WKRN CHANNEL 2 NEWS
Posted: Sep 29, 2011 12:32 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 29, 2011 6:42 PM CDT
By CANDICE CHOI
AP Personal Finance Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Bank of America will start charging debit-card users $5 a month to pay for purchases. The move comes as the cards increasingly replace cash and as banks look for ways to offset the loss of revenue from a new rule that will limit how much they can collect from merchants.
Paying to use a debit card was unheard of before this year and is still a novel concept for many consumers. But several banks have recently introduced or started testing debit card fees. That's in addition to the spate of other unwelcome changes checking account customers have seen in the past year. Bank of America will begin charging the fee early next year.
Bank of America's announcement carries added weight because it is the largest U.S. bank by deposits.
The fee will apply to basic accounts, which are marketed toward those with modest balances, and will be in addition to any existing monthly service fees. For example, one such account charges a $12 monthly fee unless customers meet certain conditions, such as maintaining a minimum average balance of $1,500.
Customers will only be charged the fee if they use their debit cards for purchases in any given month, said Anne Pace, a Bank of America spokeswoman. Those who only use their cards at ATMs won't have to pay.
The debit card fee is just the latest twist in the rapidly evolving market for checking accounts.
A study by Bankrate.com this week found that just 45 percent of checking accounts are now free with no strings attached, down from 65 percent last year and 76 percent in 2009. Customers can still get free checking in most cases, but only if they meet certain conditions, such as setting up direct deposit.
The study also found that the total average cost for using an ATM rose to $3.81, from $3.74, the year before. The average overdraft fee inched up to $30.83, from $30.47
The changes come ahead of a regulation that goes into effect next month.
Starting Oct. 1, the regulation will cap the fees that banks can collect from merchants whenever customers swipe their debit cards. Those fees generated $19 billion in revenue for banks in 2009, according to the Nilson Report, which tracks the payments industry.
There is no similar cap on the merchant fees that banks can collect when customers use their credit cards, however. That means many banks are increasingly encouraging customers to reach for their credit cards, in hopes of reversing a trend toward debit card usage in the past several years.
An increasing reliance on credit cards would be particularly beneficial for big institutions like Bank of America, which have large credit card portfolios, notes Bart Narter, a banking analyst with Celent, a consulting firm.
"It's become a more profitable business, at least in relation to debit cards," Narter said.
This summer, an Associated Press-GfK poll found that two-thirds of consumers use debit cards more frequently than credit cards. But when asked how they would react if they were charged a $3 monthly debit card fee, 61 percent said they'd find another way to pay.
With a $5 fee, 66 percent said they would change their payment method.
Several banks are nevertheless moving ahead with debit card fees.
SunTrust, a regional bank based in Atlanta, began charging a $5 debit card fee on its basic checking accounts this summer. Regions Financial, which is based in Birmingham, Ala., plans to start charging a $4 fee next month.
Chase and Wells Fargo are also testing $3 monthly debit card fees in select markets. Neither bank has said when it will make a final decision on whether to roll out the fee more broadly.
The growing prevalence of the debit card fee is alarming for Josh Wood, a 32-year-old financial adviser in Amarillo, Texas.
Wood relies entirely on debit cards to avoid interest charges on a credit card. If his bank, Wells Fargo, began charging a debit card fee, he said he would take his business to a credit union.
If a debit fee became so prevalent that it was unavoidable, Wood said he's not sure how he'd react.
"I might use all cash. Or go back to writing checks," he said.
Bank of America's debit card fee will be rolled out in stages starting with select states in early 2012. The company would not say which states would be affected first.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Man arrested for attacking ex-girlfriend, threatening officer
WKRN CHANNEL 2 NEWS
Posted: Sep 29, 2011 8:47 PM CDT
ANTIOCH, Tenn. – An Antioch man wanted for a brutal attack on his ex-girlfriend and threatening an officer was taken into custody on Thursday.
According to police, Brandon Leonard called the police department's domestic violence division around 9 a.m. and said he would shoot a detective in the face if they came looking for him after he became aware authorities were attempting to locate him for the attack against his former girlfriend.
The 27-year-old was taken into custody at his home located on Merritt Street.
Leonard is charged with felony aggravated assault for punching and choking his ex-girlfriend earlier this month, as well as burglarizing a home on Cabana Drive.
He remains in jail in lieu of an $80,000 bond.
Posted: Sep 29, 2011 8:47 PM CDT
ANTIOCH, Tenn. – An Antioch man wanted for a brutal attack on his ex-girlfriend and threatening an officer was taken into custody on Thursday.
According to police, Brandon Leonard called the police department's domestic violence division around 9 a.m. and said he would shoot a detective in the face if they came looking for him after he became aware authorities were attempting to locate him for the attack against his former girlfriend.
The 27-year-old was taken into custody at his home located on Merritt Street.
Leonard is charged with felony aggravated assault for punching and choking his ex-girlfriend earlier this month, as well as burglarizing a home on Cabana Drive.
He remains in jail in lieu of an $80,000 bond.
Castlegate Neighborhood Yard Sale Sat Oct 8 - Open Event to Come and Sell or Buy
YARD SALE - 10/8/11 - COMPTON'S SIDE LOT - SMITH SPRINGS ROAD
8:00 to 2:00 p.m. - $10 registration for prime 15 feet frontage space
All registrations go to Castlegate Club - Contact Carl Stasiunas 361-3737
BYOT (bring you own tables) and lots of stuff - this is going to be HUGE!
Thanks much!
Sincerely,
Carl Stasiunas
Owner/Tour Agent
Flair Tours/Flair Models
PO Box 17372
Nashville,TN 37217
615-361-3737
866-729-9411
http://www.flairtours.net/
http://www.flairmodels.net/
CrimeStoppers Shred It Day Sat Oct 15, and District 29 Clean Up
Protect yourself, fight crime and be GREEN at the same time!!
COMMUNITY SHRED DAY
October 15TH, 2011
10:00am- 1:00pm
LP FIELD PARKING LOT D
Take the first step in protecting yourself from identity theft crimes.
Your old personal documents will be instantly destroyed by a
Shred-it high speed, mobile, cross shredder
All shredded material will be recycled so you will also help
protect the environment!
All proceeds from your $5 per box donation will benefit Nashville
Crime Stoppers, Inc., a 501 (C) 3 not-for-profit organization, that
is working with local law enforcement to solve serious crimes in
your community. ALL DONATIONS GO DIRECTLY TO OUR
REWARD FUND!
Receipts will be made available for your tax deductible donation.
Nashville Crime Stoppers’ community partner for this great event is
Shred-It, the world’s leading on-site document destruction company.
For information about Shred-It visit http://www.shredit.com/
ALSO INCLUDED IS PHARMA TRASH DISPOSAL
The improper use of prescription medication should be a concern
to everyone. Metro police officers will be on site to collect the
prescription medications that you no longer need and we will
properly dispose of them to protect our environment.
SUBMIT A WEB TIP http://www.nashvillecrimestoppers.com/
615-74-CRIME (615-742-7463) Se Habla Espanol
Text “CASH” plus your message to CRIMES (274637)
Nashville Crime Stoppers Inc · P.O. Box 24185 · Nashville, TN. 37202-4185 · (615) 742-7463
As a Crime Stoppers Board member, I am proud to extend an invite to each of you to come by and drop of your paper work, records you want shredded and of course make a donation to Crime Stoppers.
Our board is comprised of citizens like yourself. The police have a police liaison assigned to our board and I might add a good one at that.
Our board pays tips from monies that are donated to our chapter as a 501-C-3. So, anything you can do to help us raise monies, please do so.
I will be happy to answer any questions you may have about our interest in making our community safe to live and work in.
Dwayne M. Duhon
CELL: 294.8844
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
July Meeting Minutes
Minutes from board meeting on July 21, 2011 at Deerfield Clubhouse:
Present: Gary Peterson, Lin Rutherford, Jim Curley, Fran Oroson, Bob Wolfgang
Absent: Justin Sauer
Fran was nominated by Bob to serve as board member. Seconded. Approved.
1 – Discussed HomeShield Exterminating Co. soliciting in Nashboro Greens. The company was either called or will be called to say solicitors will be arrested.
2 – Financials – discussed people in arrears on maintenance fees and how to recover; 3 people to start paying for reserved parking spaces; downspouts and tubing on houses – drainage should be away from house and tubing should be buried. #142 – water problems; check behind Bob’s house as to retaining wall; #126 – water problems; #111 – foundation issue; bow in roof in front
3 – #100/#102 – sealing rock, drainage, retaining wall
5 – Audit was received – acceptable – entered into records; 2 suggestions:
a: capitalize capital expenditures
b: estimate on cost of replacing roofs was out of date
6 - #119 – mold issue – after 1 week Jim will call Codes:
Update: as of 7-25 garage is being cleaned out. Wheelers report mold smell gone!
Boxes thrown away. No leak.
7 – Get a price on pruning trees
8 – Garbage cans left out past Saturday after Friday morning pickup – owners will be fined $50
9. Cars to be towed when parked illegally in visitors places as of Aug. 1.
10. Next meeting in October. Meeting adjourned.
Present: Gary Peterson, Lin Rutherford, Jim Curley, Fran Oroson, Bob Wolfgang
Absent: Justin Sauer
Fran was nominated by Bob to serve as board member. Seconded. Approved.
1 – Discussed HomeShield Exterminating Co. soliciting in Nashboro Greens. The company was either called or will be called to say solicitors will be arrested.
2 – Financials – discussed people in arrears on maintenance fees and how to recover; 3 people to start paying for reserved parking spaces; downspouts and tubing on houses – drainage should be away from house and tubing should be buried. #142 – water problems; check behind Bob’s house as to retaining wall; #126 – water problems; #111 – foundation issue; bow in roof in front
3 – #100/#102 – sealing rock, drainage, retaining wall
5 – Audit was received – acceptable – entered into records; 2 suggestions:
a: capitalize capital expenditures
b: estimate on cost of replacing roofs was out of date
6 - #119 – mold issue – after 1 week Jim will call Codes:
Update: as of 7-25 garage is being cleaned out. Wheelers report mold smell gone!
Boxes thrown away. No leak.
7 – Get a price on pruning trees
8 – Garbage cans left out past Saturday after Friday morning pickup – owners will be fined $50
9. Cars to be towed when parked illegally in visitors places as of Aug. 1.
10. Next meeting in October. Meeting adjourned.
Meeting Minutes for May 2011
Officers: President: Gary Peterson
Vice-President: Justin Sauer
Secretary: Lin Rutherford
The issue of background checks on future renters was voted down. HOA did not want to pay for such checks. A decision was made to determine if condo #121 was operating a business illegally from the home.
A letter will be issued to all homeowners regarding cars parked illegally in visitors parking spaces. A car parked illegally will receive a warning that if it is not moved, it will be towed. If the car is not moved within a reasonable time, it will be towed at owner’s expense. Visitors are to put a sign in the window of their car stating that they are a visitor and the number of the condo they are visiting. Cars parked in the visitors spaces without this sign will receive a warning, then will be towed.
A motion was made and seconded to have quarterly meetings. The motion was approved. Any business arising between meetings will be handled by phone or email if possible. The next HOA board meeting will be July 21st, 2011.
Vice-President: Justin Sauer
Secretary: Lin Rutherford
The issue of background checks on future renters was voted down. HOA did not want to pay for such checks. A decision was made to determine if condo #121 was operating a business illegally from the home.
A letter will be issued to all homeowners regarding cars parked illegally in visitors parking spaces. A car parked illegally will receive a warning that if it is not moved, it will be towed. If the car is not moved within a reasonable time, it will be towed at owner’s expense. Visitors are to put a sign in the window of their car stating that they are a visitor and the number of the condo they are visiting. Cars parked in the visitors spaces without this sign will receive a warning, then will be towed.
