Month: June 2018

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Politics Politics Feature

Big Week for Shelby County Politics Features Joe Biden

CREDIT: Jackson Baker

What a week! What a weekend! Local political junkies of every stripe had plenty of occasions to nourish their activism. In addition to several fund-raisers and meet-and-greets for specific candidates in this year’s elections, there were debates, forums, and other kinds of smorgasbords featuring several at once.

The highlight of local Democrats’ week was surely the appearance on Friday night of former Vice President Joe Biden, who brought his “American Promise Tour” to the Orpheum. Biden’s visit, a ticketed affair, was part revival and part book-tour stop (for Biden’s new volume, Promise Me, Dad: a Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose, about his son Beau’s illness and ultimate death from brain cancer.)

With his regular-guy persona and tell-it-like-it-is style, Biden inarguably kindled the kind of political enthusiasm that Hillary Clinton could have used in 2016 and that Biden seems eager to deploy in 2020 against Donald J. Trump.

Not that Biden talked up a race; in fact, he got one of his most animated reactions when he complained about the unnamed Washington scribe who suggested that his book was a calculated bid for sympathy prior to a presidential run. The crowd’s murmur of outrage morphed into delighted laughter when Biden muttered something about administering a personal corrective to “the sonofabitch.”

Biden’s appeal is based partly on that kind of plain talk and partly, too, on his ability to revivify a kind of unpretentious patriotism that is either left unsaid these days or is more often obscured by the gaslight of insincere platitudes.

When host Terri Lee Freeman of the National Civil Rights Museum asked Biden what he had meant by writing that he was nostalgic for the American future, the author of that seemingly oxymoronic sentiment furrowed his brow as if wondering himself what he had meant by the line. But what followed was a wonderfully developed disquisition on the process of regaining the forefathers’ democratic dream of a just and honest realm that resolved the paradox perfectly.

On Saturday morning, Republicans turned out en masse for the opening of the party’s 2018 campaign headquarters in the Trinity Commons shopping center. Shelby County party chair Lee Mills introduced GOP candidates in the forthcoming county general election and federal and state primaries on August 2nd.
Partisans of both political parties got close-up looks at the rival candidates for Shelby County mayor and Tennessee governor when Republican mayoral candidate David Lenoir and Democratic candidate Lee Harris squared away on Wednesday at the Kiwanis Club. And four candidates for governor appeared on Thursday at a forum on legal issues before members of the Tennessee Bar Association.
At the mayoral event, moderated by WREG-TV anchor Stephanie Scurlock at the University Club, Lenoir put forth his standard goals of “great jobs, great schools, and safe streets” while boasting his achievements in managing Shelby county’s financial assets as trustee for the last eight years. Harris said he intended to focus on the themes of poverty, injustice, and residual segregation, and recounted occasions when he took the lead in resolving difficult issues as a city councilman and as state Senate Democratic leader.

Participating in the bar association event at The Peabody were Democrats Karl Dean and Craig Fitzhugh, as well as Republicans Beth Harwell and Randy Boyd. The candidates were interviewed sequentially by Commercial Appeal editor Mark Russell on such issues as criminal justice reform, judicial redistricting, and the desirability of changes in school-zone drug laws.

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News News Blog

EDGE Awards Tax Break for South Memphis Grocery Store

CREDIT: Belz

Belz

Southgate renovation rendering

A new grocery store could soon take the place of the former Kroger in South Memphis that closed in February.

The Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) for Memphis and Shelby County awarded Belz Enterprises a tax break to redevelop the shopping center where the vacant grocery store sits.

Belz is proposing to lease the 31,000-square-foot vacant grocery store to a new grocer and to attract five businesses to the smaller vacant retail spaces in the shopping center.

Belz plans to invest $6.8 million into the property to pay for exterior renovations, grocery store equipment, and other finishes. To revitalize the Southgate Center and open the grocery store, EDGE gave Belz a Community Builder pay-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) incentive.

The goals of the project are to provide the approximate 55,000 individuals living within a 3-mile radius of the shopping center with access to food, reduce blight, and attract new businesses to the area, the group’s application to EDGE reads.

During the 15-year term of the PILOT, it’s estimated that the shopping center will produce about $4.5 million in local tax revenues.

The new store would provide the equivalent to 92 full-time jobs with an average annual salary of just under $25,000.

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News News Blog

Corker Among Senators to Introduce Law to Keep Families Together

As President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to stop the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexican border, Tennessee’s Bob Corker, along with 25 other U.S. senators, introduced legislation that promotes keeping immigrant children and their parents together.

Like the executive order, The Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act would require that families are kept together during legal proceedings, while “ensuring the integrity of our nation’s immigration laws.”

