MONDAY, MAY 7, 2012 Tennessee named a top state for business (Associated Press)

Chief Executive magazine has named Tennessee one of the four top states for business. Tennessee ranked fourth in the annual ratings for the second straight year. Others in the top five were Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Indiana. Bill Hagerty, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, said the state continuously works to create and maintain a business friendly environment that encourages companies to grow and invest in Tennessee. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/07/tennessee-named-a-top-state-for-business/

MTSU starting science building (Chattanooga Times Free-Press)

Middle Tennessee State University has broken ground on its $147 million Science Building. The Tennessean reports this is the first increase in space for science education since 1967. During that time, enrollment at MTSU almost has quadrupled. MTSU granted almost 700 degrees in biology, chemistry and related fields in 2009-10. University President Sidney McPhee said that number could increase by 25 percent after the new science building opens in spring 2015. Gov. Bill Haslam included almost $127 million for construction of the building in his 2012-13 budget, which passed both chambers of the General Assembly on Monday. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/07/0507-region-digest-mtsu-chattanooga/?local

MTSU to build its first new science building since 196 (Associated Press)
Middle Tennessee State University broke ground last week on its $147 million science building. This is the first increase in space for science education since 1967. During that time, enrollment at MTSU has almost quadrupled, going from 6,779 students to 26,442 in fall 2011. MTSU granted almost 700 degrees in biology, chemistry and related fields in 2009-2010. The Tennessean reported that University President Sidney McPhee said that number could increase by 25 percent after the new building opens in spring 2015. Gov. Bill Haslam included almost $127 million for construction of the building in his 2012-2013 budget, which passed both chambers of the General Assembly last week. Speaking at a ground-breaking ceremony, Haslam said the building will help address the states need for more college graduates, especially in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math, the so-called STEM subjects. http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20120507/NEWS01/305070012/State-briefs-MTSU-science-buildinggroundbreaking-5-suicides-Knoxville-apartments-2011

Capitol Hill Conversation-Haslams First Veto (W PLN-Radio Nashville)

For the first time in his two years in office, Governor Bill Haslam will pick up his veto stamp and smack down a bill that passed late in the session. The measure was aimed at Vanderbilt Universitys all comers policy for student groups. Its one of a number of bills dealing with social issues passed in this session. WPLNs Bradley George talks with Capitol reporter Joe White about how the Governor has reacted to these bills. http://wpln.org/? p=36907

Haslam's 2nd Capitol session no slam dunk (Associated Press/Schelzig)

In the months after his first legislative session, freshman Gov. Bill Haslam frequently boasted about earning unanimous approval of his budget plan and a near perfect record with his legislative agenda. The Republicans sophomore effort wasnt as much of a slam dunk. Haslams $31 billion spending plan went to a conference committee for the first time since the income tax fights of more than a decade ago, and 29 lawmakers voted against the final version. In the end, were very grateful that such a larger percentage of our agenda was

approved, including the budget, which obviously is one of the biggest things we do, Haslam told reporters after a groundbreaking ceremony at Middle Tennessee State University last week. Early in the session, Haslam had to abandon an effort to lift a cap on average classroom sizes after educators and parents expressed fears about growing teacher-to-student ratios. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120507/NEWS0201/305070049/Haslams-2nd-Capitol-session-no-slam-dunk?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

Tennessee Gov. Haslam likely beneficiary of repeal (C. Appeal/Perrusquia)

Gift-tax elimination should help wealthy taxpayers A bill repealing the state gift tax is expected to put more money in some Tennesseans' pockets including those of one highly recognizable taxpayer, Gov. Bill Haslam. The super wealthy businessman-turned-politician gave his tacit approval this spring as fellow Republicans pushed the bill through the General Assembly. Passed by the House and Senate on the final two days of the session, it now goes to Haslam, who's expected to sign it. The new law, which eliminates the 5.5- to 16-percent graduated tax on gifts, could create a windfall for Haslam, whose family owns Pilot Flying J, a nationwide chain of convenience stores and truck stops ranked as one of the most lucrative private companies in the country. Haslam transfers Pilot stock to his three grown children, but to avoid gift taxes he sells those shares rather than give them away. The arrangement, which generates about $1.1 million a year in income to Haslam, costs less in income taxes than it would to pay gift tax by giving shares to his kids, Haslam's CPA, J. Todd Ellis, said in a 2010 interview. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/07/gov-likely-beneficiary-of-repeal/ (SUBSCRIPTION)

