Police confirm murder-suicide in Steve McNair case

By Kate Howard • THE TENNESSEAN • July 8, 2009 UPDATED 2:50 P.M. Police have ruled that the killings of Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi are a murder suicide. Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas said the police believe Steve McNair was asleep when Kazemi shot him on the sofa and that she then sat next to him and shot herself. Serpas also said police believe that Kazemi had communicated with friends days before she was ready to 'end it all' and that she had learned that McNair was involved with another woman days before the murder. Police also believe Kazemi purchased the gun in the parking lot of Dave & Busters, where she worked. REPORTED EARLIER A state medical examiner has said that preliminary testing from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation points to the likely conclusion of murder-suicide in the deaths of Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi. Feng Li, the assistant medical examiner who conducted the autopsies, said he will wait for the investigation to be closed before he completes Kazemi’s death certificate to reflect that she died of suicide. “The results were very consistent in supporting our decision,” Li said. Gunshot residue and ballistics testing are also consistent with a ruling of murder-suicide, Li said. “With the lab tests to be obtained combined with the autopsy findings, we will put a final opinion on the death certificate,” Li said. Kazemi and McNair were found shot to death in a condo off Second Avenue on the afternoon of July 4. A semi-automatic pistol was found under Kazemi’s body. Metro police said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms traced the gun purchase back to Kazemi through a private person. Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas is scheduled to discuss the results of the ballistics and gunshot residue testing at a 2:45 press conference. The Tennessean plans to covers this press conference live on Tennessean.com.

