GM To Shut Down Saturn After Penske Walks Away

Sep 30, 2009 4:15 PM CDT (AP) DETROIT - General Motors Co. said it's shutting down the Saturn brand after an agreement with Penske Automotive Group Inc. to acquire the unit fell apart. Penske, citing concerns about whether GM could continue to supply vehicles after a manufacturing contract with the automaker ran out, ended talks with GM Wednesday to acquire the brand. GM CEO Fritz Henderson said in statement that Saturn and its dealership network will be phased out. In a statement, the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based auto retailer said an agreement with another manufacturer to continue producing Saturn vehicles after GM stopped making them fell through, leading Penske to terminate talks with GM. In June, Penske agreed to take over the Saturn brand and related dealerships. GM agreed to produce the vehicle for a limited period of time. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Briefs: Get out and take a walk in October

September 30, 2009 The 2009 Walk Nashville Week celebrates and promotes walking in daily life in Davidson County. This year's 11th annual event is Oct. 3-9 and is sponsored by the Nashville Community Health and Wellness Team. • Walk to Worship Day encourages local congregations to walk to their worship activities on Oct. 3-4. • The Community Health and Wellness team is developing a printable booklet of various maps of community-based walks for Walk Your Neighborhood Day on Oct. 5 that will encourage physical activity and learn about Nashville. • Walk to Work Day on Oct. 6 asks Nashville workers to walk to work for the day and to consider walking to work more often. The Community Health and Wellness Team will set up at various locations around town to provide free breakfast to walkers. • Walk to School Day on Oct. 7 is designed to increase students' activity, focus on the walkability of the surrounding environment and increase safe walking skills. • Walk for Active Aging on Oct. 8 promotes walking among senior citizens and the senior centers. • Walk at Lunch Day on Oct. 9 promotes walking at lunch for the day. Area companies and local office buildings will be promoting walking groups for the day, and it is hoped they will continue these walking groups throughout the year. For details, visit www.nashvillechwt.org. March Gallery hosts new exhibit The artists of Popsicle Sticks will exhibit their latest works in a pattern-themed show "On and On" in the Janet Levine March Gallery at the Gordon Jewish Community Center. The show will open with an artist reception 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the GJCC, 801 Percy Warner Blvd., and remain up until Oct. 31. Popsicle Sticks and Rhinestones includes the following artists: Jennifer Bronstein, Adrienne Miller, Julie Sola, Mary Sullivan, Bethany Taylor, Nieves Uhl and Brad Vetter. Tourney benefits Cumberland River Compact The Middle Tennessee Stormwater Coalition will host a golf tournament to "Tee Off Against Dirty Water" Friday, Oct. 2, at Long Hollow Golf Course in Gallatin. Proceeds will benefit Nashville-based nonprofit the Cumberland River Compact. The entry fee is $350 per four-member team, which includes cart, green fees, and lunch. Door prizes will also be given. Mixed teams of women, men, and youths are encouraged. Sign in is at 7 a.m., with tee off at 8 a.m. Long Hollow Golf Course is at 1080 Long Hollow Pike in Gallatin. Opportunities to participate in or sponsor this event are still available. For more information, contact Goodlettsville Public Works at 859-2740 or the Cumberland River Compact at 522-7602.

Tennessee to lose $190 million in federal funds for roads

Nashville, 3 other metro areas will be hardest hit By Bill Theobald • TENNESSEAN WASHINGTON BUREAU • September 30, 2009 WASHINGTON — Tennessee will lose about $190 million in federal highway spending authority because Congress hasn't passed a new version of a law that OKs funding for most highway, bridge and mass transit projects across the country. Paul Degges, chief engineer with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, said the loss of spending authority would force delays in road projects across the state. "You are going to have to totally reprioritize things," Degges said. The state receives about $800 million in federal highway funds each year. That was augmented this year by an additional $500 million in funds through the economic stimulus legislation passed in February. The previous multi-year transportation authorization bill expires today. It included a requirement that states would lose some already-authorized funds if the money hasn't been committed to specific contracts. Degges said the four largest metropolitan areas in the state, including Nashville, probably will be hardest hit because the more expensive projects occur there. The delay in enacting a new spending plan also will make planning future transportation spending difficult, he said. The problem is that with health-care reform and climate change legislation getting all of the attention, lawmakers have neither the time nor the inclination to debate transportation policy, advocates say. They expect Congress to eventually adopt a new law, but the big question is when. Congress will decide this week how long the current law should be extended. One proposal calls for a one-month extension. The House has approved a three-month extension. The Obama administration favors an 18-month delay, saying lawmakers need that much time to resolve issues such as whether to raise fuel taxes or find some other means to fund transportation programs. Under any extension, states will continue to receive transportation money from Washington at present levels. A new law probably would cost substantially more, meaning states could receive more federal money for transportation. A six-year, $500 billion bill introduced by Minnesota Democratic Rep. James Oberstar is the only comprehensive legislation pending in Congress. It envisions the biggest federal commitment for high-speed rail ever: $50 billion. Oberstar, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says his bill would create 6 million jobs over the next six years. But transportation is a lower priority in the Senate, where the tax-writing Finance Committee is deeply involved in health care and the Environment and Public Works Committee is focused on climate change legislation.

