Breaking News:House approves $2 billion for Cash for Clunkers program

By KEN THOMAS • Associated Press Writer • July 31, 2009 WASHINGTON — The House has voted to rush an additional $2 billion into the popular but financially strapped "cash for clunkers" car purchase program. The bill was approved on a vote of 316-109. House members acted within hours of learning from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that the program was running out of money. Called the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, the program is designed to help the economy and the environment by spurring new car sales. Car owners can receive federal subsidies of up to $4,500 for trading in their old cars for new ones that achieve significantly higher gas mileage. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the new money for the program would come from funds approved earlier in the year as part of an economic stimulus bill.

'Cash for Clunkers' program runs out of cash

Buyers burn through $1 billion, but White House looks for more By G. Chambers Williams III • THE TENNESSEAN • July 31, 2009 Update 10:19 a.m. (from Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — The House raced Friday to pass legislation pouring an additional $2 billion into the popular — but financially strapped — "cash for clunkers" car purchase program. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., revealed the floor plan after he and other lawmakers were assured by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that the program would continue at least through Friday while the Obama administration looked for more money. Democrats in both the House and Senate were exploring the possibility of votes as early as Friday to replenish the funding. At the White House, press secretary Robert Gibbs sought to assure consumers that the program is still running and will be alive "this weekend." "If you were planning on going to buy a car this weekend, using this program, this program continues to run," Gibbs told reporters. He would not commit to any timeframe beyond that. But Gibbs said administration officials and bipartisan leaders of Congress were working Friday morning "to find and develop ways to continue to fund this program." Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said it wasn't clear when a Senate vote would be held. Previously reported Car dealers and congressmen were told Thursday that the wildly popular "Cash for Clunkers" new-car rebate program was being suspended less than a week after it began out of fear that the $1 billion appropriated for it had already been used up. But a White House spokesman said later the Obama administration is "evaluating all options" to keep the program funded and that all valid deals made so far will be honored. Under the program, which began last Friday, consumers were able to trade in older vehicles with fuel-economy ratings of 18 miles per gallon or less for vouchers of either $3,500 or $4,500 toward the purchase of a new vehicle that gets better mileage. Middle Tennessee dealers reported being flooded with customers looking to take advantage of the program, but some said they began cutting off the sales Thursday afternoon after the chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association warned the government that the program might already have run out of money. "I just cut it off a few minutes ago until we find out what's going on with it," Barry Huber, general sales manager at the Freeland Chevrolet Superstore in Nashville, said Thursday evening. "We only did one deal today." Transportation Department officials called lawmakers' offices earlier Thursday to alert them of plans to suspend the program as early as today. But the White House said later the program had not been suspended. "We are working tonight to assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is administering the program, reported at the close of business Thursday afternoon that only about $95 million of the money had been approved for payment to dealers. But NADA Chairman John McEleney, a Clinton, Iowa, General Motors/Toyota/Hyundai dealer, said that a poll of about 2,000 of the group's 23,000-plus dealers showed that with deals already in the works, it was probable that the rest of the $1 billion was already tied up in transactions that had not been submitted or approved by the government. The Safety Administration said earlier in the day that the vast majority of applications submitted by dealers were being rejected because of incomplete or illegible paperwork, but it was expected that those transactions eventually would be submitted properly and would receive the government money. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said late Thursday that lawmakers had been informed of the government's decision to suspend the program. "It is amazing that 'Cash for Clunkers' would be this successful this quickly," she said in a statement. "I urge Congress and the administration to provide additional funding." The Transportation Department called Congress members to alert them to the decision to suspend the program. Congress last month approved the Car Allowance Rebate System, the official name of the clunkers program, to boost sagging auto sales and remove some vehicles with poor fuel economy from the roads. Deals in works Officially, the program began July 1, but dealers were not able to begin submitting paperwork to recover the rebates from the government until last Friday afternoon, when final rules were published. Some Nashville-area dealers said they had dozens of deals in the works, and by Monday, many of those consumers had already driven home in their new vehicles. Because some dealers nationwide actually began delivering vehicles under the program as early as July 1, there is "a significant backlog of … deals that make us question how much funding is still available in the program," NADA spokesman Bailey Wood said. Even before the suspension announcement, some in Congress were seeking more money for the program. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., wrote a letter to House leaders requesting additional money. "This is simply the most stimulative $1 billion the federal government has spent during the entire economic downturn," Miller said. "The federal government must come up with more money, immediately, to keep this program going." General Motors spokesman Greg Martin said Thursday the automaker hopes "there's a will and way to keep the CARS program going a little bit longer." Dealers had already reported, however, that many consumers who wanted to use the clunkers program did not have eligible vehicles. Dealers said many customers were buying cars anyway, which was one of the intended benefits of the program — getting people into showrooms that had been mostly vacant for the past year. So far this year, through June, U.S. new-vehicle sales had fallen about 35 percent, to an annual level of fewer than 10 million vehicles. That compares with 2007's record year of about 16.3 million new vehicles sold. Strict restrictions on the trade-in vehicles kept many would-be consumers from taking advantage of the program. The rules stated that to qualify, the vehicle's EPA combined city/highway mileage rating must be 18 mpg or lower, the vehicle must have been a 1984 model or newer, and the buyer must have owned the vehicle for at least a year, and must have had it continuously registered and insured for the past year. But there were reports this week that before the final rules were announced July 24, some dealers took in trades that didn't qualify under the registration and insurance rules. It was not clear Thursday whether those dealers would be able to undo the deals or recover the money from customers who had already concluded their deals but whose trade-ins didn't qualify. Middle Tennessee dealers who were contacted said they were holding the new vehicles for customers until the rules were finalized and had not delivered the cars before finding out whether the trade-ins were eligible.