Virtual companies enjoy real workplaces

Businesses share office space, costs By Bonna Johnson • THE TENNESSEAN • July 7, 2009 The new office is no office at all. It could be a rented desk in a roomful of strangers. Or a virtual office that comes with a prestigious West End address. Entrepreneurs and startups are turning to unconventional workplaces that are a step up from a corner table at Starbucks to cut costs and win freedom from four walls and a desk. Advances in laptops, as well as smaller and smarter cell phones, have also helped make the American workplace more mobile just as a worsening economy makes long-term, high-rent leases that much more difficult to afford for small-business owners. "The workplace is never going back to what it was," said Ron Runyeon, a Nashville real estate investor who is planning a novel co-sharing workspace in Germantown. "For a company to hire 10 to 20 employees and put them in cubicles, those days are over." Runyeon's co-op is slated to open later this year and is among the first in Nashville to cater to lonely work-at-home entrepreneurs who crave social interaction and networking in a creative workspace. For a membership fee — probably less than $200 a month — entrepreneurs can come and go from the open-space office that will be furnished much like a coffee shop with couches and tables, along with a few desks and small conference rooms. Extras will include fax machines, computers for those without a laptop and, of course, a coffeemaker. It's a new twist on the virtual office concept, which has been around for decades but appears to be coming into its own during the down economy. "We didn't know if we'd have 100 clients or two clients, especially in our first year, when we decided to go out on our own," said Patricia McCarter, a partner in the Nashville law firm McCarter and Beauchamp, which specializes in family law, particularly divorces. To keep overhead low, she and her partner decided to do some of their work from home but also signed a one-year contract for a virtual office on West End for client meetings. A receptionist, upscale office décor and the hustle and bustle of a shared workplace filled with other entrepreneurs gave the attorneys instant credibility not easily won via meetings in a coffee shop or home office. Plus, "having an address on West End brought clients our way because it's a recognizable location," McCarter said. Offices grow by designThe Regus Group, which operates virtual or shared offices worldwide, manages two locations in the Nashville area — HQ Business Center at 3200 West End Ave. and 725 Cool Springs Blvd. — with about 200 clients between them. Inquiries about virtual offices in the Nashville area are up in the past 12 months and business has increased 23 percent the first half of this year compared with a year earlier, said Scott Nelles, Southwest region vice president for Regus. Nationally, virtual office subscriptions are up 12 percent so far this year, compared with 2008 and May sales were up 5 percent over last May, said Dennis Watson, Regus spokesman. Another virtual office center, Chesapeake Business Centre in Maryland Farms and Cool Springs, also has seen more inquiries. "I'm guessing it's because of the economy," said owner and leasing agent Murray Hatcher, who noted that some businesses are escaping from pricey office space and deciding to go virtual. A virtual office, usually located in a desirable business center, includes mail and telephone service, a receptionist, office and conference space, and some administrative support, such as copy machines. Virtual offices are popular not only with entrepreneurs, but also with businesses considering a second location in a new city or work-at-home employees of Fortune 500 companies, Nelles said. At Regus, prices start at $69 per month for just the mail service. "A business may want that legitimate business address, instead of a P.O. box or their home address," Nelles said. The most popular package costs $169 per month, which includes mail and phone services, as well as 16 hours per month of office use. A receptionist answers calls to the business and patches them through to the owner even if it's on a cell phone or at home. Space helps with clients"It's so nice for our clients when they arrive there," said McCarter, who usually holds meetings at the West End office three to four days a week. "There is a body there to welcome them, offer them coffee, make copies for us. It really projects a professional appearance." For the first six months of this year, her firm has paid a total of $5,000 for its virtual office, McCarter said. That's much less than the cost of traditional office rentals, she said. "We're a small shop, so this has been a perfect stepping stone," said McCarter, who said she and her partner are now contemplating leasing their own office space because business has been strong enough. Runyeon's co-op has less to do with casting a professional image and more to do with being a gathering place for entrepreneurs in creative industries such as design, music and film. "I may be a tech guy but have no marketing skills," Runyeon said. "I could hook up with someone I meet there on the marketing side, and we could barter some of those skills." The co-sharing office will take up about 3,500 square feet on the third floor of an old flourmill that Runyeon is renovating at 100 Taylor Street. He's unsure how profitable the concept will be, but as startups succeed, he hopes they will end up renting other office space that will be available on the first two floors. He plans to market the co-op as a "first step" out of a home office. "The drawback of people working out of (a) home is the isolation factor," Runyeon said. Other options aboundWhen Derek Hughey, 37, launched his own law firm in May, he opted for no office at all. The corporate and securities lawyer worked at Nashville's Bass, Berry & Sims firm before opening Hughey Business Law as an all-virtual, nearly paperless law practice. "Given these tough economic times, I know that many companies and individuals are looking for lower-cost alternatives," Hughey said. He figures he can offer rates that are 30 percent to 40 percent lower than what he would probably charge if he worked for a traditional law firm. "The way technology has changed, you have the ability to do high-end legal work without the overhead of a building, a secretary, an IT department or an accounting department," Hughey said. Merchant goes virtualDoris Franklin Matthews, owner of Chancery Lane Antiques, closed down her Belle Meade store in January after eight years there and 13 years in the business. Now, she sells antiques online through a "virtual store." "Business slowed down to the point that I knew I had to pare down what I was doing," said Matthews, who learned she was pretty savvy at Web site development. Annual sales used to exceed $350,000. She's not at that level online yet, but she has reached her former profit level, in large part because she no longer has the overhead of a brick-and-mortar store. The 2,000 or so small British antiques she stocks — mainly silver collectibles and antique tortoise shell — are in storage. She maintains the Web site, www.chancerylane.com, so potential customers can see her wares at the click of a mouse. "This has brought all sorts of people from around the world into my store," said Matthews, who likes the flexible schedule of running a virtual business rather than having to be at a store's front counter from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. "I'm finding it much easier to do it this way," she said. "Profits are better than they've been in a long time."

