VOL. 36 | NO. 27 | Friday, July 6, 2012
Refurbished theaters help bring visitors to city centers
CLARKSVILLE – Two men’s shared dream turned the Roxy Theatre – a derelict and rat-infested reprobate of a movie theater – into a beacon of hope that has not only drawn shoppers and businesses to downtown Clarksville, it may well hold the key to the city’s mercantile future.
While the Roxy has been fighting almost 30 years to contribute life to downtown Clarksville, the city of Franklin spent 30 years revitalizing downtown before turning to the old theater for help.
HENDERSONVILLE – Mariana Buda always knew there was something different about her youngest child Saul, now 12. Unlike his three older siblings, he had problems learning shapes and colors as a baby and, despite flashes of intelligence that left as soon as they came, Buda was at a loss as to what was wrong.
Hendersonville Christian Academy, currently in its 35th year and serving 260 students, is opening an extension campus in Gallatin to serve preschoolers. Headmaster William Slater says the school has, for two years, operated a bus service that picks up and drops off at Harvest Hills Baptist Church, but preschoolers were not eligible.
REALTY CHECK
Even in the current frenzied real estate market – filled with multiple-offer scenarios with houses sometimes going for $90,000 more than list price before the clock strikes midnight on their first day of exposure – there are houses that do not sell. Many of those aren’t receiving offers, and some are never shown.
NEWSMAKERS
The Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies has added four new community leaders to its community advisory board. They are:
GUERRILLA MARKETING
In the sales world, delivering the perfect pitch is akin to throwing a no hitter. It’s no easy feat, but those who’ve mastered the art of the flawless pitch have the power to consistently shut down the opposing team and bring home more wins.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
June: Boon & lampoon: After taking body blows in May, the stock market had its best June since 1999. This time, we can credit European politicians rather than American central bankers for the strong finish. That, my friends, is a welcome change.
SMART STUFF 4 WORK
There is a story about a family with a problem child. The situation eventually became so troublesome that the parents decided to take the child to a therapist. After a brief interview, the therapist suggested a few sessions with the entire family. The parents responded by saying, “Why do we all need to attend? He’s the one with the problem!”
I SWEAR
In Collision, the eighth episode of Lost’s second season, Locke’s in the Hatch working a crossword. He’s focused on the clue for 42 down: “Enkidu’s friend.”
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Most people have suffered occasional heartburn. A severe case can send you to the ER thinking you are having a heart attack. I can’t imagine, though, what a heart attack must feel like; your entire chest cramping and hurting, and your heart and all other systems so completely stressed.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican leaders say they expect some problems may arise from recent changes in electoral procedures when early voting starts Friday in Tennessee, but they hope to have the wrinkles ironed out by the general election in November.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey says the state's revenue surplus of more than a half-billion dollars should stay in the bank despite calls from Democrats to use it to offset tuition costs.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee general fund revenues have beaten projections by more than a half-billion dollars with one month left in the budget year.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Federal officials are investigating Medicare billing practices at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Academy of Country Music is donating $2.5 million to help expand the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell again to record lows, giving would-be buyers more incentive to brave the housing market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits plunged last week. But a big reason is that automakers have skipped some of their usual summer shutdowns to keep up with demand, causing fewer temporary auto layoffs.
NEW YORK (AP) — It's been a scandal-filled few months for banks.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Banks are increasingly placing homes with unpaid mortgages on a countdown that could deliver a swell of new foreclosed properties onto the market by early next year, potentially weighing further on home values.
U.S. stocks slid for a sixth day Thursday as concern spread that weaker global economic growth and the European debt crisis will hurt U.S. corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average was headed for its longest losing streak since mid-May.
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil fell to near $85 a barrel Thursday as signs of slowing global economic growth offset hopes that central banks will soon implement stimulus measures.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Thursday that U.S. economic growth has slowed in the last two months as fears about Europe's debt woes mounted.
United Airlines is buying 150 Boeing 737s, planning to use them to replace older planes that are not as fuel efficient.
