Author: Alexandra Pusateri

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Music Music Features

LoveFest for Steve Wilson

The headline may not say enough about this special party held for Steve Wilson, a member of the Neil’s Music Room community who has been diagnosed with stage three esophageal, liver, and colon cancer. Wilson has worked with many music makers in the Memphis area over the years, in addition to being a regular at Neil’s. To honor their sick friend, local musicians are throwing a day-long celebration at the music venue on Sunday, November 8th, in hopes of surrounding Wilson with “love and faith, which will promote healing,” according to the show’s organizer.

LoveFest is free to attend, starting at 2 p.m. and ending at 11 p.m. The day will be jam-packed full of music from many different types of bands — over 14 in total. Regulars to Neil’s will recognize many of the acts already, but there’s something for everyone, regardless if you’ve been to the Music Room or not. Those who prefer straight-up, mainstream rock-and-roll will enjoy the musical stylings of Band of Brothers, Almost Famous, and Grand Theft Audio. Singer-songwriter fans will love JoJo Jeffries and Ronnie Caldwell, who are both staples at Neil’s. There’s even something for fans of the blues as the Memphis Blues Revue and the Royal Blues Band (featuring Jack Rowell Jr.) will both be in the house.

Other musicians and groups include Don Cook (who plays with Blind Mississippi Morris), Buddy Church (who had his own benefit concert at Neil’s in 2013), Brad Webb, Eric Reason, Jonathan Yudkin, Morrill & Smith, Steve Ingle, and the Lineup, among others. Neil’s Music Room often holds benefits for folks in need, and this time is no different. As the Beatles song goes, “Love is all you need,” and the folks at Neil’s are making sure that rings true for Wilson.

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News The Fly-By

Three Sculptures Celebrate Binghampton History

CREDIT: Alexandra Pusateri

From its history in the civil rights movement to the controversial “P,” Binghampton’s cultural heritage is being honored in three new sculptures.

The Historic Broad Avenue Arts Alliance, the UrbanArt Commission, and the Binghampton Development Corporation partnered to install three sculptures focusing on the history of the neighborhood. Pete Beeman, a public artist who splits his time between Oregon and New York, created the artwork.

The interactive sculptures were installed last week at the Water Tower Pavilion and Christ Community Health Services, both on Broad, and the Lester Community Center on Tillman.

“So much public art is too many steps removed from the community it’s attached to,” Beeman said. “This one is great because it really is attached to the community. It really is supposed to be about the community.”

Beeman said he enjoys doing large-scale public art, but he says these sculptures are more “human-scale.” People who live in the neighborhood or pass through on the Hampline bike path can actually interact with each one in their own way.

Each of the three sculptures highlights a facet of Binghampton history.

One of the sculptures pays homage to the founding of the neighborhood, which used to be its own town, and William H. Bingham, the town’s first mayor. When it was incorporated, a clerical error added a “P” to the spelling of the town until the Tennessee legislature voted to drop the letter. Regardless, the community and businesses throughout Binghampton have popularized the “P.” On the sculpture in front of Christ Community Health Services, many shapes are cut into the letter “P” onto a four-sided house that twirls when pushed.

Alexandra Pusateri

Artist Pete Beeman and his “P” sculpture

“I don’t know if I’m supposed to be, but I’m 100-percent pro-P,” Beeman said.

The second sculpture focuses on the transportation and railroad history in Binghampton — the manufacturing of boxcars in the area, the railroads that cross Broad, and the residents who were displaced during the halted Interstate 40 project that would split Overton Park. The bicycle lanes that began in 2014 also receive a nod from the sculpture, which is placed in a way that people can watch cyclists on the Hampline in front of the Water Tower Pavilion. The sculpture is a cart, also serving as a bench, along a 12-foot track meant to represent rail. The cart operates with a crank.

