Hard Rock Cafe Nashville lends staff to charities

Workers still get paid during cafe renovation By Wendy Lee • THE TENNESSEAN • September 6, 2009 It is probably one of the biggest fears a waitress or a cook can have — news that their restaurant is shutting down for a three-month renovation at a time when unemployment is high and paychecks are precious. But at Hard Rock Cafe Nashville on Lower Broadway, which is shutting down Sept. 14 and won't reopen for three months, staffers will get a paycheck anyway. Hard Rock will pay its staff their regular salaries, including the average tip its servers make, during the restaurant's dark days. And 71 employees will stay busy with community-spirited assignments at local nonprofits. Servers, cooks and other employees will be doing everything from dishing up food to helping needy families to stocking racks at thrift stores. National workplace consultants said it was the first time they had ever heard of such a plan. "It's certainly unusual," said John Challenger, CEO of workplace consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. "In these times, when companies are trying to keep their costs down, batten down the hatches and survive, most companies would be looking to save those salaries." Hard Rock Cafe Nashville's employees will volunteer a total of roughly 2,000 hours a week at various nonprofits selected by Hands On Nashville and the restaurant, said general manager Jim McGonagle. "We felt it was appropriate at this time to hold onto our greatest asset, our people," McGonagle said. Tisha Villamor, a 33-year-old bartender, said the plan tracks Hard Rock's motto of "Love all, serve all." It's a saying adopted since the restaurant's 1971 start in London, signifying that it aims to serve people of all backgrounds. "I think everyone's benefiting from this," Villamor said. "I get to work here and do something for the community." Renovation dates were picked because those are typically Hard Rock's slower months, McGonagle said. Sales at the Nashville location have been steady, with 90 percent of the business from tourists. The renovation would be the Nashville cafe's first major change since it opened in 1994, bringing the 6,500-square-foot space to more than 11,500 square feet. Plans include adding new memorabilia, such as shoes from the late Michael Jackson and a suit from Hank Williams Jr. A second-floor addition for events and live music also will be part of the makeover, officials said. During the remodeling, the chain's retail store will stay open. Nashville will become the third of Hard Rock's 127 cafes worldwide with the new building model. Others with the new look are in Las Vegas and Dallas. A practical decisionDarren Tristano, an executive vice president with Chicago-based Technomic Inc., said if the Hard Rock had let its staff go, it would have taken at least a month to hire, recruit and train new people. "I don't think you have much of a choice in a situation like this," Tristano said. "You absorb the cost and hope the renovation pays off in the short term." Local nonprofits said they hope the Hard Rock inspires other businesses to follow suit with donations of volunteer time. "We are so excited about having extra people to help us, and we're looking forward to them bringing their ideas to the table," said operations manager Bruce Krapf of Thriftsmart, a nonprofit thrift store that donates profits to four charities. With about 3,000 new items being added each day, the extra help is welcomed, Kraft said. Brandon Reid, a Hard Rock Cafe Nashville retail sales associate and line cook, said he's looking forward to volunteering. "A lot of places would just lay you off," said Reid, 32.

Greek Festival offers weekend of fun, food

By Natalia Mielczarek • THE TENNESSEAN • September 8, 2009 The Greeks are all about three Fs, Emily Yoanidis said: family, friends and faith. They express their love for the trio with another F: food. This weekend’s 22nd Greek Food Festival is a good example, she said. “The Greek life is basically about family and hospitality around strangers. When the Greeks like you, they really like you,” said Yoanidis, who helped put the event together this year. “The festival is also very much about faith. We have an extraordinary number of nonGreek converts in this community, and many have come to our church through the Greek Festival.” The annual tradition is the biggest fundraiser for the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Franklin Pike. The three-day event, beginning Friday, Sept. 11, features Greek food, wine, traditional dancing, church tours and outdoors fun for children. Almost all dishes have been made by Greek mothers and grandmothers in the church’s kitchen, Yoanidis said. When Sonny Mooney helped organize the first festival more than two decades ago, he had an inkling that it could take off like it has over the years, he said. “We’ve seen the success of it in bigger communities like Chicago and Atlanta,” he said. “People seem to be interested in the Greek culture and come. The Greek Orthodox religion is also of some interest. And with so many information sources now, Greek food is more well-known now.” About 200 families attend the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Yoanidis said, but not all have Greek roots. Yoanidis said, laughing, that she became Greek through marriage. ABOUT THE CHURCH The first Greek Orthodox settlers came to Nashville from other U.S. cities in the mid-1880s. By 1917, the growing community was inviting priests from other cities to celebrate liturgy and other services, but the cost became prohibitive. That year, the group raised enough money to buy property on 6th Avenue downtown, the former Wallace School and was officially named Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. In 1986, the church moved to its current Franklin Pike location, and the new sanctuary was built five years later. Source: http://www.holytrinitynashville.org/.

