Thurs, January 19, 2012

DOLLY PARTON'S BIRTHDAY/FREE BOOKS FOR YOUR CHILD
And guess what celebrity -- born into poverty in a one room cabin in Tennessee, and who went on in spite of that to create an amazing legacy of songs and movies -- is turning 66 today? It's DOLLY PARTON! Remember THIS SCENE from 9 to 5? And Dolly's not letting 66 slow her down. She's still running Dollywood, one of the most popular theme parks in America, she oversees her "Imagination Library" which helps get kids free books every month from the time they're born, till they're 5 years old, regardless of income, and she's starring in a hit movie with Queen Latifah ("Joyful Noise") that's at the theaters right now. Happy Birthday to Dolly Parton!

If you want to get free books every month for a child in your life, regardless of income, get information on BOOKS FROM BIRTH  
here: http://www.governorsfoundation.org/index.php 

DOLLY TALKS TO JON STEWART ABOUT "JOYFUL NOISE" 

AMY GRANT, VINCE GILL HEADLING HOSPICE CONCERT AT BLUEBIRD
www.bluebirdcafe.com
Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Don Schlitz and other special guests are taking part in the 19th annual Alive At The Bluebird concert on Jan. 26. Tickets at www.bluebirdcafe.com All proceeds will benefit Middle Tennessee’s Alive Hospice.

STOP LITTERBUGS WITH HOTLINE, WEBSITE
This week's Morning Show "Website Wednesday" idea came from a Mix 92.9 listener. Martha e-mailed us and said she's disgusted and disheartened by how much trash there is on Tennessee roads. She's heard people call us NASTYVILLE and TRASHVILLE, and asked us to address the issue. So we're giving YOU the information you need to make a change.
     If you see someone littering, get as much information as you can: their car description and license plate number, road the littering happened on, date. Go to www.stoplitter.org , or call toll-free 1-877-8-LITTER, and report them.
    The state will send a friendly reminder to the owner of that vehicle, reminding them of the negative consequences of their littering actions, and will remind them that litterers can be fined up to 1500 dollars. See more Website Wednesday sites HERE.

WEATHER SERVICE CONFIRMS TORNADOES HIT RUTHERFORD, SIMPSON COUNTIES
The National Weather Service has confirmed that the wind damage in Rutherfoud County northeast of Smyrna, and in Simpson Kentucky on Tuesday, were indeed tornadoes. Cleanup continues today.

CRUISE SHIP CAPTAIN SAYS HE FELL INTO LIFEBOAT
The captain of the cruise ship that capsized off the coast of Italy has finally said why he ended up on a lifeboat, along with his first officer, while there were still a hundred passengers on board and in peril. Francesco Schettino claims he tripped when the Costa Concordia listed suddenly, and he tumbled into a lifeboat. That didn't explain why he refused to go back and coordinate the evacuation when ordered to do so by Port Authority. 11 people are confirmed dead, more than 20 others still unaccounted for. Schettino is under house arrest, facing -- at least -- manslaughter charges.

GET YOUR PRODUCT ON THE SHELF AT WALMART
Do you have something you think would sell GREAT if you could just get it to store shelves? Then you may want to enter walmarts contest, where you upload a video of your product... to GetOnTheShelf.com. Voting determines the winners, the top choice goes on sale at Walmart stores, the second and third place winners go on sale at Walmart.com. That's www.GetOnTheShelf.com (Videos can be submitted until February 22nd and voting starts in March.)

HICKMAN COUNTY TEACHER SUSPENDED
Kevin Hooper is an eighth grade teacher at Hickman county Middle School. He also coaches basketball. But this week, he's been suspended without pay ... and an investigation is underway. The school superintendent won't say why... except that Hooper is accused of letting his students do something "inappropriate" in class.

JOPLIN, MISSOURI'S CONTROVERSIAL TORNADO TOURISM BROCHURES
What do you think about this controversy? Is it exploitation or good business? The Convention and Visitors Bureau in Jopin, Missouri is handing out "tornado tourism" brochures, pamphlets that describe the May 22nd tornado that killed more than 150 people, along with a map of the disaster zone. Some locals say it'll give Joplin much-needed tourism dollars, others say the maps exploit a tragedy and shouldn't be used.

MAURY REGIONAL VOTED AMONG NATION'S BEST HOSPITALS
Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia has been listed as one of the best hospitals in the nation for the second year in a row. Maury Regional is the largest hospital between Nashville and Huntsville, Alabama and is the second largest employer in the area.

ONE IN FIVE HAVE MENTAL ILLNESS EACH YEAR
A new government report indicates that about 20-percent of American adults experience some sort of mental illness each year, with about five-percent dealing with something serious enough to disrupt their work, family or social life. The overall numbers for mental illness haven't changed for years, but what's discouraging is that still, less than half the people with problems get treatment or help. The findings come from interviews with more than 68-thousand randomly chosen people living at homes, dormitories or shelters.