Will tougher admissions rules limit college access? (Times Free-Press/Trevizo)

As the pressure builds for colleges not only to enroll more students but actually graduate them, more schools are turning to their admission requirements as part of the solution. More campuses nationwide and in the area are toughening admission standards to make sure that students who get into college also are the ones with the best chance of succeeding. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga raised the minimum ACT score from 17 to 18 in 2008, and starting last fall, the minimum high school grade point average requirement went from 2.75 to 2.85. Dalton State College this year began requiring a minimum SAT score of 430 for the verbal section and 400 for math. And starting next fall, students who require remediation in all three areas of math, reading and writing won't be allowed to enroll, part of a University System of Georgia policy change. If the students reach the point where they don't need remedial classes in all three areas, they can enroll. The six-year graduation rate at UTC is 42 percent and 17 percent at Dalton State, according to Complete College America. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/07/0507-will-tougher-admissions-rules-limit-college/?local

Survey: UT faculty, staff seek better pay, communication (News-Sentinel/Boehnke)

Most University of Tennessee faculty and staff are happy with their jobs but want better communication and compensation from the administration, according to survey results being shared with employees over the next two days. The 20-minute, 119-question voluntary survey, conducted across the UT system last year, is the first in a new initiative to gauge employee satisfaction every three years in a push to make the university one of the top employers in higher education, said Linda Hendricks, UT vice president for human resources. "While it adds value to talk about where we think we are, what you've really got to hear is where your employees believe you are," Hendricks said. More than 7,000 employees responded across the state, and the university had a 61 percent response rate, she said. The survey was administered by Modern Think, a private company, and cost $265,000. Each campus paid the cost to survey its employees. President Joe DiPietro will be holding a forum today with system employees to discuss the survey results. Chancellor Jimmy Cheek will host two discussions Tuesday with Knoxville faculty and staff. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/07/survey-ut-faculty-staffseek-better-pay/

Lack of regulation raises medical spa safety issues (Tennessean/Wilemon)

Lawmakers have yet to enact safeguards When Daphne Carroll suffered permanent injuries from a botched cosmetic laser procedure, she tried to file a complaint with state regulatory boards but had nowhere to go. She said she felt like a pingpong ball. The Tennessee Department of Health, which has purview over doctors, sent her to the state Board of Cosmetology, which referred her back to Health. She learned that Tennessee allows medical spas to operate with less accountability than doctors offices. Carroll tried to change that and testified before the General Assembly this year, but it ended another session without establishing a consumer safeguard law. I cannot stand the thought of this happening to someone else, Carroll said. The La Vergne woman says 2

she is still suffering almost five years after an aesthetician someone who typically does facials used a laser on her. Carroll had walked into a medispa in Murfreesboro to buy makeup, agreed to a skin evaluation and heard a sales pitch for the laser procedure that cost $250. It was supposed to fix a red spot on her face. I went back for our wedding anniversary thinking it would be a day of pampering, good for my skin, Carroll said. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120507/NEWS07/305070034/Lack-regulation-raises-medical-spa-safetyissues?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

Infections acquired during hospitalizations declining in Tennessee (TFP/Martin)

Although Tennessee frequently ranks in the bottom tier of health measurements, a new report praises the state for dramatically reducing hospital-associated infection rates. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report commended Tennessee for reducing infections by 34 percent from 2009 to 2010 and also for having the second-largest decrease in the country in its overall standardized infection ratio for bloodstream infections from central IV lines. In addition, the CDC praised the state for its work to ensure that the data reported by hospitals is accurate. Officials involved in the project say figures for the first six months of 2011, which have not yet been released, show even greater improvement. Tennessee is one of 21 states that showed a significant decrease in IV-associated bloodstream infections and one of only six states that implemented a method of ensuring accuracy in reporting the 2010 data, the report shows. Additional states have since implemented similar measures. "W e really have made very significant improvements," said Dr. Marion Kainer, director of health careassociated infections and antimicrobial resistance program at the Tennessee Department of Health. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/07/0507-lowering-rate-of-infection-praised/?local

