Chris Davis has the latest on the Great BK Global Warming story in Sing All Kinds; Bianca Phillips reports on a transgender shooting at Memphis Gaydar; Bruce VanWyngarden checks out Chris Peck’s column at the BruceV blog; and Chris Herrington has the latest Griz dish at Beyond the Arc.
The Burger King Corporation (BKC) seems to be in denial regarding the decision by Mirabile Investment Corporation (MIC), a Memphis-based management company with more then 40 Burger King locations across the Mid-South, to place the words “Global Warming is Baloney” on many of not all of its exterior signs.
BKC distanced itself from the message last week, claiming that the the “two” signs in question had been removed. At the time of Burger King’s official statement, Flyer readers had already reported at least 10 such signs in various locations between Batesvile, Mississippi, and Martin, Tennessee.
Just as yesterday’s Shelby County Commission hearing on a GLBT workplace protection ordinance was set to begin, gay rights activists got word of a tragedy.
Last Wednesday, Terron Taylor of Whitehaven shot Kelvin Denton, a transgender woman, in the nose and throat after he learned that Denton was a biological male. As of press time, Denton is in critical condition at The Med.
The shooting occured at the Peppertree Apartments in Whitehaven. Taylor was arrested Friday and is being held on a $500,000 bond.
Two transgender woman — Duanna Johnson and Ebony Whitaker — were murdered last year, and another — Tiffany Berry — was shot in 2006.
After first echoing Chad Ford’s report about the Grizzlies taking Hasheem Thabeet at #2, Draft Express is now coming off that report:
•Memphis Not a Lock to Take Thabeet?
Most NBA teams we speak to these days are assuming that the Memphis Grizzlies have been decisively spooked by Ricky Rubio’s threats to pull a Fran Vasquez, and have instead zeroed in on Hasheem Thabeet as their likely selection with the #2 pick.
Memphis coach Lionel Hollins hasn’t necessarily given up on the idea of drafting a point guard, though, and he’s telling NBA-types that he may be interested in picking one with legit size that he can play alongside either Mike Conley or O.J. Mayo depending on the situation on the floor. Tyreke Evans is one that has come up—he comes with the added benefit of having played in Memphis, which might help the team somewhat in the ticket sales department. Jrue Holiday is another name that is beginning to get some mention here.
The assumption is that Memphis will trade down a few spots, possibly to 4th, where Sacramento can offer either Jason Thompson or Spencer Hawes as added compensation. That would surely please Rubio’s camp, as the difference between the 2nd and 4th picks is somewhere around four million dollars over the course of his rookie deal, which would make things infinitely easier as far as his buyout is concerned, and also satisfy his and his family’s initial expectations of being a top-3 pick.
Memphis magazine received a first-place award in the General Excellence category (under 30,000 circulation) during the awards ceremony that concluded the City and Regional Magazine Association’s annual convention in New Orleans Monday night.
The journalism competition attracted more than 800 entries from magazines across the country.
Judges noted: “The city of Memphis has much to be proud of: It’s the birthplace of rock-and-roll, the home of the blues, and one of the best places in America to eat barbecue. You can add to that list of accomplishments Memphis magazine, a publication that covers the city’s personalities, politics, and culture with style and authority. Memphis is not afraid to tackle tough subjects: The April 2008 special issue commemorating the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination is a case in point. But there’s plenty of fun in the magazine, too. In the column ‘Ask Vance,’ the magazine’s resident trivia expert answers readers’ questions about Memphis history. The yearly ‘Hot List’ puts a new spin on the classic ‘Best of the City’ article. And knowledgeable coverage of the local music scene provides insight into the city’s unique cultural life in a way only the best city magazines can achieve.”
The magazine was also named a finalist in two other categories: “Best Cover” for the April 2008 special tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, and “Best Blog” for the “Ask Vance” history/trivia column by Vance Lauderdale (aka Senior Editor Michael Finger). Judges called the April cover “powerful and yet intimate” and observed, “Memphis is owning the tragic assassination that occurred in the city 40 years ago and offering an unflinching eye on the legacy of the dream.”
