Clips and quote

Quote of the Day:

“You didn’t stay long enough Ms. Chumney. You can’t just pop up when the cameras are there.”

- Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton during a debate with the other eight candidates for Memphis City Mayor last week. Wharton was responding to mayoral candidate Carol Chumney’s statement that she had not seen Mayor Wharton in neighborhoods she had visited to help victims of recent storms.

Tennessee News Clips

Politics

Clinton, Gore bolster Democrats for tough 2010 elections
August 30, 2009 Tennessean
The Tennessee Democratic Party brought the stars of the state and national party to a Nashville fundraiser meant to fire up loyalists ahead of critical elections for governor and the state legislature.

Tennessee Democrats eye 12 state House seats
August 31, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
Democrats will be focusing on a dozen seats now held by Republicans in efforts to regain control of the state House next year, Rep. Mike Turner told the Tennessee Democratic Executive Committee on Saturday.

Healthcare

Insurance pricing is fairness question
August 31, 2009 Kaiser Health News
Chris Denny, who runs a small marketing firm in Santa Rosa, Calif., buys his own health insurance for $117 a month.

Health Bill Would Cut Drug Spending for Many on Medicare, Budget Office Says
August 30, 2009 New York Times
Medicare beneficiaries would often have to pay higher premiums for prescription drug coverage, but many would see their total drug spending decline, so they would save money as a result of health legislation moving through the House, the Congressional Budget Office said in a recent report.

Economy

As Big Banks Repay Bailout Money, U.S. Sees a Profit
August 30, 2009 New York Times
Nearly a year after the federal rescue of the nation’s biggest banks, taxpayers have begun seeing profits from the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid that many critics thought might never be seen again.

Commercial Real Estate Lurks as Next Potential Mortgage Crisis
August 31, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Federal Reserve and Treasury officials are scrambling to prevent the commercial-real-estate sector from delivering a roundhouse punch to the U.S. economy just as it struggles to get up off the mat.

Stimulus

$37M in federal stimulus for Tennessee could yield cures
August 31, 2009 Tennessean
Middle Tennessee's biomedical researchers are getting a two-year financial boost as they seek cures for HIV, autism and cancer.

$3.1B set aside for jobless unclaimed
August 31, 2009 USA Today
More than $3.1 billion in stimulus money for state unemployment insurance programs is sitting in a federal trust fund because 23 states haven't expanded their jobless benefits, Labor Department records show.

Energy

Tax credits revive interest in solar water heating in Tennessee
August 29, 2009 Tennessean
Most of the hot water at the home of Eric and Beth Lewis near Bellevue comes courtesy of solar panels that are remnants of tight energy times and a TVA program from almost 30 years ago.

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News and quote of the day

Quote of the Day:

“The White House is denying rumors that President Obama has plans to play a round of golf with Tiger Woods while the President is on vacation, although Obama is planning to ask Tiger Woods if the government can borrow $300 trillion.”

- Conan O’Brien

Tennessee News Clips

Politics

Push Grows for Fast Choice on Successor to Kennedy
August 26, 2009 New York Times
The push for swiftly naming an interim successor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy intensified Wednesday in the wake of his death, with Gov. Deval Patrick coming out strongly in favor of the idea and other top state lawmakers indicating they were reluctant to leave the seat vacant for months.

GOP governor's race centers on Nashville
August 27, 2009 Tennessean
For gubernatorial candidate Bill Gibbons, the course is clear.

A C's Rollout: More or Less?
August 27, 2009 Memphis Flyer
The campaign for Memphis mayor of acknowledged frontrunner A C Wharton got under way this past week with a hyper-active opening round.

Education

Knox County selected for teacher incentive program
August 27, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
Amy Crawford has transformed her classroom into what she and her Sarah Moore Greene Elementary School fourth-grade pupils call the locker room.

State Treasurer May Ask to Suspend Pre-Paid College Trust Fund
August 26, 2009 Nashville Public Radio
The state could soon suspend a program that allows parents to pre-pay for college credits at today’s tuition rates.

Healthcare

Dennis Rivera Leads Labor Charge for Health Reform
August 26, 2009 New York Times
For more than a decade, Dennis Rivera was New York’s mightiest labor leader, running a union of 300,000 health care workers that often bent Albany to its will as it scared — and angered — governors, Democratic and Republican, with its hard-hitting ads.

Hospitals may benefit under health-care reform
August 27, 2009 Bloomberg News
Hospitals may gain as much as $16 billion over a decade from the Obama administration's proposals to overhaul the health-care system.

