Month: March 2020

Categories
News News Blog

Dan Spector Dies

Dan Spector

It was a chilling post on Dan Spector’s Facebook page at 11:59 a.m. March 29th.

On a black screen were the white letters: “Don’t know if I can send..I checked into Methodist Central and getting tested for whatever I got.”

Comments included “Dan, kick that COVID in the ass and come home!”

A comment from his sister, Rachel Peak, who lives in Gilbert, Arizona, read, “Dan Spector is still on the ventilator, very heavily sedated but now called critical but stable. He’s not getting worse. They bumped his vent setting down yesterday from 100 to 60 but today they moved it up to 80. Due to his age this will take a long time.”

Spector, 68, died March 31st, Peak says. Spector also has a brother, Jonathan Spector, who lives in Israel.

Dan, who studied industrial design at Rhode Island School of Design, was the semi-retired owner of Archicast, where he specialized in architectural casting and mold making, did repair of ornate detail, sculptural repair, product development, and life casting.

Facebook comments on March 31st included one from musician Don McGregor, which read in part, “I am sad. Sad and angry because there was nothing we could do. My good friend, Dan Spector did not make it. Dan and his medical team fought hard, but lost. Dan is the first person pretty close to me who has been taken by this virus, and it feels like the first time someone from my neighborhood didn’t come back home from Vietnam.”

Categories
We Recommend We Saw You

Two Broke Bartenders and a Truck

CREDIT: Jessica Tyler

Jessica Tyler

Steven Hamblin, a member of Two Broke Bartenders and a Truck.

With Two Broke Bartenders and a Truck, laid-off bartenders are now yard-tenders. Or handymen and women who do all types of chores around the house. Same goes for out-of-work cooks, servers, and other restaurant men and women who work for Party Memphis businesses.

Taylor Berger, operating partner of Two Broke Bartenders LLC, is also operating partner of Party Memphis, the group that owns Railgarten, Loflin Yard, Rec Room, Bounty on Broad, and Highland Axe & Rec.

“I started Two Broke Bartenders to respond to the demand from our restaurant customers who are now stuck at home but still need essential services and products — errands, yard work, handyman services, etc.” Berger says. “Using the assets we already had — vehicles and a bunch of awesome staff with no restaurant work but lots of skills — I just connected the customers and our staff through our website: twobrokebartenders.com.

“So far, it’s all people who have worked at our restaurants. Some cooks and back of house and also some bartenders and front of house.”

Two Broke Bartenders workers wear masks. Customers are emailed an invoice so they don’t have to have any physical contact with the workers. Groceries are left on the porch. Before they leave, workers wave goodbye to customers.

As bar manager at Railgarten, Steven Hamblin, 35, usually is “making sure everyone is where they’re supposed to be.” And, he says, “There’s some times when I get thrown behind the bar to help with the rush.”

But, lately, instead of wielding a cocktail shaker, Hamblin has been wielding a weed-trimmer. Since the temporary layoff, he’s outdoors instead of indoors.

“I’ve cut the yard, weed-eated before,” Hamblin says. “But I haven’t done a lot because I’ve mostly been in an apartment.”

He liked the idea of Two Broke Bartenders and a Truck. “I thought it was a good way to keep the money coming in. I was planning on laying low and drawing unemployment and applying for jobs, looking for jobs while I was out of work at Railgarten.”

As for yard work, Hamblin says, “I actually haven’t cut any yards yet. I’ve done some pressure washing. We have taken down a play swing set, a jungle gym, and hauled that off. We hauled off some trash people didn’t want in their yards.”

And, he says, “I’ve gone on beer runs. I’ve gone to the pet store for dog bones. Grocery shopping.”

He’s also gotten adept at using a chainsaw. “We were using a chainsaw the last couple of days and the chain came off the track.” Hamblin watched a co-worker get the chain fixed. The next time it broke, he got it on. “I got it on there quicker than either one of them.

“The more you do something, the better you get at it. I’m not afraid of doing something I’ve never done before. New life circumstances. It makes me think I want to do some of this stuff on my own, if nothing else, just in the yard. It empowers you a little bit.”

Jessica McGill, 35, a bartender at Railgarten and at Bounty on Broad, says, “They have put me mostly on yard-work ‘cause I have my own equipment. I’ve got mowers, chainsaw, pressure washers, all the landscaping equipment for yard-work just ‘cause it’s always been something I enjoy and I always keep up with it at home. It really is a kind of therapy.

“With the circumstances of COVID being timed with the changing of the seasons, this is the time of year folks would be getting out to do that first few major days of yard work after a long winter of downed leaves and dead stuff. There’s a lot of work to do.”

McGill brings her own truck. “I have an SUV so I’ve been able to load all my equipment in that. Strap the wheelbarrow to the roof. Kind of a one-woman yard show.” So far, she’s been working “every single day there hasn’t been a big rain in the forecast.”

And, she says, “What’s really struck me the most about this new endeavor is the community. My mom has this saying — it’s not original to her — but, ‘We all belong to each other.’ As soon as I get to a client’s house I thank them for the opportunity. And each one has responded in the same way. They want to help. It really feels like Memphians are rallying in lots of different ways. In a service industry you can have really rough shifts. You get a guest who can never be pleased. This feels like the opposite of that. It just feels like really loving support. They want to see us thrive during this time of uncertainty.

“A friend of mine always says what’s different from Memphis and other cities is the people. There’s this fierce loyalty. I have really felt that. This kind of ride-or-die thought pattern. People are just fiercely supporting each of us this way. Being a part of Two Broke Bartenders and a Truck has made me so proud to be a Memphian. A transplant, not by birth, but, definitely, by heart.”


See the “Two Broke Bartenders” video by Mark Edgar Stuart. The video was filmed and edited by Bella Golightly.

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

More Voting Machines Controversy

Among the potential local casualties of the coronavirus, there is an unexpected one — the democratic process itself. At this week’s scheduled virtual meeting of the Shelby County Election Commission, the five Commissioners —three Republicans and two Democrats, in conformity with state regulations regarding majority party/minority party ratios — are primed to vote on Election Administrator Linda Phillips’ recommendations for new voting machines.

