Month: April 2005

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We Recommend We Recommend

Splashdown

“This is the only song we play that’s not really a Memphis song,” says Scott “Captain Bones” Sexton as he cranks up the sound system and steers his odd-looking vehicle toward a ramp leading into the Wolf River Harbor. The familiar opening strains to Ike and Tina Turner’s cover of “Proud Mary” blare through the speakers, and Sexton pumps his arms in the air like a Tilt-a-Whirl carnie about to bark the line “Do you want to go faster?” As his steel charge, an amphibious craft originally designed for military use but adapted for commercial tours, rumbles down the Mud Island cobblestones like a runaway roller-coaster and hits the water with a massive splash, it’s impossible not to squeal like a kid at the fair. It’s equally difficult not to recall the tragic day in 1999 when a similar vehicle overturned on Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs, Arkansas, sinking in a matter of seconds and killing 13 of its 21 passengers.

“I’m really glad you brought that up, because rather than pretending that it didn’t happen, we want to hit this issue head-on,” says Lori Guyton, publicity director for Ride the Ducks, an amphibious tour attraction set to open in Memphis this week. “We don’t want people guessing.

“Ride the Ducks is a different company than the one that had the accident,” says Guyton. “That company was based out of Hot Springs. We’re based out of Branson, [Missouri], and have been in business for 35 years pretty much without incident. Ride the Ducks manufactures its own vehicles and is constantly making improvements in comfort and safety, so we know that our ducks exceed safety standards.”

In addition to equipping their vehicles with a number of safety features, including an abundance of adult- and child-sized lifejackets, duck captains are Coast Guard certified and hold commercial drivers’ licenses. The captains are also fully trained in first aid and CPR. “We really put our captains through the wringer,” says Claire Sewell, general manager for Memphis’ Ride the Ducks. “But we think they would agree that it’s worth it.”

“We really want to be the first thing that tourists do when they come to town,” says Marcee Loy, sales manager for Ride the Ducks. “What we do is introduce people to the city. We take them past Sun Studio and by the National Civil Rights Museum. We hope to give them a good idea of all the other things they can do while they are in town.”

Upon boarding the ducks, guests are given yellow plastic noisemakers called “wacky quackers” and are encouraged to honk along with the music, which includes mandatory tracks by Elvis, along with other hits from Sun, Stax, and Hi Records. “What we want most of all is for people to have fun,” Sewell says, claiming that even the most stone-faced adults usually find themselves quacking away by tour’s end. “And we want it to be something that locals can do more than once without thinking they are going to see the same tour over and over again. All of our captains tell different jokes. Some know more about the Civil War, so they talk about that. Others know more about music. So whenever you’ve got friends or relatives in town, you can take them to ride the ducks and not be bored. You are going to see a different tour depending on who your captain is.”

“Not just any old tow-boater can do this job,” says Captain Bones, now pumping his arms to another hot Memphis groove.

“You want me to turn on the air conditioner?” he asks. He then lowers the front windshield, and the cool river breeze rushes in. “This is a great job,” he says. “It’s really a great job.”

Ride the Ducks tours begin at AutoZone Park and are $16.95 for adults, $10.95 for children under 12. Throughout opening weekend, April 1st-3rd, prices are reduced to $10 for adults and $5 for children.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Gourmand

After months of renovation, Miss Cordelia’s Grocery in Harbor Town is ready to reveal a whole new look.

Developer Henry Turley first opened the neighborhood grocery store and deli in 1998 to service the rapidly growing residential community on Mud Island. He named the store after his mother, Cordelia Jones Turley, who died March 26 at age 93.

The expansion, which began in November 2004, will nearly double the size of the store from 4,000 to 7,000 square feet.

“The neighborhood led the expansion because we wanted to offer a more full-service grocery,” says Henry’s wife, Lynne Turley. “In the last five years, the island has increased 10 percent a year.”

The most notable use of the extra space is “Cordelia’s Table,” an eat-in dining area where customers can enjoy sandwiches, fresh-baked breads, or some of the new items from the deli’s expanded menu. Cordelia’s Table also offers selected breakfast items.

“It gives our customers a place to mix and mingle, because Cordelia’s is really a meeting place for the community,” says Lynne. “It also gives us a place to offer more services such as wine tastings and cooking demonstrations.”

With added lighting, brighter colors, and improved displays, the store offers a more inviting décor. And thanks to the new wine and beer permit, customers can sit down and enjoy a glass of wine or a frosty cold one with friends and neighbors.

By mid-April, the store will offer a new check-out area and an on-site butcher shop with a wider selection of fresh meats and seafood and imported cheeses. Plans for May include remodeling the porch to create a farmer’s market with an expanded selection of locally grown produce.