Business

Energy efficient appliances will soon come with rebate
August 26, 2009 WKRN
Tennesseans in the market for a new major appliance may want to wait a few months.

Energy

U.S. Biofuel Boom Running on Empty
August 27, 2009 Wall Street Journal
The biofuels revolution that promised to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil is fizzling out.

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Today's news clips and quote of the day

Quote of the Day:

“For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

- Sen. Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy – from his 1980 Concession speech at the end of his campaign for nomination as the Democratic Presidential candidate at the Democratic Convention in New York City (12 August 1980).

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) died last night at the age of 77.

Tennessee News Clips

Politics

Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies
August 26, 2009 New York Times
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a son of one of the most storied families in American politics, a man who knew triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and who will be remembered as one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate, died late Tuesday night.

Education

Business leaders critical of state higher-education system
August 26, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
Some of East Tennessee's most prominent business leaders say the state's higher education system is falling short on providing a skilled work force that can compete in a global economy.

SAT Scores Fall as Gap Widens; Asians Gain
August 26, 2009 Wall Street Journal
High-school students' performance last year on the SAT college-entrance exam fell slightly, and the score gap generally widened between lower-performing minority groups and white and Asian-American students, raising questions about the effectiveness of national education reform efforts.

Officials say UT system no longer 'Knoxville-driven'
August 26, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
The University of Tennessee system is perceived to be too "Knoxville-centric," and a greater distinction between the statewide university system and the flagship campus in Knoxville could improve relations among campuses, trustees and campus leaders said Tuesday.

Healthcare

Real Choice? It’s Off Limits in Health Bills
August 25, 2009 New York Times
Consider the following health insurance plan.

Health Care and the Democratic Soul
August 25, 2009 Wall Street Journal
What is at stake in the debate over health care is more than the mere crafting of policy.

Economy

Cities, states wrangle over cuts to local aid
August 26, 2009 Stateline
In Minnesota, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s cuts in state funding to local government forced cities and counties to consider their own round of layoffs, furloughs and benefit freezes.

Business

States go head-to-head to lure businesses
August 26, 2009 USA Today
Las Vegas is running ads in California warning businesses they can "kiss their assets goodbye" if they stay in the Golden State.

Environment

Climate change bill brings fight for spotlight in rallies
August 26, 2009 Tennessean
Move over, health-care reform rallies: Advocates on both sides of climate change legislation want a piece of the spotlight.

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Tennessee News Clips

Tennessee News Clips

Politics

Willie Herenton says he won't run in special election for Memphis mayor
August 24, 2009 Memphis Commercial Appeal
He pulled a petition Aug. 13 to run for mayor, but Willie Herenton said Monday that he will not try to replace himself in the Oct. 15 special election.

Candidate touts his executive experience
August 25, 2009 Chattanooga Times Free Press
GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Haslam said Monday he is the only candidate with the executive experience to be the next governor.

Education

Memphis City Schools Finalist for Multi-Million Dollar Grant
August 24, 2009 WPTY-TV Memphis
Memphis City School leaders are anticipating some big help to improve the education system.

Nashville State weighs satellite campus at Hickory Hollow Mall
August 25, 2009 Tennessean
Antioch's Hickory Hollow Mall, with corridors of empty shops, may experience a surge of new customers in the future — college students.

Healthcare

Swine flu could infect up to half of the U.S.
August 25, 2009 USA Today
The global flu pandemic expected to return to the United States this fall is likely to infect as much as half of the population, flooding hospitals with nearly 2 million patients and causing 30,000 to 90,000 deaths, according to the first official prediction of the scope of the coming epidemic.

GOP Tees Up Medicare Manifesto
August 25, 2009 Wall Street Journal
The Republican Party issued a new salvo in the health debate Monday with a "seniors' health care bill of rights" that opposed any moves to trim Medicare spending or limit end-of-life care to seniors.

Economy

U.S. Raises Estimate for 10-Year Deficit to $9 Trillion
August 25, 2009 New York Times
The Obama administration, citing an economic downturn that has been deeper than it had first thought, raised its estimate on Tuesday of the government’s deficit over the next decade to $9 trillion from $7.1 trillion.

Energy

Knox County energy project to pay for itself
August 25, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
Spend some money in order to save more money.

Energy efficiency could reduce coal plant need
August 25, 2009 Associated Press
An aggressive strategy to replace aging equipment with more energy efficient products throughout the South would reduce the need to build more coal-fired power plants in the region through 2020, according to a Georgia Tech study released Monday.

