TennCare cuts would drop speech, physical, occupational therapy

By Getahn Ward • THE TENNESSEAN • February 10, 2010 Hospitals aren't the only health-care providers bracing for effects to their bottom lines from changes planned to TennCare. Under Gov. Phil Bredesen's budget plan, the state's Medicaid program would no longer cover speech, physical and occupational therapy for adults. The state expects to save $3.4 million each year from that move. Results Physiotherapy Centers, the Franklin-based for-profit operator of 26 out-patient-only physical therapy clinics across the state, expects to lose $420,000 in revenue a year, said C. Jason Richardson, its vice president of clinical operations. "If the TennCare cuts do go through as proposed by the governor's office, we won't be able to serve that population at all," said Richardson, also secretary of the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association. "They're actually shooting themselves in the foot because we're the best option for reducing disabilities without the need for surgeries, expensive imaging studies such as MRIs and CAT scans and also prescription medications." Under TennCare, Results Physiotherapy gets reimbursed about $70 on average per patient visit. As a group, TennCare beneficiaries make up 7 percent of the company's overall patient population, Richardson said. Overall, he said, the rehabilitation services to be eliminated account for about 3 percent of TennCare's health-care costs. Kelly Gunderson, a TennCare spokesman, said the budget plan reflects fiscal challenges faced by the state. "We have a huge hole to fill, and there's not that many places left to find that kind of money," she said. The budget plan also includes a $10,000 cap on in-patient hospital care. Hospitals that provide speech, physical, and occupational therapy services also would see effects from elimination of pay for those services. The hospice industry is one group that won't be affected by changes planned to TennCare. Although the governor's original budget proposal had called for eliminating hospice benefits for adults, the industry convinced TennCare officials that the expected savings weren't going to happen, said Mike Dietrich, executive director of the Tennessee Hospice Organization. Specifically, Dietrich said the amount of potential savings was inflated because the state had included the nursing home portion of beneficiaries' care as hospice costs. "They thought that they'd be saving a lot more than the reality of that situation," Dietrich said. Getahn Ward covers the business of health care. He can be reached at 615-726-5968 or gward@tennessean.com.

Condos propel increase in Nashville-area home sales

Demand is sluggish for building lots, single-family units By Naomi Snyder • THE TENNESSEAN • February 10, 2010 Homes sales climbed for the fourth consecutive month in January, rising 6 percent to 1,033 closings compared to the same month a year ago, mostly driven by new condo sales, according to figures released by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors. But single-family home sales stayed flat compared to January a year ago, and land sales didn't show much improvement, either, as homebuilders continued to pick up scattered lots here and there for deeply discounted prices. Overall, prices for a single-family home continued to stay below comparable values from a year ago, the Realtors data showed Tuesday. The median price for a single-family home sold in January was $159,000, down 3.8 percent from a year ago. Prices have been held down by foreclosure sales and by a flood of first-time home buyers taking advantage of an $8,000 federal tax credit, and those home buyers tend to go after moderately priced homes, according to real estate agents. The median price for a condo was $154,550 in January, down from $165,000 a year ago. "People are wanting smaller houses, but they want lots of good stuff in there, like an outdoor fireplace, granite, gas lights outside,'' said Reggie Garner, the vice president of community development for Stone Gate Land Co., which is redesigning its Arrington Retreat subdivision off Nolensville Pike in Williamson County to accommodate lower-priced homes. The 229-lot subdivision was originally planned for $500,000 to $700,000 homes. Now, it likely will have $299,000 to $400,000 homes, Garner said. "There are a lot of lots on the high end that aren't moving,'' he said. It's not only home buyers interested in lower prices. So are the homebuilders. Pulte Homes, one of the largest builders in the Nashville area, bought an unfinished subdivision in Brentwood out of foreclosure for $6.2 million in January, one third less than the previous developers had paid in 2005. Pulte plans to build 140 lots in the subdivision, which is called Whetstone. Homes are to be priced at about $400,000, much less than the $1 million or so initially envisioned for the subdivision. "We were able to come up with a good offer from the bank,'' said Andy Pfeifer, vice president of sales and marketing for Pulte. "We were able to buy into Brentwood." Other developers say they're also picking up lots they couldn't have afforded a few years earlier, when the economy was more robust. Regent Homes, which developed Lenox Village in Nashville, bought 11 lots late last year in Bent Creek subdivision in Nolensville for $550,000. The deal had to be approved by a judge in U.S. Bankruptcy Court because the owner of the lots, Newmark Homes, had gone bankrupt. David McGowan, the president of Regent Homes, said the $50,000 per lot price was about one-third less than Newmark had paid. "The whole market is being reset,'' McGowan said. Loans hard to get Land sales still are significantly down compared to previous years. Thirty-eight lots sold in January, up from 34 during the same month a year ago. That's only one-fifth the sales completed during the peak of the real estate market in 2005. McGowan said one thing holding back land sales is the difficulty getting a bank to approve acquisition and development loans. "The banks have completely shut us down,'' McGowan said. "With the banks shutting down all of the development process, there is no supply coming into place. All the good lots are being chewed up very quick. There will come a time in the next year or two that we will have a shortage of good lots." Until that happens, people such as McGowan will be trying to get a good deal