Miss Cordelia’s also offers products grown or produced in the Mid-South, such as Delta Grind grits and cornmeal, Dinstuhl’s candies, Café Francisco coffee, and Robert Hodum Honey.

Miss Cordelia’s, 737 Harbor Bend Rd., 526-4772

The goal of the staff at Geeker’s Gourmet Coffee Bar isn’t just to provide a good cup of joe but also to support the artistic community. From those just getting started to established local performers, everyone is welcome on stage at this coffeehouse that opened February 28th in High Point Terrace.

Tuesday nights are open-mic, and Wednesdays are set aside for poetry. Just call 323-3339 to schedule a performance. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are for live music.

On April 2nd, Rick Murphy of the local band B Generation will do a solo acoustic performance. Also in the lineup for upcoming weeks are Michael Kerr, Paige Thorton, Joe Sanders, and Kim Richardson.

A musician himself, Geeker’s owner Ben Wolfe wanted to create an environment where college kids can use their laptops for a study session or kick back and enjoy a little artistic expression.

“I want to help support local artists, not only musicians,” Wolfe says.

The painted pottery of Mark Ramirez, whose work is heavily influenced by trips to Mexico and Spain, is on display, and the coffeehouse’s warm yellow and cherry walls are adorned with black-and-white photography by Becky House.

When it comes to food, there’s the usual coffee-house fare — coffee drinks, pastries, and smoothies — but Geeker’s also offers sandwiches and soups. As the weather warms, Wolfe plans to add outdoor seating and hopes to host a few block parties.

Though Wolfe resides near Shelby Forest, he says he chose the High Point Terrace location because “it’s a cool area. It’s like its own little Mayberry. Everybody’s real supportive of the neighborhood business.”

Geeker’s Gourmet Coffee Bar, 477 High Point Terrace, Suite 1, 323-3339

Throughout the month of April, indulging ice cream cravings at any Cold Stone Creamery will help Make-A-Wish Foundation fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. The proceeds from Wish Stars, which customers can purchase for $1, will be donated to the local chapter of the organization.

The celebration culminates with the “Ice Cream Cake Social” on April 25th from 5 to 8 p.m. During this fourth annual event, customers who makes a donation to Make-A-Wish will receive a free slice of ice cream cake created especially for the organization. Last year the national event raised more than $600,000. n

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News The Fly-By

Hypocrisy 101

Texas representative Tom DeLay began the month of March besieged by charges of corruption and ethics violations. In the past, “The Hammer” had weathered such storms by scurrying back into the toolshed — avoiding press coverage and public appearances and using surrogates to deflect the accusations.

Not this time. Instead, DeLay sought out media attention, assuming a highly visible role as Congress politicized the tragic case of Terri Schiavo and intervened in the family’s end-of-life decision. Now, as public attention shifts away from Schiavo, DeLay’s political calculations seem to have backfired. In recent weeks, as many Americans were introduced to DeLay for the first time, the House leader has been exposed as the very picture of political opportunism and hypocrisy.

DeLay leveled some of the most extreme and inappropriate charges regarding the Schiavo case. He described the removal of Schiavo’s feeding tube as an “act of medical terrorism,” demagogued Schiavo’s husband Michael on the floor of the House of Representatives, and said to a group of Christian conservatives that “God has brought [Terri Schiavo] to us … to help elevate the visibility of what is going on in America,” referring to “attacks against the conservative movement, against me and against many others.”

But despite all this bombastic rhetoric, it appears DeLay’s involvement in the case was tied to politics, not principle. According to a search of LexisNexis, the first article mentioning both DeLay and Schiavo appeared on March 11th. The first documents mentioning Schiavo on DeLay’s Web site were published March 18th.

Now, in the face of legal setbacks and of polls that show overwhelming disapproval of congressional intervention, as well as a perception among the public that lawmakers were motivated by politics, DeLay has once again slipped out of the spotlight.

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times revealed that DeLay personally endured an end-of-life crisis similar to the Schiavo case. In 1988, DeLay’s 65-year-old father Charles was seriously injured during a freak tram accident at the family’s home in Canyon Lake, Texas. His injuries left the DeLay patriarch suspended in a coma and doctors advising “that he would ‘basically be a vegetable,'” according to the congressman’s aunt, JoAnne DeLay. After several weeks, as Charles Delay’s organs began to fail, his family confronted the dreaded choice so many other Americans have faced: to make heroic efforts or to let the end come. And, in a decision that belies his bellicose rhetoric of recent weeks, Tom DeLay joined the family consensus to let his father die.

As the last straw of hypocrisy, the Times detailed how DeLay’s family later filed suit against two companies responsible for a machine part that the family said had caused the accident. The case was resolved in 1993 with a payment from the companies of about $250,000, compensation for the dead father’s “physical pain and suffering” and the mother’s grief and loss of companionship, among other things.

