Today is the start of American Heart Month and it’s a good time to look at the statistics – and how we can improve them.

Cardiovascular disease is still the No. 1 killer of men and women, killing about 800,000 Americans each year, and nearly 20,000 right here in Tennessee. That’s more than the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.

But up to 80% of cardiovascular disease may actually be PREVENTABLE through healthy lifestyle choices.

The American Heart Association recommends:

Listen to your body! If you feel something is not right, get it checked out.

For tons of great information on how to beat heart disease, visit the American Heart Association website at heart.org.

And remember this Friday is National Wear Red Day: everyone wear red to support the fight against heart disease in women.

Nashville, TN - Winterfest, a songwriter event at 3rd and Lindsley featuring several Grammy Award-winning writers, will take place on February 7, with 100% of the door proceeds benefiting the American Heart Association.

Renowned writers Bob di Piero (number one hits for Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, George Strait, Vince Gill and more), Liz Rose (number one hits for Taylor Swift), Lori McKenna (songs for Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Alison Krauss, Keith Urban and LeAnn Rimes) and Hillary Lindsey (hits for Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Trisha Yearwood, Leeann Womack, Faith Hill), are among those scheduled to perform, with additional writers from Cal IV Entertainment, Roots Three Music, BMG Chrysalis and more.

The February 7 event begins at 6 p.m. and is presented by Singles Only.  Tickets are $5 at the door.

For more information on the event: Denny Carr, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (615) 327-2645.

Nashville, TN - It’s a “red” time of year - and the American Heart Association wants you to show your red online.

In honor of National Wear Red Day this Friday, February 3, the American Heart Association and Go Red For Women invite YOU to join the first-ever National Wear Red Day Challenge at www.Facebook.com/GoRed.  Post your best “red” picture or video on the Wear Red Day Challenge tab, and then have your friends vote for you! There will be winners in 13 original categories. Submissions will be accepted until February 23. Winners will be announced on February 25.

National Wear Red Day is the annual icon day for Go Red For Women, when the nation goes red in support of women’s fight against heart disease. People, buildings, companies, streets across the country will be dressed up in red to support the fight against women’s Number One killer.

More information on exciting “red” activities here in Middle Tennessee will be released shortly.

Nashville, TN - Recipients of Tennessee unemployment benefits during 2011 can now access the information they need for income tax purposes on the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development homepage: https://tdlwd.tn.gov/ui1099/. They can also go straight to the log-in page: https://tdlwd.tn.gov/ui1099/login.aspx.

“By entering their birth date or the same PIN they used to certify or inquire on their unemployment claim, claimants can view a summary of total unemployment benefits paid to them, view the total amount of federal income tax withheld, and print a summary of this information,” said Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Karla Davis.

The department also began mailing the IRS Form 1099-G to more than 293,000 benefit recipients on January 18, 2012. The forms will reach claimants no later than January 31, 2012. The U.S. Postal Service will not forward 1099-G forms.

Recipients of unemployment benefits are not required to submit a copy of their 1099-G form with their income tax return. If claimants do not receive their form in the mail and do not have access to the Internet, any Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development Career Center allows use of a computer to print the needed form. Claimants unable to visit a Career Center and not having Internet access may send a written request, including their name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and phone number, with signature, to

Special Services Unit
Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development
220 French Landing Drive
Nashville, TN 37243-1002

Nashville, TN - The American Heart Association has named three Heart Gala Honorees to be recognized for their significant impact in the field of cardiovascular disease and stroke in Middle Tennessee.  They will be honored at the 2012 Nashville Heart Gala on February 11.

The Heart Gala Honorees are Keith B. Churchwell, M.D., Thomas L. Herron, FACHE and William S. Stoney, M.D.

Dr. Churchwell is Associate Professor of Medicine and Radiology and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute. He is a member of the American Association of Nuclear Cardiology, the Institute of Molecular Imaging, the American Society of Echocardiography and a fellow with the American College of Cardiology. He earned his A.B. degree in biology from Harvard University and his M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. Churchwell has been named to the list of “Best Doctors” by the Best Doctors in America and Best Doctors list by Castle-Connolly since 2001. He is vice president of the American Heart Association Greater Southeast affiliate board of directors.