'Mystery shopper' letter is $1,000 scam

Victims are tricked by real-looking check By Kate Howard • THE TENNESSEAN • February 10, 2010 An elaborate scam to trick people into believing they've been hired as mystery shoppers is going strong despite plenty of attention meant to combat it in recent months. The Better Business Bureau of Nashville says it's a new twist on an old scam: the victims get a phony check to go on a secret shopping trip, take a percentage for their time and return the rest to the sender. Often they wire back the unspent cash before learning that the check they just deposited was worthless, and they're on the hook for the bounced check. In this scam, the person is sent a check of more than $1,000 that is supposed to cover a payment of several hundred dollars, money for shopping, and the bulk of it to be wired back to the company. Though the checks look legitimate enough to often be successfully deposited, they're phony and cause the victim's bank account to be overdrawn. When Tracey Watkins got the letter in the mail this week with the check for more than $1,000, she thought at first it was an overpayment from her escrow ac- count. But she knew it was a scam when she read the en- closed letter, telling her she had been given what she need- ed to conduct an evaluation of Western Union after cashing her check, and wiring money back to the company. It's a typical scam, but the letter even included forms to evaluate shopping centers and money wire locations and a copy of the company's strict ethics policy. "It's just a regular check, and it looks like a refund check almost," Watkins said. "I live in North Nashville and there are so many older people out here, I'm afraid they might think because of the way it reads they were getting a part-time job." Kathleen Calligan, the CEO of the Nashville BBB, said the BBB collected more than $790,000 in counterfeit checks from consumers in Middle Tennessee when the organization publicized the scam late last fall. "It is a very elaborate scheme that has been extremely successful since unemployment hit 10 percent," Calligan said. People often believe they've landed a small job, Calligan said, and since the scheme asks people to do work it's convincing for many. Lt. Mickey Garner of the Metro police department's fraud unit said they've encountered the same elderly man twice, working as a middleman for the scam and collecting payments. He took a cut and sent the payment on, Garner said, and didn't even realize he was doing anything wrong. "He thought he'd found this job," he said. "Next time, he's going to jail."