Phillips has declared that the members of the Election Commission must take a definitive up-or-down vote on the vendor, whom she will recommend from among those manufacturers who responded to an RFP (request for proposal) issued earlier by the SCEC. She has declared that the decision must come now so that the machines can be in use for August voting in the county.

For years, and for the last several months in particular, controversy has raged between activists who insist on voting machines that permit voter-marked ballots and advocates of machine-marked ballots. Phillips herself has expressed a preference for the latter type, equipped with paper-trail capability. By a narrow, party-line vote, the majority-Democratic Shelby County Commission, which must approve funding for the purchase, has expressed its own preference for hand-marked ballots.

Given the fact that Phillips’ choice of machine type is more or less predictable, and that the cost factor will be built into the selection of vendor, that will put the County Commissioners in an awkward position of having to rubber-stamp whatever choice the SCEC passes on to them.

“The process is backwards,” says GOP Election Commissioner Brent Taylor, who say,. “The Election Commission should not have initiated the RFP and passed the decision about funding on to the County Commission. What we [the Election Commission members] should have done is come to some broad general decision ab out the kind of machines we wanted and then let the County commission issue an RFP, make the choice, and then vote on the funding.”

In that regard he agrees with law professor and former County Commissioner Steve Mulroy, an exponent of voter-marked paper ballots who points out further that what got skipped in the process was a promised public meeting of the Election Commission at which the public could offer input on the desirability of various types of voting machines.

Such a meeting was to have taken place in the last month or so, or in any case before a vote on the vendor was taken by the Election Commission. Or so it was announced at a February meeting of the SCEC. What intervened — and ended up scotching the meeting — was the coronavirus epidemic.

So there will be not opportunity for direct public input concerning the specifics of Phillips’ recommended purchase, a fact further complicated by the awkwardness of the virtual telemeeting process, which, in conformity with cautionary official rules against public assemblies, precludes an actual gathering with the attendant opportunity of easy back and forth interaction between Election Commissioners and the public.

GOP Election Commissioner Brent Taylor

And it seemingly assures that something of a contentious showdown will ensue at the subsequent County Commission meeting, itself convened as a telemeeting, at which funding for the ultimately selected voting machines will be on the agenda. Back when the Commission voted a preference for hand-marked paper ballots, County Commissioner Van Turner made a point of telling Phillips, who was in attendance, that the Commission had ways of exercising its disapproval of a choice.

That memorable and perhaps prophetic exchange went this way: “We can deny the funding,” said Turner. “We can sue you,” Phillips said in response.

The progress toward a new voting system has encountered other obstacles. One was a bombshell ruling by the County Commission legal staff in mid-February that state law — to wit, TCA 29-111 — forbade any purchase of new voting technology without a prior voter referendum. As County Commissioner Mick Wright noted at the time: “It’s disappointing that the state has this rule in place, that the voters would have to vote using the system we want to replace in order to have the system that we want to replace be replaced.”

The aforesaid Mulroy, however, spurred further research that eventually led the County Commission to create a capital source from existing contingency funds that could bypass the need for a referendum (and incidentally buttress the County Commission’s proprietary sense of the matter).

Another late snag, with partisan overtones, developed from a letter sent to the three GOP Election Commissioners from state Senator Byron Kesey and other Republican legislators calling for the new voting machines to involve machine-marked ballots.

Categories
Music Record Reviews

Kenny Brown: Mississippi Blues Heavyweight Weighs In On His Country Heroes

If there’s anything Kenny Brown is associated with, it’s the blues. As a sideman for the late R.L. Burnside since the 70s, his command of Burnside-esque heavy grooving blues is indisputable. Almost as a nod to this, the cover of his latest single on Big Legal Mess Records is stark black and white image of Brown, tinted in shades of deep blue. But the music inside isn’t strictly blues: it’s country.

For this little gem of a record, Brown is “paying respect to his country music heroes Hank Thompson and Merle Haggard,” the label website notes. And he’s saluting those artists’ most iconic numbers, Thompson’s “The Wild Side of Life” and Haggard’s “The Bottle Let Me Down.”

It’s a bold move, taking on such hallowed material. Yet because Brown is coming to it from a place grounded in grittier blues, the gambit works. Partly this is due to the rock-solid band, comprised of Big Legal Mess stalwarts Mark Edgar Stuart, George Sluppick and Al Gamble, with Ty Taylor on pedal steel. They lightly stomp out the tunes in a manner perfectly suited to Brown’s minimalist approach, crafting a kind of country music that is more Memphis and North Mississippi than Nashville, complete with group drinking-hall background vocals. 

And then there’s the character of Brown’s voice. If most country singing these days drips with all-too-formulaic redneck affectations, Browns stays earthy with its heartfelt and un-self-conscious delivery. It owes a lot more to Ernest Tubb than Chris Stapleton (albeit an octave higher), and this, in the end, is what sells the songs’ emotion. For my money, it’s the Haggard-penned B-side where Brown’s singing really shines, cracking with emotion.

But then comes the guitar solo, and in both tracks that moment causes the songs to levitate a bit. Brown’s guitar flows like liquid steel, much as it does on his classic blues tracks. The closest point of reference might be the odd country number on a Neil Young album, when Young lets his rock instincts have their way with classic country forms. There’s a similar oomph in the gut of the guitar tones here, especially when Brown steps up to rock a bit.

If you do venture across state borders to the south, once folks are out and about again, stop at the first likely-looking juke joint you see. If there’s any justice, Kenny Brown’s single will be on a jukebox there, blasting out the harder, wilder side of country music that they cook up in North Mississippi. 

