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Gov. Bill Haslam's press secretary says the governor plans to sign legislation requiring drug testing for some welfare applicants, despite calls from the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee to veto the measure. "The governor is expected to sign the bill," Alexia Poe said in an email. She said state Department of Human Services officials "will work on the rules to implement the law and will work with the attorney general who will have to approve them." "There is still a lot of work to be done," Poe added. ACLU-Tennessee Executive Director Hedy Weinberg sent a letter last week to Haslam, a Republican, to veto the GOP-sponsored bill, which mandates "suspicion-based" drug testing for applicants for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families if they fail a psychological screening test. It raises "serious constitution concerns," the ACLU contends. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/08/governor-expected-to-sign-drug-test-bill/?local
Magazine ranks Tennessee 4th best state for business, again (City Paper/Hale)
For the second straight year, Chief Executive magazine named Tennessee the fourth best state for business. For all eight years the magazine has produced the list, the first and last place states Texas and California respectively have remained unchanged. Other states in the top five were Florida, North Carolina and Indiana. The list was based on the responses of 650 CEOs, who graded states in which they do business based on tax and regulation, quality of workforce and living environment. Recently moved from New York state to Tennessee, an unnamed CEO is quoted as saying. Differences in ambience/climate/cost of living/attitude of government towards business are outstanding! In a recent interview with The City Paper, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said that he has heard businesses looking to relocate to Tennessee express concern about controversial social legislation proposed at the state level but that it didnt ultimately keep them from making the move. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/magazine-ranks-tennessee-4th-best-state-business-again
Abbott Laboratories must pay for marketing off-label use of drug (TN/Williams)
TN gets $1.95M in deal over marketing of anti-seizure drug Tennessee will get a small portion of a massive $1.5 billion penalty agreed to by drug maker Abbott Laboratories on Monday in connection with how it marketed a major anti-seizure drug. Abbott has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 billion including $1.95 million to Tennessee over allegations that it promoted the anti-seizure drug Depakote for uses that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Tennessee and 44 other states reached the settlement with Abbott on Monday. The case will prevent the pharmaceutical maker from marketing off-label uses of Depakote. Abbott pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor criminal violation of the federal law prohibiting off-label marketing of prescription drugs. Depakote is approved by the FDA for treatment of seizure disorders, mania associated with bipolar disorder and migraines. But Abbott was accused of promoting other uses, including the treatment of
Tennessee to receive nearly $2M from Abbott Laboratories settlement (C. Appeal)
Abbott Laboratories will pay $1.6 billion to settle federal and state claims that it improperly marketed the neurologic medication Depakote for off-label uses, the company said Monday. Abbott will pay $800 million to resolve civil allegations split among federal and state governments, $700 million in criminal penalties and $100 million to states to resolve consumer protection matters, the Chicago-based company said. Tennessee will get $1.95 million from Illinois-based Abbott, according to Tennessee Atty. Gen. Bob Cooper and Gary Cordell, director of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance's Consumer Affairs division. Abbott said in previous filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had earmarked $1.5 billion for a potential settlement. Under terms of the settlement, Abbott has agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for misbranding. The company also will be restricted from marketing the drug for off-label uses. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/07/tennessee-receive-nearly-2m-abbott-laboratories-se/ (SUB)
State investigating possible TCAP security breach at Hawkins school (Times News)
The Tennessee Department of Education confirmed Monday that it is investigating a potential breach of security that may have occurred during TCAP testing at a Hawkins County school two weeks ago. Neither the state nor the Hawkins County School system will confirm the circumstances of the security breach or at which school it may have occurred. I dont know the circumstances, Director of Schools Charlotte Britton said. There is an investigation that is ongoing right now. All paper work has been sent to the state department to determine the status of the situation. Until we get that report (from the state) theres nothing else we can release about this situation. Were following all the testing security procedures as defined by the state department. TCAP testing took place in Hawkins County April 22-25. TDOE Communications Director Kelli Gauthier told the Times-News on Monday the state Department of Education is investigating a potential breach of security with regards to TCAP tests in a Hawkins County school. She said no other information will be released until the state completes its investigation, and shes not sure how long that will take. http://www.timesnews.net/article/9046304/state-investigating-possible-tcap-security-breach-at-hawkins-school
Budget cuts could mean fewer lake patrols in Sullivan Co. (Herald Courier)
Budget cuts could mean fewer lake patrols in Sullivan County, but the same amount of enforcement is expected. Sheriff Wayne Anderson announced lake patrol cuts last week as a cost-saving measure. The Bristol Herald Courier reports the Tennessee Valley Authority also ended uniformed patrols and instead opted for contract security guards to patrol. But that does not include lake boat patrols. The only option: patrols by the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency. TWRA officers are solely responsible for boat safety and enforcement on the water. They are also the only officers with the authority to ticket boat drivers if they are drinking. Sullivan County hopes to bring back its lake patrols in July if budget problems are resolved. Budget issues are up for discussion this 2
evening as the Sullivan County Executive Committee meets. The meeting began earlier tonight. The committee will be discussing recent budget hearings as well as the 2012-2013 fiscal budgets. http://www2.tricities.com/news/2012/may/07/budget-cuts-could-mean-fewer-lake-patrols-sullivan-ar-1897835/
Aiming to Prevent Teen Suicides, Year-Old Law Gets Edited (WPLN-Radio Nash.)
