starting to hit some potholes. The high-flying internet video service added only 160,000 U.S. subscribers from April through June, its lowest gain in the period since splitting up its video-streaming and DVD-by-mail services five years ago.
MONDAY, JULY 18
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government says the nation's cars and trucks are well on their way to meeting fuel economy and emissions standards set for 2025, but cheaper gas prices could ultimately lower those targets by encouraging consumers to buy less-efficient vehicles.
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk says he's optimistic that a software update can improve the semi-autonomous Autopilot system in the company's cars.
REAL ESTATE
SEATTLE (AP) — Laura Jordan came home from work one day to find herself locked out. She had missed two mortgage payments, and the company servicing her loan had changed the locks without warning.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ticked higher Monday as investors looked past this weekend's failed coup attempt in Turkey and nudged the Standard & Poor's 500 index to another record.
NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America's earnings fell 20 percent in the second quarter as historically low interest rates make it less profitable to make loans.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Republicans gather to anoint their presidential ticket in Cleveland, uncompromising opposition to "Obamacare" is getting politically riskier.
FRIDAY, JULY 15
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Republican lawmaker Jeremy Durham, accused of sexually harassing at least 22 women, says nearly all of the allegations in an attorney general's office report are either false or taken out of context.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A state representative accused of sexually harassing at least 22 female interns, lobbyists, staff members and political workers does not represent the current culture of the Legislature, Tennessee Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey declared on Thursday.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A group of Democratic women is calling on Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell to oust Republican state Rep. Jeremy Durham after an investigation found he used his position to sexually harass at least 22 female interns, lobbyists, staff and political workers.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Education officials say changes in standardized testing in Tennessee are expected to reduce testing time for students and teachers by about 30 percent.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials say clothing retailer Gap Inc. plans to add 100 jobs at its Sumner County distribution center as part of a $3.1 million investment into the facility over the next five years.
NASHVILLE (AP) - As Black Lives Matter protests pop up in major Tennessee cities, police say they've made concerted efforts to avoid arrests and maintain peace.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Consumer Reports said Thursday that Tesla Motors is misleading car owners by calling its semi-autonomous driving system "Autopilot," potentially giving them too much trust in their car's ability to drive itself.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans spent more money at retailers and factories revved up production in June, offering encouraging signs of the U.S. economy's resilience in the face of global headwinds.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended more or less where they started on Friday as a five-day rally ran out of steam.
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal regulators closed an investigation of the multinational, nutritional supplements company Herbalife, which has for years been dogged by accusations that it was run as an elaborate pyramid scheme.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. retail sales posted a healthy increase in June, another sign that consumer spending picked up in the spring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices rose modestly in June as the costs of gasoline and rent kept climbing, while sales at American retailers registered a healthy gain.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett has delivered his annual donation of Berkshire Hathaway stock to five charities as part of his plan to gradually give away his fortune.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, remaining at the lowest point since mid-April.
NATIONAL POLITICS
DENVER (AP) — Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has picked his running mate — Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. A former congressman, Pence is in many ways what Trump is not: a strong social conservative with deep ties to the party's establishment. As such, there is a record of deep disagreements between the two names on the top of the GOP ticket this year.
NEW YORK (AP) — A political group in swing-state Ohio is using the game "Pokemon Go" for a purpose beyond catching cute Pikachu: registering voters.