From MSNBC …

NC mayor marches to DC to save hospital

Ruby Tuesday reported 4th quarter and year-end results after the market close today. Revenues were down $8.8 million, "primarily due to a net reduction of 36 Company-owned restaurants during the year." The company posted a net loss of $0.9 million compared to a net loss of $27.0 million for the same quarter last year.

For fiscal 2014, revenues of $1.16 billion were off 6.6% from the prior year, and the company's net loss was $64.9 million as compared to $23.4 million last year. Same store sales declined 5.3% for the year.

Ruby Tuesday Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2014 Results

U. S. Senate candidate Gordon Ball's campaign coordinator Lance Baker contacted me with more information about the campaign's FEC reports. Mr. Baker assured me that all reports have been filed in a timely manner. He said they have documentation, delivery receipts, etc. to confirm this.

As discussed before, the reports are sent to the Secretary of the Senate, who forwards them to the FEC. Mr. Baker said they filed the reports with the Senate on time and they are not sure why they aren't being forwarded to the FEC in a timely manner. He said their campaign finance people had contacted the FEC to inquire about the problem. They were told that the Senate is supposed to send the FEC a daily list of campaign reports received, but for some reason they had not done so.

Mr. Baker also noted that this is not a new problem, and that there had been earlier complaints from candidates about the Senate reporting process and erroneous late filing notices. He forwarded this article from the Center for Public Integrity citing similar problems.

Regarding the late notices posted on the FEC website, Mr. Baker said the campaign is supposed to first be notified via email with a follow up hard copy letter. He said they had recently changed internet providers and the emails went to an old account that was not being forwarded properly and that they had not yet received any hard copies by mail, so they were unaware of the problem.

In case you missed it. Gov. Haslam sent Obama a letter demanding "immediate answers" regarding 760 child refugees from Central America being sheltered by sponsors in our state.

It's now coming out that the policy for child refugees has been in place since 2002 and there's nothing unusual about it other than a recent increase in the number of refugees fleeing violence in Central America.

Gov. Haslam apparently did not know about this policy (and neither did I, but hey, I'm not a governor), and is simply using it as another means to attack the Obama administration ahead of Tennessee's upcoming "red to the roots" elections.

What an embarrassment.

Speaking of spam, did you know that you can advertise on KnoxViews.com for as little as $20 per week? We think that's a pretty good deal. Please consider us for your local business, campaign and/or promotional advertising needs. Tell your friends and colleagues, too. Honest, we're easy to work with.

Also, we have just updated our pricing and policies, effective Aug. 1st, 2014. More info here...

(Note: we are currently fully booked through Aug. 7th, 2014).

The KNS reports that ORNL ditched a plan to offer a "Southern Accent Reduction" class for employees because some staff members were offended. The class description said "Feel confident in a meeting when you need to speak with a more neutral American accent, and be remembered for what you say and not how you say it."

OK, then.

Dear Spammers:

I'm fairly certain that I do not have a message from someone on Match.com wanting to meet me, I'm not interested in learning seduction secrets, I'm not looking to have secret affairs with housewives in my area, I already know how to look up sex offenders in my area but I'm not that worried about it, I can't link to you on Linkedin because I don't have an account, I won't give money to the DSCC if you can't tell me who the Democratic candidates are, I won't give money to the DCCC if you won't recruit somebody to run against Jimmy Duncan, I don't really believe that your email is from Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid, I don't need a free website makeover or SEO optimization, I'm not interested in your miracle herbal cure to reverse neuropathy, eliminate back pain, reduce blood sugar, lose weight, sleep better or improve my eyesight, I'm not interested in hair restoration, I don't need a HARP mortgage reduction loan, I don't want to learn to be a certified nursing assistant or to learn medical billing and coding, I don't need a half-off coupon for an oil change, I don't want to rent a yacht or a private jet just now, and I don't want 250 premium business cards, a new business phone system, an ADT alarm system (already have one), life insurance, faucets, a home warranty, a Genie Zip Bra, or replacement windows.

Sincerely,
rneal@127.0.0.1

City of Knoxville: Two westbound lanes of Blount Avenue between Gay Street and Chapman Highway will be closed through September 19 to accommodate demolition work at the former Baptist Hospital site.

Commuters will share the two eastbound lanes, with side-by-side lanes of eastbound and westbound traffic.

JW Demolition, which is doing the South Waterfront site preparation work, applied for the traffic control permit.

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 28, 2014
Contact: John Crooks
(Office) 865-637-3227 ext. 119 (Cell) 865-223-4513 jcrooks@emeraldcharterschools.org
DR. JON RYSEWYK HIRED AS FOUNDING PRINCIPAL OF EMERALD ACADEMY
Longtime educator to lead Knox County’s first public charter school
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Emerald Charter Schools (ECS) has hired Dr. Jon Rysewyk as the founding principal of Emerald Academy, a college-prep public school of choice for urban youth. Rysewyk, following a thorough process, was the unanimous choice of Emerald Charter Schools’ nine-member board of directors.

Martin Daniel is running in the Republican primary against incumbent Steve Hall for 18th District Tennessee House. Apparently, Hall sent out a mailer attacking Daniel for donating to U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat.

In response, Daniel said "sometimes, campaign contributions go beyond politics," noting that his son has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and that Rep. Cohen had helped by sponsoring the MD Care Act which provides funding in the fight against Muscular Dystrophy. Mr. Daniel's full statement after the break...

U.S. Senate candidates Terry Adams and Gordon Ball appeared onstage together last week at a candidate forum in Bolivar, a small town in lower West Tennessee. During the forum, Adams criticized Ball for his past support of Republicans, including Haslam and Alexander. Ball responded by saying he had "made some mistakes," and went on to apologize and explain his position.