Critically ill heart, pneumonia patients fare worse at 4 Nashville area hospitals

By Jennifer Brooks • THE TENNESSEAN • July 31, 2009 Your odds of surviving a heart attack may depend on which hospital you visit. That's something Margaret Petre found out first-hand last summer, when she staggered into an emergency room, clutching her chest with one hand and a bottle of nitroglycerine with the other. "I must have looked really bad because they had me flat on my back in the ER within minutes," said Petre, a 47-year-old Nashville native who had two heart attacks in the past five years. "... When you're in that position, you're incapable of making decisions, so you just let it go and say do what you have to do." In an effort to measure how American hospitals are caring for their most critically ill patients, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services analyzed deaths from heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia at 4,600 hospitals in recent years. While most Middle Tennessee hospitals mirror the average hospital mortality rate, a few showed troubling results. Baptist Hospital scored slightly worse than the national average for deaths from heart failure — something the hospital says reflects faulty paperwork, not poor patient care. Three regional hospitals — Maury Regional Hospital in Columbia, Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin and Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville — scored worse than the national average for deaths from pneumonia. Nationwide, the analysis found hospitals where patients were dying needlessly and hospitals that admitted and readmitted the same cardiac patients over and over. At other hospitals, particularly in wealthier areas, patients enjoyed much higher than average odds of survival and recovery. For every 100 heart attacks at area hospitals, between 14 and 19 percent will die, depending on which hospital they visited. The national average is 16 percent. For heart failure patients, the mortality rate in this region ranged from just under 10 percent to almost 14 percent. The national average is 11 percent. The pneumonia death rate ranged from 9 percent to 16 percent. The national average is 11.5 percent. Needless deaths To keep track of how hospitals care for their most vulnerable patients, the Medicare system tracked hospital admissions and deaths between 2005 and 2008. While Middle Tennessee hospitals fell within the expected death rates, at hundreds of other hospitals around the country, researchers found patients dying needlessly. The Medicare analysis found a wide variation in death rates between the best hospitals and the worst. At 5.9 percent of hospitals, patients with pneumonia died at rates significantly higher than the national average. With heart failure, 3.4 percent of hospitals had death rates higher than the average, and 1.2 percent of hospitals were higher when it came to heart attack. Researchers also found that the majority of U.S. hospitals operate the equivalent of revolving doors for their patients. One of every four heart failure patients and slightly less than one in five heart attack and pneumonia patients land back in the hospital within 30 days. "We have double failure in our health system," said John Rumsfeld of the Denver VA Medical Center and chief science officer for the American College of Cardiology's National Data Registry. None of the failing hospitals was in Middle Tennessee, although a handful of Tennessee hospitals made the list, including Baptist Memorial Hospital in Carroll County, where the heart attack death rate almost tops 22 percent; or the Hardin Medical Center in Savannah, which saw an average of 17 percent deaths in heart failure. Most Nashville-area hospitals had death rates and readmission rates that fell within the statistical average of the national rates. One exception was Baptist Hospital in Nashville, which registered a death rate of 13.8 percent for heart failure. The national average is 11.1 percent. "To be candid, we were surprised by that number," said Elizabeth Lemons, vice president of clinical effectiveness for Saint Thomas Health Services, which includes Baptist Hospital. Baptist sees a large number of patients suffering from congestive heart failure, and prides itself on having full-time heart failure cardiologists on staff, as well as an innovative pilot program aimed at reducing readmission rates. After some investigation, the hospital concluded that the problem was a matter of paperwork. The Medicare analysis used complicated criteria to make a fair comparison between small hospitals and major cardiac centers. Its formula also balanced the deaths of patients with treatable conditions and those so deathly ill they would have died no matter where they were treated. Baptist concluded that it wasn't sharing enough details with the government to identify those deathly ill patients. "At Baptist, we had a culture of 'useful' charting," said cardiologist George Crossley. In other words, staff would take note of medical conditions directly affecting a patient in crisis, but not underlying medical conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. These days the staff takes pains to check all the boxes and fill out all the paperwork. Baptist takes action For the moment, the hospital is more excited about a different set of criteria — readmission rates. Baptist has instituted a pilot program that allows staff to track and monitor patients discharged after treatment for heart failure. Nurses check in with patients, make sure they take their medications and follow their rigorous, low-salt, low-fluid diets and monitor their health. Since the program went into effect, the readmission rate for heart failure dropped to zero after 30 days and 5 percent after six months. The national average is 24 percent. The program is a relatively inexpensive option, certainly compared to the expense of readmitting a patient in heart failure. What worries Crossley, however, is that in all the talk of health-care reform, no one seems to be talking about how to fund preventative programs like this one. The Medicare analysis comes as the White House and Congress debate ways to cut costs and improve quality in the nation's health system. One idea is to reward doctors and hospitals not just for how many procedures they perform but how well their patients fare. More than 200 hospitals have death rates better than the national average, and hundreds fare better on readmission rates. The findings are based on more than 1 million deaths and readmissions among Medicare patients from 2005 to 2008. How well a hospital performs in these evaluations can affect everything from government funding levels for the hospital to patients' decisions about where they will seek help if they fall ill. At Vanderbilt, hospital performance data "drives us, inspires us to do better," said Julie Morath, chief quality and patient safety officer at Vanderbilt University Hospital, which ranked high on the list for patient survival but slightly lower than the national average for readmission rates. "Every time these data come out and we see a hospital that performs better than us, we call them and ask, 'What are you doing?' " she said. "And other hospitals, of course, call us."