The third sculpture, in front of the Lester Community Center, is meant to represent the Binghampton Civic League, which worked for civil rights in Memphis, particularly regarding integration in public institutions like the Memphis Zoo, the Mid-South Fairgrounds, and the Brooks Museum of Art. The sculpture is a set of wings that are 12 feet tall on a base that visitors can stand on, making it appear that they have the symbolic wings.

“The attitude around here is great,” Beeman said. “It’s clear that the attitude is connected to the neighborhood, and they’re all psyched about their neighborhood. They’re invested in it. You don’t get that everywhere.”

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News The Fly-By

Choose901 Recruits New Yorkers For Memphis Jobs

Choose901, the city’s proverbial cheerleading group run by City Leadership, took a trip to the Big Apple this week to try and convince New Yorkers to trade the 212 for the 901.

The organization is partnering with the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce to help recruit New Yorkers to fill open positions at Shelby Farms Park, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Muddy’s Bake Shop, International Paper, the Memphis Grizzlies, and other companies with openings.

The organization’s trip to New York also focused on recruiting college talent as they visited Columbia University, King’s College, City College, and New York University —Alexandra Pusateri

Luke Pruett and wife April in New York

Flyer: Why New York?

Pruett: We’re advocating for Memphis. We believe that Memphis is a premier destination for millennials to enjoy and invest their lives in. That’s always been our goal: to tell Memphians about that and tell the whole world about that.

That plays out in a couple of campaigns we run other than just Choose901, one being Teach901, which is recruiting urban educators to Memphis along with other efforts; another being Serve901. It’s a way to serve the city and showcase opportunities to invest your life here.

We’re [here in New York] to network, meet with Memphians that now live and work here, and recruit Memphians back to the city, as well as show new people the opportunities that exist.

Some people might say that Memphians need those available jobs.

That’s our focus every day — to show off Memphis inside the city and outside the city. We want every single Memphian and folks outside to find the best economic opportunity in the city they can. That’s why our presence is so large with events and campaigns in the city. This is one of the many recruiting efforts we’ve done both inside and outside the city. It really isn’t a departure; our founding mission from day one has been to advertise for the city of Memphis and opportunities here. We want to be a conduit of connection for every single opportunity to the people looking for it inside the city, no matter where they’re from. Our goal is to tell the stories here.

What other trips like these have you taken?

Teach901 went to Phoenix last month. We did a job fair in Chicago a few years ago, called the Choose901 Job Fair. I’d say we take about five to seven trips like these a year.

How’s the week going?

We’ve really been overwhelmed with how many people are excited about things going on in the city. We have an incredible opportunity to showcase the Memphis art scene, which you know has so many amazing artists. Wednesday night, we’re going to be celebrating the Grizzlies season at the Half Pint, which is kind of the Grizzlies bar [in New York City]. A lot of Grizzlies fans gather here to watch the games. Only a fourth of our staff is here [in New York], so the rest of our people are still back in the city doing what we always do.

The core things you need when you’re looking for a place to live are: Where do I live?; What do I do?; Where do I work?; and ultimately, how do I serve and invest in the city? We’re staying devoted to our mission. So much of what we do is attempting to lead through surprise, so you gotta stay tuned to know what’s coming next.

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News The Fly-By

MATA Launches New Smartphone App

Locating a city bus is about to be as easy as requesting an Uber or Lyft car.

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is launching a smartphone app that will bring real-time bus data to customers.

North Carolina-based TransLoc has developed an app called TransLoc Rider that shows buses as they move along routes and displays the arrival times for those buses. The app is already being used in other cities like Gainesville, Florida, and San Jose, California.

Locally, the University of Memphis has been using TransLoc to track its shuttle service for students, and that partnership helped open the door to MATA.

Josh Cohen, director of strategy and partnerships at TransLoc, said the company is focused on expanding public transit to be the first choice of users, rather than a “last resort.”

