MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012 Clarksville Soldier Killed Serving In Operation Enduring Freedom (WNWS-Radio)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Many-Bears Grinder regretfully announce the loss of Tennessee soldier, Sergeant Jacob Michael Schwallie of Clarksville. Schwallie and two other paratroopers were fatally injured when their military vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb on May 7, in Ghanzi Province, Afghanistan. Sergeant Schwallie was serving with C Troop, 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Specialist Chase Marta of California and PFC Dustin Gross of Kentucky were also killed in the explosion. The 22-year old Clarksville native, graduated from Rossview High School in 2007. Schwallie enlisted in the United States Army in 2008 On behalf of the state of Tennessee, we extend our deepest condolences and continuous prayers for the Schwallie family, Haslam said. W e are proud of Jacobs service to his state and his country and will not take his sacrifice for granted. http://www.wnws.com/news/17107-clarsville-soldier-killed-serving-in-operation-enduring-freedom

Next Class of Teachers Enters Changing Profession (Stateline)

Every 15 minutes, the buzzer sounds at Ball State Universitys W orthen Arena. But theres no basketball game. The circular concourse outside the court is filled with 300 prospective teachers and 54 representatives of school districts and private educational companies looking to hire them. Its three days before graduation and students at Indianas largest-teacher producing college have 15 minutes to state their case to prospective employers before the buzzer sounds again and their time is up. The students who get hired will enter a profession experiencing major changes in Indiana. This fall, the state will begin requiring that all teachers be evaluated on student performance and that those evaluations help decide whether they get a raise and, ultimately, whether they keep their jobs. Indiana is not the only state making such moves, but from 2009 to 2011, no other state made more changes to teacher policy. Tony Bennett, Indianas elected superintendent of public instruction, says there has never been a better time to be a teacher in Indiana. For the first time, we are actually recognizing and rewarding great teachers, he says. We are treating teachers as the professionals I went to college to be. http://www.stateline.org/projects/stateline/headlines/next-class-of-teachers-enters-changing-profession85899387502

Businesses urged to prepare for new food tax rate (Associated Press)
State officials are encouraging businesses that sell food to begin preparing for a reduced rate of sales and use tax. Effective July 1, the state sales and use tax rate on sales of food and food ingredients will be cut to 5.25 percent from 5.5 percent. Local sales and use tax rates may be added. According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, changes to cash registers and accounting systems should be completed by July 1. However, businesses must continue to collect and remit the existing rate through June 30. Prepared food, dietary supplements, candy, alcoholic beverages and tobacco continue to be subject to the general state sales and use tax rate of 7 percent plus the applicable local sales and use tax rate. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/14/businesses-urged-to-prepare-for-new-food-tax/

TN boosts film incentives (Tennessean/Marsteller)

Industry insiders say package still falls short of peers' It has a good opening sequence and the potential to become a sleeper hit, but certainly not the makings of a summer blockbuster. Thats the Middle Tennessee film industrys initial review of the states latest effort to attract more movie projects to Tennessee. Several in the industry say it should boost development of small, low-budget or independent projects though it likely wont help the state compete for star-studded productions right away. The changes finally give our industry a solid

foundation from which to grow, but dont expect a sizable difference in the near term, said Jan Austin, founder and executive director of the Association for the Future of Film and Television, based in Nashville. The state took steps to free up roughly $2 million a year for Tennessees film incentive program; it also streamlined the programs rules and eligibility criteria. Previously, only those productions with a budget of $1 million or more were eligible for a combination of grants and tax credits equal to 32 percent of qualified expenditures within Tennessee. Now, projects with budgets of $200,000 and up can get grants equal to 25 percent of their in-state expenses. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120514/BUSINESS01/305140010/TN-boosts-film-incentives? odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

West TN counties to form anti-drug coalitions serving teens (Associated Press)

Officials in three West Tennessee counties are working to create coalitions to fight drug use among teens. The state Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services awarded grants to Dyer, Lauderdale and Tipton counties that will allow them to form the panels. Professional Care Services Director of Drug Abuse Treatment Services Lisa Kent told the Dyersburg State Gazette that similar coalitions have been in East Tennessee for years, but they are new to W est Tennessee. It is an exciting thing we are working on, Kent said. (We are joining with) Lauderdale and Tipton counties to work together to saturate all three counties. Members of the Prevention Alliance of Dyersburg and Dyer County met recently at City Gate Church as they work to form a group there that will target the use of tobacco, alcohol and prescription drug use. The goal of this coalition is to make a difference, said P.A.D.D. Interim Coordinator Nora Ammons. City Gate Church stepped up as the fiscal agent of the grant. We were encouraged and felt strongly that if this (coalition) is going to make a dent in this problem that it is going to take faith-based organizations and a large cross-section of the community. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120514/NEWS21/305140025/West-TN-counties-form-anti-drug-coalitionsserving-teens?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