Quote of the day

“Tramps like us, baby we were born to run…”

- Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen’s landmark album “Born to Run” was released 34 years ago today. Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform the album in its entirety on November 18th in Nashville.

News Clips

Tennessee News Clips

Politics

Pakis-Gillon to Seek Democratic Nomination for Right to Succeed Stanley
August 24, 2009 Memphis Flyer
Although Republican state Representative Brian Kelsey of Germantown would seem to be the likely successor to former state Senator Paul Stanley in District 31, he’ll have competition from at least one Democrat, activist Adrienne Pakis-Gillon.
Education

Parents Give MCS "No Child Fails" Policy a Failing Grade
August 23, 2009 WPTY-TV Memphis
Jose Campbell has three children who fall into the district's "No Child Fails" age group.

Tenn. legislature again considers bill to start schools after Labor Day
August 24, 2009 Memphis Commercial Appeal
Public schools across Tennessee would open as late as the day after Labor Day if a group of parents, some state legislators and parts of the tourism industry have their way.

Healthcare

Health insurers' profits induce ire
August 24, 2009 Tennessean Washington Bureau
President Barack Obama has complained that health insurance companies are making record profits "at a time when everybody else is getting hammered.”

Senate Democrats Consider Tactic to Push Through Government Health Plan
August 23, 2009 New York Times
Senate Democrats said Sunday that they were fleshing out plans to pass health legislation, particularly the option of a new government-run insurance program, with a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes that would ordinarily be needed to overcome a filibuster.

Health-Bill's Pace Prompts Calls for Delay
August 24, 2009 Wall Street Journal
President Barack Obama should re-evaluate his push to overhaul the nation's health-care system and move more slowly, key senators in the debate said Sunday.

Economy

Budget Pain Spreads to Energy-Rich States
August 24, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Energy-rich states, flooded with cash last year when oil and natural-gas prices soared to record highs, are now being drained as gas prices plunged to a seven-year low Friday.

Business

Sales soar as Cash for Clunkers nears end
August 24, 2009 Associated Press
From Vermont to California, exhausted but appreciative car dealers watched their lots grow empty as crowds rushed to trade in gas guzzlers during the final weekend of the popular Cash for Clunkers program.

Energy

A Solar-Powered Oil Field?
August 24, 2009 New York Times
BrightSource Energy has broken ground on a 29-megawatt solar steam plant at a Chevron oil field in Coalinga, Calif.

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Quote of the Day

"Brett Favre is coming out of retirement and joining the Minnesota Vikings. He's getting $12 million from Minnesota. Talk about cash for clunkers.”

- David Letterman

SSG-TN News Clips

Tennessee News Clips

Education

Memphis Schools in Running For Multi-Million-Dollar Gates Grant
August 20, 2009 Memphis Daily News
Memphis City Schools is one of five finalists that could receive part of $500 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve teacher effectiveness.
ACT scores will help gauge new standards
August 20, 2009 Tennessean
Tennessee's 2009 scores on the ACT may not show much change, but this is a big year regarding the college readiness test.

Politics

Ailing Kennedy asks for speedy replacement process
August 20, 2009 Associated Press
A cancer-stricken Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has asked Massachusetts leaders to change state law to allow a speedy replacement if it becomes necessary for him to surrender his seat, fearing a months-long vacancy would deny Democrats a crucial vote on President Obama's health care overhaul.

Entrenched Democrats are a challenge to GOP
August 20, 2009 Tennessean Washington Bureau
Hoping to capitalize on voter discontent, leaders of the National Republican Congressional Committee are targeting several Middle Tennesseans as potential GOP challengers to entrenched House Democrats.

Economy

U.S. Deficit Projection Trimmed for 2009
August 20, 2009 Wall Street Journal
The Obama administration next week will project a federal budget deficit for fiscal 2009 of about $1.58 trillion, slightly less than previously predicted, a senior administration official said.

Healthcare

New Rx for Health Plan: Split Bill
August 20, 2009 Wall Street Journal
The White House and Senate Democratic leaders, seeing little chance of bipartisan support for their health-care overhaul, are considering a strategy shift that would break the legislation into two parts and pass the most expensive provisions solely with Democratic votes.

Obama Calls Health Plan a ‘Moral Obligation’
August 19, 2009 New York Times
President Obama sought Wednesday to reframe the health care debate as “a core ethical and moral obligation,” imploring a coalition of religious leaders to help promote the plan to lower costs and expand insurance coverage for all Americans.

