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Obama’s visit: Education, manufacturing, a chance to see the president

Posted at 3:36 pm January 14, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College

President Barack Obama announces a proposal to offer two years of free community college to responsible students during a half-hour speech at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 15.

HARDIN VALLEY—It was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for some, a chance to shake hands with the president of the United States of America or wave at his heavily guarded motorcade as it passed by on a local roadway.

For others, it was a chance to hear about a presidential proposal modeled after a Tennessee program that would make the first two years of community college free to students who maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average. That proposal, officially announced at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday, expands on the 20th century idea that all children in the United States are entitled to a public education. In the 21st century economy, the White House said, 12 years of school is no longer enough.

For a much-smaller group, Friday’s visit by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and his wife Jill Biden offered an opportunity to hear an in-person announcement of a new advanced manufacturing hub, the country’s fifth, that will be led by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and have Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a founding partner. That announcement at Techmer PM in Clinton was highlighted by a 3-D printed carbon fiber replica of a Shelby Cobra that the president joked about receiving for his birthday. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Clinton, College, Education, Education, Federal, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: advanced composites, advanced manufacturing, Alesia Orren, America's College Promise, Barack Obama, Bill Haslam, Bob Corker, Clayton Arts Performing Center, community college, Congress, Darrell Freeman, Democrat, education, FAFSA, federal student financial aid form, General Assembly, Hardin Valley, IACMI, Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, Jill Biden, Joe Biden, John J. Duncan Jr., Jose Rodriguez, Lamar Alexander, manufacturing, manufacturing hub, middle class, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Pellissippi State Community College, President Obama, public education, Republican, Roane State Community College, Rob Welton, Shelby Cobra, State of the Union, Techmer PM, technical school, Tennessee, Tennessee Board of Regents, Tennessee Promise, tnAchieves, trade school, tuition, U.S. Department of Energy, United States, United States of America, University of Tennessee, Warren Gooch, White House

President Obama’s trip to East Tennessee explained

Posted at 1:02 am January 10, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

President Barack Obama, Sen. Bob Corker, Sen. Lamar Alexander, and Rep. John Duncan at Air Force One

President Barack Obama, front; U.S. senators Lamar Alexander, second, and Bob Corker, third; and Representative John J. Duncan Jr. arrive at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa on Air Force One at about noon Friday. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Before President Obama landed in East Tennessee on Friday, a spokesman explained the purpose of the trip to reporters. The 5.5-hour visit included stops at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley and manufacturer Techmer PM in Clinton. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and Congressman John J. Duncan Jr. were guests, and so was Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

Eric Schultz, principal deputy press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One that President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill would unveil the president’s plan to make two years of community college free for all responsible students no matter their age during the East Tennessee trip. It was a preview of a “cornerstone” of the president’s State of the Union to Congress on January 20.

Separately, during a stop in Clinton, the president announced a manufacturing innovation hub that involves the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Federal, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: 21st century, Air Force One, American Technical Training Fund, Barack Obama, Bill Haslam, Clinton, college, community college, East Tennessee, Eric Schultz, federal government, Governor Haslam, high school, high school seniors, higher education, Jill Biden, Joe Biden, John J. Duncan Jr., manufacturing hub, manufacturing innovation hub, McGhee Tyson Airport, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pellissippi State Community College, President Obama, State of the Union, Techmer PM, Tennessee Promise, University of Tennessee, White House

President Obama to launch manufacturing hub during Knoxville visit

Posted at 3:04 am January 8, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Dan Pfeiffer

Dan Pfeiffer

President Barack Obama will launch a new manufacturing innovation hub  during his visit to Knoxville and Clinton on Friday, a presidential aide said Wednesday.

The manufacturing innovation hub will be  a private-sector partnership that will attract more well-paying middle-class jobs in high-tech manufacturing to Tennessee, said Dan Pfeiffer, an assistant to the president and senior adviser.

During their Friday visit, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with his wife Jill Biden, will stop at Pellissippi State Community College in west Knox County and at manufacturer Techmer PM in the Eagle Bend Industrial Park in Clinton. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: Barack Obama, Clinton, Congress, Dan Pfeiffer, Eagle Bend Industrial Park, economic development, education, housing, Jill Biden, Joe Biden, Knoxville, manufacturing, manufacturing hub, manufacturing innovation hub, Pellissippi State Community College, SOTU, State of the Union, Techmer PM, White House

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Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

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