Tennessee to lose $190 million in federal funds for roads

Nashville, 3 other metro areas will be hardest hit By Bill Theobald • TENNESSEAN WASHINGTON BUREAU • September 30, 2009 WASHINGTON — Tennessee will lose about $190 million in federal highway spending authority because Congress hasn't passed a new version of a law that OKs funding for most highway, bridge and mass transit projects across the country. Paul Degges, chief engineer with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, said the loss of spending authority would force delays in road projects across the state. "You are going to have to totally reprioritize things," Degges said. The state receives about $800 million in federal highway funds each year. That was augmented this year by an additional $500 million in funds through the economic stimulus legislation passed in February. The previous multi-year transportation authorization bill expires today. It included a requirement that states would lose some already-authorized funds if the money hasn't been committed to specific contracts. Degges said the four largest metropolitan areas in the state, including Nashville, probably will be hardest hit because the more expensive projects occur there. The delay in enacting a new spending plan also will make planning future transportation spending difficult, he said. The problem is that with health-care reform and climate change legislation getting all of the attention, lawmakers have neither the time nor the inclination to debate transportation policy, advocates say. They expect Congress to eventually adopt a new law, but the big question is when. Congress will decide this week how long the current law should be extended. One proposal calls for a one-month extension. The House has approved a three-month extension. The Obama administration favors an 18-month delay, saying lawmakers need that much time to resolve issues such as whether to raise fuel taxes or find some other means to fund transportation programs. Under any extension, states will continue to receive transportation money from Washington at present levels. A new law probably would cost substantially more, meaning states could receive more federal money for transportation. A six-year, $500 billion bill introduced by Minnesota Democratic Rep. James Oberstar is the only comprehensive legislation pending in Congress. It envisions the biggest federal commitment for high-speed rail ever: $50 billion. Oberstar, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says his bill would create 6 million jobs over the next six years. But transportation is a lower priority in the Senate, where the tax-writing Finance Committee is deeply involved in health care and the Environment and Public Works Committee is focused on climate change legislation.

Mother of kidnapped Nashville baby: "I need my baby back"

By Kate Howard • THE TENNESSEAN • September 30, 2009 The mother of kidnapped newborn Yair Carillo came out of the hospital in a wheelchair to tell the media about the woman who attacked her. Maria Gurrolla, 30, had swollen eyes and a long cut on her cheek. Bandages covered stab wounds on her neck, and she was wrapped in a blanket that obscured the rest of the nine stab wounds she received on Tuesday afternoon. "I was attacked by a white woman," Gurrola said in Spanish. Her cousin, Norma Rodriguez, interpreted. "I don't know the person that did that. I've never seen her before." The woman arrived at her doorstep and told her she was an immigration agent there to arrest her. Gurrolla asked the woman to identify herself. She said it was soon after that the blonde, heavyset woman pulled a knife and began to stab her. She did not tell Gurrolla she intended to take her child. Gurrolla went out of the house and to a neighbor's house for help. When they returned, the baby was gone. Gurrolla's 3-year-old daughter was unharmed. "The only thing she said was that she was going to arrest her," Rodriguez said. Gurrolla's mouth tightened when she spoke about her baby son: he has a full head of hair. He's chubby, with big cheeks and big eyes. Her own eyes appeared to tear up. He was born on Friday, and they had just come home from the hospital Monday night. "Physically, (I) feel fine," she said. "Emotionally, (I) feel sad because of what my family is going through." She was asked what she would say to the woman who attacked her and took her son. "She says for her to reflect," Rodriguez said. "She needs her baby back." Police were initially searching for a Lebanon woman who was reported as a possible suspect. She was located in upstate New York and is no longer believed to be involved or a person of interest, Metro police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford said. Gurrolla is working with a sketch artist to develop a composite of the suspect, and Youth Services detectives are retracing her steps on Tuesday to look for clues, Mumford said. She suffered nine stab wounds, many of them very deep, and a collapsed lung, said Gurrolla's doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, William Dutton. Gurrolla also had a complicated birth and signs of that are still visible, Dutton said. "She is in stable condition and doing well now," Dutton said. Gurrolla's only arrest history was for driving without a license about 10 years ago, Metro police said. There was no record of police calls to her south Nashville address. Her immigration status is unclear.