Nashville council members hear both sides on guns-in-parks ban

Metro to decide whether to opt out of new state law By Michael Cass • THE TENNESSEAN • July 31, 2009 Metro Council members on Thursday peppered two groups of experts with questions about the impact of a proposal to ban guns in city parks, with each side arguing that its stance would make the parks safer. Supporters of the ban said preventing handgun carry permit holders from bringing their guns would protect children and others who simply want to enjoy themselves. Opponents said the ban would leave legal gun owners unprotected, while criminals would continue to bring their weapons. "Criminals don't obey the law," Rick Cowan, a software engineer who attended the forum in the council chamber, said after it was over. "I, and I alone, am responsible for my self-defense." A new state law allows handgun carry permit holders to take their guns into state and local parks, but it also allows city and county governments to opt out. Metro Law Director Sue Cain said last week that Nashville doesn't need to opt out, however, because the new law, while pre-empting many existing local ordinances, provides exceptions for those adopted before 1986. Metro's law, which prohibits all firearms in city parks, dates to 1966. The proposed ban wouldn't take any rights away from legal gun owners, sponsoring Councilman Jerry Maynard said, because they haven't had a right to bring guns into Metro parks for the past 43 years. Maynard and other supporters of the gun ban are expected to continue their pursuit of the opt-out when the council meets next Thursday. If they dropped the legislation, opponents then could try to repeal the 1966 law. The audience of about 25 people and the dozen or so council members who attended were dominated by Second Amendment advocates. They worked to make the case that Metro parks and greenways are already unsafe, while gun ban supporters said the parks are often full of children and close to schools and don't need anymore guns brought in. Metro police Capt. Rich Foley, head of the park police, said there were 71 misdemeanor arrests and 24 felony arrests in the parks in the first six months of this year. Three of the people who were arrested were carrying handguns, none of them legally. But Foley said less than one crime a day was reported in 2008 in the parks system, which has 115 locations. Of the 332 crimes last year, 76 were violent, while the rest were burglaries, larcenies and auto thefts, he said. The violent crimes included 48 aggravated assaults, 22 robberies, four rapes and two homicides.