Business

Program to Offer Appliance Rebates
August 20, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Appliance manufacturers are counting on a "cash for clunkers"-type rebate program to revive slumping sales of refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers.

Energy

Ford Studying Techniques to Charge Electric Vehicles
August 18, 2009 New York Times
Well before its electric vehicles hit the road, the Ford Motor Company is focusing on how consumers will charge their car batteries.

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News Clips

Quote of the Day:

“President Obama has been explaining his healthcare plan now to senior citizens. And yesterday, at a town hall meeting, he promised the crowd that he will not, quote, 'pull the plug on Grandma.' Then, there was an awkward moment when Grandpa stood up and booed.”

- Conan O’Brien

Tennessee News Clips

Education

Covenant would guarantee grads 2 years of college
August 17, 2009 Tennessean
Graduate from McGavock High School and get money for college — that's a promise some local leaders are hoping to make to Metro students.

Dangling Money, Obama Pushes an Education Shift
August 16, 2009 New York Times
Holding out billions of dollars as a potential windfall, the Obama administration is persuading state after state to rewrite education laws to open the door to more charter schools and expand the use of student test scores for judging teachers.

GED test taking spikes in Tennessee, Georgia
August 17, 2009 Chattanooga Times Free Press
A sputtering economy and a desire to rethink educational options spurred more adults in Tennessee, Georgia -- and across the nation -- to take the GED test last year, according to a new report.

Healthcare

Tennessee Experiment's High Cost Fuels Health-Care Debate
August 17, 2009 Wall Street Journal
In 1994, Tennessee launched an ambitious public insurance program to cover its uninsured. The plan, TennCare, fulfilled that mission but nearly bankrupted the state in the process.

‘Public Option’ in Health Plan May Be Dropped
August 16, 2009 New York Times
The White House, facing increasing skepticism over President Obama’s call for a public insurance plan to compete with the private sector, signaled Sunday that it was willing to compromise and would consider a proposal for a nonprofit health cooperative being developed in the Senate.

Politics

Nashville restaurateur seeks quick ruling on guns lawsuit
August 17, 2009 Tennessean
A Nashville restaurant owner plans to ask today for a quick decision in his lawsuit challenging the new state law that allows guns in restaurants and bars.

Economy

Mixed signals better than all bad news
August 17, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
A downtick in the unemployment rate and a positive report on productivity aren't signaling to the University of Tennessee's Matt Murray that an economic rebound is around the corner.

Business

Soda makers: Don't tax our soft drinks
August 17, 2009 USA Today
Industry groups are fighting a soft-drink tax proposal that is not part of any pending health care measure.

Energy

A New Test for Business and Biofuel
August 16, 2009 New York Times
An unusual experiment featuring equal parts science, environmental optimism and Native American capitalist ambition is unfolding here on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in southwest Colorado.

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Clips and Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day:

“Whoever the mayor of Memphis is, we are going to work with them, whether they like it or not.”

- Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) on former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton picking up papers to run for mayor after resigning the position two weeks ago.

Tennessee News Clips

Politics

Willie Herenton picks up petition to run for Memphis mayor — again
August 13, 2009 Memphis Commercial Appeal
In a move that baffled both allies and critics, Willie W. Herenton took an initial step Thursday toward reclaiming the Memphis mayor’s office he retired from less than two weeks ago.

Education

Metro Schools Revamp Discipline Policy
August 13, 2009 Nashville Public Radio
It may become tougher for suspended students to fall off the radar in Metro Nashville schools this year.

Schools Enact Tougher Education Standards
August 13, 2009 WSMV
he state is making big changes in hopes of better preparing students for college and the workforce.

Programs to help unemployed college graduates with debt
August 14, 2009 USA Today
New public, private and college-based programs are targeting a grim and growing market: unemployed college graduates who can't afford to repay their student loans.

Healthcare

Health-care rally hits Nashville rush hour
August 14, 2009 Tennessean
The heated debate over President Barack Obama's proposed health-care reforms came to the streets of Nashville on Thursday.

Health care showdown shifts to TV ads
August 13, 2009 USA Today
The health care battle bubbling over in town-hall forums across the country this month is shifting to television screens as groups on each side of the issue launch multimillion-dollar ad blitzes to influence the debate.

Economy

Geithner Sees Good Vital Signs
August 14, 2009 Wall Street Journal
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the Obama administration wouldn't allow Wall Street to return to such old habits as taking on excessive risk, and that plans to overhaul financial-market regulation were on track.