Kenny Brown: Mississippi Blues Heavyweight Weighs In On His Country Heroes

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Uncorked

In what must be a coincidence, both major productions that filmed in Memphis in 2019— Bluff City Law and Uncorked — have protagonists named Elijah. But there is where the similarities end. The NBC series Bluff City Law was led by Jimmy Smits as Elijah Strait, a seasoned lawyer and pillar of his Memphis community whose personal life was considerably more messy and morally ambiguous than his professional reputation would suggest. Smits is a great actor, with a commanding screen presence, but his Elijah was an idealized hero for prime-time, network TV morality plays. He never felt like someone you could run into on the street, even as we were actually running into Jimmy Smits on the streets of Memphis.

Uncorked, the feature-length Netflix production which recently debuted on the streaming service, is the story of a young man named Elijah (Mamoudou Athie) who is much more recognizably a Memphian. He’s working two jobs: one in the family barbecue restaurant and another at Joe’s Wines and Liquors. The opening montage (writer/director Prentice Penny loves a good montage) puts the two culinary pursuits on equal footing. The care with which a vintner chooses grapes and oversees the exacting process of turning them into wine is the same as Elijah’s father Louis (Courtney B. Vance) puts into selecting the perfect rack of ribs and the right balance of woods to smoke them.

Mamoudou Athie (left) and Courtney B. Vance do Memphis barbecue justice in Uncorked.

One thing Uncorked gets right about Memphis barbecue is the deeply personal connection our restaurateurs have with their cuisine. Pork barbecue is a fundamental part of the culture, and for the predominantly African-American families who pass down recipes from father to son, the barbecue business has been a ticket out of grinding generational poverty. Louis is intensely proud of the restaurant his father founded. “This place is historic! Frankie Beverley had a stroke over there,” he says.

The restaurant is wildly successful. When we first see it, there’s a line out the door. (I had a little pang of COVID-19 angst when I first saw the crowded dining room. When will we be able to gather over pulled pork sandwiches again?) It brings in enough to support the whole extended family, who are all expected to pitch in to make it run smoothly. While Louis is the gruff patriarch, mother Sylvia (Niecy Nash) is the heart of the place, and the glue that keeps the family together.

Elijah loves his family, but he’s also intensely aware of his own place in the clan’s hierarchy. He’s quiet, sensitive, and frequently drowned out at the dinner table by his more boisterous sisters and cousins. Where he really comes alive is at his other job. Elijah’s got a passion for wine and a talent for selling it. He successfully flirts with his soon-to-be new girlfriend Tanya (Sasha Compere) by comparing wines with hip-hop artists. And, like any good wine- and hip-hop-head, he is a little deflated when she says she’ll take the Drake.

Louis wants Elijah to follow in his footsteps and become the third generation to run the restaurant. He’s even planning to open a new location. “The neighborhood is gentrified. You know, with white folks.”

But when Elijah gets an opportunity to take the entrance exam for a prestigious sommelier school, he takes it, and, to his surprise, he gets in. This seeming good fortune brings to a head the simmering conflict with his father, who not only doesn’t understand his son’s ambitions, but doesn’t even drink wine. It’s up to Sylvia to encourage her son to follow his dream.

There are still major barriers for black filmmakers to realize their dreams, but the success of Prentice Penny, a producer on HBO’s Insecure and Uncorked, which was the most-watched film on Netflix last weekend, is surely a sign of progress. Taken together with The Photograph from earlier this year, it portends a new wave of post-Moonlight, black-centric dramas that keep the stakes at the personal and familial levels.

Penny has learned the lessons of Tyler Perry’s career, but Perry is a much better producer than he is a director, while Penny has chops in all areas. Athie is an amiable presence and able actor, while Vance is totally believable as the distant father figure. It’s Nash, the veteran comedy actor, who steals the show with a varied and nuanced performance.

Through the lens of veteran cinematographer Elliot Davis (who shot Steven Soderbergh’s groundbreaking Out of Sight in 1998), the Bluff City’s shabby glory shines through. Uncorked is a film made by an outsider that gets Memphis right, and that is a rare vintage indeed.

Uncorked

Categories
News News Blog

Light in the Dark: Good News for Bad Times

Light in the Dark is an ongoing blog for those good-news stories arising everyday during this awful coronavirus pandemic. We’ll update it daily or as the news rolls in. Got good news? Share it with Toby Sells at toby@memphisflyer.com.

Thursday, April 9

Mighty Lights Goes Blue for Healthcare Workers

On the evening of Thursday, April 9, after sundown, the Mighty Lights on the Big River Crossing and Hernando de Soto bridge will join landmarks around the country to glow blue in solidarity with healthcare workers battling the COVID-19 global crisis.

Over 130 landmark and historic buildings all over the United Kingdom were lit blue on March 26 as a salute to healthcare workers on the front lines. Now, spearheaded by Americans for the Arts, the #LightItBlue campaign is crossing the pond and will appear in cities across the United States on Thursday, April 9, beginning at 8:00 p.m. local time, “creating a national show of support and gratitude to those essential workers caring for us on the front lines and creating a universal symbol of solidarity and hope.”

In addition to the dedicated show, Memphians are invited to dedicate a singular Mighty Light to a Memphis healthcare employee or medical professional via dedicate.mightylights.com.

Mighty Lights will pledge half of its Dedicate a Light proceeds to the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis’ Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund through April 21.

Upon making a tax-deductible $50 donation, individuals will have the opportunity to personalize a singular Mighty Light with a photo and message, to be assigned to an exact cable and light location on the Hernando de Soto bridge. Dedications may be viewed here.

Free Legal Help Throughout April

Now more than ever, Tennesseans need assistance with civil legal issues, and the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission is kicking off its annual Help4TNDay celebration on April 8.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the tornadoes that ripped through Middle Tennessee in early March, the theme of Help4TNDay 2020 has shifted to Innovation and Responsiveness. Throughout the month of April, the ATJ Commission will promote virtual and telephonic legal clinics and other ways to obtain legal help. It will also release online resources for volunteer attorneys and the general public.

Civil legal questions include issues that arise in family law, employment law, landlord/tenant law, business law, insurance law, estate planning, and other non-criminal law issues. As the pandemic and its impact continue to spread, more people are struggling with legal issues and cannot afford an attorney. Currently, over half of all Tennessee attorneys provide pro bono legal services, which is one of the highest rates in the country. In 2018, the last year for which data is available, 9,539 attorneys provided 640,958 hours of pro bono, an average of 67.19 hours per reporting attorney.