'Person of interest' in abduction caught in NY; baby still missing

Tennessean A Lebanon woman named a "person of interest" in the abduction of a newborn from Nashville has been found in New York State. However, the baby boy -- Yair Carillo -- was not with her, Metro Police said. Investigators began looking for 30-year-old Lisa Sampson on a tip late Tuesday after the baby was forcibly taken and his mother was stabbed at her home. The mother, Maria Gurrolla, was recovering Wednesday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from approximately eight stab wounds. Police said the child was taken by a white female who was posing as an immigration worker. She had come to the home and demanded Gurrolla give her the baby. Gurrollo was stabbed when she refused. Nashville police said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI are aiding in the investigation. Police did not say where in New York Sampson was found. PREVIOUSLY REPORTED Metro police, the TBI and the FBI are searching for a Lebanon woman in the abduction of a 4-day-old baby taken from his South Nashville home Tuesday afternoon after a brutal attack on his mother. A citizen's tip helped police identify Lisa Sampson, last known to have lived on Sugar Flat Road, as a person of interest in the kidnapping. Sampson is described as 5feet, 6 inches tall, weighing 225 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call the police or 1-800-TBI-FIND. The baby's mother, Maria Gurrolla, 30, told investigators that a white woman in her 30s with blond hair knocked on her door about 2:30 p.m. and claimed to be an immigration agent. She asked to see the new mother's immigration papers. Gurrolla let her inside, and the woman attacked her with a butcher knife. Gurrolla "was stabbed multiple times," said police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford. The mother ran out a side door. She knocked on Eric Peterson's front door, three houses down on East Ridge Drive. At first, Peterson said he thought Gurrolla was playing a prank on him, but then he got a good look at her. "She had stab wounds from head to toe," Peterson said. "She was telling me to go get (her) babies and that a lady attacked her in her kitchen." Mumford said Gurrolla's attacker was still in the house when she ran out. Gurrolla told investigators she saw a black four-door car resembling a police sedan parked in her driveway. By the time Peterson got to the home the car was gone and so was Gurrolla's son, Yair Anthony Carillo, born Friday in Baptist Hospital. Peterson found Gurrolla's 3-year-old daughter outside the house. "I wasn't sure if she could speak English, so I told her to come on, and I didn't have to say it again," Peterson said. "She jogged behind us back to the house." Condition is criticalMoments later, an ambulance arrived and took Gurrolla to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she remains in critical condition with stab wounds to the head, neck, breast and thigh, her family said. As investigators worked behind a blue sign saying "It's a boy" in the front yard and yellow crime scene tape surrounding Gurrolla's home, her husband of four years, Antonio Carillo, and her cousin Jessenia Sigala watched. "I was with her all morning," Sigala said. "I left for a job interview and this happened." Carillo said his wife had been receiving strange phone calls for about two days before the incident. "They would call from a private number and make weird sounds then hang up," Sigala said. "They just thought it was someone playing a prank, so they stopped answering them." Police said Gurrolla's injuries were not life threatening and that she was talking to detectives at the hospital. Sigala said she was certain the announcement sign in the front yard played a role in the abduction. "Nobody knew outside the family that he'd been born," she said. "They just got out of the hospital last night. "All I'm thinking is about the baby. Is he eating? Is he okay? Is he alive?"

Amber Alert Issued In Stabbing, Newborn Abduction

Posted News Channel 5 Sept. 29 NASHVILLE, Tenn. - An Amber Alert has been issued after a woman stabbed a new mother and kidnapped her newborn baby in Antioch. The suspect reportedly knocked on the door of 30-year-old Maria Gurrolla at 3816 East Ridge Drive Tuesday around 2:40 p.m. Gurrolle told police the suspect claimed to be with INS and wanted to see her immigration papers. After Gurrolla allowed the suspect inside, she was stabbed several times in the neck, head, thigh and breast. The suspect fled the home with 4-day-old Yair Anthony Carillo. Yair is a hispanic male with brown hair and black eyes. Gurrolla was transported to Vanderbilt Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect was described as a heavyset white woman in her mid 30s, 5'4" tall with blonde hair in a pony tail. She wore a black blouse and blue jeans. Officials said the woman was driving a black four-door car resembling a police vehicle. Anyone with information should call police at 615-862-8600 or 1-800-TBI-FIND (1-800-824-3464).

