TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2011 Haslam travels state to address labor issues, unemployment (City Paper/W oods)

With Washington shifting gears from stimulus to cutbacks, pressures are increasing on state governments to take economic recovery into their own hands and Gov. Bill Haslam is traveling Tennessee to try to convince voters that hes on the case. The governor has assumed a dual role part cheerleader and part reassuring family member as he touts his administrations efforts to attract jobs. But he cautions that the road to recovery is long. Since Haslam took office in January, about 9,500 new jobs have been created in Tennessee, either through the expansion of existing businesses or via new companies locating in the state, according to figures the state Department of Economic and Community Development provided to The City Paper. But the unemployment rate remains at a stubborn 9.8 percent statewide 8.5 percent in Davidson County. To the state Department of Labor and W orkforce Development, companies have reported laying off 6,886 workers in the past six months, with the biggest loss coming with the shutdown of Union Citys Goodyear Tire and Rubber plant, where 1,900 were furloughed. And those are just some of the layoffs. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/haslam-travels-state-address-labor-issues-unemployment

State's answer to failing schools relies on outside charters (CP/W hitehouse)

On the same day the man tasked with overseeing Tennessees most academically woeful schools came on board, his newly created state office uncorked a massive request for qualifications in search of organizations interested in opening charter schools. Timing both developments occurred on the first day of August surely wasnt coincidental. Charters, those privately run, publicly financed schools, have become darlings of politicians in the Volunteer State, quickly emerging as the go-to education strategy for the new Republican governors administration, legislature and, to an extent, locally in Metro. The newcomer on the scene is Chris Barbic, a 41year-old founder of a charter network in Houston. In May, Gov. Bill Haslam an unabashed charter champion tapped Barbic to head Tennessees so-called Achievement School District, a special state-governed cluster established a year and a half ago as part of the Race to the Top legislation. Thirteen low-performing schools statewide, determined by federal No Child Left Behind benchmarks, currently qualify for this special form of state intervention. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/states-answer-failing-schools-led-newcomer-reliesheavily-outside-charters

Haslam Picks Cates for Consolidation Group (Memphis Daily News)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has picked Memphis philanthropist and business leader Staley Cates as his nominee for the 21-member schools consolidation planning commission. Cates is president of Southeastern Asset Management Inc. Haslam announced his selection Friday, Sept. 2, following the selection of five members each for the commission by the Memphis City Schools board and Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell. The Shelby County Schools board will meet Thursday, Sept. 8, to make its choices through board chairman David Pickler. That leaves choices by Tennessee House speaker Beth Harwell and Lt. Gov. and Tennessee Senate speaker Ron Ramsey. Cates is best know for his involvement in the NBA Now campaign that brought the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team to the city, as well as his role in the local ownership group of the NBA franchise. Cates is president of the board of the Grizzlies Charitable Foundation. http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2011/sep/6/haslam-picks-cates-for-consolidation-group/

Flooding forces evacuations in Chattanooga area (Times Free-Press/Lukachick)

As the water began to rise above Joy Medford's neighbor's tires and past the bumpers Monday afternoon, she knew it was time to leave her Fort Oglethorpe apartment. With a baby on one hip, bags in the other hand and a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old running through the knee-deep water covering the complex parking lot, Medford was able to evacuate before the water was too high. "I didn't want to take any chances," she said. Several hours

later, Fort Oglethorpe Fire and Rescue teams had to evacuate 34 residents by boat from the Battlewood Apartments as the remains of Tropical Storm Lee fell in sheets across the region. More than 8 inches of rain had fallen by Monday night, causing rivers and creeks to flood and water to rise above roads in the Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia regions. Forecasters said the worst of the flooding was expected today. North Georgia counties were under a flash flood watch until this morning, said Nate Mayes, a National W eather Service forecaster in Peachtree City, Ga. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/06/b2-flooding-forcesevacuations/?local

Chattanooga area flooding forces evacuations, detours (TFP/Lukachick, Smith)

A record-breaking rainfall cascaded down in sheets and torrents Monday, straining dams and threatening new flooding in low-lying areas today despite ground that had been starved of moisture for weeks. The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, which arrived Sunday, could dump a total of 10-11 inches of rain on the Chattanooga area by tonight and cause more regional flooding, according to forecasts by the U.S. Weather Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority. "[There's] rain, rain and more rain," said forecaster Nate Mayes with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Ga. The storm had deposited 8.16 inches of rain at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport as of 5 p.m. Monday, an amount that broke the 24-hour local rainfall record of 7.61 inches set on March 29 and 30 of 1886, according to the National W eather Service. Lee wrecked havoc on Labor Day throughout the Tennessee Valley as more than a thousand Soddy-Daisy residents lost power, and Catoosa County, Ga., suffered a five-hour telephone blackout after Ringgold Telephone Company lines went down at noon, police said. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/06/96-a1-flooding-forces-evacuations-detours-school/?local

ET soaked with nearly 5 inches of rain (Knoxville News-Sentinel)