Tennessee license plate to support veterans nursing home (TFP/Higgins)

Tennessee motorists soon may be able to show their support on the road for new veterans nursing homes. Preorders for a specialty plate are on sale now to raise funds in support of nursing homes in Bradley and Montgomery counties. The plate shows silhouettes of two people saluting an American flag with the state name in script across the top, crossed U.S. and Tennessee flags to the left of the plate number and the words "Proudly Supporting Those Who Served" across the bottom. "They won't go into production until we have sold a thousand," said Joe Davis, veterans service officer for the Bradley County Veterans Affairs Office. Purchasers do not have to be veterans. The $35 fee is in addition to the annual vehicle registration cost and does not apply to wheel taxes or other county fees. Half the money raised from plate sales will support the two nursing homes, said Larry McDaris, director of the Bradley County Veterans Affairs office. Of the rest, 40 percent will go to Tennessee arts programs and 10 percent to the Tennessee Highway Fund. The orders are needed by July 1. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/07/tenn-license-plate-to-support-veterans-nursing/?local

Trees come down along Stringer's Ridge for Highway 27 work (TFP/Sohn)
The once tree-lined drive along Stringer's Ridge on U.S. Highway 27 between Red Bank and Chattanooga is becoming treeless. Hundreds of mature trees have come down in the past two months, and still more will fall as hillside after hillside is scoured in preparation for road widening and 31 massive concrete retaining walls. The walls -- with a cut-stone face and terracing up the sides of Stringer's steep slopes -- will become the new edging of progress. The 1.6-mile stretch of road will be widened from four lanes to six and occasionally eight as sidesaddle ramp lanes come and go. W hat will the city's northern gateway look like when it's all done? "It's going to look like a big, rocked canyon," said Ken Flynn, the Tennessee Department of Transportation's regional project manager. But given the geography and the road's layout in the canyon between folds of the ridge, there's little other option if the 50-year-old highway is to handle today's increasing traffic from the growing northern end of the county. "This road was built in the early 1960s, and it's reached its design life," Flynn said. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/07/0507-creating-the-canyon-chattanooga-red-bank-road/?local

Bills

pass,

modified,

shelved

in

Tennessee

legislature

(Commercial

Appeal/Locker)
Across-the-board measures OK'd in GOP-led session Between warring over social issues, the just-concluded Tennessee legislature enacted hundreds of bills that will touch Tennesseans rich, poor and in between. Parents, students, businesses and people looking for work will be particularly affected. Next year, for example, the birthday deadline for children turning 5 to enter kindergarten that fall moves from Sept. 30 to Aug. 31, and then to 3

Aug. 15 in 2014 and thereafter. Led by the new Republican majority, there were weeks of debates over requiring Internet posting of doctors who perform abortions, allowing public-school personnel to participate in student-led prayer, displaying the Ten Commandments in public buildings, prohibiting school counselors from discussing gay issues with students, making it safe for teachers to challenge the theory of evolution, and negating a 1992 United Nations resolution on sustainable development. There was the bill revising the family life curriculum to "exclusively and emphatically promote" abstinence, with its references to "gateway sexual activity" that set off hours of debate over whether teachers could be charged with failing to separate slow-dancing students at school dances. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/07/bills-pass-modified-shelved-in-legislature/ (SUB)

Gun lobby finds limit in advocating Second Amendment rights (City Paper/Hale)
The final reference on the floor of the state legislature to one of the most contentious issues of the session was met with bipartisan support. Less than an hour before the General Assembly adjourned for the year, Rep. Eddie Bass (D-Prospect) rose and faked a motion to call up the so-called guns-in-parking-lots legislation. He had sponsored two related bills on the matter. One prohibited businesses from banning the storage of firearms by employees in their cars parked on company lots. The other established protections against workplace discrimination for employees based on their ownership, storage or transportation of a firearm. Until the legislatures final day, the fate of both bills was not completely certain. Madam Speaker, he deadpanned, with a sheet of paper in his hand. I move to suspend the necessary rules for the immediate consideration ... oh, wait a minute, thats the wrong one. The members burst into laughter and applauded. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/firearms-friendly-state-gun-lobby-finds-limit-advocating-secondamendment-rights

