Stephanie Coleman's Nashville Chamber Blog

Transit, Sustainability Among Best Practices Learned From Portland, Eugene

Friday, May 11, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

Having just returned from our four-day Leadership Study Mission and Transit Study Mission to Portland and Eugene, the lessons learned are still fresh on the minds of the 117 delegates who attended one or both of the visits.

The best practices that stand out the most include transit and sustainability. Other areas – like education – gave us strong reassurance ...

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Category: Policy

Tags: transit sustainability public education Portland economic development Eugene

MNPS Reveals Details of New State Accountability System for Public Schools

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 brought a focus on data, accountability and success for all students. Still, most education observers believed the goals and deadlines were unrealistic. Tennessee now has a waiver releasing schools and districts from the NCLB accountability requirements and replacing them with new accountability measures. So what does that mean for Metropolitan ...

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Category: Education

Tags: No Child Left Behind education reform school performance education accountability MNPS school board

'Transit Means Business' Event Highlights East-West Connector

Friday, April 20, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

On April 18, more than 100 people gathered at AT&T to learn more about Nashville’s plans to increase access to mass transit. The program, “Transit Means Business,” was one of a series of events taking place during Transit Week. The event was co-hosted by the Chamber, Transit Now Nashville, the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee, the Nashville Civic Design Center...

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Category: Policy

Tags: Transit Alliance of Middle TN Transit Week Mayor Karl Dean East-West Connector Nashville Civic Design Center Tom Turner Terry Clements Bert Mathews Transit Means Business Paul Ballard Transit Now Nashville Metro Transit Authority

Transit Means Business for Middle Tennessee

Friday, April 06, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

Few would disagree that expanding transit options in Middle Tennessee is critical to our future prosperity and livability, particularly as the region’s population and the cost of gas continue to climb. Fortunately, many in the city and region are aware of the challenges and opportunities ahead and are working to find solutions. Still, we know it will take a community-wide ...

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Category: Policy

Tags: Music City Star Music City Circuit transit Transit Week Mayor Karl Dean East-West Connector Nashville Farmers' Market Earth Day Nashville Civic Design Center Nashville Downtown Partnership Transit Now

Help Defeat Anti-business Bill That Will Increase your Exposure to Legal, Safety Risks

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

This week, the Tennessee General Assembly is considering SB 3002/HB 3560, which would prevent business and property owners from prohibiting firearms in vehicles parked on their property, including on school property. Tennessee is already a strong Second Amendment state. Not only is this bill unnecessary, it puts businesses at severe legal and economic risk.

If this bill passes, it would ...

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Category: Policy

Tags: hunting licenses Business Voice Second Amendment handgun permits property rights

Developing Strong School Leaders is Critical for Student Success

Monday, March 26, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

Last week, the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) released its State of Education in Tennessee report. SCORE’s work in 2012 centers on four priorities: sustained policy leadership; robust professional learning for educators; strengthening teacher preparation programs; and expanding and strengthening the principal pipeline.

These priorities are centered on the need for strong leadership from educators and policymakers as ...

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Category: Education

Tags: Bill Frist Tennesseee State Collaborative on Reforming Education K-12 education Committee for Economic Development SCORE MNPS Jamie Woodson ASSET Achieving Student Success through Effective Teaching CED

Help the State Create Jobs through Relocating and Expanding Businesses

Monday, March 19, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

Middle Tennessee is fortunate to have a variety of qualities that put us on the short list for major relocation and expansion decisions, including our low cost of doing business, affordable cost of living, high quality of life and talent availability. Still, creating jobs sometimes involves offering incentives.

We know that a multiplier effect exists whenever jobs are created. Businesses ...

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Category: Policy

Tags: incentives FastTrack Business Voice job growth economic development

Transit Ridership Increases; More Options Needed

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

Public transit options are key to Nashville's, and Middle Tennessee's, continued economic prosperity because public transit plays a predominant role in the economic development and competitiveness of metropolitan areas.

As cited in this week's New York Times article, use of public transit rose throughout the country in 2011. In Middle Tennessee, ridership on Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority's (MTA) buses ...

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Category: Policy

Tags: Regional Transit Authority Nashville Metropolitan Planning Organization public transit Metropolitan Transit Authority mass transit

Business Voice: A new way to influence policy that impacts your business

Monday, February 20, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

At the Nashville Area Chamber, we advocate for prosperity on behalf of the Middle Tennessee business community. Advocacy can apply to many different areas, but it boils down to creating an environment where your business can succeed.

We know that our efforts have the strongest impact when our members are directly involved. That’s why we’ve created a quick and simple ...

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Category: Policy

Tags: Business Voice policy legislative issues

Prosperity Leaders: Expanding our Business Voice

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Posted by: Stephanie Coleman - Policy

This year, we have enhanced our policy activity to reflect our commitment to a strong business environment that leads to growth and prosperity. As a way to better engage the business community, add value to Chamber membership and increase the business voice in policy decisions, we will focus on four areas: 1) listening to members about their business needs; 2) ...

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Category: Policy

Tags: Bob Wood Prosperity Leaders Julie May Tony McClarty advocacy James Threalkill legislative issues

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