East Tennessee was slammed with nearly 5 inches of rain on Labor Day and the downpour is not expected to halt until today. The steady heavy rainfall that began Monday morning created traffic havoc and flooded roads throughout the day around Knox and some surrounding counties. "So far, we've had 4.56 inches, and we expect a few more inches overnight," Derek Eisentrout of the National Weather Service said Monday evening. Earlier in the day, the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for Knox, Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe and Roane counties. The Cross Park and Park Village areas of West Knoxville near Cedar Bluff were hit hard. Throughout the day, police were called to rescue at least three motorists stranded by high water there. A spot on Interstate 40 West near Strawberry Plains Pike was particularly problematic, as several cars hydroplaned and wrecked throughout the afternoon. A fully loaded tractor-trailer jackknifed at the Strawberry Plains on-ramp to I-40, closing that ramp for hours. Sevier and Knox emergency personnel both responded to a tractor-trailer fuel tanker that overturned on westbound I-40 near mile marker 405. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/05/heavy-rains-causing-headaches-in-knox-counties/

More rain adds to flooding woes for Claiborne County (WATE-TV Knoxville)
Heavy rain caused problems for East Tennessee residents on Labor Day, but for people in Claiborne County, the water was especially worrisome. More than two months after flood waters caused widespread damage across the county, officials were still struggling Monday to find money for road repairs. Flood waters rushed through Claiborne County on June 28. Since then officials have been working to get some assistance from the federal government. They finally got a disaster declaration that makes them eligible for FEMA grants for damage to public property like roadways, but the money won't be available right away. On Labor Day water was rushing through parts of Claiborne County again. Roads damaged in June's floods have made it difficult for even emergency crews to get around. Baldwin Hill Road near Tazewell was covered Monday with ankle deep water and pieces of pavement were washing down a nearby creek. http://www.wate.com/story/15397667/more-rain-adds-to-flooding-woes-for-claiborne-county

Lee's remnants cause twisters, flooding in South (Associated Press/Turner)

The destructive remnants of Tropical Storm Lee slithered farther north Tuesday morning after spawning tornadoes, flooding numerous roads, sweeping several people away and knocking out power to thousands. Record amounts of rain have fallen in parts of Tennessee, and more was expected. More than 9 inches of rain fell Monday in Chattanooga, and forecasters expected rain clouds to loom over the area through the next day. The rainfall beat an all-time mark for rain in 24 hours. Numerous roads were flooded, and even modest winds were pulling trees out of the soggy ground. "We have had problems with trees coming down, mainly because the soil is so saturated with water," said National Weather Service forecaster David Gaffin in Morristown, Tenn. To 2

the south, forecasters expected rainfall to taper off in Alabama overnight after flooding numerous Birmingham roads. The weather also caused a roof to collapse at Pinson Valley High School outside Birmingham, according to The Birmingham News. No one was injured. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/06/lees-remnants-spawn-ga-twisters-drown-miss-man/

Wet blanket: Remnants of Lee soak region (Johnson City Press)

While many people were hoping for bright blue skies and a chance to take full advantage of Labor Day by spending some time on the lake or having a barbecue in the back yard, Mother Nature had other plans. Tropical Storm Lee put a damper on Mondays celebrations as a constant stream of storms moved throughout the region. Beginning overnight Monday, the remnants of Lee collided with a cold front that was moving throughout the area, creating a sort of focusing mechanism that kept the rain falling nearly all day long, according to Derek Eisentrout, a representative with the National Weather Service in Morristown. This amount of rainfall is unusual any time of the year. This is remnants of a tropical storm system that was coming off the Gulf Coast. This is just uncommon, Eisentrout said. Once Lee moved on shore, it became a low pressure system that carried a massive amount of precipitation with it, according to Eisentrout. http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=94035#ixzz1XAWHmIRq

State officials urge motorists to slow down in heavy rain (WATE-TV Knoxville)
In the midst of Monday's downpour, even the colorful Tennessee Department of Transportation HELP truck was less visible. "I would rather have snow than rain," said HELP truck operator Karen Roberts. Roberts says that's because heavy rain creates an immediate mess. No matter what time of the day, traffic was slower than usual on the interstates. Numerous accidents stall traffic as spectators crawl by, slowing down the traffic flow even more. "Sometimes I wish we would pull a curtain around the accident so people couldn't see it," said Roberts. To make things worse, the rain doesn't always wash away bad habits. "People are still texting," said Roberts. They are also speeding. "Most of the accidents that we have on days like today are cars hydroplaning, people have got to realize that you have to slow down when it's rainy," said Roberts. Roberts said she worked several wrecks Monday morning. Most were single-car wrecks, caused by drivers hydroplaning and spinning out of control. http://www.wate.com/story/15397704/state-officials-urge-motorsist-to-slow-down-in-heavy-rain

Tennesseans to be urged to prepare for bad weather (Associated Press)

Thirty-seven persons were killed in Tennessee tornadoes in April. The Mississippi River reached 14 feet above flood stage in Memphis last May. With those in mind, state officials on Tuesday will stress the importance of being prepared for natural disasters. They will have a news conference to discuss National Preparedness Month, now being observed. Representatives from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and the Tennessee Department of Health are scheduled to be present. They also will discuss recovery from severe weather. Bill Brown, of the Greene County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, will discuss his county's response to the deadly tornadoes. This was the second straight year of severe flooding. Twenty-three people died in Tennessee floods in May 2010. http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tennessean&sParam=37384261.story

Transfer deals widen paths to graduation (Knoxville News-Sentinel)