Tennessee delegation opposes pace, path of health reform

By Bill Theobald • TENNESSEAN WASHINGTON BUREAU • September 8, 2009 WASHINGTON — The nation may be in turmoil over what Congress should do about reforming health care, but there's surprising consensus among members of the Tennessee delegation as they return from their summer recess today. None of the five Middle Tennessee House members — four Democrats and one Republican — and neither of the state's two Republican senators favors creating a government-run health insurance option as outlined in legislative proposals. The option would compete with private insurers to keep health-care costs down. And they agree that Congress should slow down and focus on several issues where there appears to be bipartisan agreement — at least within the Tennessee delegation. "We've proved we haven't done comprehensive very well in Congress," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, who called for a more incremental approach. Members band together They agree on the need to: • Eliminate the use of pre-existing medical conditions as a reason to deny people insurance coverage. • Create cross-state insurance pools for small businesses and individuals to make insurance more affordable. • Ensure that people aren't forced off their health insurance when a serious illness strikes. When they return, members of the Tennessee delegation will be looking to two sources for the path forward on health reform. One is the Senate Finance Committee, whose members are trying to reach a bipartisan compromise. The second and more significant is President Barack Obama, who on Wednesday will deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress, laying out details of what he wants done. "I think the president needs to be sensitive to the opinion of the American people because they have spoken loud and clear," said Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville.