A motion was made and seconded to have quarterly meetings. The motion was approved. Any business arising between meetings will be handled by phone or email if possible. The next HOA board meeting will be July 21st, 2011.
Free guide helps make doctor visits easier for autistic kids
Channel 4 WMSV - TV
Posted: Sep 27, 2011 2:14 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 27, 2011 2:21 PM CDT
Posted by Micca Terrell
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and Autism Speaks have teamed up to create a free guide to help parents of autistic children better prepare for medical visits and procedures.
It has pictures and simple language that allow parents and children to discuss ahead of time what will happen at the doctor's office, thus reducing anxiety, according to Cassandra Newsom, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.
One of the key tips, Newsom said, is distraction. "Things like bubbles, iPads, iPhones and toys that flash or blink can keep a child's attention away from whatever procedure the medical professional is doing."
Newsom said there is one thing that parents do not want to do, and that is to lie to their child about what to expect. She said that it's best not to say a procedure will not hurt, and to instead compare that pain to something the child will understand, such as the feeling of a big pinch or sting.
Newsom said the kit also works for children with disabilities other than autism.
You can download a free copy from Autism Speaks.
Posted: Sep 27, 2011 2:14 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 27, 2011 2:21 PM CDT
Posted by Micca Terrell
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and Autism Speaks have teamed up to create a free guide to help parents of autistic children better prepare for medical visits and procedures.
It has pictures and simple language that allow parents and children to discuss ahead of time what will happen at the doctor's office, thus reducing anxiety, according to Cassandra Newsom, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.
One of the key tips, Newsom said, is distraction. "Things like bubbles, iPads, iPhones and toys that flash or blink can keep a child's attention away from whatever procedure the medical professional is doing."
Newsom said there is one thing that parents do not want to do, and that is to lie to their child about what to expect. She said that it's best not to say a procedure will not hurt, and to instead compare that pain to something the child will understand, such as the feeling of a big pinch or sting.
Newsom said the kit also works for children with disabilities other than autism.
You can download a free copy from Autism Speaks.
Post-9/11 GI Bill gives veterans more opportunities for success
Channel 4 WMSV-TV
Posted: Sep 27, 2011 6:04 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 27, 2011 6:06 PM CDT
Posted by Kevin Young
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Veterans and service members will soon have more options for college thanks to the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
The program is open to veterans and active duty members.
Here's how it works:
Active duty members can get money for books, free full state tuition, or up to $17,000 for private school tuition.
Veterans are allowed all of the above plus nearly $700 for housing.
It applies to any school, and all students need to do is ask for the school certifying official at any university.
For more information, visit http://www.gibill.va.gov/ or call 1-888-GIBILL-1.
Copyright WSMV 2011. All rights reserved.
Posted: Sep 27, 2011 6:04 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 27, 2011 6:06 PM CDT
Posted by Kevin Young
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Veterans and service members will soon have more options for college thanks to the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
The program is open to veterans and active duty members.
Here's how it works:
Active duty members can get money for books, free full state tuition, or up to $17,000 for private school tuition.
Veterans are allowed all of the above plus nearly $700 for housing.
It applies to any school, and all students need to do is ask for the school certifying official at any university.
For more information, visit http://www.gibill.va.gov/ or call 1-888-GIBILL-1.
Copyright WSMV 2011. All rights reserved.
Priest Lake area getting new tornado sirens
Channel 4 WMSV-TV
Posted: Sep 27, 2011 6:29 AM CDT
Updated: Sep 27, 2011 8:14 AM CDT
Posted by Scott Sutton
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Two new tornado sirens will be installed in the Priest Lake area, according to District 29 councilwoman Karen Johnson.
In February, two churches along Smith Springs Road were damaged during a severe storm.
The warning sirens will be placed at Lake View Elementary School and the Smith Springs pumping station.
Johnson said the tornado sirens will be installed within the next six months.
Copyright WSMV 2011. All rights reserved.
Posted: Sep 27, 2011 6:29 AM CDT
Updated: Sep 27, 2011 8:14 AM CDT
Posted by Scott Sutton
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Two new tornado sirens will be installed in the Priest Lake area, according to District 29 councilwoman Karen Johnson.
In February, two churches along Smith Springs Road were damaged during a severe storm.
The warning sirens will be placed at Lake View Elementary School and the Smith Springs pumping station.
Johnson said the tornado sirens will be installed within the next six months.
Copyright WSMV 2011. All rights reserved.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tornado Siren To Be Installed In Percy Priest Lake Area
News Channel 5
Posted: Sep 26, 2011 6:22 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 26, 2011 6:25 PM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Residents who live near Percy Priest Lake have been asking for a tornado siren, and they will soon be getting their wish.
The new siren will be announced Monday night at a meeting hosted by Councilwoman Karen Johnson.
She was elected in August to represent District 29 in the Percy Priest area.
In April, the area was represented by Vivian Wilhoite, who was lobbying for the new siren.
The new siren at Percy Priest Lake is part of a $2-million emergency siren upgrade and improvement plan approved by the Metro Council.
Former Councilwoman Vivian Wilhoite said she became aware of the problem when a man told her he could only hear a warning siren from the I-40 side of the lake.
"It is important that people who are outside on the lake which is an area, definitely that area of Davidson County, they know when to take cover. They know it's serious weather whenever the sirens are going off," said Wilhoite.
There has been some speculation that the Smith Springs pumping station may be considered. Metro already owns it.
There are currently more than 70 tornado sirens in Nashville. The plan approved by Metro Council includes additional sirens and upgrades throughout the city.
Representatives from Metro's Office of Emergency Management are supposed to be at the meeting to talk about possible locations for the new siren.
To Watch Video CLICK HERE
Posted: Sep 26, 2011 6:22 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 26, 2011 6:25 PM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Residents who live near Percy Priest Lake have been asking for a tornado siren, and they will soon be getting their wish.
The new siren will be announced Monday night at a meeting hosted by Councilwoman Karen Johnson.
She was elected in August to represent District 29 in the Percy Priest area.
In April, the area was represented by Vivian Wilhoite, who was lobbying for the new siren.
The new siren at Percy Priest Lake is part of a $2-million emergency siren upgrade and improvement plan approved by the Metro Council.
Former Councilwoman Vivian Wilhoite said she became aware of the problem when a man told her he could only hear a warning siren from the I-40 side of the lake.
"It is important that people who are outside on the lake which is an area, definitely that area of Davidson County, they know when to take cover. They know it's serious weather whenever the sirens are going off," said Wilhoite.
There has been some speculation that the Smith Springs pumping station may be considered. Metro already owns it.
There are currently more than 70 tornado sirens in Nashville. The plan approved by Metro Council includes additional sirens and upgrades throughout the city.
Representatives from Metro's Office of Emergency Management are supposed to be at the meeting to talk about possible locations for the new siren.
To Watch Video CLICK HERE
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Alliance of District 29 Fall/Winter Great American Clean-up
Great American Cleanup
When: Saturday, October 15, 2011
Where:Smith Springs Church of Christ
2783 Smith Springs Road
(In the Parking Lot)
On August 31, 2011, you were asked to save the date for the Great American Fall/Winter Clean-Up. Started by the Alliance of District 29, we have been please to provide you with the following clean-up as we continue to show pride in our community
7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Clear signs off intersections, telephone poles and public rights-of-way. We have volunteers but more are needed! We need you!9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Swap Shop
If you bring something that you do not want and someone wants it, you can have it. Items that are left by 11 a.m. will be provided to Goodwill.From 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
FREE Shredding Service
Protect your identity by shredding ALL of your confidential items.
Goodwill Pick-up and Donate Your Old Cell Phones
Donate your not-so-used clothing to Goodwill. Donate your old cell phones and chargers to domestic violence shelters. The shelter will give your old cell phone to victims to call for help.
Donate Your Soda Can Tabs
Help the Ronald McDonald House and donate your soda tabs to help with the cure for children.
Throw away your large household items in the roll-off bin until its full.
Sign the District 29 Community Pledge to help keep our neighborhoods clean.
Get a FREE T-shirt, gloves, trash bags and flower seeds.
Get with neighbors to clean-up eye sore areas in your immediate neighborhood.
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
After a day of cleaning and sprucing,bring a lawn chair for fun, fellowship and food after the clean-up. Chili Dogs with all the fixins and refreshments!
Sponsored by The Alliance Neighbors of District 29 with help from our government offices and friends:
Mayor Karl Dean, Public Works and Metro Beautification
Community Shred Service, Call for Help,
Krypie Kreme and Starbucks
Questions? Contact: Lena Brown Prince @ 361-3728 or Vivian Wilhoite @ 589-2003
or email vivianwilhoite@comcast.net.
A Very Special Thank-You to Smith Springs Church of Christ for their continue support of this community event by allowing us to use their parking lot. We are truly grateful!
We hope to see you on Saturday, October 15!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Study Finds Winners, Losers Of Health Care Reform
News Channel 5
Posted: Sep 23, 2011 10:07 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 23, 2011 10:10 PM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A study of the new health care reform law has some winning, and some losing.
That's according to a new report from Blue Cross Blue Shield. The company commissioned a report to see who would benefit.
The winners are the economically disadvantaged, and some businesses. The businesses, according to the report, will experience an initial financial gain because they will be able to shift their workers to a state-provided insurance.
The Losers, as the report calls them, are those who already have health insurance, who will see longer waits, and some price increases.
The report complains about the costs placed on insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield; however, most other analysts have pointed to the Affordable Health Care act as beneficial to the companies, bringing them many more customers.
Posted: Sep 23, 2011 10:07 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 23, 2011 10:10 PM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A study of the new health care reform law has some winning, and some losing.
That's according to a new report from Blue Cross Blue Shield. The company commissioned a report to see who would benefit.
The winners are the economically disadvantaged, and some businesses. The businesses, according to the report, will experience an initial financial gain because they will be able to shift their workers to a state-provided insurance.
The Losers, as the report calls them, are those who already have health insurance, who will see longer waits, and some price increases.
The report complains about the costs placed on insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield; however, most other analysts have pointed to the Affordable Health Care act as beneficial to the companies, bringing them many more customers.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Middle Tennessee businesses remain hesitant to hire
Tennessean
September 20, 2011
CEOs want more access to capital, less debt doubt, fewer regulations
Click here to read more
September 20, 2011
CEOs want more access to capital, less debt doubt, fewer regulations
Click here to read more
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Company will drop pursuit of digital billboard in Antioch
Sunday, September 18,
An outdoor advertising company has told Metro it plans to amend its application to install a digital billboard in Antioch and will seek the city’s approval of a less controversial sign instead.
The city’s Board of Zoning Appeals granted Richardson Outdoor Advertising’s application for a 50-foot-tall digital board at Bell and Murfreesboro roads earlier this year. But Metro attorneys sued the zoning appeals board in an attempt to overturn the decision three weeks ago.
Lora Fox, a Metro attorney, confirmed today that Richardson’s attorney, Jim Murphy, told the city his client now plans to drop the digital billboard application and seek a permit for a tri-fold sign instead.
“I have not seen the amended application yet,” Fox wrote in an email. “But if Richardson drops its request for a digital sign and receives a permit for a tri-fold sign, it will make the lawsuit moot and Metro will dismiss the suit against the BZA.”
An outdoor advertising company has told Metro it plans to amend its application to install a digital billboard in Antioch and will seek the city’s approval of a less controversial sign instead.
The city’s Board of Zoning Appeals granted Richardson Outdoor Advertising’s application for a 50-foot-tall digital board at Bell and Murfreesboro roads earlier this year. But Metro attorneys sued the zoning appeals board in an attempt to overturn the decision three weeks ago.
