Assoc. Pharmacies Buys Mineral Wells Warehouse

Scottsboro, Ala.-based Associated Pharmacies Inc. has bought a roughly 59,000-square-foot warehouse at 5375 Mineral Wells Road from Renasant Bank for $1.2 million.

Built in 2003, the Class A warehouse is on 3.31 acres on the west side of Mineral Wells Road south of East Holmes Road. The property, which is in Holmes/Mineral Wells Planned Development, was appraised by the Shelby County Assessor of Property in 2011 at $2 million.

An Associated Pharmacies representative could not be reached for comment.

API is the warehousing and purchasing subsidiary of American Associated Pharmacies. A “member-owned buying cooperative,” API provides independent pharmacies the opportunity to buy like a chain by offering volume prices on brand-name, generic and over-the-counter products, according to AAP’s website.

AAP represents about 2,000 independent pharmacies, about 10 percent of the independent pharmacy market, according to AAP’s website.

Renasant Bank bought the property back for $1.9 million in a substitute trustee’s sale after former owner Global Distriplex defaulted on a 2001 loan for $2.2 million that was modified in 2006 to add about $525,000.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Noam Chomsky to Speak About Occupy Wall Street

Rhodes College will debut its new lecture series Communities in Conversation with a discussion with linguist, political activist and writer Noam Chomsky Jan. 13 at 5 p.m. in the McCallum Ballroom, Bryan Campus Life Center, on the Rhodes campus.

Chomsky, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will discuss the Occupy Wall Street movement.

The Communities in Conversation series will provide a forum for dialogue on topics across the humanities that address the questions people face globally, regionally, nationally and locally. Chomsky will be the first of six featured speakers during the spring term.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Those with questions about the series and upcoming lectures should contact Dr. Jonathan Judaken at 843-3292 or judakenj@rhodes.edu.

– Taylor Shoptaw

UTHSC Graduates 71 Health Care Students

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis graduated 71 health care students at its winter commencement, including 25 students from the College of Allied Health Sciences, 25 from the College of Graduate Health Sciences, one from the College of Medicine and 20 from the College of Nursing.

A total of 686 students graduated in 2011, UTHSC’s centennial year. Over the past six years, the academic center has graduated an average of 730 health care professionals annually.

– Aisling Maki

Fortune Ranks Martin Tate Among Top Biz Law Firms

Fortune magazine has listed Memphis-based Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston PC as one of the nation’s leading business law firms, as selected by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

The list of top-ranked firms is based on criteria that include the number of a firm’s attorneys who have earned a preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading professional resource and marketing publication. The preeminent rating is the highest available for an attorney.

Martin Tate was founded in 1904.

– Andy Meek

Tenn. Photo ID Law Could Face Challenge

A requirement that Tennessee voters show photographic identification could be challenged in a lawsuit.

Unless or until there is legislative or court action to change the statute that took effect Sunday, Jan. 1, it remains the law. Tennessee Election Coordinator Mark Goins said his office anticipates voters will be required to show a photo ID when they go to the polls for the March primary elections, according to The Tennessean.

A legislative reversal seems unlikely, despite a petition drive that calls on the General Assembly to repeal the law.

At issue is whether the statute adversely affects African-American voters, who have special protections under federal election law.

The Tennessee statute was championed by state Rep. Debra Maggard, R-Hendersonville, who said it appears the Justice Department is at least considering a challenge to the state law.

“I expect nothing less from the Obama administration,” she said. “When Democrats can’t win at the ballot box fair and square, they almost always resort to the courts.”

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has suggested that Republican officials are systematically trying to discourage voting by elderly, minority, young and poor citizens by changing state voting laws.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 bars any voting practice that discriminates by race, color and language.

– The Associated Press

Factories, Builders Boost Economy at End of Year

U.S. manufacturers ended 2011 with their best month of growth since the late spring. And the struggling construction industry spent more on projects for the third time in four months.

The data bolstered hopes that the economy is gaining momentum and helped Wall Street start 2012 with a bang.

Factories hired more workers in December, saw the most growth in new orders since April and ramped up production.

U.S. builders spent more in November on single-family homes, apartments and remodeling projects.

The strong reports correspond with other positive signs for the economy. Consumer confidence is up, unemployment benefit applications have tumbled and the unemployment rate is at a three-and-a-half-year low.

Economists caution that Europe’s debt crisis will likely slow global growth in the first half of the year, but on Tuesday, Jan. 3, the outlook was mostly positive.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said its manufacturing index rose to 53.9 from 52.7 in November. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.

U.S manufacturing has expanded for more than two years

– The Associated Press

Nov. Const. Spending Rose 1.2 Percent

Construction spending in the U.S. jumped in November as builders spent more on single-family homes, apartments and remodeling projects.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday, Jan. 3, that spending on construction projects rose 1.2 percent in November, following a revised 0.2 percent drop in October. The increase was the third in four months and the largest since a 2.2 percent rise in August.

The November increase pushed spending to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $807.1 billion, still barely half the $1.5 trillion that economists consider healthy. Analysts say it could be four years before construction returns to health levels.

Home construction has begun a gradual rebound and likely added to the nation’s economic growth in 2011. The chief reason is apartments are being built almost twice as fast as two years ago.

– The Associated Press