VOL. 40 | NO. 30 | Friday, July 22, 2016
Club marks 45 years of ups, downs, great music
Warner Hodges, among the world’s best rock guitarists and a guy who helped give Jason & The Scorchers their ear-searing cow-punk sound, gets excited when Exit/In and its glorious history gets introduced into a leisurely, summer afternoon conversation.
So, did you ever hear the story of Jimmy Buffett stepping through a small, open door, surprising the occupants, then successfully auditioning to play at a new club with a capacity of 90 people?
It all started with a couple of high school friends, a vision for a new kind of music venue in Nashville and about $8,000, give or take.
Exit/In made a movie-star turn in Robert Altman’s 1975 film classic “Nashville.”
Listening to the music of the artists selected for his Exit/In mural was one way semi-reformed graffiti artist Bryan Deese got in the mood for the stencils he cut for all of the people (and objects) that appear on his massive 45th Anniversary mural.
Lightning 100 and Indie Nash are sponsoring the Elliston Place Street Fest on Saturday, July 23, featuring live performances at Exit/In, The End and on a large outdoor stage.
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
The Tennessee attorney general’s sexual harassment investigation of Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham dragged halfway through the summer. Now we know why.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
The Tennessee Titans’ offensive playbook has been rewritten. The verbiage for calling plays has been edited. The line has been revamped with three new starters.
DAVE LINK: UT SPORTS
Tennessee’s football team had nine players earn All-SEC preseason honors and got the nod as favorite to win the East Division as SEC Media Days concluded last week in Hoover, Alabama.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
With the political conventions starting this week, expect to be told repeatedly how dire our situation is and how fantastic things are – often by the same politician. In Nashville, things are good.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential real estate sales, June 2016, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged higher this week, remaining near historically low levels as a continued enticement to prospective homebuyers.
NEWSMAKERS
Andre Churchwell, M.D., the Levi Watkins Jr. M.D. Chair, professor of Medicine, Biomedical Engineering and Radiology and Radiological Sciences, and senior associate dean for Diversity Affairs, has been named to serve in the newly created role of chief diversity officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Nissan has given the Sentra richer styling and several new features for 2016 while keeping the price of the fuel-efficient and popular compact sedan nearly the same.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Sales linguistic expert Steve W. Martin reveals in the Harvard Business Review the results of a fascinating study of the commonalities present in high-performance salespeople.
CAREER CORNER
Last week, I had the good fortune to attend a work conference in Chicago. But it wasn’t your average work conference.
I SWEAR
“Author’s obstacle.” Twelve letters. Hint: I prefer neither to say nor write the two-word answer.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Strange word, huh? It was for me, too. I’ve been cooking and reading recipes and articles on food preparation for a long time, but this is the first time I have run across spatchcock.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BERLIN (AP) — Volkswagen says second-quarter profits fell by more than half compared with the same period last year, before the company was hit by the emissions cheating scandal.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The proportion of U.S. households that own homes has matched its lowest level in 51 years — evidence that rising property prices, high rents and stagnant pay have made it hard for many to buy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged higher this week for a second straight week. They still are near historically low levels to encourage potential homebuyers.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans sought unemployment aid last week, but the number of applications was still at a low level that suggested hiring is healthy.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were edging slightly higher Thursday, as investors worked through another batch of mixed earnings' results, including results from Facebook, Ford and Whole Foods.
NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers could no longer receive multiple calls per day from debt collectors and would have more ability to dispute their bills under proposals released Thursday to overhaul the multibillion-dollar debt collection industry.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Earls of Leicester are nominated for eight awards individually and as a group, including entertainers of the year, at this year's International Bluegrass Music Awards.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee State Library & Archives says it has a new online collection about the women's suffrage movement.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — More than 124,000 Tennesseans already have taken advantage of early voting or absentee voting for the Aug. 4 state primary and county general election.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes crept up in June, a possible indication that the recent growth in real estate sales is still on track.
AUTO INDUSTRY
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A French parliamentarian is visiting Mississippi as part of an effort to pressure Nissan Motor Co. to allow workers at its Canton plant to organize a union.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. is reporting a 136.4 billion yen ($30.7 million) profit for the fiscal quarter through June, down nearly 11 percent from the same period a year ago, after a mileage testing scandal at its supplier hit its minicar sales in Japan.
SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — It's Tesla Motors' biggest bet yet: a massive, $5 billion factory in the Nevada desert that could nearly double the world's production of lithium-ion batteries.
MILAN (AP) — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles raised its revenue forecasts after reporting a 25 percent increase in second-quarter profits as SUV and truck sales offset the impact of slumping demand for passenger cars in North America.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that near-term risks to the U.S. economy have diminished, reviving the prospect that it will resume raising interest rates as soon as September.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended Wednesday's trading slightly lower as shares of energy companies and consumer goods makers outweighed gains in technology companies like Apple.
GENEVA (AP) — Global trade is not the main cause for the loss of manufacturing jobs in places like the United States and needs to be defended from its critics, the chief of the World Trade Organization said Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Comcast's second-quarter profit slipped because of fewer movie hits from its NBCUniversal film-and-TV arm, but it posted big gains in internet customers and its smallest video losses for a second quarter in at least a decade.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods fell in June by the largest amount in nearly two years, reflecting a big decline in the volatile category of commercial aircraft and broad weakness across a number of other areas. The key category that tracks business investment eked out a small gain.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced plans Wednesday for a fresh barrage of economic stimulus to help revive stalling growth.