Herron has served as Chief Executive Officer of Centennial Medical Center since January 2006.  He has more than 30 years of experience in hospital administration and prior to being named CEO at Centennial Medical Center, he served as CEO at Largo Medical Center for 10 years.  A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, he earned his bachelor’s degree in English and pre-medical studies and a master’s degree in healthcare administration and public health administration from the University of Oklahoma.

Dr. Stoney is a pioneer in the field of cardiovascular medicine. He helped establish cardiac surgery services at Saint Thomas Hospital in the 1960s and in 1968 he performed the first coronary artery bypass graft in Tennessee. Stoney was president of the medical staff in 1985-86 during which time Saint Thomas Hospital performed the State’s first heart transplant.  In 1995, Stoney retired after 33 years of practice. He served more than 30 years as a professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, which established the William S. Stoney Chair of Cardiac Surgery in his honor. Currently he is an honorary member of the Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery at Saint Thomas. Stoney earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of the South and his medical degree at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. His published works include more than 60 articles and the book Pioneers of Cardiac Surgery, published in 2008.

The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to building healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Funds raised at the Heart Gala go to research, education and community health initiatives to fight the No. 1 killer of men and women.

For more information on the Heart Gala, visit www.heart.org/nashvilleheartball.

Nashville-based artist and season eight American Idol finalist Danny Gokey and Nashville hit songwriter Joe West will perform at the American Heart Association’s 2012 Nashville Heart Gala on Saturday, February 11 at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel.

Gokey’s 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville 2010 debut album, My Best Days, earned the best first-week sales of any debut country male in 18 years. The album included the poignant ballad, “I Will Not Say Goodbye,” which Gokey will perform at the Heart Gala. “That song just totally represents what I felt when my wife passed away,” says Gokey. His wife, Sophia, died unexpectedly after heart surgery several years ago, just one month before his American Idol audition. Gokey finished third in the competition. He most recently toured with Taylor Swift in late 2011.

As a songwriter, West has had number one singles for Jimmy Wayne ("Do You Believe Me Now"), Toby Keith (“American Ride”) and Keith Urban (“Without You”). He has worked as a producer and mixer for such artists as Emmy Lou Harris, Warren Zevon, Shakira, Justin Timberlake, and Indigo Girls. His music has been featured in more than 100 network, cable and feature films.

The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to building healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Funds raised at the Heart Gala go to research, education and community health initiatives to fight the No. 1 killer of men and women.

For more information on the Heart Gala, visit www.heart.org/nashvilleheartball.

Nashville Zoo is hosting a job fair for anyone interested in working at the Zoo during the summer season. The job fair will take place Monday, Feb. 13 and Tuesday, Feb. 14 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. in the Zoo’s Croft Center.

Representatives from the Zoo’s food, retail, maintenance and guest services departments will be available to answer questions and receive resumes and job applications. Seasonal positions include: retail and concessions cashiers; short order cooks; retail and concessions stand supervisors; concessions stand attendants; maintenance; grounds keeping; housekeeping; and guest services associates.

All jobs have separate qualifications. Offers for all positions are contingent on the satisfactory results of a pre-employment drug screen and criminal background check. For more information, visit www.nashvillezoo.org and click on “Careers” at the bottom of the page.

Nashville Zoo is accredited by the prestigious Association of Zoos and Aquariums, assuring the highest standards of animal care and husbandry. The Zoo is a non-profit organization located at 3777 Nolensville Pike and is open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The mission of Nashville Zoo is to inspire a culture of understanding and discovery of our natural world through conservation, innovation and leadership. For more information about Nashville Zoo, call 615-833-1534 or visit www.nashvillezoo.org.

NASHVILLE, TN - Occupy Nashville on Tuesday will protest Wells Fargo & Co., at the bank’s downtown location for its extensive holdings in two private prison companies as part of the National Prison Divestment Campaign happening simultaneously in at least 15 cities.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), a recipient of billions of bailout dollars, is a major contributor to politicians who have championed tougher penalties for crimes and detention of non-criminal immigrants.

Occupy Nashville protesters will assemble on Legislative Plaza at 11 a.m. on Tuesday and march to Wells Fargo. At noon, protesters will picket the bank and deliver a letter encouraging the bank to divest from GEO and CCA. The protesters will also distribute fliers and talk to customers about moving their accounts to banks that don’t make money off people’s incarceration.