TN LAWMAKERS VOTE ON INCOME TAX BAN
State lawmakers may vote today on a Constitutional Amendment to ban any potential income tax in Tennessee. The state Senate passed the resolution last spring, the House is just now discussing it. (The bill would prevent the General Assembly from ever allowing a state or local tax on earned personal income.)

MORE STORES RETURNING TO OPRY MILLS
If you're keeping track of the stores that'll be at Opry Mills when they have the grand re-opening March 29th, add these to your list: Michael Kors, Finish Line and Lane Bryant.

BLAKE SHELTON'S FATHER PASSES
Singer Blake Shelton's dad has passed away. Dick Shelton's health had been failing over the past year, and he died Tuesday in Oklahoma, with his family at his side. Blake tweeted his thanks to his fans for their words of support... and says it means the world to him.

ANTI-ANTI PIRACY PUSH
About four-and-a-half-million people added their names to Google's anti-Stop Online Piracy Act petition. Google's homepage contained a link to the petition as thousands of sites engaged in an Internet blackout yesterday to protest the bills circulating in Congress. The petition states that although fighting online piracy is important, the plan of attack described in the bills would not be effective.

DISTRACTED WALKING HURTING, KILLING MORE
Distracted walking is hurting and killing more people. A new study shows the number of people injured or killed while walking around with headphones on has tripled since 2004. It's still only about 50 a year... but becoming more common. People wearing headphones are being hit by trains, cars and bicycles.

BILL COSBY EXPLAINS HIS DISLIKE OF COSBY IMPERSONATORS |
Bill Cosby was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night to promote his new book, and a couple of performances he has coming up... and told Fallon he HATES it when people do impressions of him. He says he's just never heard anyone do it well. Of course Fallon, who's a TOP impersonator, couldn't HELP himself. See the interview HERE.
Cosby's new book is called "I Didn't Ask to Be Born (But I'm Glad I Was).

TEA REQUESTS EVALUATION CHANGES
Tennessee's Education Association is not happy with the state's new teacher evaluation system, and wants the governor to revise it. The TEA says it's disruptive and they want to start tweaking it this year. The Department of Education, however, says, let's get the evaluation system in place first, then see if we need changes.

JIMMY CARTER SAYS GINGRICH PLAYING RACE CARD
Former President Jimmy Carter says Newt Gingrich is playing the race card in his campaign for the GOP nomination. In an interview on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight," Carter says, "I wouldn't say he's racist, but he knows the subtle words to use to appeal to a racist group." South Carolina holds its presidential primary on Saturday.

ABC NEWS TO AIR INTERVIEW WITH GINGRICH EX-WIFE
ABC News is set to air a potentially damaging interview with a former wife of GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich. The Hill reports Gingrich's daughters have sent an open letter to ABC News pointing out "The failure of a marriage is a terrible and emotional experience." They call it a "personal tragedy filled with regrets, and sometimes differing memories of events."

MICHAEL JACKSON FAMILY WITHDRAWS SUIT AGAINST DR MURRAY
Michael Jackson's family is no longer seeking restitution from the man convicted in connection with the King of Pop's death. Prosecutors have withdrawn their petition to have Dr. Conrad Murray pay the Jackson family 100-million dollars. According to E! News, the Jackson family and the prosecution determined that Murray's troubled financial situation would prevent him from ever being able to pay the money.

OBAMA SAYS NO TO OIL PIPELINE
President Obama is rejecting the controversial Keystone oil pipeline and he blames Congressional Republicans for rushing the pipeline review project. The pipeline would ship oil from Canada to Texas refineries. Republicans forced the President to make a decision on Keystone by late February in legislation extending payroll tax cuts in December.

BROOKINGS RAISES NASHVILLE'S ECONOMIC RANK
Nashville's economic growth has raised its ranking in The Brookings Institution of the world's hottest areas of economic performance. The Research Project raises its standing from 163rd to 89th from 2007 to 2010 because of significant job and income growth. The report says the city's average per-capita income rose one-point-eight percent last year compared with a drop of four-and-a-half percent during the worst part of the recession from 2007 to 2010. It measures our Industrial growth rate up three-and-a-half percent last year.

MORE INJURIES FROM PEOPLE WALKING DISTRACTED
More people appear to be falling victim to distracted walking. A new study shows the number of people injured or killed while walking around with headphones on has tripled since 2004. Researchers say roughly half of the victims were hit by trains, while the other half were hit by vehicles or bicycles.

MORE THAN A QUARTER OF HIGH-TECH JOBS HAVE RELOCATED TO ASIA
More than a quarter of the high-tech manufacturing jobs in the U.S. have relocated to Asia during the past decade. A report from the National Science Board indicates the number of high-tech manufacturing jobs in the U.S. has slid by 687-thousand, or 28-percent between 2000 and 2010.