Kevin Moore is deciding between two futures: a marketing degree at the University of Tennessee or a music degree at Middle Tennessee State University. While he decides which to pursue, the Knoxville native is working toward an associate degree at Pellissippi State Community College. Thanks to a new agreement among the states colleges and universities, it doesnt matter which school Moore chooses his credits will transfer to any of them. Faculty from the states 22 community colleges and universities gathered in Nashville over the last two years, hashing out 50 pathways that allow students to graduate from community college and enter a state university as a junior. The faculty groups sorted out which courses students needed to be on pace with university programs and what curriculum needed to be covered in those classes so students are prepared. The discussions were very lively, said Katie High, interim vice president for academic affairs at UT. They came out every single time with (a pathway). And some of the community colleges said, Were going to go back and include certain topics into some of our courses. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/05/new-transfer-agreements-across-state-colleges/

Federal dollars funding most of states budget to recruit jobs (N-S/Humphrey)

About three-fourths of Tennessees economic development effort is funded by the federal government which, as 3

we hear from Washington these days, is in the throes of pondering a substantial reduction in its expenditures. At first blush, federal cuts might seem to pose serious problems for the states business enhancement endeavors until one looks at its budget history Finance Commissioner Mark Emkes has instructed all state government departments to draft contingencies for a 30 percent reduction in their federal funding. In the 2011-2012 state fiscal year that began July 1, the state Department of Economic and Community Developments budget stood at $258.9 million. Of that, $195 million, or 75 percent, is federal money. Those figures are somewhat higher than what was initially proposed by Gov. Bill Haslam in the budget he presented in March. But, they are significantly down from previous fiscal 2010-11 year, when an extra $100 million in federal stimulus money aimed at job creation flowed through the department. Last years ECD budget ballooned to $365.7 million, according to the state budget document distributed in March. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/05/tom-humphrey-federal-dollars-funding-most-states-b/

State monitoring Loudon landfill (Knoxville News-Sentinel/W illett)

Yogurt-like sludge a factor in '10 landslide Loudon County's Matlock Bend landfill the scene of a large landslide this past November is still under a Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation order to mitigate the problems that caused the slide. Experts say the problem is based on the unique characteristics of a type of industrial waste produced by the Tate & Lyle Co. in Loudon. Officials at Santek, the company operating the landfill, said earlier this year that they were working around the clock to stabilize the landfill. An Aug. 16 review of the site by TDEC determined that further study of the situation was needed before the order could be lifted. "We do not know yet whether the order will be lifted. We asked for more time to review the site and more data. The outcome will be dependent on those results," said Tisha Calabrese-Benton, spokeswoman for TDEC. Santek, based in Cleveland, Tenn., responded to questions in a letter from David Hollinshead that stated, "TDEC agreed that significant progress is being made but monitoring still needs to occur for another four to six weeks. "A plan also needs to be developed as to re-entering the event area once the order is lifted." http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/05/state-monitoring-loudon-landfill/

MTSU to air lessons on Chinese language (Associated Press)

Tennessee students in grades two through five will be able to get lessons in the Chinese language through a program at Middle Tennessee State University. "A Bridge for Better Understanding: Chinese Language and Culture" is a 16-lesson series beginning Sept. 13 and airing weekly through April 18. It's part of the school's Confucius Institute and Center for Educational Media. The lessons will be cablecast in Murfreesboro and several surrounding counties and also in Huntsville, Ala. Additionally, the programs will be beamed via satellite to 20 Tennessee counties, and those programs will be webcast across the state. http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tennessean&sParam=37384243.story

TN Court of Criminal Appeals Judge J.C. McLin dies after battle with cancer (AP)
J.C. McLin, the second African-American to sit on Tennessees Court of Criminal Appeals, has died after a bout with cancer. He was 64. McLin was appointed to the appeals court in 2004 after serving as a Shelby County criminal court judge. He had pancreatic cancer and died Saturday, according to a statement from the Tennessee courts system. I will dearly miss his even-handed and wise resolution of the work of the court, said Judge Joseph M. Tipton, presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals. He was a joy to work with, and the justice system has lost a valuable servant of the people. McLin also worked as a criminal prosecutor in Shelby County for 15 years. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee. He served the Court with great integrity and dignity and we will miss him dearly, said Supreme Court Chief Justice Cornelia A. Clark. McLin was the second African-American on the appeals court after Adolpho A. Birch, who was appointed in the 1980s. Birch died late last month. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110906/NEWS21/309050051/TN-Court-Criminal-Appeals-Judge-J-CMcLin-dies-after-battle-cancer?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

Criminal Appeals Court Judge McLin Dies (Memphis Daily News)

A memorial service has been set Friday, Sept. 9, for State Court of Criminal Appeals Judge J.C. McLin of Memphis. McLin died Saturday of pancreatic cancer. He was 64. McLin was an attorney for 25 years before beginning his judicial career in 2000 as a Shelby County criminal court judge. From that position, he was appointed in 2004 by Gov. Phil Bredesen to the criminal appeals court. McLin was an assistant district attorney for 15 years and had a private practice for nine years as well as working a year at Memphis Area Legal Services. Judge Joseph Tipton, the presiding judge of the criminal appeals court praised McLins even-handed and wise 4

resolution of the work of the court. Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Cornelia Clark said McLin was a kind man, dedicated jurist and dear friend. He served the court with great integrity and dignity and we will miss him dearly, she added. http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2011/sep/6/criminal-appeals-court-judge-mclin-dies/

