August 1 News Summary

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MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2011 Sales tax holiday exemptions include clothing, school items (C. Appeal/Locker)
Tennessee's sixth annual summer sales tax "holiday" is Friday through Sunday. Shoppers won't pay state and local sales tax totaling 9.25 percent in Shelby County on qualifying purchases of clothing, school supplies and computers. The holiday runs from 12:01 a.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, and applies to purchases at retailers and online, as well as telephone and catalog sales. Last year, Tennesseans saved about $8.6 million. Although the holiday is geared toward back-to-school shopping, the savings apply to most individuals. Tax-exempt items include clothing, school and art supplies at $100 or less per item and computers at $1,500 or less. Tennessee held its first sales tax holiday in 2006. Then-Gov. Phil Bredesen had promoted the idea during his gubernatorial campaign. In 2007 and 2008, the state also held tax-free weekends in the spring, but the spring events were canceled when state revenue began declining with the recession. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/jul/31/state-sales-tax-has-holiday/

Tax break comes at perfect time for parents (Times-Gazette)
With only a week of summer vacation left for Bedford County students, parents getting ready for the first day of school on Aug. 8 may take advantage of Tennessee's sixth annual Sales Tax Holiday, scheduled Friday through next Sunday. During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item, and computers with a price of $1,500 or less. Big savings According to a recent national poll, more than half of mothers plan to spend about the same on school supplies this year, and a third report they will be spending less. With a local tax rate of 9.75 percent, the savings can add up quickly. "I was talking to a lady in the store today who has twins just starting kindergarten, so everything she buys, she has to buy double," said Brian Bannister, store manager at Wal-Mart Supercenter. "That adds up to http://www.t-g.com/story/1748603.html a lot."

Haslam counters critics (City Paper/W oods)
In last year’s gubernatorial election campaign, his opponents dismissed Bill Haslam as an amiable featherbrain incapable of leadership. He seemed to play the role with TV ads revealing the candidate’s love of hard work, nice-guy politics, chocolate pie and very little else. After the first six months of his governorship, Haslam’s public persona remains a work in progress — a topic of mystery to the media and state political watchers…In an interview with The City Paper, Haslam gave a vigorous defense of his leadership as governor and blamed the news media for the perception of himself as hollow. “You see a governor’s role being a lot different than I do,” he said. “I think you see a governor’s role as being one that’s about positions and influencing legislation. I see that as a piece but only a piece of the job. My much bigger job is helping drive a 43,000-employee organization and doing everything from taking care of folks with mental health issues to educating 4-year-olds and Ph.D. students and building roads and working hard to bring jobs to Tennessee and working hard to drag us out of the bottom when it comes to education. I see what happens on Capitol Hill as being a relatively small percentage of what I’m doing. It would be in my top five, but it’s not one, two or three.” http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/haslam-counters-critics-claims-handling-state-lawmakerslegislation-minor-part-job

TN archivists seek to digitize Civil War mementos (Associated Press)
The words, drawings and musical instruments from Civil War veterans are being preserved by a technology unimaginable when Americans battled each other 150 years ago. Staff from the Tennessee State Library and Archives has been on an archival tour aimed at adding to the department's digital collection. So far, the library has collected mementos from 17 of the state's 95 counties. People have brought in guns, flags, boots, sabers and drums from relatives that took part in the war. State archivist W ayne Moore told The Chattanooga Times

Free Press that the museum wanted to gather local items and thus far has been successful. "There's a lot of amazing stuff out there — as good as anything in a museum," he said. Rhea County resident Tom Morgan brought in a trumpet and fiddle that his great-uncle used during the war. When Union bugler W.B. Morgan mustered out of the Union ranks in Resaca, Ga., he put his horn and fiddle in his pack and walked home to Rhea County. On Tuesday at the Hunter Museum of American Art, his great-nephew plucked a few notes on the fiddle strings and said he had squeezed a few notes out of the bugle, which was accidentally run over by a car in the 1930s. http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tennessean&sParam=37108549.story