The ATJ Commission has assembled a team of over 50 professionals to develop resources and create and promote pro bono service opportunities. The team includes representatives from law schools, legal service providers, private law firms, and bar associations. Faith leaders, communications experts, and technologists have also been tapped to assist in this initiative.

“We are amazed at the resiliency and dedication our access to justice partners have shown in finding creative ways to deliver services to disadvantaged Tennesseans during these unprecedented times,” said J. William “Bill” Coley, chair of the ATJ Commission. “The Tennessee Supreme Court’s leadership in encouraging courts to be innovative to continue court operations is inspiring. We are using Help4TNDay to encourage the same level of innovation among our partners.”

Attorneys are encouraged to provide pro bono service in a variety of ways throughout the month of April, and the coming months. The damage from the tornados in early March will have long-term implications for Middle Tennesseans. Legal issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic will continue on past April.

There is already a statewide resource that allows attorneys to volunteer and help clients remotely. TN Free Legal Answers is an online platform that allows people who qualify to email their legal questions to a lawyer, who will respond with free legal advice. The ATJ Commission has partnered with the TN Alliance for Legal Services, the agency that administers the resource, in a coordinated public awareness campaign to promote TN Free Legal Answers to Tennesseans with civil legal problems.

One of the main advantages of TN Free Legal Answers is that volunteer lawyers are able to review questions and prepare their answers before responding. It is easy to sign up and participate. The ATJ Commission encourages attorneys who have not yet volunteered with TN Free Legal Answers to explore the site and take advantage of this remote pro bono opportunity. During Help4TNDay, attorneys are also encouraged to sign on and take questions on a designated day to help “clear the queue” of questions.

East Tennessee Attorneys: Wednesday, April 15
Middle Tennessee Attorneys: Wednesday, April 22
West Tennessee Attorneys: Wednesday, April 29

Attorneys can go to https://tn.freelegalanswers.org/AttorneyFAQ to view an instructional video and learn how to sign up to volunteer.

Many statewide, regional, and local legal aid groups are developing creative ways to connect volunteer lawyers with clients remotely. Volunteer lawyers should contact the legal aid organization(s) that serve their community to find out about remote pro bono opportunities and resources currently being developed. The ATJ Commission has compiled these resources, and they are available at https://justiceforalltn.com/Help4TNDay. Organizations can submit links to resources and virtual events and trainings at the same link.

Lawyers interested in helping victims of the March 2nd tornadoes can volunteer directly through the Tennessee Bar Association at https://www.tba.org/Tornado_Volunteers. Tennessee legal aid organizations and bar associations are working together to coordinate pro bono legal education and support. Volunteers can complete an online form and a representative from one of the legal aid or bar associations will be in touch with the lawyer.

“Tennessee has been a leader in developing online and virtual legal resources,” said Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Connie Clark. “Free Legal Answers was started in Tennessee and now has been taken to the national level through the American Bar Association. The Supreme Court is amazed at the innovation and ingenuity that is accomplished when lawyers, nonprofits, and other groups work together to find solutions.”

If you have a legal question, go to https://tn.freelegalanswers.org/ to see if you qualify and to post your question. In addition to TN Free Legal Answers, there are other statewide online resources for Tennesseans to use to connect with legal information and legal help.

https://www.help4tn.org/ is a web portal that gives Tennesseans a broad range of legal and social services resources
https://www.help4tn.org/node/473 has information specific to COVID-19
https://www.help4tn.org/node/472 has information specific to weather emergencies in response to the Tornadoes in Middle Tennessee

Tennesseans with civil legal issues who do not have internet access can use Tennessee’s free legal advice helpline, 1-844-Help4TN (1-844-435-7486). Simply dial the number to ask a non-criminal question to a licensed Tennessee attorney. During business hours, a call responder will answer the call, take down the caller’s contact information, and schedule a return call from a Tennessee attorney. There are Tennessee attorneys on hand to help Tennesseans age 60 and older with elder law issues.

Thursday, April 2

TVA: Energy Bills May Go Down on Near-Record-Low Fuel Costs
 TVA

TVA’s new natural-gas-fueled Combined Cycle Plant.

April is the lowest fuel cost since the current calculation began in 2012, and one of the lowest on record since we began breaking out the fuel cost as a line item in 2006.

Beginning with bills on April 1, the total monthly fuel cost will be 1.430 cents per kilowatt-hour for residential and business consumers, 1.431 cents per kilowatt-hour for Large Manufacturing customers, and 1.446 cents per kilowatt-hour for other large general service customers served by TVA and local power companies. (For perspective, this amount is about half of what it was in April 2014.)

The overall system average fuel rate for April is approximately 23% lower than the three-year average April fuel cost. This is primarily due to the recent mild weather and lower than expected February power sales. This makes the point that usage drives demand, which affects the fuel cost. If you use more electricity in a given month than the one before, your bill will likely go up regardless of fuel cost.

The April fuel cost continues a trend of declining fuel costs for consumers that goes back to TVA’s investment in a diverse generation mix, which allows us to take full advantage of lower priced fuel sources such as natural gas. TVA’s fuel costs are among the lowest compared to neighboring utilities.

What does that mean to consumers? TVA’s charge to local power companies will go down. Most local power companies pass that savings on to their customers. But you should contact MLGW if you want specifics on the customer impact, if any.
A more detailed explanation can be found here. https://www.tva.gov/Energy/Our-Power-System/Total-Monthly-Fuel-Costs

UTHSC’s Plough Center Making Hand Sanitizer

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Plough Center for Sterile Drug Delivery Solutions is meeting the need to supply a high-demand item during the coronavirus pandemic – hand sanitizer.

Production of the hand sanitizers began this week in the facility in the Medical District.

Since the start of the pandemic, hand sanitizer has been in severe short supply globally.