Dollar General may go public again

Analyst says owner's timing 'pretty good' By Wendy Lee • THE TENNESSEAN • July 30, 2009 Wall Street analysts say there's a good chance Goodlettsville-based Dollar General Corp., a discount retailer that has made sales gains during the U.S. recession, may go public again two years after private equity buyers took it private in a multibillion-dollar deal. "It's pretty good timing," said Stacey Widlitz, an equity analyst with Pali Research in New York. "I think the trends are certainly with them." Dollar General was sold to Wall Street giant Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. in summer 2007 in a $7.65 billion buyout. KKR was among four private equity firms interested in buying the discount retailer at the time as its shares dropped in price. Published reports, including a recent one in The Wall Street Journal, suggest that Dollar General's owners may be planning an initial public offering of stock as interest in IPOs nationally picks up steam. The newspaper said KKR would be one of the lead underwriters on a deal and sell shares to institutions and the general public. This would be the first time KKR would be the underwriter for its own IPO and the private equity firm plans to share the task with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc., among others, the paper reported on Wednesday. Lately, Dollar General has done a better job than other retail chains owned by private equity firms such as the arts and crafts operator Michaels Stores Inc. and accessories retailer Claire's Stores Inc., said Ana Lai, a director at Standard & Poor's in New York. Lai said her firm had changed Dollar General's credit rating from a B- to a B+ earlier this year. The company "performed really well mainly because consumers (are) trading down and seeking more value," Lai said. Timing advantageous If KKR were indeed to be the lead underwriter in a deal, the private equity firm would be able to make more money, said John E. Fitzgibbon Jr., founder of IPO Scoop.com. Underwriting fees account for about 7 percent of the IPO price per share, he said. It's unclear at what level a Dollar General stock offering might be priced. Dollar General did not return calls seeking comment, and KKR did not comment. "We do not comment on market speculation," said Peter McKillop, KKR's director of communications. Some analysts said the move to make Dollar General a public company again makes sense because stock market conditions are better and more cost-conscious consumers are shopping at the store. Dollar General had 8,462 stores in 35 states as of May 1. Net income increased to $83 million in the first quarter, compared with $5.9 million a year earlier.

Man found slain in Bell Road hotel room

The tennessean July 30, 2009 A Nashville hotel manager found a body in a guest room Tuesday afternoon. Metro Police say Thomas Alexander Turner III, 52, appeared to have been shot inside his room at Inn Town Suites, 1621 Bell Road. He had been living in the hotel since March and was last seen alive late last week, police said. No further details were released pending investigation. At the time of the fatal shooting, Turner was free on bond on charges of crack cocaine possession and manufacturing glass pipes used to smoke crack cocaine. Anyone with information concerning Turner's death is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME or by texting the word "CASH" along with a message to 274637 (CRIMES).

Costs stymie health-care reform

By Maureen Groppe • TENNESSEAN WASHINGTON BUREAU • July 30, 2009 WASHINGTON — One reason Congress is having so much trouble agreeing on a health-care plan is that lawmakers haven't figured out how to rein in costs. President Barack Obama has said any reform bill he signs must be fully paid for and must slow the growth in health-care spending. That spending is increasing faster than inflation, taking more money away from state and local governments, families and businesses. But early versions hammered out by lawmakers don't go far enough in slowing health-care inflation, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Here's a look at the proposals and the opposition each has encountered: CREATE AN INDEPENDENT COUNCIL TO REIN IN MEDICARE SPENDING Obama backs an independent council that would recommend how much doctors, hospitals and other health providers would get paid for treating senior citizens. The council also would recommend changes for improving quality and cutting costs. Changes made to Medicare, which covers 12 percent of the population, probably would have spillover effects on how the private sector delivers care. There already is a Medicare advisory panel that makes recommendations to Congress. But when the panel has recommended cuts, Congress usually hasn't gone along. Under the proposed change, Congress could block but not alter whatever the independent council recommended. Many lawmakers think that's taking too much authority out of their hands. Health-care providers, who regularly lobby lawmakers for higher payment rates, don't like the idea, either. The Congressional Budget Office has said that, depending on how the new board is structured, it might not result in significant savings. For example, the initial version of the proposed council wouldn't be required to reduce Medicare spending and wouldn't be given reduction targets. TAX HEALTH-CARE BENEFITS Employees aren't taxed on health coverage they get from an employer, which amounts to an average subsidy of about 30 percent. Many experts argue that taxing health benefits in some way — such as taxing more costly plans — would hold down costs by giving workers incentives to seek lower-cost plans. But the idea is strongly opposed by unions, which have bargained for better health-care benefits. In addition, the president is reluctant to violate a campaign pledge by imposing a new tax on middle class Americans. Some lawmakers are exploring going after the most expensive plans by taxing the insurance companies that offer them. Health insurers oppose that idea. PAY FOR QUALITY OF CARE, NOT QUANTITY The House health-care reform bill includes various proposals aimed at restructuring payment incentives. Under those proposals: • Hospitals would get paid less when patients are readmitted because they weren't treated right the first time. • Doctors would be paid for doing the best treatments instead of the most treatments. • More research would be conducted to determine the most cost-effective treatments. Many of the proposals in this area would be tested through pilot programs, not required. And if the government does start using "comparative effectiveness" research to limit or deny coverage for less-cost-effective treatments, providers and consumers might cry "rationing" and complain that the government is interfering in the doctor-patient relationship. CREATE GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION The House bill and one of the Senate proposals would create a government health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers for some customers. Proponents say this would use market forces to slow the increase in insurance premiums, which have risen several times faster than wages. One reason a public plan could charge less is it would reimburse health-care providers at lower rates than private insurers do. But if the rates are too low, doctors and hospitals will fight it. Republicans oppose the idea because they don't want to increase the government's role in health care. SPEED THE APPROVAL PROCESS FOR SOME GENERIC DRUGS While pharmaceuticals made from chemicals face competition from cheaper generic versions, the government doesn't have a similar, streamlined approval process for generic versions of drugs like insulin made from living organisms. Those drugs, often called biologics, are expensive. The annual cost of treatment with the breast cancer drug Herceptin, for example, can reach $48,000, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The House and Senate health-care reform bills would create a pathway for generic competition, but there's disagreement on how many years of exclusivity brand-name makers should get. The Senate bill would grant them 12 years, which would save consumers and the government an estimated $25 billion over 10 years. Obama and some House members are pushing for a shorter time period to save more money. But the brand-name drug industry argues that it needs enough incentive to continue researching and developing new drugs.