Nashville school art contest sets deadline

Karen Sosa was the 2008 first-place winner. She was a Una Elementary fourth-grader. (SUBMITTED BY METRO BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION)

Beautiful Nashville Art is for third- and fourth-graders September 25, 2009

Third- and fourth-grade artists in Metro Schools, it's time to get creative for the Beautiful Nashville Art Contest. Metro Public Works, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and Red River Service Corporation are sponsors, challenging young artists to let Nashvillians know that keeping Davidson County beautiful and recycling are important for the community.

The winning entry from each school will be featured on the side of a Red River waste collection truck.

Last year's winner was Karen Sosa of Una Elementary School.

Deadline to enter the contest is Wednesday, Oct. 28. Three grand prize winners will be chosen from among all winning entries submitted by each school.

The art departments of each grand prize-winning contestant's school will receive prize amounts of $1,500 (1st place), $1,000 (2nd place) and $500 (third place).

The winning artwork will be featured on a truck in the Nashville Gas Christmas Parade on Friday, Dec. 4.

All winning entries will be displayed on Red River waste collection trucks from December 2009 through May 2010 and will be seen by more than 9,000 people each day while the trucks are on their routes. For complete Beautiful Nashville Art Contest rules, visit www.nashville.gov/pw.

Help arrives for Nashville entrepreneurs

Center, Web site may help spur job opportunities By Wendy Lee • THE TENNESSEAN • September 25, 2009 function changeFontSize(inc){ var p = document.getElementsByTagName('p'); for(n=0; n At a time when several thousand Nashville-area jobs were lost due to the economic downturn, local business leaders said Thursday they hope to spur renewed opportunities by encouraging entrepreneurs to invest and expand. The Nashville Entrepreneur Center, aimed at helping early-stage entrepreneurs, launched on Thursday. Its creation was recommended by the entrepreneurial task force of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce's Partnership 2010. "It's important to (be) creating jobs," said Joe Freedman, a local businessman who sits on the board of the Entrepreneurs' Organization in Nashville, a self-help group of business owners. "If we can have community support and resources for entrepreneurs to create stronger businesses, we can turn the tide on job losses." The Nashville area lost 14,733 jobs from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009, according to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, falling short of the chamber's goal of an 11,500 job gain for the same period. Chamber officials said the center would help entrepreneurs get the financial resources and information they need to start businesses. Already, 21.6 percent of the work force is made up of sole proprietorships, said Janet Miller, the chamber's chief economic development and marketing officer. The center is currently a Web site at www.entrepreneurcenter.com, but the organization's product manager, Joe Kustelski, said eventually it will establish a physical office and hire a small staff as well as an executive director. The center would operate on a $1 million to $2 million annual budget, raised by private, state and federal funding, Kustelski said. The move to create more jobs comes as the Nashville-Murfreesboro metro area's August unemployment rate crept upward to 9.8 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from July, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Soumen Ghosh, head of the economics and finance department at Tennessee State University, said he believes we've probably seen the worst in unemployment. He expects the jobless rate will not go beyond 10 percent here. The upcoming holiday season will help improve the situation, Ghosh said, as retailers hire seasonal help and consumers become more apt to buy products. Still, don't expect to see major improvements when it comes to job growth. Several Nashville-area businesses, such as engineering firms S&ME and Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon Inc., said they expect hiring will remain flat through the first quarter of next year. Center 'a good idea' Local economists said challenges to starting up the chamber's new center include locating capital and people willing to fund new ideas in a recession, but in the future the center could boost the area's economy. "I think in the long run, it's a good idea," said David Penn, director of the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University. "We need more business formation to get more jobs to get job growth going again." Statewide, last month's unemployment rates increased in 47 counties, fell in 42 counties and remained the same in six counties. The August unemployment rate in Maury County decreased 4 percentage points to 12.4 percent, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Lauderdale County held the state's highest unemployment rate at 19.7 percent. Meanwhile, Lincoln County had the lowest county jobless rate at 7.2 percent.

