Clips and quote

Quote of the Day:

“Heart attack rates fall 17% after smoking bans enacted”

- Headline from USA Today last week. Tennessee’s indoor smoking ban began two years ago this week. Two separate analyses – of 25 different studies - released last week found that heart attack rates fall 17% within a year after smoking bans take effect. Given that there are about 920,000 heart attacks every year in the US, the studies suggests that public smoking bans could prevent more than 150,000 of these.

Politics

Poll Finds Support for Ban on Texting at the Wheel
September 27, 2009 New York Times
The public overwhelmingly supports the prohibition of text messaging while driving, the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll finds.

Tennessee House Speaker Kent Williams gets help for PAC
September 28, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
Thirty Republican state representatives and two state senators have signed up to help House Speaker Kent Williams launch a new political action committee with a Knoxville fundraiser.

Education

Teacher bonus pay plan stalled over funding
September 28, 2009 Chattanooga Times Free Press
Until last week, Hamilton County School administrators thought they had a plan to pay teachers extra for performing well in typically undesirable jobs or for having a high level of education.

School board to adopt resolution urging adherence to new standards
September 28, 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel
The Knox County school board plans to adopt a resolution that will encourage state education officials and lawmakers not to "walk away or water down" tougher curriculum standards despite an initial drop in student test scores as they adjust to the changes.

TN college enrollments hit record highs
September 28, 2009 Tennessean
Tennessee Board of Regents colleges and universities are experiencing the highest enrollment in history, reaching more than 200,000 students, Chancellor Charles Manning said.

Healthcare

Employers try to limit rising health plan costs
September 28, 2009 Tennessean
Pat Stella is pondering his options after being told by an insurance broker that premiums on his employees' health benefits package could increase by as much as 11 percent next year.

Use of Federal Health Clinics Soars
September 28, 2009 Wall Street Journal
Federally funded health centers, originally created to serve the poor, are seeing a surge of patients as more Americans struggle financially.

Economy

Risky business: States tax the rich at their peril
September 27, 2009 Associated Press
This year, New York’s deep-pocketed rich were required to dig even deeper to help shore up state finances.

States counting on cheap credit to avoid spending cuts
September 28, 2009 USA Today
State governments are rushing to borrow money to take advantage of cheap and plentiful credit at a time when tax collections are tumbling.

Stimulus

States Rush to Avoid Losing $9 Billion in Highway Funds
September 28, 2009 Wall Street Journal
States are urging Congress and the White House to act fast to change a law that may soon deprive them of nearly $9 billion in federal highway funds, the equivalent of roughly one-third of the amount in the economic-stimulus package.

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