VOL. 127 | NO. 28 | Friday, February 10, 2012
The state of Tennessee is participating in a $25 billion settlement announced Thursday, Feb. 9, between 49 states – all but Oklahoma – over foreclosure abuses from some of the nation’s biggest lenders.
Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park opens in Memphis
Mixed martial arts hall-of-famer Randy Couture can be seen in a YouTube video running in place, passing a medicine ball and bouncing on a giant trampoline. He’s sweating and appears to be winded.
The former Mazda North America Inc. distribution center in DeSoto County has been acquired by Hillwood Investment Properties for $13.5 million.
Glen Gilmore won the crowd over within seconds of taking the podium at The Daily News’ social media seminar Thursday, Feb. 9, at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
Tennessee State Senate Republican leader Mark Norris of Collierville said Thursday, Feb. 9, he plans to withdraw two bills affecting annexation in Shelby County.
The anti-trust division of the U.S. Department of Justice has reached an agreement on the merger of International Paper Co. and Temple-Inland Inc. in a federal court consent decree that involves the sale of three paper mills.
Shelby County Commissioners take a second try Friday, Feb. 10, at some proposed rules for the transfer of school buildings to municipal school districts.
Tennessee made another cut in the changing federal education reform scene: The state is one of 10 granted a waiver from No Child Left Behind standards.
Pinnacle Airlines Corp. reached another important milestone this week in its comeback effort with another interim contract agreement, this time with one of the global air carriers the Memphis-based regional carrier works with.
UPDATE: State Senate Republican Leader Mark Norris of Collierville withdrew Thursday, Feb. 9, two bills dealing with annexation that prompted the Memphis City Council's consideration of the Grays Creek annexation. Norris withdrew the bills based on a legal opinion from the Tennessee Attorney General that concludes the bills are constitutionally suspect.
The 21st annual Ronald McDonald House Radiothon is in full swing over at the facility, which serves as a home away from home for patients undergoing treatment at nearby St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
GOVERNMENT AGENDA
Shelby County Commissioners take a second try Friday, Feb. 10, at some proposed rules for the transfer of school buildings to municipal school districts.
Memphis City Council members may go through with long-delayed annexation plans for the Bridgewater area now surrounded by city of Memphis territory.
MEMPHIS STANDOUT
Editor’s Note: This is a Daily News series featuring past winners of the Bobby Dunavant Public Service Awards, which annually honor one elected and one non-elected government official. The 2012 awards will be presented Feb. 22.
SPORTS
This isn’t the San Antonio Spurs’ first rodeo, so spare them the tales of woe over the lockout-shortened season, its compressed schedule and more back-to-back games.
Sustainability is a big deal. Corporations talk about it. The federal government has a website for it. And no doubt right this moment, in one or more presidential campaigns, someone is talking about the sustainability of a platform or a poll number.
LOCAL COLUMNISTS
NEW BILL CREATES EIGHT NEW COUNTIES. Continually annoyed about existing law that gets in his way, Tennessee Rep. Curry Todd of Collierville has introduced a bill in the state house eliminating Memphis and Shelby County and creating eight new counties.
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a five-part series on roles and responsibilities.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) – The state is promoting Tennessee businesses on a new section of the secretary of state's website.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) – Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday that he hopes Tennessee's waiver from the No Child Left Behind education law boosts the morale of teachers and other educators frustrated by the federal measure's strict and sweeping requirements.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
ROCHESTER, New York (AP) – Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday that it will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames, marking the end of an era for the company that brought photography to the masses more than a century ago.
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) – Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service's quarterly loss ballooned to $3.3 billion amid declining mail volume and the soaring costs of health benefits for future retirees.
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House is lauding a rosier election-year economic forecast, predicting the economy could add two million jobs this year. But the upbeat projection is based partly on the shaky premise that Congress will sign off on President Barack Obama's jobs agenda.
WASHINGTON (AP) – House-Senate negotiations on extending jobless benefits and a two percentage point cut in the payroll tax remained stalled Thursday, despite a proposal in which Democrats urged a modest six-week cut in the maximum time unemployed workers can receive jobless benefits.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) – The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage stayed at a record low this week, providing some added incentive for those looking to buy a home or refinance.