VOL. 127 | NO. 41 | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Whenever Memphis-based auto parts retailer AutoZone Inc. has reported quarterly results in recent memory, the headline hasn’t really changed much. Just the numbers do.
Worley Brothers turns North Memphis property into salvage yard
Covered in vines and behind a chain-link fence on the corner of Plum Avenue and North Thomas Street are several white posts that are the last remnant of what was once the Lazarov junkyard in North Memphis.
Delta Air Lines Inc. will end regular daily service between Memphis International Airport and Amsterdam’s Airport Schiphol starting in September.
Early voting for the March 6 presidential primary election day topped 20,000 ballots.
NASHVILLE (AP) – Hotel booking websites including Priceline, Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz have prevailed against more than a hundred Tennessee counties and municipalities in a legal fight over hotel tax collections.
MEMPHIS (AP) – The Memphis Tigers wanted to make sure Central Florida did not have a chance to beat them on a last-second play this time.
Sullivan Branding has finalized its lease in the Toyota Center, where it will move about two-thirds of its workforce by the end of the week.
Oxford Diagnostic Laboratories Monday, Feb. 27, unveiled its new, state-of-the-art, 35,000-square-foot facility at 5846 Distribution Drive, which is expected to bring as many as 40 new high-paying, highly skilled jobs to Memphis within the next year, and as many as 65 new jobs total in the future.
The last in a series of civil lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Memphis and negligence by the Catholic Diocese of Memphis came back to life Monday, Feb. 27, with a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling.
A group of six Memphis city elementary and middle schools are about to change substantially in the next year as the state has announced it will step in to run them.
Editor’s Note: Per Bigfish’s request, this entire interview was done via Twitter. Certain words and phrases of Tim Nicholson’s responses will appear in parentheses, due to slang used during the course of the interview given the medium through which it was conducted.
MEMPHIS NEWSMAKERS
Adam M. Irving is chief executive officer of San Diego-based Animal Cell Therapies Inc., a company that develops stem cell treatments to treat a variety of ailments for animals. Irving is based in Memphis.
LOCAL COLUMNISTS
Fundamental experiences shape a collective generation – wars, political changes, scientific advancements, entertainment and pop culture trends. These experiences, especially those encountered during one’s formative years, have great influence over a generation’s values and core beliefs, preferred methods of communication, product needs and buying decisions. Understanding these shared beliefs is at the heart of generational marketing.
Reframing the Global Economy This week I will summarize my 30,000-foot view on the global economy. While the news flow may revolve around Europe, the global economy no longer looks to the Old World for leadership. To understand and accurately forecast the future economy, we must redirect our gaze from the Old World to the New World.
A recent Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics’ publication on Workplace Violence reported more than 572,000 nonfatal violent crimes – rape, robbery or assault – occurred while people were at work or on duty in 2009. That same year, 521 homicides in the workplace were also reported and work associates (current and former co-workers, customers, and clients) accounted for 21 percent of them.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) – The Republican sponsor of a proposal to ban the teaching of gay issues to elementary and middle school students said Tuesday that he's not backing off the legislation despite concerns from GOP leaders.
NASHVILLE (AP) – Motorcyclists will have to wait another year to renew their efforts to do away with Tennessee's helmet law.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) – A private research group says that consumer confidence in February rose dramatically from last month to the highest level since a year ago when the U.S. economy's outlook started to look brighter before souring again.
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. businesses slashed spending on machinery and equipment in January after a tax break expired, pushing orders for long-lasting manufacturing goods down by the largest amount in three years.
DALLAS (AP) – Tenet Healthcare Corp. on Tuesday reported a fourth quarter loss, as a $117-million debt refinancing charge outweighed the hospital operator's gains in revenue and patient admissions.
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republican leaders are introducing a package of largely uncontroversial bills aimed at helping small businesses succeed and showing voters that Congress can on occasion move beyond its partisan divisions.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Leading senators on the Budget Committee clashed Tuesday over whether the Pentagon could bear even deeper budget cuts, with defense officials warning that additional reductions would hit jobs across the 50 states and affect national security.
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama announced Tuesday the creation of a new enforcement office to challenge what he called unfair trade practices in China and other countries around the world.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) – Home prices fell in December for a fourth straight month in most major U.S. cities, as modest sales gains in the depressed housing market have yet to lift prices.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) – Apple is expected to unveil a new version of the iPad at an event in San Francisco next week.