Sexual, religious biases add fuel to hate crimes (Tennessean/Haas)

Crimes based on religion and sexual orientation increase Kileigh Rediker likes to play dress up and loves Hello Kitty. Shes 9 but identifies herself as the proud mother of Cena her Cabbage Patch baby. She doesnt know someone took the time to call and leave a vile message on her mothers telephone last year. The call was replete with multiple racial slurs to describe the biracial, special-needs child. If they knew my little girl, they would fall in love with her. Anybody who knows her and is around her just falls in love with her, said her mother, Christie Rediker. For someone to make that phone call, it just really upset me. They dont know her and they dont know the challenges that shes had to overcome. If police find the anonymous caller, he or she will be charged with a hate crime. Police reports of hate crimes rose in 2011 across the state by more than 50 percent after three years of general declines, according to a report released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. It indicated nearly double the hate crime victims in 2011 in Nashville than the prior year and tiny increases in Williamson and Wilson counties. While most hate crimes in Nashville remained motivated by bias against ones race or ethnicity, there also was a jump in crimes based on religion and sexual orientation. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120514/NEWS03/305140019/Hot-button-issues-may-fuel-hate-crimes? odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|p

No date announced for State Route 126 hearing (Times-News)

Nearly two months have passed since the Tennessee Department of Transportation canceled a public hearing on potential improvements to State Route 126, but no new date has been announced for the hearing. In answer to an inquiry from the Times-News last week, a TDOT spokesman said it is a meeting that all parties want to have, but no other information was available. The newspaper had asked if TDOT could elaborate on whats been going on regarding the SR 126 project in the last two months and specifically, whether TDOT staff were re-working the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) that was to have been the focus of the public hearing originally scheduled for March 22. The DEIS covers proposed improvements to an 8-plus-mile stretch of State Route 126 between Center Street and Interstate 81. The document outlines how three alternatives would impact among other things homes, businesses, historic sites, graves, wildlife and plant life along the corridor. Total cost estimates, depending on which alternative is pursued, range from $0 (no build) to $120 million. http://www.timesnews.net/article/9046578/no-date-announced-for-state-route-126-hearing

Tennessee among states cracking down on strangulation attempts (AP/Tucker)

By the time the late-night argument ended, Jacqi Galles had been hoisted off the ground in a tight stranglehold and choked so vigorously that she says she nearly passed out. She fled her home and called the police on her then-boyfriend, who was charged with a misdemeanor and spared a prison sentence after pleading guilty. Moved by that case and others like it, South Dakota this year joined a growing list of states that have made nonfatal choking a felony crime, which is more serious and carries a stiffer penaltyAbout 30 states have passed laws, most in the past decade, making it a felony under certain conditions to knowingly impede someone's breathing. Iowa, South Dakota, California and Tennessee are among recent states to act, and Virginia's governor signed a law last week. A New York law that took effect in 2010 added three classifications, from a misdemeanor requiring no proof of injury to a Class "C'' felony, and yielded more than 11,000 charges in its first 14 months, according to the office on Domestic Violence Prevention. http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20120514/NEWS01/120513005/Tennessee-among-states-cracking-downstrangulation-attempts-

With session wrapped, legislators turn focus to primary, election battles (CP/Hale)
The noise is mostly gone now from the legislative halls after the closing gavel dropped on Tennessees 107th General Assembly earlier this month. But the state political lull wont last long. Before general election races start in earnest, many legislators face primary challenges in newly drawn districts. While many Republicans across the state will face opposition from their political right, Republican-led redistricting has resulted in four Democratic primaries in which incumbents face each other. The primary election is Aug. 2, after which candidates will turn their attentions to opponents on the other side. With the presidential election front and center, state Republican candidates are likely to focus on President Barack Obamas record. A top GOP staffer told The City Paper that their candidates will try to make this a statement election by contrasting Obamas policies and the apparent political dysfunction in Washington, D.C., with what the Republican-led General Assembly has accomplished. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/session-wrapped-state-legislators-turn-focus-primary-electionbattles