To TransLoc, perception is part of the problem. Waiting for the bus can feel almost 50 percent longer than reality, according to a University of Washington study that focused on transit waiting times. In the study, the commuters who used an app called OneBusAway, which tracks transit systems in real-time, did not have that issue.

“The more people who are riding transit, the better our communities are,” Cohen said. “More people are getting around cities and communities more effectively and cost-effectively. [The app] helps on a micro level — people don’t have to stand out in the rain waiting for the bus — and the macro level, so that the more people who use transit, the less traffic we all face.”

Chooch Pickard, who sits on the MATA Board of Commissioners, said the app will make Memphis more competitive with other cities in terms of public transportation. Increasing ridership is also a potential benefit for MATA. He said the organization has run into issues attracting Memphians who choose, rather than need, to ride the bus system.

“I think it’ll definitely increase ridership,” Pickard said. “In order to provide the best service for the city for everyone, we need to increase ridership from everyone. A lot of people who have other options that are not transit-dependent will be more likely to use MATA if they have a tool like this.”

According to Pickard, it’s millennials and baby boomers, both of which make up the largest populations in the United States, who need to become part of the focus as the organization expands.

“Right now, funding for MATA from the city and use of MATA is really focused on transit-dependent customers,” Pickard said. “If we want to be progressive, keep up with other cities, and be able to attract millennials to Memphis, we have to have a first-class transit system.”

According to the American Public Transportation Association’s study of 1,000 millennials on transit usage, real-time updates were the second-most wanted feature of public transit, at 55 percent (The most-wanted feature was “more reliable systems,” at 61 percent.).

Pickard said he initially proposed a MATA app five years ago but met resistance from the previous administration. MATA Traveler, the text-message service that was designed to let riders know up-to-the-minute bus arrival times, wasn’t “user-friendly enough,” he said.

“We need to be creating a transit system that takes care of everybody’s needs, from young to old, transit-dependent to those who choose to ride the bus,” Pickard said.

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News The Fly-By

River City Pedalers To Be Featured on Fluffy Breaks Even

On the River City Pedalers party bike, tourists and locals work off calories while drinking calories. The mobile bar allows up to 14 people to drink and pedal through the streets of downtown.

That’s why the River City Pedalers were contacted for a spotlight on the reality show Fluffy Breaks Even, featuring comedian Gabriel Iglesias, known to his fans as Fluffy.

On the show, Iglesias and his crew visit cities across the U.S., sampling the native cuisine and then attempting to burn off the calories in “larger-than-life physical challenges,” according to the Fuse TV website.

The Memphis episode of Fluffy Breaks Even airs Thursday, October 15th at 9 p.m. on Fuse.

River City Pedalers is operated by the husband-and-wife team of Russell and Carolyn Young. They operate the bike year-round and book tours at rivercitypedalers.com. — Alexandra Pusateri

Flyer: How has business been going since you launched in January?

Russell Young: It’s going great! Our weekends are pretty well-booked. We’re hoping that the show will help us a bit more. It’s a good mix [of tourists and locals]. Our public tours, which is where we try to mix people who don’t have 10 [people], has really picked up a lot.

We’re just now trying to get hooked up with MidSouth Paranormal Society. We’re going to combine one of their tours on our bike, a scary night tour.

How did the show’s producers find you?

[The show] all started with him being on the road doing his tours and gaining an ungodly amount of weight. He was 400-and-something pounds. He had to do something about it, so he started working out. He lost 100 pounds and has even dropped more. So, evidently, some producers decided this would make a good reality show.

The fans pick the city, and they find some famous eating places, go eat there, and then figure out some way to work out and lose calories. The fans said, “Come to Memphis, we’ve got some famous places: Gus’s Fried Chicken, the Flying Fish, Central BBQ.” Then they were trying to find some way to lose weight, and that’s where they found us. The show is called Fluffy Breaks Even because, every show, he’s trying to figure out if he broke even or if the city won. We’re dying to find out what happens in Memphis.