Tennessee lawmaker: Enforce liquor law

Establishments must sell more food than booze By Nate Rau • THE TENNESSEAN • February 10, 2010 There are no bars in Tennessee, according to the letter of the law, which says establishments must derive a majority of their business from the sale of food in order to obtain an alcohol permit. But many businesses licensed as restaurants operate more like bars, with late-night hours and most of their sales coming from alcohol. Those establishments are violating the law and subjecting themselves to a $1,500 monthly fine. Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, wants to see the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission strictly enforce laws on the books since the state began allowing liquor-by-the-drink sales a generation ago. Todd has filed a bill that would require "restaurants" to report their food and alcohol sales monthly to the ABC board, which would then have the power to fine, or shut down, establishments failing to sell more food than alcohol. "If in fact you want an ABC license then you need to meet the requirements to attain that license," Todd said. In 2009, the ABC board collected $84,000 in fines from establishments failing to meet the minimum food service requirement. Big Bang, Tootsies Orchid Lounge, Lipstick Lounge and Hollywood Disco were among the "restaurants" that failed to derive most of their income from the sale of food. "Here's the issue: If you own anything that would be considered more of a bar than a restaurant by the average guest, you can have a kitchen, put menus on the table, you can do everything it takes to show people that you sell food, but you can't make them order food," said Austin Ray, owner of the Melrose Neighborhood Pub, which he says regularly walks the line between meeting and failing to meet the requirement on a monthly basis. New permit mentioned Todd said he introduced his legislation in response to the fallout from last year's new state law allowing permit holders to carry guns into places serving alcohol. The law was struck down by a Nashville judge, who said it was too vague since permit holders wouldn't know whether an establishment was meeting the food service requirement. Todd said he was open to re-examining the state law and perhaps creating a new bar or cabaret permit for establishments already effectively operating as bars. Will Cheek, an attorney with the Nashville firm Bone McAllester Norton, said that would be a better route for legislators to take if they were serious about addressing the issue. "It's a ridiculous requirement," said Cheek, who has represented bars across the state. "It's the exact opposite way this problem should be fixed. "The legislature should recognize these legitimate businesses with a law that allows them to serve alcohol as a bar." Todd, a retired Memphis police officer, also filed a bill to cut off the sale of alcohol and beer at midnight. Todd said he believes most alcohol-influenced crimes occur after midnight. But Sam Sanchez, owner of Sam's Sports Bar and Grill, said such a law would hurt tax collections and eliminate jobs across the state. "If I'm not mistaken, we're coming up short already in tax collections," Sanchez said. "So go ahead and come up much shorter and take away jobs while we're at it. That's not the right direction to be heading in."

Tennessee hospitals push for tax to offset cuts to TennCare

By Chas Sisk • THE TENNESSEAN • February 9, 2010 The Tennessee Hospital Association's members will push for a temporary tax on their revenues to reduce cuts to the TennCare program proposed last week by Gov. Phil Bredesen. The association's board voted Monday to approve a one-year "coverage fee" of 1 percent to 2 percent that would raise money for hospital services scheduled to receive less funding from TennCare. The fee likely would go into effect July 1 and would not be passed along to patients, association officials said. The group also will lobby the state to dip further into reserves and to use any additional revenue that comes into the state to reduce TennCare cuts. "We care about patients. We care about continued delivery of services," said the board's chairman, James Brexler, the president and chief executive of Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga. "We have done our part." The unusual move — which means hospitals essentially will lobby the legislature to tax them — is meant to offset some of the $370 million in TennCare cuts proposed by Bredesen as part of next year's budget. The legislature will hold hearings on the budget proposal this week and must vote on a new spending plan by June 30. Because the federal government sends Tennessee two dollars to three dollars for every dollar the state spends on TennCare, hospitals estimate that the Bredesen administration's cuts to TennCare could take as much as $1.5 billion out of Tennessee's health-care system. That would cost hospitals more money than the tax, hospitals believe. Some are exempt Government-owned hospitals such as Nashville's Metro General would be exempt from the tax, officials said. Revenue from the tax would go into a trust fund that could be used only for hospital services — such as reimbursements for indigent care, funding for graduate medical education and coverage for inpatient services — that would be reduced when the new budget year starts this summer. The exact level of the tax would depend on the specific programs that would be funded with it, but hospitals estimate they would need to raise a maximum of $200 million from the tax, said Craig Becker, the association's president and chief executive. The tax would apply even to hospitals that see few TennCare patients, but they voted to approve the tax, nevertheless. Becker said he'd received a favorable response from Gov. Bredesen's administration about the proposal. "We were unanimous in authorizing this alternative to this amount of a cut . . . and the fact that a fee was the best of the options that were available to us," Brexler said. "I think it would be a little overstated in saying we were all unanimous in our support for creating a fee."