Progressives gain sway in Nashville city council

Group of 15 or so scores big wins on hot topics By Michael Cass • THE TENNESSEAN • September 6, 2009 Midway through their four-year term, political progressives on the Metro Council are starting to put their stamp on Nashville. The council recently opted out of a state law allowing guns in local parks. A nondiscrimination ordinance that would protect gay city employees and job applicants is on the verge of becoming law, six years after a more conservative council shot it down. And earlier this year, the city's legislative body spoke out against the controversial English-only proposal, 18 months after the previous council favored a similar law. Nashville voters followed the council's lead — and Mayor Karl Dean's — in January, rejecting the plan to make the government do almost all business in English. Councilwoman Megan Barry, considered one of the most liberal council members, said the "shift in orientation" reflects the will of the people. "Voters are the ones who made this decision that they wanted Nashville to be a more welcoming place and a more progressive place and a place where we can attract and retain business," said Barry, the lead sponsor of the nondiscrimination bill. "And you do that by being more forward-thinking." The progressives, a loose group of about 15 council members, don't win every time. A small group of them failed to change what they saw as inequities in Dean's stormwater fee structure or to block his plan to buy land for a convention center that hasn't been approved yet. Nor do left-leaning members dominate the council. Conservatives still represent suburban areas like Madison, Hermitage and parts of Donelson and Antioch, and they were able to defeat a bill Tuesday that would have allowed residents to keep chickens. But after controlling the conversation for much of the past two terms, the conservatives now hold less sway, and a solid core of progressives has been able to bring conservatives and moderates along on some major initiatives. Fixing 'misguided laws' Councilman Jerry Maynard, who led the fight to ban guns in Metro parks, said progressives are reacting to what they see as misguided laws passed by the state legislature. The legislature also voted this year to allow guns in restaurants and bars, though business owners can opt out and prohibit guns on their premises. "There's a sense of urgency because of what we saw in the General Assembly," said Maynard, who, like Barry, represents the entire county, not a particular district. "Progressives see the state going in the wrong direction. We want to make sure Davidson County is moving ahead in a progressive, prosperous way for all Nashvillians." Councilman Robert Duvall, one of the council's most hard-line conservatives, said the final vote on the nondiscrimination bill on Sept. 15 "will be a litmus test of where this council is." "I don't believe anybody on the council is doing anything specifically wrong," he said. "That's what they believe. I just hope it's not for some type of political agenda that this is being put forth." Duvall said residents in his Antioch district are heavily opposed to expanding the nondiscrimination law to cover sexual orientation. He said progressives could pay a political price in the next council elections in 2011 if they push too hard. May Town splits group Of course, even progressives don't always have a single definition of progress. When the Metro Planning Commission considered a rezoning in June for May Town Center, a potentially $4 billion office-retail-residential development in rural Bells Bend, 10 mostly progressive council members spoke out against the plan. They said the project, which the commission rejected, would ruin one of Nashville's last open spaces, create traffic headaches in West Nashville and hurt downtown. But Councilman Lonnell Matthews Jr., who often votes with his progressive colleagues, supported the project, arguing it would bring much-needed economic development to his northwest Nashville district. "May Town has more pros than cons," Matthews said Friday. "If not May Town, it has to be something along those lines, because we have to compete for those corporations and bring jobs to the city." Barry was one of the progressives who opposed May Town Center. But she said she recognizes that there's no free lunch, and Metro will have to allow some urban development in the urban core if it wants to keep growing. "We don't want a stagnant population," she said. "We want growth. But it may have to be in our own backyards." Councilman Jason Holleman of Sylvan Park agreed that more building in the city's core is needed. He said the city needs to focus more on zoning that accounts for a building's design rather than the traditional emphasis on land use. "People are willing to accept more density if it complements the neighborhood's character," he said. Holleman also said there's a good chance the council will look at legislation to preserve open space, an issue Dean is studying. No political agenda Progressives are expected to keep pressing for what they see as reforms, including mandating a living wage for some workers — an idea that business interests typically fight. But Councilman Bo Mitchell of Bellevue said