Lora Fox, a Metro attorney, confirmed today that Richardson’s attorney, Jim Murphy, told the city his client now plans to drop the digital billboard application and seek a permit for a tri-fold sign instead.
“I have not seen the amended application yet,” Fox wrote in an email. “But if Richardson drops its request for a digital sign and receives a permit for a tri-fold sign, it will make the lawsuit moot and Metro will dismiss the suit against the BZA.”
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Metro Council District 29 E-Newsletter from Councilwoman Karen Y Johnson Office Hours Today Reminder
Good Morning Neighbors,
OFFICE HOURS TODAY - REMINDER
Please don't forget to join me today Saturday for Office Hours at our area Krystal's
on the corner of Bell Road and Murfreesboro Road. Please come join me and your
neighbors for breakfast and conversation from 9:00 am until 11:30 am.
***********************************************************************************Today, Saturday September 17, 2011 10:00 a.m. until
Huge benefit for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at Nancy Morton's
farm. The farm is called "The Homeplace Farm" and is located at 5580
Cane Ridge Road, Antioch 37013. (Old Franklin Road & Cane Ridge Road
one mile off Bell Road.) Donations will be greatly accepted. This is a family
friendly event. Critters will be on hand for children to see. At 4:00 p.m.
white beans and corn bread will be served and country music will be played.
Pumpkins are available for schools. She will make a parking space for
school buses if there is a need. Sponsors include: Freeland Chevrolet,
Nashville Bobcat, D&R Siding of Shelbyville and TriGreen Equipment.
***********************************************************************************
Also tomorrow Sunday Mayor Karl Dean invites you to his 5 K Walk
Public Square
2:00 pm until 5:00 pm
***********************************************************************************
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 6:00 pm
The Mayor's 5 K Challenge will come to Antioch Community Center
5023 Blue Hole Road. Nashville has been challenged to train in
preparation for a citywide 5K, scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 13. Mayor
Dean kicked off the free nine-week training program for the "Mayors
Challenge 5K" Saturday, September 10th at the new McCabe
Community Center. There is still time to join. The program includes
free training sessions six days a week at local Metro Parks and YMCA
locations. Program partners include the TriStar Stroke Network, Metro
Nashville Department of Parks and Recreation, YMCA of Middle Tennessee,
Unired Healthcare and Piedmont Natural Gas as well as training partners
Tennessee State University, Fleet Feed Sports, Nashville Striders, Nashville
Running Company and the Vanderbilt University Dayani Center. A complete
training module and schedule is available at www.mayorschallenge5k.com
The Mayor's Challenge 5K is a follow-up to the Mayor's successful "Walk 100
Miles" initiative that took place this spring.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Metro Council District 29 E-Newsletter from Councilwoman Karen Y Johnson regarding Neighborhood Grant Program
Good Morning Neighbors,
I want to share with you that since being sworn in September 1st, I have been meeting with Department Heads and connecting with those who can assist me as your council member with responding quickly to your requests for services, concerns and questions. Additionally, I am working to proactively make requests with various departments, boards and commissions on things that you want to see happen in our district such as the community center, greenway's, enhanced park areas and infrastructure improvements. I am pleased to share some new information that can assist us in our efforts to enhance our neighborhoods.
Grant applications for example if you would like to see things like new street signage, improvement of neighborhood branding and identity, as well as infrastructure improvements can be submitted for up to $75,000 in grant funding for neighborhood projects.
Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) is accepting applications for eligible
projects to be funded under the CDBG Neighborhood Improvement Program. Projects will be selected on a competitive basis according to the criteria set forth in the Application.
Applications are available between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.. Monday through Friday at MDHA's Construction Department, 712 S. 6th Street, Nashville, Tennessee.
An information meeting will be held 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at the MDHA Board Room, 701 S. 6th Street.
Applications will be accepted until 2:00 p.m. on Thursday October 13, 2011 at the MDHA Construction Department, 712 S. 6th Street.
Within MDHA's Neighborhood Improvement Program are two programs: the Neighborhood Infrastructure Program and the Neighborhood Enhancement Program.
The Neighborhood Infrastructure Program will fund infrastructure improvements and community facilities. Potential infrastructure improvements include but are not limited to streets, sidewalks, street lighting, security cameras, and acquisition of property for redevelopment. Community facilities include but are not limited to community centers, libraries, youth centers, senior centers and parks.
The Neighborhood Enhancement Program will fund projects that address a neighborhoods aesthetic needs. Eligible projects include but are not limited to playgrounds, signage, community gardens, traffic mitigation, bus benches and shelters, tree planting and acquisition of property for redevelopment.
MDHA has contracted with three non-profit organizations two of which can assist in this area of the county to assist persons and neighborhoods with planning and capacity building and with preparing applications for MDHA's Neighborhood Improvement or Enhancement Program. They are:
Civic Design Center/The Housing Fund
http://www.civicdesigncenter.org/
Click here to connect to the Facebook Page for Nashville Civic Design Center
Neighborhoods Resource Center
www.Tnrc.net
Click here to connect to the Facebook Page for Neighborhoods Resource Center
To submit a project it is Mandatory to attend the Training at MDHA on this Thursday, September 15 at 10:00 am in the MDHA Board Room, 701 S. 6th Street. I apologize for the short notice, but I just received this information and feel it is very important to share this with you. I will be in attendance and will be looking proactively at enhancing the streetscape along Murfreesboro Road in our district and Smith Springs Road so that we can move forward initiatives that can transform these areas into a more walkable bikeable corridor.
Bell Road, Anderson Road and Nashboro Blvd are areas where aggressive efforts will be made to have sidewalks installed.
NOTE: Electronic copies of the Application will be available as of Noon on Tuesday September 6, 2011. To receive an electronic form of the Application, please send an email to rchenaul@nashville-mdha.org
In your request, please include your name, the name of your organization, your mailing address, your telephone number and fax number.
This information is needed to send you any addendum's or additional program updates.
Sara Hylton
Senior Development Specialist
Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency
701 South Sixth Street
Nashville, TN 37206
Phone:615.252.6732
Fax:615.248.9090
Email:mailto:shylton@nashville-mdha.org
*******************************************************************************
PLEASE VOLUNTEER ON SEPTEMBER 24TH
TO HELP OUR AREA SCHOOLS
HANDS ON NASHVILLE DAY
Click here for information, Thank You.
TO HELP OUR AREA SCHOOLS
HANDS ON NASHVILLE DAY
Click here for information, Thank You.
****************************************************************************************
OFFICE HOURS
Please don't forget to join me this Saturday for Office Hours at our area Krystal's
on the corner of Bell Road and Murfreesboro Road. Please come join me and
your neighbors for breakfast and conversation on Saturday, September 17, 2011
from 9:00 am until 11:30 am.
********************************************************************************** BRUSH PICKUP REMINDER FOR OUR AREA
BEGINS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH
Click here for more information and the schedule
***********************************************************************************DISTRICT 29 COMMUNITY WIDE MEETING
Our District's first community meeting has been scheduled for MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2011
at 6:30 pm LAKEVIEW DESIGN CENTER SCHOOL. Invited are Representatives from
MTA (Metro Transit Authority) and OEM (Office of Emergency Management). You will be
able to learn of the grant money that is available to place tornado sirens in our district and
ask questions and share what services you would like to see as well as give feedback on the
newly added buslink for District 29.
***********************************************************************************
SAVE THE DATE! DISTRICT 29 COMMUNITY
WIDE CLEANUP
Saturday October 22, 2011 from 7:30 am until 12:30 noon with a cookout to
follow beginning at 1:00 pm. Information on set up, dumpster locations and
schedule of activities will be shared in the next series of newsletters.
Commissioner appointed by Mayor Karl Dean coming soon as well as cleanup details.
Please make plans to attend. I look forward to seeing you.
******************************************************************************
YOU'RE INVITED
To the Swearing in of Mayor Karl Dean, Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors and
the entire Metropolitan Council
Friday, September 23, 2011
11:00 a.m.
LOCATION HAS CHANGED. MAYOR WILL ANNOUNCE SOON
THIS WILL BE SHARED IMMEDIATELY. THANK YOU.
Rape suspect arrested in Antioch
WKRN Channel 2 News
Posted: Sep 14, 2011 12:26 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 14, 2011 02:29 PM CDT
Herman Sowell Jr. was arrested midday Wednesday in Antioch.NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A 45-year-old man wanted on charges he raped a teenage girl was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Antioch.
Authorities located Herman Sowell Jr. at the Mapco gas station on the corner of Hickory Hollow Boulevard and Bell Road around Noon and took him into custody without incident.
Sowell is accused for having inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old girl.
The alleged incident is believed to have occurred late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.
Officials were notified of the incident just after 7 a.m. Wednesday.
Officers said Sowell cooperated during the arrest despite previously saying he was armed with a weapon.
A weapon was not found.
Police told Nashville's News 2 that Sowell will at least be charged with rape and possibly other charges. Police said he knew his alleged victim.
Sowell has an extensive criminal history, including 78 charges or convictions including domestic violence and theft, among other charges.
Metro police assisted with the arrest.
Posted: Sep 14, 2011 12:26 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 14, 2011 02:29 PM CDT
Herman Sowell Jr. was arrested midday Wednesday in Antioch.NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A 45-year-old man wanted on charges he raped a teenage girl was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Antioch.
Authorities located Herman Sowell Jr. at the Mapco gas station on the corner of Hickory Hollow Boulevard and Bell Road around Noon and took him into custody without incident.
Sowell is accused for having inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old girl.
The alleged incident is believed to have occurred late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.
Officials were notified of the incident just after 7 a.m. Wednesday.
Officers said Sowell cooperated during the arrest despite previously saying he was armed with a weapon.
A weapon was not found.
Police told Nashville's News 2 that Sowell will at least be charged with rape and possibly other charges. Police said he knew his alleged victim.
Sowell has an extensive criminal history, including 78 charges or convictions including domestic violence and theft, among other charges.
Metro police assisted with the arrest.
Plan would add shops, reflect Antioch's diversity
Tennessean
Auto dealer Ben Freeland hopes to reshape more than 100 acres off Interstate 24 in Antioch into a more vibrant shopping and entertainment zone that stresses the diversity of the area’s population, he said Monday.
Freeland has retained restaurateur David Swett Jr. — whose family started Swett’s Restaurant — as a consultant to help craft plans to revitalize a nearly empty strip mall that Freeland bought earlier this year.
They hope to turn the 112,000-square-foot center in the 5300 block of Hickory Hollow Parkway into a global market offering a diverse array of ethnic foods, artisans, merchants and entertainment. The market, expected to open in the first half of 2012, will be “a multi-cultural destination that reflects the area’s diversity,” Swett said.
The plans don’t include a third Swett’s Restaurant location, Swett said.
The market is just one part of a broader redevelopment effort envisioned by a group of Antioch officials, residents and business owners who meet monthly at Freeland’s dealership.
The partnership’s effort has gotten major financial backing from Freeland, who has spent nearly $7 million to acquire almost 110 acres in the area this year, public records show. The purchases, all made though Freeland Realty, include:
The strip mall across from Freeland’s auto dealership. Freeland paid $2.95 million for the 9.3-acre site once anchored by Best Buy.
Nearly 96 undeveloped acres in The Crossings at Hickory Hollow, a planned development centered at Old Franklin Road and Crossings Boulevard. Freeland paid more than $3.26 million at auction for the land.
Two acres at 520 Cane Ridge Road, purchased for $200,000.
The former Cracker Barrel at 500 Collins Park Drive. Freeland bought the 2.2-acre site for $525,000 and already has turned it into his dealership’s commercial sales lot.
Freeland said he hasn’t decided what to do with the Cane Ridge site but has hired consultants to craft a master plan for the vacant land in The Crossings.