“While the issues surrounding our immigration system are complex, we can all agree that innocent children should be protected, and I am hopeful the administration will take executive action to halt the separation of families on our southern border,” Corker said. “Congress also must act and provide a longer term solution to the many challenges facing our nation’s immigration system. The Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act is an important step in the right direction.”

The law includes provisions to ensure fair treatment of migrant families by setting mandatory standards of care at residential centers. Under the law, families would be required to have access to proper living accommodations, food and water, medical assistance, and other necessary services.

The legislation also authorizes the hire of 225 new immigration judges to help resolve the cases of families housed in residential centers faster.

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We Recommend We Saw You

Herb O’Mell, Wine Down for BizTown, Frequent Flyer and More!

CREDIT: Tom Busler

Tom Busler

Michael Donahue interviews Bono in 1987 at Sun Studios. That’s Donahue on the left.

The late Herb “Herbie” O’Mell was responsible for the biggest scoop of my career so far. He told me Bono and U2 were going to record at Sun Studios. This was Nov. 29, 1987.

Like many others, I was a big fan of the genial O’Mell, who was a music promoter and manager. He always asked me, “How’s Little Red?” — referring to my old red Toyota Tacoma truck. I’m also a fan of O’Mell’s wife, Laura, and their son, Michael.

I ran into O’Mell near Beale Street while I was on my lunch break that November day. I was working at The Commercial Appeal at the time. O’Mell told me U2 would be at Sun Studios.

I somehow got into Sun’s waiting room late that afternoon.There were other people there. We could hear U2 performing in another room.

After a while, U2’s road manager came in. He asked us if anything was going on in Memphis that night, which was a Tuesday. I told him Linda Gail Lewis, Jerry Lee Lewis’ sister, was performing on Beale Street.

He thought that was so intriguing he brought me to Bono and said, “Tell him what you just told me.”

I told Bono about Linda Gail. Then Bono began to expound on Memphis, why he loved it and what he thought about Memphis music. I turned on my tape recorder, which I had with me, and got a great interview. Bono talked almost non-stop.

My story was on the front page the next day. Tom Busler, who was at the CA at the time, took the photos. He also took one of me, which he gave to me, showing me interviewing Bono. It was on my desk at home for years.

U2 cut three songs, which were featured on their Rattle and Hum album and their U2: Rattle and Hum documentary film, over a four-day period.

As far as I know, I was the only reporter at Sun Studios that evening. No other news organization was there. This was a dream come true. This was my story.

And I got the scoop because of the kindness of the great Herbie O’Mell, who died last week at the age of 82.

…………

Michael Donahue

Scotty Remmer and Mallory Tyler and Tyler Bertram and Leighanna Folger at Wine Down for BizTown

Raise your glasses. Wine Town for BizTown was a success. About 100 attended the fund-raiser, a new event for Junior Achievement of Memphis. It was held June 15th at Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South at 307 Madison Avenue.

This is how it worked: Teams of one, two, or three people brought three bottles of wine to the party. Two of the bottles were blind tasted and voted on by guests. The remaining bottle was set aside as the winning wine owner’s grand prize.

The event also included a silent auction, food, prizes, and giveaways.

Proceeds benefit K-12 students throughout the Mid-South who participate in Junior Achievement’s educational programs.

“I could not be more proud,” says the organization’s president/CEO Larry Colbert. “And that’s the honest to God’s truth.”

The event was “extremely successful,” Colbert says. “For a first-time event, it’s one of the best things we’ve done. It’s a great seed we’ve planted. Everybody who was there indicated they wanted to return. It was nothing but fun.”

And, he said, “We had a number of people who even sponsored kids for our program.”

The event was held throughout “JA BizTown,” which Colbert says, “is a replica of a real city with 15 different businesses. It’s a curriculum-based program for fifth graders. For kids learning how to run their own business, learning how to run their own city, learning how elections work. They’re introduced to banking for the first time for most of them. And they’re taught how to manage their own banking accounts.”

During the party, those businesses included wine at their storefronts. “All 15 businesses had multiple bottles of wine for the blind judgings. People went through with their sipping glass and sipped and voted.”

…………..

Michael Donahue

Asked what she thought of the Memphis Literary Festival, held June 15 and 16 in the Edge district, co-founder Jamey Hatley said, ‘It was wonderful. I was overwhelmed.’ The festival included an all-day street fair, a dinner at the Hisbiscus Salon and an after-party at Premiere Palace Ballroom. With her is Kelly English.

MIchael Donahue

Iris LeFluer was among the guests at the LGBT Legend Awards ceremony, held June 17th at The Haven. The annual event recognizes those who put so much hard work into the art form of female impersonation.