Legislative battles loom over lottery scholarship options (C. Appeal/Locker)

A fight is brewing in the Tennessee legislature over how to tighten eligibility for the state's lottery-funded scholarships in order to cut the program's costs. The outcome will affect would-be recipients of the grants. There's less likelihood that students already receiving them will be affected, unless lawmakers impose an across-the-board cut in the grant amounts. A special committee of state senators and higher-education officials has begun examining the first of several policy options to stabilize the program's finances, which are running annual deficits of about $21 million. They include raising the academic requirements, cutting off students from upper-income families and reducing the size of the grants. Sen. Dolores Gresham, R-Somerville, chairwoman of the Senate Lottery Stabilization Task Force, said the panel will make its recommendations by Dec. 1. The full legislature takes up the issue in its 2012 session. No changes are likely to go into effect until the 2012-13 school year or later. The goal is to tailor a plan to cut spending by $22 million a year, just over the shortfall between what the Lottery generates for education and the amount spent on the student grants, primarily the basic $4,000a-year Hope Scholarship. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/sep/06/battles-loom-on-lottery-options/

Charter school backers push for independent approval (C. Appeal/Roberts)

Proponents of charter schools in Tennessee will ask lawmakers next session to back an independent board with authority to approve new schools, saying they can no longer sit back and watch local school boards act on anticharter prejudices. "The biggest issue is quality," said Matt Throckmorton, executive director of the Tennessee Charter School Association. "Memphis without a doubt has the best application process. They look at it very objectively. "That quality is something we want statewide." Local school boards in the state have sole authority to approve charter schools. Without an independent board, Throckmorton and other charter advocates say, local politics plays too large a role in where charters are permitted to open. A local example is Shelby County Schools. In the last year, the school board twice rejected an application by Smart Schools Inc., which operates one charter in Memphis. Smart Schools appealed the decision to the state Board of Education, which ordered SCS to approve the application. The New Consortium of Law and Business, the first charter school in the county system, opened Aug. 20. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/sep/06/charter-school-backers-push-forindependent/

Andy Berke, online school operator trading barbs (Times Free-Press/Sher)

The political equivalent of a school-yard brawl has broken out between one of the nation's largest for-profit providers of online learning programs, K12 Inc., and a state legislator from Chattanooga who is proving to be one of the company's toughest Tennessee critics. In an Aug. 28 column published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, labeled the Virtual Public Schools Act as "possibly [the] most destructive" bill to pass the Republican-controlled General Assembly this year. The new law's passage, Berke charged, was aided by K12's lobbyists and "funnels thousands of Tennessee public education dollars to a convicted felon, high-profile Washington figures and millionaire executives who live around the world." Calling K12 "partly the brainchild of Michael Milken, a convicted felon who served time in prison for his role in the 1980s as the 'junk-bond king,'" Berke said Tennessee taxpayers "are now on the hook for K12 executives' salaries." "What K12 hasn't proved is that it can help your child learn," Berke contended. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/06/b1-berke-online-school-operator-trading-barbs/?local

TEA: 'Education reform' an attack upon teachers (Times-News)

Tennessee Education Association members and officials make no bones about it: They believe education reform passed by the General Assembly this year was a direct attack on teachers, education and the teachers union. But another group that spoke out in favor of outlawing collective bargaining may make inroads representing teachers in the collaborative conferencing that will replace the bargaining. The General Assembly this year undid more than 30 years worth of collective bargaining in many school systems, including Sullivan County, Hawkins County and Johnson City, and replaced it with collaborative conferencing, possibly starting in 5

2012 for the 2012-13 school year in all public systems in the state if teachers vote to do it. This is nothing more than a way to try to hurt TEA and hurt its members us, Leisa Lusk, a TEA board member and David Crockett High School teacher, told about 35 teachers at a TEA regional meeting held at Dobyns-Bennett High School Wednesday evening. She urged all teachers to ask other teachers and other friends of education to be sure they are registered to vote and starting putting the hoo has who supported the end of negotiations and other changes out of office during the next election. http://www.timesnews.net/article/9035534/tea-39educationreform39-an-attack-upon-teachers

Voter education gears up ahead of photo ID law (Associated Press)

Tennessee's new law to require nearly all voters to show a photo identification card at polling places beginning next year has led state officials and interest groups to plan education campaigns before the 2012 elections. Tennessee is one of six states with Republican-controlled legislatures to pass a photo ID law this year, joining 17 states that already had the requirement. State Election Coordinator Mark Goins has already held conference calls with county election officials about implementing the law beginning Jan. 1. He said the state's voter education campaign and exemptions for some voters will mitigate the effect of the new law. "If we do our jobs right, we believe it will have limited impact," Goins told The Knoxville News Sentinel ( http://bit.ly/p2WqKU The .) election coordinator will work with civic organizations such as AARP, an advocacy group for older Americans, and the League of Women Voters and use public service announcements to share information about the law. Direct mailings to voters likely to be affected also are possible he said. Senior citizens may see the biggest impact because of a state law that allows those older than 60 to have driver's licenses without a photo. http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tennessean&sParam=37380663.story

Quirky TN laws let prisoners vote (Tennessean/Cass)