Night Out Against Crime is Aug. 4

Davidson neighborhoods announce events July 28, 2009 Night Out Against Crime is being held across the county on Tuesday, Aug. 4. The scheduled events are: • Academy Square Homeowners, 6-7:30 p.m. • Buena Vista Neighborhood Association, C.E. McGruder Center, 2013 25th Ave. N., 5:30-7p.m. • Castlegate Civic Club and Neighborhood Watch Group, parking lot of Smith Spring Church of Christ, 2783 Smith Springs Road, 7-8 p.m. • Chester Avenue, 1121 Chester Ave., 4-7 p.m. A writer’s night will follow from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at 2410 Gallatin. • Crieve Hall Neighborhood Association, Crievewood United Methodist, 415 Hogan Road, 6:30- 8:30 p.m. • Edgehill FRC/O.N.E. & SunnySide Community Organization/Edgehill Homes Resident Association, I.W. Gernert highrise, corner of 12th and Edgehill Ave., 3-7 p.m. • Gillock/Hilltop Neighborhood Watch, Hilltop Lane, 6-9 p.m. • Glengarry Park Neighborhood Watch, Arlington United Methodist Church, 1360 Murfreesboro, 6:30-9 p.m. • Green Hills Keller Williams, 408 Glen West Drive, 6-8:30 p.m. • Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church Family Life Ministry, 2334 Herman St., 6-9 p.m. • Haynes Manor Neighborhood Association, Moormans Arm Road on vacant lot next to Shampoo Perry's, 6-8 p.m. • Heartland Pointe Neighborhood Watch, 401 Harrell Court, 5-7 p.m. • Hermitage Hills/Plantation Drive Neighborhood Watch, Plantation Drive, Hermitage, 6-8 p.m. • Inglewood Neighborhood Association, in the green space between Winding Way, Kenwood, behind the Masonic lodge and Inglewood Library. 5:30-9:30 p.m. • Lake Park HOA, Port Jamaica Court cul-de-sac, 6:30-9 p.m. • Lockeland Springs Neighborhood Association , intersection of 14th and Woodland streets, 6 p.m. • Long Hunter Chase Subdivision, small playground on Cambridge Drive, 6-8 p.m. • Martha O'Bryan Center, 711 S. Seventh St., 5:30-7:30 p.m. • Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce & Dickerson Road Merchants, Schwab Elementary, 1500 Dickerson Pike, 4-7 p.m. • Neighbor's Reaching Out, Mt. Nebo Baptist Church, 2416 Clifton Road, 6-8:30 p.m. • NightOwls Neighborhood Watch, Nix Drive, Madison, 5-8 p.m. • NNOCI/ Osage NW, Firehall #11, 6-8 p.m. • Bourdeaux Community, Bordeaux Garden Park on Snell Blvd., 6-8 p.m. • Percy Priest Meadows Neighborhood Association and Watch, corner lot at 500 Moss Landing Drive, Antioch, 7 p.m. • Rensaw Community Association, Old Warner Mansion, 1524 Gallatin Road, 6:30-8 p.m. • River Plantation Condominiums, General George Patton Road, 6 p.m.-until • Starboard Neighborhood Watch, Starboard Drive, 6-8:30 p.m. • STARS Nashville, Edmondson Park, corner of 17th and Charlotte Avenue, 6-8 p.m. • Sylvan Park Neighborhood Association, St. Ann's Church, 5101 Charlotte Pike, 6-8 p.m. • TAG - Trimble Action Group President, Dudley Park, between Third and Fourth avenues South at Chestnut Street, 5:30-8 p.m. • Village West Apartments, Tennessee Avenue, 4-7 pm • Walton Oaks, Walton Oaks Subdivision, 6-8 p.m. • Warner Parks Community Association, corner of Percy Warner Boulevard and Vaughn’s Gap, 7-8 p.m. • Woodland-in-Waverly Neighborhood, Prentice and Whit avenues, 6-7:30 p.m. • Youth Changes, Haynes Garden Apartments, 2715 Whites Creek Pike, 5:30-7:30 p.m. • NNOCI/ Osage NW, Firehall #11, 6-8 p.m. • Bourdeaux Community, Bordeaux Garden Park on Snell Blvd., 6-8 p.m. • Percy Priest Meadows Neighborhood Association and Watch, corner lot at 500 Moss Landing Drive, Antioch, 7 p.m. • Rensaw Community Association, Old Warner Mansion, 1524 Gallatin Road, 6:30-8 p.m. • River Plantation Condominiums, General George Patton Road, 6 p.m.-until • Starboard Neighborhood Watch, Starboard Drive, 6-8:30 p.m. • STARS Nashville, Edmondson Park, corner of 17th and Charlotte Avenue, 6-8 p.m. • Sylvan Park Neighborhood Association, St. Ann's Church, 5101 Charlotte Pike, 6-8 p.m. • TAG - Trimble Action Group President, Dudley Park, between Third and Fourth avenues South at Chestnut Street, 5:30-8 p.m. • Village West Apartments, Tennessee Avenue, 4-7 pm • Walton Oaks, Walton Oaks Subdivision, 6-8 p.m. • Warner Parks Community Association, corner of Percy Warner Boulevard and Vaughn’s Gap, 7-8 p.m. • Woodland-in-Waverly Neighborhood, Prentice and Whit avenues, 6-7:30 p.m. • Youth Changes, Haynes Garden Apartments, 2715 Whites Creek Pike, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