The parcels are zoned separately for industrial/warehouse/distribution, commercial and multi-family housing, but that could change.
It’s possible some of that land could be used to support a potential HCA data center on 55 acres that the Nashville-based hospital chain bought in July, Freeland said.
The only thing planned for certain is the global market, which could include ethnic restaurants, organic grocers, a farmers market and a hydroponic urban farm, Swett said.
Freeland called it “the starting point, the game-changer” toward remaking the image of Hickory Hollow and Antioch.
“This is the diamond in the rough of Davidson County,” he said of the area. “It has a great location, a great workforce. It just needs some (tender loving care) to get going.”
“We’re trying to change the brand and image of our community,” said Metro Councilwoman Jacobia Dowell, who represents the area and is part of the Hickory Hollow Action Partnership. “We’re more than just the (Hickory Hollow) Mall.”
Contact Duane Marsteller at 615-259-8241 or dmarstelle@tnnessean.com.
Auto dealer Freeland amasses more than 100 acres
Auto dealer Ben Freeland hopes to reshape more than 100 acres off Interstate 24 in Antioch into a more vibrant shopping and entertainment zone that stresses the diversity of the area’s population, he said Monday.
Freeland has retained restaurateur David Swett Jr. — whose family started Swett’s Restaurant — as a consultant to help craft plans to revitalize a nearly empty strip mall that Freeland bought earlier this year.
They hope to turn the 112,000-square-foot center in the 5300 block of Hickory Hollow Parkway into a global market offering a diverse array of ethnic foods, artisans, merchants and entertainment. The market, expected to open in the first half of 2012, will be “a multi-cultural destination that reflects the area’s diversity,” Swett said.
The plans don’t include a third Swett’s Restaurant location, Swett said.
The market is just one part of a broader redevelopment effort envisioned by a group of Antioch officials, residents and business owners who meet monthly at Freeland’s dealership.
The partnership’s effort has gotten major financial backing from Freeland, who has spent nearly $7 million to acquire almost 110 acres in the area this year, public records show. The purchases, all made though Freeland Realty, include:
The strip mall across from Freeland’s auto dealership. Freeland paid $2.95 million for the 9.3-acre site once anchored by Best Buy.
Nearly 96 undeveloped acres in The Crossings at Hickory Hollow, a planned development centered at Old Franklin Road and Crossings Boulevard. Freeland paid more than $3.26 million at auction for the land.
Two acres at 520 Cane Ridge Road, purchased for $200,000.
The former Cracker Barrel at 500 Collins Park Drive. Freeland bought the 2.2-acre site for $525,000 and already has turned it into his dealership’s commercial sales lot.
Freeland said he hasn’t decided what to do with the Cane Ridge site but has hired consultants to craft a master plan for the vacant land in The Crossings.
The parcels are zoned separately for industrial/warehouse/distribution, commercial and multi-family housing, but that could change.
It’s possible some of that land could be used to support a potential HCA data center on 55 acres that the Nashville-based hospital chain bought in July, Freeland said.
The only thing planned for certain is the global market, which could include ethnic restaurants, organic grocers, a farmers market and a hydroponic urban farm, Swett said.
Freeland called it “the starting point, the game-changer” toward remaking the image of Hickory Hollow and Antioch.
“This is the diamond in the rough of Davidson County,” he said of the area. “It has a great location, a great workforce. It just needs some (tender loving care) to get going.”
“We’re trying to change the brand and image of our community,” said Metro Councilwoman Jacobia Dowell, who represents the area and is part of the Hickory Hollow Action Partnership. “We’re more than just the (Hickory Hollow) Mall.”
Contact Duane Marsteller at 615-259-8241 or dmarstelle@tnnessean.com.
Rentals see sharp rise in price in Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Rent prices in Nashville are climbing faster than almost any other city in the nation, according to a new report released this week in Businessweek.
AXIOMetrics, founded in 1994 to measure the performance of the apartment sector, ranked Nashville No. 6 when it comes to the highest rent hikes over the last year.
With an average monthly rent of $786, the average price increased 8% over last year. The vacancy rate in Nashville is 5.5%.
According to the report, residents in the Metro area shied away from buying last year, causing home prices to fall 8.5%.
Rent in parts of Donelson, Hermitage, and Wilson County jumped by 13.9% in 2010.
In addition, the jobless rate in Metro Nashville in 2010 fell to an estimated average of 8.9% compared with 9.3% in 2009.
Greenville, South Carolina ranked No. 1 on the list of cities with the highest rent hikes, followed by Chattanooga and Savannah, Georgia.
AXIOMetrics, founded in 1994 to measure the performance of the apartment sector, ranked Nashville No. 6 when it comes to the highest rent hikes over the last year.
With an average monthly rent of $786, the average price increased 8% over last year. The vacancy rate in Nashville is 5.5%.
According to the report, residents in the Metro area shied away from buying last year, causing home prices to fall 8.5%.
Rent in parts of Donelson, Hermitage, and Wilson County jumped by 13.9% in 2010.
In addition, the jobless rate in Metro Nashville in 2010 fell to an estimated average of 8.9% compared with 9.3% in 2009.
Greenville, South Carolina ranked No. 1 on the list of cities with the highest rent hikes, followed by Chattanooga and Savannah, Georgia.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Ten Year Anniversary of 9/11/2001 - Never Forget all our Heroes
A Photo I took of the WTC from a Cruise Ship from NY to Bermuda!
I am from New York and Connecticut and was up visiting friends and family during 9/1/11 and that is a day I will never forget ever.
Mindy Schwartz
Davidson briefs: National Passport Day is Sept. 17
The Tennessean
DOWNTOWN
Davidson County residents can apply for or renew a passport without an appointment during National Passport Day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Howard Office Building at Fulton Complex, 700 Second Ave. S.
In addition, the Davidson County Clerk’s office will provide certified copies of Tennessee short-form birth certificates and driver’s license renewals that day.
For more information, visit http://www.nashvilleclerk.com./
Flu shots are available
The Metro Public Health Department has begun offering flu shots Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at all three health centers: Lentz Health Center, 311 23rd Ave. N.; East Health Center, 1015 E. Trinity Lane; and Woodbine Health Center, 224 Oriel Ave.
Flu shots are $20, and Medicare Part B and TennCare are accepted.
DOWNTOWN
Davidson County residents can apply for or renew a passport without an appointment during National Passport Day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Howard Office Building at Fulton Complex, 700 Second Ave. S.
In addition, the Davidson County Clerk’s office will provide certified copies of Tennessee short-form birth certificates and driver’s license renewals that day.
For more information, visit http://www.nashvilleclerk.com./
Flu shots are available
The Metro Public Health Department has begun offering flu shots Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at all three health centers: Lentz Health Center, 311 23rd Ave. N.; East Health Center, 1015 E. Trinity Lane; and Woodbine Health Center, 224 Oriel Ave.
Flu shots are $20, and Medicare Part B and TennCare are accepted.
Tennessee boomers face growing threat of hunger
The Tennessean 9/11/2011
Older Tennesseans increasingly face hunger, AARP says
Therese Marrs has learned the art of stretching a link of smoked sausage, a jar of cheese and a box of macaroni into three meals every week.
The 56-year-old Smyrna mother struggles to make the meals come together for her husband and 16-year-old daughter each week, since she was laid off from her quality assurance job at a factory in February. She spends almost every day looking for jobs, but she fears the worst once her unemployment benefits run out in a few months.
“I’ve learned how to cut my meals. My food stamps only stretch about three weeks, so the food bank helps,” Marrs said. “I’ve been working in factories since I was 15, but I can’t seem to get anybody to hire me.”
Marrs is among the 1 in 6 Tennesseans and 15.6 million older adults who face the threat of hunger as a result of a lingering weak economy in America, according to a recently released AARP report, “Food Insecurity Among Older Adults.” The study, conducted by the University of Kentucky and the University of Illinois, showed that between 2007 and 2009, there was a 63 percent increase in food insecurity among 40- to 49-year-olds and a 37 percent increase for those between the ages of 50 and 59.
Baby boomers seem to be at the greatest risk for hunger because many do not receive benefits such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, which is offered to adults with children, or Social Security, typically available to those 62 and older, said AARP Tennessee spokeswoman Karin Miller. Tennessee ranks ninth in the country for food insecurity among 40- to 49-year-olds.
“People are losing their jobs, and it particularly hits the older worker harder,” Miller said. “There are few government programs set up for them, but our goal is to let them know of the benefits they do have. More people are in need of food, but there are less donations and less assistance. Nobody should go hungry because of that.”
Stigma is barrier
Besides the lack of employment, older adults also are misinformed about benefits that could assist them with their nutrition needs, said Casey Woodling, Community Food Advocates food stamp outreach coordinator. More than 1 million Tennesseans receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, but thousands more qualify, he said. His agency, which advocates healthy and affordable food, receives 200 calls a month from individuals in need of food stamps. Still, only a third of seniors eligible for food stamps are receiving them.
“There’s the stigma with receiving food stamps, but there’s also the barriers of knowing how the program works, mobility and technology,” Woodling said. “I get a lot of calls from people in that age group, and they’re struggling to get food on the table and paying for health care.”
Cathy Adams faces that particular perfect storm as she attempts to care for her husband, Mike. He suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, but does not receive disability benefits. The 47-year-old Madison woman was fired from her waitress job in December, but she expected to snag a job quickly after working in food service for 30 years. The lack of prospects, her husband’s health condition and the fact that she is now forced to live with a friend have led to depression, Adams said. She decided to sign up for SNAP earlier this month.
“We raised two kids. My husband was a roofer, and I worked two jobs,” Adams said. “We were never rich, but we were able to own a home and be OK. I laugh to keep from crying a lot of times, because I can’t figure out why I can’t find a job.”
Help is diminishing
SNAP has created a safety net for older adults suffering in the economic downturn, but those benefits will decrease by 2013, Woodling said. The stimulus program funded a13 percent increase in benefits in 2009, but the increase will be eliminated a year earlier than planned to make up for federal budget shortfalls.
Other programs such as Meals on Wheels and funding for food banks also face challenges. Barbara Hale, director of the Smyrna-La Vergne Food Bank, said her food bank depended on an annual $15,000 Emergency Food and Shelter grant for several years, but those federal funds were cut from the budget this year. The United Way and the Rutherford County community fund the food bank, which sees more than 450 people every month. Demand for food boxes is growing for residents in their 40s and 50s, but many residents are unaware of the food woes, she said.
“We’re having to go cheaper, and we’re giving out less food than we used to,” Hale said. “The cost of food keeps going up, but the funding is down. There’s so many people that go to work and church every week but don’t know this need is there. They just don’t see it.”
Since September is National Hunger Action Month, AARP hopes to open the eyes of those Americans to the fact that older adults have a growing urgency for sustenance, Miller said. The organization is holding donation drives at food banks across the country through its Drive to End Hunger program. AARP has also partnered with Walgreens to offer information about SNAP at the retailer’s 300 stores. Future cuts to state and federal budgets will make a community effort to end hunger a must, she said.
“We can’t count on the government because we know those budgets and numbers for feeding programs are not stable,” Miller said. “It’s so important that we help our own neighbors. One dollar at a food bank can turn into three to five meals.”
For Marrs and her family, the tide may be turning. Her husband, James, recently landed a job. Her daughter Glorie has managed to keep A’s and B’s in spite of the family’s hardship.
“I used to clean houses for a living,’’ Therese Marrs said. “I’ll go back to that if I am able to, but maybe something else will come up.’’
Contact Stephanie Tooneat 615-259-8079 or stoone@tennessean.com
Older Tennesseans increasingly face hunger, AARP says
Therese Marrs has learned the art of stretching a link of smoked sausage, a jar of cheese and a box of macaroni into three meals every week.
