Davidson County:
Nashville:
•Nashville Zoo
"Red, White, and Zoo", July 3, festivities 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
•Riverfront Park, Downtown
- Fri., July 2: General Jackson cruises at 1:30 and 4 p.m., fireworks at 8 p.m.
- Sat., July 3: Festivities begin at 12 p.m., live music at 8 p.m., fireworks to follow
- Sun., July 4: Festivities begin at 12 p.m., live music at 2 p.m., fireworks at 9:30 p.m.
•Greer Stadium
- Chestnut Street, south Nashville
- Fireworks following the Nashville Sounds game
Monday, June 28, 2010
TPAC Presents series includes Liza Minnelli, Bill Cosby, 'Stomp' and more
By Fiona Soltes • FOR THE TENNESSEAN • June 27, 2010
What better way to celebrate veteran status than by rolling out a lineup of long-loved art?
This fall, as Tennessee Performing Arts Center marks its 30th anniversary, the organization adds to its already-announced HCA/TriStar Broadway at TPAC series with a roster of tried-and-trues: Bill Cosby, Liza Minnelli, Les Misérables and more, most of it under the banner of "TPAC Presents."
"We wanted a 30th anniversary celebration that included some audience favorites, so we are bringing back some of our past big hits as well as offering some new shows," says Kathleen O'Brien, TPAC's president and CEO.
One of the "new" shows is contemporary dance/visual theater company MOMIX's Botanica, Moses Pendleton's latest work. The critically acclaimed "visual spectacle" based on nature's seasons has sold out houses across the globe.
"Botanica is an exciting new work — filled with color, special lighting effects and illusion — that integrates the performing arts with science, geography, self-expression, communication and more," O'Brien says. "Bringing MOMIX to Nashville is a perfect illustration of our purpose, the reason why TPAC was founded 30 years ago. Our mission is to offer rich, diverse programming for audiences of all ages."
Pendleton, whose celebrated career goes back further than TPAC's beginnings, brings new meaning to that diversity. He found inspiration for Botanica, he says, amid his own expansive Connecticut sunflower garden.
"Flowers have a great deal to tell us, but they don't have a voice," the enigmatic artistic director and choreographer says. "Artists have to go out and translate for them. . . I find that being in the garden is the very process of finding your soul in the soil, and the magic and mystery of all of this is something I think a lot of people are being denied. I think there should be more attention spent to unplugging at least for a while, on going out and experiencing something."
He speaks of not having much patience for sitting still and staring at "blue screens," though he's always wired and downloading ideas into an MP3 player while he's out in nature
"Many of the ideas I might not have thought of otherwise, I get while I'm moving," he says. "You let the changing light or the smell of June grass or the movement of the trees, whatever it is, affect you. . . . In a way, I'm collaborating with all of these elements."
The piece, which debuted in Italy before hitting the United States last year, has been lauded for its athleticism, whimsy, outrageous costuming, and use of music ranging from Vivaldi to natural birdsongs.
Here's how it fits into the overall lineup:
An Evening with Liza Minnelli, 8 p.m. Nov. 13: The Tony Award-winning songstress offers a rare concert appearance with her quartet and special guest Billy Stritch.
Bill Cosby, 4 and 8 p.m. Jan. 15: The award-winning comedian, actor and author brings his unique voice to the stage.
Ella, March 1-6: The new musical highlights the life and music of Ella Fitzgerald with an onstage band.
MOMIX Botanica, 7:30 p.m. March 3: The piece explores the natural world through dance and illusion.
Les Misérables, May 17-22: The iconic show, one of the best-attended musicals in TPAC history, receives a restaging for its 25th anniversary. Les Mis is presented as an HCA/TriStar Broadway at TPAC "special."
Stomp, June 14-19: This audience favorite, considered an "adventure in percussion," includes performers who create rhythms through everyday objects.
The Color Purple, June 21-26: The well-received musical, adapted from Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and Steven Spielberg's film, sold out earlier this year, so it returns for another engagement. Like Les Mis, the show is presented as an HCA/TriStar Broadway at TPAC special.
What better way to celebrate veteran status than by rolling out a lineup of long-loved art?
This fall, as Tennessee Performing Arts Center marks its 30th anniversary, the organization adds to its already-announced HCA/TriStar Broadway at TPAC series with a roster of tried-and-trues: Bill Cosby, Liza Minnelli, Les Misérables and more, most of it under the banner of "TPAC Presents."
"We wanted a 30th anniversary celebration that included some audience favorites, so we are bringing back some of our past big hits as well as offering some new shows," says Kathleen O'Brien, TPAC's president and CEO.