Tennessees law against online bullying is getting a partial rewrite to make sure it holds up in court. The lawmaker behind this years update says its a necessary step toward dealing with an evolving problem. Murfreesboro Senator Bill Ketron says the need for a law is clear. He points to two teenage suicides close to Nashville in the last six months, blaming cyber-bullying for both. Whats less clear is how to tamp down on hard words, without stepping on free-speech rights. Ketron says the problem evolves with technology. When I was in school, people used to write some girls name on the bathroom wall with a telephone number, and now they write it on a Facebook wall and it goes global. The law passed last year used terms that are hard to pin down legally, like frighten and emotional distress. The new version instead uses the more concrete word threaten. Kids convicted in juvenile court could face up to 30 days community service. Asked whether the laws success might be measured with fewer deaths a year from now, Ketron answered never say never. It still can happen. http://wpln.org/?p=36926
Gateway Sexual Activity Bill Tease Wont Change Much, Official Says (TNR)
The thrust of sex education classes taught in Tennessee schools will stay the same under a controversial bill awaiting the governors signature, according to the Department of Education. The so-called gateway sexual activity bill seeks to punish teachers and third-party groups that promote sexual contact encouraging an individual to engage in a non-abstinent behavior and rewrite state code to emphasizes abstinence education both issues that caught the national spotlight this year. It really will not do much to change the current curriculum, the ways schools operate currently, said Kelli Gauthier, a Department of Education spokeswoman. Lawmakers easily passed the bill after much debate in the Legislature about whether abstinence education works, whether definitions of gateway sexual activity are too vague and whether teachers can get in trouble for not discouraging hand-holding, hugging or kissing. The legislation points to the states current definition of sexual contact as intentional touching of any other persons intimate parts, or the intentional touching of the clothing covering the immediate area of any other persons intimate parts, if that intentional touching can be reasonably construed as being for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification. http://tnreport.com/blog/2012/05/07/gateway-sexual-activity-bill-a-tease-wont-change-much-tn-edu-official-says/
a time when Franklin and Williamson County continue to search harder than ever for new revenue streams to help their bottom lines. The systems that made sense 10-15 years ago may not make sense 10-15 years from now, said City Administrator Eric Stuckey. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120508/W ILLIAMSON10/305080030/Franklin-explores-EMS-system-city? odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
deeply concerned that Vanderbilt University's nondiscrimination policy is being applied in a manner that targets religious student organizations, creating an environment that's hostile to their existence on campus," says the congressmen's letter to Mark Dalton, chairman of the university's board of trustrees, Chancellor Nicholas Zeppo and other trustees. Those signing the letter include U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischman, R-Tenn.; U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn.; and U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-Tenn. Vanderbilt's policy says campus organizations cannot discriminate among its members. The Tennessee General Assembly recently passed legislation that prevents state colleges and universities from implementing similar policies. None currently do. At the last minute, lawmakers inserted a provision including Vanderbilt. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam announced last week that while he disagreed with Vanderbilt's policy, he planned on vetoing the measure because "as someone who strongly believes in limited government, I think it is inappropriate for government to mandate the policies of a private institution." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/08/fleischmann-other-congressmen-object-to/?local
much worse without a major public health intervention, says Eric Finkelstein, a health economist with Duke University Global Health Institute and lead researcher on the new study. He presented his analysis at the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions W eight of the Nation meeting, where experts are discussing strategies for the prevention and control of obesity. The study is being published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The increase in the obesity rate would mean 32 million more obese people within two decades, Finkelstein says. Thats on top of the 78 million people who were obese in 2010. Extra weight takes a huge toll on health, increasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, many types of cancer, sleep apnea and other debilitating and chronic illnesses, and it costs billions of dollar in extra medical expenditures. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120508/NEWS07/305080025/Obesity-rate-could-hit-42-percent-costingbillions?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News
Oak Ridge group calls for probe of uranium facility's design issues (NS/Munger)
