VOL. 35 | NO. 37 | Friday, September 16, 2011
DESTINATION NASHVILLE: SPECIAL EDITION ON HOSPITALITY, TOURISM
‘Honky-tonks on Lower Broadway represent our brand and our brand promise'
Lower Broadway’s “campus” is expanding, thanks largely to its honky-tonk heritage and the constant, energetic growth of “the student body” that comes here for suds and such.
Don Kelley, front man off Lower Broad’s sturdiest country cover band, pulls no punches.
While Lower Broad may be taken for granted by many locals, who perhaps prefer their live music at the Bluebird or the Family Wash, there is no doubt it has allure for tourists.
Ruble Sanderson, 75 – “I’m an old dude,” he says – and his family are at least partly responsible for the revitalization of Lower Broadway.
Jamie Qualk uses local ingredients as much as possible when he cooks for his family. He also recycles, watches his water consumption and only uses environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies. And as the vice president of SSRCx Sustainable Solutions Group, a team of LEED professionals who work on the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, eco-living is a part of everything he does.
Gavin DeGraw, the singer/songwriter who, along his brother Joey, own The National Underground restaurant/club in New York, is opening a restaurant at 105 Broadway across from the Hard Rock Café.
Two recently launched mobile phone apps should ease the way for tourists and locals out for a good time.
Sightseeing by tour bus has always been sort of a Nashville thing. Tourists come to Music City for very specific reasons and are serious about packing in the city’s sites while they’re here, and they like being driven around. Numbers are up, according to longtime tour operator Gray Line of Tennessee.
The collection of tourism taxes to pay off 30-year bonds financing the construction of Music City Center, Nashville’s new convention center, has outperformed projections.
REALTY CHECK
The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors reported that sales for August of this year were up 28.4 percent over August of 2010, robust sales and a fittingly august increase. It has been years, if ever, since the area has experienced such a bump. Even more impressive is that pending sales are up almost 20 percent, which should lead to significant growth for September.
TERRY McCORMICK
We have seen this sort of enthusiasm before.
NEWSMAKERS
Mayor Karl Dean has announced that Music City Music Council (MC2) is the new name for the Nashville Music Council. The organization also has restructured to a more streamlined 21-member body to place a greater focus on economic development in the music industry.
I SWEAR
Success is never inevitable, right? You can’t win ’em all.
GUERILLA MARKETING
Public relations is part art and part science. Because you’re dealing with fellow human beings – reporters and editors – there’s no one-size-fits-all checklist that will ensure you never make a misstep. There are, however, common pitfalls to avoid ensuring your best opportunity for strong coverage and continued long-term relationships with key reporters.
STATEWIDE
NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx is cutting its earnings expectations for the fiscal year ending in May due to slowing global economic growth.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State lawmakers said Wednesday they plan to move forward with proposed changes to the commission that disciplines Tennessee judges.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Two key members of Tennessee's budget planning process are leaving their positions.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates hovered at record lows for a third straight week and are likely to fall further in the coming weeks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, though the decline isn't enough to signal improvement in the job market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Call it the recession's lost generation.
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is a victim of its own success.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices tumbled 5 percent Thursday after some of the world's top financial officials gave a gloomy reading on the international economy.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican co-chairman of the deficit-fighting "supercommittee" said Thursday he wants to tackle corporate tax reform, a theme the White House has promoted for months. But big differences remain, including on the sticky issue of whether tax changes should lead to higher taxes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will use more than $400 billion to try to drive down long-term interest rates, make home and business loans cheaper and invigorate the economy.
NEW YORK (AP) —
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
NASHVILLE AREA
DETROIT (AP) — In exchange for an agreement to create 5,100 union jobs in the U.S., General Motors will hire thousands of less expensive employees and try to replace some longtime workers.
Six General Motors Co. factories in four states won commitments from the company to add jobs in a new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers union. Some of the work was scheduled to go to Mexico. The union gave few details on when the new jobs would come:
NASHVILLE (AP) — Federal officials say that people who unknowingly possess musical instruments made with illegal wood products do not face prosecution.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A potential class-action lawsuit against the nation's largest private prison company over allegations of violence at the Idaho Correctional Center has been settled in federal court.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville International Airport has completed a new system for screening checked baggage.
STATEWIDE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alone in a cabin in Northern Ontario last month, Sen. Lamar Alexander considered the debt limit deal Congress and President Barack Obama had recently, noisily struck. He thought about the debates still to come in the 2012 election year, the issues he cared about, and his own future in the Senate.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Moody's Investors Service has lowered Bank of America Corp.'s debt ratings, saying it is now less likely that the U.S. government would step in and prevent the lender from failing in a crisis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes rose in August. But the sales were driven by an increase in foreclosures, a sign that home prices could fall further next year and slow a housing recovery.
In America, it's starting to feel as if there are two housing markets. One for the rich and one for everyone else.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is running out of options to try to boost a slumping economy and lower unemployment. So policymakers are expected to reach 50 years back into their playbook for their next move.
NEW YORK (AP) — It looks like retailers will have to work extra hard to keep this holiday season from turning into a blue Christmas.