“Three years later,” the Times noted, “DeLay cosponsored a bill specifically designed to override state laws on product liability such as the one cited in his family’s lawsuit.” Despite the benefits for his family, DeLay has taken a leading role promoting tort reform. He condemns trial lawyers who “get fat off the pain” of plaintiffs with “frivolous, parasitic lawsuits” that raise insurance premiums and “kill jobs.” n

This article first appeared in The Progress Report.

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Opinion

Close The Pyramid

It’s springtime, and the Memphis Grizzlies are entering the really tough part of the schedule.

Not just those games against other playoff contenders and All-Stars such as LeBron James and Allen Iverson. Off the court, the lineup of formidable competitors includes Shelby County commissioners John “J-Will” Willingham and Walter “Big Dog” Bailey, the upcoming Beale Street Music Festival in April and May, promoter Beaver Productions, and the ever-dangerous duo of Motley Crue and the DeSoto Civic Center.

The issue is not basketball but the non-compete contract clause that gives the Grizzlies and their operating arm, Hoops Inc., first dibs on the dwindling number of bands and artists who want to perform in Memphis in a big arena. While Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court were preoccupied last week with Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube, Willingham and others were casting the non-compete clause as a right-to-life issue for The Pyramid and Mid-South Coliseum. As Pyramid general manager Alan Freeman told commissioners, if his employer, SMG, gets a call from a promoter wanting to play The Pyramid, he must by contract immediately refer them to the Grizzlies. He can only book a show with their blessing.

“That’s not happening,” said Freeman, who estimated that six to eight events have bypassed Memphis due to the non-compete clause since FedExForum opened last September.

Questioned by Bailey, the commission’s watchdog over the Grizzlies and FedExForum, Freeman gave a grim report. The Pyramid lost $200,000 to $300,000 in potential revenue. Two bands, Rascal Flats and aging rockers Motley Crue, booked the 9,000-seat DeSoto Civic Center instead. FedExForum has only two concerts booked for the next 90 days, and both previously played The Pyramid, so they are not new business.

As facilities managers and promoters, SMG and Beaver Productions are understandably concerned. Willingham and the four commissioners voted to keep the heat on the Grizzlies and “lawyer extraordinaire” Stan Meadows, as Willingham called him in an open letter that was alternately sassy, silly, and sensible. But there is no need for a pity party for The Pyramid or the concert drought. Concerts and shows that need an arena as big as The Pyramid or FedExForum are only a small part of the Memphis entertainment scene. Tunica casinos, the Grizzlies, the Memphis Redbirds, AutoZone Park and the Memphis Botanic Garden’s “Live at the Garden” concert series weren’t around when The Pyramid opened. There are more venues in the Memphis area than there are bands, teams, singers, and entertainers to fill them (see sidebar). Within walking distance of each other downtown, there are two arenas, one outdoor amphitheater, one music museum, one ballpark, and two auditoriums with a total of 60,000 seats. Plus Beale Street. On nights when three or four venues are booked, Memphis seems like a genuine big city. On slow nights, visitors must wonder what in the world we were thinking.

The focus on the non-compete clause misses the point. FedExForum wasn’t built to bring more concerts and truck shows to Memphis any more than Tunica casinos were built to revive the careers of geriatric singers or increase the consumption of shrimp cocktails. Those are extras. FedExForum is about professional basketball and a big-league image. Memphis made its choice and should make the best of it. There was always going to be some collateral damage. But $300,000 in revenue, which is offset by the expenses of keeping The Pyramid open, doesn’t make much of a dent in the $30 million of debt left on the building. The Grizzlies are responsible for operating deficits at FedExForum. They — and the city and county — need a competing arena at the other end of downtown like Senator John Ford needs another ex-wife.

If there are six or eight fewer concerts in Memphis because of the Grizzlies, there are also 50 more NBA games per year. The Grizzlies give Memphis an answer to Tunica’s casinos and Nashville’s Tennessee Titans. Motley Crue playing The Pyramid can’t do that. The Grizzlies help keep FedEx and AutoZone happy. The headquarters of Fortune 500 companies are worth some perks. Would anyone trade them for HealthSouth and Worldcom, the corporate fallen angels of Birmingham, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi?

Closing The Pyramid won’t turn off the music in Memphis. According to Freeman, the Beale Street Music Festival dries up the concert business for at least a month before and after the three-day event. Beale Street, the Cannon Center, the Memphis Botanic Garden, suburban concert halls, and scores of bars and clubs listed in this newspaper offer live music. The Mud Island Amphitheater, which is not bound by the non-compete clause, will soon announce a revived summer series of at least 10 concerts. Benny Lendermon, head of the Riverfront Development Corporation, said Mud Island’s 2005 bill “will far exceed the number of concerts it has had in the past.” The Orpheum plans to offer more music concerts in 2005, according to director Pat Halloran.