For one eight-year, four-month period some 30 years ago, criminals could do anything they wanted in the state of Tennessee without losing at least one freedom: the right to vote. That fact now haunts Mary Carolyn Roberts, a candidate for a Metro Council seat representing the West Nashville district where three state prisons are located. Its just unsettling to see nine felons deciding who our elected officials are, Roberts said. Roberts lost to Councilman Buddy Baker by 46 votes last month, but Baker received just nine more votes than he needed to avoid a runoff in the three-candidate District 20 race. Roberts later filed an election challenge, citing votes by nine prisoners including six who arent even incarcerated in Nashville and by 14 other people who allegedly dont live in the district. But Roberts, who said a bench trial in Davidson County Chancery Court has been set for Oct. 3-5, might have to rest most of her hopes on the 14 free voters rather than the nine who were behind bars in prisons from Tiptonville to Mountain City. Until Jan. 15, 1973, people found guilty of infamous crimes in Tennessee forfeited their voting rights. The definition of infamous was quirky to the point of ridiculousness: Someone convicted of abusing a female child would be banned from the ballot box, but nothing was said about abusing a male child. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110906/NEWS0201/308200073/Quirky-TN-laws-letprisoners-vote?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Rutherford redistricting plan divides neighborhood, but lines may change (Gannett)
The Rutherford County Commissions Redistricting Committee has placed Blackman Farm homeowners who live across the street from each other in different commission districts in a proposed district map. The 11-member committee unanimously proposed a plan placing the west side of Blaze Drive in Commissioner Trey Goochs District 20 and the east side of the neighborhood in Commissioner Matthew Youngs District 16. Well take a look at that, Commissioner Steve Sandlin, the committee chairman, said after he became aware of the split neighborhood after the meeting. We dont want to split up subdivisions. Were trying to keep intact subdivisions. Sandlin said he wants all 21 commissioners, seven Road Board members and seven Board of Education members, and interested residents to examine the approved Map 2.0 on the county governments website, www.rutherfordcountytn.gov/index.htm, so they can provide feedback to committee members about needed adjustments. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110905/NEWS01/309020114/Rutherford-redistricting-plan-dividesneighborhood-lines-may-change?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|s

Knox County employees now required to report fraud, waste (N-S/Ferrar)

From now on, if Knox County employees do not report fraudulent, illegal or wasteful activity in their department or by their co-workers they will face disciplinary action, even termination. That's according to an ordinance passed on second and final reading by the Knox County Commission at its Aug. 22 meeting and sponsored by Commission Chairman Mike Hammond. "W e're not really trying to go on witch hunts," Hammond said. "We want to make sure if an employee knows of this kind of activity going on, they have an obligation to report it." The ordinance was passed unanimously by the commission and has mighty consequences for an employee failing to report improper behavior. Hammond said it was motivated by the actions of the late John Evans, former Solid Waste director who died in 2007, and Bruce Wuethrich, former director of Engineering and Public Works, who oversaw the Solid Waste Department during part of the time the county auditor presented a critical report to commission showing $500,000 in misused funds from 2003 to 2010. Neither Evans nor Wuethrich reported to the commission the questionable activities at the county's mulch facility. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/05/knox-county-employees-now-required-to-report/

Miss. River tried changing course during flooding, leaving huge bill (CA/Charlier)
James Parker steps onto a sandy ledge to get a clearer view of where the Mississippi River almost cut Presidents Island in two, tearing out a half-mile-wide chunk of land and leaving water and flocks of geese on a place where cotton formerly grew. Parker, crew chief for the Memphis and Shelby County Port Commission, says he'll never forget the first time he saw this testament to the raw power of the Mississippi. "I couldn't believe it," he said. "I thought it was going to cut all the way through (the island)." Ever since the historic flood of 2011 receded, officials up and down the Mississippi have identified places where the mighty river sought out new channels and made initial efforts to change course during the high water this spring. The Corps of Engineers' $13billion floodcontrol system along the river largely held, preventing an estimated $62 billion in damage. But from northwest Tennessee to Louisiana, the Mississippi tried to carve shortcuts through bends and shave off parts of islands. It washed out riverbanks, undermined some levees and buckled the concrete revetment installed by the corps to hold banks in place. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/sep/06/channel-surfing/

Volunteer fire departments struggle to recruit members (Tennessean/Gonzalez)

Little kids can still get excited by firetrucks leading their local parades, but by the time theyre teenagers, actually fighting fires doesnt often capture the imagination quite like football, video games and the next text message. Its the latest frustration for some volunteer fire departments in Middle Tennessee, which have seen the ranks of volunteers dwindle and grow older while emergency calls increase. Local fire officials know that volunteers face more intensive training requirements than ever before and that demands at home compete for their time. They also see transplants to growing areas sometimes lacking in commitment to their new communities. Whats less clear is how to reverse the trends, to entice young people and grow the volunteerdepartments that account for80 percent of all fire stations. Now with everyone going to college and people working out of town, and the generation were in, its a tough thing to work with, said P.J. Duncan, assistant chief for the Pleasant View Volunteer Fire Department. The recruit rate is low. The retention rate is lower. At last count, volunteers accounted for 70 percent of Tennessees firefighters, making up all but the most urban departments. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110906/NEWS01/309060018/Volunteer-fire-departments-struggle-recruitmembers?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

Roll-your-own cigarette machines draw scrutiny (Tennessean/Toone)