The 56-year-old Smyrna mother struggles to make the meals come together for her husband and 16-year-old daughter each week, since she was laid off from her quality assurance job at a factory in February. She spends almost every day looking for jobs, but she fears the worst once her unemployment benefits run out in a few months.
“I’ve learned how to cut my meals. My food stamps only stretch about three weeks, so the food bank helps,” Marrs said. “I’ve been working in factories since I was 15, but I can’t seem to get anybody to hire me.”
Marrs is among the 1 in 6 Tennesseans and 15.6 million older adults who face the threat of hunger as a result of a lingering weak economy in America, according to a recently released AARP report, “Food Insecurity Among Older Adults.” The study, conducted by the University of Kentucky and the University of Illinois, showed that between 2007 and 2009, there was a 63 percent increase in food insecurity among 40- to 49-year-olds and a 37 percent increase for those between the ages of 50 and 59.
Baby boomers seem to be at the greatest risk for hunger because many do not receive benefits such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, which is offered to adults with children, or Social Security, typically available to those 62 and older, said AARP Tennessee spokeswoman Karin Miller. Tennessee ranks ninth in the country for food insecurity among 40- to 49-year-olds.
“People are losing their jobs, and it particularly hits the older worker harder,” Miller said. “There are few government programs set up for them, but our goal is to let them know of the benefits they do have. More people are in need of food, but there are less donations and less assistance. Nobody should go hungry because of that.”
Stigma is barrier
Besides the lack of employment, older adults also are misinformed about benefits that could assist them with their nutrition needs, said Casey Woodling, Community Food Advocates food stamp outreach coordinator. More than 1 million Tennesseans receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, but thousands more qualify, he said. His agency, which advocates healthy and affordable food, receives 200 calls a month from individuals in need of food stamps. Still, only a third of seniors eligible for food stamps are receiving them.
“There’s the stigma with receiving food stamps, but there’s also the barriers of knowing how the program works, mobility and technology,” Woodling said. “I get a lot of calls from people in that age group, and they’re struggling to get food on the table and paying for health care.”
Cathy Adams faces that particular perfect storm as she attempts to care for her husband, Mike. He suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, but does not receive disability benefits. The 47-year-old Madison woman was fired from her waitress job in December, but she expected to snag a job quickly after working in food service for 30 years. The lack of prospects, her husband’s health condition and the fact that she is now forced to live with a friend have led to depression, Adams said. She decided to sign up for SNAP earlier this month.
“We raised two kids. My husband was a roofer, and I worked two jobs,” Adams said. “We were never rich, but we were able to own a home and be OK. I laugh to keep from crying a lot of times, because I can’t figure out why I can’t find a job.”
Help is diminishing
SNAP has created a safety net for older adults suffering in the economic downturn, but those benefits will decrease by 2013, Woodling said. The stimulus program funded a13 percent increase in benefits in 2009, but the increase will be eliminated a year earlier than planned to make up for federal budget shortfalls.
Other programs such as Meals on Wheels and funding for food banks also face challenges. Barbara Hale, director of the Smyrna-La Vergne Food Bank, said her food bank depended on an annual $15,000 Emergency Food and Shelter grant for several years, but those federal funds were cut from the budget this year. The United Way and the Rutherford County community fund the food bank, which sees more than 450 people every month. Demand for food boxes is growing for residents in their 40s and 50s, but many residents are unaware of the food woes, she said.
“We’re having to go cheaper, and we’re giving out less food than we used to,” Hale said. “The cost of food keeps going up, but the funding is down. There’s so many people that go to work and church every week but don’t know this need is there. They just don’t see it.”
Since September is National Hunger Action Month, AARP hopes to open the eyes of those Americans to the fact that older adults have a growing urgency for sustenance, Miller said. The organization is holding donation drives at food banks across the country through its Drive to End Hunger program. AARP has also partnered with Walgreens to offer information about SNAP at the retailer’s 300 stores. Future cuts to state and federal budgets will make a community effort to end hunger a must, she said.
“We can’t count on the government because we know those budgets and numbers for feeding programs are not stable,” Miller said. “It’s so important that we help our own neighbors. One dollar at a food bank can turn into three to five meals.”
For Marrs and her family, the tide may be turning. Her husband, James, recently landed a job. Her daughter Glorie has managed to keep A’s and B’s in spite of the family’s hardship.
“I used to clean houses for a living,’’ Therese Marrs said. “I’ll go back to that if I am able to, but maybe something else will come up.’’
Contact Stephanie Tooneat 615-259-8079 or stoone@tennessean.com
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Education, shopping to mix at Hickory Hollow mall
The Nashville Ledger
By Joe MorrisPrint
It’s been written off, even making its way onto a website chronicling dying shopping centers. But Hickory Hollow Mall isn’t finished yet.
An exodus of anchor tenants and smaller retailers in the last decade, coupled with negative coverage due to alleged gang activity on and around the premises, spooked shoppers and led to empty parking spaces.
In the last 12 months, however, the facility’s fortunes have taken a decided turn for the better, albeit in a bumpy fashion. After a few stops and starts, Metro Nashville is moving into the site in a big way, and Nashville State Community College is heading a multi-pronged educational component for other portions of the mall.
The increasingly sunny picture for Hickory Hollow is a sign that, if properly managed and marketed, even a foundering property can find new life, says Bob McCalla, managing partner at Cumberland Commercial Partners.
“The mall had become economically obsolete, just from the competition that it didn’t have back when it opened,” McCalla said. “The power centers to the south and east of it have drawn away business and, because of the way it’s built, there aren’t a lot of ways to split it up. They needed someone who required a large floor space, and they’ve gotten that with these two deals.”
The parking, and the location near major thoroughfares and the interstate work to the mall’s advantage like they always have, McCalla adds.
“I can’t think of any city that doesn’t have a mall like this, one that’s failing for economic reasons,” he says. “It’s the nature of the beast right now. But if you can get the right mix of tenants, or lease and sell the larger buildings, then you can still be viable. The malls in Green Hills and Cool Springs haven’t faced this problem, but Hickory Hollow has and it may have found a way to still be successful.”
The arrival of Metro has been particularly roundabout and, if nothing else, a study in perseverance.
About a year ago, Mayor Karl Dean announced an $18 million plan to put a library and archives, public health and community centers and even a park on the site. The plan also called for an expo-type center to house the flea market and other ongoing events that would be homeless due to Dean’s simultaneously announced decision to shut down the Tennessee State Fairgrounds.
Some aspects of the plan, such as relocating the flea market to Antioch, got a negative reception. For its part, Metro only conceded that the high rent for the former Dillard’s building made the plan unworkable for the flea market.
Earlier this year, vocal foes of moving the Metro Archives out of Green Hills won their battle as well. Once again, cost was cited as the deal breaker, this time to lease the former JCPenney building.
But by late spring, Metro had moved from leasing failures to buying success.
A $3.25 million offer was made for the JC Penney building and its 12.31-acre site, enough room for a library, community center and small park. Negotiations are moving ahead, and the city is moving ahead with its plans for the property, the mayor says.
“Southeast Davidson County is one of the fastest-growing areas in Nashville, and I am working to make sure that the facilities and services there keep pace with the needs of its residents,” Dean explains.
“Vanderbilt’s work with One Hundred Oaks is an example of an innovative new use for an underutilized suburban mall. I believe the project at Hickory Hollow can be another model for grouping community services in a way that both serves residents and benefits surrounding retail and commercial areas.”
Meanwhile, the state has agreed to pay $3 million the Dillard’s building for Nashville State Community College, giving the school a satellite campus to its White Bridge Road location. If that deal goes through, it could join an alternative high school and a charter school on the site.
If all these plans take place, the area between Macy’s and Sears would house non-retail facilities while the larger, former stores at each end will house Metro and NSCC. It’s a mix that Angie Carter, Hickory Hollow’s general manager, thinks will work out well for all parties involved.
“Malls change and evolve,” Carter says. “Look at how this mall has changed over the years. We are excited to see what the property will become. It’s always been a great facility, and to have people reuse this space in new and exciting ways presents some welcome challenges to us as well.”
The foot traffic will be somewhat different in that not every visitor to the property will be there to shop, but there’ll still be enough people who will need to pick up various items, not to mention eat and drink, to keep the connecting retail corridors jumping, she predicted.
“People will come here to eat, shop and work,” Carter says. “This is the latest way in which we have remade ourselves. This mall has come a long way from Hot Dog on a Stick, and we’re going to guarantee the new tenants and owners a safe, secure and comfortable place for their students, employees and guests to visit.”
Nashville State sees its new property as a multi-part win. First, it’s big enough to house existing programs and have room for expansion. Second, as an empty shell there’s not a lot of teardown costs. And third, the mall comes with plenty of parking space. Add location, an area from which NSCC already draws heavily, and it’s a bit surprising the school didn’t snap up the property before now, says Dick Tracy, executive director of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ Office of Facilities Development, which is handling the transaction.
“A big part of our students come from the 37013 ZIP code, and so when we began looking at a new campus that was the area we focused on,” Tracy says.
“But we needed at least 40,000 square feet, and there was nothing. It was either warehouse space with no parking, or a spot with parking but not near enough room. And then we looked at leasing. We talked with CBL a few years ago about the Penney’s and Dillard’s buildings, but that didn’t work out for a variety of reasons.”
If all goes well, renovations will begin in the coming months and classes will start in the fall of 2012. The college’s main campus holds around 14,000 students, and it’s expected to have anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 at the new site.
“We’re just going through the process,” Tracy said. “We’re taking the building and the seven acres it sits on, which gives us access to the public street as well as all the parking. CBL will manage the overall property, and we will maintain our own facility.
“We relieve pressure on our main campus and pick up more students, and the mall gets a lot more traffic,” he said. “Not everyone who goes to the mall will take a class, but a lot of people who take classes will go to the mall. It was affordable land; it had good parking and was accessible. Now we’re going to talk to the city to see what we can do with the facility that they’re going to be putting in, so that we’re all working on this large property together.”
The increasingly sunny picture for Hickory Hollow is a sign that, if properly managed and marketed, even a foundering property can find new life, says Bob McCalla, managing partner at Cumberland Commercial Partners.
“The mall had become economically obsolete, just from the competition that it didn’t have back when it opened,” McCalla said. “The power centers to the south and east of it have drawn away business and, because of the way it’s built, there aren’t a lot of ways to split it up. They needed someone who required a large floor space, and they’ve gotten that with these two deals.”
The parking, and the location near major thoroughfares and the interstate worked to the mall’s advantage like they always have, McCalla adds.
“I can’t think of any city that doesn’t have a mall like this, one that’s failing for economic reasons,” he says. “It’s the nature of the beast right now. But if you can get the right mix of tenants, or lease and sell the larger buildings, then you can still be viable. The malls in Green Hills and Cool Springs haven’t faced this problem, but Hickory Hollow has and it may have found a way to still be successful.”
By Joe MorrisPrint
It’s been written off, even making its way onto a website chronicling dying shopping centers. But Hickory Hollow Mall isn’t finished yet.
An exodus of anchor tenants and smaller retailers in the last decade, coupled with negative coverage due to alleged gang activity on and around the premises, spooked shoppers and led to empty parking spaces.
In the last 12 months, however, the facility’s fortunes have taken a decided turn for the better, albeit in a bumpy fashion. After a few stops and starts, Metro Nashville is moving into the site in a big way, and Nashville State Community College is heading a multi-pronged educational component for other portions of the mall.
The increasingly sunny picture for Hickory Hollow is a sign that, if properly managed and marketed, even a foundering property can find new life, says Bob McCalla, managing partner at Cumberland Commercial Partners.
“The mall had become economically obsolete, just from the competition that it didn’t have back when it opened,” McCalla said. “The power centers to the south and east of it have drawn away business and, because of the way it’s built, there aren’t a lot of ways to split it up. They needed someone who required a large floor space, and they’ve gotten that with these two deals.”