The Pyramid is simply an expensive skyline ornament. It was doomed as a basketball arena when the University of Memphis Tigers moved away. Its usefulness as an adjunct to the Memphis Cook Convention Center is limited to a handful of conventions such as the Church of God in Christ that require a large assembly hall.

Pierre Landaiche, general manager of the convention center, said “people will walk a mile indoors” if buildings are connected by interior walkways and people-movers but are reluctant to go outside to a separate building.

No one has come forward with a viable alternate use for The Pyramid that would shift the debt to a private developer without additional public investment. A casino, which is Willingham’s choice, would require enabling legislation from Nashville and face opposition (and competition, if it ever came to pass) from the Tennessee Lottery and Tunica casinos.

“There is a difference between a dreamer and a visionary,” said Beale Street developer John Elkington, who has seen his share of both in the last 25 years. “A visionary has the wherewithal to make it happen. With The Pyramid, we have a bunch of dreamers.”

But Halloran, president of the Memphis Development Foundation which runs The Orpheum, isn’t ready to quit on The Pyramid.

“They need to let them book shows,” he said. “I understand the Grizzlies’ position, but I think the city made a bad deal. It hurts the economy not to have multiple events.”

Howard Stovall of Resource Entertainment Group, which represents some 50 bands and other clients, isn’t so sure.

Given the competition from Tunica and the inherently “tricky” Memphis market, the non-compete clause in exchange for the Grizzlies picking up operating deficits at FedExForum is “a decent deal” for Memphis, he said.

“Four or five years ago, people were talking about the fact that concerts weren’t coming to Memphis,” he said. “Memphis is finicky. The sweet spot in this market is the 5,000- to 7,000-ticket concert. Things that seem to be layups turn out to be a lot more difficult. The only way to succeed is to be cautious.” n

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

The Palate

What’s the principal difference between Caravaggio’s painting of an androgynous, leaf-clad Bacchus sipping on a goblet of wine and a medallion of veal sweetbreads with early porcini mushrooms, pearl onions, and roasted garlic?

The first is a masterpiece that, if properly preserved, will last throughout the ages. The latter masterpiece will be consumed within minutes of completion. That’s more or less the theory behind the Brooks Museum of Art’s third annual fund-raising series, “The Art of Good Taste.”

“I really don’t think of myself as an artist at all,” says celebrated Memphis chef Wally Joe, of the East Memphis restaurant Wally Joe. “I think that when chefs start thinking of themselves as artists it’s pretty pretentious,” he says.

Of course, anyone who has visited Joe’s exquisitely designed eatery and dined on cassoulet of quail with green and red lentils, thickly cut bacon, and rich poultry jus or his pork filet mignon with sweet potato gratin, bacon, red cabbage, and apple jam might suspect that the chef was merely being modest.

For the third year in a row, Joe has been called on by the Brooks to assemble “The Art of Good Taste”‘s patron’s dinner, a $600-a-head event slated for May 6th at the Brushmark. This year, Joe has asked Ken Frank, the fabled wunderkind of California cuisine and owner of critically lauded La Toque, to help in the meal preparation.

“I think that [Ken] would describe his style as ‘new French,'” Joe says. Though Frank didn’t invent California cuisine — that honor goes to Chef Alice Waters — the energetic veteran of many Parisian kitchens was one of its chief innovators and is one of its brightest stars. Frank’s name became synonymous with plates of fresh, quality foods beautifully presented and prepared with a healthy nod to French and Pacific Rim traditions. The left-coast native, who lived in France and pulled quite a bit of scullery duty throughout his late teens, was a star American chef by the age of 21, and two decades later, La Toque — a casual approach to the finest dining — is widely considered to be one of the finest restaurants in the U.S. His menus include items such as searedfoie gras with mango; mousse of smoked foie gras with pineapple chutney; New England skate wing with candied eggplant and toasted pine nuts; and pan-roasted quail with Picholine olives and twice-fried potatoes. The beauty of his plates comes not from an excess of preparation but from simplicity and perfect combinations of flavors.

“I’m not sure what Ken will be making yet,” Joe says. “I plan to let him decide what he wants to do first and then I will fill in around him.” That’s probably a wise decision, even though the chefs share a similar aesthetic.

“I’m not going to serve something that looks like a lot of people have had their hands all over it,” Joe says, wrinkling up his nose in distaste. “I’m not going to serve something with five different sauces. That sort of thing is for all the young chefs out there,” he jokes. Joe, like Frank, believes that quality dining comes not from excessive flash and dazzle but from fresh foods well prepared in a variety of traditions and served with minimum of fuss.