Regarding “Ask Vance,” they said, “The writer digs up tales from the history of Memphis — dusty, tragic, but oddly compelling — and relates them in a simple, straightforward style that seems to suit sepia-toned memories. You get the feeling this guy spends a lot of time hanging around graveyards.”
Judges included editors and writers from The New York Times, Southern Living, Men’s Journal, Gourmet, ESPN The Magazine, Esquire, The Atlantic, Glamour, and Sports Illustrated, along with professors from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
After consulting with doctors regarding treatment for his wife’s breast cancer, Phil Mickelson has decided to return to golf at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis on June 11, according to Golf World.
More.
In a nine-to-four vote Monday afternoon, the Shelby County Commission passed a substitute non-discrimination resolution that removed the phrases “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.” Bianca Phillips has the story.
Well, the last episode of $5 Cover aired last Friday night, and so far, life remains relatively normal for the Memphis musicians featured in the series. In this week’s print edition of The Memphis Flyer, I report on upcoming releases by Harlan T. Bobo, Lucero, and Two Way Radio. And today, I caught up with Valerie June to talk about her plans for the summer.
Flyer: Has anything changed for you since $5 Cover first aired?
June: Regionally, people don’t call my phone and expect me to do gigs for free anymore! Nationally, I haven’t gotten any response yet. I have a lot of producers interested in working with me based on my appearance in $5 Cover, which is awesome. One of the things that has really slowed me down is I haven’t had a good recording. I’ve done a lot of bedroom sessions, [but] I need to have a good record to get me to the next level.
In a nine-to-four vote Monday afternoon, the Shelby County Commission passed a substitute non-discrimination resolution that removed the phrases “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.”
The new resolution, proposed by Commissioner Sidney Chism, instead offers protection from discrimination against any Shelby County government employee on the basis of non-merit factors.
“I don’t want the county government to discriminate against anyone, but I don’t want to give special privileges to any one group,” said Chism.
According to county attorney Brian Kuhn, the new resolution will still offer protection to gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. But if challenged, those investigating complaints would have to refer to Monday’s Shelby County Commission records for proof that the ordinance does apply to sexual orientation and gender identity. Since the ordinance was changed to a resolution, it does not need to go through the three readings required by an ordinance.
Before the meeting began, every seat in the commission’s chambers was filled and some ordinance supporters were turned away at the door. A few were allowed in later as seats became available. Nearly 50 people spoke both in favor and against workplace protections for the GLBT community.
One man in opposition to the original ordinance compared homosexuality to pedophila and beastiality, igniting jeers from much of the audience. A number of religious leaders came out in support of non-discrimination protections for gay county government workers.
Among them was Rabbi Micah Greenstein: “This is not a gay issue anymore than racism is a black problem. Gays should not be held accountable for the discrimination against them. It’s the rest of us that should held accountable for bigotry.”
Those voting in favor of the resolution included commissioners Steve Mulroy, Henri Brooks, Sidney Chism, Deidre Malone, J.W. Gibson, Matt Kuhn, Joe Ford, Mike Ritz, and James Harvey. Against the resolution were Wyatt Bunker, Mike Carpenter, Joyce Avery, and George Flinn.
After the meeting, Will Batts, executive director of the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center said he was pleased with the passage of the resolution as a first step.
Said Batts: “I’m satisfied based on the discussion that happened beforehand, even though the resolution doesn’t explicitly state ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity.'”
Here’s a phrase I never thought I’d hear uttered in the County Commission chambers: “ambiguous genitalia.” But now I have.
The County Commission is currently discussing a general non-discrimination proposal by Commissioner Sidney Chism, a substitute for an original proposal sponsored by Commissioner Steve Mulroy to “establish non-discrimination provisions regarding sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.”
I’m currently listening via the county’s website, but Bianca Phillips will have the full story today on her Memphis Gaydar blog.