there's no progressive caucus plotting an agenda, and Maynard agreed that there's not a "master plan." Mitchell said the council's makeup generally reflects the demographics of Nashville, which has long been more Democratic than Republican. But party politics don't come into play that often in Metro, where elections are nonpartisan and the main business is providing city services. "Many times at the council chamber, you've got to hang your 'D' or 'R' at the door when you walk in," Mitchell said. "There's a sense of urgency because of what we saw in the General Assembly," said Maynard, who, like Barry, represents the entire county, not a particular district. "Progressives see the state going in the wrong direction. We want to make sure Davidson County is moving ahead in a progressive, prosperous way for all Nashvillians." triggerAd(2,PaginationPage,9); Councilman Robert Duvall, one of the council's most hard-line conservatives, said the final vote on the nondiscrimination bill on Sept. 15 "will be a litmus test of where this council is." "I don't believe anybody on the council is doing anything specifically wrong," he said. "That's what they believe. I just hope it's not for some type of political agenda that this is being put forth." Duvall said residents in his Antioch district are heavily opposed to expanding the nondiscrimination law to cover sexual orientation. He said progressives could pay a political price in the next council elections in 2011 if they push too hard. May Town splits group Of course, even progressives don't always have a single definition of progress. When the Metro Planning Commission considered a rezoning in June for May Town Center, a potentially $4 billion office-retail-residential development in rural Bells Bend, 10 mostly progressive council members spoke out against the plan. They said the project, which the commission rejected, would ruin one of Nashville's last open spaces, create traffic headaches in West Nashville and hurt downtown. But Councilman Lonnell Matthews Jr., who often votes with his progressive colleagues, supported the project, arguing it would bring much-needed economic development to his northwest Nashville district. "May Town has more pros than cons," Matthews said Friday. "If not May Town, it has to be something along those lines, because we have to compete for those corporations and bring jobs to the city." Barry was one of the progressives who opposed May Town Center. But she said she recognizes that there's no free lunch, and Metro will have to allow some urban development in the urban core if it wants to keep growing. -->(3 of 3) "We don't want a stagnant population," she said. "We want growth. But it may have to be in our own backyards." triggerAd(3,PaginationPage,7); Councilman Jason Holleman of Sylvan Park agreed that more building in the city's core is needed. He said the city needs to focus more on zoning that accounts for a building's design rather than the traditional emphasis on land use. "People are willing to accept more density if it complements the neighborhood's character," he said. Holleman also said there's a good chance the council will look at legislation to preserve open space, an issue Dean is studying. No political agenda Progressives are expected to keep pressing for what they see as reforms, including mandating a living wage for some workers — an idea that business interests typically fight. But Councilman Bo Mitchell of Bellevue said there's no progressive caucus plotting an agenda, and Maynard agreed that there's not a "master plan." Mitchell said the council's makeup generally reflects the demographics of Nashville, which has long been more Democratic than Republican. But party politics don't come into play that often in Metro, where elections are nonpartisan and the main business is providing city services. "Many times at the council chamber, you've got to hang your 'D' or 'R' at the door when you walk in," Mitchell said. "We don't want a stagnant population," she said. "We want growth. But it may have to be in our own backyards." Councilman Jason Holleman of Sylvan Park agreed that more building in the city's core is needed. He said the city needs to focus more on zoning that accounts for a building's design rather than the traditional emphasis on land use. "People are willing to accept more density if it complements the neighborhood's character," he said. Holleman also said there's a good chance the council will look at legislation to preserve open space, an issue Dean is studying. No political agenda Progressives are expected to keep pressing for what they see as reforms, including mandating a living wage for some workers — an idea that business interests typically fight. But Councilman Bo Mitchell of Bellevue said there's no progressive caucus plotting an agenda, and Maynard agreed that there's not a "master plan." Mitchell said the council's makeup generally reflects the demographics of Nashville, which has long been more Democratic than Republican. But party politics don't come into play that often in Metro, where elections are nonpartisan and the main business is providing city services. "Many times at the council chamber, you've got to hang your 'D' or 'R' at the door when you walk in," Mitchell said.