Patients fear life without TennCare

Review could find thousands ineligible By Chas Sisk • THE TENNESSEAN • July 7, 2009 Three decades of life with quadriplegia have done little to deter Jacqueline Hopkins. Unable to move her limbs, Hopkins nonetheless graduated from college, using a mind that was never dulled by the 1978 car accident that snapped her spine. Unable to speak above a whisper, Hopkins has maintained a social network that includes many others with the same disability, using a computer outfitted to respond to the movements of her forehead. But at 51, the East Nashville resident says she has been able to remain so active only because of the aid of her parents, who have helped care for her since the accident on Interstate 65 disrupted her life as a sophomore at Middle Tennessee State University. Now, she may lose the TennCare funding that makes that support possible. "I think it's just terrible," Hopkins said with the assistance of her father, who after 31 years can more easily comprehend her soft voice. "There are so many people I know that qualify that don't have families to help them get the support they need." Hopkins faces a reduction in state health-care benefits through an effort under way this summer to re-evaluate TennCare coverage for 154,000 Tennesseans. Many of them are having their eligibility reviewed for the first time in decades. After a 22-year-old court order was lifted earlier this year, TennCare is now asking people like Hopkins to prove that they are truly worthy of coverage. The group, known as the Daniels class for the court case that led to the order, includes thousands of people with chronic medical conditions, including those with severe disabilities and mental illnesses. The state spends about $400 million annually caring for those people, and the federal government an additional $800 million. But for two decades, TennCare had been barred even from checking whether members of the Daniels class still qualified to receive state aid — or if their medical conditions still warranted coverage at taxpayer expense. Many advocates believe 130,000 or more Daniels recipients could be cut from the rolls, a figure that TennCare officials vigorously dispute. But at a minimum, tens of thousands of people will see their coverage reduced or eliminated. Hopkins and her family believe she will be one of them. "I don't know how it would be (without TennCare coverage)," said her father, Andrew. "We've just had to have optimism." State defends reviewsTennCare officials say they are looking at the Daniels class only because a federal law requires states to check the eligibility of recipients of public health insurance at least once a year. But groups that lobby on behalf of TennCare recipients say the state had little interest in complying with that law until the program's financial woes began to mount. The issue hinges on how the two sides look at the way in which TennCare is reviewing the status of Daniels patients, some of whom have not had to show they deserve coverage in more than 20 years. TennCare officials say they have simply asked these people to fill out the same financial disclosure forms as others in the program, which serves about 1.2 million Tennesseans. Opponents of the change say the tight deadlines and voluminous disclosure requirements are meant to maximize the number of people who will lose coverage. Either way, the policy represents a big change for the Daniels class. Under the 1987 court order that created it, members of this group qualified automatically for coverage if they received Supplemental Security Income, a federal program for the elderly, blind and disabled. Once enrolled, these people did not have to go through the same annual checks of income and medical eligibility as others in TennCare. But with the state government's budget tightening, TennCare officials convinced a federal judge to lift that order in January and allow individual reviews. The program contacted the first batch of those Daniels class members in May, a group of about 40,000 people. As of last week, TennCare had told 11,000 of those people that they were no longer qualified, and it had found 2,700 people who could remain in TennCare, the program said. An additional 24,000 cases were still pending. Opponents of the new policy say the fact that most people who have been reviewed so far were terminated confirms their concerns. By giving Daniels class recipients only 30 days to fill out the form — a packet that asks for everything from recipients' income to the market value of cemetery plots — the state is trying to trip people up, said people like Gordon Bonnyman, executive director for the Tennessee Justice Center, which fought to keep the court order in place. "It's like a really complex tax return, and you've got a majority of them that have disabilities," Bonnyman said. "Instead of the state looking to save eligibility, it is summarily terminating them." State savings unknownTennCare officials have declined to say how many people it expects will have their coverage cut through the reviews. They have also declined to estimate how much they think the state will save or to say specifically what will be done with the money. Tracy Purcell, TennCare's director of member service, said the money probably would be used to fund other TennCare programs. But she said the move is not a money grab or a bid to deny coverage to people who qualify and need it. The state expects 106,000 people to receive some public coverage once the checks are completed later this summer. Before the first mailing was sent, TennCare identified 28,000 people who can switch to coverage through the federal Medicaid program, officials said. They also said the early returns do not indicate the portion that eventually will be denied coverage because the first batch of reviews went to people who have out-of-state addresses and those who have been on the program the longest. These people may no longer live in Tennessee — and thus shouldn't be covered through a state program — and they are more likely to have experienced an increase in income or change in their medical status that would call for a cut in coverage. "We don't know enough about these individuals today to determine whether the individuals are eligible or not," Purcell said. "I don't think we can make any assumptions that they're not going to qualify."

