Hockey center planned for former Antioch mall parking site
Metro officials announced today the city will construct a $14 million ice rink in the parking lot of the former Hickory Hollow Mall. The announcement came during a groundbreaking ceremony for a library and community center set to be located at the northern corner of the Antioch retail space now known as The Global Mall at the Crossings.
The 86,000-square-foot, Metro-owned hockey center — on the left in the first rendering below — will be a two-story structure that holds two multi-purpose ice rinks, team rooms, meeting rooms and an observation mezzanine. The Nashville Predators will manage the facility, which will sit kitty-corner to the new library/community center space and adjacent to a park. Read more here.
In addition, the debt of the Metropolitan Sports Authority will be restructured with the realized savings from lower interest rates. The details of the financing plan will be released at the sports authority’s July 1 meeting.
Bottom image: Marcus Washington, NewsChannel 5
20|20 rolls out translation technology
The team at 20|20 Research — led by former Republican state senator Jim Bryson — has brought to market a translation tool that lets marketers around the world nearly instantaneously translate content in multinational research projects. The QualTranslate technology covers 24 languages.
"For instance, if researchers gain insight in a live study in Germany, they can instantly integrate that knowledge into the same study in France," Bryson said. "Maybe in this high technology age this doesn't sound like a dramatic development, but in marketing research, this is a pretty remarkable advancement that will help marketers."
Parallon to provide clients Citi’s bill payment technology
Parallon Business Solutions announced today it has agreed to use Citi’s health care payment technology with its hospital, health system and physician clients.
Dubbed Money2 for Health, the technology will be used to help Parallon’s clients more efficiently collect payment. The client based consists of 1,400 hospitals and 11,000 physicians.
“Our industry is facing overwhelming payment and cost challenges," Mike O’Boyle, Parallon president and CEO, said in a release. "Parallon is committed to helping providers tackle these financial concerns, address the complexities of daily operations and focus on enhancing the patient experience. Our relationship with Citi is an example of the value we place on collaborative problem-solving. We are excited to be at the forefront of a solution that will transform the payment experience for everyone — patients, providers and insurers.”
Based on recent Citi consumer research, 71 percent of all consumers match their explanation of benefits (EOBs) to their healthcare bills before paying their healthcare providers, causing significant payment delays. Money2 for Health solves this problem working cooperatively with innovative payers and providers like Aetna and the providers served by Parallon. Money2 for Health enables patients to go online or use their mobile devices to reconcile their healthcare bills, receive alerts after the claim has been adjudicated, pay amounts due and view past payments – all in one digital location. It will be offered to consumers in the U.S. by participating health insurance carriers and providers.
Citi officials stated in the same release that the Money2 for Health platform is in a “pilot stage,” available in select markets, and is expected to launch nationwide later this year.
JPMorgan upgrades Ryman shares
Kevin Milota at JPMorgan sees opportunity in the recent pullback in Ryman Hospitality Properties shares. He has raised his rating on Ryman to 'overweight' from 'hold' and lifted his price target to $42 from $40. Ryman shares (Ticker: RHP) are up slightly in Monday trading and have given up about 14 percent in the past month.
State gas price average rises
The average per-gallon price of regular gas in Tennessee was $3.33 as of Sunday, a three-cent rise compared to the figure from the previous week, according to AAA, The Auto Club Group.
In Nashville, the average per-gallon price of regular gas was $3.38 as of Sunday, a three-cent rise compared to the figure from the previous week. (See chart below.)
As of Sunday, the national average price was $3.61, a two-cent decrease. More specifically, and to compare to Tennessee, Georgia’s per-gallon average of $3.47 rose two cents.
Last week, motorists saw a slight increase in both oil and gas prices after President Barack Obama authorized support and arms for Syrian rebels, increasing tensions in an oil-saturated region, AAA reports.
The cost for a barrel of closed last Friday at $97.85 on the New York Mercantile Exchange — $1.82 more than the figure from the week prior, according to AAA.
Although Syria is not a major oil-producing country, it does boarder Iran and Iraq, which produce about one-fifth of OPEC's oil output. In addition, the value of the dollar fell last week, further spurring the increase in oil prices.
Other factors that led to the increase in crude costs were the U.S. Commerce Department's report that showed a three-month jump in retail sales in May and the fact that fewer jobless claims were filed than initially forecast by the Labor Department, AAA reports.
"Motorists shouldn't be surprised to see retail gas prices creep higher this week as tensions in the Mideast increase and create concerns of supply disruptions," said Jessica Brady, AAA spokeswoman. "Although pump prices are higher now than they were this time last year, the Energy Information Administration expects the summer average price for a gallon of regular retail gas to average $3.53, about the same as last year."
M*Modal owner will soon split from JPMorgan
JPMorgan Chase officials say they will soon spin out One Equity Partners, the private-equity firm that last year bought M*Modal for $1.1 billion. The firm, which manages $4.5 billion worth of investments, will continue to manage its current portfolio and sell off its holdings over time.
Updating the HMA hullabaloo
A few more things moved last week in the swirl of Health Management Associates' CEO succession and its strategic future. First, hedge fund manager Larry Robbins asked the hospital chain's board to repeal its poison pill or at least hike its limit to 25 percent from 15 percent. The following day, the company said it was still interviewing candidates to take over from Gary Newsome — who is out in less than seven weeks, by the way — but added in a brief statement that it has hired Morgan Stanley and law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges to help it assess its options. The Times' DealBook has a full rundown of the situation.
Israeli company selling more Delek shares
Delek Group out of Israel late last week sold 2 million of its Delek US Holdings shares to an unnamed investor for $32.18 apiece. The move comes less than three months after the former Delek US majority owner unloaded another 9 million shares of the Brentwood-based oil refiner and marketer. Since then, Delek US (Ticker: DK) has retreated almost 20 percent from its all-time highs. By our calculation, Delek Group still owns about 34 percent of its U.S. affiliate.
emids partners with Texas company for mobile application development
Nashville-based information technology provider emids Technologies announced today it has partnered with Texas-based ZeOmega, Inc., to develop mobile applications for ZeOmega client sites across the country.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in a release.
The partnership is designed to “encourage collaboration on proof-of-concept projects,” according to the company statement.
Specifically, the partnership will focus on development of mobility applications for Jiva and development of innovative extensions for Jiva at payer and provider customers, leveraging integration expertise, services and solutions for Jiva implementations at multiple ZeOmega customer sites.
“Entering into strategic partnerships with highly regarded companies such as ZeOmega means that we can offer our customers increased value and a different perspective,” said Saurabh Sinha, emids CEO. “These partnerships are not only a benefit to our customers, but they are also a key component of our growth strategy."
Waller rises to No. 3 spot on trade pub list
AHLA Connections magazine has named Waller Landsen Dortch & Davis the nation’s third largest firm, and the largest in the Southeast, with a health care law emphasis.
Last year, Waller was No. 4 on the list.
The publication, which serves as the flagship publication of the American Healthcare Lawyers Association, also named Waller as the second largest firm in the nation for long-term care, senior housing, in-home care and rehabilitation practice groups. For the past seven years, AHLA has ranked Waller among the nation’s Top 10 largest firms that emphasize health care-focused legal work.
Waller is based in Nashville and has offices in Birmingham, Ala. and Austin, Texas. With approximately 200 attorneys, the firm bills itself as Nashville’s oldest and largest.
The AHLA has about 11,500 members and is the largest trade association for health care lawyers in the United States. Rankings by AHLA Connections are based on AHLA memberships.
To read the news release, go here.