One of the "new" shows is contemporary dance/visual theater company MOMIX's Botanica, Moses Pendleton's latest work. The critically acclaimed "visual spectacle" based on nature's seasons has sold out houses across the globe.
"Botanica is an exciting new work — filled with color, special lighting effects and illusion — that integrates the performing arts with science, geography, self-expression, communication and more," O'Brien says. "Bringing MOMIX to Nashville is a perfect illustration of our purpose, the reason why TPAC was founded 30 years ago. Our mission is to offer rich, diverse programming for audiences of all ages."
Pendleton, whose celebrated career goes back further than TPAC's beginnings, brings new meaning to that diversity. He found inspiration for Botanica, he says, amid his own expansive Connecticut sunflower garden.
"Flowers have a great deal to tell us, but they don't have a voice," the enigmatic artistic director and choreographer says. "Artists have to go out and translate for them. . . I find that being in the garden is the very process of finding your soul in the soil, and the magic and mystery of all of this is something I think a lot of people are being denied. I think there should be more attention spent to unplugging at least for a while, on going out and experiencing something."
He speaks of not having much patience for sitting still and staring at "blue screens," though he's always wired and downloading ideas into an MP3 player while he's out in nature
"Many of the ideas I might not have thought of otherwise, I get while I'm moving," he says. "You let the changing light or the smell of June grass or the movement of the trees, whatever it is, affect you. . . . In a way, I'm collaborating with all of these elements."
The piece, which debuted in Italy before hitting the United States last year, has been lauded for its athleticism, whimsy, outrageous costuming, and use of music ranging from Vivaldi to natural birdsongs.
Here's how it fits into the overall lineup:
An Evening with Liza Minnelli, 8 p.m. Nov. 13: The Tony Award-winning songstress offers a rare concert appearance with her quartet and special guest Billy Stritch.
Bill Cosby, 4 and 8 p.m. Jan. 15: The award-winning comedian, actor and author brings his unique voice to the stage.
Ella, March 1-6: The new musical highlights the life and music of Ella Fitzgerald with an onstage band.
MOMIX Botanica, 7:30 p.m. March 3: The piece explores the natural world through dance and illusion.
Les Misérables, May 17-22: The iconic show, one of the best-attended musicals in TPAC history, receives a restaging for its 25th anniversary. Les Mis is presented as an HCA/TriStar Broadway at TPAC "special."
Stomp, June 14-19: This audience favorite, considered an "adventure in percussion," includes performers who create rhythms through everyday objects.
The Color Purple, June 21-26: The well-received musical, adapted from Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and Steven Spielberg's film, sold out earlier this year, so it returns for another engagement. Like Les Mis, the show is presented as an HCA/TriStar Broadway at TPAC special.
Health-care safety net may come too late for many
Bosses, workers, states face health-care crisis
By Noam N. Levey • TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU • June 28, 2010
WASHINGTON — Despite passage of the landmark health-care overhaul this spring, the nation's existing health system is continuing to fray, raising the prospect that the country could experience a crisis before the law establishes a new safety net in 2014.
Three months after President Barack Obama signed the law, state governments struggling with budgets savaged by the recession are contemplating further cuts in health-care aid for the poor, despite the promise of more federal dollars.
At the same time, several million laid-off Americans and their families who have used federal assistance to hold on to health insurance will lose coverage in coming months as the special assistance program expires. Those with jobs face their own challenges as employers continue to look for ways to pare health benefits and shift more costs to employees, if not drop health coverage altogether.
And people in all walks of life face rising health-care prices and skyrocketing insurance premiums, which in many parts of the country are rising at double-digit rates this year.
"If the economy does not improve substantially, we may be taking some steps backward before we take steps forward," said Ron Pollack, a supporter of the health-care overhaul who heads the consumer group Families USA.
Worse before better
Obama's senior health-care adviser acknowledged that the road ahead may be rough. "Will plans continue to raise prices? Will some people continue to lose coverage? I think the answer is yes," said Nancy-Ann DeParle, head of the White House Office of Health Reform. "It is something we are concerned about."
DeParle called the next several years a "bridge period" until 2014, when Americans will get guaranteed access to health coverage along with billions of dollars of federal subsidies to help them pay their insurance bills.
The Obama administration thinks a series of initiatives in the new health-care law will help hold the line during this period.
Since the law's passage, administration officials have begun offering new tax breaks to small businesses to encourage them to offer their employees health benefits. The administration is developing regulations designed to increase oversight of insurance companies and prevent major rate increases.
