Month: July 2016

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

The Shelby County Democratic Party Fracas for Dummies

CREDIT: JB

If it’s July, the Shelby County Democratic Party must be live and well and getting ready for next month’s primary voting, right? 
JB

Shelby County Democratic Party chairman Michael Pope (left) with Germantown Democratic Club president Dave Cambron at a party fundraiser on Thursday

Well, not necessarily. Not for the first time, there seem to be two local Democratic Party organizations in Shelby County, or at least two wholly disparate factions — one loyal to the current chairman, Sheriff’s Department Lt Michael Pope and to state party chair Marty Mancini; and another, possibly constituting a majority, up in arms against Pope and Mancini over the issue of a legal settlement involving former local party chairman Bryan Carson.

Carson, the son of longtime state party secretary Gale Jones Carson, was forced by the local party executive committee to resign his chairmanship in February 2015 after the Shelby County party had missed a state Election Registry filing-disclosure deadline and after an informal committee audit determined that party funds amounting to as much as $10,000 could not be accounted for, then or later. The party then proposed a settlement whereby Carson might repay the local party a lesser sum of $6,000 in installments of $100 a month. The offer was rejected in a letter by Carson’s attorney, Robert Spence, but may have been agreed to in some form later on, a matter key to the current disagreement.

[NOTE: It now appears that a letter made available to the Flyer in which Spence is seen to be explicitly rejecting a proposal may actually have been in response to a later proposal from a committee source demanding a much larger repayment amount from Bryan Carson of $26,336.00, with a $5,257.20 down payment and a monthly note of $585.24. This would be a reference to a matter referred to in the next paragraph.]

Meanwhile, the party missed another financial-disclosure deadline early this year, and, in April, Carson’s elected successor as party chair, Randa Spears, and the party vice chair, Deidre Malone, resigned their positions, pleading a need to focus more on their livelihoods. One known catalyst, however, was the still pending Carson affair, in which the two departing officers had supported the $6000 payoff. Meanwhile, an ad hoc party committee conducted a second audit, maintaining that, by means of a second, unauthorized bank account, Carson had managed to misappropriate another $15,000-plus. Adding that sum to the original raw number of $10,000 nudged the amount of unaccounted-for funds over the $25,000 mark, and a majority of the executive committee voted in early June to seek Carson’s prosecution for embezzlement.

Meanwhile, Pope, who, ironically, was elected the new chairman in the same meeting as the vote to prosecute, was in contact with state party chair Mancini, who, along with Pope and a minority faction of the local party, favored getting past the Bryan matter so as to move on to electoral matters in this election year. Late last week, Mancini, regarding the Carson affair as “already settled,” wrote a letter to Shelby County executive committee members, claiming that state party bylaws gave her “supervisory and organizational” authority over local party matters and giving the local party a de facto ultimatum of July 1 to endorse the $6,000 repayment proposal or risk losing the local party charter. (Interestingly, some local party members, willing and anxious to start again from scratch, have actually called for a voluntary surrender of the charter!)

There are numerous other complications, charges, and counter-charges, but the bottom line is that Pope has signed a statement authorizing the settlement, and Mancini has accepted it. What seems to have been a local party majority petitioned Pope for an emergency called meeting by the July 1 deadline to dispute the settlement, alleging that it had not been authorized by the committee. Citing party bylaws requiring what he said was a 15-day notice for a special called meeting, Pope rejected the idea of having one.

The committee will hold its next regular meeting on Juty 7, at which, it seems clear, the whole confusing affair will be the subject of a knock-down, drag-out. For the moment, everything is uncertain, including the legal status of the alleged settlement with Carson, conflicting claims over Mancini’s authority, and the question of who it is that actually runs — or will run — the Shelby County Democratic Party, which, as Mancini noted in her ultimatum letter of June 24, has experienced “many years of dysfunction.”

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

The Latest from DeJaVu, Kimbal Musk, other news

* A DeJaVu in Midtown? 

Not exactly, says chef/owner Gary Williams. 

The Renaissance, an event venue at 1588 Madison, is now serving Williams’ Creole fare, but it is not, says Williams, an extension of the DeJaVu brand. 

The DeJaVu food truck is, however, part of the brand. Williams says the truck is ready to go and is waiting to make its debut. 

“Get out the way,” he says. “We’re coming.” 

• Did you read the story at Eater, “Why Kimbal Musk Is Opening a $5-And-Under Restaurant Concept”?