How was the experience?

The producers didn’t want the streets just completely crowded; they wouldn’t be able to film — just a normal day, not everyone trying to crowd him for autographs. We had to keep our mouths shut.

There was something they were trying to do, and I don’t know if they included it on the show, but we were pedaling down Front Street after eating at Gus’s Fried Chicken. All of a sudden, we see a long-haired girl walking. On the show, Martin Moreno is the girl-chaser. So, we get right up by her, and he’s hollering something flirty, and then all of a sudden, the guy turns around with a big beard. He yelled, “Ah! Sorry about that!”

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News News Blog

Memphis Escape Rooms Add Two New Challenges

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  • Shannon O’Daniel

We visited the Memphis Escape Rooms when they opened earlier in the summer with promises of expansion. Now the folks behind the puzzle games are debuting two new rooms — one of which opened at the end of September and another starting October 16th.

The room opening in two weeks, called Carnival Asylum, will be a limited run until October 31st. The story behind the escape room is as creepy as it gets. At a carnival, a disgruntled former employee — called Jester the Clown, no less — has taken over the event and locked visitors inside. This time, escapees will only have 45 minutes (compared to the usual one hour) to finish, completing carnival games as quickly as possible to get hidden keys that unlock the exit gates. More friends (or enemies?) can be accommodated in this room too, handling up to 10 people at once. Starting today, folks can reserve Carnival Asylum.

“While we aren’t deviating from our ‘no haunted house’ rule, we are excited to offer a room designed specifically for Halloween with just the right amount of craziness,” said Keith Edwards, one of the co-founders of Memphis Escape Rooms. “Atypical from the standard Halloween experience, we are combining adrenaline with interaction, challenging participants to keep their wits while being a little freaked out.”

The release of Carnival Asylum comes right after the opening of Parallax, a futuristic doomsday room. In the middle of war between the United States and a nation-state, an artificial intelligence system named Parallax must be stopped. Adrenaline junkies who partake in the room must find the code to disarm the hostile device.

“When writing the rooms, we keep two objectives at the forefront: to be unique and fun,” Edwards said. “We’re confident Parallax accomplished both beautifully and will be yet another fun addition to the Memphis entertainment landscape.

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News The Fly-By

Organization Trains Rescue Animals for Veterans with PTSD

If Memphis veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a traumatic brain injury (TBI) want to receive a service dog, the process can be stressful and costly. And until recently, the groups that paired veterans with service dogs were located far away.

But a new local organization, The Paul Oliver Foundation, is changing that.

Oliver, a Marine who suffered from PTSD and TBI, loved animals. But in December 2013, he accidentally overdosed on medicines he took to treat his conditions.

Marine Paul Oliver died of an accidental overdose.

The Paul Oliver Foundation co-founder Amanda Butler said she and co-founder Kimm Harris heard about Oliver after his death and wanted to honor his memory.

“He was really trying to get better,” Butler said. “He wanted to help veterans that were suffering the way that he was.”

At first, they considered holding a fundraiser and donating the proceeds to a local charity, but then they found a gap in assistance for veterans — service dogs.

“I truly believe he was alive longer because of his dog, Scout. He wasn’t an actual service dog, but he did so much good for Paul,” Butler said.

Butler and Harris researched service dogs and what it would take to start an organization. Now, the Paul Oliver Foundation is trying to find trainers willing to donate their time for the all-volunteer organization dedicated to providing service dogs to veterans suffering with PTSD and/or TBI. The foundation will deal entirely in rescue animals, pulling them from shelters and placing them into training for their new human companion.

“We felt a real calling to provide those service dogs to people in this area,” Butler said. “I think the closest [other organization that provides service dogs] is in Mississippi, which is still pretty far away.”