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Herb O’Mell, Wine Down for BizTown, Frequent Flyer and More!

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News News Blog

Memphis Pets of the Week (June 21-27)

Each week, the Flyer will feature adoptable dogs and cats from Memphis Animal Services. All photos are credited to Memphis Pets Alive. More pictures can be found on the Memphis Pets Alive Facebook page.

[slideshow-1]

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News News Blog

Thousands Ride Explore Bike Share in First Month

CREDIT: Explore Bike Share - Facebook

Explore Bike Share – Facebook

In one month, 2,950 people have used Explore Bike Share (EBS), the citywide bike share system. They traveled 27,503 miles and burned more than 1 million calories.

EBS launched last month with the Big Roll Out, an event in which volunteers rode 600 bikes to 60 bike share stations across the city.

Here are some stats from EBS as of Wednesday, June 20th:

Total number of monthly and annual members: 544

Total number of users: 2,950

Total number of bike trips: 6,423

Total distance: 27,503 miles

Estimated total carbon offset: 26,078

Estimated total calories burned: 1,095,967

Explore Bike Share

A Downtown bike-share station

Top ridership by station:

· Overton Park

· Big River Crossing (East)

· Beale Street Landing

· Court Square

· Crosstown Concourse

· Memphis Park

· Loflin Yard

· Front & Beale

· Hudson Transit Center

· South Main & Talbot

In its first month, the system already has more than half of its annual membership projection. EBS officials hoped to have around 500 members in its first six months; more than 500 signed up in the program’s first month.

”Of course we feel the numbers are important, but as a [nonprofit organization] with a mission of encouraging Memphians to engage with their communities and communities outside of their own, it’s about the people, first and foremost,” said EBS executive director Trey Moore. “Our community partnerships, a dedicated staff, and the amazingly patient and supportive bike share users from Memphis and beyond have exceeded our expectations. I feel a great optimism for Explore Bike Share’s future.”

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News News Blog

Tennessee’s Senators Call for End to Separation of Families at Border

CREDIT: Latino Memphis/Facebook

Latino Memphis/Facebook

Tennessee’s two U.S. Senators, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, joined 11 other Republican Senators Tuesday in sending a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling for an end to the separation of immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Although enforcing immigration laws is a key responsibility of the federal government, the letter reads, it should be done in a way that is “consistent with our values and ordinary human decency.”

The letter was spearheaded by Sen. Orin Hatch, of Utah, and supported by senators in Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Ohio.

The full letter is below:

“Like millions of Americans, we have read with increasing alarm reports of children being separated from their parents at the southern border. Although enforcing our immigration laws is an essential responsibility of the federal government, it must be done in a way that is consistent with our values and ordinary human decency.

The current family separation crisis has multiple contributing causes, including court decisions that require release rather than detention of children but not parents who enter our country illegally. But the immediate cause of the crisis is your Department’s recent institution of a “zero tolerance” policy under which all adults who enter the United States illegally are referred for prosecution, regardless of whether such individuals are claiming asylum and regardless of whether they are accompanied by minor children.

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We support the administration’s efforts to enforce our immigration laws, but we cannot support implementation of a policy that results in the categorical forced separation of minor children from their parents. We therefore ask you to halt implementation of the Department’s zero tolerance policy while Congress works out a solution that enables faster processing of individuals who enter our country illegally without requiring the forced, inhumane separation of children from their parents. We believe a reasonable path forward can be found that accommodates the need to enforce our laws while holding true to other, equally essential values.”

In a statement Tuesday, Senator Alexander said Trump’s administration should end the policy immediately while Congress works on a bipartisan immigration solution that secures the border, provides a status for those already here, and “prevents a humanitarian crisis at the border.”

Meanwhile, activists here with Indivisible Memphis are organizing a call-to-action meeting in response to the “horrific” separation of families. “We seek to take action in support of the asylum-seekers and help keep families together,” the event’s Facebook page reads.

The meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 25th at Shady Grove Presbyterian Church. So far, 219 people have RSVPed via Facebook and 848 have showed interest.

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Music Music Blog

A Rare Appearance by Lee Ritenour

Lee Ritenour

It’s rare to find a musician accomplished enough to have played and recorded with such luminaries as Oliver Nelson, Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Henderson, Lalo Schifrin, and Stanley Turrentine. Lee Ritenour has been there and done that. He came of age, precociously, at a time when the giants of 20th Century American music still walked the earth, still young enough to carry the torch into the current era. And on Thursday, June 21, he’ll be playing in Memphis at Lafayette’s.