“We have a responsibility to bring all our resources to bear in fighting the spread of COVID-19,” said Kennard Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, FACHE, executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer for UTHSC.

Dr. Brown, who has overall responsibility for the operations of the Plough Center for Sterile Drug Delivery Solutions, says the Plough Center’s production of a once-taken-for-granted commodity, is now critical in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Hand hygiene for infection prevention is an important part of the U.S. response to the international emergence of COVID-19.

The UTHSC Plough Center for Sterile Drug Delivery Solutions, a facility for manufacturing sterile finished pharmaceutical dosage forms compliant with FDA protocols and procedures, is well equipped to produce high-quality hand sanitizers for the community in moderate scale. “It is very crucial and a priceless task to do whatever we can to save patients and help our community,” said Harry Kochat, PhD, director of the Plough Center.

The hand sanitizer will be available in individual bottles and packed carton containers containing up to 16 bottles. Initial distribution of the hand sanitizer will go to critical need entities in the community, including the COVID-19 testing site at Tiger Lane, University Health Services, and the College of Dentistry emergency dental clinic, as well as first responders, university clinical faculty, and medical staff of partner hospitals.

Memphis Distiller Making Hand Sanitizer for Virus Response

B.R. Distilling Company, maker of award-winning Blue Note Bourbon and Riverset Rye, is now producing more than 250,000 units of medical-grade hand sanitizer for hospitals and first responders nationwide. The company anticipates this project will likely grow across the next month.

“As a Memphis-based, manufacturing business, we were presented with a unique opportunity to make a large impact on our nation’s critical supply chain needs,” said B.R. Distilling’s Director of Operation, Alexander Folk. “As a team, we made the decision to retool our whiskey production lines to help manufacture this critical resource in order to meet the escalating demand.”

“Because my wife is a nurse practitioner, I have first-hand experience with just how critical the need for PPE and hand sanitizer is right now,” said Folk. “For me, like so many of us, this is very personal.”

Under strict guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), B.R. Distilling’s sanitizer complies with national standards for medical-grade products. With production and bottling already underway, B.R. Distilling has already shipped out several truck loads.

B.R. Distilling’s hand sanitizer is not available for wholesale or retail purchase. Instead, it is being produced by contract on an industrial scale and being sent directly to the frontlines, where it is most needed.

“We have been called to action, but we have limited supplies and resources relative to the enormity of this crisis,” said McCauley Williams, President & CEO, B.R. Distilling. “We wish we had enough supplies to give away hand sanitizer to every individual who wants it, but we do not. Right now, it is critical we get this product to the organizations on the frontlines who are fighting tirelessly to save lives.”

Adjusting production lines from whiskey to medical products is not simple; however, B.R. Distilling has risen to the challenge.

“It has been amazing to watch our team switch gears from whiskey to hand sanitizer,” said Folk. “We were told that we needed to supply at least 250,000 unit equivalents for this project to be viable. Supplying that volume of hand sanitizer in a matter of weeks is no small undertaking. We are working around the clock to make it happen. I am really proud of our team. Hopefully, we can make a difference.”

Wednesday, April 1

FeedTheFrontline901: Out-of-Work Musicians Deliver Meals to Hospital Workers

Powered through 100 percent of its donations, FeedTheFrontline901 (FTF901) is sending meals from our locally owned restaurants delivered safely by our out-of-work musicians.

It’s is based on a model implemented in New Orleans two weeks ago that is currently delivering over 1,000 meals a day to our heroes serving us on the hospitals’ frontlines. We also have a local business owner making re-useable masks that we will add to deliveries as we go.

If you are curious as to the level of what they are looking to accomplish, view REDBEANSPARADE (out of New Orlean) on Instagram.

To donate or for more information, check out FTF901’s GoFundMe page.


ArtsMemphis launches Emergency Fund

Today, ArtsMemphis launches its Artist Emergency Fund, a $50,000 emergency granting process made possible by the generosity of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis and the Assisi Foundation.

ArtsMemphis was designated as a beneficiary of $25,000 from the Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, who is collectively contributing over $415,000 to community agencies across sectors to provide flexible funding to those impacted by novel coronavirus and the economic consequences of the pandemic in our region.

The ArtsMemphis staff quickly compounded the $25,000 into $50,000 thanks to a matching gift from the Assisi Foundation.

“This is an honor that we do not take lightly, particularly as we navigate this unprecedented period,” said Elizabeth Rouse, ArtsMemphis President & CEO. “Our supporters over the years allow us to carry this invaluable responsibility to direct and grant funds to artists, whose creativity and passion continue to weave the fabric of our culture.”

ArtsMemphis will immediately redirect funds to individual artists to support recovery from lost income due to cancelled events, job layoff, or furlough. Self-employed artists of all arts disciplines as well as individual artists employed/contracted by nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Shelby County are eligible to apply.

Full details of the grant request and review process may be found here: https://www.artsmemphis.org/artist-emergency-fund.

Applications received from musicians of all genres and types will be reviewed in conjunction with and administered by Music Export Memphis (MEM), whose mission is to create opportunities for Memphis musicians to showcase their music outside the city, driving tourism, talent attraction and economic development.

“We’re glad to be partnering with ArtsMemphis on this grant process, which will leverage more than $35,000 in additional funds we’ve raised through our partners specifically to support musicians,” said MEM Executive Director Elizabeth Cawein. “Our longstanding relationship with ArtsMemphis has allowed for a process that is transparent and equitable for artists of all disciplines, at a time when the musicians we serve have seen their livelihoods disappear.”

Welcome to Memphis Offers Grants for Hospitality Workers

In response to economic fallout resulting from the coronavirus crisis, Welcome to Memphis is disseminating financial assistance to Memphis area hospitality professionals affected by the pandemic through the Welcome to Memphis COVID-19 Fund. Starting Wednesday, April 1, hourly workers in the hospitality industry who have been terminated due to the COVID-19 crisis may apply for a one-time grant online at the Welcome to Memphis website. These grants are funded by the Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund, hosted by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis (CFGM).