TN lawmakers consider new oversight of sex abuse inquiries at youth facilities

DCS officials questioned about how they investigate claims By Nate Rau • THE TENNESSEAN • February 9, 2010 State lawmakers Monday discussed ways to improve oversight of sexual abuse claims at state juvenile detention facilities in the wake of a damning federal report that named a Nashville center as having one of the worst rates of abuse in the country. Members of the joint Select Committee on Children and Youth asked officials from the Department of Children's Services how it investigates workers when claims of sex abuse are made by youths incarcerated at a state-run juvenile detention facility. The committee met in response to a report issued in January by the U.S. Department of Justice, which said Nashville juvenile detention facility Woodland Hills Youth Development Center had one of the highest rates of sexual victimization in the country. The report said a majority of the cases nationally and at Woodland Hills involved female staffers' abusing male youths. An investigation by The Tennessean on Sunday identified similar claims. In 2007, for example, kitchen staffer Luana Settle was convicted of statutory rape after she had given a 17-year-old youth at the center chlamydia, and went on to live with another boy she'd had a sexual encounter with at the facility. None of the five special DCS investigations into Settle found that she had committed sexual abuse. DCS said it investigates claims of sex abuse along with Metro Police and the district attorney. "The committee believes the department investigating itself is not a good policy," said Nashville Democrat Rep. Sherry Jones, who chairs the committee. Jones said it was possible the committee would introduce legislation to remove the special investigation unit from under the DCS umbrella. Jones also said the committee would consider a measure requiring that police investigate claims of sex abuse. When Settle was investigated in 2007, a Metro detective said police were not notified of any past claims of abuse. Outside help urged Sen. Diane Black, a Gallatin Republican, suggested the state use outside specialists to interview juveniles about sex abuse claims. Currently DCS uses its own internal investigators to consider such claims. Rep. Chad Faulkner said the state should use an outside party to collect claims of abuse. Currently, an officer within the juvenile center collects claims and forwards them to authorities. "Whatever we're doing is not working," said Faulkner, a Republican from Luttrell. Related Sex abuse allegations plague TN juvenile detention center Sen. Thelma Harper expressed concern that girls being held under DCS care at the New Visions Center would soon be moved to Woodland Hills under a budget cut proposal from Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration. "I hate to see us splashed in Tennessee with sexual problems," said Harper, a Nashville Democrat. "I'm hoping in some way we could be removed from the list. Not only because those are children, but the other is because those are females. That's just not something that's traditional for women." DCS Deputy Commissioner Steve Hornsby said the department was taking the federal report seriously, but added that he didn't know why Woodland Hills found its way onto a list of the 13 worst centers in the country for claims of abuse. Hornsby called the report's findings that 95 percent of abuse nationwide came at the hands of female staff an "interesting phenomenon." Pointing to the popular film The Shawshank Redemption, which contains scenes depicting violent acts of prison rape, Hornsby said he didn't believe such acts were happening at Woodland Hills. The federal report questioned more than 9,000 youths at juvenile centers nationwide. The youths who participated in the survey were promised anonymity; their abuse claims could not be investigated. When Settle was investigated in 2007, a Metro detective said police were not notified of any past claims of abuse.