Lawmakers rarely said, 'No,' to business lobbyists (News-Sentinel/Humphrey)

Actions of the 107th General Assembly, recently adjourned, establish that businesses generally have reached a new peak of political power in our state.Probably the most prominent illustration came when the business lobby locked horns with the Second Amendment lobby over whether employees should be able to keep guns in their locked cars in the company parking lot, even if the company prohibits firearms on premises. The "Safe Commute Act," as the National Rifle Association and the Tennessee Firearms Association called it, was the subject of a vigorous and intense push including a TFA threat to politically crucify those voting no. The business lobby pushed back with less rhetorical bombast but equal vigor. Maybe the whole thing pitting individual gun rights against business property rights was largely symbolic. But legislators took it seriously and business won. Beyond the symbolic, examples abound of legislators in the Republican majority making Tennessee, already rated at the top of business-friendly lists, even more business friendly. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/07/lawmakers-rarely-said-no-to-business-lobbyists/

Thompson's Station lands second corporate headquarters (Tennessean/Page)

Tiny Williamson County town prepares for growth, on its own terms This town of only 2,194 residents has snagged its second company headquarters in a year. Shelter Insurance is buying 3.2 acres in Tollgate Village the self-contained new urbanism community in Thompsons Station to build a two-story state headquarters. The insurer hopes to start construction by late summer on what will be a $3 million to $5 million investment, said Keith Curd, director of facilities and services for Shelter Insurance, based in Columbia, Mo. Pet food giant Mars Petcare last year announced an $87.9 million project to build its first U.S. regional innovation center and new corporate headquarters. Like the Mars campus, Shelter will be close to State Route 840. Shelter has had an office in Tennessee since 1960, with its state office based in Nashville more than 25 years. When it sold its Nashville headquarters building in recent years, the headquarters moved into leased space in Cool Springs. The companys goal for several years has been to move the office farther south into the Interstate 65 corridor, Curd said. Mars followed a similar path, relocating its headquarters to Thompsons Station after only five years in Cool Springs. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120507/W ILLIAMSON12/305070021/Thompson-s-Station-growing-its-ownterms?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

Tight budget, new mandates refine mayor's agenda (News-Sentinel/Nolan)

4

Consultant Del Boyette surprised Mayor Madeline Rogero during a meeting arranged by Knoxville Chamber staff as Boyette helps them develop a strategic plan to serve as the successor to the business recruiting blueprint called Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley. His first question concerned regionalism, and whether that was a concept Rogero supported. She emphatically replied, "Yes," citing her research as a master's degree candidate in urban and regional planning at the University of Tennessee to her support as the city's director of community development, and now its mayor, of PlanET, an ambitious effort designed to create "a regional plan for livable communities." "The second question he asked was, 'What is your commitment to sustainability?'," she recalled in a mid-April interview. "And it surprised me that he asked me that and I went off and talked for some time." "At the end, he said that was key. The businesses he talks to say they want to be in communities that are focused on sustainability, and most businesses that are making it in this competitive environment are those that have refined their processes so that they are reducing their consumption, reusing what they can, and recycling. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/07/tight-budget-new-mandates-refine-mayors-agenda/

Court clerk candidate says suspension from job unfair (CA/Connolly)

Rick Rout was recently suspended for 10 days from his Shelby County government job, accused of failing to deliver Juvenile Court paperwork, lying about it, falsifying records and cursing at a supervisor. In his response to the charges, Rout said his supervisor disliked him, framed him and used "improper English." It was Rout's second suspension within the past eight months and it was in effect on March 6, the day Rout won the Republican nomination for the office of General Sessions Court clerk, according to Rout's personnel file. The county's head of human resources recently denied Rout's appeal of the suspension. Rout said the accusations are "strictly politically motivated," and referred questions to attorney Ted Hansom. Hansom said a Juvenile Court administrator who helped bring the case against Rout, Harvey Henderson, is friends with Ed Stanton Jr., Rout's Democratic rival in the Aug. 2 general election. "I think they have a close relationship," Hansom said. Henderson referred questions to Juvenile Court Clerk Joy Touliatos, who declined comment. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/07/rout-says-suspension-from-county-job-unfair/ (SUB)