Lawrence Davis has purchased his last pack of Camel Lights. After smoking for 36 years, he has no plans to stop. Instead, the West Nashville man has found an alternative to get the Turkish mellow tobacco taste for nearly half the price. He gets his fix at Roll With It smoke shop, which operates an RYO Filling Station that allows customers to pack tubes and tobacco into the roll-your-own machines that assemble the cigarettes and output as many as 25 cigarettes per minute. The do-it-yourself approach saves the smokers the 62 cents per 20-pack state cigarette tax and the $1.01 per pack federal cigarette tax. The new wave of cigarette technology has already prompted a federal court case, but smokers are singing the praises of the RYO machines, which have been under the state governments radar until recently. Davis pays $24 for 200 cigarettes, about half price. Its a better, milder taste, he said. I know its bad for me, but I love it. I never thought about quitting, but when prices started going up the roof, I was looking for a cheaper way. RYO Machine Rental LLC provides that cheaper option in 38 U.S. states. In only its third year, the company has grown from a handful of machines in Girard, Ohio, to about 1,500 across the country. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110906/NEWS01/308260125/Roll-your-own-cigarette-machines-drawscrutiny?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE 7

Corker: No plans to sit out debt debate (Knoxville News-Sentinel/Collins)

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker says he doesnt intend to sit quietly on the sidelines as the 12 members of a super congressional committee explore ways to cut federal spending. I think when youre serving in the Senate and you come from a life of business, you want to always be involved in the type of issues our country is dealing with, says the Chattanooga Republican, who had hoped he would be picked to serve on the panel. I still plan to be very involved, even though Im not on the committee itself. Certainly, Ive already sent off emails with my thoughts. His advice? Think big. Aim for as much as $3 trillion in spending cuts instead of the minimum $1.5 trillion the panel is charged with finding. And make sure no program is off limits. Not Medicare, not Medicaid, not Social Security. Everything should be on the table, says Corker, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee. The bipartisan panel, composed of six House members and six senators, is a byproduct of the late-hour agreement President Barack Obama and congressional leaders struck in August to raise the nations debt ceiling and prevent the government from defaulting on its debts. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/05/michael-collins-corker-no-plans-sit-out-debt-debat/

High-risk health care plans fail to draw crowd (Stateline)

Throughout the rancorous public debate over the national health law, two provisions have maintained broad public support. One is the requirement that insurance companies let young adults up to age 26 remain on their parents policies. The other is a federally subsidized insurance plan for people whose medical conditions make them uninsurable in the private market Covering young adults has been a resounding success. As of April 2011, more than 600,000 were included in their parents health plans. The Obama administration predicts 1.2 million will be covered by years end. But the health laws lifeline for sick people who cant get insurance anywhere else has been a virtual nonstarter. A year into the program, only 21,000 out of an estimated 25 million uninsured people with high-risk conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes have signed up. When the law was enacted last year, administration officials projected enrollment would reach 375,000 and many worried that funding would run out. So far, only 2 percent of the $5 billion subsidy has been spent. The high-risk program was intended to be a bridge to 2014, when state-run health insurance exchanges will offer affordable coverage for everyone, regardless of health status. Speculation varies as to why it has been slow to take off. http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=597986

Posting temporary, but presence will still be felt (Knoxville News-Sentinel/Munger)

Paul Golan, the Department of Energys interim manager since April, will be leaving Oak Ridge at the end of September to return to his full-time job as federal overseer at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California. His presence, however, may be felt in Oak Ridge long after his departure. Golan was sent to Oak Ridge not just to serve as the titular head while the federal agency looked for a replacement for Gerald Boyd, who went to work for an environmental contractor. He was asked to recommend where to cut costs, streamline some of the operations and bring Oak Ridge into line with the way things are done elsewhere within DOE. That included changing the reporting requirements, with some of the assistant managers in Oak Ridge now reporting to their program bosses in Washington rather than the Oak Ridge manager. Golan said Oak Ridge was the only site still functioning under the old system, which he said added time and costs. Not all of Golans moves have been popular, and the net results will probably reveal themselves in the months and years ahead. He said his bottom-line goal was to make Oak Ridge better prepared and more competitive for what appears to be tough times on the way. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/05/frank-munger-posting-temporary-presence-willstill/

Hamilton County ethanol facility planner puzzled, waiting (TFP/Haman)

Kevin Condra planned to open a business and establish a corporate headquarters in the town he calls home. He set his sights on the last piece of property to be developed in a Hamilton County industrial and office park. Condra and other silent investors chartered Englewood Enterprises last year and announced plans to build an ethanol facility in March. Back then, he said, he thought the project, which could create at least 10 jobs in the Bonny Oaks Industrial and Office Park, would be warmly received. Now it's September and he has spent the long Labor Day weekend wondering whether the Hamilton County Commission will support his project Wednesday or kill it. "W e can't really find a negative in it," Condra said of the project, which he said would increase competition between railroads transporting ethanol to Chattanooga. "We are trying to go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure everyone is happy." County Commissioner Tim Boyd pointedly criticized the project Thursday, saying he was misinformed about it by Englewood Enterprises and that the details of it have 8

changed so much it's now a "moving target." Condra said it isn't uncommon for a business to change its plan to follow governmental processes and meet officials' and residents' concerns. But he said the basic premise all along was to pump ethanol through a pipeline from rail cars to fuel distribution centers on Jersey Pike. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/06/b1-ethanol-facility-planner-puzzled-waiting/?local