“The Art of Good Taste” kicks off on Sunday, April 3rd, with “Discover the Art of Wine,” a class exploring the styles, aromas, and grape varieties led by winemaker Rick Small of the 20-year-old Woodward Canyon winery, which is known for its award-winning Cabernets and Merlots as well as its barrel-fermented Chardonnays.

There are other wine-related events. On Thursday, April 7th, winemaker David Ramsey, known for his work developing Chalk Hill and Dominus wines, will pair five wines with five courses from the kitchen of the Madison hotel.

The “Brooks Uncorked!” event will feature a number of wines from around the world selected by winemakers Valentin Bianchi of Argentina and Joseph Phelps of Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Spring Valley, California.

“The Art of Good Taste” concludes with a grand auction on May 7th, featuring more than 150 items including — naturally — art, wine, and dinners, as well as jewelry and vacation packages.

So, what does Caravaggio’s famous painting of a lithe Bacchus swilling wine and munching on fresh fruits have in common with a lovely piece of antelope served with caramelized endive, foie-gras/chestnut ravioli, and wild-huckleberry sauce?

Everything. n

For more information on “The Art of Good Taste” series, check out the Brooks Museum’s Web site, BrooksMuseum.org.

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

Bowers, Bowers?

Whatever the outcome on May 10th, when the voters of state Senate District 33 go to the polls to fill a vacancy, the winner will be the first African-American woman to serve in the Senate from Shelby County.

Both Democrat Kathryn Bowers — the current Shelby County Democratic chairperson, who, because of her party’s historical predominance in the district, is heavily favored — and Republican Mary Ann Chaney McNeil answer to that description, and they both were easy winners over multiple opponents in last week’s special primary elections.

The District 33 seat was vacated earlier this year by the longtime incumbent, Democrat Roscoe Dixon, who now serves as an aide to Shelby County mayor A C Wharton. It is held on an interim basis by former Teamster leader Sidney Chism, another Democrat and, like Dixon, a former party chairman.

In a relatively light turnout, Bowers won with 50 percent of the vote against Michael Hooks and James M. Harvey. Political unknown Harvey, a mortgage broker and former truck-driver, may have gained himself a political future by his surprising second-place finish. A disappointed Hooks, the current Shelby County Commission chairman, had counted on high name recognition and late-breaking endorsements to give him a chance against Bowers, a high-profile state representative.

Harvey had some 27 percent of the primary vote against Hooks’ 23 percent.

McNeil, a retired educator who received a statewide Outstanding Principal award in 2003, polished off three Republican opponents with relative ease, polling 63 percent of the vote against 24 percent for Jason Hernandez, 6.6 percent for Barry Sterling, and 6.5 percent for Mary Lynn Flood.

Bowers’ victory can be attributed to a number of factors, including industrious campaigning, the support of a small but dedicated corps of supporters, and her oft-repeated promise, which events may have overtaken, to resist Governor Phil Bredesen‘s plan for pruning the state’s TennCare rolls.

Hooks rolled the dice with last-minute literature that featured endorsements from numerous city and county office-holders, including Memphis mayor Willie Herenton and Wharton. He had campaigned in support of alternate revenue measures initiated by Wharton and endorsed by the county commission — including a controversial real estate transfer tax, one that Bowers made a point of opposing.

If elected, Bowers could establish another precedent — as the first person to be both the House and Senate sponsor of a bill to pass the General Assembly. That bill, a complex financing measure to benefit The Med, has already passed the House and would be signed “Bowers, Bowers” if it passes the Senate under her sponsorship.

“That can happen if the legislature stays in session past May 10th, and I think it will,” said Bowers. “Oh, we’ll make sure it stays in session that long!” jested state senator Steve Cohen, a prospective colleague, who was present at her celebration.

Two independent candidates, Ian Randolph and Mary Taylor Shelby, will oppose Bowers and McNeil on the May 10th special general election ballot.

n Harold Ford Jr.’s fund-raiser at the Hilton on Ridgelake Boulevard last week was a big-time social event at one level and a serious real-world enterprise on another. Though the invitation (signed onto by 80 sponsors!) bore the words “Re-elect Harold Ford,” the event was fairly universally seen as an effort to build a kitty for the 9th District congressman’s long-expected U.S. Senate race in 2006.

That’s what all the talk has been about for months now in political circles, and that’s what the multitude of attendees who showed up at the Hilton last Wednesday night was talking about. A word about those attendees, a truly diversified host: There were belles and bankers, architects and entrepreneurs, lawyers and legislators, judges and jukers, pols and peepers. At $1,000 a head for the top ticket, the turnout might well have been good enough to reach the designated goal of $1 million — even making allowances for all the lesser players and outright comps on hand.