Soldiers returning to Fort Campbell (Associated Press)

About 19 soldiers are headed back to Fort Campbell after a year in Kuwait. The post says they are from the 101st Human Resources Company, 101st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade. The soldiers are returning Tuesday, and the post is planning a welcome home ceremony at the brigade headquarters. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/07/soldiers-returning-to-fort-campbell/

Grant aims to reduce teenage pregnancies (Daily News Journal)

Several Rutherford County schools will get additional assistance in warning students about risky behaviors that could lead to teen pregnancy. Centerstone Prevention Services recently secured a $5 million federal grant to launch Be in Charge, a program designed to address Tennessees teen pregnancy issue. During the five-year grant period, the program is expected to reach more than 13,000 Midstate youth and their families through education and outreach efforts. Locally, middle and high school administrators were able to learn about the Centerstones eight-session program through an in-service, said Jenna Stitzel, the who is in charge of the districts Coordinated School Health program. The district already receives support from the Pregnancy Prevention Center. Centerstone, she said, provides the educators to visit the schools. This is great because the burden on our teachers is lessened. The program is evidenced based, which I liked, Stitzel said. The program will encourage students to think about their goals for the future while understanding the consequences of sex, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Students will also get tips on how to respond to peer pressure and take part in role-playing activities, she added. http://www.dnj.com/article/20120507/NEW S/305070027/Grant-aims-reduce-teenage-pregnancies?odyssey=tab| topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

East Tenn. physician-lawmaker seeks bipartisan reform (News-Sentinel/Collins)

Even if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms this summer, as many legal experts predict, the fight will be far from over. Republicans, who have been pushing to repeal the reforms since the moment they were enacted two years ago, are getting ready to offer their own health-reform proposals once the high court issues its ruling this summer. But what happens next could depend on whether the court strikes down the entire law or just the requirement that most Americans buy health insurance. "There are a 5

lot of what-ifs," said U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, a Johnson City Republican who has been involved in efforts to develop the GOP alternative. Congressional Republicans will probably renew their campaign to repeal other parts of the law if the Supreme Court strikes down just the "individual mandate," or the requirement that Americans buy insurance. If the entire law is declared unconstitutional, the GOP will try to go forward with its own prescription. GOP lawmakers already have taken heat from some liberal groups for advocating repeal of the so-called "Obama-care" without offering their own solutions. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/07/et-physician-lawmaker-seeks-bipartisan-reform/

Partisan battles set to revive (Associated Press)

Competing bills to keep student loan rate low are issue as Congress returns The Senate is the newest arena in the election-year face-off over federal student loans, and both sides are starting out by pounding away at each other. With Congress returning from a weeklong spring recess, the Senate plans to vote Tuesday on whether to start debating a Democratic plan to keep college loan interest rates for 7.4 million students from doubling on July 1. The $6 billion measure would be paid for by collecting more Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes from high-earning owners of some privately held corporations. Republicans want a vote on their own bill, which like the Democrats would freeze todays 3.4 percent interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans for one more year. It would be financed by eliminating a preventive health program established by President Barack Obamas healthcare overhaul. Each side scoffs that the others proposal is unacceptable, and neither is expected to garner the votes needed to prevail. Even so, everyone expects a bipartisan deal before July 1 because no one wants students interest rates to balloon before Novembers presidential and congressional elections. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120507/BUSINESS01/305070043/Partisan-battles-set-revive? odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|s

3 TVA visitor centers open for season (Associated Press)

Three Tennessee Valley Authority visitor centers have opened for the season. They are at Fontana Dam in North Carolina, Raccoon Mountain Pumped Storage Plant near Chattanooga and Norris Dam in Norris, Tenn. The three offer information about TVA history, how the agency operates its electric system and how it manages the Tennessee River and its tributaries. The centers all have maps, videos, displays and written information about TVA history and the construction of each site. TVA retirees are guides. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/07/3-tva-visitor-centers-open-for-season/

As incentives dim, solar companies shift focus (Knoxville News-Sentinel/Nolan)

