Fri, January 27, 2012

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PROTESTERS PICKET OUTSIDE RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS
Members of PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- picketed outside Bridgestone yesterday as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus opened its Nashville run. Protesters say people going to the circus need to know that "Elephants and other animals are kept in shackles in tiny cages and beaten in order to force them to perform..." (Virginia Fort, PETA campaigner.) Ringling Brothers denies the claim. Last year the parent company of Ringling Brothers paid $270,000 to settle animal rights complaints from the USDA.

ITEMS SEIZED FROM GALLATIN AVE. BUSINESS, OWNERS CHARGED
Metro police have arrested the owners of the Spirit Convenience Store in east Nashville... for knowingly buying and selling stolen goods. Police raided the store, on the corner of Gallatin and Granada, and seized stolen cases of beer, cartons of cigarettes and a shotgun.

SMYRNA MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL LOSES BATTLE WITH CANCER
The principal of Smyrna Middle School in Rutherford County has passed away. Dr. Linda Kennedy had beaten uterine cancer in 2009, but then last September developed a rare stomach cancer that didn't respond to treatment. Dr. Kennedy was 65.

MERLE HAGGARD HOSPITALIZED
74-year-old country music legend Merle Haggard went back to the hospital recently for a whole host of ailments, including ulcers and pneumonia. He's been released aagin and is back home at his ranch in California to recuperate.

PAT SAJAK ADMITS TO HOSTING WHEEL OF FORTUNE DRUNK
Some people listening to Mix right now .... knew Pat Sajak when he was here in Nashville... working at a local TV station. Well, the longtime Wheel of Fortune host has made a surprising confession: Sajak says he used to host the popular game show drunk after having, quote, two or three or six margaritas...with Vanna during their dinner break. The 65-year-old, who has hosted Wheel of Fortune since 1981, says he would hesitate before having a drink before a show these days.

WELCOME BACK KOTTER STAR DIES
If you're old enough to remember Welcome Back Kotter.. you also remember the kids who played the students -- The Sweathogs -- including Epstein. The actor who played Epstein, Robert Hegyes, has passed away. He died of a heart attack in New Jersey. Heyges was 60.

PRESIDENT ON THE ROAD
President Obama wraps up a three-day, five-state tour with a speech at the University of Michigan this morning. Obama has been on the road, promoting themes from Tuesday's State of the Union address.

MURFREESBORO POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH ETHICS VIOLATION
A Murfreesboro police officer is being investigated for an ethics violation. Officer Mike Fowler is on administrative leave with pay after being accused of falsifying documents so he could keep a gun out of the evidence room, and keep it for himself. Fowler admits he did, but says he would have asked for permission before taking the action any further and actually keeping the weapon.

FOOD LION STORES CLOSING SOON
More than 160 people are about to be without jobs... as Food Lion's store closings here in Middle Tennessee get closer. There are five stores in Davidson, Rutherford and Sumner counties .. that'll be closed by Feb. 15th. A tip: usually that means really good sales when stores liquidate. The stores are in Old Hickory, Hendersonville, two in Murfreesboro, and one in Smyrna.

DAVIDSON CLERK RESPONDS TO AUDIT
Davidson County Clerk John Arriola is responding to both a state and Metro audit showing county policy violations... including that he pocketed thousands of dollars by charging couples an improper fee to perform marriages. Arriola says he's already corrected things in his office. It's now up to the district attorney and the state investigations bureau whether to press criminal charges.

APARTMENT PROJECT FOR HILLSBORO VILLAGE
A new apartment development is in the works for Hillsboro Village. It'll be 47 or more apartments at 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue.... with a ground-level retail space and 120 space parking garage. That means the building already there at 21st and Acklen will be leveled.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS IMPROVE
Jobless rates are going down in Tennessee. Tennessee's Labor and Workforce numbers show Williamson County's December unemployment rate was the lowest in the state at five-point-four-percent. Davidson, Rutherford and Wilson counties all had more people working with jobless rates at about six-point-eight-percent. The statewide overall jobless rate fell to eight-point-seven percent.

KENTUCKY BRIDGE COLLAPSES
A nearly 80-year-old bridge in Kentucky has collapsed. There were no vehicles on the Eggner's Ferry Bridge in Marshall County when it was hit by a tow barge last night, so no injuries.

PLANE LOSES ENGINE, LANDS SAFELY
Some passengers and crew on a flight from Portland to Seattle had some tense moments last night.... as one of the Horizon Airline's planes lost an engine! The pilot turned the plane around and landed safely at Portland International Airport.

HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY TRIES SOMETHING NEW, PAYING MORE
The nation's second-largest health insurer is taking a COMPLETELY whole new approach to keeping YOU healthy! WellPoint is offering primary-care doctors a fee INCREASE this summer, of about ten-percent. WellPoint believes it'll pay off in fewer emergency-room visits and hospital stays for the 34-million Americans it insures.

DEMI MOORE'S 9-1-1 CALLS WILL BE EDITED BEFORE RELEASE
That 9-1-1 call made for Demi Moore is public record... but before it's released to the public... it'll be edited... to take out any reference to drug names. Patient privacy is the issue. No one has a right to know about your medical treatment unless you tell them.

STUDY: MEDICATIONS CAN HELP MILD AND SERIOUS DEPRESSION
New research suggests that more people with depression could benefit from medication. Only about half those who have depression or some other mental illness ever even get treatment. The study from Columbia University finds that even people with MILD depression could get some relief from antidepressants.... if diet, exercise, or a few weeks of therapy doesn't help. One reason more people aren't taking meds when they need them is because the first one doesn't work, and they give up before they find the right drug for them.

BP MUST PAY FOR OIL CLEANUP
BP is on the hook for all of the 40-billion dollars in cleanup costs and economic losses caused by the 2010 well blowout and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company had sued the well owner to pay part of the costs, but a judge in New Orleans said, no.

CHESNEY TOPS ACM NOMINATIONS
Kenny Chesney is the big leader in the Academy of Country Music awards nominees. He's up for nine including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the year. The nominations were announced yesterd, the show will be April 1st.