Oh yes, and perhaps you remember listening to Pink Floyd’s The Wall long ago, and wishing the band would drop the disco and just rock out, until the burning track “Run Like Hell” came on and you heard them turn it up to 11. As it happens, that was Ritenour as well, brought in to beef the song up. He’s no stranger to such pop accomplishments, having played his first recording session at age 16, on a track by the Mamas and the Papas. And if you’re a fan of “Strawberry Letter #23” by the Brothers Johnson (and who isn’t?), well, then you’re a fan of Lee Ritenour. So was famed Memphian Maurice White, who Ritenour collaborated with on the record “If I’m Dreaming, Don’t Wake Me.”

Naturally, he’s fared well as a solo artist as well, releasing his first record over 40 years ago, and sending the single “Is it You” with singer Eric Tagg to #15 on the Billboard pop charts in 1981. Dubbed “Captain Fingers” for his mad skills, he also kept those skills accessible with one ear cocked to the glories of pop, funk, Brazilian, classical, and rock guitar. He’s been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, taking one home in 1986 for the instrumental “Early A.M. Attitude”.

Thursday is a rare chance to see this decade-spanning artist, still in his prime at 66 years young. We recommend that you do just that.

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Music Music Blog

McKenna Bray Celebrates New Album

McKenna Bray

Yes, there are many Americana singers in Tennessee. It almost seems unfair to put an artist in that box. In the case of Memphis native McKenna Bray, it almost does her a disservice. Sure, there are touches of folk all over her new album, Once in a Blue Moon (Madjack Records), and even a banjo on a couple of tracks. But there are so many surprises in the songwriting, it defies any label that might suggest the Carter Family or simple folk strumming.

As you may have read, Bray’s voice evokes classic Linda Ronstadt, and that’s a better point of reference. It almost sounds as if Ronstadt released a tribute album of Richard Thompson songs. The lyrics are simple and direct, perhaps lacking some of the darker allusions that Thompson is prone to, yet still with plenty of shadows. There are elements of classic pop here, mingled with earthy instrumentation and atmospheric touches, presumably courtesy of Susan Marshall, Bray’s producer and manager.

The band is a veritable Bluff City Wrecking Crew, featuring the core personnel of David Cousar on guitar, Ken Coomer on drums, Dave Smith on bass, and Richard Alan Ford on pedal steel and/or banjo. Other talents are sprinkled throughout, including Marshall on vocal harmonies. Al Gamble, Peewee Jackson, Jeff Powell, Matt Ross-Spang, Mark Edgar Stuart also make appearances. And Will Tucker sings a lovely duet with Bray on the ambivalent relationship song “Dive,” adding some of his trademark blues guitar for good measure.

The playing is tasteful and restrained, but what really sets the album apart is Bray’s voice. It is no small feat to evoke the rich alto of Ronstadt, with the same unaffected, straightforward delivery that can enliven lyrics with a disarming edge. It’s understandable that she auditioned for American Idol. But really, she was too good for them. She avoids all the clichés of that game. And their loss is our gain.

McKenna Bray’s Once in a Blue Moon comes out on June 29. Check out her album release party tonight, June 19, at Lafayette’s Music Room, 8:00 pm.

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News News Blog

City Sets Rules for Bird

CREDIT: Bird

Bird

After a new dockless scooter system launched here on Friday, the city looks to set regulations for their operation.

A Memphis City Council committee recommended approval of an ordinance Tuesday that would regulate the Bird scooter system and other all shared-mobility systems here.

The ordinance requires bicycle and scooter sharing program operators to apply for a Scooter Sharing permit from the city and pay the corresponding fees.

The ordinance also states that the city is not responsible for educating the public about the laws and safety regulations for operating scooters or bikes.

If the ordinance is passed by the full council, the city will create operating regulations to govern the use of shared-mobility systems within 30 days.

In the meantime, Bird and Memphis have entered into an interim operating agreement, which include regulations for parking, operating, and riding the scooters.

The agreement states that the city will regulate Bird parking. Users here are required to snap a picture of the scooter within the Bird app after their ride to ensure the scooters are parked in acceptable spots. Acceptable spots are those near street furniture, like park benches and light poles. Unacceptable locations include transit zones, handicapped parking spots, and entryways.

Bird also has to pay the city a one-time $500 permit fee and then annual renewal fees of $250. The company is also giving Memphis $50 per scooter, capping at $20,000. Additionally, Bird will give the city $1 per scooter per day for shared infrastructure improvements and maintenance. The company has also agreed to invest in community outreach and promote the use of Birds in low-income neighborhoods.

For users, the city is asking that scooters are rode on the street or in bike lanes when possible. Helmets are encouraged, but are only required for minors. The city is requiring that Bird provide a 24-hour customer service line for riders.