Law enforcement steps up game as Web-based criminals become focused (CP/Nix)
Kim Eugene Norris began preying on two minor girls, his neighbors in a Madison condominium complex, two years ago. He left Valentine’s Day gifts for a 15-year-old girl and her younger sister on the back porch of their home. Norris, according to his subsequent sentencing in federal court, brought the girls magazine articles featuring teenybopper fodder (such as the Jonas Brothers), talked with the girls when they met at the community pool, and eventually “friended” the older girl on Facebook. W hen the girls’ mother figured out what was happening, she deleted Norris from her daughter’s page on the social networking site — but not before Norris had downloaded images of the older sister and five of her friends. The feds later claimed Norris used computer software to manipulate digital photos of at least six girls — ages 11 to 15 — and posted doctored photos of the girls’ heads on pornographic images of others, making it appear the teenage victims had engaged in explicit sex acts. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/law-enforcement-makes-moves-step-its-game-web-basedcriminals-become-more-focused

Cost of tire disposal raises hackles for some TN counties (Tennessean/Gonzalez)
Buyers may take hit as Cheatham opts out of state program A handful of Tennessee counties are fed up with the state’s scrap tire disposal program and have opted not to take state reimbursements for collecting tires to be hauled off and recycled. Tire recycling will continue, as required by law, but instead of taking state money, Cheatham County and two others are looking for new ways to cover costs. Officials in an additional 44 counties, including Davidson, Robertson, W illiamson and W ilson, are trying to gauge whether their expenses will be covered under a new reimbursement rate. Also uncertain, officials said, is whether the changes will spur more illegal tire dumping. But one thing is certain: Someone will pay. Tire dealers “either don’t have anywhere to take their tires or they have to pay more to the county, which in turn impacts the customer, because now (dealers) are going to have to charge more per tire,” Barry Reese, president of the Tennessee Tire Dealers Association, said of recent changes. “If something’s not done to manage this … the consumer is going to end up having to pay more.” State and local officials agreed that tire buyers probably will bear increased costs and that the state reimbursement program often comes up short in covering tire disposal costs. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110731/NEWS01/307260091/Cost-tire-disposal-raises-hackles-some-TNcounties?odyssey-nav|head

Judge orders geologist to testify in Marshall County landfill lawsuit (TN/Paine)
Despite attempts by the state attorney general’s office to keep a state geologist from testifying in a federal lawsuit, a judge has determined he will be required to do so. The decision opens the way for the geologist to speak about topics that include who pressured him to find ways to allow the expansion of an almost-full landfill in Marshall County into an area with a sinkhole and creek to move forward. In a deposition this summer, the state attorney general’s office repeatedly had stopped James Clark, a Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation geologist, from answering questions when, in its opinion, the inquiries were related to a series of closed-door conversations with Waste Management officials. Clark was being quizzed as part of a lawsuit filed against Waste Management and its Cedar Ridge Landfill in Lewisburg by four neighbors and one local environmental group. They say pollution, including chlorides, ammonia, nitrates and silt, has harmed properties and continues to taint creeks and springs. Waste Management has denied that this is so. The state was pulled into the case as a third party. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110801/NEWS02/308010030/Judge-orders-geologist-testify-MarshallCounty-landfill-lawsuit?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

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Tennessee Agency will inspect Lakeview park mobile homes (Herald-Courier)
Toni Mitchell brushed her finger against a wire inside her 38-year-old mobile home’s electric heater, setting off a bright white arc that lit up the narrow hallway leading to the back bedroom. “Everybody in this trailer park has had electrical problems,” Mitchell said as the arc’s sharp ozone smell dissipated into the rest of the Lakeview Mobile Home Park resident’s home. “These places haven’t been inspected and our landlord doesn’t do anything to fix them up.” The mobile home’s furnace is Mitchell’s biggest fear because it sometimes gets so hot it melts the insulation on some of the wires, she said, causing them to split apart. W hen it’s not in use, Mitchell said, she shuts the device down using the breaker box. She also uses the breaker box to control the light in her living room, because the main wall switch no longer works. Mitchell said her mother has similar problems in her mobile home, an unstable outlet in that structure’s living room that melted the plastic off an extension cord. Electrical and wiring problems in the homes have received increased attention after a July 24 fire claimed the life of an 18month-old boy at the Lakeview Mobile Home Park’s Unit No. 12 – a 35-year-old home three doors down and on the other side of the park’s main road from Mitchell. http://www2.tricities.com/news/2011/jul/31/tennessee-agency-will-inspect-lakeview-park-mobile-ar-1208087/