Network helps vets cope with stresses

Web site offers assistance with counseling, other aid By Jennifer Brooks • THE TENNESSEAN • July 7, 2009 Mike Jones returned from tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq with a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart — and combat stress. He was restless and irritable. He wasn't sleeping, and the most commonplace things — a noise, a word, a date on the calendar, even an argument with his wife — triggered combat-honed reflexes that were completely inappropriate for civilian life. "I came home and I realized a lot of other soldiers were facing the same issues," Jones said. He got the help and counseling he needed to deal with his war trauma, but knew many of his fellow veterans were trying to gut out their problems alone. Thousands of soldiers have marched home from war, only to find that it's not so easy to leave the stress and terror of the battlefield behind. They're not alone anymore. Jones and Nashville businessman Carter Andrews have teamed up to found the Warriors' Legacy Fund, a network dedicated to getting returning soldiers the counseling and help they need, and that the system doesn't always provide. "This is a community foundation in Middle Tennessee dedicated to helping soldiers and their families deal with the invisible wounds of war," Andrews said. Veterans share stories online Their Web site is a place where veterans and their families can share stories and reach out for help. There are forums, personal narratives, blogs and educational resources. In one recent blog post, a poster named "Bulldog" talked about the toll civilian life has taken on his unit since it returned home. His unit has been deployed three times, and the soldiers were recently informed that they would be redeploying within the year. "My unit had been home for a little less than six months. We had one suicide threat, multiple car accidents, divorces, at least one that I remember in jail for domestic assault. I had one kid that went AWOL, twice, and he was a good soldier," Bulldog wrote. Still, when he got together with his buddies for the Fourth of July, he realized that life could still be sweet. "Even though we were all dealing with our demons, I was still thankful that life was good," he wrote. "That's my point. Even though we have our demons, life can still be good. If you can still sweat and you can still bleed, then it is good." The Warriors Legacy Fund operates a toll-free hot line, 800-273-8255, for those who urgently need to talk. For more information, visit the site at http://www.notalone.com

Restaurant lawsuit amended to say gun law confusing

By Michael Cass • THE TENNESSEAN • July 7, 2009 A restaurant owner battling a new law that would allow guns into eateries added another argument to his lawsuit Monday, saying the measure would create confusion for gun owners and police officers. The law, adopted by the General Assembly last month over Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto, will allow more than 200,000 handgun carry permit owners to bring their weapons into restaurants and bars, effective July 14. The law says patrons carrying handguns can't consume alcohol. In Tennessee, places that serve liquor by the drink are technically classified and licensed as restaurants because they also must serve food as their primary purpose under the law. Restaurateur Randy Rayburn and a group of restaurant employees and handgun carry permit holders are arguing the new law is "unconstitutionally vague." "It is a Class A misdemeanor for a permit holder to carry a gun into a place that serves alcohol that is not exempted as a restaurant," the amended lawsuit says. "Permit holders will have no notice or way to determine if an establishment is a restaurant or a bar (whether its primary purpose is serving meals) as there is no distinction by licensing laws or notice." David Randolph Smith, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission sometimes fines establishments whose food sales drop below 50 percent, but it generally doesn't shut them down. "How do you know?" Smith said. "Technically, that wouldn't be a restaurant under the carry law." The plaintiffs also are claiming the law would create a public nuisance threatening the safety of the public and violating the constitutional rights of restaurant/bar owners, patrons and employees. John Harris, executive director of the Tennessee Firearms Association, which pushed for the law, has called the lawsuit misguided. A court hearing on the matter has been rescheduled from today to 1:30 p.m. Monday in Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman's court. Next PageundefinedPrevious Page

Titans to hold McNair tribute at LP Field

By Jim Wyatt • THE TENNESSEAN • July 7, 2009 The Titans will open LP Field on Wednesday and Thursday to give fans an opportunity to pay their respects to quarterback Steve McNair at the place where he made such an impression. A large photo mural of McNair has put up outside Gate One at LP Field, and a floral display is also up honoring McNair, who was shot four times and killed over the weekend. From 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, fans will be able to watch a rolling video of McNair highlights on the video boards at the stadium. Fans will be able to sign a book that will eventually be presented to the McNair family, and also make a donation to the Steve McNair Foundation at the ticket office. Titans owner Bud Adams thought a tribute would be a nice way to honor McNair, who played from 1995-2005 with the Titans. “It is going to be a great way for fans to honor a great player who had so many fond memories in that venue,’’ sad Don MacLachlan, EVP of Administration and Facilities. “Fans can rehash memories of Steve. It’s something Mr. Adams wanted to do to give back after all his great memories of Steve.’’ Admission and parking will be free. Fans can park in Lot C at LP Field.