Without any assistance, a service dog can cost up to $22,000, and insurance often doesn’t cover the cost of service dogs, despite their proven effectiveness in lowering anxiety, blood pressure, feelings of paranoia, and the indirect benefit that comes with owning a dog. The Veterans Administration (VA) is looking further into service dogs as a viable treatment. Currently, the VA is collecting subjects for a study to research the effects of a service dog in the treatment of PTSD.

In Memphis and Shelby County, there are currently around 59,000 veterans, and more are coming back from deployments. According to the VA, between 11 and 20 percent of veterans from the post-September 11th war era are diagnosed with PTSD. For the Gulf War in the 1990s, 12 percent suffer from PTSD. Vietnam War veterans have the highest percentage, estimated at around 30 percent, though only 15 percent are actually diagnosed.

The Paul Oliver Foundation plans to bring the veterans in during the dog-training process and start the bond early between recipient and dog. This also helps train the dog to specifically address certain issues, like security sweeps of the house before the owner enters, fetching medicine, or reacting to a panic attack.

“Paul was very involved in helping his fellow Marines,” Butler said. “He had a real heart for helping the people who were in the same position he was. We really felt like this was the best way to honor him, [taking] what he really had a heart for and help the people who are in this area.”

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News News Blog

Health Department Releases Plan to Make Shelby County Healthier

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County leaders are trying to make Shelby County one of the healthiest places to live.

On a warm Tuesday afternoon, community leaders from various organizations gathered at the Urban Child Institute to hear about the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) for the all of Shelby County.

The plan identifies five priorities for the county: healthy lifestyles, violence as a public health issue, mental health, as well as two “cross-cutting priorities” that overlap — health disparities and social determinants of health, along with increasing collaboration across the local public health system.

The CHIP has been in the works since 2012 in six phases, facilitated by the Shelby County Health Department. The first and second phases, from December 2012 to March 2013, were set to create the overall vision of the project as well as the conductors, including all facets of the public health sector such as academics, government, nonprofits, healthcare systems, and agencies to create the Community Health Assessment (CHA). From March to August 2013, the CHA focused on compiling the community health status, the needs and wants of the community, the capacities and competencies of the public health system, and trends that factor into the overall quality of life and health to Shelby County.

From the fourth phase on, starting two years ago in September 2013, implementation of the plan has been the focus — mostly mobilizing local organizations and institutions to communicate clearly with one another to tackle the issues.

Community Health planners Amy Collier and Angela Moore, who have been called the “A Team” of the health department, presented the plan and process on Tuesday.

“This is a strategic plan addressing key public health issues,” Moore said. “We had 60 community partners … who have actually committed action items within the CHIP.”

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell also spoke at the event. He talked about changing his own lifestyle into a healthier one and stressing importance of what they called “social determinants of health,” which includes a safe place to live, healthcare access, transportation, social support and norms, and educational access, among others.

Altha J. Stewart, the director of System of Care at the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office, also spoke regarding the public health issues.
“There are multiple ways to cut the pie of social determinants of health,” Stewart said. “One I think is particularly helpful in terms of Shelby County and the discussion around improving overall community health, which has to do with these things: income and social status, social support networks, education and working conditions, social environments, [and] our biology and genetic endowment.”

Child development, particularly involving healthy lifestyles, is also critical in the county to improve the health of Memphians, she said.

“Gender, believe it or not, has a lot to do with how healthy we are or what health issues we face,” Stewart said. “But the real elephant in the room: culture, race, and ethnicity — that’s where people tend to get tripped up because they feel like there’s just so much wrapped up in that. [They believe] it’s too hard to tackle, but it really isn’t.”

The entire CHIP is available to read online from the Shelby County website, or you can read it below.

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News News Blog

Demolition Begins to Make Way for McDonald’s on Highland

It’s the end of an era for the eastern side of the Highland Strip. The building that once housed Whatever, the Super Submarine Sandwich Shop, and the Southern Meat Market was leveled last week.