Student loan borrowers can apply for relief

By Sandra Block • USA TODAY • September 25, 2009 When money is tight and jobs are scarce, repaying your student loans is painful. But if you let your loans go into default, you'll enter a world of hurt. Defaults on federal student loans rose to 6.7 percent last year from 5.2 percent a year earlier, the highest default rate since 1998. In general, if you fail to make payments on a federal student loan for nine months, the loan will be considered in default. Your loans probably will be turned over to a collection agency, and your credit report will be trashed. Unlike private lenders, the federal government can garnishee your wages without going to court, said Margaret Reiter, an attorney and co-author of Solve Your Money Troubles. There's no statute of limitations on collection of federal student loans, Reiter added, which means the government can go after you for the rest of your life. Filing for bankruptcy probably won't solve your problem. Under federal bankruptcy laws, it's not enough to show that you can't afford to repay your loans now. You also must convince the bankruptcy court that you'll be unable to repay them in the future. This standard is extremely difficult to meet, Reiter said. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to avoid default. Options include: • Deferment. This option is available for borrowers who are still in school, unemployed or experiencing other types of economic hardship. Payments are typically deferred for up to three years. If you have subsidized federal student loans, which are provided to borrowers who demonstrate financial need, the government will pay the interest during deferment. If you have unsubsidized Stafford loans, interest will accrue during the deferment period. Deferment is not automatic. You must apply for it through your lender. • Forbearance. In this case, your lender will allow you to postpone payments, or pay a smaller amount, for up to three years. Forbearance is granted at the discretion of the lender, and the requirements are generally less stringent than those for deferment, said Robert Murray, spokesman for USA Funds, a company that guarantees student loans. Interest will continue to accrue during forbearance, so it's important to resume payments as soon as you're able, Murray said. Otherwise, you could end up with a much larger balance. • Income-based repayment. This new program allows borrowers with federal student loans to have their payments capped, based on their income. Most borrowers who qualify for the program will never have to spend more than 10 percent of their income on student loan payments. Those whose income falls below 150 percent of the poverty level won't have to make any payments. Deferment or forbearance will help you put your loans on hold during a short-term crisis, such as temporary unemployment, said Lauren Asher, acting president for the Project on Student Debt. But if you're facing long-term financial difficulties, income-based repayment is the better choice, she said. To apply for income-based repayment, contact the lender that is servicing your student loan. You can learn more about the program at http://www.ibrinfo.org/. Borrowers who are having trouble repaying private student loans have fewer options. The rules governing repayment of these loans are determined by the loan contracts, not federal law. That means private-loan borrowers "are really at the mercy of lenders," said Deanne Loonin, staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center. Your loan may be declared in default after you miss just one payment, depending on the terms of your loan contract. Private lenders aren't required to allow borrowers who are unemployed to defer payments. Your lender may grant you forbearance, but the period depends on the terms of the contract, Loonin said. Private lenders don't have as many collection tools as the federal government, but they can still make your life pretty miserable. They can turn your account over to a collection agency and add the fees to your balance. They can sue to have your wages garnisheed. And private student loans are identical to federal loans in one critical respect: They're nearly impossible to discharge in bankruptcy. The National Consumer Law Center offers a list of resources for borrowers who are having trouble managing their federal or private student loans. You can find it at www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org.