The parking, and the location near major thoroughfares and the interstate work to the mall’s advantage like they always have, McCalla adds.
“I can’t think of any city that doesn’t have a mall like this, one that’s failing for economic reasons,” he says. “It’s the nature of the beast right now. But if you can get the right mix of tenants, or lease and sell the larger buildings, then you can still be viable. The malls in Green Hills and Cool Springs haven’t faced this problem, but Hickory Hollow has and it may have found a way to still be successful.”
The arrival of Metro has been particularly roundabout and, if nothing else, a study in perseverance.
About a year ago, Mayor Karl Dean announced an $18 million plan to put a library and archives, public health and community centers and even a park on the site. The plan also called for an expo-type center to house the flea market and other ongoing events that would be homeless due to Dean’s simultaneously announced decision to shut down the Tennessee State Fairgrounds.
Some aspects of the plan, such as relocating the flea market to Antioch, got a negative reception. For its part, Metro only conceded that the high rent for the former Dillard’s building made the plan unworkable for the flea market.
Earlier this year, vocal foes of moving the Metro Archives out of Green Hills won their battle as well. Once again, cost was cited as the deal breaker, this time to lease the former JCPenney building.
But by late spring, Metro had moved from leasing failures to buying success.
A $3.25 million offer was made for the JC Penney building and its 12.31-acre site, enough room for a library, community center and small park. Negotiations are moving ahead, and the city is moving ahead with its plans for the property, the mayor says.
“Southeast Davidson County is one of the fastest-growing areas in Nashville, and I am working to make sure that the facilities and services there keep pace with the needs of its residents,” Dean explains.
“Vanderbilt’s work with One Hundred Oaks is an example of an innovative new use for an underutilized suburban mall. I believe the project at Hickory Hollow can be another model for grouping community services in a way that both serves residents and benefits surrounding retail and commercial areas.”
Meanwhile, the state has agreed to pay $3 million the Dillard’s building for Nashville State Community College, giving the school a satellite campus to its White Bridge Road location. If that deal goes through, it could join an alternative high school and a charter school on the site.
If all these plans take place, the area between Macy’s and Sears would house non-retail facilities while the larger, former stores at each end will house Metro and NSCC. It’s a mix that Angie Carter, Hickory Hollow’s general manager, thinks will work out well for all parties involved.
“Malls change and evolve,” Carter says. “Look at how this mall has changed over the years. We are excited to see what the property will become. It’s always been a great facility, and to have people reuse this space in new and exciting ways presents some welcome challenges to us as well.”
The foot traffic will be somewhat different in that not every visitor to the property will be there to shop, but there’ll still be enough people who will need to pick up various items, not to mention eat and drink, to keep the connecting retail corridors jumping, she predicted.
“People will come here to eat, shop and work,” Carter says. “This is the latest way in which we have remade ourselves. This mall has come a long way from Hot Dog on a Stick, and we’re going to guarantee the new tenants and owners a safe, secure and comfortable place for their students, employees and guests to visit.”
Nashville State sees its new property as a multi-part win. First, it’s big enough to house existing programs and have room for expansion. Second, as an empty shell there’s not a lot of teardown costs. And third, the mall comes with plenty of parking space. Add location, an area from which NSCC already draws heavily, and it’s a bit surprising the school didn’t snap up the property before now, says Dick Tracy, executive director of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ Office of Facilities Development, which is handling the transaction.
“A big part of our students come from the 37013 ZIP code, and so when we began looking at a new campus that was the area we focused on,” Tracy says.
“But we needed at least 40,000 square feet, and there was nothing. It was either warehouse space with no parking, or a spot with parking but not near enough room. And then we looked at leasing. We talked with CBL a few years ago about the Penney’s and Dillard’s buildings, but that didn’t work out for a variety of reasons.”
If all goes well, renovations will begin in the coming months and classes will start in the fall of 2012. The college’s main campus holds around 14,000 students, and it’s expected to have anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 at the new site.
“We’re just going through the process,” Tracy said. “We’re taking the building and the seven acres it sits on, which gives us access to the public street as well as all the parking. CBL will manage the overall property, and we will maintain our own facility.
“We relieve pressure on our main campus and pick up more students, and the mall gets a lot more traffic,” he said. “Not everyone who goes to the mall will take a class, but a lot of people who take classes will go to the mall. It was affordable land; it had good parking and was accessible. Now we’re going to talk to the city to see what we can do with the facility that they’re going to be putting in, so that we’re all working on this large property together.”
The increasingly sunny picture for Hickory Hollow is a sign that, if properly managed and marketed, even a foundering property can find new life, says Bob McCalla, managing partner at Cumberland Commercial Partners.
“The mall had become economically obsolete, just from the competition that it didn’t have back when it opened,” McCalla said. “The power centers to the south and east of it have drawn away business and, because of the way it’s built, there aren’t a lot of ways to split it up. They needed someone who required a large floor space, and they’ve gotten that with these two deals.”
The parking, and the location near major thoroughfares and the interstate worked to the mall’s advantage like they always have, McCalla adds.
“I can’t think of any city that doesn’t have a mall like this, one that’s failing for economic reasons,” he says. “It’s the nature of the beast right now. But if you can get the right mix of tenants, or lease and sell the larger buildings, then you can still be viable. The malls in Green Hills and Cool Springs haven’t faced this problem, but Hickory Hollow has and it may have found a way to still be successful.”
Friday, September 9, 2011
THHAP Meeting (The Hickory Hollow Action Partnership)
September 13, 2011 at Freeland Chevy at 8:30 A.M.
Please attend this meeting to find out what is new in “your” neighborhood.
Please forward this invitation on to anyone that is interested in what is going on in the Hickory Hollow area.
THHAP is an organization that was formed to enhance the Hickory Hollow Business District through the combined efforts of business leaders and area residents. In conjunction with community organizations support from the Metro Nashville Police Department, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber South Area Advisory Council, among others. THHAP will play a major role in everything from business recruitment and crime mitigation to beautification and community spirit efforts. The goal is to renew the focus on the area that will lead the rebirth of Hickory Hollow as a new business hub in Middle Tennessee.
Please attend this meeting to find out what is new in “your” neighborhood.
Please forward this invitation on to anyone that is interested in what is going on in the Hickory Hollow area.
THHAP is an organization that was formed to enhance the Hickory Hollow Business District through the combined efforts of business leaders and area residents. In conjunction with community organizations support from the Metro Nashville Police Department, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber South Area Advisory Council, among others. THHAP will play a major role in everything from business recruitment and crime mitigation to beautification and community spirit efforts. The goal is to renew the focus on the area that will lead the rebirth of Hickory Hollow as a new business hub in Middle Tennessee.
www.THHAP.org Call Carol 731-300 x 0 or Judi 731-9911 if you have questions.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Doctors rake in to push pills for drug companies
The Tennessean
8 drug companies paid $220M to physician marketers last year
Eight pharmaceutical companies, including the nation’s three largest, doled out more than $220 million last year to promotional speakers for their products, according to a ProPublica analysis of company data.
For the first time, all of these companies have reported a full year of payments, allowing for head-to-head comparisons of how much they spent on physicians to help push their pills. Some appear to be paring back.
Firms with the highest U.S. sales last year didn’t spend the most on physician marketers. Industry leader Pfizer, with sales of $26.2 billion, spent $34.4 million on speakers, ranking third among the eight companies. By comparison, Eli Lilly and Co. spent the most on speakers, $61.5 million, even though its sales were about half of Pfizer’s.
“We continue to believe in the benefits and value that educational programs led by physicians provide to patient care,” Lilly spokesman J. Scott MacGregor said in an email.
The data provide a preview of what the public can expect to see in 2013, when all drug and medical-device companies — potentially hundreds — must report such figures to the federal government.
Until 2009, pharmaceutical company payments to health professionals were closely held trade secrets. But several companies began reporting the information publicly under pressure from lawmakers or as a condition of settling federal whistle-blower lawsuits.
In October, ProPublica published a database called Dollars for Docs that included information from those companies. It allows the public to search for individual physicians to see whether they’ve been on pharma’s payroll.
Today, ProPublica is updating that tool to include payments made to health professionals by 12 companies. Eight of those published data for all of 2010: Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merck, Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson, ViiV Healthcare and AstraZeneca.
In addition to the payments made to speakers, some of the companies also disclosed how much they’ve spent on consulting, travel, meals and research.
In all, payments to doctors and other health-care providers in ProPublica’s database total more than $760 million and cover reports from drug companies between 2009 and the second quarter of 2011.
Some docs pull out
The new data offer a glimpse of how the firms have adapted their strategies over time, both to changes in the marketplace and to increased scrutiny of their sales techniques.
Many experts predict physicians will back away from working for the companies once their names and pay are publicly revealed.
It’s too early to know if this is true, but ProPublica’s analysis shows that the payouts to dozens of doctors and other health professionals took a steep dive last year.
Pulmonologist Veena Antony, for example, was paid at least $88,000 to give promotional talks for GlaxoSmithKline in 2009. But last year, the Birmingham, Ala., doctor gave them up out of concern that patients might think her advice was tainted.
“You don’t even want the appearance that I might be influenced by anything that a company gave,” she said.
Cancer specialist Nam Dang was a regular on Cephalon’s speaking circuit, pulling in $131,250 in 2009. But those promotional gigs stopped, he said, after he took a job at the University of Florida in Gainesville, which bans such talks. In 2010, he received $10,000 consulting for Cephalon and Pfizer.
Nurse practitioner Terri Warren, who runs a Portland, Ore., health clinic, earned at least $113,000 from Glaxo in 2009, mostly talking about its herpes drug Valtrex. In 2010, that dropped to $300 after the drug went off patent and Glaxo no longer had a financial incentive to promote it.
“It’s a business decision, clearly,” said Warren, who felt her talks helped educate other health professionals about treating a taboo illness. “My money (from Glaxo) went into keeping this little clinic alive, and now we have to figure out some other way to do that.”
Another group of physicians has ramped up speaking engagements and consulting.
Buffalo hematologist Zale Bernstein earned $49,250 from Cephalon in 2009. The following year, his pay jumped to $177,800 (plus an additional $35,500 for travel). Bernstein did not return calls for comment.
Pain specialist Gerald M. Sacks spoke and consulted for four companies in the database and was among the highest paid. The Santa Monica, Calif., doctor earned $270,825 from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly and Cephalon in 2010, up from $225,575 in 2009. Those figures do not include travel costs and meals.
Over 18 months, Pfizer alone paid Sacks $318,250 for speaking. He did not return repeated calls for comment.
Pfizer’s new disclosure also revealed an unusual recipient. Its top-paid physician consultant last year, Dr. Christiana Goh Bardon, runs a hedge fund in Boston that bets on the rise and fall of health-care companies. She was paid nearly $308,000 to “provide input on our BioTher-apeutics business development plan,” Pfizer spokeswoman Kristen Neese wrote in an email.
Bardon, who started her hedge fund after her Pfizer contract ended, was required to sign a confidentiality agreement and not allowed to invest in Pfizer or any of the biotech companies that Pfizer was looking at acquiring or partnering with for projects, Neese said.
Bardon said in a voice-mail message that she does not currently practice as a physician and her work was based on her business acumen.
Drug companies change strategies
Some companies apparently have used fewer physician speakers and consultants since they began posting their data publicly.
Cephalon, a relatively small Pennsylvania company that specializes in pain, cancer and central nervous system drugs, paid physicians nearly $9.3 million in 2009 for speaking and consulting. That figure dropped to $5 million last year.
“There wasn’t one big thing that happened that shifted the focus,” said spokeswoman Jenifer Antonacci. Rather, the company’s marketing strategies for its brands changed.
