Daily Dose for May 29, 2008

McCain in Nashville on Monday

McCain in Nashville on Monday -- Presidential hopeful John McCain will host a "town-hall" meeting in Nashville on Monday. The Tennessee Town Hall Meeting will be held at 12:30 p.m. Monday at the Ryman Auditorium and is open to the public. A private fundraising reception will follow. This is the Arizona senator's first visit to Tennessee since he was in Memphis for the commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's death [Last sentence corrected - thanks, Paul.]

Belmont Names Pres Debate Hosts -- Country music stars and politicians dot the honorary host committee for Belmont University's Oct. 7 town hall presidential debate. The 52-member committee, which will be officially released today, includes music stars Kix Brooks, Vince Gill and Amy Grant, as well as former Vice President Al Gore and Tennessean Publisher Emeritus John Seigenthaler. Gov. Phil Bredesen, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Belmont trustee Mike Curb will serve as honorary chairs of the committee. Belmont learned in November that it would host the debate, the first in Tennessee.

TN Ethics Drops Lobbying Investigations -- TN Ethics Commission has dropped an investigation into two lobbying firms. In the first case, two state legislators had accused the Seigenthaler Public Relations firm of acting as lobbyists when they set up a Web site to help liquor wholesalers lobby against a bill that would have allowed Tennesseans to order wine over the Internet. That case was dismissed because Ethics officials say it came through the wrong channels. Commissioners also dismissed the case of Robert Gowan, a former aide to Gov. Phil Bredesen, on the grounds that he was no longer working for the relevant clients for the ethics opinion.

Nashville, Knoxville Top Carbon Emission -- Nashville and Knoxville are both in the top ten of worst carbon emission cities in the country, according to Brookings Institution. The report was based on emissions generated by highway transportation and residential buildings and did not include emissions from commercial buildings, industry or non-highway transportation. Knoxville coming in at number ten produced 3.134 metric tons of carbon per person in 2005. Nashville at number 5 produced 3.222 metro tons of carbon per person.

Corker Will Attempt to Amend Cap-and-Trade -- Sen. Bob Corker's unhappiness with the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008 is well known. Now Corker says he plans to attempt to amend the bill when it gets to the Senate floor. Corkers three amendments would provide direct relief to American consumers, which he says bear the brunt of the cap-and-trade program’s costs; eliminating free allowances to entities that have nothing to do with reducing carbon emissions; and eliminate the use of international offsets to meet emissions reductions. Corker: "If a cap-and-trade bill becomes law, every single American will pay more for gasoline, more for electricity, more for food, more for everything they buy as a result. I believe that any money generated from a cap-and-trade system should be put back in the pockets of American citizens burdened with these additional costs."

Herenton Backed by CEOs for Superintendent -- Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton did not apply for the city school superintendent post, but some local business leaders are promoting him for the job. Herenton called the two finalists for the superintendent's job "third-rate candidates" and said he wasn't pleased with the school board's search results. Previously, Herenton said he would accept the post under certain conditions, leaving open the previously political unpenetrable Mayor's office.

Posted by Adam Groves | Email This |