The Department of Health and Human Services is working with states to set up high-risk pools for people who have been denied coverage.
"I think we have tools that will help make things better than they would have been" if the health-care legislation had not passed, DeParle said.
Costs outstrip aid
Early research suggests that some of the short-term aid in the health-care law, such as $5 billion for new high-risk pools, may be inadequate.
"This is not about health-care reform," said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, an organization of large employers that provide coverage to 50 million workers, retirees and dependents. "It's just existing pressures on the system. It's business as usual."
In a March survey, a sampling of 507 large employers reported that their health-care costs would jump an average of 6.5 percent this year, slightly less than last year, but still more than three times as fast as prices are rising in the overall economy.
Many large employers are shifting more of those costs onto employees. Small businesses, which are less likely to offer their employees health benefits, are under even more pressure as they wrestle with insurance premiums that are shooting up by more than 20 percent in some parts of the country.
More businesses appear to be either cutting benefits or shedding employees to offset rising health-care costs, according to early responses to an economic survey by the National Small Business Association due next month.
COBRA subsidy wanes
So far, federal and state officials have managed to hold together a health-care safety net with the help of billions of dollars of stimulus spending authorized by Congress last year. Washington provided an estimated $2 billion in 2009 to help more than 2 million people and their dependents hold onto their health benefits after being laid off.
Now, under pressure to control spending, Congress appears certain to end the COBRA assistance, which provided unemployed workers with a 65 percent subsidy to help them pay their premiums. Normally, people who lose their jobs but want to keep their insurance through COBRA must pay the full cost of the premiums, making it unaffordable for most.
Democrats on Capitol Hill are moving to provide states with money to prop up their Medicaid programs, which have seen a huge surge in enrollment since the recession began. For many, the extra aid is not expected to be enough.
By Noam N. Levey • TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU • June 28, 2010
WASHINGTON — Despite passage of the landmark health-care overhaul this spring, the nation's existing health system is continuing to fray, raising the prospect that the country could experience a crisis before the law establishes a new safety net in 2014.
Three months after President Barack Obama signed the law, state governments struggling with budgets savaged by the recession are contemplating further cuts in health-care aid for the poor, despite the promise of more federal dollars.
At the same time, several million laid-off Americans and their families who have used federal assistance to hold on to health insurance will lose coverage in coming months as the special assistance program expires. Those with jobs face their own challenges as employers continue to look for ways to pare health benefits and shift more costs to employees, if not drop health coverage altogether.
And people in all walks of life face rising health-care prices and skyrocketing insurance premiums, which in many parts of the country are rising at double-digit rates this year.
"If the economy does not improve substantially, we may be taking some steps backward before we take steps forward," said Ron Pollack, a supporter of the health-care overhaul who heads the consumer group Families USA.
Worse before better
Obama's senior health-care adviser acknowledged that the road ahead may be rough. "Will plans continue to raise prices? Will some people continue to lose coverage? I think the answer is yes," said Nancy-Ann DeParle, head of the White House Office of Health Reform. "It is something we are concerned about."
DeParle called the next several years a "bridge period" until 2014, when Americans will get guaranteed access to health coverage along with billions of dollars of federal subsidies to help them pay their insurance bills.
The Obama administration thinks a series of initiatives in the new health-care law will help hold the line during this period.
Since the law's passage, administration officials have begun offering new tax breaks to small businesses to encourage them to offer their employees health benefits. The administration is developing regulations designed to increase oversight of insurance companies and prevent major rate increases.
The Department of Health and Human Services is working with states to set up high-risk pools for people who have been denied coverage.
"I think we have tools that will help make things better than they would have been" if the health-care legislation had not passed, DeParle said.
Costs outstrip aid
Early research suggests that some of the short-term aid in the health-care law, such as $5 billion for new high-risk pools, may be inadequate.
"This is not about health-care reform," said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, an organization of large employers that provide coverage to 50 million workers, retirees and dependents. "It's just existing pressures on the system. It's business as usual."
In a March survey, a sampling of 507 large employers reported that their health-care costs would jump an average of 6.5 percent this year, slightly less than last year, but still more than three times as fast as prices are rising in the overall economy.
Many large employers are shifting more of those costs onto employees. Small businesses, which are less likely to offer their employees health benefits, are under even more pressure as they wrestle with insurance premiums that are shooting up by more than 20 percent in some parts of the country.
More businesses appear to be either cutting benefits or shedding employees to offset rising health-care costs, according to early responses to an economic survey by the National Small Business Association due next month.