The application will be available until 6:00 p.m., Monday, April 6. The week of April 6, Welcome to Memphis will start awarding one-time grants of $300 each. There will be a limited number of grants depending on the amount of money available.

“In this time of great uncertainty, the Welcome to Memphis COVID-19 Fund will make a positive difference for employees in the hospitality industry as they wait for their jobs to return to normal,” said Deni Reilly, proprietor of The Majestic Grille and Welcome to Memphis Board Chair. “We are so pleased to be able to offer this assistance.”

Eligible applicants include hourly employees of hotels, restaurants, bars, tourist attractions, convention services, and tour operations in the Memphis area. Applicants will need to provide their name, contact information, employer and employer contact information, proof of work such as a pay stub or W2, a government issued ID, and proof of termination. Recipients will be chosen through a lottery-style system after the application deadline closes.

“Our hearts go out to all our ‘Memphis Insiders’ who need this assistance,” said Mary Schmitz, Executive Director at Welcome to Memphis. “The Welcome to Memphis fund is limited. We are using a random system so that everyone who applies during this upcoming week, will have the same opportunity to have their name drawn for one of the individual grants.”

Welcome to Memphis, a subsidiary of Memphis Tourism, is a partner recipient of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis (CFGM). The Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund provides flexible funding to organizations serving community members who have been impacted by novel coronavirus and the economic consequences of the pandemic. Businesses and corporations who wish to support this effort should contact the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.

“Our hospitality service workforce delivers our Memphis brand, and we know and interact with them regularly.” commented Kevin Kane, President and CEO of Memphis Tourism, which is the parent organization of Welcome to Memphis. “We are very grateful to the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis for their efforts in getting some relief to our workers.”

Musicians, artists, and entertainers are encouraged to go to the ArtsMemphis website. Their Artist Emergency Fund is making individual grants available and is accepting applications for those whose work is impacted by the pandemic.

Welcome to Memphis trains hospitality employees to know about Memphis, offers customer service skills training, and recognizes individuals for a job well done. Learn more about Welcome to Memphis on their website.

U of M 3-D Printing Face Masks

The University of Memphis is fabricating face-shield frames using its 3-D printers 24 hours a day in its state-of-the-art Metal Additive Manufacturing Lab at Herff College of Engineering to provide to hospitals in the State of Tennessee, including Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, to aid in combating COVID-19.

Dr. Ebrahim Asadi, the lab’s director and assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering, and staff have delivered 135 3-D-printed face-shield frames, which is equivalent to more than 2,000 face-shields that are currently used.

Eightythree frames, which were driven by Asadi to the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Jackson on Tuesday, will be delivered to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA). All hospitals and clinics in need of these emergency PPEs will need to contact their local emergency management agencies. TEMA will receive those requests from local emergency management agencies and distribute PPEs to those local agencies as needed.

Asadi delivered 52 frames to Le Bonheur last Friday.

“This is a very special task to me that I can help the health care professionals who are fighting this pandemic on the front line,” said Asadi. “This is one of the moments that you would say to yourself you should do something to help. I am sure that many people feel that way, and I was lucky there was something that I could do in addition to social distancing and self-quarantine, which are equally important to keep everybody safer.”

Le Bonheur, which currently has enough supplies for its staff, is being proactive for the future.

“We appreciate the support of community partners like the University of Memphis during this uncertain time,” said Dr. Barry Gilmore, chief medical officer of Le Bonheur Children’s. “Their offer of help means so much to our clinical experts who are working around-the-clock to help keep kids healthy and well.”

Using five commercial-grade 3D printers, the UofM Metal Additive Manufacturing Lab has been printing around the clock. Each printer has the capability to produce three to four frames at a time, taking two to three hours for each run.

The first successful prototypes were completed the weekend of March 20-22. Asadi started activating as many printers as he could on campus to increase the capacity since March 23.

State-wide, universities are printing face-shields in response to a call from Mike Krause, executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

“A request from (UofM) President (M. David) Rudd’s office was forwarded to me through Dean Richard Sweigard of Herff College of Engineering,” said Asadi, who is working 12 hours daily. “They were looking for an expert to take a call from Mike Krause, who explained the mission of the Higher Ed PPE initiative he is leading to establish a network of 3D printing experts in the State of Tennessee higher education institutes to fabricate PPEs for healthcare professionals due to the COVID-19 outbreak.”

A team of five staff members/students led by Asadi have been working around the clock to contribute to the production of the frames. Other staff include Dr. Fatemeh Hejripour, staff scientist; PhD candidates Behzad Fotovvati and Michael Fitzmire; and Matthew Markham, a PhD candidate who has volunteered to work daily.

“All of us need to do our part in supporting doctors and medical workers on the frontline of this pandemic,” said Sweigard. “I’m very proud that Herff engineers and the entire UofM community have come together so quickly to produce the face shields that will keep healthcare workers and patients safe.”

The University of Memphis celebrated its opening of the Metal Additive Manufacturing Lab in September 2018 with a $2 million commitment for building renovations, equipment and staffing.

Tuesday, March 31 2020

Inmates Give To Tornado Relief

NASHVILLE – In the middle of a global pandemic, the men and women incarcerated in Tennessee prisons are remembering families whose lives were interrupted by a different emergency. In prisons across the state, inmates have come together to raise more than $1,000 for tornado relief efforts. They decided to make their donations to the Second Harvest Food Bank and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

The Mission of the Second Harvest Food Bank is to “feed hungry people and work to solve hunger issues in our community.” The organization says the need for food multiplied overnight in Middle Tennessee following the tornadoes.

Tennessee inmates came up the idea of joining together to donate funds from their individual trust fund accounts in order to help their fellow Tennesseans.

UTHSC Dental School Printing Its Own Face Masks

MEMPHIS — The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center (UTHSC) College of Dentistry has successfully created highly effective biologic filtration masks using a 3-D printer used by the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

“We were having difficulty obtaining the proper PPE (personal protective equipment) N95 mask,” said Jeffrey Brooks, DMD, executive associate dean and associate dean of clinical affairs for the UTHSC College of Dentistry. “The Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery decided to get creative and to fabricate a mask that would allow us to use N95 or similar material to manufacture our own PPE, specifically masks.”