The landscape for solar power is changing, and the leaders of two Knoxville solar companies are altering their focus to adapt to the shift. Ignited by federal stimulus dollars, the industry has enjoyed three years of federal and state incentives that have, for the most part, dimmed. And last year, TVA scaled back its incentives, limiting the most generous payments to systems producing less than 50 kilowatts of power. That's left many in the industry to predict few, if any, large commercial installations will be built in the near future. David Bolt, founder of Knoxville firm Sustainable Future, says last year about 80 percent of his business was composed of installations for commercial clients. Since TVA announced the changes, he's hired a dedicated sales person to market solar power systems to homeowners. Bolt founded the company in 2005, after he converted his own home to net-zero energy meaning he produces more power than he consumes and before the economic crash and resulting stimulus spending. In April, he was honored by the White House as a Champion for Change for "demonstrating that corporate environmental leadership makes sense, both for business and for American communities." He is not alarmed with TVA's change in direction, acknowledging that may be an unpopular view among his industry peers. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/07/as-incentives-dim-solar-companies-shift-focus/

Proposed charter school weighs next steps (Knoxville News-Sentinel/McCoy)

Could appeal school board decision on extension The future of the Knoxville Charter Academy is in limbo after the Knox County school board denied extending its agreement with the school. And its school officials are working to figure out what steps they want to take moving forward. Suzan Mertyurek, the academy's board president, said she hopes the board will be able to meet as soon as this week to discuss what to do next. "It's a project we've all worked on for a while now and we all have equal say," she said. "W e are certainly disappointed with where we are now. We felt it was a good project and good school idea and we will think about what we want to do next." A charter school is independently run but funded by taxpayer dollars. It has many of the same 6

academic requirements as public schools but allows administrators to be creative with the curriculum. According to the state, there are 40 charter schools operating in Tennessee, with four more scheduled to open next school year two in Memphis and two in Nashville. The Knoxville Charter Academy would have been Knoxville's first charter school. In March, the school board denied the charter school's planned location in a vacant church at 205 Bridgewater Road in West Knoxville. Members said they worried that the school's target population would have difficulty getting to the building and that the site would not serve its intended students. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/06/proposed-charter-school-weighs-next-steps/

Murfreesboro Board of Education looking ahead (Daily News Journal)

The faces on the Murfreesboro City Board of Education have changed a few times since the school year began. Board members, along with Director of Schools Linda Gilbert, spent the better part of Saturday in a training session talking about the role of a school board with George Thompson of the Schlechty Center, a Kentuckybased nonprofit organization designed to help school districts change from an environment of compliance to becoming ones that lead in engagement. This is a totally different board than it was this time last year, said board member Nancy Phillips. W e need a fresh vision. Now in her fourth term, Phillips was re-elected last month along with Butch Campbell, who is serving a second term. During last months election, voters chose Jared Barrett and Dr. Andy Brown to replace Dr. Susan Andrews and Nancy Duggin. Collier Smith was appointed by the City Council to replace Ray Butrum, who took a job as the Bedford County director of schools. The council also appointed Nancy Rainier to serve in place of her husband, Dennis Rainier, who died in December. Both women are running unopposed in a special Aug. 2 election. Thompson, who worked as a teacher and administrator in Atlanta Public Schools and later served as director of schools in Gwinnett County, Ga., from 1990 to 1994, served as the days facilitator. He said though a boards primary responsibility is to implement policies and approve a budget, they must become community leaders and advocate for schools by informing the community about the state of education. In turn, the community should be willing to step up and take actions to help students succeed. http://www.dnj.com/article/20120507/NEW S/305070023/Murfreesboro-Board-Education-looking-ahead? odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Wisconsin: Economy Reshapes Wisconsin Recall Vote (Wall Street Journal)