Tennessee's mental health cuts deepen

Patient advocates say loss of services could cost lives By Christina E. Sanchez • THE TENNESSEAN • February 8, 2010 Tennessee's mental health agency, already struggling from last year's budget cuts, is facing a double whammy in 2010 — deeper cuts to its own budget coupled with reductions in TennCare insurance for many of its patients. Advocates for the mentally ill say more reductions in services may endanger lives. "The mental health system was severely underfunded to begin with, and it's increasingly fragile," said Sita Diehl, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Tennessee. "We can't take any more cuts. If they take away from the system, these people will end up in another — jail or, even worse, the morgue." Since July 2008, the mental health agency has shed nearly a quarter of its staff — 672 positions — and more than 247 beds at its state hospital. Now, the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities is facing $9.4 million in additional cuts. For many patients, the newly proposed TennCare health plan cuts will compound the challenge by restricting doctor visits and laboratory tests. "Someone who is mentally ill, is poor and has a hard time managing mental illness will end up at the hospital, and the state will end up paying more," said Pam Womack, executive director and co-founder of the Mental Health Co-op in Nashville. Children's unit to be closed The lone state-run children's mental illness unit, comprising 14 beds at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute, will be closed under next year's fiscal budget, said Sarah Lingo, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health. But the department feels private hospitals' beds for children will be sufficient. Also in jeopardy are programs designed to help the mentally ill within their own communities. Lingo said the department will see significant gaps in funding for alcohol- and drug-abuse treatment and for peer support centers, in which people with mental illness run recovery programs to help others who are mentally ill. "As the number of uninsured individuals increases, funding for crisis services will not keep pace with the need for those services in the proposed budget," Lingo said. However, the department plans to protect its $21.5 million budget for the Behavioral Health Safety Net. The "safety net" provides services for the sickest mentally ill clients who don't qualify for TennCare but lack private insurance. "When looking at these budget cuts, we tried to keep core services so when the time is right and the economy recovers, we can restore programs," Lingo said. "Since (the TennCare cuts) have not been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, we don't have a good idea on how that impact would impact our services." The TennCare bureau submitted its proposed $200 million cuts to CMS last week, and it is unknown when the federal agency will approve or deny the request. Among other things, the proposed cuts would limit participants to eight doctor visits a year, place a $10,000 annual cap on payments for inpatient hospital care, and restrict how many times lab work can be performed. The Department of Mental Health had been slated to receive a $37 million cut for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, but federal stimulus money and restored funding brought the cut to about $15 million, said Lingo. Centers got high marks Just last year, a report from NAMI hailed Tennessee as an innovator for its peer support centers, which give people with mental illness a chance to work and to support one another. The peer support program had grown to nearly 50 locations across the state by 2008 — before it was downsized. Today, there are seven. Bonnie Kelly, 55, said bipolar disorder had prevented her from working until she found peer support centers. Bouts of extreme creativity and energy would help her function, but then she would crash, come down off her high and enter a severe depression. At the peer support center, she got a job as an activities director. No other place would hire her. Community programs and housing liaisons, who help the mentally ill find places to live, are vital to recovery outside a hospital, said Anthony Fox, executive director of the Tennessee Mental Health Consumers Association, who also suffers from bipolar disorder. "There is nothing wrong with us, but we're trying to overcome an illness that most people don't understand," Fox said. Kelly now uses the Mental Health Co-op program, which she says saved her life. The co-op, a nonprofit mental health crisis organization, gets help for the patients with severest mental illnesses and serves as a gatekeeper for the state mental institutes. She worries about the impact of the budget cuts. "People will die. They will be sick and not get the care they need," said Kelly. "I didn't choose to be mentally ill. It's rough to be very severely mentally ill." NAMI, which grades states' mental health systems, said Tennessee's mental health crisis has been getting more serious, and demoted the state from a grade of C in 2006 to a D in 2009. No state in the nation got an A. Tennessee fell about in the middle of the pack. Police have had hands full The cuts have meant that Nashville police officers have had their hands full at times when the 200-bed Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute is full. Officers watch the patients until a bed is available, sometime on the other side of the state, said Commander Bob Nash of the Metro police. "If I've got officers tied up for several shifts; that keeps them from performing other duties, such as working on criminal activities," said Nash. NAMI of Tennessee estimates that at least 20 percent of the jail population is mentally ill, and that number could be closer to 25 percent or 30 percent. Police want to help speed the process of getting clinical services. That might require a policy change so that officers could transport mental health patients to other state hospitals where beds are available, Nash said. Two weekends ago, Metro police officers were tied up for several patrol shifts to watch over a mentally ill patient until he could get a bed at the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute. "Helping people through crisis is one of our duties, and we may very well save someone's life," said Nash. "But the probability that we might not have a bed available is going up."