Oh, and one of the attendees — the guest of honor, in fact — was Bredesen, who chose to appear on Ford’s behalf despite the fact that a state senator from his party, Rosalind Kurita of Clarksville, one of those whom the governor depends upon to pass his legislation, is already a declared candidate for the very U.S. Senate seat that Ford is presumed about to seek.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Kurita said by telephone last week. “The only thing I can conclude is that the congressman really is running for reelection, and the governor is entirely within his rights to support him. He attended many a fund-raiser for me when I was running for reelection to the state Senate.”

Kurita refused even to countenance the idea that, with Ford conspicuously on the cusp of decision about the Senate race, Bredesen’s help with the gala big-money fund-raiser might tip the scales for the mediagenic congressman.

“He’s running for reelection to Congress,” Kurita said again, with the air of one dutifully — or wishfully — repeating a mantra.

She elaborated: “Don’t you think it’s interesting that I’m declared. Ed Bryant is declared. Beth Harwell is declared. Bob Corker is declared. Van Hilleary is declared. And he [Ford] isn’t declared? I take him at his word that he’s running for reelection. This is March! We’ve got the Senate field. Anybody who’s serious about running should be there by now.” (Bryant, Harwell, Corker, and Hilleary are Republican entries.)

Kurita vented what sounded like competitive instincts regarding Ford only once, when she was informed that the congressman’s fund-raiser had been proclaimed — at least formally — off limits to the media.

“But it’s a public office!” she said. “The whole point is to serve the people. It’s not something you do for the elite or for those who give you money. Running for office is something that should be done in public, not behind closed doors. I can’t imagine barring the media from a fund-raiser!”

Even if access to Ford’s fund-raiser turned out not to be universal, advance word concerning it surely had been. For some weeks, it — like a follow-up fund-raiser next week in Nashville — had been ballyhooed far and wide in the political community of Tennessee.

That made it all the more baffling that state senator John Ford, whose problems with the Senate Ethics Committee, the state Election Registry, and various other corners of officialdom — including, reportedly, the FBI — have been even more widely publicized, professed last Wednesday in Nashville not to know that his congressman nephew was having a fund-raiser in Memphis that night.

“Really?” he said, looking genuinely puzzled. It was a big deal, Senator Ford was told. A thousand bucks a head. The senator smiled. “That ain’t much!” he said, probably ironically. It is much, of course, especially when one considers the size of Representative Ford’s crowd Wednesday night.

But state senator Ford, whose predicament is considered by many the proximate cause of his nephew’s hesitation about running, may have been preoccupied. His situation went from bad to worse the very next morning, with the Ethics Committee’s decision to broaden its inquiry and involve the state attorney general’s office. He had that to contend with, along with a host of new disclosures concerning his involvements with firms doing business with state government.

“I’m about fed up with all that stuff, with people impugning my integrity,” Senator Ford said. “I’m getting ready to drop some libel suits on ’em!”

It’s a fair bet that his celebrated nephew, evidently still trying to make up his mind, would just as soon the fuss and bother in Nashville came to an end too. It’s not as if the congressman didn’t have his own new problems. The left-of-center Black Commentator, a Web site which virtually has him under siege, fronted a new lead story last week: “Why We Can’t Trust Harold Ford, Jr.”

And the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call reported that the Congressional Black Caucus members were miffed at Ford for not supporting their independent budget initiative.

Those salvoes will have little effect in Tennessee, however, and if — after last week’s Memphis fund-raiser and the upcoming one scheduled for this week in Nashville — Representative Ford has any tears to shed about them, it will definitely be on his way to the bank. n

Categories
Editorial Opinion

A First Step

Congratulations are owed to the Shelby County Commission, which on Monday put aside some significant disagreements in its ranks to create a new mechanism to consider privatization of the county’s correction facilities. After much storm and stress, a controversial proposal for out-sourcing the management of the downtown jail and the county corrections center will finally get due consideration from the 13 members of the commission and Mayor A C Wharton and Sheriff Mark Luttrell. The medium will be a review committee (in keeping with the reigning discord, there is still dispute as to what exactly to call it) appointed jointly by the mayor, the sheriff, and the commission.

Not everybody is pleased — especially not commissioners Walter Bailey and Cleo Kirk, both privatization opponents, whose principled resistance to the idea kept them from joining in the commission’s vote to ratify the committee’s creation. Commissioner Marilyn Loeffel abstained from voting, presumably in continuation of a protest against commission colleague Bruce Thompson, whose role in issuing Requests for Proposals had already drawn responses from three private prison-management concerns.

Maybe Thompson was cart-before-the-horse, but the establishment of the new review committee in effect superceded that controversy and gave a de facto sanction to the bid process.