Business

'Clunkers' Plan Needs a Tuneup
August 14, 2009 Wall Street Journal
The Obama administration eased the rules of its "cash for clunkers" program Thursday, saying it would let consumers order autos that dealers don't have in stock.

Energy

TVA testing energy-efficiency technology in modified homes
August 14, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
TVA has developed three homes in a Campbell Creek subdivision in Farragut in which showers come on by themselves, lights mysteriously turn off and on, and refrigerator doors open and close without a soul in the kitchen — all without the use of psychic power.

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SSG-TN News Clips

Tennessee News Clips

Education

Expanding the Charter Option
August 12, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Andrea Byrd, mother of two boys, had enough with her son's school.

Tennessee gets $22 million grant for charter schools
August 12, 2009 Nashville Business Journal
The Tennessee Department of Education has been awarded a $22 million Charter School Program Grant, to be distributed over the next five years, from the U.S. Department of
Education.

Politics

Sen. Stanley stand-in likely
August 12, 2009 Memphis Commercial Appeal
State Sen. Paul Stanley left office this month following news that he had an affair with an intern, and now the Shelby County Commission appears likely to pick a short-term replacement for the Germantown Republican.

Knoxville already bans guns in parks
August 13, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
As it turns out, going armed in Knoxville city parks is illegal and has been for at least three decades, regardless of the state’s recent “guns in parks” law, according to Knoxville City Council’s attorney.

Stimulus

Some states get share of stimulus faster
August 13, 2009 USA Today
Stimulus money is flowing far more slowly to some states than others, a USA TODAY analysis shows, despite the Obama administration's push to speed up spending to help jump start the nation's economy.

Economy

U.S. Employers Grow More Optimistic
August 12, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Major U.S. employers are growing more optimistic, with few planning additional layoffs and many planning to reverse course in coming months on cost-cutting initiatives such as salary freezes, according to a new survey.

Healthcare

More Health Care Town Halls Planned
August 12, 2009 Nashville Public Radio
More of Tennessee’s congressional delegation has planned in-person town hall meetings to discuss proposals for health care overhaul.

Energy

Al Gore's group for clean energy opens Nashville office
August 13, 2009 Tennessean
The activist arm of former Vice President Al Gore's nonprofit Alliance for Climate Protection has opened a Nashville office as part of a growing ripple of volunteers nationwide advocating a limit on greenhouse gases.

Renewable energy plan risks blackouts
August 13, 2009 Bloomberg News
President Barack Obama's push for wind and solar energy to wean the U.S. from foreign oil carries a hidden cost: overburdening the nation's electrical grid and increasing the threat of blackouts.

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Quote of the day

"I started that campaign that afternoon with two votes – mine and his. And his was soft."

- Sen. Jim Kyle (D-Memphis) during his gubernatorial campaign kick-off in Memphis on Tuesday. Kyle was describing his brother's support for his first race for the state Senate.

SSG-TN News Clips

Tennessee News Clips

Politics

A President as Micromanager
August 12, 2009 Wall Street Journal
In briefing President Barack Obama one day this spring, White House economist Jared Bernstein delved into such arcana as the yields on different forms of credit relative to the risk.

Rep. Jim Cooper backs out of Nashville school speech
August 12, 2009 Tennessean
Health-care reform opponents hoping to give Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper a piece of their mind at a town hall meeting Friday at West End Middle School may be in for a surprise.

Overhauling Social Security on the Agenda, Summers Says
August 11, 2009 New York Times
About the same time that President Obama was at a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire, pitching the benefits of a health care overhaul, one of his top economic advisers was fielding questions about what might come next.

Education

Economy, desire for degrees fill Tennessee community colleges
August 12, 2009 Tennessean
In a bad economy, a good education is looking more and more attractive to Tennesseans.

Metro still needs to hire teachers
August 12, 2009 Nashville City Paper
Nashville public school students are back in class on Friday.

Even as kids pack to go to college, it's not too late for aid
August 11, 2009 USA Today
Few things are more demoralizing than receiving a bill that exceeds the amount of money in your bank account.

Economy

Economists Call for Bernanke to Stay, Say Recession Is Over
August 11, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Economists are nearly unanimous that Ben Bernanke should be reappointed to another term as Federal Reserve chairman, and they said there is a 71% chance that President Barack Obama will ask him to stay on, according to a survey.

Healthcare

Obama battles health care 'chatter'
August 12, 2009 USA Today
This is not the August that President Obama had planned.