It was um … 

“This is a park [Shelby Farms where the Kitchen will be] that’s meant for all of Memphis and the population of the city lies across the income spectrum — it’s not located in a wealthy part of town,” says Musk.

and er … 

“When we look at the restaurants that serve most people in Memphis, it’s places like McDonald’s and other fast food joints,” he says. 

(just like every city in America). 

Those quibbles aside, what was interesting is the $5-and-under idea, which, according to the story will be tested out in Memphis at the Kitchenette.

The Kitchenette, at Shelby Farms, will be the grab-and-go off-shoot of the Kitchen. 

But says a spokesperson for the Kitchen, “The articles about Kimbal’s $5 restaurant are not correct. The Kitchen at Shelby Farms Park will have a sister grab ‘n go cafe in the Visitor’s Center called Kitchenette. It will feature items on the menu that visitors can eat at the Visitors Center or they can “grab ‘n go” to the park. Sandwiches, salads, coffee, etc. The information about $5 pricing is not accurate.

“Our Next Door concept opening in Crosstown Concourse will have simple, real food at affordable prices that are in-line with casual dining restaurants such as Chilis or TGI Fridays.”

The Kitchen holds a grand opening fund-raiser on August 13th.  

• Wine in grocery stores starting today. First 50 people to purchase wine at Kroger get a corkscrew. 

• The Memphis Food & Wine Festival has been announced for October. 

The event, to be held at the Botanic Garden, will be hosted by Jose Gutierrez and will feature Jean-Georges Vongerichten (huge!). 

Cuisine will be from 28 chefs, both local and nationally known.

Tickets are $200 per person, with prices to go up to $250 September 15th. 

• The Memphis Caribbean Jerk Festival is July 16th at the Water Tower Pavilion on Broad. Expect all kinds of Caribbean dishes — from jerk to veggies and more. There will also be a domino tournament. 

* Why the hell not? 
 
(I liked ’em.)

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Independence Day: Resurgence

I’m on my knees in the handicap stall of the Paradiso men’s room. I’ve just seen Independence Day: Resurgence, so I’ve decided to drown myself in the toilet. I’m sure there are other, more dignified ways to end it all in a movie theater, but this feels appropriate.

A blue glow suffuses the stall. I turn to see the Force ghost of Will Smith’s character from the 1996 Independence Day standing there in his flight suit, helmet tucked under one translucent arm. “Hold on there, partner!” he says. “Crawl away from the toilet.”

“Will Smith!” I exclaim. “What are you doing here?”

“Technically I’m Capt. Steven Hiller, fighter pilot, alien puncher, world savior. Right now, I’m here to save you from drowning yourself in this toilet. You know you’re in the handicap stall, right? If you drown yourself here, some poor guy in a wheelchair is going to have to move your Brexit-ass out of the way to pee. And he’s got enough problems. So I need you to get up off this floor and go write that review of Independence Day: Resurgence.”

“Man, Roland Emmerich sure coulda used you in that movie,” I say. “All he had was this guy, Jessie Usher, playing your son, who also happened to be a crack fighter pilot in the right place at the right time to fight alien invaders and save the world. But he was just a big slap of nothing. He didn’t even look like you. But you were too smart to get involved in that debacle, weren’t you?”

Force ghost Will Smith lights an ectoplasmic stogie. “Scheduling conflict with Suicide Squad,” he says, chuckling. “So tell me, why are you getting ready to take the pee-pee plunge? Bad movie hurt your feelings?”

“Bad? I eat bad movies for breakfast. This … this was not a movie. This is a symptom of a diseased system. This is a third-generation simulacrum of other, better movies repackaged for the export market. You can actually see the places where they’re cutting in extra scenes for the Chinese, like when Rain Lao, the Chinese pilot played by an actress actually named Angelababy, is briefly seen giving the tail end of a speech in front of a giant Chinese flag. You bet that scene is a lot longer in Beijing. But it’s not going to help. Can you believe they actually expect to sell a Fourth of July-themed movie in China? And waitaminute, why are you a Force ghost? That’s a Star Wars thing.”

“It doesn’t matter,” says Force ghost Will Smith. “It’s just a trope you’re familiar with so I don’t have to spend time on exposition.”

“Exactly! I kept envisioning Roland Emmerich saying ‘It doesn’t matter,’ over and over again. How do we get Jeff Goldblum from Africa to the moon? Have the Hunger Games guy steal a space tug. It doesn’t matter. Brent Spiner’s been in a coma for 17 years, and now his previously unmentioned gay partner runs Area 51? Why not? It doesn’t matter. No Will Smith? Show a painting of him in the White House. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Just steal some beats from Star Wars, Alien, Starship Troopers, whatever, hit the four quadrants with your $100 million ad spend, and watch the sheep bleat in. There were five writers listed on this thing, and when the Save the Cat outline says to save a cat, they literally saved a cat. Except it was a dog, escaped from a school bus full of kids that Judd Hirsch brought to the big showdown with the aliens in Nevada salt flats for no reason! Nothing matters!”

