Cerberus hospital deal approved

The long-anticipated approval of PE player Cerberus' takeover of Boston's Caritas Cristi medical center was approved last week. Boston.com has it. WSJ (sub.) noted the implications this weekend, mentioning Tennessee-based Vanguard, Ardent and Lifepoint as being involved in nonprofit acquisitions.

Knoxville woos 'Creative Class'

"Tennessee's Other Music Capital" is Knoxville, according to a press release last week. The release, crafted by Innovation Valley, doesn't mention Nashville, explicitly. And, Innovate Knoxville provides an interesting calendar of Knoxville venture and entrepreneurial events. The KNS reports it. The calendar was introduced during Knoxville's Entrepreneurial Imperative conference, last week. The Development Corporation of Knox County was one of the hosts. The Innovation Valley Tech Council also played a role.

Sometimes, Tech CEOs just need to bail

The New York Times reports on Twitter Founder Ev Williams' decision to hand the reins to Dick Costolo. Will the guy who sold Blogger to Google do something like that again? Factoid: Article says Twitter insiders talk about 'the Dunbar number': 150 is the most people with whom anyone can have genuinely strong relationships. Meanwhile, SiliconValley reports YouTube founder and now-former CEO Chad Hurley (at left) apparently mentioned his diminished role at the company during the Founders (-only) conference in Ireland, which was quickly followed by Google admission he was out of the CEO job. 'Seems Google wants to make money out of its YouTube acquisition. 'Seems Hurley is more interested in his new apparel company and Formula One racing, judging by this YouTube post.

Memphis Musculoskeletal ventures conference

Last week's Musculoskeletal New Ventures Conference in Memphis provided a strong dose of med-devices' ventures for investors, according to Innova President Ken Woody and MB Venture Partners' Mike Sherman. The CA has it. Innova has another entrepreneurial event, Nov. 17, according the CA. Related: Wright Medical has expansion on its mind, Memphis Daily News has it.

FedEx Fred Smith lauded for humanitarianism

FedEx CEO Fred Smith will receive an award for his and FedEx's humanitarian contributions, such as in relieving hunger in Haiti, during a Nov. 16 ceremony of the George C. Marshall Foundation. Their release is here.

Adesta, EPB symbiosis on fiber-optic

Adesta, owned by British-owned G4S, has gotten lots of business, thanks to Chattanooga EPB's fiber-optic broadband foray. The TFP has it.

Robert Half: Chattanooga IT, Accounting jobs rise

With a Volkswagen tailwind blowing through Hamilton County, IT and accounting jobs should rise significantly in the year ahead, according to a Robert Half study. The TFP has it.

Pilot, Covenant, Roadside Medical venture partners

Tennessee-based Pilot Travel Centers and Covenant Transportation are among latest partners of Las Vegas-based Roadside Medical LLC, which provides healthcare and limited pharmacy services for truckers in transit. The TFP has a story on the Covenant wellness program. Roadside's site notes their alliance with Pilot. A Knoxville roadside service is open, now.

Trahern now GM Great American Country

Nashvillian Sarah Trahern (left) has been named general manager and SVP of Great American Country, a Scripps Networks property. Trahern worked for TNN and C-Span prior to Scripps, and earned degrees at Georgetown University and Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management. The Scripps release is here.

Anthem Healthcare Intelligence in pact

Franklin-based Anthem Healthcare Intelligence announced it'll partner with Louisville-based Alliant Management Services to provide business-intelligence services. The release is here.

Scripps Networks consolidates in Knoxville

Scripps Networks Interactive, home of HGTV, Great American Country, The Food Network and other offerings, announced 28 October it's consolidating its headquarters in Knoxville, moving from Cincinnati. The release is here.

B'ham Vivo BioScience in Roche-ACEA pact

Birmingham Vivo Bioscience announced entering an R&D collaboration for development of cell-based assays for the xCELLigence System, co-developed by Roche-ACEA and marketed by Roche Applied Science. Details here. The B'ham BJ says the deal is worth about $2MM now for Vivo.

DJ Venture Index debuts

Dow Jones Venture Capital Indexes debuted yesterday, providing continual reporting of the value of VC funds' portfolio companies, weighted by capital invested and other factors, and derived largely from reports from Down Jones VentureSource. The Oct. 28 release is here.

TelaPoint supply-chain SW provider grows

The Louisville BJ says TelaPoint, a supply-chain software provider now owned by Maine-based Wright Express, will expand its presence in Louisville.

Comment: Knoxville competition for investment

KNS business columnist Roger Harris notes speculation about major companies considering investment in the Knoxville area, with the recurring theme of land scarcity being a hurdle Knox must meet.

Enernex CTO lauded for Smart Grid acumen

Erich Gunther (left), chairman and CTO of Knoxville-based EnerNex, has been cited for industry leadership in advancing smart-grid collaboration and technology. Enernex provides engineering and consulting services, plus software and solutions to the electric power industry. The release is here.

Chinese best ORNL's Jaguar supercomputer

The New York Times reports Chinese are unveiling a new supercomputing system with 1.4X the power of top-ranked computers now at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The NYT's story is here. The Telegraph confirms the machine will unseat Jaguar at ORNL.

CEO for Health Info Partnership TN

HIP-TN has operated for some time through a contract with C3 Consulting, where Vicki Estrin is managing consultant. HIP-TN has now has retained the Buffkin Group to recruit a CEO for the organization. Here's the CEO Job Description. Here's a HIP-TN overview (PPT). Here's our earlier story on the interrelationship between the TN Office of E-Health, run by Will Rice, and HIP-TN.

BMG names Creative chief

BMG, owned by Bertelsman and private-equity player KKR, named Richard Blackstone (left), former Warner and Zomba/Nashville chief, to be its NYC-based chief creative officer. The release is here. Blackstone, who holds a law degree, has mastered social media and other development and marketing domains.

Wunderlich adds to tech coverage

Memphis-based Wunderlich Securities added Brian Freed as SVP and tech analyst, covering the Enterprise Infrastructure sector with a focus on storage and security, according to a release. Freed was with Morgan Keegan.