Good morning, Nashville. Governor Phil is none too pleased with a fancy lobbying group called Families USA released a report yesterday that found all sorts of things wrong with CoverTN, our state’s public health insurance program. Among other things, the report claimed that the program is “likely to leave enrollees with high bills and lack of coverage” and is “far from the quality, affordable health coverage that people need.” Governor Phil lashed out at the group, saying that they were just trying to discredit the idea of a universal healthcare system, for which CoverTN is said to have been model.

• Room in the Inn expands. A huge congrats goes out to the folks at the Room in the Inn program for breaking ground on their brand new homeless shelter yesterday. Father Charles Strobel has always been one of our favorite Nashvillians for his dedication to helping the city’s homeless and we’re real excited to see the program grow like this. Visit their website to find out how you can help.
• Metro General can’t catch a break. Because of some pretty harsh citywide budget cuts, Metro General Hospital is coming up about $1.5 million short of what they need to maintain services. They say they’ve already cut as many employees as they can, and now they’re looking for other sources of revenue to make up for the funding.
• Bits & pieces. The Tennessee State Fair is trying to go green this year by using manure from the 12,000 animals at the fair to power their ferris wheel … The president of the United Autoworkers in Spring Hill instills confidence in us all by calling the 2,100 jobs at the GM plant “a coin flip” … 34 million people are roadtripping it out of town this weekend, so watch out for cops, and most importantly be careful! … Metro police think they’re close to catching the shooter from the Maplewood High School graduation.

Photo by cwage.