Chattanooga State to offer housing through private venture (TFP/Trevizo)
Whether Chattanooga State Community College will be the first community college in Tennessee to have dorms sort of depends on semantics, said the college's president. Technically, Chattanooga State isn't allowed to have dorms, but that doesn't mean it can't bring in a private company to build and own housing that its students can use. Using that tactic, the college hopes to fulfill its goal of offering housing to its students as soon as fall 2012, said President Jim Catanzaro. "While there's no prohibition against building dorms, to my knowledge, in community college campuses in Tennessee, there's a long-standing tradition of not doing it, and we felt it would be difficult for us to get therefore state funding to do it, so we looked to the private sector," he said. Student housing is a key component of Catanzaro's plan ultimately to offer some four-year degrees and grow the college. "I think it will help the enrollment of the campus," he said. But there is a prohibition, according to Monica Greppin, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Board of Regents, which oversees some of the state's universities and community colleges, including Chattanooga State. The board doesn't allow community colleges to offer residential services, she said. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/aug/01/chattanooga-state-to-offer-housing-through/?local

Legislators' use of 'Sunset Law' questioned (Associated Press)
Recent disputes in the Tennessee legislature are once again raising questions about whether Tennessee lawmakers are using a 1970s anti-bureaucracy law to pressure regulatory agencies. The law created what is known as "sunset" provisions, aimed at ensuring agencies don't run indefinitely. The legislature has conducted reviews of state agencies since 1977, when it set up the process of letting state departments, agencies and boards "sunset" or go out of business, unless lawmakers voted to reauthorize them. Tennessee lawmakers have held up reauthorization of at least 11 agencies amid questions about their policies and enforcement decisions. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has opened an inquiry into the actions of two state representatives in one dispute dealing with the disciplining of three East Tennessee nurse practitioners. These political battles appear to have grown more frequent as Republicans have gained control over the legislature, The Tennessean reported. http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tennessean&sParam=37108507.story

State law singled out 'injustice' to retired Oak Ridger (News-Sentinel/Humphrey)
While Tennessee's Constitution says that the Legislature has no power to enact a law for the benefit of a "particular individual," Public Chapter 405 this year apparently did just that for an Oak Ridge man. "This bill is to correct an injustice," said state Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, in his initial presentation of the proposed legislation, then known as HB719, to a House subcommittee. A review of recordings during the legislative proceedings shows the constitutional provision came up for discussion, but lawmakers ultimately decided that it could be appropriately bypassed to the benefit of James D. Harless, 67. The bill passed on the House and Senate floors unanimously on the last day of the 2011 legislative session and was signed by Gov. Bill Haslam on June 6. As a result, Harless, who was never named during the legislative proceedings, says he is receiving "around $31,000," the first $14,000 paid July 1 into his 401k shortly after his retirement as an employee of the Department of Environment and Conservation. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/jul/31/state-law-singledout-injustice-to-retired-oak/ 3

Transportation projects facing funding hurdles (Knox. News-Sentinel/Humphrey)
Construction of roads — along with greenways, bike trails and other community projects — could be grinding to a crawl as the federal government cuts transportation funding and requires more local financial participation when handing out what’s left. The Federal Highway Administration this summer rescinded $51.9 million in promised funding for Tennessee roads and tightened the rules on providing “enhancement” money to other transportationrelated projects. With the exception of the surge of federal stimulus dollars in 2009, such cutbacks have been a trend for the past decade. Paul Degges, chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation, estimates $463 million in such broken promises since 2002. Current funding stands at $900 million — down from 2009’s $1.3 billion. For the federal government’s fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, Tennessee is optimistically expecting about $850 million. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/aug/01/tom-humphrey-transportation-projects-facingfundin/