Survey Finds High Fees Common in Medical Care
August 11, 2009 New York Times
A patient in Illinois was charged $12,712 for cataract surgery. Medicare pays $675 for the same procedure.

Business

G.M. Puts Electric Car’s City Mileage in Triple Digits
August 11, 2009 New York Times
General Motors said Tuesday that its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle, scheduled for release in 2011, would achieve a fuel rating of 230 miles a gallon in city driving.

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SSG-TN News Clips

Politics

State Rep. Campfield says he'll seek Senate seat
August 10, 2009 Tennessean
State Rep. Stacey Campfield says he'll seek the Senate seat being vacated next year by Tim Burchett.

State Sen. Jim Kyle prepares to run for governor
August 10, 2009 Memphis Commercial Appeal
State Sen. Jim Kyle of Memphis launches his campaign for governor Tuesday emphasizing his experience as chief legislative sponsor of Gov. Phil Bredesen's initiatives and his role in the upcoming push for higher education reform.

Development

Phone, cable giants to provide data for government's broadband map
August 10, 2009 Associated Press
The country's biggest phone and cable companies have agreed to hand over information about their broadband networks to help the federal government produce a national map showing where high-speed Internet connections are available across the U.S.

Education

Subpar Tennessee raises bar for public schools
August 10, 2009 Tennessean
Tennessee's attempt to drastically transform its poorly performing public schools begins this year with a new curriculum, new tests and a new list of textbooks.

Stimulus

Stimulus keeps checks coming as job hunts fail
August 10, 2009 Tennessean
This is not the first time that Gary Mendenhall has been out of a job. But this is different.

Healthcare

Consumer protections lost in health care debate
August 10, 2009 Associated Press
It’s one issue in the health care debate that nearly everyone — even the insurance lobby — seems to agree on: Better consumer protections are needed to end the nightmare of not being able to get covered for a treatable, if costly, illness.

Poll: Americans divided on health care overhaul
August 10, 2009 USA Today
As supporters and opponents of overhauling the health care system try to shape public opinion at congressional town-hall-style meetings, both sides face a big complication: Public opinion on the issue is complex in ways that defy an easy Republican-Democratic divide.

Economy

Recession may force revisions to the operation of state government
August 10, 2009 Chattanooga Times Free Press
The worst economy since the Great Depression could leave state government finances in the ditch for years to come, ultimately forcing painful decisions by Tennessee’s next governor about the services the state provides, fiscal experts say.

Buyouts lure 9,000 state workers into retirement
August 10, 2009 Stateline
Looking to shield their work forces from tumultuous cutbacks, at least six cash-strapped states have decided this year to spend millions on incentives to encourage government employees to retire.

Energy

Builders fear energy law could stall housing rally
August 10, 2009 Bloomberg News
Legislation requiring new U.S. homes to be more energy-efficient threatens to smother a rebound in the housing market, homebuilders say.

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Quote of the Day

"This week the Toyota Corolla became the most traded-in car as part of the 'Cash for Clunkers' program. After hearing about it, the CEO of General Motors said, 'Oh my God, don't tell me Toyota makes even a better clunker than we do.'"

- Conan O'Brien

Good quote

“The race starts today. I'm issuing a challenge to our nation's governors, to school boards, principals, and teachers, to businesses and non-for-profits, to parents and students: if you set and enforce rigorous and challenging standards and assessments, if you put outstanding teachers at the front of the classroom, if you turn around failing schools, your state can win a Race to the Top grant that will not only help students outcompete workers around the world but let them fulfill their God-given potential. This competition will not be based on politics or ideology or the preferences of a particular interest group. Instead, it will be based on a simple principle -- whether a state is ready to do what works. We will use the best evidence available to determine whether a state can meet a few key benchmarks for reform, and states that outperform the rest will be rewarded with a grant. Not every state will win, and not every school district will be happy with the results, but America's children, America's economy, and America itself will be better for it.”


- President Barack Obama (7/24/09), announcing Race to the Top at the Department of Education

SSG-TN News Clips

Tennessee News Clips

Energy

Grants sought for grid
August 7, 2009 Chattanooga Times Free Press
EPB and other TVA distributors are asking Uncle Sam for help to make their electric systems smarter.

Politics

Sotomayor vote divides Tenn. Senators
August 7, 2009 Gannett Washington Bureau
Tennessee's Republican senators split their votes Thursday on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, with Sen. Lamar Alexander voting for her, while Sen. Bob Corker voted against her appointment to the high court.

