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Tennessee legislature passes bill changing teacher tenure rules

A bill to make it more difficult for Tennessee teachers to get tenure passed the state House on Thursday, following passage by the Senate earlier this month.

The bill, pushed by Republican Governor Bill Haslam, requires teachers to work five years, instead of three, to achieve tenure. It also creates an evaluation procedure that could lead to revoking tenure based on poor job performance.

The two chambers must now agree on some minor changes before the bill goes to the governor's desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.

A director of the Tennessee Education Association, which represents 52,000 of the state's 65,000 teachers, said his group supports some aspects of the bill but is concerned the system of evaluation for tenure has not been established.

"The fact we don't know exactly what we're dealing with in an evaluation system is problematic," said Jerry Winters, director of government relations for the TEA. An evaluation system is supposed to be in place by July 1.

Three to five years for tenure is the average in the United States, according to the National Education Association.

The Senate Republican majority has argued that extending the tenure period is part of a continuing effort to raise the education bar in Tennessee.

(Reporting by Tim Ghianni; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Jerry Norton)

Kosovo president quits after ruling, to run anew

Kosovo's president resigned on Wednesday after the constitutional court ruled his election by parliament a month ago was not constitutional, but he said he would run again for the office.

"The president of the Republic of Kosovo Behgjet Pacolli is ready to respect the decision (of the constitutional court)," Pacolli's top aide Ibrahim Gashi told reporters.

"Pacolli will be the candidate of the coalition partners in the new election of a new president because he did not violate the constitution," Gashi added.

The resignation of Pacolli, who was elected to the largely ceremonial job in a power-sharing deal with Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, might force early elections in Kosovo unless the parties resolve the deadlock.

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; editing by Benet Koleka and Adam Tanner)

6 New Apps for Uncovering the Best Local Knowledge

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At some point afterlaunched in 2009, the Q&A concept has moved from the realm of stodgy forums to burgeoning tech trend. Meanwhile, hoards of startups are taking cues from buzz-generating location-based services likeandby adding location to everything fromto .

It's no surprise that the latest generation of startups is combining these two concepts.

These six new location-based Q&A services send questions about places to locals likely to have the answers. Some of them, like Localmind, even go so far as to track down potential answerees, while others solicit more general suggestions.

1.

Loqly users can find local businesses via a Google-powered search, browsing by popular categories or by asking for a referral. Each business page has an option to share, mark as a favorite, or view itsreviews. From the same business pages, users can ask specific questions about the business to other users in the area. "What days of the week do they have free salsa classes?" or "What are some good strong beers here?" are some sample questions.

People can also use Loqly for more general recommendations like "What is a good sushi restaurant in the area?" After users tag the question with a city and category, Loqly adds it to a question queue for local users.

2.

Crowdbeacon helps users track down answers to location-based questions by directing them to local experts nearby. When users first download the app, they're asked to identify their location and broad categories for which they feel comfortable answering questions. These sections include active life, beauty, restaurants, shopping, etc.

When you ask a question, you identify which category experts it should be sent to. Founder Robert Boyle's vision is that some respondents will be local businesses who have whatever it is that you're looking for and can offer you a deal. There are about 100 such businesses currently participating in New York -- home of the just-launched startup's strongest user base.

If you happen to live elsewhere, you might need to recruit some fellow users before you get regular responses to your questions.

3.

Launched in early March byfounder Jyri Engestrom, Ditto encourages users to state what they're going to do before they do it. They can either push these statements to their friends or to strangers nearby. The idea is that others who see something like "I'm going to breakfast" will naturally respond with something like "Oh, I know a great place." Better yet, they might offer to join.

Ditto is unusual among location-based Q&A apps in that it covers activities in addition to location. Users can just as easily solicit book and movie recommendations as they can restaurant and bar recommendations.

4.

Switzerland-based Loqize.me is a Q&A service exclusively for location-based questions. Founder Philip Estrada Reichen was inspired to start the company after he moved to New York City. Most of the questions he asked using social media had to do with where to find things (a haircut, dinner, a place to watch a game, etc.) in the city.

"The way I solved it is I posted questions on Facebook, I tweeted, I asked my friends, but there was no real easy way to get these sort of questions answered," he says.

Loqize.me is still in private beta. It allows users to tag their questions with a location. Users who "follow" that city or that user will see the question in their feeds and have an opportunity to answer it or to read others' answers. It's also possible to browse the questions by most recent or unanswered questions.

5. Hipster

Formerly stealth startup Hipster gave the world a peak at its location-based Q&A service at SXSW this year with adedicated to the conference.