AstraZeneca cut its spending on speakers from roughly $22.8 million in the first half of 2010 to about $9.2 million in the second half.
The company’s U.S. compliance officer, Marie Martino, said AstraZeneca typically holds most of its speaker events in the beginning of each year. But she acknowledged that the company’s spending on promotional talks has been decreasing.
“We’re in a period now where we don’t have a lot of new indications (approved uses) or new products that have been introduced in recent months, and that really is the fundamental explanation for what you’re seeing,” Martino said.
AstraZeneca, like other companies, is also replacing some in-person speaking events with teleconferences, webcasts and video conferences.
Glaxo’s spending on speakers also slowed in 2010, averaging about $13.2 million per quarter in 2010, down 15 percent from the last three quarters of 2009. (Glaxo did not report data in the first quarter of 2009.)
Company spokeswoman Mary Anne Rhyne said the company is working to reduce its speaker rolls by 50 percent. “We feel it is a better use of resources to use fewer speakers more often. This cuts down on training costs as well as lessens the number of contracts needed,” she wrote in an email.
And Lilly’s speaker payments dropped 10 percent from 2009 to 2010, which spokesman MacGregor said was likely due to “normal year-to-year fluctuation.”
ProPublica’s early analysis of the data is limited because so few companies report their spending and even then, disclose different information. Lilly, for example, reports every health professional it pays to speak, while Pfizer includes only those who can prescribe.
“It’s really unclear how much money is being spent in any one of these areas,” said Vincent DeChellis, a principal at NHHS Healthcare Consulting, which has studied the data. “As you get more and more companies participating and submitting this information, you’re going to get an initial look” at what may be a multibillion-dollar practice.
When Massachusetts required drug and device companies to report payments to doctors in that state last year, 286 companies did so.
Scrutiny of speaker programs has prompted changes.
After ProPublica reported last year that some drug-company speakers had been sanctioned by their state medical boards, the firms pledged to toughen their screening procedures and exclude physicians with disciplinary records.
Separately, ProPublica found that universities were not enforcing their own policies barring physicians from giving promotional speeches. In response, a number of schools said they would begin using the payment rosters to check for rule-breakers.
Pharma’s trade group said the focus of most companies right now is ensuring the accuracy of data that will be publicly released in 2013. But this transparency also must be put into context for patients, said Diane Bieri, executive vice president and general counsel for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
Doctors help develop new medicines, advise companies on marketing and help educate their peers about appropriate uses of new drugs, she said.
“If the only information that’s available is that company A paid doctor B $75,000 for a consulting arrangement,” she said, “that’s typically not enough information to really educate the patient about what was involved in that relationship.”
To learn more on this topic click the link HERE
8 drug companies paid $220M to physician marketers last year
Eight pharmaceutical companies, including the nation’s three largest, doled out more than $220 million last year to promotional speakers for their products, according to a ProPublica analysis of company data.
For the first time, all of these companies have reported a full year of payments, allowing for head-to-head comparisons of how much they spent on physicians to help push their pills. Some appear to be paring back.
Firms with the highest U.S. sales last year didn’t spend the most on physician marketers. Industry leader Pfizer, with sales of $26.2 billion, spent $34.4 million on speakers, ranking third among the eight companies. By comparison, Eli Lilly and Co. spent the most on speakers, $61.5 million, even though its sales were about half of Pfizer’s.
“We continue to believe in the benefits and value that educational programs led by physicians provide to patient care,” Lilly spokesman J. Scott MacGregor said in an email.
The data provide a preview of what the public can expect to see in 2013, when all drug and medical-device companies — potentially hundreds — must report such figures to the federal government.
Until 2009, pharmaceutical company payments to health professionals were closely held trade secrets. But several companies began reporting the information publicly under pressure from lawmakers or as a condition of settling federal whistle-blower lawsuits.
In October, ProPublica published a database called Dollars for Docs that included information from those companies. It allows the public to search for individual physicians to see whether they’ve been on pharma’s payroll.
Today, ProPublica is updating that tool to include payments made to health professionals by 12 companies. Eight of those published data for all of 2010: Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merck, Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson, ViiV Healthcare and AstraZeneca.
In addition to the payments made to speakers, some of the companies also disclosed how much they’ve spent on consulting, travel, meals and research.
In all, payments to doctors and other health-care providers in ProPublica’s database total more than $760 million and cover reports from drug companies between 2009 and the second quarter of 2011.
Some docs pull out
The new data offer a glimpse of how the firms have adapted their strategies over time, both to changes in the marketplace and to increased scrutiny of their sales techniques.
Many experts predict physicians will back away from working for the companies once their names and pay are publicly revealed.
It’s too early to know if this is true, but ProPublica’s analysis shows that the payouts to dozens of doctors and other health professionals took a steep dive last year.
Pulmonologist Veena Antony, for example, was paid at least $88,000 to give promotional talks for GlaxoSmithKline in 2009. But last year, the Birmingham, Ala., doctor gave them up out of concern that patients might think her advice was tainted.
“You don’t even want the appearance that I might be influenced by anything that a company gave,” she said.
Cancer specialist Nam Dang was a regular on Cephalon’s speaking circuit, pulling in $131,250 in 2009. But those promotional gigs stopped, he said, after he took a job at the University of Florida in Gainesville, which bans such talks. In 2010, he received $10,000 consulting for Cephalon and Pfizer.
Nurse practitioner Terri Warren, who runs a Portland, Ore., health clinic, earned at least $113,000 from Glaxo in 2009, mostly talking about its herpes drug Valtrex. In 2010, that dropped to $300 after the drug went off patent and Glaxo no longer had a financial incentive to promote it.
“It’s a business decision, clearly,” said Warren, who felt her talks helped educate other health professionals about treating a taboo illness. “My money (from Glaxo) went into keeping this little clinic alive, and now we have to figure out some other way to do that.”
Another group of physicians has ramped up speaking engagements and consulting.
Buffalo hematologist Zale Bernstein earned $49,250 from Cephalon in 2009. The following year, his pay jumped to $177,800 (plus an additional $35,500 for travel). Bernstein did not return calls for comment.
Pain specialist Gerald M. Sacks spoke and consulted for four companies in the database and was among the highest paid. The Santa Monica, Calif., doctor earned $270,825 from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly and Cephalon in 2010, up from $225,575 in 2009. Those figures do not include travel costs and meals.
Over 18 months, Pfizer alone paid Sacks $318,250 for speaking. He did not return repeated calls for comment.
Pfizer’s new disclosure also revealed an unusual recipient. Its top-paid physician consultant last year, Dr. Christiana Goh Bardon, runs a hedge fund in Boston that bets on the rise and fall of health-care companies. She was paid nearly $308,000 to “provide input on our BioTher-apeutics business development plan,” Pfizer spokeswoman Kristen Neese wrote in an email.
Bardon, who started her hedge fund after her Pfizer contract ended, was required to sign a confidentiality agreement and not allowed to invest in Pfizer or any of the biotech companies that Pfizer was looking at acquiring or partnering with for projects, Neese said.
Bardon said in a voice-mail message that she does not currently practice as a physician and her work was based on her business acumen.
Drug companies change strategies
Some companies apparently have used fewer physician speakers and consultants since they began posting their data publicly.
Cephalon, a relatively small Pennsylvania company that specializes in pain, cancer and central nervous system drugs, paid physicians nearly $9.3 million in 2009 for speaking and consulting. That figure dropped to $5 million last year.
“There wasn’t one big thing that happened that shifted the focus,” said spokeswoman Jenifer Antonacci. Rather, the company’s marketing strategies for its brands changed.
AstraZeneca cut its spending on speakers from roughly $22.8 million in the first half of 2010 to about $9.2 million in the second half.
The company’s U.S. compliance officer, Marie Martino, said AstraZeneca typically holds most of its speaker events in the beginning of each year. But she acknowledged that the company’s spending on promotional talks has been decreasing.
“We’re in a period now where we don’t have a lot of new indications (approved uses) or new products that have been introduced in recent months, and that really is the fundamental explanation for what you’re seeing,” Martino said.
AstraZeneca, like other companies, is also replacing some in-person speaking events with teleconferences, webcasts and video conferences.
Glaxo’s spending on speakers also slowed in 2010, averaging about $13.2 million per quarter in 2010, down 15 percent from the last three quarters of 2009. (Glaxo did not report data in the first quarter of 2009.)
Company spokeswoman Mary Anne Rhyne said the company is working to reduce its speaker rolls by 50 percent. “We feel it is a better use of resources to use fewer speakers more often. This cuts down on training costs as well as lessens the number of contracts needed,” she wrote in an email.
And Lilly’s speaker payments dropped 10 percent from 2009 to 2010, which spokesman MacGregor said was likely due to “normal year-to-year fluctuation.”
ProPublica’s early analysis of the data is limited because so few companies report their spending and even then, disclose different information. Lilly, for example, reports every health professional it pays to speak, while Pfizer includes only those who can prescribe.
“It’s really unclear how much money is being spent in any one of these areas,” said Vincent DeChellis, a principal at NHHS Healthcare Consulting, which has studied the data. “As you get more and more companies participating and submitting this information, you’re going to get an initial look” at what may be a multibillion-dollar practice.
When Massachusetts required drug and device companies to report payments to doctors in that state last year, 286 companies did so.
Scrutiny of speaker programs has prompted changes.
After ProPublica reported last year that some drug-company speakers had been sanctioned by their state medical boards, the firms pledged to toughen their screening procedures and exclude physicians with disciplinary records.
Separately, ProPublica found that universities were not enforcing their own policies barring physicians from giving promotional speeches. In response, a number of schools said they would begin using the payment rosters to check for rule-breakers.
Pharma’s trade group said the focus of most companies right now is ensuring the accuracy of data that will be publicly released in 2013. But this transparency also must be put into context for patients, said Diane Bieri, executive vice president and general counsel for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
Doctors help develop new medicines, advise companies on marketing and help educate their peers about appropriate uses of new drugs, she said.
“If the only information that’s available is that company A paid doctor B $75,000 for a consulting arrangement,” she said, “that’s typically not enough information to really educate the patient about what was involved in that relationship.”
To learn more on this topic click the link HERE
Police: 2 men jump out of car, rob man walking home
News Channel 2 WKRN
Posted: Sep 08, 2011 7:32 AM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A man was robbed as he walked home from work early Thursday morning in south Nashville.
The victim was walking home around 1 a.m. along Welch Road, near the intersection of Nolensville Pike and Harding Place.
Detectives said after a car approached the victim, two men armed with a gun and knife, jumped out of the car and stole the man's money.
The victim was not hurt.
Police are looking for a silver 2007 or 2008 Nissan Maxima with a temporary tag.
The car had a Tennessee Titans decal on the passenger side, rear window.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME.
Posted: Sep 08, 2011 7:32 AM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A man was robbed as he walked home from work early Thursday morning in south Nashville.
The victim was walking home around 1 a.m. along Welch Road, near the intersection of Nolensville Pike and Harding Place.
Detectives said after a car approached the victim, two men armed with a gun and knife, jumped out of the car and stole the man's money.
The victim was not hurt.
Police are looking for a silver 2007 or 2008 Nissan Maxima with a temporary tag.
The car had a Tennessee Titans decal on the passenger side, rear window.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Councilwoman makes plea for Antioch community center, park
Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 5:22pm
By Joey Garrison
Karen Johnson was sworn into the Metro Council only a week ago, but she’s already making a plea that’s been at the forefront of concerns for Antioch residents for years: Bring a new community center and park space to southeast Davidson County — by far Nashville’s fastest growing area.