Nashville convention hotel deal looks less certain

City seeks new plans as private financing falls short By Michael Cass • THE TENNESSEAN • February 8, 2010 What once seemed like a firm deal to build a Marriott Marquis to serve as the headquarters hotel for a new downtown convention center now appears less solid. Metro leaders say they hope multiple hotel developers and operators will come forward with new private-public financing plans. The Metro Council approved construction of the $585 million convention center last month, but Mayor Karl Dean decided to hold off on presenting a hotel deal until he could find more attractive terms. But some experts say 2010 will be another difficult year for building hotels. Although the city chose Colorado-based Phelps Development and Portman Holdings of Atlanta to develop a convention center hotel last year, it didn't have contracts with them or Marriott International, which was picked to run the facility. Working with Dean's administration, the Phelps-Portman team was unable to come up with significant private financing. "Certainly the Phelps-Portman group is a very viable group, and hopefully there will be a way to bring that to a complete, solid deal," Marty Dickens, chairman of the Convention Center Authority, said Friday. "But we wouldn't want to discourage anyone if they can put together the right financing and right private investment to make it viable for the city." Dickens and Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling said they haven't yet discussed a formal process for soliciting and evaluating hotel development proposals. Riebeling said the authority would run the process, with input from him and others in Dean's administration. Hotels built elsewhere Metro picked Phelps-Portman in June from a pool of 10 competing development teams. Phelps and Portman have built hotels together in San Diego, Atlanta, Charlotte, New York, Orlando, Denver and other cities, with Portman handling design and Phelps doing the building. Roger Zampell, Portman's senior vice president for development, said Phelps-Portman had an agreement with the city and he expects the group to have the first opportunity to bring a deal to the authority. "We would certainly hope so," Zampell said. "We went through a public process to be selected. I assume nothing has changed." Riebeling said there was no formal agreement. But he said Phelps-Portman and Marriott could still have an edge. "If they could come forward with a transaction, they would obviously be in prime position," he said. A Marriott spokeswoman, Paula Butler, said the Washington, D.C.-based company — which Metro selected to build what would be just the fourth Marriott Marquis — wouldn't comment "until a specific project is finalized." Center to open in 2013 The convention center is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2013. Officials say they hope a hotel, which will take just two years to build, can open alongside it around the same time. Dickens said he thinks the authority can find a viable deal in the next few months. "During the first half of this year, I'm very optimistic that there will be a way for a public-private partnership that works," he said. "Now that the convention center has been approved, I think we'll be able to get there." But Mark Bloom, senior vice president for tax-free bonds with UBS Financial Services Inc. and a minority owner of the Hilton Downtown Nashville near the convention center site, said the market for financing hotels remains weak. "There's going to be very little new hotel development moving forward this year," Bloom said. "It's probably the most restrictive lending environment for hotels that we've seen in the past 30 years." Bloom said there wouldn't be much political appetite for $200 million or more in public financing so soon after the contentious convention center debate. "All that being said, if creative minds can create a public-private partnership, then you do have at least a faint heartbeat, whereas before you had a patient that was lost," he said. Others say that even in the economic downturn, downtown Nashville should look appealing to the hotel industry. The Music City Center will add more than 250,000 square feet of convention space to the downtown inventory, and a $250 million, privately financed medical trade center has been proposed for the site of the existing convention center. Feasibility study done A feasibility study by HVS Consulting found that a 750-room convention center hotel could achieve occupancy rates of about 75 percent. Its primary competitors would be the Hilton, the Renaissance, the Sheraton and the DoubleTree, which have about 1,800 rooms combined. "The overall market analysis indicates strong demand for a new lodging facility in downtown Nashville," wrote the consulting firm, which was criticized by some Metro Council members for its projections of strong demand for the convention center. Zampell said the lending markets are looking better, and the Phelps-Portman team will try to make something work in the coming months. "That'll be our task," he said.

Downtown parking citations enforced on Saturday now

Workers upset by fines By Nancy DeVille • THE TENNESSEAN • February 5, 2010 Some Nashville drivers are not feeling the need to feed the downtown parking meters on Saturday. And the city has the citations to prove it. Since the Saturday meter parking enforcement went into effect last month in portions of downtown, Metro Public Works patrol officers have issued more than 200 tickets in the past few weeks. Parking hours and limits on Saturday include meters in the area bordered by James Robertson Parkway, Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, Broadway and Second Avenue North. The meter's rate in these areas is $1.50 an hour. Jeni Curlin who works part time at the Wild Horse Saloon says she searches for ways to avoid the parking meters. She's forced to leave her Hermitage home about 45 minutes prior to her shift just to find a place to park her car. Curlin often lands a spot in a loading dock or sometimes simply takes a risk at parking at a meter without paying, hoping not to get a parking ticket. "I don't have eight hours of change and can't leave work every two hours to feed the meter," she said. "I can't afford to spend half my salary on parking. "It's much more difficult to park now than it was before. I understand what they are trying to do, but tourists don't park at meters. Locals are the ones getting hurt by this." The Metro Traffic and Parking Commission approved the use of the Saturday meters during its November meeting. Public Works recommended the change to encourage more turnover at meters, making street parking available to more downtown visitors and patrons. A recent study of the area showed nearly 100 percent occupancy rates on Saturday, instead of the ideal 85 percent, said Gwen Hopkins-Glascock with Metro Public Works. "We want to avoid having folks monopolizing the downtown meters for longer than they should," she said. "We need to create that turnover for visitors and patrons of the downtown businesses." Hopkins-Glascock said those who will be downtown for an extended time should consider parking in one of Metro's garage facilities either at the Main Library or the Metro Courthouse. Saturday enforcement could generate an additional $30,000 a month. Annually the nearly 2,000 parking meters operated by Public Works contribute about $1.1 million. "When we were taking a look at all of our rev programs to see what we could do to help with the budget, this was one that seemed easy," said Hopkins-Glascock. Metro Public Works enforced meter parking on Saturdays until 2003 when a special ordinance was passed by the Metro Council to amend the law to exclude Saturdays, Hopkins-Glascock said. It expired in 2004, but wasn't reinstated until last month.