Unprecedented surge in flu may hit hospitals

By Dawn Kopecki • BLOOMBERG NEWS • September 7, 2009 The U.S. is bracing for as many as 1.8 million hospital admissions for flu as students return to school and cases surge to unprecedented levels, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Thomas Frieden said. "We generally expect that flu will go up after it starts, but this is really something we haven't seen before," Frieden said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union program. "It's very unusual to see it start to increase this rapidly in August and September." President Barack Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology reported that as much as half of the U.S. population could become infected with swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, leading to as many as 90,000 deaths. Middle Tennessee hospitals began preparing in the spring for large numbers of H1N1 infections, stocking up on medical supplies, instituting visitor policies to stop the spread and working out worst-case-scenario staffing schedules.

Health costs threaten retirement savings

By Dave Carpenter • ASSOCIATED PRESS • September 4, 2009 Health Care Q&A CHICAGO — Health-care costs are the trapdoor lurking beneath every retirement plan. Drug prices are soaring, retiree health plans are being cut back or dropped, and Medicare premiums have doubled in seven years, taking an increasing bite out of Social Security checks. Medicare Part D, which subsidizes the cost of prescription drugs, has helped with but not solved the problem of high drug costs. And with health-care expenses still growing 1 percent to 2 percent faster than inflation annually, as they have been for a generation, the problem doesn't figure to go away overnight regardless what happens in Washington. People over age 65 spend on average roughly 30 percent of their income on health care, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute. It's worse for early retirees or other older people who aren't yet eligible for Medicare. Older customers who don't have employer-sponsored health insurance often pay four or five times more than younger ones for the same coverage. "Holding down health-care costs is just a huge issue for seniors and will continue to be," said David Certner, legislative policy director for the over-50 group AARP. Two experts on retirement health-care benefits and costs shared their thoughts in interviews on the outlook for seniors and how people might best prepare for and handle the financial burden. Here are excerpts of comments by Certner and Anna Rappaport, a Chicago-based actuary on retirement issues who chairs the Society of Actuaries' committee on post-retirement needs. How would you characterize the state of health care for seniors? RAPPAPORT: Total health-care costs are higher than anybody imagined they would have been. That affects seniors along with everybody else. Because of Medicare, seniors have had fewer problems with access to health care. But as Part B (medical insurance) premiums are rising and more doctors are reluctant to take on Medicare patients, seniors are affected more today than they were 10 years ago. They have to be concerned about the future of the health-care system and of Medicare. CERTNER: Health care is obviously becoming a more and more critical part of retirement income security. We used to talk about the three-legged stool of retirement security: pension, savings and Social Security. Now we talk about it as four pillars, with health care. How do you think the proposed overhaul of the health-care system will affect seniors? Certner: For those on Medicare, we're basically looking for several key things out of this legislation. First, no benefit cuts or added costs. Second is improving the drug benefit and holding down drug costs. Third is some of the doctor payment issues. Having Medicare pay doctors more fairly will make it easier for beneficiaries to continue to get access to and see their doctors. RAPPAPORT: Potentially, it could be a major help to seniors not yet eligible for Medicare by offering them new options and access to coverage even if they do not have employer coverage. For those eligible for Medicare, I do not think the proposed legislation is likely to make a big change. Do you think universal health-care coverage is achievable? CERTNER: Everybody's getting health care today. Some people are just getting it in less appropriate places, such as emergency rooms. Most people who have studied this believe that having everybody covered under a health insurance program is a better way of delivering care and ultimately can help us hold down costs. If people can't bolster their savings, what can they do either before or in retirement to better deal with high costs? RAPPAPORT: Try to stay healthy. If you are in an organization without retiree health benefits, try to keep working until you're eligible for Medicare. If that's not feasible, if you have an HMO option for health care that would allow continued coverage, that might be a good choice. CERTNER: Putting off your retirement for a year or two can substantially raise your standard of living. For every additional year you work, you've got one more year you're adding to your Social Security benefit, one more year you're adding to hopefully your pension and savings, and one less year you're having to draw down on your savings. Besides higher costs, what has changed for retirees' health care in recent years? RAPPAPORT: The percentage of large employers offering retiree medical plans has dropped. For Medicare-eligible retirees, it's fallen from 40 percent in 1993 to 19 percent in 2008, and for pre-Medicare retirees from 46 percent to 27 percent, according to a Mercer survey of employer-sponsored health plans. And those who do provide it have very often increased the retiree cost-sharing. Many years ago, once someone was retired, usually the coverage could not or would not be changed. Today, most employer plans include an unlimited right to change coverage. CERTNER: Most people don't see their employer-provided retiree health benefits canceled altogether. Most times there are cutbacks — premium increases or cutbacks in services, or maybe you have to pay more for your spouse. That in itself is problematic. A lot of people who may think they're secure in their retiree health benefits may not be. What are the long-term implications of escalating costs? RAPPAPORT: Health-care costs are a major problem for our society at large: Medicare threatens the federal budget; employer plans threaten business viability and make American businesses uncompetitive; Medicaid is a problem for states, and many people don't have good coverage. The future of America depends on our getting the system under control. Should long-term doubts about the viability of Social Security have any impact on how people approach their retirement planning? RAPPAPORT: It will be smart for people to save more, be cautious about spending and plan to retire later. Actuaries are very concerned that many people do not realize how important it is to think long term in retirement planning and to remember that no one knows who will live beyond age 100, only that some people will. What changes do you envision to Social Security in coming years, if any? RAPPAPORT: It seems to me inevitable that the retirement ages in Social Security will be increased beyond what they are now — probably at least to age 70 between now and 2050. I think there will also be some small changes in the benefit formula. Together with raising the retirement age, that will go a long way to address the imbalance between the amount of benefits paid out and the amount of money coming in. CERTNER: The Social Security problem is not nearly as dramatic as the health-care problem. Even in a worst-case scenario, if we don't do anything, 30 years from now people will still get three-quarters of their benefits. But at some point in the future it's likely there will be some adjustments. At least for some, the preferred option is to raise the level of wages above which people no longer pay Social Security taxes (currently $106,800). With Social Security, we can actually point to how to fix the system. With health care, it's not as clear cut.

