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Chattanooga Today, April 1, 2013

52 views · Published 1 April 2013 · 5:11 · Indexed 21 October 2026

Channel: chattanooga times free press · 2013 · News & Politics

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Good morning Chattanooga.

Here's a quick look at the top five stories you need to know today.

First of all, a look at the more than 100 privately-paid trips Tennessee House members and their staffs have taken since 2008.
Outside parties have spent more than $400,000 dollars on the trips. That averages to $45,000 dollars per congressman.
While lawmakers claim the trips are educational, critics see them as an easy way for interest groups to trade vacations for votes.
Representative Steve Cohen received $96,000 in privately funded travel, taking trips to Spain, Brazil, Germany, Egypt and Israel and sending his staffers to Cuba and Costa Rica.
Jim Cooper, has logged 25 trips totaling about $86,000, including lengthy stays in Canada, Puerto Rico and Spain.
Private sponsors spent the least on Scott Desjarlais, who took $21,000 dollars in privately-sponsored trips over the same period.
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Starting today, Tennessee doctors prescribing painkillers like hydrocodone and oxycodone will be required to check their patients' prescription history in an online database before signing prescriptions.
The new requirement -- which was signed into law last year -- is the state's latest effort to clamp down on Tennessee's prescription drug abuse epidemic.
Tennessee has some of the highest prescription drug abuse rates in the country. In 2011, more than 1,000 people died from prescription drug overdoses in Tennessee alone.
Now, if doctors determine a patient has deceived them to get controlled substances, they must report it to local law enforcement within five days. 
But doctors are concerned the new law will add a significant burden in an era of growing medical paperwork. And there are worries the extra work will cause some doctors to stop prescribing controlled substances altogether.
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In business news, the market value of Chattanooga's stock-traded companies increased by more than $4 billion dollars in the first quarter of the year.
Investors are bullish on Chattanooga's biggest companies, most of which outperformed the broader market in the first quarter.
Unum added more than $2 billion dollars of market value. The company's stock price soared by 36.5 percent in the first quarter to close at its highest level since 2001.
Dixie Group was the biggest market gainer among local companies. Its stock price jumped by nearly 71 percent in the first quarter. And Mohawk Industries enjoyed a 25 percent jump in its stock price during the same period.
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And finally, it's been a colorful weekend in Chattanooga.
On Saturday more than 65 hundred people participated in the city's "color me rad" fun run through downtown. Take a look:

Part of the proceeds went to the Make a wish foundation.
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And on Sunday, thousands of children and their families gathered nearly 100,000 eggs in Coolidge Park to celebrate Easter. 
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And weather today will be mostly sunny with a high near 69. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 39.

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