Nashville Zoo offers discounts Sunday

USA Today NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — It's not the Super Bowl, but Zooperbowl. The Nashville Zoo is offering half-price admission on Super Bowl Sunday. It's $7 for adults, $4.50 for children 3 to 12 and $6 for seniors 65 or older. In a news release announcing the promotion, zoo officials said some species (cougars, Bengal tigers, zebras, eland, red pandas and Eurasian lynx) are often more active during cooler months. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I-40, I-440 in Nashville have weekend construction

USA TODAY NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Interstate highway travel through Nashville this weekend will have a couple of kinks. State transportation officials say a contractor will swing large steel beams into place at a flyover ramp project at Interstate 40 and White Bridge Road on the city's west side. Interstate traffic won't be stopped, but travel on White Bridge over I-40 will have lane closures and some traffic stoppage. The other work is a continuation of concrete repair on I-440, only a couple of miles from the ramp project. All eastbound lanes of I-440 will be closed from I-40 to I-65 beginning Friday at 8 p.m. and ending by 6 a.m. Monday. The best detour for eastbound traffic is to continue downtown and pick up I-65 off the downtown "loop" and then connect to I-40 again.

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is open free Saturday

February 5, 2010 Admission to The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will be free on Saturday. Exhibits will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Hall on Fifth Avenue South is partnering with the Ford Motor Company Fund to offer the event. It was scheduled for Jan. 30 but was cancelled because of bad weather. Free songwriter sessions will be offered at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the Ford Theater. Featured artists will include Tim Buppert and Jerry Vandiver. The museum also will offer a musical petting zoo at 3 p.m. in the SunTrust Community Room. The zoo will allow visitors to have a hands-on experience with numerous musical instruments. For more information, visit www.countrymusichalloffame.org.

Nashville Mayor Dean to head mass transit group

By Jenny Upchurch • THE TENNESSEAN • February 5, 2010 A new partnership to improve Middle Tennessee's public transportation system was announced Thursday between public and private sectors and between cities and counties. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean will head the group, the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee, and called for "a bold vision" that includes more mass transit and more walkable communities. Nashville is trailing cities such as Denver, Austin and Charlotte in the race for new residents and business, he said. On a scale of 10, he said he'd rank Nashville as a four. "This is a wonderful place to live and work," Dean said a news conference Thursday, "but it is not lost on any of us that they are moving ahead of us in transportation." Dean said light rail projects might be part of a regional transportation plan. But there are other options, including bus rapid transit and commuter vans. The crucial factor, he said, will be securing funding. The next few months are crucial as a long-range transportation plan is finished. The 2035 Regional Transportation Plan will be unveiled May 26. It will guide how money, including millions in federal fuel tax revenue, is allotted for Middle Tennessee projects. Michael Skipper, head of the MPO, says the 2035 plan will help Middle Tennessee compete for large grants for transportation projects. Cities like Nashville have faced a catch, he said. To compete for money to build rail lines or bus systems, cities pretty much had to have them in place already. The only cities that benefited were Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Ralph Schulz, the chief of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, says businesses checking out Middle Tennessee for relocation always have one question. What are you doing about transportation? "People work well away from where they live. People shop well away from where they live. And there are the future challenges, that we already see, of energy in scarcity and cost," Schulz said