Johnson, the former school board member elected in August to fill the council’s District 29 seat appeared before the nine-member Metro Department of Parks and Recreation board Tuesday morning to highlight the urgency to bring recreational opportunities, community space and public investment to Antioch, specifically the area east of Murfreesboro Pike.
"We are the only area of Davidson County where we don’t have recreational outlets for our children and families,” Johnson told the parks board.
“We want to be able to provide a center or place where families will go safely and be able to recreate and have community meetings,” she said. “I beg of you to please do what is possible.”
To accommodate a new community center, Johnson requested the parks board consider purchasing what she described as approximately 100 acres at 171 Bell Road near the intersection of Nashboro Boulevard. She said the property, located near the Nashboro Village Apartments complex and a golf course, is currently for sale.
Johnson also asked board members to look at 2084 Smith Springs Road as an opportunity to acquire land that could go toward Mayor Karl Dean’s open space plan, which seeks to preserve thousands of acres of land that could otherwise be developed.
“This would be a good area to advance walking initiatives, exercising and enjoying space with their families,” Johnson said, adding the space is also well equipped to feature a dog park.
Antioch already has one community center at 5032 Blue Hole Road, but the building is far from the Bell Road parcels Johnson described.
Dean’s administration last year unveiled a plan for a revamped Hickory Hollow Mall, which included several new public utilities, anchored by a new community center and relocated fairgrounds expo center. A plan to lease the mall space fell apart when Dean backed away from his fairgrounds redevelopment plans.
Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling said the city is now in conversations about acquiring — not leasing — the mall building last occupied by JC Penny to house a regional community center. Combined with a new Nashville State Community College satellite campus, he said its addition would help “rejuvenate” the struggling mall, which CBL & Associates Properties Inc. owns.
“We’re continuing to look at all the issues associated with real estate,” Riebeling said. “We’re moving forward with looking at potentially purchasing the Penny’s building.”
Riebeling said a proposal for the Hickory Hollow community center could go before the council this fall.
But even if the Hickory Hollow community center were to come to fruition, Johnson said the project would only partially meet the area’s demand, adding that the area to the east of Murfreesboro Pike needs aggressive exploration.
Tommy Lynch, the park department’s interim director, said Metro’s Parks and Greenways Master Plan has identified the need for three additional community centers in southeast Davidson County.
Lynch also said Johnson’s request for more open space is consistent with the department’s desires. He said officials are already looking at available open land in Antioch.
“Her request is totally in line with the open space plan,” Lynch said. “It’s been identified as an area for us to look for property.”
Given the area’s growth, parks board member James Lawson said the board should “seriously consider” making greater investments in southeast Davidson County.
“It is sorely needed,” Lawson said.
By Joey Garrison
Karen Johnson was sworn into the Metro Council only a week ago, but she’s already making a plea that’s been at the forefront of concerns for Antioch residents for years: Bring a new community center and park space to southeast Davidson County — by far Nashville’s fastest growing area.
Johnson, the former school board member elected in August to fill the council’s District 29 seat appeared before the nine-member Metro Department of Parks and Recreation board Tuesday morning to highlight the urgency to bring recreational opportunities, community space and public investment to Antioch, specifically the area east of Murfreesboro Pike.
"We are the only area of Davidson County where we don’t have recreational outlets for our children and families,” Johnson told the parks board.
“We want to be able to provide a center or place where families will go safely and be able to recreate and have community meetings,” she said. “I beg of you to please do what is possible.”
To accommodate a new community center, Johnson requested the parks board consider purchasing what she described as approximately 100 acres at 171 Bell Road near the intersection of Nashboro Boulevard. She said the property, located near the Nashboro Village Apartments complex and a golf course, is currently for sale.
Johnson also asked board members to look at 2084 Smith Springs Road as an opportunity to acquire land that could go toward Mayor Karl Dean’s open space plan, which seeks to preserve thousands of acres of land that could otherwise be developed.
“This would be a good area to advance walking initiatives, exercising and enjoying space with their families,” Johnson said, adding the space is also well equipped to feature a dog park.
Antioch already has one community center at 5032 Blue Hole Road, but the building is far from the Bell Road parcels Johnson described.
Dean’s administration last year unveiled a plan for a revamped Hickory Hollow Mall, which included several new public utilities, anchored by a new community center and relocated fairgrounds expo center. A plan to lease the mall space fell apart when Dean backed away from his fairgrounds redevelopment plans.
Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling said the city is now in conversations about acquiring — not leasing — the mall building last occupied by JC Penny to house a regional community center. Combined with a new Nashville State Community College satellite campus, he said its addition would help “rejuvenate” the struggling mall, which CBL & Associates Properties Inc. owns.
“We’re continuing to look at all the issues associated with real estate,” Riebeling said. “We’re moving forward with looking at potentially purchasing the Penny’s building.”
Riebeling said a proposal for the Hickory Hollow community center could go before the council this fall.
But even if the Hickory Hollow community center were to come to fruition, Johnson said the project would only partially meet the area’s demand, adding that the area to the east of Murfreesboro Pike needs aggressive exploration.
Tommy Lynch, the park department’s interim director, said Metro’s Parks and Greenways Master Plan has identified the need for three additional community centers in southeast Davidson County.
Lynch also said Johnson’s request for more open space is consistent with the department’s desires. He said officials are already looking at available open land in Antioch.
“Her request is totally in line with the open space plan,” Lynch said. “It’s been identified as an area for us to look for property.”
Given the area’s growth, parks board member James Lawson said the board should “seriously consider” making greater investments in southeast Davidson County.
“It is sorely needed,” Lawson said.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Percy Priest Lake cleanup scheduled for Sept. 24
The Tennessean
Bill Haas
The Nashville Clean Water Project will host another volunteer cleanup of Percy Priest Lake on Sept. 24.
The cleanup from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. aims to tackle 22 sites, cleaning up debris and garbage caused by the May 2010 flood, recent rainfall, and careless campers and people who dump their garbage along the lake. Organizers expect this year’s cleanup to be the largest in the event’s history.
The cleanup will be organized at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters at 37-01 Bell Road. Volunteers must register ahead of time at http://www.cleanpercypriest.org/ and will receive a free T-shirt and lunch. The event will proceed rain or shine, absent dangerous weather.
Bill Haas
The Nashville Clean Water Project will host another volunteer cleanup of Percy Priest Lake on Sept. 24.
The cleanup from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. aims to tackle 22 sites, cleaning up debris and garbage caused by the May 2010 flood, recent rainfall, and careless campers and people who dump their garbage along the lake. Organizers expect this year’s cleanup to be the largest in the event’s history.
The cleanup will be organized at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters at 37-01 Bell Road. Volunteers must register ahead of time at http://www.cleanpercypriest.org/ and will receive a free T-shirt and lunch. The event will proceed rain or shine, absent dangerous weather.
Come on out and Help!
2 suspects invade south Nashville home, steal money
WKRN Channel 2 News
Posted: Sep 06, 2011 7:39 AM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A man woke up early Tuesday morning with two men inside his south Nashville home.
The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. at a home on Chilton Street, near Nolensville Pike.
Metro police said two men wearing dark clothing and hooded sweatshirts entered the home and demanded cash from the man.
The suspects left with money, a cell phone and a TV.
The man was not hurt.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME.
Posted: Sep 06, 2011 7:39 AM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A man woke up early Tuesday morning with two men inside his south Nashville home.
The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. at a home on Chilton Street, near Nolensville Pike.
Metro police said two men wearing dark clothing and hooded sweatshirts entered the home and demanded cash from the man.
The suspects left with money, a cell phone and a TV.
The man was not hurt.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Karen Y Johnson - Council Woman District 29 - Newsletter
WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES A SAFE AND ENJOYABLE LABOR DAY!
This District 29-E Newsletter will provide updates for District 29. If you have any information you would like to share with the district, please email me and it will be included. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you and our beautiful District 29.
District 29 Neighbors and Friends, SPECIAL NEWS UPDATE SHARED BY HICKORY HOLLOW MALL MANAGER ANGIE CARTER
My term as your District 29 council member officially began on September 1st. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you. I will work hard to provide you with information that will give you the opportunity to give feedback and to be involved where possible. I began my first day meeting with Metro Parks Greenway representatives in identifying areas in our district that we can enhance for walking and also areas for our pets. How exciting. I look forward to sharing with you information where we can work together to make our district the most desirable area in Davidson County to live.
District 29 Community Meeting
Our District's first community meeting has been scheduled for MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 at 6:30 pm LAKEVIEW DESIGN CENTER SCHOOL. Invited are representatives from MTA (Metro Transit Authority) and OEM (Office of Emergency Management). You will be able to learn of the grant money that is available to place tornado sirens in our district and ask questions and share what services you would like to see as well as give feedback on the newly added buslink for District 29. Please make plans to attend. I look forward to seeing you.
District 29 Office Hours
District 29 office hours will be held regularly every month in addition to our planned community meetings to give everyone the opportunity to meet and talk with me as your council member in multiple ways so that your ideas and concerns can be addressed. My goal is to serve you and to deliver to our district what you expect. My first office hours will take place in a special fashion with a Breakfast at Krystal's where neighbors in our community hold monthly breakfast club meetings. Please come join me and your neighbors for breakfast and conversation on Saturday, September 17, 2011 from 9:00 am until 11:30 am. A schedule of office hours and the locations will be posted on our district website which will be announced soon in the next newsletter and blog which is http://www.district29community.blogspot.com/ as well as facebook for each month.
Education, shopping to mix at Hickory Hollow mall By Joe Morris Updated 11:07AM
It’s been written off, even making its way onto a website chronicling dying shopping centers. But Hickory Hollow Mall isn’t finished yet.
An exodus of anchor tenants and smaller retailers in the last decade, coupled with negative coverage due to alleged gang activity on and around the premises, spooked shoppers and led to empty parking spaces.
In the last 12 months, however, the facility’s fortunes have taken a decided turn for the better, albeit in a bumpy fashion. After a few stops and starts, Metro Nashville is moving into the site in a big way, and Nashville State Community College is heading a multi-pronged educational component for other portions of the mall. Click here to read entire article.
Brush Pickup for District 29
Please remember our Brush Pickup for our area in Davidson County which is area 4 is scheduled to begin Tuesday, September 27, 2011. You can click here for the entire schedule.
Our District's new Beautification Commissioner will be taking office soon and will be announcing many great events and news regarding future services and opportunities for brush pickup and bulk item pickup. An announcement of our new Commissioner will be shared soon after this appointment is made by Mayor Karl Dean.
SAVE THE DATE - DISTRICT 29 COMMUNITY WIDE CLEANUP
Saturday October 22, 2011 from 7:30 am until 12:30 noon with a cookout to follow beginning at 1:00 pm. Information on set up, dumpster locations and schedule of activities will be shared in the next series of newsletters.
YOU'RE INVITED
To the Swearing in of Mayor Karl Dean, Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors and the entire Metropolitan Council
Friday, September 23, 2011
11:00 a.m.
Downtown Public Library
Over the summer, Hamilton Creek Apartments in District 29 held an art camp for “at risk kids “ages 5-13, where 23 children participated in the completion of a mural, “Young Voices, Big Visions,” led by the well-known Nashville artist, Jairo Prado. The project took place over a three-week period; with the focus of the mural being a reflection of the youth in their present community as well as their future self-portraits in the community. The children who participated in the summer camp and their families were also able to tour the Frist Center on Saturday, August 27, through an outreach partnership.
2011 TN State Fair September 9 thru 18, 2011 Support this 156 year old tradition!
To Read the Newsletter you can go to the following link. You also subscribe to the Newsletter and receive updates directly to your email address.
Email: JohnsonKarenY@gmail.com
Blog: District29Community.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.karenjohnson.org/
Telephone: 615-977-6721/862-6780
Our mailing address is:
2928 Moss Spring Drive, Antioch, TN 37013
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