Middle Tennessee candidates balance push for local, state offices (TN/Cass)
Four want to juggle council, House jobs One part-time legislative job sometimes requiring full-time attention to the concerns and complaints of the masses and the push and pull of politics would be enough for most people. But four Metro councilmen are looking to add a second public service gig while wrestling with a proposed tax increase, one of the biggest votes theyre likely to cast on the council floor. As a practical, not terribly glamorous matter, that could mean starting the day with a 5 a.m. call from a constituent whose trash didnt get picked up and ending it with a midnight floor vote on a controversial piece of state legislation all while trying to make a living and be a good family man. Robert Duvall, Darren Jernigan, Bo Mitchell and Jason Potts are running for seats in the state House of Representatives this year after winning their council positions just nine months ago. If elected, each would face the choice of serving at least two years in both roles or giving up his council seat before the four-year term is halfway over. Potts, the youngest and least politically experienced of the four, said he would tackle both jobs head-on. He said he would set his day job as a contractor aside for most of each year if elected to the House. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120514/NEWS0201/305140016/Middle-Tennessee-candidates-balancepush-local-state-offices?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

Improvements at Tennessee Capitol include security upgrade (C. Appeal/Locker)

A century and a half ago, the new Tennessee State Capitol was seized, fortified and transformed into Fortress Andrew Johnson by the Union Army during its Civil W ar occupation of Nashville. Now -- despite state constitutional guarantees that the "doors" of the legislature "shall be kept open" -- the Capitol is becoming increasingly fortress-like again as a result of security measures already made and new ones under way. State officials are keeping the details secret, but they include heightened security checkpoints, which already require citizens to produce photo IDs to enter, high-definition cameras inside and out, license-plate scanners and others not known. Gov. Bill Haslam said he doesn't know details of the security plan. "That funding decision was made by the Building Commission, not by us, and that's really important to note. That being said, I would hope that 3

part of the reason for additional security is to make it so people can still access the building instead of just sealing it off and saying, 'I'm sorry, there's too many security reasons why you can't.'" Security officials proposed X-ray body scanners but they were reportedly nixed in favor of less intrusive metal detectors first put up in 2001. The 153-year-old State Capitol closed last week for an eight-month, $15.3 million renovation project that mostly involves new heating, air conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems and interior refurbishing. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/14/capitol-improvements-include-security-upgrade/ (SUB)

NAACP, ministers work to improve black vote in Chattanooga (TFP/Putman)

If trends in voter apathy and population changes continue, there may be no black elected members of the City Council by the 2020 census, said NAACP Vice President Joe Rowe. The number of blacks on the City Council has halved from 2000, he said -- there were four black council members in that year, and only two today. State law requires that district lines be drawn to ensure black representation, he said, but that doesn't matter if blacks don't vote. Look at the 2009 council election, he said. District 9 has the largest population of black voters in the city, about 70 percent. But whites, with about 28 percent of the district population, cast the most votes. As a result, blacks lost the District 9 City Council seat, he said. In the March primary, the voting percentage at some majority-black districts was 10 percent or less, compared with 17 percent overall, according to Rowe. The Chattanooga-Hamilton County NAACP and about two dozen black ministers are participating in a nonpartisan, national get-out-the-vote effort to make sure blacks vote and maintain electoral representation. "All the progress we've made since the civil rights movement could be lost if we don't act, and the generations to come will suffer because of it," said the Rev. Roderick Ware, pastor of New Monumental Baptist Church. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/14/naacp-ministers-work-to-improve-black-vote/?local

Hamilton County Drug Court workers have seen both sides (TFP/South)
When two local drug court workers applaud new program graduates today, they know personally what it took for the men and women to make it through their addictions. The paths that led John Cooper and Crystal Couch to Hamilton County Drug Court began in seemingly different worlds, but both wound through years of devastating drug abuse, denial and then help from the very court where each now works. Cooper, 35, lived in foster and group homes from age 14 until he became an adult. He fathered a daughter at age 16, only to see her die of a form of blood cancer three years later, one of many tragic episodes he believes triggered his drug use and, later, methamphetamine addiction. Couch, 24, was a good student at Dade County High School, had both parents at home for most of her childhood and played softball before drinking alcohol led to pills, then cocaine, and later daily crack smoking. Cooper spent a decade using, cooking and selling meth until he ended up living in his car and fishing for his dinner in small ponds in the woods. "From 20 to 30 I was engrossed in some form of meth, whether it was using or selling or cooking," Cooper said. Couch's addiction trajectory rose and fell rapidly. Through her teen years she added more drugs to the mix until a year of crack use erased most of her memories of life before the drug. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/14/drug-court-workers-haveseen-hamilton-county/?local

