I've wanted a piano for a while now but missed out on this deal. I have wondered if operating costs of the new online muni auctions like Nashville's ebid site were worth what they brought in. Maybe not. I guess they could always raise our property tax rates...

MURFREESBORO — The cash-strapped Rutherford County School System didn't get quite as much money as it had hoped for from this year's auction of unneeded items.

One reason was the bargains bidders got, including a piano bought for 11 cents, a 1997 Ford van that sold for $250 and a 32-inch Samsung television that went for $1.27.

Those rock-bottom prices have some school administrators wondering if the current surplus system is as good a deal for the county as it is for the bidders.
Rutherford County's school system has faced a growing need for money since the last property tax hike in 2003. Three new schools are expected to cost $36.3 million to build and about $3.5 million a year to run when they open in 2006. The building plan also calls for three more schools to open in 2007, as well as a major addition at Murfreesboro's Blackman High School. The county has even asked lawmakers to levy taxes on new homes and on home sales, in part to pay for the increasing demands explosive growth has put on schools.
...
The county sold 205 items this year, bringing in around $6,400, but most of that came from seven vehicles. Those cars and trucks, six power tools and a load of used wire brought just under $5,800, while the remaining 191 items generated only about $600.

School piano brings 11¢ at auction

Un Fu**** Believable! Maybe in NY, anything is believable...

By KEITH RUSSELL
Staff Writer

A Nashville resident has lost a tax battle with the state of New York that some believe could have wider implications for the growing number of people who work by telecommuting from a home office.

The New York Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that computer programmer Thomas Huckaby owes New York income tax for the entire salary he earned from a New York-based union.

During the two years in question, Huckaby did about 75% of his work out of his home office in Nashville. He would travel to New York to work at the National Organization of Industrial Trade Unions' offices about one fourth of the time. He paid New York state income tax on just 25% of his earnings.
The Court of Appeals decision relied on a New York law that says a worker's income is taxable if he or she chooses to live outside the state, as opposed to if they were transferred to another locale.

''New York has the right to tax 100% of a nonresident employee's income derived from New York sources,'' the court's 4-3 decision said. New York state officials lauded the decision.

Telecommuter must pay N.Y. income tax

To quote Yakov Smirnov, "What a wonderful country..."

The wife of a LaVergne,TN police officer is behind bars for allegedly giving an 11-year-old girl crack. Shannon Hatcher, wife of LaVergne police officer Brent Hatcher, was arrested on March 8.

Police were notified after the girl's parents discovered her naval was pierced. The child then told police that Hatcher had taken her to get the piercing and also allowed her to smoke crack.

Shannon Hatcher has a long arrest record for theft and using forged prescriptions. Hatcher has a 13-year old daughter of her own.

Hatcher is in jail on $40,000 bond.

Mother arrested for smoking crack with children

I yield my time to the gentleman, er i mean scumbag from Memphis. What an ass clown.

Former manager Scott Bascue of Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls said he never saw money changing hands, but witnessed Ford - a 31-year Senate veteran who sits on three key committees - ask for $50,000 to begin the relationship.

"He said ... just his time that day was worth about $50,000," Bascue said. "He was really arrogant."

Bascue, who quit Johnson Controls two years ago, said Ford used his charm and pressure to attempt to "leverage" contracts in the private sector and with state government, including one with Erlanger Medical Center, a nonprofit, academic teaching center in Chattanooga that's affiliated with the University of Tennessee.

Bascue said bosses at Johnson Controls told him to court Ford and he often spent up to $600 taking the Memphis Democrat out.

"(Ford) was an expensive guy," Bascue told The Commercial Appeal. "If you just had dinner with him, you were lucky if you got out of there for less than 600 bucks."

Bascue said he questioned the decision to hire Ford three years ago but was told to keep quiet.

Wis. company's Nashville manager says Ford asked for $50,000

I'm losing count on this guy but I'd guess this TN state senator's 15 minutes (30 yrs) of fame (aka abuse of power) are almost up.

On May 1, 2001, state Sen. John Ford expressed deep reservations about the idea of the state hiring a company just to provide dental services for TennCare, saying it ''doesn't make sense to me.''

A year later, Ford did an about-face, saying the idea would save the state health program millions of dollars, according to tapes of legislative hearings reviewed by The Tennessean.

''My vision on this might be a little bit keener than a lot of folks','' he said at the later hearing

What happened in between?

Ford isn't talking. But documents released last week show that in between the two statements, on Dec. 1, 2001, a consulting firm with ties to Ford began representing a dental services company that wanted to win business from TennCare.

The consulting firm has paid Ford, D-Memphis, at least $237,000. And the dental company, Doral Dental, has an $18 million contract with TennCare, the state's health insurance program for the poor, uninsured and uninsurable.

The payments have sparked a Senate ethics investigation and a review by the Tennessee attorney general.

---------------

The Tennessean was nice enuf to post his public servant contact info. I really hope the spambots don't see it.

State Sen. John Ford, D-Memphis
Mail: 7 Legislative Plaza, Nashville, Tenn. 37243-0029
Phone: 615-741-3304
E-mail: sen.john.ford@legislature.state.tn.us

Ford did a 180 after consultant deal

What chapter are we on?

By Skip Cauthorn
February 25, 2005

TennCare officials said Thursday its dental administrator should not have held a contract with a company tied to state Sen. John Ford, whose relationship with the company is now being examined by the state Attorney General.

Doral Dental USA, which contracts with TennCare in operating the program’s dental component, shouldn’t have contracted with consultant Managed Care Services Group at a cost of more than $1.1 million since October of 2002, said TennCare spokesperson Michael Drescher.

Managed Care failed to disclose its ties to Ford, as required under the contract between Doral and TennCare, Drescher said.