If Yelp and Quora had a child under the influence of GPS, it might look a bit like this web app. Users see newsfeeds of popular, recent and friend activity. They can also follow people, categories, neighborhoods, and specific questions to create a "My Topics" feed.

The app integrates with , Facebook andaccounts to let users follow locations that they've checked in to.

6.

Localmind's specificity sets it apart from most other location-based Q&A services. When you launch the app, it presents you with a list of locations that other users near you are currently checked in to. You can send those specific users questions about their current location. You can build karma points by answering these questions, replying you're busy, checking in, and inviting friends to join. Users who rack up enough points earn titles like "expert," "champion," and "legend." When users reach the expert level, they're able to answer questions regardless of whether they are checked in to a specific area.

"One vision we have for the expert layer is a crowdsourced customer support network, where your customers answer questions on your behalf, and are recognized for it," explains founder Lenny Rachitsky. "Recognition could be [as] simple as a deal/coupon, or as interesting as a plaque on the wall at the venue that we ship to the venue."

Localmind was smart not to launch its own check-in service. Accepting check ins from Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook gives it a broader reach and increases the chances you'll find someone to answer your local question. There's also an option for people who don't use check in services to sign up using their Twitter accounts.

Interested in more Startup resources? Check out , a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics.

Image courtesy of ,

Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics: Supreme Court to decide on workplace retaliation against verbal complaints

In , the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether employees making verbal complaints are protected under a federal labor law barring retaliation against workers who complain of workplace statutory violations.

What led to this lawsuit?

Employees at St. Gobain Performance Plastics were required to wear company-issued protective clothing. The company required hourly laborers to put on the clothing before punching the time clock and to remove it afterward. As a result, employees worked from 20 minutes to 2.5 hours per week without pay to comply with the company's dress requirements.

Kevin Kasten followed a company-mandated internal complaint resolution procedure, verbally telling his supervisors as he worked his way up the chain of command that he believed the practice was illegal. After he made his complaints, he was subject to a spate of disciplinary reprimands. Kasten was suspended for alleged disciplinary infractions. During his suspension, the company fired him after learning that he was discussing possible class-action litigation.

How did the case come before the Supreme Court?

Kasten filed a lawsuit in district court, claiming that he was fired in retaliation for his time clock complaints and threats of legal action. The company moved for summary judgment arguing that oral complaints could not be "filed" as required to trigger protection from a federal statute. The district court agreed with the employer, and Kasten appealed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court affirmed the judgment of the district court. In doing so, it rejected the position of the U.S. Department of Labor, which had filed a friend of court brief supporting Kasten. Kasten applied for a rehearing, and the circuit court denied the motion. Then Kasten appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

What is the issue before the court?

The court will decide whether the Fair Labor Standards Act provision protecting an employee who "files" a complaint of unfair labor practices from retaliation covers verbal as well as written complaints. The court will decide whether filing a complaint required putting the complaint in writing; if not, the court must determine how formal a process is required for a verbal complaint to be covered by the statute.

The court will also decide whether the FLSA stipulation requiring complaint refers only to complaints made to the government or also covers complaints made to management.

Why does this case matter?

During oral argument on Oct. 13, the justices expressed concern with the concept of oral complaints being adequate to trigger the anti-retaliation protections of the FLSA. The court seemed concerned about whether an employee's verbal report would necessarily be interpreted as a complaint by management, and if so, under what circumstances.

This case is also important because it will resolve discrepant opinions by various circuit courts as to whether an oral complaint can be considered "filed."

N. Korea reduces capital's size: report

SEOUL (AFP) – Impoverished North Korea has reduced the size of its capital, a South Korean government report showed Monday, sparking speculation that the move was prompted by food shortages.

Pyongyang has relinquished southern districts to its adjacent North Hwanghae province, the South's unification ministry said in an annual report, without speculating about the reason for the move.

The Yonhap news agency said, without specifying a timeframe, that the capital of three million people has halved its size, probably to ease the burden of feeding its citizens.

As a result about 500,000 people were excluded as Pyongyang citizens who have been relatively well-fed despite chronic food shortages, it said.

Yonhap quoted a source as saying: "It is possible that the benefits only given to Pyongyang residents have put pressure on the state finances."

Aid groups have warned that the North's chronic food shortages would worsen this year as international donations dwindle, in part due to irritation over the regime's missile and nuclear programmes.

In a commentary Monday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency expressed concern about soaring grain prices in international markets.

Bad weather has led to a cut in grain production worldwide, it said, adding food shortages would become serious in many countries this year.