Davidson County sheriff may drop deportation program

By Travis Loller • ASSOCIATED PRESS • September 4, 2009 Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall is balking at renewing his department's participation in a program that lets local authorities enforce federal immigration laws because new rules could keep secret basic information about who's being detained. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is changing the program known as 287(g) after a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found widespread differences in how it is implemented by local law enforcement agencies and a lack of oversight. Under a new agreement that local agencies are being asked to sign, ICE is expanding its authority over records created as part of the program. Information about suspects and cases would be part of a broad category of information that the new agreement says "shall not be considered public records." Other sheriffs have raised complaints about language in the new agreement that specifies that they are to focus on arresting illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes rather than rounding up people only because they entered the country illegally. But Hall, one of the first to participate in the 287(g) program, is troubled by the information controls and says he will stop participating if the public records provisions in the new agreement aren't eased. "I really do not have any idea why they would not want the public to see the data and know about what we do," Hall said. "It flies in the face of what I think is good policy." ICE wants paper trail ICE spokesman Matthew Chandler said the new agreement is designed to "protect information whose release would violate privacy laws or hamper the outcome of a law enforcement investigation." Even information defined as not public record could be released through a Freedom of Information Act request as long as that release did not violate other laws and policies, he said. According to the Department of Homeland Security, local officers trained to enforce immigration laws have identified more than 120,000 people as illegal immigrants since January 2006. Advocates say the immigration detention system is already secretive, and it is possible for people to disappear if information about who is being held isn't available to the public. They point to the case of Pedro Guzman, a mentally ill U.S. citizen who was arrested in 2007 by the Los Angeles County sheriff's department on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. Omar Jadwat, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said deputies participating in the 287(g) program mistakenly flagged Guzman as illegal and deported him to Mexico before his family knew where he was. "This is a guy who ... he disappeared," Jadwat said. "It took a long time to figure out what had happened to him." According to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, Guzman survived the three months he was lost in Mexico by eating out of garbage cans and bathing in rivers. "It's important to figure out, 'How did this happen?' " Jadwat said. To do that the family needs access to the paper trail that led up to Guzman's deportation — information that could be even harder to get under the new agreement. The limit on public access to information wasn't part of Nashville's previous agreement with ICE, although Chandler says it was in some agreements with other agencies. According to the new agreement, the information that is considered not public record includes any documents created by a participating law enforcement agency that "contain information developed or obtained as a result of" participation in 287(g). Examples are program protocol and information about suspects and cases, Chandler said. Currently, information about who is booked into the Davidson County jail and what charges they face is publicly available. Free speech at risk? Immigrant rights and free speech advocates are worried. "There's a very important factor here going back to colonial times, which is knowing who is in custody," said Gene Policinski, executive director of the Nashville and Washington, D.C.-based First Amendment Center. "We don't 'disappear' people in America," he said, referring to a practice often associated with dictatorships in which people are detained by authorities who refuse to divulge where they're held or even if they are in custody. Joan Friedland, immigration policy director of the National Immigration Law Center, said the language in the new agreement is vague but clearly intends to limit access to information under state law and perhaps under the federal Freedom of Information Act, known as FOIA. "We find that disturbing" she said. Under the new ICE agreement, some information would still be considered public — primarily statistics — but local agencies would have to coordinate its release with the ICE Office of Public Affairs. Jadwat said ICE routinely fails to respond to requests for public information in a timely manner. "I think I still have FOIAs (requests under the federal Freedom of Information Act) that have been pending for years," he said. By contrast, requests for public information under Tennessee state law must be addressed within seven business days. It generally is easier to get public records from local officials than those in Washington. Solution is possible Hall said 287(g) works. He reports a 46 percent decline in the percentage of illegal immigrants committing crimes over two years of participation. More than 5,300 illegal immigrants identified by Hall's department have been processed for deportation. Hall says he would like the agreement to allow local law enforcement to release records in accordance with state laws. ICE seems to be listening. Hall said Metro Nashville attorneys are discussing possible changes to the agreement that would allow local agencies to follow state laws for releasing public information. Chandler would not comment on whether the agency was negotiating changes to the agreement with Nashville, but he said, "We work with all partner agencies in order to ensure the agreements work for ICE as well as the local agency."

Health Department offers advice about flu

Tennessean September 2, 2009 Symptoms of H1N1 influenza also known as swine flu have been similar to seasonal flu, according to Brian Todd of the Metro Health Department. The flu may include fever, muscle aches, and either cough, sore throat or runny nose. Headache, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea also may occur. Most people who are ill will recover on their own and do not require specific testing or treatment. Todd says parents are urged to use the same judgment about seeking medical care that they would during a typical flu season - do not seek medical care if your child is not sick or if symptoms are mild. If your child has a fever and respiratory symptoms, including cough, sore throat, runny nose or nasal congestion, please contact the child’s doctor for guidance before going to a clinic or emergency room. Please seek emergency assistance if your child experiences any of the following: * Fast breathing or trouble breathing * Bluish skin color * Not drinking enough fluids * Not waking up or not interacting * Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held * Flu-like symptoms improve, but then return with fever and worse cough * Fever with a rash Young children and pregnant women are priority groups to receive H1N1 vaccine because they are at increased risk of serious complications from flu. “Even though the risks are relatively small, extra caution is important for those at higher risk,” said Dr. Paul. Health Department officials remind all adults and children to take the following precautions: * Avoid close contact with people who are sick. * Cover coughs and sneezes with the crook of your elbow or a tissue. * Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. * If water and soap are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. * Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. * Get the seasonal flu shot, which is now becoming available locally. * Children and adults who are sick should stay home if they have symptoms of fever (over 100 degrees F) and cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, vomiting or diarrhea. Ill persons should not return to school or work until 24 hours after they are free of fever without the use of fever-reducing medicines. *Get the H1N1 flu shot when it becomes available—currently projected for Mid October.