New dynamic for municipalities, companies emerges (City Paper/Williams)
Tennessee is no longer in the planning business. Many of the 212 city and county governments in Tennessee — including, on occasion, Davidson County satellite communities Berry Hill and Forest Hills — have relied on the state Department of Economic and Community Development’s Local Planning Assistance office for help in matters ranging from stormwater management to street design. But the department announced in April that it would eliminate that division as part of a broader reorganization.while that’s likely to have a modest impact And on Davidson County’s five satellite cities, the loss of that division — which zeroed in on local communities for pass-through grants — could affect regional organization and private planning companies, creating a new dynamic in the area. years, Tennessee municipalities without planning staffs have relied on ECD planners to For ensure proper and manageable growth. Some city and county governments will likely beto afford unable private assistance to replace that help, which could leave them vulnerable to harmful development. Some have speculated that local community interests might give way to those of high-profile developers. Tim Roach, executive director of the downtown Nashville-based Greater Nashville Regional Council, said that’s a fair point to consider. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/citynews/new-dynamic-municipalities-companies-emerges-state-drops-its-planning-staff-offeri

Red light cameras to clear up evidence (Daily News Journal)
Accuracy to improve on citations New red light camera equipment being installed at six Murfreesboro intersections is designed to improve the accuracy of the city's intersection enforcement program without changing the way police decide to issue $50 citations. The city in March contracted with American Traffic Solutions, Inc. to maintain and update traffic equipment at the intersections of South Church at Middle Tennessee Boulevard, Memorial Boulevard at Northfield Boulevard, Rutherford Boulevard at Mercury Boulevard, Old Fort Parkway at Thompson Lane, Broad Street at Church Street and Broad Street at Northfield Boulevard. Since taking over the maintenance responsibilities, American Traffic Solutions has installed its own equipment. Murfreesboro Police spokesman Kyle Evans said the equipment has been touted as being more accurate and will also aid the city in getting citations to violators quicker. "The company paid for the updates to the camera system," Evans said. "There are wireless ground sensors that are much more accurate at detecting someone running a red light. New cameras will also provide a clearer picture and better quality photos overall." http://www.dnj.com/article/20110801/NEW S01/108010310/Red-light-cameras-clear-up-evidence-

Memphis buries euthanized animals in landfill (Associated Press)
Animals euthanized at the Memphis Animal Shelter are being buried in a landfill after a city incinerator failed, officials said. The incinerator is operated by the Memphis Public Works Division. It typically handles the disposal of animals at the city shelter and animals that die at Memphis homes. But with the incinerator broken, the dead animals are being sent to a landfill. In a memo, Mayor A C Wharton’s chief of staff, Bobby W hite, said the animals in Memphis are buried separately from other areas of the landfill. The memo also says the landfill is lined to prevent liquids from seeping out, The Commercial Appeal reported. George Little, the city’s chief administrative officer, says there are no plans to repair the incinerator because of the cost. “The incinerator is shut down,” Little said. “The carcasses of the dead animals are being disposed in the landfill. It is my understanding this is an acceptable method of disposal.” Animal rights activist Beverly King said she hopes workers are sure the animals are dead before they’re put in the landfill. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110801/NEWS21/307300036/Memphis-buries-euthanized-animals-landfill? odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News 4

Corker calls out both parties for posturing on deficit (News-Sentinel/Munger)
When he first landed in W ashington four years ago, U.S. Sen. Bob Corker’s critics dismissed him as a Republican Party shill who would go along with whatever dictum GOP leaders handed down. But the Chattanoogan has proven to be anything but. In fact, Corker has earned a reputation as a tell-it-like-he-sees-it kind of guy who’s not afraid of calling out his own party. Nowhere has that been more evident than the fight over increasing the national debt. As GOP leaders have brawled this summer with congressional Democrats and the White House, a frustrated Corker had some choice words for both sides. “All of this talk about the debt ceiling is farcical at this moment,” the senator caustically informed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke during a Senate Finance Committee meeting. Corker went on to accuse leaders in both parties of concocting “a scheme” and playing politics with the debt-ceiling issue. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/aug/01/michael-collinscorker-calls-out-both-parties-post/