COBRA subsidy wanes
So far, federal and state officials have managed to hold together a health-care safety net with the help of billions of dollars of stimulus spending authorized by Congress last year. Washington provided an estimated $2 billion in 2009 to help more than 2 million people and their dependents hold onto their health benefits after being laid off.
Now, under pressure to control spending, Congress appears certain to end the COBRA assistance, which provided unemployed workers with a 65 percent subsidy to help them pay their premiums. Normally, people who lose their jobs but want to keep their insurance through COBRA must pay the full cost of the premiums, making it unaffordable for most.
Democrats on Capitol Hill are moving to provide states with money to prop up their Medicaid programs, which have seen a huge surge in enrollment since the recession began. For many, the extra aid is not expected to be enough.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Fed website to list health-care plans
Costs, benefits data to be added
By Phil Galewitz • KAISER HEALTH NEWS • June 24, 2010
Wish finding health insurance were as easy as shopping for an airline ticket?
A federal government website that starts July 1 takes a step in that direction. The site, for the first time, will give consumers a list of all private and government health-care plans for individuals and small businesses in their areas.
The nation's new health-care law requires the site (http://www.healthcare.gov/). Initially, it will provide just basic facts, such as the names of companies, health plans and Web links. Beginning in October, it will list detailed cost and benefits information. Consumer groups and insurers are clashing over exactly what information should be displayed.
"What we are trying to do is create some order in the marketplace," said Karen Pollitz, a top official at the new Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Department of Health and Human Services.
She acknowledges the site won't be the Expedia of health care any time soon: "This ain't like buying a plane ticket; it is much more complicated."
For example, unlike the popular travel sites where people can immediately buy an airline ticket, consumers will have to contact insurers directly to sign up.
Insurers including UnitedHealthcare and Aetna say HHS is going too far in planning to list certain data, such as the percent of claims that health plans deny, the rate at which they cancel policies after customers get sick and the number of times patients appeal coverage decisions. They say the data would mislead potential customers.
"Let's do what the legislation sets out and not overcomplicate, which will lead to consumer confusion and higher costs," said Aetna spokesman Mohit Ghose.
Consumer groups such as AARP and Families USA say the data are vital in helping people pick a plan.
The site can "be the great equalizer so consumers can have equal access to information and be on the same playing field as insurance companies," said Elisabeth Benjamin, co-founder of Health Care for All New York, a consumer health- care coalition. "The government needs to make the information as open as possible."
Big change in 2014
The site aims to help consumers navigate the insurance market. The main part of the health overhaul law takes effect in 2014, when there's a major expansion of insurance coverage and the creation of new state-based health insurance exchanges, which are marketplaces to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to buy insurance. These exchanges will have their own websites.
"It is a very important first step to give consumers the information they need so insurers are competing on quality of care and customer service," AARP lobbyist Paul Cotton said.
HHS has said that in October, when it will begin listing premiums for insurance plans, it will use what Pollitz calls "sticker prices." Actual rates could be significantly higher, based on an individual's health status. Until 2014, insurers are allowed to charge sicker people more and to deny applications altogether.
UnitedHealthcare is concerned that consumers could misinterpret even those base prices. The company wants the site to list average prices.
Consumer advocates such as Benjamin say consumers should be able to get exact prices from insurers on the site. That could require patients to submit detailed medical histories, at least until 2014.
By Phil Galewitz • KAISER HEALTH NEWS • June 24, 2010
Wish finding health insurance were as easy as shopping for an airline ticket?
A federal government website that starts July 1 takes a step in that direction. The site, for the first time, will give consumers a list of all private and government health-care plans for individuals and small businesses in their areas.
The nation's new health-care law requires the site (http://www.healthcare.gov/). Initially, it will provide just basic facts, such as the names of companies, health plans and Web links. Beginning in October, it will list detailed cost and benefits information. Consumer groups and insurers are clashing over exactly what information should be displayed.
"What we are trying to do is create some order in the marketplace," said Karen Pollitz, a top official at the new Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Department of Health and Human Services.
She acknowledges the site won't be the Expedia of health care any time soon: "This ain't like buying a plane ticket; it is much more complicated."
For example, unlike the popular travel sites where people can immediately buy an airline ticket, consumers will have to contact insurers directly to sign up.
Insurers including UnitedHealthcare and Aetna say HHS is going too far in planning to list certain data, such as the percent of claims that health plans deny, the rate at which they cancel policies after customers get sick and the number of times patients appeal coverage decisions. They say the data would mislead potential customers.
"Let's do what the legislation sets out and not overcomplicate, which will lead to consumer confusion and higher costs," said Aetna spokesman Mohit Ghose.