Student loan default rates rise in Chattanooga and across the country (TFP/Trevizo)
Default rates on student loans have risen in Chattanooga and across the country, reaching their highest levels in at least three years. Experts say the trend is a recession-fed turnabout following some of the lowest years for defaults since the 1990s. Department of Education data from 2011 shows that the default rate for Chattanooga State Community College rose over 2010 from 10.9 percent to 17.3 percent. That's the highest default rate among the area's colleges and universities and one of the highest rates for Chattanooga State in several yearsU.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. introduced a bill -- co-sponsored by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.-that would repeal the prevention and public health fund for women's health and preventive care that was created under federal health care reform. Neither bill has advanced for a full vote in the Senate. "In February, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act was passed. It was voted on in the Senate, and every Democrat except six voted to take $5 billion out of the prevention and public health fund we are talking about to pay for it," Alexander said on the Senate floor Tuesday. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/14/student-loan-default-rates-up-chattanooga-america/?local

Census Bureau questionnaires criticized by Rep. Duncan as intrusive (TN/Collins)

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Duncan wants to end what he views as intrusive Census Bureau questionnaires It's supposed to give us a statistical snapshot of America. But for U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., the detailed questionnaire the U.S. Census Bureau sends out to thousands of households every month is a little too Orwellian. It's too intrusive, he said, and poses too many questions that are none of the government's business. "It seems to me that is Big Brother type of government," the Knoxville Republican said. Duncan and a number of federal lawmakers, mostly Republicans, are pushing to eliminate the American Community Survey, which the Census Bureau sends out every month to 250,000 households across the country. The questionnaire asks Americans everything from their ethnicity to how much they earn to whether they rent or own their own homes. This week, the U.S. House voted 232-190, mostly along party lines, to prohibit the Census Bureau from using federal funds to conduct the survey. All four of the House members from East Tennessee voted in favor of the legislation. The measure is unlikely to survive in the Democrat-controlled Senate. But should it become law, it would end the collection of statistical data that is used to determine how federal dollars are spent on a wide array of government programs and services, including roads, schools, hospitals, job-training programs and community centers. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/14/census-bureau-questionnaires-criticized-as/

GM reported to be hiring team leaders at plant (Associated Press)

A union official says about 60 team leaders will be hired in about two weeks for the General Motors plant in Spring Hill, Tenn. Mike Herron, United Auto Workers 1853 bargaining chairman, told Maury County commissioners the workers will be involved in the production of the Chevrolet Equinox. According to The Daily Herald (http://bit.ly/JfQYX3 ), there also will be numerous jobs in the future for local citizens to fill. Herron said he had no estimate of the number. In 2009, 2,500 workers were dispersed to other plants across the country when GM idled the plant. Before that, the Saturn car was produced at the facility. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/14/gm-reported-to-be-hiring-team-leaders-at-plant/

The Pyramid plan takes shape (Commercial Appeal/Maki)

Plans to transform The Pyramid into a Bass Pro Shops super store now include a three-story hotel encircling the arena floor. As city leaders and Bass Pro officials prepare for a June groundbreaking, decisions about renovating the arena -- ephemeral and always evolving until now -- are taking firm shape. Inside The Pyramid, blue and orange chalk lines on the concrete floor outline places where massive water features will go, while shells of a general store and an elevator to the observation deck have been erected with wood and tape. Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris -- who has made 15 to 20 trips to the building -- has decided to add a 210room hotel on three floors in The Pyramid's interior. The building will be stocked with outdoor goods arrayed among wildlife displays to seem as much like a theme park as a retail store. On his visits, Morris spends hours inside The Pyramid, often alone, considering design features. "(Morris) thinks of every little thing you'll see when you walk through the door," said Alan Barner, senior project manager with O. T. Marshall Architects, the firm handling the city's portion of the project. "He's a real visionary in that way, and he's investing his own time and energy in the creation of the design." http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/14/pyramid-plantakes-shape/ (SUB)

Student transfer option at risk in Hamilton County (Times Free-Press/Hardy)

Options for students to leave their zoned schools in search of a better education could narrow as the Hamilton County Board of Education considers phasing out a decade-old school transfer program. After Tennessee received a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law in February, school systems no longer must provide transportation for students from schools that didn't meet federal benchmarks to better-performing ones. The transfer option is a safeguard meant to provide a route out of some of the lowest-performing schools. But that safeguard came with an annual price tag of nearly $1 million in local transportation costs, and national experts still debate what effects, if any, the transfer program had on student achievement. In Hamilton County, about 500 students chose to transfer this year, records show, a figure that is more than double the number of transfer students in the 2010-11 school year. That's just a fraction of the thousands of students who were eligible. Schools Superintendent Rick Smith said he doesn't want to end the program abruptly. He's recommending the board phase out transfers so students can finish the grades at their current school before being moved back to a zoned school. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/14/student-transfer-option-at-risk-chattanooga/?local