Public memorial for McNair to be held

Associated Press - July 6, 2009 10:45 AM ET NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A public memorial for former NFL quarterback Steve McNair is scheduled for Thursday in Nashville. A viewing at Lewis and Wright Funeral Home will be from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Then a viewing will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Mount Zion Baptist Church. A funeral service will be held Saturday in Mississippi but final arrangements had not been finalized Monday. McNair was found shot to death inside a Nashville condo on Saturday. A 20-year-old woman police said he had been dating was also found dead. Instead of flowers, fans are asked to make a donation to the Steve McNair Foundation.

Stimulus offers new hope, job skills

Federal money funds training for high-demand jobs By Bonna Johnson • THE TENNESSEAN • July 6, 2009 TRACKING THE STIMULUS: New Training for Jobless In four years, Mark Hicks has lost four jobs in Tennessee's hard-hit manufacturing field. The first company moved overseas, and then Peterbilt Motors Co. transferred operations to Texas. Another employer, which made seats for Nissan, terminated temporary workers when sales slowed, and he lost his last job in October, just two months after getting hired, in a round of layoffs. "I've felt like the unluckiest person around," said Hicks, who worked in quality control in what he sees as a fading industry. The 42-year-old Hendersonville man is hoping to improve his fortunes with a midlife career change. In January, he completed a computer tech course and is studying to get certification, which could help him land a job as an information technology professional or a PC technician. The $2,000 course fee was covered by the state through a job-training program for so-called dislocated workers — people who are on unemployment benefits or facing layoffs. Such programs across the country are getting a big boost through federal stimulus funds just as unemployment in Tennessee soars into double digits and the national jobless rate inches closer to 10 percent. In Tennessee, some $29 million in stimulus funds will go to train 10,000 workers over the next 2½ years in high-demand fields such as health care and clean energy, as well as truck driving, welding and scores of other occupations. The state is getting an additional $11 million in stimulus money to train unemployed and underemployed adults. "You have to go with the way the economy is going, so you have to get into something you can make a living at and survive on," said Hicks, who's had one job or another in manufacturing since getting a two-year degree in machine shop technology after high school. The stimulus funds will double how much the state typically spends each year to put dislocated workers on paths to new careers, said Susan Cowden, administrator of employment and work force development at the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Since April, when funds became available, nearly 1,000 Tennesseans have started training. About $778,000 in stimulus funds have been spent for dislocated workers. State officials expect another spike in enrollment in August when fall classes start. Although a respectable 91 percent of workers who finished training programs in 2007 found jobs, the state failed to meet other federal thresholds, resulting in the loss of some federal funds last year, Cowden said. With 2,500 General Motors workers at the Spring Hill plant facing layoffs in November, the state is applying for an additional $2 million in emergency grants and will create a mini-career center near the plant to help GM workers make the transition into training, she said. Those funds, which could come from the stimulus package, will also help train workers at suppliers for GM, including Penske, Premier and Johnson Controls. Workers upgrade skills With jobless rates soaring, training programs can be lifelines for those who have lost their jobs, said Carl Van Horn, professor of public policy and director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University in New Jersey. "The older the worker is, the more he or she needs to either change careers