LABOR DAY BAR-B-QUE

Location: FiftyForward Donelson Station, 108 Donelson Pike Dates: Sept. 4-7 Times: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Sunday; 8 a.m. until barbecue sells out on Monday• Friday, Sept. 4. Entertainment throughout the day. About 10 bands will perform including Three M Boys and Blaine Bates; 7-9 p.m., Country Ho Down. • Saturday, Sept. 5. 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Battle of the Bands competition (eight bands); 7 p.m., Blast from the Past (music from different eras) and a costume contest representing past eras. • Sunday, Sept. 6. 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Gospel Jamboree; 6:30 p.m., Battle of Bands winner announced with special performance.• Monday, Sept. 7. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (or until barbecue sells out), local playhouses, dance studios and schools for performing arts will perform excerpts from musicals and musical reviews

Cash for Clunkers program lifts Ford, but not GM, Chrysler

Some automakers blame low inventories for shortfall By Martin Zimmerman • LOS ANGELES TIMES • September 2, 2009 Ford Motor Co., boosted by the wildly popular Cash for Clunkers program, reported a 17 percent increase in August sales compared with a year ago, but Detroit rivals Chrysler Group and General Motors posted lower results for the month. Chrysler said its August sales fell 15 percent compared with a year earlier to 93,222 vehicles despite the Cash for Clunkers push. Chrysler said low inventories of several popular Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models contributed to the shortfall. GM said it sold 246,479 cars and light trucks last month, down 20 percent from a year ago when the car manufacturer's numbers were helped by heavy promotions and special pricing. At other carmakers, Nissan's monthly sales fell 2.9 percent; Toyota's climbed 6.4 percent; and Honda's also advanced, rising 9.9 percent. Call the monthly results very much a mixed bag, but for some auto analysts it was still a silver lining to what had been a dismal sales year before the generous federal Cash for Clunkers incentives started five weeks ago. "It was a big success," said Erich Merkle, president of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Autoconomy LLC. "Cash for Clunkers is going to hand the baton off to a fundamentally stronger economy as we move into the fourth quarter and into next year." Joseph Phillippi, president of AutoTrends Consulting Inc. in Short Hills, N.J., said, "Chrysler's problem was they didn't have much in the way of inventory. They shut down production and had been aggressively burning inventory, even before Cash for Clunkers." GM: August 'excellent' General Motors described August as an "excellent" month, saying the automaker maintained its share of the U.S. market and noted that it faced a tough comparison with August 2008, when sales were juiced to their highest level of the year by a special pricing promotion tied to the company's 100th anniversary. For Ford, it was the second straight month the automaker has reported higher sales. "Back-to-back sales increases has a nice ring to it," Ford sales analyst George Pipas said on a conference call. Honda, riding the strong sales of its Civic and Fit compacts, said it sold 161,439 vehicles in August. The Japanese automaker said the clunkers program pushed buyers to fuel-efficient vehicles, which helped the company. Toyota Motor Corp., which captured the largest percentage of clunkers sales, said it sold 225,088 vehicles in August, up from 6.4 percent over a year ago. Ford said its sales increase was driven by strong numbers for Ford's Focus, Fusion, Escape, Edge, Flex and Mercury Mariner. Ford also sold more Ranger and F-150 pickup trucks, which posted year-over-year sales increases of 57 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Pickup sales are considered a positive sign for the construction industry because many contractors are known to buy the vehicles. Earlier Tuesday, German automaker Volkswagen credited the Cash for Clunkers program with boosting its August sales by 11.4 percent compared with a year ago, giving the company its best sales month in the U.S. since December 2005. What will fall bring? The clunkers program, which kicked off July 24 and ended Aug. 24, was designed to kick-start auto sales by rewarding consumers for turning in older cars and trucks for more fuel-efficient new vehicles. Buyers received taxpayer-funded rebates of $3,500 or $4,500, depending on the gain in fuel economy. The question now facing automakers is how much of the sales momentum will carry over into the fall — and how much expired with the clunkers program.

Nashville convention center coalition plans to hire PR firm

Tennessean DAVIDSON COUNTY The Music City Center Coalition, an advocacy group pushing for a new downtown convention center, plans to bring on Cooley Public Strategies, the firm founded by former deputy governor Dave Cooley, to handle public and government relations. Cooley, previously a partner with McNeely Pigott & Fox, the firm that resigned its Metro convention center contract after its bills to the city created a firestorm last month, has not been formally hired yet, said Ralph Schulz, president and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and a coalition board member. The coalition will try to raise money so it can hire Cooley and possibly some other consultants to work on the group's behalf. "He's just part of the group discussions on communications," Schulz said. The coalition, which had been an early advocate for a new convention center, went dormant after Mayor Karl Dean made the project a priority and asked a Metro agency to spearhead development. Schulz said the coalition probably would have gotten back together anyway, but the McNeely Pigott & Fox controversy "definitely accelerated it." He said the group sees a gap in communicating the need for the convention center. "We'll be reconnecting the community with the economic development message," he said.