The 3-D printers were previously used by the department to print bio-models for maxillofacial trauma and pathology cases to improve reconstruction and surgery outcomes. The 3-D printers are able to produce precise and specific models.

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News News Blog

Local Abortion Provider: ‘Phone Ringing off Hook,’ Staff Short, But Services Continue

CREDIT: Facebook/CHOICES

Facebook/CHOICES

CHOICES’ main clinic on Poplar

With a smaller staff and a slightly different set operating procedures, CHOICES, one of two clinics in the city that performs abortions, is still open and providing services.


Katy Leopard, assistant director of CHOICES, said the clinic’s call volume has been up, some staff members are working from home, and the clinic has had to decrease the number of patients it sees, but services will continue. CHOICES’ main focus, she said, has been to provide the essential services patients need, while ensuring that staff and patients remain safe and healthy.

“What we do healthcare-wise is definitely under the umbrella of essential healthcare,” Leopard said. “So, we are definitely open and providing services. Our phones are ringing off the hook and people may have a little trouble getting in touch with us, but we are working very hard to get those calls answered and schedule appointments because we know how important what we provide is to our patients.”

Leopard said in addition to the increased call volume, there has been an increase in the number of patients who actually show for their appointments. Ordinarily, she said the show rate for appointments is between 50 and 60 percent, but now, it is up to about 80 percent.

“People are just feeling very anxious and wanting to take care of these things very quickly.

They are thinking ‘oh my god, if I’m going to do it I better do it now before CHOICES has to close,’” she said. “And while I don’t think that’s in our future and I think we will be able to stay open, we are certainly doing our very best.”

Over the past couple of weeks, Leopard said CHOICES also saw an influx of patients from Texas and other states, where abortions were banned and considered a nonessential medical service.

“It was this horrible moment where — for while the clinics in Texas were all closed, and Louisiana, and Ohio — we were seeing people from everywhere,” Leopard said.

Monday, federal judges temporarily overturned the ban in Texas, Ohio, and Alabama, and Leopard said that will “greatly alleviate some pressure.”

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Leopard said CHOICES immediately opted to allow all non-essential staff members to work from home, as well as those with underlying health conditions that might be more susceptible to contracting the virus.

CHOICES also implemented unlimited paid sick leave for all employees because “the last thing we wanted was for our employees to come in if they aren’t feeling well so they could get paid.”

Down a few staff members, Leopard said initially CHOICES decided to only see abortion patients for the time being, while pushing other wellness appointments until April.

“But after it began to look like this is going to go on for a month or so, we realized that birth control and things like that are essential for the community,” Leopard said. “People need their IUDs removed or they need their prescriptions filled and all the other things that we do.”

Leopard said CHOICES has begun to look for ways to provide the services it can, like renewing prescriptions, via telemedicine.

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Typically, abortion patients are required to come in for a patient education session before scheduling an abortion, but Leopard said this process now takes place over the phone.

Out of caution, patients are also screened over the phone and asked about contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or has had symptoms prior to their appointment. Patients are again screened the day of their appointment before they come into the clinic. Leopard said this week CHOICES will begin checking the temperature of everyone who comes into the building.

Other precautionary steps CHOICES has taken include reorganizing its waiting rooms so that patients sit six feet apart and frequently sanitizing surfaces and equipment in the clinic. Additionally, to limit the number of people in the clinic’s waiting room and potential exposure, CHOICES has temporarily stopped allowing patients to bring a guest with them, unless they are a minor.

“What we provide is critical and essential healthcare to people in this community and we will do everything we can to stay open,” Leopard said. “So, we’re open, seeing patients, and scheduling appointments. But at the same time we are being very, very cognizant and careful to limit exposure to our patients and staff. The thing that could be a real problem for us is if one of our clinicians gets sick. So, we are doing what we can to prevent that.”

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Leopard said CHOICES is doing all that they can to “help the community access the tools they need to control their reproductive lives and healthy sexual lives.”

To that end CHOICES sponsored a drive-thru emergency contraception give-away last weekend in its parking lot.

“We are very aware that sex is something people do and quarantine isn’t going to stop that,” she said. “It’s part of our experience as humans. We also give them away at our front desk. So people can come in very quickly and get some if they have an oops moment.”

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Leopard said without a doubt, CHOICES needs to remain open, as its services are essential for its patients.

“When I talk to patients about how they would be impacted without the services we provide, it’s very clear that what we do is essential,” Leopard said. “I mean my dry-cleaners and auto mechanic are still open. So, to argue that not being able to control whether or not you continue with a pregnancy that can ripple through your entire life in so many ways is not essential is not even an argument. All you have to do is talk to our patients to understand why what we do is essential in their lives.”

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Supernatural Polygamy! Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands On This Week’s Indie Memphis Movie Club

Marriage is a sacred institution between two people and also sometimes a nude ghost. That’s the premise of Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, this week’s Indie Memphis Movie Club selection.

Based on a bestselling novel by Jorge Amado, the 1976 film by director Bruno Barreto set a box office record in Brazil that held for 35 years. Sonia Braga (who later went on to star in Kiss Of The Spider Woman and the other current Indie Memphis Movie Club selection, Bacurau) plays Dona, whose rakish husband Vadinho (Jose Wilker) dies in the film’s opening scenes. Their relationship was tumultuous and unstable, but sexually satisfying. Looking for more stability, she finds love with Teodoro (Mauro Mendonça), He’s a good husband, but boring in bed. Then, Vadinho’s thirsty ghost returns to haunt his wife, and Dora must find an equilibrium between the two marital extremes.

Tonight at 8 p.m., Indie Memphis artistic director Miram Bale and film writer Monica Castillo will host an online discussion of the film’s history, impact, and meaning in our present moment. Go to the Indie Memphis website for more details, and check out the trailer.