New bus services connects small TN communities

USA Today NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bus service linking several small Tennessee communities to large cities will start this week with a route connecting Nashville and Lawrenceburg, about 70 miles south. The network of bus routes will connect more than 40 towns to bigger cities throughout the state. More than $3.6 million in federal transportation funds will be provided to transit companies and community groups to create the new services. Anchor Trailways received $2.5 million to operate the Lawrenceburg to Nashville line and the company will operate another series of bus lines in West Tennessee. "When this is all done, folks from rural areas that are having such a hard time with unemployment are going to have a chance to get on a bus at a reasonable rate and get to urban areas where they can find more employment opportunities," said Mark Szyperski, director of business development for Anchor Trailways. Julie Oaks, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, told The Tennessean that the service will benefit a wide range of people, including work commuters, sightseers and travelers looking to link up with other bus services. Other lines will connect Nashville to Wayne County in the southeast, Montgomery County to the northwest and Cumberland County to the east. The number of times the buses will run will depend on the service, but Oaks said some lines will operate seven days a week and make multiple trips on some days. The Nashville-to-Lawrenceburg bus will typically make two trips in each direction during the week and one round-trip on the weekends, Szyperski said. The line will include stops in Ethridge, Columbia, Spring Hill, Franklin, downtown Nashville, the Donelson Music City Star station and the Nashville International Airport. A round-trip ticket from Lawrenceburg to Nashville during the week costs about $38.

Mail-order pharmacy opens in Antioch

PromiseCare emphasizes community outreach, savings By Getahn Ward • THE TENNESSEAN • July 29, 2009 A mail-order pharmacy company has set up shop in Antioch with 20 employees, and it hopes to boost that to a total of 200 jobs over two years here. PromiseCare Pharmacy targets senior citizensand others with home delivery of prescription drugs and diabetic and other medical supplies. "We plan to be the one-stop shopping for customers," said Readus C. Smith III, the company's chief executive officer. Smith moved here from West Palm Beach, Fla. There, he was president of the commercial division of a mail-order diabetic supply company. PromiseCare's business includes community outreach, such as through churches at which it organizes health fairs and other educational events. Its community health initiatives division is working with 63 Church of God in Christ congregations across the state on a weight-loss program. Bishop Jerry Maynard, the churches' overseer, has a seat on PromiseCare's board. The company also plans to market through clinics, doctors' offices and managed care plans to which it promises cost savings of up to 25 percent in the first year of service. In addition to the Church of God in Christ, clients include Humana of Florida and TennCare. Sal Giorgianni, an assistant professor at Belmont University's School of Pharmacy, said success of such mail-order pharmacy models is driven by providers' ability to offer counseling and other services along with distributing drugs. "It's a very valuable way to get medications to people — saves them from having to go to the pharmacy — and it's a cost savings as well," Giorgianni said, adding, however, that it's not for everyone because some customers still prefer dealing with in-store pharmacists. Smith said customers would still have an option to pick up prescriptions and other supplies from PromiseCare's pharmacy at 605 Bakertown Road. The roughly 30,000-square-foot operation also houses a call center. Eventually, Smith said he plans to move the call center and PromiseCare's marketing and administrative programs to Gallatin or elsewhere in Middle Tennessee, while keeping its pharmacy and outreach operations in Antioch.