Local firm partners with lab to solve solar riddle (News-Sentinel/Brass)

In the race to make more efficient, cheaper solar technology, a Jefferson City company is closing in on a solution one of its founders says could revolutionize the way photovoltaics are made. Mossey Creek Enterprises is one of four companies working under a cooperative research agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop new and improved solar technology. The company has received about $380,000 in federal dollars to research and develop a technique that will decrease the energy and material used to make the silicon wafers used in solar cells and not just by a smidge, says John Carberry, who owns the firm with his son Matthew Carberry and partner Bruce Charles. We believe we can reduce (the cost of solar) from 70 cents to 15 cents a watt, he says. Currently, just 15 percent to 30 percent of the material used to make silicon wafers ends up as viable product. The process consumes large amounts of energy and the silicon coming out the other end of the process contains impurities that impact its overall efficiency in photovoltaic panels, he says. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/05/larisa-brass-local-firm-partners-lab-solve-solar-r/

Metro middle schools get on block scheduling (Tennessean/Hubbard)

High-school-like scheduling adds time for reading, math Metro Nashville middle school students are getting a small taste of life in high school this year. The districts 34 middle schools adopted block scheduling for the first time. Its aimed at getting students ready for the structure they will use in grades 9-12 and giving them more time in reading and math. Block scheduling shrinks the number of courses students take per day, often from six or seven to four or five, and increases those classes from 45 to 90 minutes. Metro middle school students now take hour-and-a-half-long classes in math and literacy and take social studies and science every other day. The district built in an hour of daily intervention, for students falling behind, or enrichment for high achievers. You cant get it all done in 45 or 50 minutes, said Lora Hall, Metros associate superintendent for middle schools. You cant get concepts in or practices built up. We want kids to have a full understanding and time they need to practice what they are learning. Three-fourths of Metro seventh- and eighth-graders scored basic or below on state math exams this year. About 60 percent of grade-level test takers scored basic or below in reading. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110906/NEWS04/308260126/Metro-middle-schools-get-block-scheduling? odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|p

Council Could Consider Schools Settlement (Memphis Daily News)

Memphis City Council members take up the schools consolidation lawsuit settlement at their Tuesday, Sept. 6 sessions. The meeting at City Hall, 125 N. Main St., begins at 3:30 p.m. The settlement will be discussed during a 2 p.m. council executive session and could be added to the agenda for the full council session. Council approval of the settlement would be the final vote needed to make the settlement a consent decree and enforceable. The settlement includes the seating of a countywide school board effective Oct. 1. If the council does not vote on the settlement at Tuesdays meeting it has one more meeting on Sept. 20 before the Oct. 1 deadline. Also on Tuesdays agenda is third and final reading of a city referendum ordinance proposed by council member Kemp Conrad. The ordinance would require a two-thirds vote by the council or nine of the 13 council members to approve a city property tax hike that is a higher percentage than the rate of inflation. The proposed change in the city charter would go to Memphis voters on the Nov. 8, 2012 ballot, which will be topped with the presidential general election. http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2011/sep/6/council-could-consider-schools-settlement/

Deadline today to apply for 7 new school board seats (C. Appeal/McMillin)
When the Shelby County Commission voted last week to move forward with the process of filling seven newly created county school board seats, a small skirmish developed over what kind of questions would be asked of candidates, and in what form. Ultimately, Education Committee chairman Mike Carpenter won out with his preference for dispensing of common questions members say they definitely want answered by including them on a written questionnaire. Others who sat through 12 hours of school board candidate interviews in March agreed with Carpenter that if questions about party affiliation or support/opposition to the school merger are inevitable, they should be addressed before interviews. The application deadline for the seats is noon today, with interviews set for W ednesday. "These are questions that are always relevant to somebody and somebody is going to ask," said Commissioner Steve Mulroy. "It saves so much time if we have them fill it out in advance. 9

When we (interviewed) those 200 people in March, if we hadn't done it that way, we would have been here for several days." Commissioner Terry Roland of Millington was joined by others, including Heidi Shafer and Walter Bailey of Memphis, in objecting to how some of the questions seemed overly political. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/sep/06/first-school-appointments-draw-near/

Troubled Schools Try Mimicking the Charters (New York Times)

Classrooms are festooned with college pennants. Hallway placards proclaim: No Excuses! Students win prizes for attendance. They start classes earlier and end later than their neighbors; some return to school on Saturdays. And they get to pore over math problems one-on-one with newly hired tutors, many of them former accountants and engineers. If these new mores at Lee High School, long one of Houstons most troubled campuses, make it seem like one of those intense charter schools, that is no accident. In the first experiment of its kind in the country, the Houston public schools are testing whether techniques proven successful in high-performing urban charters can also help raise achievement in regular public schools. Working with Roland G. Fryer, a researcher at Harvard who studies the racial achievement gap, Houston officials last year embraced five key tenets of such charters at nine district secondary schools; this fall, they are expanding the program to 11 elementary schools. A similar effort is beginning in Denver. We cant sit idly by and let parents think that only the quality charter schools can educate poor kids well, said Terry Grier, Houstons hard-charging superintendent. If you see something good, why not try to replicate it? http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/education/06houston.html? _r=1&ref=todayspaper (SUB)

