VOL. 35 | NO. 35 | Friday, September 2, 2011
Preserving the legacy of Cornelia Fort – Nashville socialite, aviation pioneer
An air balloon festival, annual birthday celebration, a model airplane flying contest, walking trails honoring her personal path – all are just a few of the ideas being tossed about to honor Nashville’s own Cornelia Fort. Fort was the first female pilot in America to die on active duty, and if the community has its way, plans grander than a simple placard are afoot.
Nashville writer Rob Simbeck chronicled the life of Cornelia Fort in Daughter of the Air: The Brief Soaring Life of Cornelia Fort after a member of the Fort family read some of his writings.
It’s been written off, even making its way onto a website chronicling dying shopping centers. But Hickory Hollow Mall isn’t finished yet.
REALTY CHECK
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is running promotional pieces on radio and television citing the importance of the housing industry. NAR’s data reflects that one job is created from every two houses sold and that each house that is sold pours $60,000 into the local economy.
GET A JOB!
You’re an excellent employee with great performance reviews and always on time. The new boss calls you in to his office with a supervisor sitting in a chair next to the one reserved for you. You sit down.
TERRY McCORMICK
If you’re wondering why the Chris Johnson camp is so adamant about striking it rich with guaranteed money well into eight figures, consider this quote from a story that was about to be written last week:
NEWSMAKERS
Longtime banker Chuck Lassing has joined Pinnacle Financial Partners as a senior vice president and financial advisor in the client advisory group.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
You weren’t looking for it. No, you were searching your calendar for something else but, as you flipped the pages, there it was: Christmas. It’s coming, and though the weather still says “summer,” you’ll have to start your dreaded gift list soon.
SMALL BUSINESS ADVISER
There are small businesses that could use boosting, and unemployed talent on the sidelines. Seems like a natural match except nobody knows who can do what and: a) employers don’t have the working capital to experiment with new hires; b) job hunters do not know where the openings are to apply to; or c) both parties are looking but don’t like what they see. Folks also are worn down from job hunting.
I SWEAR
The word “mondegreen” made it into the dictionary in 2000, 46 years after it was coined. I guess I haven’t written about it since before that time.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
While skimming through emails this morning and trying to find something to inspire me for writing this article, I came across one that sounded interesting: “Best Snack for Staying Slim.”
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The head of a conservative group berated BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee for showing a "cultural acceptance of homosexual conduct" in dealing with suppliers. A spokeswoman for the state's largest insurer said its commitment to diversity was nothing new.
NASHVILLE AREA
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A south-central Kentucky racetrack about 40 miles north of Nashville is reporting receipts of more than a half-million dollars from new gaming machines during the devices' first five days of operation there.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee has sold a tintype photograph of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at auction for $23,001 dollars.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville has created a sports concussion center.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest levels in six decades. But few Americans can take advantage of the rates to refinance or buy a home.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A record level of exports and a drop in oil prices narrowed the U.S. trade deficit in July to its lowest point in three months. The jump in exports could give the economy a lift at time when it is at risk of another recession.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits ticked up slightly last week, evidence that the job market isn't improving.
Oil prices hovered near $89 a barrel Thursday after a U.S. energy report showed mixed signals about demand and markets awaited President Barack Obama's speech outlining new policies to boost job creation in the U.S. economy.
LONDON (AP) — Stocks advanced for the second day running Thursday amid hopes that global policymakers will enact more measures to shore up ailing economic growth.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats on the special supercommittee warned of a financial crisis threatening future generations as the congressional debt reduction panel kicked off its work Thursday with an imperative to slash the deficit and lift the sluggish economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top aide to President Barack Obama says it's time for Congress to take action to create jobs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on a special congressional debt-reduction supercommittee want it to include jobs creation as part of its work, a task that would complicate the newly created panel's already formidable assignment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When Mitt Romney and Rick Perry thumped their chests over their job-creation records as governor during the Republican presidential debate Wednesday night, they left the bad parts out.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Mount Juliet and Sweetwater in Tennessee have been recognized as playful cities by a national nonprofit group.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the turmoil that shook the financial markets last month, the Federal Reserve says its 12 bank regions grew modestly this summer because consumers spent more in most parts of the country.
NEW YORK (AP) — American homes are more cluttered than ever with devices, and they all need power: Cellphones and iPads that have to be charged, DVRs that run all hours, TVs that light up in high definition.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Companies in July advertised the most jobs in three years, and layoffs declined — a bit of hope for a weak economy. Still, many employers are in no rush to fill openings.