“This was not a contract that anyone in state government was aware even existed,” Gov. Phil Bredesen said. “But what was going on there was not a good thing and it’s not consistent with good contracting on the part of TennCare.”

Ford (D-Memphis) reportedly received $237,000 in fees through Managed Care between 2002 and 2003.

Ford chairs the influential Senate General Welfare Committee, which plays a large role in setting TennCare policy.

Doral, which terminated its agreement with Managed Care earlier this month after learning of its alleged ties with Ford, appears to have drafted the contract with ties to an unnamed legislator in mind.

Included in valid reasons for termination of the contract by Doral was the phrase, “the death of the principal legislator affiliated with [Managed Care],” according to documents released by TennCare Thursday.

Attorney General investigating Ford

TICK TICK TICK...

The state Senate Ethics Committee issued a subpoena yesterday in its probe of state Sen. John Ford, D-Memphis, who faces complaints charging that he accepted income without disclosing it and that he lives outside his district.

The committee wants to examine Shelby County court documents that surround a Ford child-support dispute, said Ethics Committee Chairman Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville. Ford's testimony that he lives in two residences with two different families — both outside his Senate District 29 — cast doubt on whether he actually can serve in that district.
Ramsey said he hoped the court records would shed light on a more recent accusation that Ford profited from business ties with a TennCare subcontractor without reporting it on financial disclosure forms.

''Once we get those documents, we'll compare them against the conflicts of interest,'' Ramsey said. ''This is a first step, and that's where we are. You collect evidence as it's needed.''

An ethics subcommittee will examine those documents ''in a grand jury fashion,'' Ramsey said.

Ethics committee takes 'first step' in probe of Ford

This crap gets better all the time... How long until he's sent packing?

State Sen. John Ford may have had a conflict of interest in receiving payments from a company that contracted with TennCare's dental administrator, and two state agencies are investigating.

Managed Care Services Group, a Pennsylvania-based company that lists Ford as a general partner and paid him $237,000 over two years, was hired by Doral Dental USA as a consultant and lobbyist.

At the same time, Doral has a $5.3 million contract to process dental benefits for TennCare children and some adult enrollees with medically necessary dental needs, TennCare spokeswoman Marilyn Elam said. Doral first contracted with TennCare on Sept. 1, 2002.

State Sen. John Ford (TN) - It just gets better and better

This Sen. John Ford political soap opera just gets better and better all the time...

He's already facing a possible ethics investigation. Now, what our NewsChannel 5 investigation has uncovered about state Sen. John Ford may just take the cake -- in this case, a wedding cake. It involves thousands of dollars in questionable spending.
...
Yet, campaign financial disclosure reports filed by Ford shows the two non-working women in the senator's life pulled in thousands of dollars from his campaign account -- money contributed by special interests and other political supporters.

"It's very clear about the personal use of campaign funds -- the law specifically says you cannot use campaign funds for personal benefit," says Drew Rawlins, executive director of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance. The agency regulates campaign spending.

But, in the last two years -- years when the Memphis Democrat wasn't up for re-election -- his girlfriend Connie Matthews pulled in payments totaling $18,400 for "professional services."

"Any idea what professional services would mean?" NewsChannel 5's chief investigative reporter Phil Williams asks Rawlins.

"It could be anything," he replies. "It could be work done on his campaign. It could be that she worked in his district."

There's also a payment to ex-wife Tamara Mitchell Ford of $2,450 in 2004. In addition, his reports show:

* $400 to "D Smith" of Raleigh, North Carolina in 2003. Ford pays child support to a Dana Smith in Raleigh.
* just under $11,000 to Karen Michelle Snell in 2002-2004. (Of that, $9,440 was in 2003-2004.) Snell is a former Ford assistant who was once involved in a brawl with his ex-wife.
* $3,000 to Kemba and Autumn Ford in 2003-2004. They are adult daughters from yet another relationship.

All for "professional services."

"It's hard to know if something was personal or not personal when somebody's doing an expenditure," Rawlins says. "It could go either way."

But that's not all.

Two years ago, one of the senator's daughters, Autumn, got married. And the father of the bride opened up his campaign's wallet.

The reception was held at Memphis's elegant Peabody Hotel, inside the beautiful Continental Ballroom.

Ford's campaign paid the Peabody $9,000 dollars in 2003 for "reception, professional services" and "entertainment."

The hotel declined to comment on any of the arrangements or method of payment.

Entertaining at the reception: Larry Dodson from the legendary Memphis group, the Barkays.

Ford's campaign paid Dodson $1,500. The "entertainment expense," Dodson confirms, was for the wedding reception.

And, to capture the memories, the daughter hired Awesome Wedding Videos

But on Ford's campaign report, the word "wedding" disappears from the company's name -- as does $875 dollars from Ford's campaign account for "professional services."

Ford also spent $2,000 in campaign funds with Grand Events -- the company that confirms it provided linens and other decorations for the wedding -- plus $2,000 for a florist, Holliday Flowers.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates:Ford Campaign Pays Women, Wedding Expenses

This just in from the WTF dept in the ongoing TN State Senator John Ford saga.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. State Senator John Ford has told a group of state N-Double-A-C-P leaders he's being attacked by the "white media" and asked them to speak up for him.
The comments came yesterday as leaders of the civil rights group visited the Legislature to support an agenda that includes increasing the number of minority students getting lottery scholarships and fighting predatory lending.

State N-Double-A-C-P President Gloria Sweet-Love says the group has no plans to issue a statement in support of Ford.

The Memphis senator has been dealing with several issues in recent months, including attempts to increase his child-support payments, questions of whether he legally resides in the Senate district he represents and if he properly reported consulting income on state financial disclosure forms.

Ford says he is target of 'white media,' asks for NAACP support