entirely or upgrade skills they have within their current occupation, and both require training," Van Horn said. Hicks is optimistic the computer skills he's learning could help him launch a new career, but he's not entirely sure the training program alone will work. "They like seeing your degree and certification, but they also want experience," Hicks said. "If you can't get into a company where you can get experience, but they want experience, it's kind of a Catch-22." And, even if he never lands a job in the IT field, like working for Best Buy's Geek Squad, the degree and certification are "always a good thing to have on your resume," he noted. In the meantime, he's been attending networking events and seminars on job hunting through the Nashville Career Advancement Center and Brentwood-based Career Transition Support Group. The training program is helping Bill McIntire, 54, stay in the computer-programming field and upgrade his skills. "I have basic skills for programming," he said. "But more companies are using server and Web-based applications." He started training last week and hopes to get three certifications by early next year. Tennessee's job-training program placed 2,173 workers in jobs of the 2,388 who exited the program in 2007, a 91 percent employment rate, better than the national average of 72.5 percent. The state also outpaced the national average in the percentage of workers who are still in their jobs after six months, at 92.8 percent, compared with 87.2 percent nationally. "We feel so good about these levels," Cowden said. "We have really targeted training programs to areas that lend themselves to high placement." At the same time, though, the program fell short of federal targets in retention and earnings as higher goals were set each year the state did well. Shortcomings in the Memphis area and some rural areas in West and East Tennessee lowered overall performance, Cowden said. The worsening labor market is expected to make it harder for those in training to find high-paying jobs once they exit the program, and state officials have requested lower performance goals, Cowden said. Stimulus has critics In the Nashville area, a maximum of $4,000 can be spent on training per worker, said Paul Haynes, executive director of the Nashville Career Advancement Center. There are some exceptions, including the amount available to those in nursing programs and dental hygienists, he said. Workers who need bus passes, child care and uniforms can also request financial help through stimulus funds. Scores of state schools, community colleges and private campuses offer approved job training. Some stimulus funds will create new training classes, including $1 million at Walters State Community College for a clean energy curriculum and $200,000 at Austin Peay State University to train technicians for jobs at Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., a company that recently broke ground on a $1.2 billion plant in Clarksville, Tenn. An additional $4 million will go to state schools to increase the number of classes available to workers. This point is a source of criticism to some. The trainers are the ones really benefiting," said Nate Benefield, director for policy research at the conservative Commonwealth Foundation, a frequent critic of the stimulus. "It's not clear whether workers are benefiting." Benefield also noted that training programs end up helping only a small number of the unemployed. "These are feel-good programs, visible things, but it doesn't do much for the statewide or national economy." But Van Horn, the public policy professor, countered that training programs have the power to transform people's lives. He says there is no real evidence that trainers, not workers, are the ones who really benefit. "The fact is that the administrative costs for training programs are quite low," Van Horn said. "It's important to have realistic expectations," the professor said. "The older you get and the more experienced you are in the work force, the less likely it is that you can get a job that pays as much as you had when you were laid off. But, hopefully, it will be a stable job, and it's better than not having a job at all."