TUESDAY, JULY 26
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has named Deputy Education Commissioner Stephen Smith as his new senior adviser for policy and strategy.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee inmates infected with hepatitis C have filed a federal lawsuit against state prison officials, seeking treatment for all inmates who have the potentially deadly disease.
AUTO INDUSTRY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A nearly $15 billion settlement over Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal cleared a key hurdle Tuesday, with a federal judge giving preliminary approval to the deal that includes an option for owners to have the carmaker buy back their vehicles.
Some key numbers related to Volkswagen's admission that it programmed diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The driver killed when his Tesla sedan crashed while in self-driving mode was traveling at 9 mph above the speed limit just before hitting the side of a tractor-trailer, federal accident investigators said Tuesday.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans bought new homes in June at the fastest pace in more than eight years, a sign that a solid job market and low mortgage rates are bolstering the U.S. housing market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices extended their steady upward march in May, spurred by rising sales and a dwindling supply of available houses.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers are feeling confident about current economic conditions but are a bit warier about the future.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks had a muddled session on Tuesday, as investors worked through a large batch of corporate earnings from a range of companies including Gilead Sciences, McDonald's and Texas Instruments.
NEW YORK (AP) — A trade group raised its forecast Tuesday for retail sales growth this year to 3.6 percent, with more help from online sales, as the economy improves.
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) on Tuesday reported second-quarter profit of $550 million.
LONDON (AP) — Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev has increased its cash offer for SABMiller to 45 pounds ($58.98) per share after pressure from investors who had seen the value of the bid drop as the pound declined following Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
MONDAY, JULY 25
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The first transgender person to be named to a Tennessee government board or commission has been named the official podium timekeeper at the Democratic National Convention.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Nashville police say narcotics detectives intercepted a crate of marijuana that was shipped from Phoenix for distribution to street dealers in the Tennessee city.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee State Museum is being given more than 300 artworks by Nashville native Red Grooms.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Britain's decision to quit the European Union has elevated the risks to U.S. financial stability, though they remain moderate, U.S. Treasury Department experts say.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell moderately on Monday as investors took a break after four weeks of gains that brought the market to record highs.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Seeking a wider digital audience, Verizon is buying Yahoo for $4.83 billion in a deal that marks the end of an era for a company that defined much of the early internet but struggled to stay relevant in an online world dominated by Google and Facebook.
NEW YORK (AP) — AMC Theatres is making its final bid for Carmike Cinemas Inc., offering to buy the movie theater operator in an approximately $1.2 billion deal including debt.
FRIDAY, JULY 22
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's Republican House speaker says she now supports convening a special session to expel a state lawmaker accused of sexually harassing at least 22 women.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - A Nashville Fire Department official is facing disciplinary action over Facebook posts he made in reference to the LGBT community.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee delegates to the Republican National Convention have mixed reactions to a Wednesday speech by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in which he stopped short of endorsing Donald Trump.
HEALTH CARE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has named Will Cromer as the new chief of staff for TennCare, the state's expanded Medicaid program.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The U.S. government is suing to stop two major health insurance mergers, a move regulators say is needed to protect Americans from potential cost hikes and lower quality care.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is joining a federal lawsuit to stop the merger of major health insurance companies.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Volkswagen's plan to fix most of its 2-liter diesel engines that cheat on emissions tests includes a computer software update and a larger catalytic converter to trap harmful nitrogen oxide, according to two dealers who were briefed by executives on the matter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says that commercial charging stations for electric vehicles will be eligible to receive loan guarantees from the federal government as the Obama administration works to increase the number of stations. There are 16,000 currently in place.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Tesla in Autopilot mode can drive itself but it's not a "self-driving" vehicle, at least as far as safety regulators are concerned.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is recalling nearly 308,000 older Chevrolet Impala sedans in the U.S. and Canada because the air bags might not inflate in a crash.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors' second-quarter profit more than doubled to a post-bankruptcy record $2.87 billion on a strong performance in the U.S., where the company saw sales fall after it cut low-profit sales to rental car companies. It raised its earnings guidance for the year.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing higher, giving the market its fourth straight weekly gain.
NEW YORK (AP) — A rough day on Wall Street for Warren Buffett means Amazon's Jeff Bezos is now the third richest person in the world.
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest passengers endured a third straight day of canceled and delayed flights as the airline struggled to resume normal operations on Friday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Ailes is out as chief executive at Fox News Channel, his career at the network he built from scratch and ran with an iron hand for nearly 20 years over with stunning swiftness following allegations that he forced out a former anchor after she spurned his sexual advances.
NATIONAL POLITICS
CLEVELAND (AP) — In the swirl of balloons and cheers of the masses, Donald Trump finally had his Rocky moment after a rocky convention, and now Democrats are eager to step up for their own spectacle. Hillary Clinton is set to snatch attention from Republicans by naming her running mate in advance of the Democratic convention, with Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine the leading contender.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite promising "the truth, and nothing else" in his convention speech, Donald Trump presented the nation with a series of previously debunked claims and some new ones Thursday night — about the U.S. tax burden, the perils facing police, Hillary Clinton's record and more.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's annual sales tax holiday is underway this weekend as parents prepare for children to return to school.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has opened his wallet for state legislative campaigns throughout the state.