Supernatural Polygamy! Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands On This Week’s Indie Memphis Movie Club

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We Recommend We Saw You

Couch Potatoes – a New Video from Brandon and Virginia Pilgrim Ramey

Brandon and Virginia Pilgrim Ramey in their new quarantine video, ‘Couch Potatoes.’

Ballet Memphis dancers Brandon Ramey and his wife, Virginia Pilgrim Ramey, are back in a new quarantine dance video: Couch Potatoes.

“The story with this one is we’re just really settling into our quarantine and our social distancing life,” Brandon says. “I’ve been binging through episodes of This is Us faster than I’ve ever watched a TV show in my life.”

Their video, which relays what can happen when there’s only one potato chip left for two people, strikes a chord. “Other people have similar experiences. They’re out of work at home. Just trying to pass the time.”

Brandon and Virginia were set to play the lead roles in the Ballet Memphis production of “Cinderella” before COVID-19 brought the production to a halt. “Look at us. We’re just a bunch of elite dancers, elite artists, in one fell swoop to become a couple of spuds on the couch.”

Brandon describes the video as “a little fighting and dancing. It’s based on a true story. I would say the movie is pretty historically accurate. We just embellished the choreography a little bit.

“The true story is as simple as that. Sometimes Ginny and I will be passing a bag of chips back and forth and I will get the last one. And we’ll make eyes at each other as to who actually deserves to eat the last chip.”

Brandon and Virginia Pilgrim Ramey fight over a potato chip in their new quarantine video, ‘Couch Potatoes.’

Couch Potatoes is “definitely collaboration,” he says. “I would say I’m the choreographer and Ginny is my editor. She’s not shy about telling me something is not working.”

Couch Potatoes is a “little more lighthearted” than their previous dance video, Stay at Home, Virginia says. “I think the response has been even quicker and more enthusiastic about this one,” she says. “It’s something people can relate to: ‘I don’t believe you people really eat potato chips.’ We do.”

They danced in a small area in the video, but, Virginia says, “He’s just super creative in his movements. So, it’s not super balletic. It’s what we can accomplish on our little love seat in our den.”

Brandon and Virginia Pilgrim Ramey in their new quarantine video, ‘Couch Potatoes.’

Virginia wears “just kind of lounge wear. Sweatpants and a T-shirt and a cardigan.”

Brandon, she says, wears “pajama pants, a T-shirt, and a hoodie.”

They’re not wearing conventional dance slippers. Instead, they’re dancing in their socks. “We just kind of wear socks around the house.”

“No ballet slippers,” Brandon says. “Just my cozy house socks.”

Brandon and Virginia Pilgrim Ramey in their new quarantine video, ‘Couch Potatoes.’

The couple work on their videos just about every evening. “The choreography starts a few days before we do any actual filming,” he says. “We’ll put Ellie (their daughter) to bed at 6:30. We’ll eat a quick dinner. And we’ll just figure out what the moves are going to be from 7 until 10 when we go to bed.”

Making videos “gives us something to do,” Brandon says. “And I just love hearing from people. The responses. How they put a smile on their faces and brightens their day.”

He heard from a cousin, now a professional cellist in Canada, who he hadn’t seen since he was four years old. The videos “expand our sphere of interactions.”

He and his wife give themselves a dance class to “keep in shape,” Brandon says.

But they also are working on two more videos. “We’re working on a short film about Cinderella going to the ball, but the ball is cancelled because of coronavirus,” Brandon says.

“The other one is about the toilet paper shortage. And we’re using ‘Ode to Joy.’” But we’re calling the piece, ‘Commode to Joy.’”

Watch the video here.

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News News Blog

Report: Memphis Job Loss Could Top 121,000

CREDIT: Brookings Institute

Brookings Institute

The Memphis metro area could lose around 20 percent of all jobs due to the coronavirus, according to a new report from the Brookings Institute.

The report analyzed metros from across the country, predicting which ones would be hardest hit by the pandemic. Not all areas will be hit the same, according to the think tank. Those with concentrated energy sectors like mining, oil, and gas will likely be hardest hit. Hit hard, too, will be metros with concentrations of transportation, employment services, travel arrangements, and tourism (like Memphis).

“Add the numbers up and the gargantuan scale of the current problem emerges,” reads the report. “More than 24.2 million Americans work in the five high-risk sectors facing a sharp slowdown. This will likely prompt significant work disruptions, furloughs, and other uncertainties in the coming months.”

Oil-sector cities like Midland, Texas (No. 1) and Houma-Thibadoux, Louisiana (No. 8) dominate the top 10 slots on the Brooking’s rankings. Midland, for example, is set to lose nearly 46,618 jobs, or nearly 43 percent of all its jobs.

Tourism-heavy cities like Kahului, Hawaii (No. 2) and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (No. 9) round out the top 10. Kahului could lose 32,092 jobs, or nearly 40 percent of its jobs.

Memphis ranks 48th on the Brookings list, which is based on percentage of jobs lost, not on total number. Here, the city could lose 121,065 jobs, or about 19.6 percent of all jobs in the Memphis metro area, which includes portions of Mississippi and Arkansas.

There’s no doubt tourism is one of the city’s major economic centers. Memphis Tourism, the area’s official destination marketing organization, reported last year (the latest figures) that a record number of tourists (11.8 million) visited Memphis in 2018.

Those visitors brought with them a $3.5 billion economic impact in Memphis that year. That activity generated $1.13 billion in annual wages in Shelby County in 2018. There’s little doubt that all of those figures will be lower when 2020 numbers are reported next year.

However, Kevin Kane, Memphis Tourism president and CEO, said the city is still open to visitors on Tourism’s coronavirus information webpage.

“Some attractions have made the difficult decision to close while others remain open with reduced capacity to space out guests and prevent visitors from clustering in large groups along with deploying the appropriate sanitation protocol,” Kane wrote on the site. “Travelers are welcome should they decide to visit Memphis today, tomorrow, or in the future.”

Read the Brookings data for yourself here:

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