More talk of additional investments

There he goes again, being upbeat in a disastrous economy. Seriously, we have to think that Bredesen ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber's relentless optimism is leading somewhere... somewhere like the megasite in Haywood County (related story), not far from Jackson. Both Gov. Bredesen and Kisber, among others, have been all-but-promising further sizeable investments, and hinting at imminent news in the wake of world-class announcements by Hemlock and VW. Jumping on the bandwagon, MidTN boosters are pitching to companies in other cities (reference Nashville's NYC trade mission). Yesterday, Kisber told a forum in Jackson that the Congressional stimulus-spending plan may enable the State to provide funds needed to complete the Haywood site's infrastructure, to make it ready for move-in. Meanwhile, it must be noted, the head coach for Tennessee's recruitment effort, Phil Bredesen, is under consideration -- alongside Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Obama transition team chief John Podesta and Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and perhaps others -- to be Secretary of HHS, i.e., according to reports from AP, Politico, The Atlantic and others.