Metro Water flushes raw sewage into Percy Priest home

by Andy - September 23rd, 2009 - 2:24 pm Messed Up Results, Public Work Whose fault is it? That’s a question being asked by a Nashville couple whose basement flooded with raw sewage. It all begins Saturday September 12th. That’s the day the commode in the Percy Priest Lake residence of Arnold and Tina Bailey begins bubbling over with raw sewage. The Bailey’s show me pictures of a basement mud room that is blackened by the disgusting mess. On the day Messed Up arrives, Mrs. Bailey is packing her trunk with suit cases. The woman tells me she has respiratory problems and the on going environmental disaster is forcing her to stay with relatives in Kentucky. Her husband, Arnold stays behind to manage the hideous mess. The retired military pilot says dealing with metro has been messed up, so much so, he wrote this letter to Mayor Karl Dean. My name is Arnold Bailey. I live Clearlake Dr west. On Saturday public works was cleaning sewer lines next to my house at the sewage pumping station and back flushed raw sewer water into my home. They started cleanup late Saturday night, ran blowers and drying equipment, and tore out walls and contaminated items and were going to remove contaminated tiles and clean the air ducts. This afternoon they pulled out the workers and said they were still investigating who was at fault for this problem. This was and is a very serious health problem. They told me to contact my insurance company for repairs. It was a metro pump truck that was blowing the lines at their pumping station. My wife has acute asthma and could not be in the house so we slept in our Motor home. The motor home went for maintenance today so she left to stay with relatives until work is complete. I am staying in the house but am not comfortable with it. Metro caused this problem and they need to take care of it. This pumping station has been a problem for the 25 years that I have lived here with spills, overflows, smells, noise and chemical sanitation blocks hanging next to my pool and patio. I am requesting your help in solving this problem as I have run into a solid wall and they are treating me poorly and seem to think that it is my problem not theirs. When he gets nowhere with the city, Arnold Bailey calls That’s Messed Up. I call his Councilwoman, Vivian Wilhoite who tells me she has all ready been investigating the matter. She tells me that Metro should be more responsive to her constituent’s needs. “They are trying to tell me that this is an act of God. Don’t ever tell me that it is an act of God for him to put poop in a man’s house.” Wilhoite tells me she tells water department officials to handle this matter now, because she doesn’t want to see it show up on her council desk later, with much heftier price tag. “This better not end up on my desk. Approve his claim. Take care of this now. It’s only right. I’m not so sure Metro isn’t at fault. That goes along with running Metro Water. If Mr. Arnold was in his yard and did something to the line, that is one thing. But in this situation, he was in his house, and poop comes back up the line.” The councilwoman indicates that Metro Water was pulling out its crews and limiting the city’s financial responsibility in the matter. She says she told them to reevaluate. “I asked they open this back up. This makes no sense. It makes no sense. Look back at this and provide me a reason why he should not be compensated. I better not see this a year from now when it could have been resolved on the front end.” I talk with Sonia Harvat who represents the Metro Water Department. Harvat says the Bailey’s troubles begin when a sewage pipe is blocked in the neighborhood. Harvat says the pipe is blocked with house hold materials including grease, which neighbors have been dumping down their drains over time. According to Harvat, Metro crews pumped the line clean, and when they did, there was a sudden surge that forces its way through the pipe, that pressure rushed to the lowest point, which just happened to be the commode in Arnold Bailey’s home. “Metro Water Services is paying for the initial clean up,” Harvat says. “Our priority is health and safety. Our system was not malfunctioning, our system was not broken. It was nothing inside our sewer system causing the back up it was grease! Metro will look to see if there was negligence on the part of metro water services. Did we break something that caused the over flow, but there was no negligence and that is what claims will look at it to see who pays for it.” Bailey says the city did initially hire a company to clean up the filth. But after a few days, the city pulls the plug and the cleaning stops. Thanks to Messed Up and Councilwoman Wilhoite, the city has reconsidered its position. An attorney for Metro Legal tells Messed Up, the city will pay for the clean up as long as it is deemed reasonable. A water department official tells Messed Up “We don’t want to build the Taj Majal, but we will pay for the mess.” Arnold and Tina Bailey say that’s the least the city can do for what they have been through. Check out this link that educates citizens on the do’s and don’ts of flushing things into the system.

Lowe's helps schools

September 23, 2009 LOWE'S HELPS SCHOOLS Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation offers the Lowe's Toolbox for Education. Up to $5,000 per school is available for a grant. Lowe's will donate $5 million to schools and school parent teacher groups at more than 1,000 schools during the school year according to its Web site. The grant is open to individual nonprofit public K-12 schools at least 2 years old or to parent groups associated with such schools. For more information, visit www.toolboxfor education.com.