Oil prices fell to near $86 a barrel Wednesday as the dollar gained on the euro and traders looked to a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting for possible stimulus measures to spur economic growth.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Armed Services Committee chairman is warning that further reductions to projected defense spending could make a military career so unattractive that it would force the Pentagon to revive the draft.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group that includes former leaders of the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday called for limits on law enforcement's use of GPS and other powerful technologies to track the movements of suspects.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Tuesday rejected a Republican-led attempt to revive a law, last in force four years ago, that made it easier for the president to move free-trade deals through Congress.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
STATEWIDE
DETROIT (AP) - A new four-year contract deal between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Co. will add or keep 6,400 jobs in the U.S. with a $2.5 billion investment, the union said Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Lamar Alexander is stepping down from the No. 3 GOP leadership post in the Senate in January.
NASHVILLE (AP) - As thousands of older Tennessee residents prepare to visit driver service centers to get the photo IDs required by a new state voting law, they should be ready to stand in line a long time.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A group representing brick-and-mortar stores says forgone tax collections from online sales are costing Tennessee more than 6,000 jobs.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Consumer Affairs Division is warning about emails that request participation in a survey and promise a gift card in return.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes in August, evidence that the housing market remains depressed.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has sharply downgraded its outlook for the U.S. economy through 2012 because of weak growth and concern that Europe won't be able to solve its debt crisis.
SHANGHAI (AP) — General Motors Co. agreed Tuesday to deepen cooperation with its flagship Chinese partner on development of electric vehicle know how amid pressure from Beijing to hand over proprietary technology.
ROME (AP) — Italy criticized Standard & Poor's on Tuesday for downgrading its credit rating, saying the decision seemed politically motivated and out of touch with reality at a time when the government was working to boost growth and reduce its debts.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil is rising on expectations that the Fed will announce new measures to stimulate the U.S. economy.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Drawing clear battle lines for next year's elections, a combative President Barack Obama on Monday demanded that the richest Americans pay higher taxes to help cut soaring U.S. deficits by more than $3 trillion. He promised to veto any effort by congressional Republicans to cut Medicare benefits for the elderly without raising taxes as well.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health care savings in President Barack Obama's deficit-reduction plan would squeeze future Medicare recipients, cut payments to drug companies and hospitals, and shift costs to states.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Federal Reserve holds a policy meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, it's widely expected to adopt some new step to boost the economy. The question is what it will be.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - A medical company is expanding its corporate headquarters in Franklin to create more than 260 jobs over three years.
STATEWIDE
DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union won $5,000 signing bonuses and the possibility of sweeter profit-sharing checks as part of a new four-year contract with General Motors Co., two people briefed on the talks said Saturday.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. homebuilders' outlook worsened in September, as foreclosures and anxious buyers hurt construction and sales activity.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil dropped more than 2 percent Monday on growing concerns about Europe's ability to solve its credit crisis.
NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix Inc. plans to separate its DVD-by-mail service and streaming video businesses.
Swiss manufacturer Tyco International Ltd. said Monday it plans to separate into three independent, publicly-traded companies to foster growth for each of the entities.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a blunt rejoinder to congressional Republicans, President Barack Obama called for $1.5 trillion in new taxes Monday, part of a total 10-year deficit reduction package totaling more than $3 trillion. "We can't just cut our way out of this hole," the president said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton on Monday dismissed Republican criticism of a debt-reduction proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy, and predicted President Barack Obama will see greater cooperation in the upcoming election year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says the military is adequately prepared for the official lifting Tuesday of the legal ban on gays serving openly.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department is signing agreements to share information with nine states and the Internal Revenue Service as it gets more aggressive in its program to crack down on businesses that cheat workers out of their hard-earned wages.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans want to pull the plug on the health care overhaul they call "Obamacare," blaming it in part for the United States' ballooning budget deficit.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a man does not have to pay lifetime alimony to his ex-wife.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam's office confirmed Thursday that the state is in talks with General Motors to expand production at the automaker's Tennessee plant.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's August unemployment rate of 9.7 percent decreased slightly from the previous month.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The mayors of Spring Hill, Columbia and Maury County are in Detroit seeking to persuade General Motors officials to boost production at the automaker's plant in Tennessee.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says Bridgestone Corp. has agreed to pay a $28 million criminal fine for its roles in bid-rigging conspiracies and corrupt payments to Latin American officials that impacted prices for hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of marine hose and related products sold around the world.
NASHVILLE - HCA Holdings Inc. said Thursday it will buy back about $1.5 billion of its shares owned by Bank of America Corp., one of the lead underwriters from the hospital operator's initial public offering of stock last March.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in six decades for the second straight week. But few Americans can take advantage of the historically low rates.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Banks have stepped up their actions against homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, setting the stage for a fresh wave of foreclosures.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The financially troubled Postal Service said Thursday it may close more than 250 mail processing facilities across the country and plans to reduce service standards for first-class mail in an effort to cut costs.
DETROIT (AP) — Negotiations between General Motors, Chrysler and the United Auto Workers union carried on Thursday even though bargainers missed a deadline for agreeing on a new contract.
GENEVA (AP) — UBS was under pressure on Friday to explain how its managers failed to catch a $2 billion loss due to rogue trading, with experts calling into question the Swiss bank's ability to turn around its scandal-hit image.
HONG KONG (AP) — Oil hovered above $89 a barrel on Friday on continued optimism that European leaders would be able to get the continent's sovereign debt crisis under control.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will sign the America Invents Act on Friday, the first significant change in patent law since 1952.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a bill Thursday temporarily extending federal aviation and highway programs, averting another shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration, after a Republican senator abruptly dropped his campaign to block passage of the measure.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pressured to slash government spending, a Senate panel on Thursday unanimously approved a $513 billion bill that freezes the Pentagon budget at this year's amount, slicing some $26 billion from President Barack Obama's request.