Victims of meth lab blasts fill burn unit, avoid prosecution (Tennessean/Quinn)
A man in his 60s lies in Vanderbilt University Medical Centers burn unit, being treated for disfiguring burns to his eyes and arms. He denies it, but the doctors and nurses are sure the man was injured when a methamphetamine lab exploded. At any given time, one-third of the 25 beds in Dr. Jeffrey Guys burn unit are occupied by people injured in meth lab accidents. That number hasnt changed much in the last decade. This mans story is very similar to that of other meth lab victims in the unit. He has no insurance. The hospital will pick up the tab, an estimated $10,000 a day. Staff here cant remember treating a single victim of a meth explosion with insurance. His family has long abandoned him. No one sits in the chair by his side. There are no balloons, flowers or get-well cards in his room. He is now homeless. The chemical explosion claimed his home, too. And he has no job. The staff is already calling area homeless shelters, social services anyone who might help a man recovering from a serious burn injury find work and shelter, and take him to the hospital for his lengthy rehabilitation treatments. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110905/NEWS07/308260124/Victims-meth-lab-blasts-fill-burn-unit-avoidprosecution?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|s

OPINION Guest columnist: In health-care mecca, infants at risk (Tennessean)

Music City is fast becoming Medical City. These days, Nashvilles health-care companies generate $70 billion in revenue and pump nearly $30 billion into the citys economy annually an amount nearly five times that of the music industry. The heart and soul of Nashville may reside with the artists and executives on Music Row, but the paychecks are signed by folks at Vanderbilt, Saint Thomas and HCA. Nashvilles reputation as the Silicon Valley of health care is well-earned, and its doctors provide extraordinary, world-class care. If you look beyond the 10

corporate success and cutting-edge medical procedures, however, a different picture emerges, one that is not so flattering. The states most vulnerable patients infants and expectant mothers are not getting the healthcare services they need, particularly preventive care. Tennessee currently ranks sixth-worst in the nation in infant mortality. On an average day, two infants die somewhere in the state; babies born in Bahrain, Malaysia and Belarus have better odds of blowing out their first birthday candle. Even when they make it, babies in Tennessee are too often born early and underweight, which places them at a higher risk of developing health problems later. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110906/COLUMNIST01/309060004/In-health-care-mecca-infants-risk? odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|p

Editorial: The transfer option (Commercial Appeal)

One of the sanctions for schools whose students fail to make adequate yearly progress on standardized achievement tests two years in a row makes perfect sense: Give students in those schools the option of transferring to another school where the AYP trap has not been sprung. So why do fewer than 5 percent of Memphis City Schools students in so-called "failing" schools transfer, although more than 40 percent are eligible? It might have something to do with the fact that even schools on the state's high priority list have the resources and the environment that can help highly motivated students with supportive parents or guardians do well on tests. The phenomenon might provide a clue for suburban residents wondering if parents will jerk their kids out of the new unified city-county school district by the time it goes into operation in the fall of 2013 -- just because they would be in the same district as some students who have been struggling. Looking at the options, a lot of families in the MCS system have been deciding that they're just as well off right where they are. In fact, it may be that the disruption of a transfer would actually impede the progress of a student who has been doing well. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/sep/06/editorial-the-transfer-option/

Free-Press Editorial: Tax increases, more 'stimulus' won't work (Times FreePress)
It's odd to hear President Barack Obama and his Democrat allies in Congress continue calling for tax increases as the way out of the United States' economic crisis. For one thing, raising taxes during bad economic times is dangerous at best, because it further suppresses whatever limited private investment is taking place. But the other issue is, what exactly does Washington plan to do with any new tax revenue that it gets? Supporters of tax increases say the money could stimulate the economy and create jobs if it were spent by Congress on road, bridge and other infrastructure projects around the country. But we tried that with the first "stimulus," and it failed. Nationwide, the counties that got the most road work money per capita from the $862 billion stimulus created no more jobs for construction workers than counties that got no stimulus money. Other spending from the stimulus has been equally non-stimulating. But even if you think additional stimulus spending is a good idea, it's just not likely to happen. Even if somehow the Republican-run U.S. House of Representatives went along with the Democrat-controlled Senate and approved tax increases, the failure of the last stimulus makes it almost impossible that the House would approve yet another stimulus to eat up the new tax revenue. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/06/0906-b7-fp1-tax-increases-wont-work/?opinionfreepress

Free-Press Editorial: High-dollar rural Internet service (Times Free-Press)

You may recall that one of the things the 2009 stimulus act was supposed to "stimulate" was greater access to higher-speed, broadband Internet service, especially in rural areas. Well, some rural areas did get better Internet access through the stimulus. But you will have to decide for yourself whether it was worth the cost. Navigant Economics, a consulting firm, looked at stimulus-funded development and expansion of broadband Internet access in rural areas of Kansas, Minnesota and Montana. What the firm discovered was not encouraging. For every unserved household that got broadband access through the stimulus, it cost the federal government an average of more than $349,000! That compares with average household income of around $45,000 in those regions. And it's also far higher than the median home prices in those areas of $94,000 to $189,000. So instead of extending broadband Internet access to families in those rural areas at a cost of nearly $350,000 apiece, it literally would have been cheaper for Congress to buy them new homes in areas that already had high-speed Internet -- and to move them and pay them a couple of years' wages! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/sep/06/0906-b7-fp2-high-dollar-internet-service/?opinionfreepress

11

###

12