Bill extending unemployment benefits could help 35,500 Tennesseans

By Bonna Johnson • THE TENNESSEAN • September 23, 2009 Laid off more than a year ago, Sharon Loveall estimates that she has sent out 500 resumes with no luck. The former legal secretary even tried to get a job delivering pizzas. With no job prospects in sight, her final unemployment check was scheduled to come in the mail in November. But as tens of thousands of Americans like Loveall were poised to run out of such aid, the House approved an additional 13-week extension of unemployment benefits in states with high jobless rates, including Tennessee. The measure passed 331-83 on Tuesday evening, with similar legislation pending in the Senate. Though the extension would come when the economy is showing some signs of recovery, advocates say jobless rates continue to climb in many areas and the labor market has been slow to rebound. "There is no scenario where the job market will come back quickly enough and workers will be able to find jobs," said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project. The proposed extension would help an estimated 1.3 million people nationwide who live in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent and whose benefits will run out between now and the end of the year. Tennessee had an unemployment rate of 10.8 percent in August. With an extension some people could qualify for as much as 92 weeks of unemployment pay overall. "I'm grateful I may get another 13 weeks, but I'm also horrified," Loveall said. "I hate this. You feel absolutely ashamed." An estimated 35,500 in Tennessee would be eligible for the extension, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. There are about 150,000 Tennesseans receiving unemployment benefits in total. Loveall, a 57-year-old Hendersonville resident, was laid off by a Nashville law firm in May 2008 and depends on her weekly $275 unemployment check and her elderly father to pay her mortgage and other bills. Despite 17 years of experience, she has had no job offers despite a number of interviews. "My savings are gone. I have no health insurance," she said. "Relying on my 85-year-old dad is horribly embarrassing." Benefit bridges a gap "It's safe to say we are seeing thousands of Tennesseans exhausting unemployment benefits each month," Tennessee Labor Commissioner James Neeley said. "Many of these claimants have been on unemployment for more than a year. This extension really is important to bridge the gap for those who are actively seeking work." Since July 2008, Congress twice has voted to extend unemployment benefits, and Tennessee lawmakers approved a third extension as part of the federal stimulus package earlier this year for a total of 79 weeks of benefits. Still, that hasn't been enough time for many people to find work. Some 5 million Americans have been out of work for six months or more, representing about one third of the nearly 15 million people in the country who are unemployed. That's a proportion that has never been reached in any post-war recession, according to the National Employment Law Project. It's unlikely the extension would be a disincentive for people to find jobs, Stettner said. Rather, jobs are scarce, with more than six jobless workers for every job opening in the U.S., he said. The extension would go to jobless workers in 27 states and in Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. It would not add to the deficit, its sponsors say, because it would extend for a year a federal unemployment tax of $14 per employee per year that employers have been paying for more than 30 years.

Recession, family ties compel more moms to stay at home

By Chris Echegaray • THE TENNESSEAN • September 23, 2009 Franklin's Diana Wampold was enjoying a successful career and the notion of not working didn't occur to her until her daughter was born. Wampold was working in sales for AT&T, making good money, when Ashley arrived. She and her husband decided to make a change. "I loved what I did, but I missed my daughter," she said. "Whenever I went to work, there was a pain in my chest when I left my first daughter. We made a choice, and I've been home ever since. We made a few sacrifices.'' But staying home to take care of her children — Ashley, 11, Megan, 8, and Emily, 6 — has been worth it, Wampold said, and she is not alone. An analysis of 2008 Census data released this week shows Williamson County mothers are staying home at a higher rate — 36 percent of them — than the state average of 30 percent. At its highest peak, 4 out of 10 Williamson County moms stayed at home in 2006. It's not unusual for affluent communities to have a high number of stay-at-home mothers, but the recession has forced some working women in the middle class to stay at home. In Davidson County, 35 percent of mothers are staying at home, a 6 percent increase since 2006. Adriana DeLeon of Nashville was forced to stay at home about two years ago when she lost her job at a local plant. She said she doesn't mind her stay-at-home mom status but when the children are older, it's easier to go to work. Dads stay home, too Fathers also are in the mix, with Rutherford County trending upward as 4 percent of dads are staying home with their children. Daniel Hickman of Murfreesboro made the decision to stay home on Christmas 2007, the day their son, DJ, was born. Hickman said he and his wife did a cost analysis of their income, and after calculating the money that would be spent on gas and child care, it was a fairly easy decision for him to stay home. "My wife works at Dell and made a lot more money, so staying at home made sense for me," Hickman said. "I can watch him grow up, and it's been going pretty good." Hickman plans play dates for DJ with other stay-at-home fathers, and they learn from each other. A strong pull for moms Even though more fathers are staying home with their children, the number of stay-at-home mothers dwarfs the number of stay-at-home dads. There is still a strong social consensus, including working mothers themselves, that wants mothers with young children to stay at home, said Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew Research Center, which tracks social demographic trends. The Pew Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit center in Washington, D.C. In a survey conducted by Pew earlier this month, 61 percent of working mothers of young children said they would prefer part-time work. In contrast, 19 percent of fathers with full-time jobs and a young child said they would prefer to work part time. "There is a real tension, clearly, over the last generation as more women, mothers are increasing in the work force," Taylor said. "But, yet, those family tensions are experienced by women at a higher level than men." Wampold said some working mothers and single women still view the stay-at-home option negatively. But Wampold, who was raised by her stay-at-home mother, feels fulfilled. "I think it all depends on people's personality," she said. Database editor Lisa Green contributed to this report.

