VOL. 39 | NO. 33 | Friday, August 14, 2015
COURTS
John Jay Hooker, a household name in Middle Tennessee if nowhere else, is suffering from stage 4 metastatic cancer with weeks, not months to live.
STREET LEVEL
“You can catch me here every day, but you gotta call during the right 12-hour shift,” says the mechanic with the gray goatee and mustache who fled 12th Avenue South – decades before corporate profiteers and the generally chichi overran that neighborhood – because of safety issues like gunfire and armed robbery.
TENNESSEE TITANS
If you want to know about the theory of relativity, who better to ask than Albert Einstein, if only he were still around.
UT SPORTS
Despite doing so in 2014, Tennessee football coach Butch Jones doesn’t want to make a habit of placing freshmen in prominent roles.
REALTY CHECK
Finally, some inventory. As the fall selling market approaches, there are more houses coming to market – and staying there – than in recent months.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential real estate transactions, July 2015, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
July 2015 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
A look at Davidson County’s top lenders based on total number of all loans, commercial and residential.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged up this week after three straight weeks of declines. The key 30-year loan rate remained under 4 percent.
NEWSMAKERS
Nashville attorneys Rob Dodson and Slade Sevier have joined Dickinson Wright PLLC as members. Both were previously with Adams and Reese.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Luxury car buyers who are driving enthusiasts with a practical streak should be sure to look at the 2015 Lexus GS.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Around work, you’ve gotten a reputation as the go-to person for certain things. Everybody has a talent; yours happens to be on the job.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
While the youngest millennials may still be 18, many of them are in their late 20s or even mid 30s now.
CAREER CORNER
Last week, I had an experience that inspired me. I want to share it in hopes that it might inspire your day the way it has mine. I attended a conference in Fort Worth, Texas, called the Podcast Movement. I went with relatively low expectations – to meet a few people, and to learn something to help me with the career podcast I host.
I SWEAR
The 2008 Arkansas Writers’ Conference featured a spontaneous writing contest. Yeah, I know, that was seven years ago, but I was thinking about it recently and, for some reason, thought you might get a chuckle out of what came of it.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Historical Commission and Tennessee Wars Commission are accepting applications for projects to protect Civil War and Underground Railroad sites in Tennessee.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans stepped up their home-buying for a third straight month in July, as sales accelerated to the strongest pace in eight years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged lower this week, with the key 30-year loan rate remaining under 4 percent.
TRINITY, Fla. (AP) — Tears still spring into Debbie Cooley-Guy's eyes when she thinks about her dream home, with its wide, sweeping porch. It overlooked a bayou filled with wading birds, a glittering blue pool and the space for not only a 12-foot Christmas tree, but a grand piano as well.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Another sell-off in the Chinese stock market spread across global markets on Thursday. The declines pushed the Standard & Poor's 500 index into the red for 2015 in early-afternoon trading.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose slightly last week, yet remained at a low level consistent with a solid job market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An index designed to predict the future health of the U.S. economy declined slightly in July yet still pointed to modest growth in the months ahead.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's prime minister is considering options, including early elections, to tackle a rebellion by hardliners within his party who are opposed to the terms of the country's new bailout.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thanks to a strengthening U.S. economy, four weeks from now the Federal Reserve is widely expected to engineer its first interest rate hike in nearly a decade. Rates on loans throughout the economy could eventually rise as well.
NEW YORK (AP) — Coca-Cola says it will start publishing information about its health and nutrition efforts after it was criticized for funding a group many felt touted the company's message.
BERLIN (AP) — An anti-corruption watchdog says only four of 41 countries that signed an anti-bribery convention 16 years ago are actively investigating and prosecuting companies that bribe foreign officials to win contracts, or dodge taxes and local laws.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - State legislators said Wednesday they want to give the Health Department more authority to track how fetal tissue is disposed of after abortions.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Aerosmith's Steven Tyler will be performing with country band Loving Mary next month at the inaugural Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BERLIN (AP) — German carmaker Audi says it's planning to unveil an electric sport SUV concept with a range of over 310 miles (500 kilometers) — well beyond the range of rival carmaker Tesla's Model S and soon-to-launch Model X.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. is adding 181,000 cars in the U.S. and Canada to a 2014 recall for headlights that can stop working, and it will have to repair thousands more for a second time because the first fix could fail again.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials in their July discussions appeared to move closer to their first interest rate hike in nearly a decade but expressed wide-ranging concerns about wages, inflation and a significant slowdown in China.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The biggest drop in airline fares in nearly two decades slowed consumer inflation in July following two months of slightly faster gains.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks posted solid losses on Wednesday as investors got mixed signals from the Federal Reserve over the possibility of an interest rate hike in September. Energy stocks fell as the price of oil plummeted.
BEIJING (AP) — China's volatile stock market is taking shareholders on a white-knuckle ride, threatening to drive out the small investors Beijing hopes will help pay for reforms of state industry.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's parliament overwhelmingly approved a third bailout for Greece on Wednesday, removing a key hurdle to providing new loans to the country and keeping it from defaulting on its debts in as little as 24 hours.