LONDON (AP) — Yahoo Inc. says it's investigating reports of a security breach that has purportedly exposed nearly half a million users' email addresses and passwords.
NEW YORK (AP) — A startup company can continue to send live TV programming to iPhones and other mobile devices in the city despite objections from major broadcasters that say expansion can threaten the free broadcasting of events such as the Super Bowl, a judge ruled Wednesday.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Agriculture Committee has approved a five-year farm and nutrition bill that gives farmers new ways to protect themselves from bad weather and poor prices and slices about 2 percent off the $80 billion the government spends every year on food stamps.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a day of political maneuvering, Democrats and then Republicans took turns blocking a quick Senate vote on President Barack Obama's proposal to extend expiring tax cuts for a year on everyone but the highest-earning Americans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Government auditors Wednesday questioned the legality of a costly Medicare bonus program, escalating a running skirmish in the broader battle over President Barack Obama's health care law and its consequences for seniors.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11
MIDSTATE
CLARKSVILLE (AP) — A new terminal has opened at Clarksville's Outlaw Field Airport that city officials hope will draw in more corporate fliers.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is open to taking further action to support the struggling U.S. economy. But minutes of the Fed's June meeting show policymakers at odds over whether the economy needs more help now.
NEW YORK (AP) — A plunge in the price of natural gas has made it cheaper for utilities to produce electricity. But the savings aren't translating to lower rates for customers. Instead, U.S. electricity prices are going up.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale companies added modestly to their stockpiles in May. But their sales dropped by the largest amount in three years, a troubling sign for future growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in May from April, helped by cheaper oil that lowered imports and an increase in American exports to Europe and China.
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market mostly recovered from an afternoon slump to end with slight losses.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil rose more than 2 percent Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released a report that signaled it may take further steps to lift the economy.
MADRID (AP) — Spain's government imposed further austerity measures on the country Wednesday as it unveiled sales tax hikes and spending cuts aimed at shaving €65 billion ($79.85 billion) off the state budget over the next two and a half years.
DALLAS (AP) — The head of American Airlines says his company has done so much to fix its problems that it can consider potential mergers, and invitations will be going out soon.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats fell short in efforts Wednesday to block cuts to the food stamp program as the House Agriculture Committee moved ahead on a half-trillion-dollar bill to fund farm and nutrition programs over the next five years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led House has voted to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law. But the election-year move stands no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats blocked a Senate vote Wednesday on President Barack Obama's plan to extend expiring tax cuts for a year for everyone but the highest-earning Americans, as the two parties maneuvered to try embarrassing each other on one of the election year's foremost issues.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is poised to allow U.S. companies to invest with Myanmar's state oil and gas enterprise as the Obama administration takes its biggest step yet to roll back sanctions, marking a rare break from democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
TUESDAY, JULY 10
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Authorities have shut down 11 Nashville convenience stores for allegedly selling synthetic marijuana or similar substances.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Rapper Young Buck's jewelry, recording equipment and other seized possessions will be auctioned by the Internal Revenue Service July 26.
MIDSTATE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — An alternative high school operated by a private company in Sioux Falls produced 32 graduates in its first year of operation.
MURFREESBORO (AP) - Planning commission members are exploring a new vote on construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro while they appeal a court ruling that stopped occupancy of the nearly finished mosque.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam will begin a review of the state's college and university systems at his residence today.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A U.S. Department of the Interior report says the agency's activities in Tennessee contributed more than $2 billion to the state's economy last year and supported nearly 17,000 jobs in fields ranging from energy and mineral development to tourism and outdoor recreation.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The 2012 directory of hay producers in Tennessee is ready, and agriculture officials say it is coming just in the nick of time for some livestock farmers.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State and local emergency officials are holding a drill this week to test their response to a catastrophic earthquake in Tennessee.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers advertised more jobs in May than April, a hopeful sign after three months of weak hiring.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell for the fourth straight day Tuesday following a profit slump at technology companies and a steep decline in oil prices, which sent energy stocks sharply lower.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices tumbled Tuesday on further signs of an economic slowdown in China and after the government of Norway intervened to end a strike that threatened North Sea oil production.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has agreed to pay a $22.5 million fine to settle allegations that it broke a privacy promise by secretly tracking the online activities of millions of people who use Apple's Safari web browser.