Post office closures hinge on several factors (Times Free-Press/Pantazi)
Leondra Lloyd lives less than a mile from the South Chattanooga post office near St. Elmo and dropped by Thursday to mail a bill payment. She may not be able to do that for much longer. The post office, along with five others nearby, could shut down as soon as December. "This is where I go to do my business," the 42-year-old said. "If they close it, where are we going to go? Where are all the people going to go?" Post offices in East Chattanooga, Highland Park and South Chattanooga and downtown Cleveland, Tenn., as well as two more in Murray County, Ga., are targeted for potential closure. Thousands of post offices could be shut nationwide as the U.S. Postal Service looks for ways to save money and stem its losses. The Postal Service lost $2.6 billion in the first three months of the year. A number of criteria will be used to determine which offices need to be closed. The Postal Service will weigh the effect the office has on its community, the effect the closing would have on employees and the availability of service, the potential savings and any other relevant factors. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/aug/01/post-office-closures-hinge-on-several-factors/?local

Outsourcing the local library can lead to a loud backlash (Stateline)
Last month, three public libraries in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita ditched the L.A. County public library system, the biggest in the nation. To save money, they turned instead to a little-known but fast-growing private competitor, the Maryland-based Library Systems and Services International (LSSI). Hardly anyone in the general public realizes it, but LSSI, which runs 68 branch libraries in California, Kansas, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas, is now the fifth largest library system in America. Quiet though it has been, the rise of LSSI has attracted its share of critics, not just at the local level but in the increasingly nervous network of public library systems around the country. As city budgets tighten and privatizing services becomes more politically acceptable, LSSI keeps attracting interest from cash-strapped communities searching for ways to keep their libraries in good working order without spending more than they can afford. LSSI so far has no competitors in the private sector because, according to CEO Brad King, no other company has dared to go “where angels fear to tread.” http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=591002

U.S. cities, states require large buildings cite energy use (USA Today)
Wonder how high the utility bills will be at that apartment you like? To help consumers and spur efficiency, U.S. states and cities are beginning this year to require that commercial buildings measure and disclose their energy use. The new rules, which generally exempt small businesses, are expected to shame building owners into upgrades that will save energy and create jobs. They're akin to nutritional labels on food, Energy Star ratings on appliances and miles-per-gallon stickers on vehicles. They won't specify utility costs but will show a building's relative efficiency, measured in energy use per square foot for apartments. Today is the deadline for 16,000 large buildings in New York City— representing half of its interior space — to report how much energy they used in the past year or face $500 quarterly fines. The city will post the data on a public website next year. Similar requirements — the first of which took effect in January in W ashington state — begin in Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., in October and in Austin next June and throughout California as early as next year. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-07-31-rules-require-buildings-disclose-energy-use_n.htm

Funding may determine Titan's greatness (Knoxville News-Sentinel/Humphrey)
Titan, which is supposed to replace Jaguar as Oak Ridge National Laboratory's next great supercomputer, could be even better than advertised — if there's enough money to support it. The Cray supercomputer has been 5

under development for the past couple of years, using a hybrid design that incorporates Nvidia's GPUs (graphics processing units) to boost efficiency and power for doing super-challenging science research. The first cabinets of Titan are supposed to arrive at ORNL sometime this fall and be used as a test bed to prepare for the full system's tentative arrival in 2012. Titan has been billed as a 20-petaflops machine, which means it would be capable of a peak performance of about 20,000 trillion (or 20 quadrillion) mathematical calculations per second. That's about 10 times the capability of Jaguar, which at one time was the world's fastest computer and still ranks as No. 3 according to the latest list released in June. In recent days, however, lab officials have acknowledged that design enhancements have increased the computing potential at the same power load — the most limiting factor — and boosted Titan's maximum capability to 30 petaflops. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/aug/01/funding-may-determine-titans-greatness/