Steve McNair Found Shot To Death

My Thoughts and Prayers go out to Steve McNair and his family over this terrible time. Vivian Wilhoite District 29 Council Woman Posted: July 4, 2009 03:07 PM CDT Channel 5 News NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Former Titans quarterback Steve McNair has been killed. Police said McNair suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head in downtown Nashville. The incident happened near 2nd South & Lea Avenue. A female victim was also found dead. According to Don Aaron with the Metro Nashville Police Department, no suspects have been taken into custody. Several people were being taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Metro may force new employees to live in Nashville

By Michael Cass • THE TENNESSEAN • July 4, 2009 A proposal to require new Metro employees to live in Davidson County is drawing fire, with critics saying it would shrink the city's recruiting pool, create confusion and take away simple freedoms. "I just don't think it's right that Metro employees should be bound to the land like Russian serfs," Councilman Randy Foster said at a recent meeting. Councilman Eric Crafton is sponsoring the proposal, which would affect workers hired after the bill's passage. Those who live in other counties now would have 90 days after their start date to move here. Current employees would not be forced to relocate. Crafton said working for the city is a privilege, especially when one in 10 adults is unemployed. "In my opinion, it's best that residents who live here and have strong ties here be given the jobs if they become available," he said in an interview Wednesday. "We have the talent pool and educated base to fill all these jobs." Metro required all employees to live in the county until 1994, when the council repealed the rule and required state residency only. Almost 3,300 of roughly 11,000 employees now live outside Davidson County, not counting teachers and other school district workers, according to an analysis prepared by the council's attorney. The attorney, Jon Cooper, said there's nothing illegal about such a requirement as long as it applies to all new employees equally. But several council members said the change would be counterproductive, and Memphis has struggled with a similar 4-year-old policy, according to a recent story in The Commercial Appeal. Councilman Rip Ryman, who has spent more than 20 years in and around Metro government, said the earlier rule was difficult to enforce. The Civil Service Commission typically granted waivers to employees who needed to live near sick relatives in other counties, and some people listed rental property they owned as their residence while actually living elsewhere. "It encouraged people to flat-out lie about where they lived," Councilman Jim Hodge said. Crafton said he was considering adding an amendment to his bill that would allow ownership of property in the county to fulfill the residency requirement. Family illnesses also could earn exemptions, he said. Pros, cons weighedHodge, a Realtor, also raised questions about the financial impact the policy would have on new hires who would be forced to move into the county. "The market to sell (a house) right now is tough," he said. "Some of these people, if they were forced to sell, they probably wouldn't be able to get their money out of the market. Suddenly you've got an employee you're putting in a financial vise." But Crafton said no one is forced to take a job with Metro, and requiring residency doesn't impose any more of a financial hardship than requiring a college degree. "It doesn't hurt anybody because they don't have to come here," he said. Crafton said the policy would strengthen the Davidson County housing market and put more pressure on Metro to improve its school system. More employees living here should mean more students in the system, yielding more education funding from the state, he said. But Councilman Greg Adkins said the opposite needs to happen. Once a strong advocate for forcing employees to live here and reaping the tax revenue they would generate, Adkins now believes it's up to government leaders to make Nashville and Davidson County more attractive places to live. Adkins said he would fight Crafton's proposal "tooth and nail." "Let's make it a more walkable and bikeable place," he said. "Let's make it a more green place. Those are the kinds of things we need to be looking at. "I had it backwards," he said of his earlier stance. "You have to approach it from a philosophical level. The problem is deeper than just mandating that people live here." But one of the city's employee unions believes otherwise. Doug Collier, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 205, said the union supports Crafton's idea. A majority of its "low-wage" workers live in Davidson County. "If I'm drawing my paycheck here, it's only plausible for me to be able to pay my taxes here," Collier said. Hodge, however, said the city has no right to expect to get any of its money back after paying it to employees. Crafton, who agreed to defer the bill indefinitely after council members raised numerous questions three weeks ago, said he might bring back a revised version in the next month.

America's Most Endangered Malls

Photo taken by Phillip Riggins

U.S. News and World Report

Rick Newman

Hickory Hollow Mall Occupancy rate: 82 percent. Sales per square foot: $187. Dillard’s is gone and two anchor slots are vacant at this Nashville, Tenn., mall. Other departed tenants include Linens ‘N Things and Steve & Barry’s, two of the biggest casualties of the recession.

'Wooded Rapist' to serve 32 years for first rape conviction

By Kate Howard • THE TENNESSEAN • July 1, 2009 Robert Jason Burdick, the man police believe has broken into homes and set traps for unwitting victims to methodically attack over a dozen women, will serve 32 years behind bars for his first conviction. Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Seth Norman sentenced Burdick to two consecutive 16-year prison sentences for the two counts of aggravated rape he was convicted of earlier this year. A 3-year sentence for aggravated burglary will be served concurrently. "(The victim) is very satisfied that the system worked as it should have," said prosecutor Roger Moore. "She said this morning, she would (come forward and report the rape) all over again and she knows she did the right thing." The victim testified during the trial that a masked man entered her home while she slept, and she was awakened by him standing over her. He forced the widow to disrobe, kissed her and then raped her before forcing her into the shower to wash off the evidence. But she stood away from the water until he left, and was able to preserve evidence for police that later linked Burdick to the scene. Burdick faces 11 more counts in Nashville against at least nine victims. He also faces charges in Williamson and Wilson counties.The suspect became known as the "Wooded Rapist" after police noticed the pattern of a serial rapist who struck mostly in the Forest Hills and Brentwood areas on rainy nights, at homes near wooded areas. DNA evidence matched Burdick to the string of rapes.

