NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - While Gov. Bill Haslam says he has not decided whether to outsource management of more state-owned buildings, a document used earlier this month in presentations to New York bond-rating agencies says he’s eyeing that possibility.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports (https://bit.ly/1KhOtiR ) the Republican governor and top state officials relied on a 63-page PowerPoint document in their Oct. 9-10 pitch to Wall Street experts reviewing the state’s financial picture in advance of Tennessee issuing new bonds.
A one-page section called “Looking Ahead” cites two specific initiatives “to reduce costs and improve productivity.”
One is energy management. The other is “Facilities Management Outsourcing.”
That’s the proposal now generating a ruckus among state government and higher education workers as well as many Democratic and some Republican legislators.
Haslam spokesman David Smith said Friday the PowerPoint’s mention of outsourcing is not at odds with what the governor told reporters Wednesday as the administration continues to walk back a confidential timetable.
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NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - Denny Colwell fires up a weed whacker and makes quick work of his prized American ginseng patch, a fall ritual that helps hide the slow-growing, long-lived perennials from poachers keen on digging them up.
Colwell has been planting, growing and harvesting ginseng in the forests of western Pennsylvania for four decades, producing a root that’s virtually indistinguishable from, and every bit as valuable as, its wild counterpart.
That makes him a juicy target for thieves. But it also means he’s helping to conserve a plant deeply rooted in American history and commerce.
As wild populations continue to be thinned out by poaching, habitat loss and an overabundance of deer, backers of a new labeling program are encouraging landowners like Colwell to cultivate ginseng where it grows natively - on shady hillsides in the eastern U.S. - and to get it certified as “forest grown.”
Their goal is to take some of the pressure off a coveted botanical that retails for hundreds or even thousands of dollars per pound in Asia, where very old, distinctive wild roots are often given as gifts and put on display, and less expensive roots are widely used as a tonic in traditional medicine. Diggers of wild American ginseng received more than $60 million for their roots in 2013, according to the American Herbal Products Association.
“What we’re trying to get some momentum around is this whole idea of growing ginseng to conserve it - conservation through cultivation,” said Eric Burkhart, a Penn State University ginseng expert involved in the program.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam is raising questions about a legislative proposal to ban Tennessee schools from teaching about “religious doctrine” before the 10th grade, saying it could have unexpected consequences.
For instance, the Republican governor said the proposal could prevent younger students from learning why the Pilgrims decided to leave Europe.
“I don’t know how you talk about the founding of America, and what became of the United States, without talking about religious doctrine,” Haslam told reporters last week. “Now, that’s very different than indoctrinating, or teaching that doctrine as truth.”
The bill sponsored by Republican state Rep. Sheila Butt of Columbia would require the state board of education to review any religion mentioned in a middle school curriculum to ensure “the reference does not amount to teaching any form of religious doctrine to the students.” It would also require that any teaching of comparative religion in high school not focus more on one religion than another.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has decried the measure as being “fueled by rising hysteria over the false claim that middle schoolers are being subjected to ’Islamic indoctrination.’”
State education officials have said that while students may learn the Five Pillars of Islam or read from religious texts, that information is used to provide historical context about the influence the religion has had on regions of the world.
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Justin Timberlake sang and strutted his way through his induction into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame on Saturday, doing vocal impersonations of soul singers Al Green and Otis Redding, performing on stage with Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, and joking with buddy Jimmy Fallon.
The pop singer and actor accepted the honor in front of about 2,100 people, who laughed throughout his acceptance speech. With a drink in tow, he told Fallon, who introduced him, that he was not funny. The pair marched together on stage as Timberlake led the audience in the fight song for the Memphis Tigers’ football team, which upset Mississippi on Saturday.
Timberlake, a Memphis native, joked with friend DJ Paul of rap group Three 6 Mafia and sang bits of Green’s “Love and Happiness,” Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” during his speech. He even cursed a few times.
“This is the (expletive) coolest thing that has ever happened to me,” said Timberlake, a former ’NSync member and solo artist who has won multiple Emmy and Grammy awards and appeared in several films.
Later, he added: “The Grammys are political. The Emmys are political. Memphis is not political. And don’t get me started on Hollywood.”
The event honored musicians and performers with strong connections to Memphis, known as a cradle of blues, soul/R&B and rock n’ roll. Also inducted were Sam & Dave, Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore, Booker T. & the MG’s drummer Al Jackson Jr., singer Alberta Hunter, blues pianist Memphis Slim and country singer Charlie Rich. Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards accepted the award for Scotty Moore, who did not attend.
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