Clean energy incentives under review (Knoxville News-Sentinel/Brass)
In TVA’s announcement that the utility is seeking to revamp its renewable energy programs, executives touted the agency and its distributors’ accomplishments in advancing the region’s solar industry. Those working within the industry, however, say it’s too soon to declare victory, and noted the gains thus far were done in tandem with state funds. TVA announced in late July its intention to retool its programs because of a $4 million to $5 million gap between what customers voluntarily are paying under the Green Switch program and incentives the utility pays those who generate it under its Generation Partners program. The programs were designed to “stimulate small scale renewable projects in the TVA region, jump start the market for local renewable power and provide customers with a low-cost renewable option,” the agency stated. Executives cited the ranking by the Solar Electric Power Association of several local utilities — including KUB and Lenoir City Utilities Board — in solar technology deployed. TheNational Renewable Energy Laboratory concluded if TVA’s service area was contained in one state, it would rank fourth for small-scale solar deployment. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/aug/01/clean-energy-incentives-under-review/

GM biggest recipient of job-training grants (Associated Press)
General Motors received nearly $17 million in job-training grants from the state of Tennessee nearly three years ago, tapping an unexpected source of cash at a time the automaker teetered on the brink of collapse, according to a published report. Those grants made GM the biggest single recipient of cash for job training from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, according to a database obtained by The Tennessean. Most of the infusion came in the week after GM executives disclosed the cash crisis that ultimately led to a federal bailout. The grants were part of the FastTrack incentive package that helped Tennessee bring production of the Chevy Traverse to GM's Spring Hill plant. The grants were meant to train thousands of new workers who would hold down high-paying jobs for decades. But most of those jobs are no longer in Tennessee, as GM shifted production of the Traverse to Lansing, Mich., in 2009. http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tennessean&sParam=37109347.story

UAW revving up to unionize the South (Tennessean/W illiams)
The United Auto Workers union is gearing up for a fresh push to organize workers at the new Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, in what union officials hope will be the first in a series of successes to gain a renewed foothold in the right-to-work South. Foreign carmakers — including Nissan in Middle Tennessee — have come South in recent years in search of less expensive labor and lower operating costs. The UAW , which has lost clout amid this Southern expansion, has a lot riding on its VW gambit. But the union’s top official in the Southeast, who will lead the drive to organize Chattanooga, concedes that the UAW faces tough sledding persuading Volkswagen workers to join, even with the German automaker taking an unusual hands-off approach to the bold plans to sign up union members. Industry experts say the UAW’s survival is at stake, as the union’s membership has dropped to just 390,000 members nationwide from 1.5 million in 1979. And the UAW is still shrinking. “We’ve got a contingent of workers we’ve talked to,” says Gary Casteel, director of UAW’s District 8, which covers the Southeast and has its headquarters in Lebanon. “But we have not launched an official campaign in Chattanooga. We have no exact timetable yet. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110731/BUSINESS/307310046/UAW -revving-up-to-unionize-the-South

In Franklin schools, socioeconomic equity proves to be elusive (Tenn/Giordano)
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It was back in October when Franklin Special School District leaders started to work on a plan to bring socioeconomic and ethnic balance to its seven schools and 3,800 students. More than nine months later, it’s still unclear what direction the district will take. The six-member school board appears to be delicately trying to figure out how to reduce high concentrations of poorer students that exist at a couple of its schools. Other than eliminating a balanced calendar and an application process at the district’s sole K-8 school, the school board has met twice to hash out some direction, but whether it means changing grade configurations at existing schools, shifting attendance zones or something else is still a mystery. David Esslinger, principal at Franklin Elementary School, says that compared to their middle-class peers, impoverished students come to school behind in their academic preparedness and that concentrating these low-income students in certain classrooms is not good for either group. “W ith 15 to 20 students in a class that are impoverished, the needs within the classroom as a whole are much greater and diverse as compared to a classroom with five or less impoverished students,” he said. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110801/NEWS04/308010024/In-Franklin-socioeconomic-equity-schoolsproves-elusive?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