The fight to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker began with a flash of anger when he championed a law curbing collective-bargaining rights for most public workers. It will end next month as a referendum on how the tea-party favorite has handled the state's grinding economic malaise. On Tuesday, Democrats will face off in a primary to determine who will challenge Mr. Walker on June 5. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who lost the governor's race in 2010 to Mr. Walker, holds a 17-point lead in the latest poll over Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, who has the backing of the labor organizations that ignited the recall. "The topic of concern has switched to jobs and the economy," said Charles Franklin, who directed the Marquette University Law School poll. "It looks like that will continue into the summer." The switch comes as opinion remains divided on Mr. Walker's signature initiative. According to the Marquette poll, 49% of state residents favor the limits on collective bargaining, and 45% opposes them. Mr. Barrett and Ms. Falk have pledged to restore the rights if elected. Mr. Barrett and Mr. Walker are in a statistical dead heat, according to the poll, conducted during the last week of April. It also showed, by a 4-1 margin, that W isconsin residents believe job creation is a higher priority than the restoration of collective bargaining rights. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303630404577388274006584632.html?mod=ITP_pageone_2 (SUBSCRIPTION)

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OPINION Free-Press Editorial: A painfully correct call (Chattanooga Times Free-Press)

First, the obvious: Vanderbilt University's "non-discrimination" policy is wrong -- to say nothing of absurd, counterproductive and unrealistic. But it shouldn't be illegal. Under the policy, student groups that are provided space on campus must let any interested students join and, if they wish, run for leadership positions. Failure to comply means the organization forfeits its space on campus and its Vanderbilt affiliation. The ridiculousness of such rules is evident at a glance. They potentially allow, say, a determined group of Marxist "community organizers" to infiltrate, take over and disband a small free-market-oriented organization of business students. Or they could let strident atheists subvert the goals and the very purpose of a Christian group on campus. What Vanderbilt's policy does, in effect, is deny the freedom of association. Ironically, Vanderbilt makes at least one huge exception to the policy: It lets fraternities and sororities discriminate on the basis of sex. The appropriate response to which is: "Good." There is no rational basis on which to let men join and run sororities. But there is equally no rational basis on which to let nonbelievers commandeer the membership rolls and leadership positions in a religious organization. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/07/a-painfully-correct-call/?opinionfreepress

Free-Press Editorial: W elfare misuse and drugs (Chattanooga Times Free-Press)

For years now, it has been common for employers to require drug tests of new employees and occasional random tests even of longtime workers. The purpose of the tests should be obvious: Drug-using employees are likely to be less reliable and may wind up costing a company far more than their employment is worth. Businesses don't want to take that risk. If that is a sensible and not especially controversial practice in the private 8

sector, it would seem to make even more sense where recipients of government benefits are concerned. After all, government pays those benefits with money taken involuntarily from taxpayers. That makes careful stewardship of those dollars a moral imperative. There is plainly nothing moral about squandering benefits on people who are using or even addicted to illegal drugs. And so it is entirely reasonable that Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill linking welfare benefits to drug tests for recipients who are suspected of using marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamines or opiates. Florida has had success with a similar effort. The law directly prevented dozens of drug abusers from getting welfare benefits, and roughly 1,600 more were denied cash benefits when they applied for the money but refused to be tested. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/07/welfare-misuse-and-drugs/?opinionfreepress

Times Editorial: Saving the Postal Service (Chattanooga Times Free-Press)

The United States Postal Service is at once the nation's most visible public service and its most financially precarious. It is widely admired for its reliable reach into every nook and cranny of the country. It also is deeply in debt and growing more so by tens of millions of dollars a day. The situation is so desperate, in fact, that the Postal Service's board of governors made a direct appeal on Friday to members of the U.S. House to quickly pass legislation to allow the agency to make significant changes in the way it operates. The Postal Service says it needs such legislation to close thousands of underperforming post offices, reduce personnel costs and eliminate Saturday delivery if it is to avoid bankruptcy. The situation, in truth, is dire. If the Postal Service is not granted relief soon, it might not be able to pay one of its largest bills in September. Currently about $13 billion in debt, the agency will be required then to pay more than $11 billion to the Treasury to pre-fund future retiree health-care benefits. If it does so, the Postal Service likely would pass its $15 billion debt ceiling, and go into default. That possibility is nothing new. The Postal Service has been struggling to make such payments for years. The problem, however, has become especially acute in the last few years as revenues have plummeted as consumers increasingly use the Internet to send letters and to send and receive bills. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/07/0507b-t1-saving-the-postal-service/?opiniontimes ###