2 charges dismissed in 'Wooded Rapist' case

By Mitchell Kline • THE TENNESSEAN • July 29, 2009 FRANKLIN — Two charges against Robert Jason Burdick, the man accused of raping four women in Williamson County, have been dismissed. Burdick, whom police have called the "Wooded Rapist," still faces five counts of aggravated rape, four counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, one count of rape and one count of aggravated kidnapping in Williamson County. Tuesday afternoon, Circuit Court Judge James G. Martin III dismissed two counts of aggravated burglary, saying the statute of limitations on those charges had expired. Both offenses, which were connected to alleged rapes by Burdick, allegedly occurred in 1999. The statute of limitations on aggravated burglary, a class-C felony, expires after four years. Assistant District Attorney Kate Yeager argued that the statute didn't apply because Burdick concealed the offenses and prosecutors didn't know who committed the burglaries until DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene. Martin also ruled that Burdick could face three separate trials in Williamson County, because he is alleged to have committed rapes on three days between March 1999 and November 2004. District Attorney Kim Helper asked that Fletcher Long, one of Burdick's three defense attorneys, be disqualified because of a conflict of interest. Helper said Long knew one of Burdick's alleged victims through a family member and had helped the woman start a business. Defense attorney John E. Herbison said there was no conflict. Martin denied Helper's motion but ruled Burdick must sign an affidavit acknowledging Long's relationship with his alleged victim and that he desires Long's representation.

Grant will add 50 Metro Nashville police officers

Dean grateful but wanted more By Nicole Young • THE TENNESSEAN • July 29, 2009 Metro police will get 50 of the 120 officers the department had hoped to hire with federal grant money. Mayor Karl Dean and Police Chief Ronal Serpas said Tuesday they were happy with the $8.67 million grant. Nashville had asked for $21 million from the U.S. Justice Department in April. The grant money will cover salaries and benefits for 50 new officers over the next three years. Serpas said the department had hoped to hire all 120 new officers and staff new police precincts in Madison and Southeast Nashville. "You always want everything you ask for," Dean said. "It's like Christmas morning. We are grateful for this money." According to the U.S. Justice Department, funding for 50 officers was the maximum granted to police departments nationwide. Twenty-one jurisdictions were granted enough funding to hire that maximum. More than 1,000 agencies from 54 states and U.S. territories applied for the grants, which totaled almost $1 billion in Recovery Act funding. In Tennessee, 19 agencies got grants. Memphis police received funding for 37 officers, and Jackson police received funds to hire 10 officers. Dean said he was proud that Nashville was considered worthy of the same number of officers as larger jurisdictions such as Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago. "Our proposal was based on our reduction in the crime rate," Dean said. "Many of these larger cities are seeing increases in crime." Serpas said the crime rate had been dropping in Nashville for more than a half decade, and he envisions it dropping more once the city opens the new precincts. "The smaller our footprint is within each precinct area, the better able we'll be to serve the citizens of Nashville," he said.