NewsChannel 5 sued for slander (Nashville Post/Nannie)
The owner of a home repair company recently investigated by local CBS affiliate NewsChannel 5 has filed a $3.6 million lawsuit alleging a myriad of illegalities by the television station, two of its reporters and a number of other folks — including past company customers and recently fired employees. On July 25, Adrienne Duhe, represented in her "Complaint for Injunction and Damages" as the owner of the American National Insurance Company, an alleged home repair business, filed a lawsuit against NewsChannel 5 LLC's investigative reporting team of Jennifer Kraus and Kevin W isniewski. That duo reported earlier this week on a number of area homeowners who say Duhe's company hasn't performed renovation work for which they had already paid. In the complaint, Duhe accuses the pair of slander and inducement to breach contract and takes aim at past ANIC customers and employees, accusing them of conversion and fraud, respectively. The case was filed in Davidson County Circuit court. Calls to ANIC's offices at 301 South Perimeter Drive were not returned. http://nashvillepost.com/news/2011/7/29/newschannel_5_sued_for_slander

7 arrested after Hawkins County meth lab bust (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
Seven people are behind bars tonight after authorities busted a meth lab in Hawkins County. According to a Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office press release, deputies discovered the lab while responding to a home at 191 Melinda Ferry Road in Rogersville to serve a probation violation warrant on Nicholas Vincent Matroni. Officers discovered the following people at the home and arrested them: Michael James Boatwright; LeAnn Renee Self; Phillip Paul McKinney; Jason Scott Morelock; Cory Leigh Quillin; Jason Caudill; and Heather Nicole Leonard. All seven suspects were being held at the Hawkins County jail on various bonds tonight and each face a charge of manufacturing methamphetamine. Boatwright also faces a charge of destruction of evidence for allegedly dumping evidence into the toilet, according to the release. The Hawkins County Haz-Mat team, Lakeview Volunteer Fire Department and Hawkins County Emergency Medical Service also responded to the scene to assist with the decontamination process, the release continues. The Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force also responded to remove hazardous materials. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/jul/31/7-arrested-after-hawkins-county-meth-lab-bust/

Seven charged in bust of Hawkins County meth lab (Times-News)
Deputies were attempting to serve an arrest warrant Saturday at a Hawkins County residence just west of Rogersville but instead found an active methamphetamine lab and arrested seven people. At 3:23 a.m. Saturday, two Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office road deputies arrived at 191 Melinda Ferry Road to serve an active arrest warrant for a probation violation. The subject of the arrest warrant wasn’t present. While attempting to make contact with the people inside, however, the deputy who covered the rear of the residence allegedly observed an “improvised gas generator” producing anhydrous ammonia near an open window with a fan blowing the fumes out the window. Lt. Chad Gillenwater, who heads the HCSO Narcotics Unit, said the deputy then observed Michael James Boatwright, 36, 140 Burton Road, Rogersville, grab a jar and rush toward a toilet. “They actually witnessed him flush the contents of the jar down the toilet, which at that point created exigent circumstances to enter the home due to chemical and biohazards to the occupants of the residence,” Gillenwater said. “The deputies entered the residence and did see an active and working meth lab in a jar, as well as other components and ingredients associated with meth manufacturing.” http://www.timesnews.net/article/9034367/seven-charged-in-bust-of-hawkins-county-meth-lab