Tamiflu children's dosages run out

Pharmacists meet need by converting adult capsules to liquid By Christina E. Sanchez • THE TENNESSEAN • September 23, 2009 Public demand for a prescription drug that lessens the symptoms and duration of the H1N1 or swine flu virus has caused a shortage of the children's dosage. Pharmacies have run out of Tamiflu in the liquid form, often given to children and adults who can't swallow a pill. The shortage is nationwide. Until more of the liquid prescription can be manufactured, pharmacists must convert the adult dosage capsules into a liquid by following FDA-approved guidelines on mixing. Health officials are concerned that if more liquid is not commercially made soon, the items needed for the makeshift version also could run short. All pharmacists are equipped to make the compound, and the mixing takes about 15 minutes, said Baeteena Black, executive director of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association. "There is no need to panic," Black said. "Roche (the manufacturer) is working diligently to get some more made. "Customers do need to be patient. It takes longer to make, obviously, than if you pulled a commercially prepared bottle off the shelf." Tamiflu has become a hot item since a resurgence of H1N1 cases in the late summer as students returned to school. Just how many people have contracted the virus is unknown because health officials no longer track the numbers. In some cases, when one family member gets the virus, doctors prescribe a five-day cycle of the drug for the whole family. It probably will remain popular until the H1N1 vaccine begins to be available in October. Not everyone with flu needs drug Not everyone who has the flu needs an antiviral medicine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Tamiflu and Relenza, another flu drug, be given on a case-by-case basis, and primarily reserved for people who are hospitalized and groups at high risk for complications. At-risk populations include children younger than 5, pregnant women, people with chronic conditions and illnesses, and the elderly. The drugs should be given within the first 48 hours from the onset of symptoms to be most effective. Common symptoms include fever, chills, headache, cough, sore throat, runny nose, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting. "If it is a healthy individual and it's been going on more than 48 hours since symptoms appeared, it is not going to be helpful to put them on Tamiflu," said Dr. Mark Krakauer, who practices internal medicine and pediatrics at Saint Thomas Hospital. He also said that if one person in an overall healthy family gets the flu, he might not prescribe Tamiflu for everyone. Most people should ride out the flu at home, getting plenty of rest and fluids, he said. "Most people do not need to see the doctor," Krakauer said. "If they are healthy, they are going to get over it." Making sure the antiviral medicine is started within the first 48 hours is important to prevent the virus from replicating inside the body, said Paul Peterson, a pharmacist and strategic national stockpile coordinator for the state health department. "The drug inhibits the virus from releasing new virus in the body," Peterson said. Antivirals can shorten the length of illness by about two days. Duration of the flu varies; it can last three to seven days. Drug can be costly Vanderbilt University Medical Center is making the compound version of Tamiflu in batches of about 25 prescriptions at a time to provide the liquid prescription to Vanderbilt patients who need it, said Michael O'Neal, procurement manager for the hospital. The crushed adult capsule of Tamiflu is mixed with one of two liquids, Ora-Sweet or cherry syrup — items federal health officials worry also could run out. Vanderbilt fills prescriptions only for its patients, so O'Neal recommends that non-Vanderbilt patients call around to retail pharmacies before going. Roche Pharmaceuticals is the only manufacturer of Tamiflu. Relenza is available from a different company, but because it comes in the form of an inhalant powder, it is not recommended for all patients. No generic brands are available, which can make the prescription costly. Whether a person has insurance and what it covers can cause the cost of Tamiflu for the customer to vary. TennCare, the state version of Medicaid, estimates that the cost it picks up for a Tamiflu capsule prescription is about $84, the Tamiflu liquid is about $74, and Relenza is about $60. Adults on TennCare will have a co-pay of $3 unless they are pregnant, under hospice care, in an institution or on home care. Children do not have co-pays. Nancy McGinnity, a Nashville parent, had to buy Tamiflu for each of the six members of her family and had no trouble finding a pharmacy to fill the liquid prescription for her 11-year-old and 8-year-old sons. That was Labor Day. McGinnity, her husband and two older sons, ages 14 and 13, took the pill. Her portion of the bill — at a co-pay of $20 each — came to $120. "The doctor offered it as a preventative medicine for the rest of us," she said.