Wells Fargo owns over 4 million shares, or 6 percent interest, in GEO Group (NYSE: GEO) and about 50,000 shares of Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE: CXW). Together, CCA and GEO represent the vast majority of for-profit-prison business in the United States.  In the case of Wells Fargo’s GEO holdings, the bank holds more stock than GEO’s management.

We call on all public and private institutions to divest their holdings in private prison companies.

Since the private prison divestment campaign began on May 12, 2011, GEO’s stock value has lost 33.32 percent of its value, or $8.58 a share. CCA’s stock has tumbled 11 percent.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained half a percentage point during the same time period.

Hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management divested over 7 million CCA shares after CCA’s role in profiting from detaining immigrants was made public. The United Methodist Church has divested all its holdings from CCA and the GEO Group. The church’s pension is the largest faith-based pension fund in the U.S. and among the top 100 pension funds overall.

For-profit prison companies make more money when they have more “customers.” Those companies, which rely on billions of tax dollars as their primary source of revenue, have successfully lobbied federal and state governments—even in Tennessee—to adopt and implement policies that have led to the incarceration of millions, and specifically over one million immigrants over the past three years.
A recent report by The Houston Chronicle and PBS demonstrated that rape and sexual abuse of detainees is rampant across the increasingly privatized federal immigrant detention system.

CCA spent $14.8 million lobbying the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. House and Senate between 2003 and 2010.

Wells Fargo and GEO share the same lobbyists in Washington.
“Political comedian” Bill Maher, in a 2009 editorial in The Huffington Post, wrote, “Prisons used to be a non-profit business.

.. The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That’s why America has the world’s largest prison population—because actually rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.”

The private prison industry, in league with its major investors, is the largest financial force behind overpopulation in prisons, despite the fact that the number of crimes committed in the United States has dropped over the past two decades.

Tuesday’s protest aligns with the GAIM USA conference in Boca Raton, Fla., the largest annual gathering of hedge funds and large corporate investment managers in the U.S. Protesters with the National Prison Divestment Campaign and associated Occupy Wall Street groups will converge on the conference on Tuesday as well.

Nashville, Tenn. - Members of the Tennessee Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and other community activists protested today against Belmont University’s hiring of Alberto Gonzales – one of the chief architects of the Bush Administration’s torture policies – as a professor at Belmont’s new law school.

The protest took place in front of the main entrance to Belmont University in Nashville.

As White House Counsel under George W. Bush, Gonzales promoted key policies that led to “waterboarding” and other forms of torture and abuse of detainees in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  In one January 2002 memo, Gonzales advised Bush that protections for prisoners enshrined in the international Geneva Conventions were “obsolete” and “quaint.”

Protestors condemned Belmont’s decision to honor Gonzales as its Doyle Rogers “Distinguished” Chair of Law and a professor of Constitutional Law at the fledgling law school.

“Belmont’s decision to hire Alberto Gonzales as a law professor is a disgrace to the University and an embarrassment for Tennessee,” stated Will York, a member of the National Lawyers Guild in Nashville.  “The decisions by Gonzales and others in the Bush Administration to authorize torture for detainees represented an intolerable violation of human rights and a stain on the nation’s reputation.”

Activists also confronted Gonzales at the law school – where his class is scheduled at the same time as the demonstration – about the legality and ethics of the “enhanced interrogation” techniques promoted by Gonzales and others in the Bush Administration.

At Zooperbowl, animals normally displayed during this time of year will be on exhibit as well as animals in the indoor Unseen New World exhibit. Many of the Zoo’s animal collection is acclimated to Nashville’s climate except in extreme weather conditions, and some species (cougars, Bengal tigers, zebra, eland, red panda and Eurasian lynx) are often more active during cooler months. Weather permittin­­g, rides on the Zoo’s Wild Animal Carousel and Wilderness Express Train will be offered for an additional fee. The Zoo’s gift shop, café and Jungle Gym playground will also be open during Zooperbowl.

Nashville Zoo is accredited by the prestigious Association of Zoos and Aquariums, assuring the highest standards of animal care and husbandry.  The Zoo is a non-profit organization located at 3777 Nolensville Pike and is open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.  The mission of Nashville Zoo is to inspire a culture of understanding and discovery of our natural world through conservation, innovation and leadership.  For more information about Nashville Zoo, call 615-833-1534 or visit www.nashvillezoo.org.