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Florida: Opposing the Health Law, Florida Refuses Millions (New York Times)
When it comes to pursuing federal largess, most of the states that oppose the 2010 health care law have refused to let either principle or politics block their paths to the trough. If Washington is doling out dollars, Republican governors and legislators typically figure they might as well get their share. Then there is Florida. Despite having the country’s fourth-highest unemployment rate, its second-highest rate of people without insurance and a $3.7 billion budget gap this year, the state has turned away scores of millions of dollars in grants made available under the Affordable Care Act. And it is not pursuing grants worth many millions more. In recent months, either Gov. Rick Scott’s administration or the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature has rejected grants aimed at moving long-term care patients into their homes, curbing child abuse through in-home counseling and strengthening state regulation of health premiums. They have shunned money to help sign up eligible recipients for Medicare, educate teenagers on preventing pregnancy and plan for the health insurance exchanges that the law requires by 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/us/01florida.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

OPINION Guest columnist: EPA rule will mean cleaner air for Nashville residents (Tenn.)
Recently, with the finalization of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, the Environmental Protection Agency took an important step to protect the health of citizens in Nashville, the state of Tennessee, and the greater southeast. The rules are designed to prevent the drift of harmful, airborne pollution from a source in one state to the air people breathe in another state. Finalizing this rule is another long overdue step EPA is taking to protect the air we breathe and the air our children breathe, and to ensure that no community has to bear the burden of another community’s polluters. Nationally, these new standards are a life-saver that will prevent up to 34,000 premature deaths, 15,000 nonfatal heart attacks, and 400,000 cases of aggravated asthma each year. Beginning in 2014, pollution reductions are estimated to prevent as many as 1,700 premature deaths each year in Tennessee and provide health benefits worth up to $14 billion. How does this rule work? The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule requires 27 states in the eastern half of the United States, including Tennessee, to significantly improve air quality by reducing power plant emissions that cross state lines and contribute to ground-level ozone and fine particle pollution in other states. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110801/OPINION03/308010042/EPA-rule-will-mean-cleaner-air-Nashvilleresidents?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|s

Times Editorial: Drought takes its toll (Chattanooga Times Free-Press)
Most area residents have been spared, so far, the worst of the historic drought that currently affects parts of the nation, but that does not mean they can avoid the long-term effects of the lack of rainfall. Their pocketbooks will feel the impact. It's not a question of if consumers will pay more for food and related products in coming months, but rather one of how much prices will rise. There is general agreement among agricultural economists that increases should be expected. Mounting evidence supports that belief. The nation's early wheat harvest has been well below normal. Projected yields from the nation's corn, bean, grain and cotton crops are expected to be lower on average than normal, too. Stockpiles of those commodities are unlikely to ease possible shortages or ameliorate predicted price increases. Officials say that the carryover from earlier harvests is extremely small. Drought-related shortages are not limited to major crops. In South Georgia, for example, the seasonal and much anticipated supply of produce -- tomatoes, corn, peppers, cucumbers, melons etc. -- has been reduced by the lack of rainfall. Consequently, while consumers here might not be paying much more this year than last for freshpicked fruits and vegetables at community markets and roadside stands, shoppers in other others are doing so. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/aug/01/drought-takes-its-toll/?opiniontimes

Editorial: Revisions to NRC rules important for nuclear safety (News-Sentinel)
A Nuclear Regulatory Commission task force, responding to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, has recommended sweeping changes to the nation's nuclear industry and the commission's role in overseeing an industry that is key to reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Issued July 12, the report calls for nuclear plants to ensure they can operate for up to eight hours on backup power, upgrade earthquake and flood protection and improve systems for dealing with spent fuel rods. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which operates the Watts Bar 8

and Sequoyah nuclear plants in East Tennessee and hopes to build a modular reactor plant in Roane County, says it's already implementing some of the measures outlined in the report and is taking steps to meet the other recommendations. Bill McCollum, who is TVA's chief operating officer, said additional communications equipment, water pumps and electric generators are being added to TVA's nuclear power fleet. Additional piping designed to improve critical cooling systems is being installed as well. According to McCollum, TVA put together a team of employees to monitor the Fukushima crisis, analyze it and learn from the event. Though TVA's landlocked territory isn't in danger of a tsunami such as the one that hit the Fukushima plant on March 11, the region does experience earthquakes. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/aug/01/editorial-revisions-to-nrcrules-important-for/

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