Signals: The Queen of Code

From CNN ...

Federal regulators are cracking down on smarmy companies that promise to lend people cash with zero interest, without disclosing important details that often cost vulnerable borrowers big bucks.

The average borrower who takes out a car title loan pays $2,142 in interest for just $951 of credit, according to a 2013 report by the Center for Responsible Lending.

U.S. cracks down on shady '0%' loan companies

What: Center City Democrats Meeting
When: Monday, February 2, 2015 - 6:15pm
Where: St. Joseph's House of Prayer, 1300 University Ave, Knoxville

Guest Speaker will be Dr. Harold Middlebrook, speaking about Black History Month.

Sen. Doug Overbey (R-Maryville) will sponsor the Insure Tennessee bill in the Senate. "The program is designed to control health care costs and improve access to many working poor Tennesseans who would otherwise have no access to affordable health insurance," said Overbey.

Full statement after the break...

Continued...

What: Tenn. Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini's Listening Tour comes to Knoxville
When: Thursday, February 5, 2015 - 4:30pm
Where: AFL-CIO Labor Council, 1522 Bill Williams Ave, Knoxville 37917

Join the KCDP and local TNDP Executive Committee members in welcoming newly elected Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party. This will be a listening tour event where individuals can come find out the new plans and direction that the state democratic party will be taking over the next months.

for info and RSVP visit: (link...)

contact: Linda Haney (llinc@comcast.net)

Hard Knox Independent reports that TWRA is set to charge a "high impact conservation permit" fee for the portion of Knoxville's Urban Wilderness South Loop trail that runs through the Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area.

The fee would be $12.50 per day or $60 per year for Tennessee residents. Out of state residents would pay $30.50 per day or $191 per year.

Apparently, bicycles are lumped in with horses and ATVs as "high impact" activities. That's about the dumbest thing I've heard in a while.

Anyway, Hard Knox Independent has more...

TWRA Wants Cyclists to Pay for Using Urban Wilderness Trails

Somehow I missed that ace reporter Samantha Manning is no longer with WATE. She's now at WJAX in Jacksonville, FL. She did a great job reporting on local and state government here and will be missed. Another loss for local media, but good luck and best wishes to her.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has this Insure Tennessee fact sheet that explains the proposal in great detail...

A couple of posts on Campus Sexual Assault.

If not for solid police work, culture of social media no conviction in Vandy rape trial

Irony of timing of higher ed’s sexual assault and relationship violence summit

Saw this strange ice formation in our bird bath this morning:

How did this happen? Close up after the break...

Continued...

Insure Tennessee, Gov. Haslam's proposal to expand Medicaid/TennCare, will be the hot topic as Tennessee's General Assembly gets underway.

Mailers for and against are blanketing the state. A reader received one for and one against. Here are copies of both. We only got the "for" mailer.

The pro mailer is from the Coalition for a Healthy Tennessee, a consortium of health care providers, insurance companies, and labor and business interests. The anti mailer is from the right wing Koch bros. funded Americans for Prosperity.

There are also radio ads from the Beacon Center, AFP and Coalition for a Healthy Tennessee.

Senate Democrats say outside money is flowing in, and legislators are being pressured to "consider politics first, people second."

The State Senate's Judiciary Committee, headed by Sen. Brian Kelsey, met yesterday to supposedly discuss the "legal issues." Vice chair Sen. Doug Overbey took exception when Kelsey used the forum to advocate against the plan. Kelsey brought in some guy from Ohio to testify how it would bankrupt the state. Overbey said none of this was on the agenda and wondered why they were there.

Meanwhile, regarding "legal issues" the state Attorney General has opined that Tennessee can unilaterally pull the plug on the program with proper notice and phase-out procedures. HHS concurs.

The new Knoxville Mercury alt-weekly project is conducting a survey of prospective readers to learn about their preferences.

You can take the survey here...

From Yahoo ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some 9.5 million people have already signed up for 2015 coverage under President Barack Obama's health care law, and the administration is on track to surpass its nationwide enrollment target set last year.

Obama administration on track to surpass health care goal

Be sure to visit jebbushforpresident(dot)com.

Here's why.

Business friendly

From Economic Policy Institute...

The upshot of these trends? A lopsided Tennessee economy, where top 1% average income is 24 times greater than the average income of the bottom 99%.

Tennessee

Light dusting on the grass and the street in front of our house...

The News Sentinel last week questioned a Knox County E-911 board meeting regarding a proposal for a new radio system. In his Sunday column, editor Jack McElroy compared it to Black Wednesday, suggesting there was extracurricular communication and saying the paper would be seeking an open records records email dump regarding the matter.

Mayor Madeline Rogero, who is a member of the board, released a statement today saying that she has directed her staff to look into the matter. She noted that she was in Washington D.C. for the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the time and did not attend the meeting, but said she is "committed to full transparency and ensuring that we have public confidence in the actions of the Board."

The Mayor's full statement after the break....

Continued...

From Reuters and CBO …

The U.S. budget deficit will decline slightly to $468 billion this fiscal year, the lowest level since President Barack Obama took office,

U.S. deficit to dip in 2015 as era of dramatic declines ends: CBO

The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2015 to 2025

From Philadelphia to New York City to Maine, they are bracing for a potentially historic blizzard that forecasters say could dump up to 3 feet of snow on the region and snarl transportation for tens of millions of people

"My message to New Yorkers is to prepare for something worse than we have seen before," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Alternate side of the street parking was canceled.:)

What: Iindependent Lens file: A Path Appears
When: Monday, January 26, 2015 - 10:00pm
Where: East TN PBS - Television

A Path Appears uncovers the harshest forms of gender-based oppression and human rights violations, and solutions being implemented to combat them.

Episode one is partially filmed in Nashville. Ashley Judd and Nicholas Kristof meets sexual abuse victim, Shana Goodwin, Shana guides them through the streets of Nashville where she was first sold to a pimp by her mother at the age of 12.

Episode One: Sex Trafficking in the USA - Monday, Jan. 26,
Episode Two: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty - Monday, Feb. 2
Episode Three: Violence and Solutions - Monday, Feb. 9