California: Brown Says More Cuts Needed in California (Wall Street Journal)
California Gov. Jerry Brown said the state's projected budget deficit widened to $16 billion from about $9 billion, and he warned that the state will need deeper cuts to services such as education if voters don't pass a taxincrease measure he is championing. The Democratic governor on Monday is set to release his revised 201213 budget to lawmakers in the state's Democratic-controlled Legislature. While he didn't outline details of his new budget plan in a brief YouTube address, Mr. Brown said the state would have to cut funding to schools and public-safety agencies already hit with steep budget cuts in recent years unless voters pass his ballot proposal in November. That measure would temporarily raise sales taxes, to 7.5% from 7.25% for four years, and it would boost income taxes by as much as three percentage points for seven years on individuals making more than $250,000 a year or households making more than $500,000. "What I am proposing is not a panacea, but it goes a long way towards cleaning up the state budget mess," Mr. Brown said in his video statement. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303505504577402153223248204.html?mod=ITP_pageone_1 (SUBSCRIPTION)

OPINION Editorial: Salute to foster parents May is Foster Care Month (Mountain Press)
More than 6,500 children are in foster care in Tennessee now. That doesnt mean they are orphans. It means that for some reason they have been removed from their homes and placed in state custody at least until things improve at home. That is the goal: Get kids back with their families. Gov. Bill Haslam has proclaimed May as Foster Care Month, recognizing foster parents and encouraging others to takes steps to serve children in the year ahead. There are more children in need of temporary foster homes than there are homes to place them. There are a number of fine group homes and facilities that specialize in caring for these kids, but nothing beats the warmth and love found in a single-family house. Family is the crucible of a childs life, said Tennessee Department of Childrens Services Commissioner Kathryn ODay. Children must live in a safe, stable, and loving family in order to develop properly. When a childs own family is unable to care for them, foster families are a lifeline for them. During Foster Care Month, we salute the thousands of Tennesseans who open their home to foster children, and at the same time we draw attention to the need for more foster families across our state. http://themountainpress.com/view/full_story_free/18581388/article--EDITORIAL-Salute-to-foster-parents--Mayis-Foster-Care-Month--time-to-shed-light-on-these-dedicated-people-?instance=main_article_opinion

Editorial: Look beyond who's in charge (Commercial Appeal)

Bigger issue than school security: Programs to keep students out of Juvenile Court shouldn't get lost in school security tiff. The disagreement over who will be in charge of security for a merged Memphis and Shelby County school system eventually will be settled. W hat shouldn't get lost in that negotiation are the efforts under way to keep students out of the Juvenile Court system for minor offenses. That is even more relevant now because of the recent U.S. Department of Justice report that said a disproportionate number of African-American juveniles are referred to the court for minor offenses. The question of who will oversee school security in the consolidated Shelby County Schools has become a prickly issue for the Transition Planning Commission, the body planning the merger. The issue basically boils down to who will supervise the school district security officers and sheriff's deputies assigned to the schools. There are those who think the district's security officers should continue to report to school district administrators and the deputies should continue to report to the sheriff. Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, a TPC member and former sheriff, wants all school security officers to report to the sheriff. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/14/editorials-look-beyond-whos-in-charge/ (SUBSCRIPTION) 6

Editorial: 'Let's Move' renews emphasis on fighting obesity (News-Sentinel)

"Easy living is sapping the strength and vitality of our children. One-third of them of school age can't pass minimum physical achievement tests." Lest we assume the concern about childhood obesity and being overweight is something altogether new, the above quote was in a public service advertisement by the President's Council on Physical Fitness from at least 50 years ago. Fast-forward five decades, and Americans have the same concerns about childhood obesity and being overweight. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the number of adolescents who are overweight tripled between 1980 and earlier this century, and the number of pre-adolescents with that problem doubled. That is why the recent "Let's Move" event involving nearly 1,000 children in Knoxville is important. The program needs to keep moving and keep growing. Knoxville is the ninth Tennessee city to support First Lady Michelle Obama's two-year-old initiative to halt childhood obesity. The "Let's Move" event was held May 5 at two sites Victor Ashe Park and HolstonChilhowee Park and offered a variety of physical activities that were fun and challenging. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/14/editorial-lets-move-renews-emphasis-on-fighting/

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