Consumer groups such as AARP and Families USA say the data are vital in helping people pick a plan.
The site can "be the great equalizer so consumers can have equal access to information and be on the same playing field as insurance companies," said Elisabeth Benjamin, co-founder of Health Care for All New York, a consumer health- care coalition. "The government needs to make the information as open as possible."
Big change in 2014
The site aims to help consumers navigate the insurance market. The main part of the health overhaul law takes effect in 2014, when there's a major expansion of insurance coverage and the creation of new state-based health insurance exchanges, which are marketplaces to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to buy insurance. These exchanges will have their own websites.
"It is a very important first step to give consumers the information they need so insurers are competing on quality of care and customer service," AARP lobbyist Paul Cotton said.
HHS has said that in October, when it will begin listing premiums for insurance plans, it will use what Pollitz calls "sticker prices." Actual rates could be significantly higher, based on an individual's health status. Until 2014, insurers are allowed to charge sicker people more and to deny applications altogether.
UnitedHealthcare is concerned that consumers could misinterpret even those base prices. The company wants the site to list average prices.
Consumer advocates such as Benjamin say consumers should be able to get exact prices from insurers on the site. That could require patients to submit detailed medical histories, at least until 2014.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Board Meeting May 19,2010
Present: Fran Oroson, Gary Petersen, Jim Curley
Absent: Anthony Miller, Justin Sauer, Marissa Harpley
We did not have a quorum present at the meeting. However, we did go through the Agenda Items for reporting purposes for the Association Members who read the Minutes on the website.
The Minutes for the April meeting were approved by the Board Members via e-mail before they were posted on the website.
There were not unforeseen expenses for the month and we are within budget on all accounts. There were a few roof leaks reported after the heavy rains Nashville experienced, and Jim Curley Properties (JCP) reported they had been addressed and repaired to the best of our knowledge. Water leaks are very hard to locate, as where the water seen is not necessarily where it is coming into the property.
It has been recommended that new bushes be planted at the front entrance of The Greens. JCP will talk with the landscaper and see what type of bushes would be best suited for that area and report back.
A third new tree will be planted at unit 279. The owner has requested her tree be replaced again. For some reason, either the soil there is bad or it doesn’t get enough water, but the trees planted there do not do well. JCP will check into the best type of tree to be planted there and it should be replaced in the next week or two.
We continue to have problems with cars parked in the visitor spaces and on the street. JCP will be coming out and putting tags on all cars parked in the visitor spaces stating this is the last warning. If these cars are found in the visitor spaces again, they will be towed. Any cars parked on the street will be towed. The towing expense will be the responsibility of the car owner. There are a limited number of reserved spaces available at a monthly rate, just contact JCP.
All street lights that have been reported as not working have been repaired.
There will be no Board Meeting in July, unless a special meeting is called. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for August 19, 2010 at 6:30 pm, Deerfield Club House (unless otherwise notified).
Respectfully submitted,
Fran Oroson
Absent: Anthony Miller, Justin Sauer, Marissa Harpley
We did not have a quorum present at the meeting. However, we did go through the Agenda Items for reporting purposes for the Association Members who read the Minutes on the website.
The Minutes for the April meeting were approved by the Board Members via e-mail before they were posted on the website.
There were not unforeseen expenses for the month and we are within budget on all accounts. There were a few roof leaks reported after the heavy rains Nashville experienced, and Jim Curley Properties (JCP) reported they had been addressed and repaired to the best of our knowledge. Water leaks are very hard to locate, as where the water seen is not necessarily where it is coming into the property.
It has been recommended that new bushes be planted at the front entrance of The Greens. JCP will talk with the landscaper and see what type of bushes would be best suited for that area and report back.
A third new tree will be planted at unit 279. The owner has requested her tree be replaced again. For some reason, either the soil there is bad or it doesn’t get enough water, but the trees planted there do not do well. JCP will check into the best type of tree to be planted there and it should be replaced in the next week or two.
We continue to have problems with cars parked in the visitor spaces and on the street. JCP will be coming out and putting tags on all cars parked in the visitor spaces stating this is the last warning. If these cars are found in the visitor spaces again, they will be towed. Any cars parked on the street will be towed. The towing expense will be the responsibility of the car owner. There are a limited number of reserved spaces available at a monthly rate, just contact JCP.
All street lights that have been reported as not working have been repaired.
There will be no Board Meeting in July, unless a special meeting is called. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for August 19, 2010 at 6:30 pm, Deerfield Club House (unless otherwise notified).
Respectfully submitted,
Fran Oroson
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