Tennessee is 46th in caring for kids

State worsens in poverty but improves dropout rates By Clay Carey • THE TENNESSEAN • July 29, 2009 Tennessee isn't doing a very good job of making life better for its kids, according to a new study on children's issues. The state ranks 46th nationally in a 2009 Kids Count Data Book, an analysis of issues that can affect children's well-being. Since 2000, the state has improved on five of the 10 measures outlined in the report. On the other five, statistics suggest the state has worsened. Tennessee ranks in the bottom 10 in seven of the categories in the annual report, published by The Annie E. Casey Foundation. "We would certainly prefer to be ranked better than 46th," said Linda O'Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. The commission helped collect data for the data book. Though the report is grim, it does contain some bright spots for Tennessee. High school dropout rates — which have been targeted by local school districts thanks in part to federal No Child Left Behind standards — fell by 36 percent between 2000 and 2007. The state also saw above-average progress in reducing child death rates. Shari Barkin, division chief of general pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, said the numbers reflect a payoff for efforts to keep children safe through new seat belt laws and bicycle helmet requirements. "It's changing the laws that change people's behavior," Barkin said. "These are big differences." Still, Barkin said, as a state "we've got a lot of work to do. This is not a sprint. It's a marathon." Many of the issues studied in the Kids Count Data Book can be traced back to poverty. The percentage of Tennessee children living in poverty in 2007 was 23 percent, up from 20 percent in 2000, it reported. Tennessee and other Southern states have been plagued by a history of poverty, unemployment and low-paying jobs that worsen dropout rates, teen birth rates and other metrics the study considers, O'Neal said. "We are very challenged in Tennessee. We have limited resources" to pay for improvements in education and economic development, she said. "We have to invest in our future. … When we do the right thing for our children, it is the right thing for our state as a whole." Death rate drops Tennessee's best ratings on the report came in the area of high school dropout rates, where the state ranked 23rd in the country, and the percentage of teens who are either in school or working, where Tennessee came in 31st. The death rate for Tennessee children between the ages of 1 and 14 dropped 21 percent from 2000 to 2006. A 2004 revamp of child seat belt laws that included a new booster seat requirement for auto passengers younger than 8 helped that statistic, O'Neal said. She hopes new laws like the ban on texting while driving, passed by the state legislature this year, will have a similar effect on teen death rates, which rose slightly between 2000 and 2006. "Those (types of laws) only make a difference if people are complying with them," she said. Nationally, the data show some improvement in child quality-of-life issues between 2000 and 2007, but "it's still not on par with what we saw in the late 1990s," said Laura Beavers, who coordinated the national Kids Count project. Health issues like infant mortality rates and teen birth rates generally improved. But economic conditions were already starting to worsen when the data were taken, and current financial conditions are probably much worse than the statistics show, Beavers said. "This data really doesn't include the height of the economic downturn," she said. "We know this (data) is a big understatement of what is going on with kids today."

Breaking News -Semi Crash Forces I-40 Closure Near Fesslers Lane

Channel 5 News NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Eastbound lanes on Interstate 40 have been closed after a semi overturned near Fesslers Lane. The incident happened around 11 a.m. The semi's trailer was blocking all lanes west of Fesslers Lane - just after the I-40 / I-24 merge. Traffic leaving downtown was blocked on both interstates. Officials expect the road to be reopened around 3 p.m. No one was injured in the crash.

Nashville meetings seek input on mass transit's future

Tennessean STAFF REPORTS • July 28, 2009 The public can learn about and comment on plans for mass transit and recreation this week. Metropolitan Transit Authority will hold the first of four meetings tonight to discuss its strategic plan, which will guide mass transit through 2035. The plan sets goals, priorities and actions for public transportation in Nashville and provides guidance and strategy for decisions about public transportation for Metro. Metro Transit's leader, Paul Ballard, says Nashville and the region are at a crossroads for transportation and that many people are ready for alternative options to driving. MTA opened its downtown Nashville transit center, Music City Central, last fall and saw bus ridership boom when fuel prices topped $4. MTA staff also assumed operation of the Music City Star, the region's only commuter rail line. There are also new initiatives by Metro and the state to encourage environmentally sensitive policies and practices and to develop so-called "green jobs." One of those was legislation that gives local communities the option of creating a dedicated funding source for public transit in their communities. "The next five to 10 years and beyond are critical to developing a world-class public transportation system for Nashville," Ballard said in a news release. "Public transportation goes hand in hand with economic development, tourism and jobs growth and is a critical part of any city's success." Meetings start tonight The meetings will include a presentation and then discussion. Refreshments will be served. The schedule: • Tonight, 5-6:30, North Branch Library, 1001 Monroe St. Presentation at 5:30 p.m. Bus service is available on Routes 29 and 42. • Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at Music City Central, 400 Charlotte Ave. Presentation at noon. • Wednesday, 5-6:30 p.m. at Southeast Branch Library, 2325 Hickory Highlands Drive, Antioch. Presentation at 5:30 p.m. Bus service on Route 15. • Thursday, 5-6:30 p.m. at Green Hills Library, 3701 Benham Ave. Presentation at 5:30 p.m. Bus service on Route 7. Those who don't attend a meeting can still comment. The draft of the strategic plan will be available on the Web site www.nashvillemta.org. The Nashville MTA's Strategic Master Plan development is a joint effort between the Nashville MTA, Metropolitan Planning Organization, Metro Planning and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. SOUND OFF: Comments can be mailed to the MTA Planning Department, attn: Public Meeting Comments, 130 Nestor St., Nashville, TN 37210; faxed to 615-862-6208; e-mailed to mta.publicmeetings@nashville.gov; or delivered by phone at MTA Customer Care, 615-862-5950.