Senate Stuff
August 6, 2009 Memphis Flyer
It will soon be official, on Tuesday of next week, in fact. State senator Jim Kyle of Memphis, who in recent years has been serving as the Democrats' leader in the Senate, will officially declare his candidacy for governor in the course of a combination announcement/rally at the McWherter Library at the University of Memphis.

Education

Added classes cut into Memphis City Schools teachers' time for planning, grading
August 7, 2009 Memphis Commercial Appeal
High school teachers in Memphis City Schools will teach seven classes a week this year instead of five.

Stimulus

Economists See a Limited Boost From Stimulus
August 6, 2009 New York Times
Even as the Obama administration braces for another grim report about job losses on Friday, economists say that the president’s $787 billion stimulus package has helped blunt the downturn in limited but discernible ways.

Healthcare

Senators Hear Concerns Over Costs of Health Proposal
August 6, 2009 New York Times
Senior members of the Senate Finance Committee, trying to put together a bipartisan bill to guarantee health insurance for all Americans, were told Thursday that their proposals might be unaffordable to states and to many low-income people.

Blackburn urges transparency in health care
August 6, 2009 Nashville Business Journal
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn told members of the technology and health industry on Thursday that she wants to microtarget areas of health care that need reform like information technology and dealing with those who have pre-existing conditions.

Criminal Justice

Tennessee to cut prison population by 3,000
August 7, 2009 Tennessean
The Tennessee Department of Correction will reduce the state's prison population by 3,000 over the next two years, focusing on keeping low-risk offenders from going back to jail, as a way to cope with an ongoing budget crunch.

Business

Clunkers plan saps dealers of popular models
August 7, 2009 Associated Press
Under normal circumstances, it would take Ford Motor Co. about a month to replace a Focus sold at one of Richard Bazzy's two Pittsburgh-area dealerships.

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Quote of the Day

Ferris Bueller: Look, it's real simple. Whatever mileage we put on, we'll take off.
Cameron: How?
Ferris Bueller: We'll drive home backwards.

- John Hughes, February 18, 1950 – August 6, 2009

SSG-TN News Clips

Tennessee News Clips

Politics

Neither Speaker Nor State GOP Chair Rushing to Reconcile
August 5, 2009 Nashville Public Radio
The Speaker of the state House of Representatives and the new Chairman of the Tennessee GOP both say they’re open to talks with the other.

Do the crime, pay for the time, as in $90 a day
August 6, 2009 Associated Press
A one-night stay? Ninety dollars. Need to see a doctor? Ten bucks. Want toilet paper? Pay for it yourself.

Education

First charter high school spurred by Gates grant
August 5, 2009 Nashville City Paper
Development of Nashville’s first charter high school has received a substantial financial shot from a $320,000 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded grant.

New textbooks open for public review
August 5, 2009 Nashville City Paper
A slate of possible new textbooks for public schools are open for public viewing and input.

Healthcare

Healthcare debate gets uglier
August 6, 2009 Los Angeles Times
An effigy of Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. was hung outside his office on the eastern shore of Maryland.

Seniors defend Medicare plan Obama calls 'wasteful'
August 5, 2009 USA Today
One of the largest spending cuts Congress could rely on to pay for an overhaul of the nation's health care system comes from a Medicare program President Obama has called a "wasteful" subsidy for the health insurance industry.

Development

Electric car chargers to come early to Nashville
August 6, 2009 Associated Press
Nashville will be one of the first cities to get chargers for electric vehicles, according to an Arizona-based company working with Nissan and getting an almost $100 million federal grant.

Economy

Sales tax breaks erode state revenues
August 6, 2009 Stateline
As shoppers in 15 states rush to buy tax-free clothing and school supplies this August, some lawmakers are experiencing buyer's remorse: Their "sales-tax holidays" are pinching revenues at a time when state coffers are hurting.

Bredesen tells state agencies to slash another $56 million
August 5, 2009 Memphis Commercial Appeal
Faced with a continuing revenue decline, Gov. Phil Bredesen is withholding another $56.1 million from state agencies on top of $750 million in cuts and $151 million in planned savings already built into the state budget.

Energy

A Bloom in Biofuels
August 5, 2009 Seed Magazine
The fossil fuels of today largely came from the aquatic single-celled photosynthesizers of yesterday.


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Quote of the Day

"I keep saying that the sexy job in the next 10 years will be statisticians. And I’m not kidding."

- Hal Varian, chief economist at Google (New York Times, August 6, 2009).