Metro Nashville workers get incentive to volunteer at schools

Metro Nashville's 11,000 government workers can volunteer two hours a week in the city's public schools and still be paid, Mayor Karl Dean said Wednesday. Dean said he hopes the measure will spur volunteerism throughout Nashville. He signed an executive order in front of a fourth-grade class at Warner Elementary School in East Nashville. "Research has shown that if students are paired up with volunteer tutors and mentors, they are more likely to improve their grades, be more engaged in school and, most importantly, to graduate from high school," Dean said. Dean said he hoped Nashville's private sector would follow suit and provide workers with a similar program. Jan Moore, who teaches foreign language speakers English at Warner Elementary, applauded the program. Moore said a volunteer in her class last year made it possible to put on a Thanksgiving program for her students. "It really makes a difference," Moore said of volunteers helping in the classroom. "It especially helps with reading and having people they can read to." Metro Schools Director Jesse Register said the program was a great effort. "Volunteers add so much to what our schools can offer students," Register said. "These benefits extend well past assisting teachers, mentoring or tutoring students, or assisting with improvement projects. They provide that community involvement and support that is so critical to success." Schools' needs queried According to district officials, individual schools were asked to identify areas where they needed help and are working with nonprofits to increase community volunteers. The PENCIL Foundation, a local nonprofit, will manage the program by matching volunteers with the 10 pilot schools, which are Dan Mills Elementary, John Early Middle, Cane Ridge High, Dodson Elementary, East Literature, J.T. Moore Middle, LEAD Academy, Madison Middle, McGavock High and Wharton Elementary. The program will grow with demand, Dean said. James McClanahan, who works as a volunteer services assistant for the Metro Library Department, signed up for the volunteer program shortly after Dean's announcement. McClanahan said he hoped Metro employees would use the program as a way to get more people involved and give more time. "To be able to give back to the lives of children is one of the most important things for their future success," McClanahan said. Workers can register at www.pencilfd.org/volunteer/metro_employees.

TennCare cuts threaten Nashville General hospital

Hospital that serves large numbers of poor may lose $10.5 million By Christina E. Sanchez • THE TENNESSEAN • February 4, 2010 Looming cuts to a health insurance program for the state's poorest patients could deal a devastating blow to Nashville General Hospital at Meharry. The governor's proposed $200 million in cuts to TennCare could mean a budget gap of $10.5 million for the public hospital, which has struggled financially in recent years. The proposal also would limit coverage for TennCare recipients, forcing hospitals to pick up what the health insurance plan won't. Gov. Phil Bredesen offered up the cuts in his budget address Monday as a way to help solve Tennessee's financial shortfall for the coming fiscal year. But supporters of the public hospital wonder whether Nashville General, and a sister safety net hospital, the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, would survive the cuts. The Med could see a $50 million funding loss. The hospitals serve large numbers of uninsured and uninsurable residents. "Poor people will not get the care they need if this is shut down," said the Rev. Jay Voorhees, a member of a clergy advocacy group, Nashvillians for Metro General. "It will affect people's ability to be healthy. Some of these people will die." Nashville General will work with other hospitals, the Tennessee Hospital Association and the Tennessee Association of Public and Teaching Hospitals, on solutions to deal with the cuts, the hospital's interim CEO, Jason Boyd, said in a statement. "Nashville General cannot absorb a $10.5 million cut, but is hopeful the state working in concert with the hospital advocacy groups can find a solution to fund hospitals that provide a high portion of TennCare, charity and unfunded care to the citizens of Tennessee," he said. Struggling to resolve financial constraints is a familiar scenario for the hospital. In early 2009, the hospital lacked money and had no reserve funds. Also, the hospital had $66.9 million in bad debt and charity in 2008, state department of health data show. The hospital authority tightened its belt and should end the 2010 fiscal year with a barely balanced budget, but then it faces the potential TennCare cut. "You can't lose $10 million without it affecting the services it's going to give," Voorhees said. Among the planned TennCare reductions: occupational, physical and speech therapy would be eliminated; in-patient hospital care would be capped at $10,000; hospice care would be eliminated; and patients would be limited to eight non-emergency doctors' visits a year. Pregnant women and children would be exempt from many of the limits. Cuts must be approved The TennCare Bureau must get approval to make the cuts from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. According to information provided by Dr. Joey Hensley, chairman of the state oversight committee on TennCare, only two other states cap payments for their versions of Medicaid. Texas has a cap of $200,000. Minnesota has a $10,000 cap, but it applies only to those who make more than 175 percent of the state's living wage. The cuts to TennCare have been on the table for almost two years. Cuts were supposed to occur during the current budget year, but federal stimulus funds temporarily filled the gap. Voorhees says people have known the cuts were coming, but no solution is given on how to give people health care. "Health care is a basic human right," he said. "There is never an answer on how we make sure folks are cared for."