GENEVA (AP) — The United States has tumbled further down a global ranking of the world's most competitive economies, landing at fifth place due to its massive deficits and declining public faith in government, a global economic group said Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Parents have a new goal this back-to-school shopping season: Buy their kids the name brands they want without spending like it's 2007.
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices rose to near $87 a barrel Wednesday in Asia amid hopes that President Barack Obama's major policy speech later this week will provide a catalyst for stronger U.S. economic growth.
LONDON (AP) — Global stocks rebounded Wednesday from the previous day's steep sell-off as investor sentiment was buoyed by a German court decision backing the country's participation in European bailouts. The Swiss franc, meanwhile, hovered around the level it was pegged at.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — People familiar with the White House deliberations on a jobs package say President Barack Obama is considering a plan totaling about $300 billion in tax cuts and spending for 2012.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors, drugmakers, hospitals and health insurers have spent millions over the years wooing lawmakers who now are on the powerful congressional panel charged with finding a formula to control deficits and debt, a new analysis finds.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fights large and small await Congress as it gets back to business, with jobs and budget cuts topping a contentious agenda that also includes a lengthy roster of lower-profile but must-do items that also are potential victims of partisan gridlock.
WASHINGTON (AP) — America's sickly economy can be healed with jobs, jobs and more jobs. On that, everyone agrees. Figuring out how to produce them is what is stumping everyone.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate opened its fall session Tuesday by taking a step toward passing a patent bill that has been a rare example of bipartisanship in this year's divided Congress.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
NASHVILLE AREA
NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift will be battling the boys at the 2011 Country Music Association Awards.
STATEWIDE
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) — International Paper Co. is buying smaller rival Temple-Inland Inc. for $3.7 billion after sweetening its bid.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling for the third straight day as concerns about Europe's debt problems continue to unnerve investors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Service firms that employ 90 percent of the U.S. work force expanded at a slightly faster pace in August. But the sector remains too weak to help an economy that is barely growing and struggling to create jobs.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil slipped Tuesday on fears that the U.S. and Europe are headed for a prolonged economic slump.
LONDON (AP) — The Swiss franc dropped sharply Tuesday after the country's central bank pegged it against the euro, while European stocks recovered their poise following a drubbing the previous session, when investors fretted over the exposure of banks to the debt of countries like Greece and Italy.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The postmaster general is going to Congress to discuss the Postal Service's mounting debt.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is promising to be accountable to Congress and is playing down the lawsuits his agency will be able to file against banks and other financial institutions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Congress spent August listening to constituents describe their economic struggles. This week, the lawmakers return to Washington to see whether there's enough bipartisanship left to make things better.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House estimated on Monday that Hurricane Irene will cost federal taxpayers $1.5 billion in disaster relief, further ballooning a government account that was already the focus of fresh partisan friction between President Barack Obama and Congress.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Metro Nashville hospital officials say they must lay off 46 employees because of budget constraints.
NASHVILLE (AP) - There has never been a drier month in Chattanooga. Not in any year since records started in 1928 or on any page of the calendar.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — With the start of football season comes a warning from Tennessee consumer officials: Beware of scammers.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has named John Dreyzehner to head the state Health Department, replacing interim Commissioner Susan Cooper.
NASHVILLE (AP) — There has never been a drier month in Chattanooga. Not in any year since records started in 1928 or on any page of the calendar.
FRANKLIN (AP) — Nissan North America Inc. said Thursday that its August U.S. sales rose 19.2 percent on strong demand for its top-selling Altima sedan.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers stopped adding jobs in August, an alarming setback for an economy that has struggled to grow and might be at risk of another recession.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the job market may be improving slightly.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of the nation's largest mortgage lenders are not doing enough to help Americans avoid foreclosure, the Obama administration said Thursday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans kept shopping in August despite a month of bad news.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil is falling after the government reported Friday that jobs growth in the U.S. stalled last month.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday scrapped his administration's controversial plans to tighten smog rules, bowing to the demands of congressional Republicans and some business leaders.
WASHINGTON (AP) — New White House budget projections indicate a 9 percent unemployment rate next year as President Barack Obama tries to win a second term.
DETROIT (AP) — Car buyers shrugged off bad economic news and a major East Coast hurricane last month, lifting U.S. sales for most automakers.