Nashville Electric Service to use soybean oil in transformers

Tennessean September 2, 2009 DAVIDSON COUNTY Nashville Electric Service is going to start using biodegradable soybean oil in all new transformers instead of petroleum-based oil. "We are eliminating the need for over 150,000 gallons of petroleum-based mineral oil annually," Paul Allen, NES Vice President of Operations, said in an e-mailed statement. Soybean oil is biodegradable, non-toxic and more fire-resistant than the oil NES has been using, according to Nashville utility. The switch was a recommendation of the Mayor's Green Ribbon Committee on Environmental Sustainability. Mayor Karl Dean said he thanked NES "for taking a leading role with this initiative and showing us we can implement renewable energy alternatives to better our environment and achieve a greener Nashville." Soybean oil use is part of the city's plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. NES, one of the 12 largest public electric utilities in the nation, distributes energy to more than 355,000 customers in Middle Tennessee.

Home Invaders Tie Up 62-Year-Old Woman

Channel 5 News NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A 62-year-old woman was recovering Wednesday morning after being tied up and robbed in her South Nashville apartment. The home invasion happened Tuesday afternoon at the Whispering Oaks Apartment complex. Police said a man knocked on her door and claimed to be maintenance. The man left and then came back with another guy. The two men tied the woman up and then started going through her apartment - looking for something. Wednesday morning, police were still searching for the robbers.

Davidson County Child Dies From H1N1 Influenza

Channel 5 News NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A 5-year-old boy died from H1N1 influenza in Davidson County. Officials with the Metro Public Health Department said the boy became ill Friday night and died Monday night at an area hospital. The identity of the child was not released. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of this child," said Dr. Bill Paul, Director of Health of Nashville/Davidson County. "Even though most people who get H1N1 flu have a mild illness and quick recovery, this death is a sobering reminder that it can be a serious illness." During the fall months, the common cold and other flu-like illnesses are usually reported at higher levels. Officials with the health department said it's easy for patients to confuse these illnesses with more serious viruses. Paul said an increased awareness of differentiating symptoms of the H1N1 virus would help keep residents healthy. "We all need to pay attention and do what we can to help reduce the spread of the virus," he said. Seasonal flu and H1N1 influenza both include includes fever, muscle aches, and either cough, sore throat or runny nose. Headache, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea also may occur. Health department officials said most patients will recover on their own and do not require specific testing or treatment. Parents should seek emergency medical care if a child experiences fast breathing or trouble breathing, bluish skin color, not drinking enough fluids, not waking up or not interacting and becoming so irritable that the child does not want to be held. With H1N1 influenza, flu-like symptoms improve, but then return with a fever and severe cough. Officials said young children and pregnant women are at an additional risk of complications and should take extra precaution. "Even though the risks are relatively small, extra caution is important for those at higher risk," Paul said. Health department officials said the best way to stay healthy is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, cover coughs and sneezes with the crook of your elbow or a tissue and wash hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Adults and children should also get a flu shot.

Former State Senator Dead At Age 86

Channel 5 News CROSSVILLE, Tenn. - Former Tennessee State Senator Annabelle Clement O'Brien died Monday night after complications from a fall two weeks ago. She was 86 years old. O'Brien was the sister of former Governor Frank G. Clement, who served from 1953 to 1959 and 1963 to 1967. She was her brother's chief of staff during his second term. Her husband was the late Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles O'Brien. The two married in 1966 when he was serving as a State Senator. According to a media release, O'Brien had been receiving treatment from her fall at the UT Medical Center in Knoxville when she died. O'Brien served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1975 to 1977, and later as a State Senator from 1977 to 1991. She made an unsuccessful run for Governor in 1982, but failed to win the primary election. She also served in two gubernatorial cabinets, and was the first woman to chair committees in the Tennessee Senate. Known as the First Lady of Tennessee Politics, O'Brien pushed for healthcare reform on several occasions. She has been credited with a law requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of mammograms and giving patients the right to a "living will." O'Brien was awarded the Clement Museum Humanitarian Leadership Award in April 2009 for her lifetime achievements. Governor Phil Bredesen and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander were on hand for the tribute. Her nephew is former U.S. Congressman Bob Clement. He said O'Brien was determined to open a museum in Dickson to mark the birthplace of her brother. She attended the grand opening of the Governor Frank G. Clement Railroad Hotel Museum just two months before her death.