WASHINGTON (AP) — They're young, healthy and flat broke — and now the government says they have to buy thousands of dollars' worth of medical insurance. What should tapped-out twentysomethings do?
DETROIT (AP) — Chevrolet is trying to pull more customers into its dealerships this summer by offering a money-back guarantee on new cars and trucks.
BERLIN (AP) — An anti-corruption watchdog says a new survey of corporations shows mining, oil and gas sector firms rank among the best at disclosing information on revenue, taxes and community contributions while financial companies tend to be the worst.
NEW YORK (AP) — They may make an odd couple, but discounter Target and luxury merchant Neiman Marcus are jointly offering a limited collection spanning from fashion to sporting goods for the winter holidays.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The elderly and other vulnerable homeowners are losing their homes because they owe as little as a few hundred dollars in back taxes, according to a report from a consumer group.
FARNBOROUGH, England (AP) — Boeing Co. revealed a further large order for its remodeled short-haul 737 airplane Tuesday while rival Airbus announced its first multibillion-dollar order at this year's Farnborough Airshow.
BEIJING (AP) — China's trade growth plunged in June, hurt by weak U.S. and European demand and a Chinese slowdown, with a potential impact on economies as farflung as Africa and Australia.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats want to push tax cuts through the Senate for companies that hire new workers, give raises or buy major new equipment this year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing sagging jobs numbers, President Barack Obama sought to recast the November election as a fight over tax fairness on Monday, urging tax cut extensions for all families earning less than $250,000 but denying them to households making more than that.
MONDAY, JULY 9
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — The members of country group Little Big Town are hoping their new song is a hit — on TV.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — More than 13,000 teachers across the state begin training this week in what education officials describe as the largest program of its kind in Tennessee history.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans put more on their credit cards in May than in any single month since November 2007. But overall credit card use is still well below where it was just before the Great Recession began.
NEW YORK (AP) — Edgy investors sent stocks lower Monday on Wall Street ahead of U.S. corporate earnings reports and amid more signs of instability in Europe.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil climbed nearly 2 percent Monday as Norway prepares for a shutdown of its North Sea crude production.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Health insurer WellPoint Inc. is buying managed care provider Amerigroup Corp. for about $4.46 billion in cash, saying the deal will help it better serve Medicaid participants.
Boeing says it has landed a firm order with Air Lease for 75 of its redesigned 737, worth $7.2 billion at list prices.
Some leaders of the failed IndyMac Bancorp have agreed to settle a shareholder class-action lawsuit for $6.5 million.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama, eager to shift election-year attention away from the nation's lackluster jobs market, called on Congress Monday to extend tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 a year while allowing taxes to rise for households making more.
FRIDAY, JULY 6
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Former state Sen. Rosalind Kurita on Thursday lost a federal appeal of her ouster as the Democratic nominee in her 2008 bid for re-election to the Tennessee General Assembly.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state agency responsible for setting rates and service standards for privately-owned utilities is lacking an executive director and board quorum.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A third straight month of weak hiring shows the U.S. economy is still struggling three years after the recession officially ended.
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors abandoned stocks Friday after the U.S. government reported that only 80,000 jobs were created in June, the third straight month of weak hiring.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil climbed about 2 percent Monday as striking oil workers in Norway forced the industry to prepare for a historic shutdown in the North Sea.
LONDON (AP) — Britain's Serious Fraud Office said Friday that it has formally opened a criminal investigation of the manipulation of a key market interest rate that has shaken Barclays.
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers could be sweating it out this summer.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The outlook for the U.S. job market brightened a little Thursday after the government said fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week and surveys of private companies showed hiring increased in June.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Agriculture Committee on Thursday unveiled its approach for a long-term farm and food bill that would reduce spending by $3.5 billion a year, almost half of that coming from cuts in the federal food stamp program.