The commission still has the final say on things, however, and it is empowered to adjudicate not only between separate bidders but also the still-unresolved dilemma of which motive should be preeminent — that of fairness to employees whose jobs are threatened or that of potentially significant revenue savings for a cash-strapped county government. There are strong arguments either way, and it will take serious judgment to resolve the matter.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Miss Cordelia

We join the family and many friends of Cordelia Turley in mourning her death last week at the age of 93. Mrs. Turley was the mother of Henry Turley, chairman of the board of Contemporary Media, Inc. (the Flyer‘s parent company), and his younger brother Calvin. Her grandchildren include our former colleague Alex Turley. Mrs. Turley was the namesake for Miss Cordelia’s grocery store in Harbor Town on Mud Island, but old friends knew her by the equally Southern but less formal “Cudelia.” At her memorial service Monday at St. John’s United Methodist Church, Dr. Scott Morris noted that she was one of those unique personalities known by a single name.

Morris, who was both her pastor and physician in recent years, recalled her as “a Southern lady” and “the very definition of a steel magnolia.” She and her late sister Martha were rocks of St. John’s for some 80 years, rarely living more than five miles away and staying put during the white flight of the Sixties and Seventies. On her 90th birthday celebration at Miss Cordelia’s, she was serenaded by no less than five of her preachers. As Morris noted, it was quite a tribute that the sanctuary was filled to overflowing Monday.

Mrs. Turley loved her family and friends, her church, good manners, and a good time. She died the day before Easter. Her spirit will live in the old walled garden behind her home in Central Gardens, where the last of six cedars stands over a brick pathway through a well-kept garden of red camelias and white azaleas, now breaking into bloom. n

Categories
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Bryant Redux

If he’s elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, when he’ll be making his second try, former 7th District congressman Ed Bryant will do what he can to get named to that body’s Judiciary Committee. Why? “I want to make sure I can help President Bush. We’ve got to be careful to get the right kind of judges in there” is how Bryant put it to members of the Southeast Shelby County Republican Club last week.

The issue is crucial, Bryant told the audience at Fox Ridge Pizza last Tuesday night, and will remain so even if, and maybe especially if, Majority Leader Bill Frist can successfully follow through on his current threat to change Senate rules so as to prevent a Democratic filibuster on judicial appointees.

That’s the so-called nuclear option, which, Bryant suggested, could be equally dangerous to both parties. There is the 2008 presidential election to think about, for example, and with it the specter of a certain Democratic senator from New York named Hillary. “If there’s a second President Clinton,” Bryant warned, “then we want to make sure that we look very closely at her judges to make sure they believe in the Constitution. Don’t be thinking that we’re going to be solving this very quickly if we go nuclear.”

To distinguish himself from three other declared opponents for the Republican nomination, Bryant boasts his legal background, which includes service as a military J.A.G. officer, as a West Point instructor, and as U.S. attorney for West Tennessee, including Memphis, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Though he didn’t mention it last week, he was also a House “manager” for President Clinton’s impeachment in late 1998 and earned a certain fame — or notoriety — as the designated GOP interrogator of one Monica Lewinsky.

First elected to the House in 1992, Bryant represented Tennessee’s 7th District, which stretches from the suburbs of Memphis to those of Nashville. He hazarded his first run for the Senate in 2002, when the then Republican incumbent, Fred Thompson, made a surprise announcement of his withdrawal from politics. (Thompson went back to acting and can be seen weekly in installments of TV’s Law and Order.)

It remains unproven, but there are many who believe that Thompson timed his announcement so that former Governor Lamar Alexander could get an early start on the race to succeed him. Bryant was reportedly one of those who thought so (his supporters certainly did), but he declared for the Senate anyway, despite further widespread reports that the Bush administration itself was promoting Alexander.

Bryant lost a hard-fought primary in 2002 but then loyally soldiered up in support of Alexander, the eventual winner over Democrat Bob Clement. He went back to his former residence in Jackson and settled down to a law practice. When Frist, who is expected to be a 2008 presidential candidate, confirmed that he would vacate the state’s other Senate seat in 2006, Bryant was the first candidate of either party to hit the ground running.

“I apologize for spending so much time in East Tennessee,” he said to the Southeast Shelby County club last week. “But,” he noted wryly, “that’s where the votes were down last time.”

Bryant thinks the statewide name recognition he gained in 2002 puts him on equal terms with the other announced GOP candidates — former 4th District congressman and 2002 gubernatorial candidate Van Hilleary, now of Murfreesboro; Chattanooga mayor Bob Corker; and state representative Beth Harwell of Nashville, the former chairperson of the Tennessee Republican Party.

“We’re not running against Lamar Alexander this year,” Bryant told his Republican audience last week. “We’re running against mortal people, not a political superstar.”