Today's news clips

Tennessee News Clips

Education

Performance pay for teachers comes back into spotlight
August 4, 2009 Nashville City Paper
Performance-based pay for teachers has been a hot-button issue for many years in Metro Nashville Public Schools so it comes as no surprise that interest in growing in a forum to discuss that topic.

Tennessee education chief applies for Cheatham schools job
August 5, 2009 Tennessean
With a year and a half to serve as Tennessee's commissioner of education, Tim Webb is already considering his next job.

Stimulus

Stimulus Slow to Flow to Infrastructure
August 5, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Stimulus spending on infrastructure projects is moving slowly and many projects won't get started before the summer construction season ends, complicating the Obama administration's efforts to tout the impact of the $787 billion economic recovery act.

Healthcare

As Congress Goes on Break, Health Lobbying Heats Up
August 5, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Medical-device makers are adamant that U.S. health care needs fixing. They're equally adamant that they shouldn't have to pay for it.

States make deep cuts to health
August 5, 2009 Stateline
Although states are facing their worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression, 14 found the dollars this year to increase health coverage for about 250,000 children.

Politics

House Speaker warns about per diem
August 4, 2009 WKRN
Tennessee House Speaker Kent Williams says House members need to hold the line on their per diem, the $171 they're allotted daily.

Environment

Clunkers program is blip on environment
August 5, 2009 Associated Press
"Cash for clunkers" could have the same effect on global warming pollution as shutting down the entire country — every automobile, every factory, every power plant — for an hour per year.

Regulated Industries

New Law To Regulate Debt Management
August 4, 2009 Nashville Public Radio
A measure signed into law today will help keep Tennesseans struggling with debt from playing into the hands of frauds.

Economy

Economy cools coal market
August 5, 2009 Chattanooga Times Free Press
With economic activity and summertime temperatures down this year, the Tennessee Valley Authority and other Southern utilities are buying 20 percent less coal than they did a year ago.

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Quote of the Day

"First they had a beer at the White House. Well, now, Professor Gates and the cop who arrested him are planning to go to a Red Sox game. It's getting to be a bit much. Last night, they went to a piano bar and sang 'Ebony and Ivory.'"

-Conan O'Brien

SSG-TN News Clips

Tennessee News Clips

Politics

NRA opposition fails to sway votes on Sotomayor
August 1, 2009 Associated Press
The National Rifle Association's threat to punish senators who vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has been met with a shrug by Democrats from conservative-leaning states and some Republicans who are breaking with their party to support her.

5 of 7 gubernatorial candidates get money they can't legally use
August 3, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
Five candidates for governor are accepting political contributions that they will never legally be able to spend in their campaigns.

Education

Nashville State Community College grads can choose guaranteed path to MTSU
August 3, 2009 Tennessean
A newly formed dual admission program between Middle Tennessee State University and Nashville State Community College could give thousands of students an easier path toward earning a bachelor's degree.

College students are flocking to sustainability degrees, careers
August 2, 2009 USA Today
Students interested in pursuing a job in sustainability now can choose from a variety of "green" degree programs.

Stimulus

'Clunkers' Rebates at Risk Unless Senate Acts
August 3, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Sunday that unless the Senate approves $2 billion in additional funding, the Obama administration could be forced to halt as early as Tuesday the "cash for clunkers" program that has become one of the most visible and fast-acting of the government's economic-stimulus programs.

Healthcare

Two Sides Take Health Care Debate Outside Washington
August 2, 2009 New York Times
With Republicans mobilizing against the proposed health care overhaul, President Obama, Congressional Democrats and leading advocacy groups are laying the groundwork for an August offensive against the insurance industry as part of a coordinated campaign to sell the public on the need for reform.

House Panel Approves Sweeping Health Bill
August 1, 2009 Wall Street Journal
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, voting 31-28, Friday approved legislation to overhaul the U.S. health system, ending weeks of stalemate and clearing the way for a pivotal vote in the full House this fall.

Economy

Housing figures point to recovery
August 3, 2009 Associated Press
It was — note the past tense — the worst housing recession anyone but survivors of the Great Depression can remember.

White House Flags Jobs, Deficit Concerns
August 3, 2009 Wall Street Journal
The administration's top economic officials suggested they would consider pushing to extend unemployment benefits that expire later this year, underscoring White House concerns that job creation is likely to lag behind a broader recovery.

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Quote of the Day

"To ease tensions, President Obama has invited Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and the police officer who arrested him to join him for a beer at the White House. And if that works out, Obama's going to have Ahmadinejad and Netanyahu over for Jaegerbombs."

-Conan O'Brien