LONDON (AP) — Hackers say they have exposed unfaithful partners across the world, posting what they said were the personal details of millions of people registered with cheating website Ashley Madison.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first prescription drug designed to boost sexual desire in women, a milestone long sought by a pharmaceutical industry eager to replicate the blockbuster success of impotence drugs for men.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Music producer Bob Johnston, who played a key role in landmark recordings like Bob Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde" and Johnny Cash's "At Folsom Prison," is being remembered as a maverick who helped bring folk rock to Nashville.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The longtime executive director of the Tennessee State Museum is rejecting calls for her to be replaced as the state plans for a new $160 million facility in Nashville.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tourism spending in Tennessee reached a record $17.7 billion in 2014 as more than 100 million people visited the state, Gov. Bill Haslam announced Tuesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Democrats claimed on Tuesday that Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is displaying hostility toward state workers by looking to outsource the management of more government functions to the private sector, but Haslam dismissed the allegation as politics.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Large private vendors from outside Tennessee are touring some of the state's most visited parks to gauge their operations and potential for profit as Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's administration explores outsourcing their management.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Highway Patrol is creating a new protective services bureau responsible for the safety of citizens, elected officials, state workers and state buildings.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is creating a new task force to advance economic development in rural Tennessee.
AUTO INDUSTRY
PALO ALTO, California (AP) — The office has all the trappings of a high-tech startup. There's a giant beanbag in the foyer and erasable, white board walls for brainstorming. Someone's pet dog lounges happily on the sunny balcony.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. builders started work on single-family houses last month at the fastest pace since the Great Recession began in late 2007.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — NBCUniversal will make a $200 million investment in media company BuzzFeed as part of a move to reach a wider audience of millennial and mobile video viewers.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market shuffled to a slight loss in a lazy day of summer trading Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor Secretary Thomas Perez says the question of allowing college athletes to form unions "remains open" despite a federal ruling that this is impermissible.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cut its annual earnings outlook Tuesday because of currency fluctuations and higher wages and investments in overhauling its stores are squeezing its profits.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon isn't the only company that is using data on employees to improve productivity.
MONDAY, AUGUST 17
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Two years ago, Gov. Bill Haslam's administration privatized the management of many state government buildings that didn't fall within the higher education and prison systems. Now the state is exploring turning those over to private management as well.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says he has seen wide agreement on a statewide tour about transportation that Tennessee needs more money for road and transit projects.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee State University has appointed a new associate vice president for institutional advancement.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. homebuilders grew slightly more optimistic about the housing market in August, putting their confidence at levels last seen a decade ago during the debt-fueled housing boom.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Home ownership, that celebrated hallmark of the American dream, is increasingly on hold for younger Americans.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Most victims of General Motors' faulty ignition switches have accepted compensation offers from the company.
TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — A computer breach at the IRS in which thieves stole tax information from thousands of taxpayers is much bigger than the agency originally disclosed.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are closing slightly higher as investors weigh mixed news on the U.S economy.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek minister indicates it is highly likely Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will call for a vote of confidence in his government after a bailout deal with foreign creditors sparked a rebellion within his governing Syriza party.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - A federal jury ruled in favor of hundreds of jail employees who say they've been underpaid by Metro Nashville government.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Officials say more than $450,000 was spent on a controversial state anti-DUI campaign that many called sexist.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials are seeking input on whether government offices should be able to charge citizens to inspect public records.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday that questions from fellow Republicans prompted a letter assuring them that fetal tissue sales are illegal in Tennessee and explaining the state's dealings with Planned Parenthood.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's new guns in parks law could make it more difficult — and dangerous — for officers to do their jobs, two law enforcement representatives said Thursday at an event to urge reconsideration of the bill.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials say two Tennessee communities and three utility districts have been approved to receive more than $12 million in low-interest loans for water infrastructure improvements.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of a new abortion law that could force two clinics to close.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a million people signed up for health insurance under President Barack Obama's law even after the official enrollment season ended, helping push the share of uninsured Americans below 10 percent and underscoring how hard it could be for Republicans to dismantle the program.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung has unveiled two new Android smartphones with jumbo screens as it seeks to recapture some of the sales lost to Apple after larger iPhones came out last year.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google's latest Chromebook laptop will be specially designed for corporate customers in an effort to get more workers off machines powered by Microsoft's dominant Windows software.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Tesla Motors is pricing an upcoming offering of its stock at $242 per share, or slightly below the most recent closing price for the electric car maker.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are closing higher as China's currency stabilized and crude oil prices steadied.
NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks are trending big-time as investors latch on to innovative companies racing ahead in a slow-growth world.
LONDON (AP) — The price of crude oil hit its lowest level in 6½ years Friday amid concerns over a slowing economy in China, a huge energy consumer, and strong global production.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Auto plants, clothing makers and plastics factories drove a sharp rebound in U.S. manufacturing in July.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Prices charged by producers rose more slowly in July, reflecting declines in both food and energy.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Eurozone officials were optimistic of approving a draft bailout deal for Greece on Friday after the country's lawmakers cleared it in a vote that nevertheless saw the government suffer significant dissent.
HONG KONG (AP) — China's unexpected move this week to lower the value of its tightly-leashed currency, the yuan, sent shockwaves through global financial markets. The impact on consumers around the world and China's neighbors will take longer to play out but possible winners and losers are already emerging.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security turns 80 on Friday, and the massive retirement and disability program is showing its age.