In an interview after his public remarks, Bryant indulged in some speculation that runs counter to conventional wisdom. “What happens if Governor [Phil] Bredesen doesn’t run again?” he asked, noting that the governor, who has potential long-term problems with social “wedge” issues and TennCare, has been touted as a presidential prospect in the national media. “I think he might serve one term, declare victory, and try to get up in that league.”

That would open the doors for a governor’s race for his 7th District successor, Marsha Blackburn, as well as the aforesaid Hilleary, Corker, and Harwell. “I’m prepared to endorse them all, anybody that wants to run,” he said with a grin, “to get them out of the [Senate] race.” n

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My Finest Four

This weekend I will watch my 25th Final Four, a silver anniversary, you might say, of shining moments. In 1981, I was a sixth-grader living in Southern California, when my dad and I watched a sophomore point guard named Isiah Thomas lead his Indiana Hoosiers over a North Carolina team one year B.M. (Before Michael). Herewith, my own final four: the finest teams to cut down the nets during the last quarter-century.

4) 1989-90 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels — The excellence of the teams on this list has a lot to do with the team they beat for the championship. These Rebels destroyed a still-developing Duke squad that would win the next two national titles. Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon were All-Americas at UNLV, and Greg Anthony and Anderson Hunt may have been the best backcourt tandem since North Carolina State’s Sidney Lowe and Dereck Whittenburg in 1983. With Coach Jerry Tarkanian chewing his towel on the bench, UNLV beat Kenny Anderson and Georgia Tech in the semis, then crushed Christian Laettner’s Blue Devils, 103-73. Hunt made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts for 29 points while Johnson added 22. This was the pinnacle of UNLV’s “outlaw” program, a band of hell-raisers who took the college basketball world by force and made no apologies for it. Final record: 35-5.

3) 1983-84 Georgetown Hoyas — The 1984 championship game was a heavyweight matchup of two Final Four regulars from the early ’80s. Georgetown was making its second of three appearances in the finals with Patrick Ewing at center. Houston was making its third straight trip to the Final Four with Hakeem Olajuwon playing the pivot. Ewing’s supporting cast included the sweet-shooting Reggie Williams and the rim-rattling Michael Graham. Olajuwon was backed by Michael Young (18 points in the final) and Alvin Franklin (21). While Hakeem the Dream (15 points, 9 rebounds) may have edged Ewing (10 points, 9 rebounds ) in their matchup, the Hoyas were unbeatable in Seattle. Williams scored 19, Graham 14, and David Wingate added 16 in the 84-75 win. It was Coach John Thompson’s only national championship, but it was enough to spawn a nationwide frenzy that put Hoya gear in shopping malls from Seattle to Miami. Final record: 34-3.

2) 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils — This was the sixth of Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 10 Final Four teams, his second consecutive national champ, and to this day, the best team he’s ever coached. Senior star Laettner was making his fourth straight appearance in the Final Four (and his third straight title game). When Laettner made his epic, buzzer-beating shot to beat Kentucky in the regional finals, this squad’s coronation in Minneapolis was mere formality. The Devils squeezed by Indiana (remember Damon Bailey?) in the semis, 81-78, setting up a championship showdown with Michigan’s Fab Five, the great quintet of freshmen. (We all know Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Juwan Howard, but who remembers Ray Jackson and Jimmy King?) The game was no contest. Sophomore Grant Hill scored 18, Thomas Hill 16, and Laettner wrapped up his college career with 19 as Duke won, 71-51. Michigan turned the ball over 20 times and was led by Webber’s 14 points. (During Laettner’s four years at Duke, the school had a record of 21-2 in the NCAA tournament.) Final record: 34-2.

1) 1981-82 North Carolina Tar Heels — You just can’t help but add some historical perspective to the greatness of Coach Dean Smith’s first national champions. Three of their starters (James Worthy, Sam Perkins, and freshman Michael Jordan) went on to play a total of 44 seasons in the NBA and win nine NBA championships. Having lost in the finals the year before to Thomas’ Hoosiers, the ‘Heels knocked off Houston (with Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler) in the semis before edging Georgetown, 63-62, in a thrilling title tilt. Hoya freshman Ewing was guilty of a series of goaltending calls in the early minutes of the game, all the while establishing a presence North Carolina would have to play around with their superior perimeter players. With 28 points, Worthy assured his status as the NBA’s number-one draft pick three months later. Jordan scored 16 (and pulled down nine rebounds), the last two coming on what proved to be the game-winning jumper with less than a minute to play. North Carolina was challenged by Ewing’s 23 points and 11 boards, while Sleepy Floyd added 18 for the Hoyas. Sadly, the game tends to be remembered as much for Georgetown’s Fred Brown throwing the ball to Worthy in the final seconds — out of the corner of his eye, Brown thought Worthy was a teammate — as for the first national breakthrough for the man who would become Air Jordan. Final record: 32-2.