I lunge for the toilet, but am brought up short by a glowing blue hand on my shoulder. “That’s why you’ve got to live! You have to write this review! Warn the world!”

“Oh yeah. Writing a bad review always works. Plus, I got a mortgage. Thanks, Force ghost Will Smith! You saved my life.”

“All in a day’s work,” he says, turning to leave.

“Hey Will. Which headline to do like better: SHIT PARADE or POO-POO PLATTER?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Bar Report: On the Regular

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

If there’s a bar where everybody knows your name, you’re probably an alcoholic — anonymous

That’s a riff on the old Cheers theme song, of course. And, of course, it’s not true. You are not an alcoholic — not you! — just because the bartender looks up when you arrive and starts pouring your favorite libation. You’re not an alcoholic just because everyone at the bar turns and shouts your name when you enter. You’re a regular, just like they are. You’re walking into your home away from home, your family away from family. Your special joint.

And that’s what this new monthly column, “Bar Report,” is going to be about — a look into Memphis bars and pubs and the culture surrounding them. Flyer staffers are going to take turns writing the column. We’ll be talking about all kinds of stuff: What are the best bars for first dates? What makes a good sports bar? How do you find a bar that’s age appropriate? Is there one thing that all good bartenders have in common?

We’ll be writing about drink trends, seasonal beverages, day drinking, historic bars, bar hopping, ethnic bars, dive bars, high-end dining bars, seasonal drinks — you name it, and we’re probably going to cover it.

I was discussing “regulars” with a bartender friend the other day and thought maybe that would be as good a topic as any with which to kick off this column. It’s one of the things that isn’t discussed much but seems obvious on reflection: how various establishments become venues for particular age groups — how “regulars” select their venue. One bar might draw baby boomers while the place two doors down the street is filled with millennials. The choice gets made based on many factors: the kind of food, the music, the décor, the noise level, the proximity to other places. A craft brewery will draw a different crowd than a wine bar or a cocktail-centric bar, obviously.

But the variations on a theme are almost endless: There are pickup bars, gay bars, wine bars, craft beer joints, live music clubs, dance clubs, after-hours bars, foodie bars, artisanal cocktail bars, Irish pubs, to name a few. Someone who’s out to meet strangers and drink themselves into a bed will go to a different kind of venue than the person who just wants a quiet joint where they can have a conversation with friends. A married couple in their 50s will want a different bar experience than two single women in their 30s.

One thing is certain, though: Regulars are the lifeblood of any drinking establishment. David Parks, who holds down the fort behind the bar at Alchemy, says “regulars represent 75 percent of my income, but it’s more than that. Some of them have become close friends — and friends with each other. A few even got married, with varying degrees of success.”

Justin Fox Burks

Allan Creasy

Allan Creasy is the bar manager at Celtic Crossing. He says regulars can make — or break — a bar: “If you walked into a bar, and it was perfect — had all your favorite drafts, had the televisions on exactly what you wanted to watch, there was a friendly bar staff — but if every person who started a conversation with you was an ass, you would stop going, eventually.

“Friendly regulars are worth their weight in gold,” he adds. “It’s impossible for me to chat with everyone and make drinks at the same time. A good regular is almost doing a part of my job for me, making the pub more of a home.”

Tyler Morgan and Justin Gerych man the bar at Cafe 1912. They will tell you the quiet backroom venue tends to draw a more mature crowd, seasoned Midtowners looking for decent food and friendly conversation.

On a recent night, when Morgan was pouring the drinks and the place was filled with regulars, a young couple walked in and took the last two seats at the bar. They were immediately peppered with friendly questions: “Where do you work?” “Where do you live?” “Do y’all like Midtown?” “How long have you been dating?” It was like they’d just come home from college and were dealing with nosy parents, probably not what they expected to encounter on a dinner date, but they endured the inquisition good-naturedly.

At one point, a geriatric-looking fellow — a regular, of course — stood up and adjusted his pants at the crotch.

“What are you doing, Richard?” asked his companion, slightly horrified.

“Adjusting my chemo bag and having another drink, goddammit.”

He then turned to the young couple and said, “I bet you two feel like you’ve just walked onto the set of Cocoon.”

Ah, regulars. Can’t live with ’em. Can’t live without ’em.