A peace activist group waged its growing campaign against the Uranium Processing Facility on two fronts Monday. Members of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance hand-delivered a letter to Sen. Lamar Alexander's Knoxville office, asking the Republican senator to help slow work on the multibillion-dollar project until safety issues raised by a federal review board have been resolved. In a separate action, the group sent a letter to Gregory Friedman, the U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general, and urged Friedman to investigate the project's work to date, with more than $500 million spent designing the new production facility, for evidence of government waste and possibly fraud. On Monday afternoon, outside the Howard H. Baker Jr. U.S. Courthouse in downtown Knoxville, OREPA members delivered oversized copies of letters to a member of Alexander's staff. The group complained that Tennessee's senior senator and key members of his staff had refused to meet with them and discuss the project's high cost and safety issues in the design identified by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. In a recent statement, Alexander said he hadn't yet seen the group's letter, but added, "I am committed to seeing the UPF facility completed safely, cost-effectively, and as soon as possible so that hundreds of workers who are doing critical national security work can be moved out of a very unsafe building. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/08/oak-ridge-group-calls-for-probe-of-uranium/
career center in Murfreesboro to answer questions from the applicants. http://www.dnj.com/article/20120508/NEW S/305080029/Job-seekers-hope-shot-Sak-s?odyssey=tab|topnews| text|FRONTPAGE
Project Inspire and have sharpened its focus. Sponsored by the Public Education Foundation, the program recruits professionals or recent graduates to teach math and science in hard-to-staff urban schools. The effort was operating in both Knox and Hamilton counties. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/08/teachhere-narrows-effort-math-county-schools/?local
Sumner County schools ban novel over teen sex scene (Tennessean/Hubbard)
A two-page oral sex encounter by an awkward teen at boarding school in the coming-of-age novel Looking for Alaska was deemed too racy by Sumner County schools last week. The district banned the book from its assigned classroom reading list, becoming at least the second in the state, after Knox County in March, to keep students from reading it together in class. The teen novel is the first in several years to be stripped from Sumner classrooms. Wilson, Rutherford and Williamson county schools say they havent banned the book or any titles in recent years. Metro schools didnt have information on the book as of Monday. Kids at this age are impressionable. Sometimes its a monkey see, monkey do, said parent Kathy Clough, who has a freshman and a senior at W hite House High School, where the book had been assigned reading. Im going to trust that my school board made the right choice. If they feel like this book is a little too graphic, Im all for it. Debate over censorship As many as 500 books are challenged each year, more often by a parent or school administrator and mostly for being too sexually explicit or containing too much foul language, according to the American Libraries Association. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120508/NEWS04/305080031/Sumner-County-schools-ban-novel-overteen-sex-scene?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
that gives economic development officials in our cities and counties an attractive incentive to offer businesses. Tax increment financing or TIF, as it is frequently called is a method for paying for community improvements with future tax revenues. For example, consider what happens when a government decides to invest in new roads, street lights, water and sewer lines or other infrastructure improvements in a neighborhood. Typically, the value of the property in that neighborhood will increase, which means tax collections from the area should also increase. TIF uses the extra tax revenues collected after the property value rises to recoup the costs of the governments infrastructure investments. In other words, its a way to allow growth to pay for itself. While we had laws on the books allowing for TIF before this years legislative session, they were confusing and sometimes contradictory. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120508/OPINION03/305080015/Tax-increment-financing-gets-reboot? odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|p
Editorial: Now is time to fully fund Knox County school system (News-Sentinel)
The Knox County Commission will take up today the school system's request for an additional $35 million in annual operating funds. The request would prompt a tax increase because current revenues would not cover the entire tab. The most straightforward way to pay for the increase would be through a property tax increase of 35 cents per $100 of assessed value. For the owner of a house worth $100,000, that would work out to about 22 cents per day. But some politicians are balking at that notion. Commission Chairman Mike Hammond has proposed increasing the sales tax, which can be accomplished only through a referendum, while eliminating the wheel tax. Hammond's proposal does not quite meet the goal the wheel tax pays for library operations, and any increase in sales tax revenues falls short of what the school system needs but there is nothing wrong with looking for multiple revenue streams to pay for the schools' proposal. The proposed funding increase regardless of how it's funded wouldn't make Knox County a leader in school funding. Basically, the increase would raise local funding to a level of mediocrity. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/08/editorial-now-istime-to-fully-fund-knox-county/
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