TPAC ends sales through Ticketmaster

It makes 'better business sense' to use own system, performing arts center says By Harriet Vaughan • THE TENNESSEAN • July 1, 2009 After years of research and a plan to make its Web site easier to navigate, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center severed its relationship with ticket retailer Ticketmaster. Beginning today, TPAC will use only its own box office, Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Web site and call-in number to sell tickets to future events. "Especially with the dramatic increase in online ticket sales, it makes better business sense to sell tickets on our own system," said Brent Hyams, TPAC's executive vice president and general manager. "The new model supports direct relationships between TPAC and its customers, who will pay less handling fees and communicate directly with our staff during transactions." The new system means reduced fees tacked on to the ticket price. Ticketmaster's per-order and print-at-home fees added an extra $6.35 to the ticket price. TPAC joins the ranks of other performing arts centers that sell their own tickets, including Schermerhorn Symphony Center. TPAC once owned the Ticketmaster Nashville franchise but sold it in 1996. Hyams says their relationship was so close, one of the founding partners of Ticketmaster flew in to town to try to persuade TPAC to continue selling through them. Ticketmaster 'saddened' "While we're saddened to lose our longtime partner, we understand the competitive business we are in and that our venue clients have many choices," a statement issued by Ticketmaster said. "We wish TPAC nothing but continued success in the future with the arts-specific in-house software they have chosen." TPAC's Web site is www.tpac.org and ticket line is 615-782-4040. Ticketmaster will continue to sell tickets for TPAC events that are already on sale, including the Broadway tour Wicked.

Metro Council may pick school board member

July 1, 2009 The Metro Council may appoint the next District 9 school board member to replace Alan Coverstone on July 21, council attorney Jon Cooper said. Cooper had said Monday that council rules require an election to happen at least four weeks after a board vacancy is formally announced to the council, which would have put the vote on Aug. 4. But he wrote in an e-mail Tuesday that he had researched the issue further and found a provision in state law requiring vacancies to be filled at the next regular meeting after the vacancy announcement. That announcement will be made at next week's meeting. "I believe this state law provision would trump the procedure set forth in the Council Rules," Cooper wrote. Nominations will be accepted through July 14. Coverstone's replacement will serve until the next Davidson County General Election in August 2010. Coverstone, who was elected to the board in August 2009, resigned late last week to seek a position as Metro's executive director of charter and private schools. District 9 covers Bellevue and the Hillwood area.

May Town proposal yanked

Metro Council approval appeared unlikely By Michael Cass • THE TENNESSEAN • July 1, 2009 After a year of contentious debate, standing-room-only public hearings and expensive impact studies, one of the largest development proposals in Nashville history is heading toward the back burner — for now. Metro Councilman Lonnell Matthews Jr. said Tuesday that he will move to defer the May Town Center rezoning plan indefinitely when the council meets next week. Matthews, the council sponsor, acted less than a week after the Metro Planning Commission rejected the idea. The planning commission's disapproval meant that the potentially $4 billion project in rural Bells Bend would need votes from 27 of 40 council members. Some council members admitted that seemed highly unlikely. Ten council members expressed their opposition at the commission meeting, and others have joined the chorus since then. "It wouldn't do nothing for Goodlettsville," Councilman Rip Ryman said Tuesday, referring to the area he represents. "We need to be sure we're developing downtown." The May family wants to build corporate headquarters, housing, retail and hotels on about 550 acres in Bells Bend while preserving an additional 900-plus acres it owns there, including 250 it has pledged to Tennessee State University. Supporters say Nashville and Davidson County need the project to compete more effectively for jobs. Critics say it would ruin one of the last large, undeveloped areas of the city and generate intense traffic in parts of West Nashville across the Cumberland River from the bend. Matthews will have until the end of this council term in August 2011 to put the rezoning bill back on the agenda, council attorney Jon Cooper said. But the planning commission's recommendation is good for just one year, meaning the Mays would have to go back through the full rezoning process if Matthews waited until after June 25, 2010. All indefinitely deferred bills are withdrawn at the end of the council term. Councilman Greg Adkins, who represents Crieve Hall, said the proposal isn't ready for council approval. "I would vote against it," Adkins said. "It doesn't meet the sub-area (community) plan. … If they want to get it passed, they've got more work to do."