You can watch the exchange right here...

SL Tennessee announced 1,000 new auto parts manufacturing jobs as part of a $80.5 million expansion in the Clinton I-75 Industrial Park in Clinton. It could be the largest expansion of industrial employment in Anderson County since World War II.

Nice!

"The Tennessee State democratic Executive Committee is the governing body of Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP). As such, we are by definition a support group that helps elect Democrats throughout Tennessee. I am proud to have the opportunity to donate my time, energy and money to the TNDP. I have done so consistently for many years.

One of the responsibilities and expectations of Executive Committee Members is donating money. Sylvia and (the late) Harold Woods have been consistent donors. Committeewoman Gayle Alley has been a consistent donor. Contributing $ is part of the job of a Committee Member

Mr. Harmon's complaint reminds one of the story when someone shouted, "Give 'um Hell, Harry." at President Harry Truman. He replied, "I just tell the truth and they think it's Hell."

Mr. Harmon has spent the entire campaign bragging about bringing "resources" to candidates. But the reality is he has never given any money-or any other visible resource- to the Tennessee Democratic Party. Yes, I guess the truth hurts his campaign, but elections are about choices and to date Mr. Harmon had chosen to be "Missing in Action" when it comes to contributing to Tennessee Democratic Nominees except in rare instances.

In my campaign I have stressed the need to help elect Democrats at the County, State and National levels. I've talked about the need for Tennessee to expand Medicaid. I've promoted the entire Democratic ticket. It's the same thing I've done for many years. I will continue to do so."

We went with some friends to see Leon Russell at the Shed again last night. Another outstanding performance. The show had been postponed from May along with a bunch of other scheduled appearances, not sure why. There was some kind of biker rally in the area and there were a lot more bikers and a much bigger crowd than last time. It was still a laid back fun vibe at the Shed and their staff is the best.

A couple of video clips that might render on your browser after the break...

I continue to run an upbeat and positive campaign for State Democratic Executive Committee. Recently, however, my opponent Bill Owen sent a negative mailing, dwelling on comparing campaign donations. Apparently he thinks that this party position is all about money. Here is a link to my video reply.

A Reply to Mud

PS It is a shame Bill has chosen to go negative, but because he chose to emphasize donations I went online and found the following at Open Secrets.org federal campaign finance records. These clearly raise items worthy of our attention:

OWEN, WILLIAM S, KNOXVILLE, TN ASSET & EQUITY LLC/Consultant

11/17/98 $750 McCain, John (R)
9/23/03 $2,000 National Republican Senatorial Cmte (R)
3/9/00 $1,000 Thomas, Bill (R)
2/24/99 $1,000 McCain, John (R)
10/17/95 $1,000 Quillen, James H (R)

                Contributions        Candidate       Total       Total        Cash  
            Individual  Candidate        Loans    Receipts    Spending     on hand
Adams          $80,758         $0       $8,100     $88,858     $78,454     $10,507
Ball           $38,100    $28,941     $209,161    $276,203    $268,023      $8,179
Alexander*  $4,095,873     $5,200     $665,000  $6,180,688  $5,173,937  $2,194,021
Carr        $1,055,365         $0           $0  $1,283,105    $799,900    $442,221
Flinn           $7,000         $0   $1,805,250  $1,812,250    $146,331  $1,665,918 

Notes: Total receipts include committee transfers (PACS, party, etc.) and "other" receipts in addition to individual and candidate contributions and candidate loans. Alexander's totals include his Pre-Primary report filed on 7/24. Click here for bigger...

                Contributions        Candidate       Total       Total        Cash  
            Individual  Candidate        Loans    Receipts    Spending     on hand
Adams          $80,758         $0       $8,100     $88,858     $78,454     $10,507
Ball           $38,100    $28,941     $209,161    $276,203    $268,023      $8,179
Alexander*  $4,095,873     $5,200     $665,000  $6,180,688  $5,173,937  $2,194,021
Carr        $1,055,365         $0           $0  $1,283,105    $799,900    $442,221
Flinn           $7,000         $0   $1,805,250  $1,812,250    $146,331  $1,665,918 

From Reuters via Yahoo …

The law, often called Obamacare, requires insurance companies to refund customers when they spend less than 80 percent or 85 percent of healthcare premiums they collect for medical care.

The rebates will go to about 6.8 million people and have a value of about $80 per family.

U.S. health insurers to pay $330 million in premium rebates

UPDATE: Ball campaign says reports were filed on time

Original article...

The Federal Election Commission put U.S. Senate candidate Gordon Ball's campaign on notice Tuesday for not filing a campaign finance disclosure for the second quarter. The disclosure was due July 15th.

As noted in comments earlier, Senate candidate reports are sent to the Secretary of the Senate. Olivia Farrow from the FEC Public Records Office said in an email that "Senate reports are usually sent to the FEC from the Secretary of the Senate within a day, and are posted on the FEC website within 48 hours." According to the notice, the campaign has four business days from the date of notification to comply.

SEE ALSO: FEC notice...

UPDATE: Ball's summary info was posted on the FEC website overnight. It shows $28,637 in individual contributions, $28,941 in candidate contributions, $209,161 in candidate loans, $268,023 in total disbursements and $8,179 cash on hand as of 6/30.

Detailed lists of contributors and disbursements have not yet been posted, nor have copies of documents received from the Senate secretary showing when they were received.

I've talked about this before specifically in the Campfield race, but I look at it from a broader point of view in today's column. Along the way, I give a shout out to White's Creek.

Rumor has it the paywall is down because of the new website, so check it out.