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After some resistance from the surrounding community in 2013 when the proposal was initially filed, McDonald’s, which is currently located at 657 S. Highland, will be relocated to the corner of Southern and Highland, right across the street. Initially, the issue surrounded how the fast-food restaurant would fit within the local neighborhood aesthetic and comply with the University District Overlay.

Since then, the issues were addressed, and the fast-food conglomerate was approved for its design a year ago last August: a wrap around drive-thru was scrapped for a double drive-thru in the back of the store, and the building is far closer to the sidewalk than originally planned.

The property was sold in March for $580,000, according to the Memphis Business Journal.

Gary Geiser, the owner of Whatever, said if the property had been up for sale, they would have purchased it.

“If we had even been notified that they were interested in selling it the property, we would’ve tried to buy it for sure,” he said. “But we weren’t notified.”

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  • Penelope Huston

The property, which now belongs to McDonald’s, has caused the collection of locally owned businesses previously located there to scatter. The corporation plans on the restaurant being completed by 2016. The current McDonald’s will be leveled and sold as property.

“I think [the new McDonald’s] is a really bad idea,” Geiser said. “I think it’s in a bad position. The train is always there. It’ll give them good exposure, but getting in and out of there will be a real bear.”

Originally, Whatever occupied a small corner of the building and expanded further into the property. They were forced to move to a space across the street at 555 S. Highland.

“We had a good run there,” he said. “It was an interesting corner. We were across the tracks from the rest of the Highland Strip.”

Since moving, however, sales have been up for Whatever. A second location opened on Madison Avenue, near Overton Square, and a third location in Cordova is opening in the coming weeks.

The Super Submarine Sub Shop moved to 3316 Summer Ave. The Southern Meat Market, after 114 years at the Highland location, moved to 3826 Park Ave.

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News The Fly-By

New J. Brooks Coffee Will Help the Homeless

CREDIT: Alexandra Pusateri

At the Midtown Muddy’s Coffee & Bake Shop last Saturday morning, throngs of customers filed in to get their morning cup of joe. But what awaited them was the chance to vote on a new roast for J. Brooks Coffee Roasters that will benefit a Memphis homeless service provider.

J. Brooks has been supplying the Hospitality HUB with coffee for years. Anyone, particularly people experiencing homelessness, can walk into the HUB, located at 82 N. Second, and get a free cup of coffee, no strings attached.

Now, J. Brooks is adding a new coffee to its line called “HUB,” named after the organization. Two dollars from the sale of each bag will benefit the HUB.

The HUB provides free services to people who are experiencing homelessness. Guests can receive a temporary mailing address, which can help them secure jobs. Guests also have access to restrooms, snacks, telephones, computers, and lockers, as well as counseling services and assistance in obtaining birth certificates and other documents. They also provide vouchers for temporary shelters.

“We’re really impressed with them,” said John Pitman, the roaster for J. Brooks. “They’ve got a fantastic board. The program is just spot-on. It’s an honor and a point of pride for us to be associated with them. I think they’re making a tremendous difference in the city. They’re doing things that I can’t do. So what I can do, I’ll do to help them.”

Alexandra Pusateri

Votes being cast for coffee at Muddy’s

Last Saturday, visitors to Muddy’s sampled and voted on the roast that will benefit the HUB. They were given a choice between three medium roasts. The first choice — roast A — was mild, the strength seemingly low. Roast B, a new roast for J. Brooks, tasted bitter and tart, while roast C evened out between the two and tasted like a complex, rich cup of coffee.

Votes were cast by placing small white balls into Mason jars next to each pot of coffee. The winner was a single-origin Mexico Chiapas Turquesa.

Pitman said having people vote on the HUB flavor “engenders involvement.”

“People feel like they’re personally involved, which they are,” he said. “It’s a great engagement for community, to build a sense of leadership and do some good in this city. If people can say, ‘I was a part of that,’ it just ups the ante. It really communicates a consistent message. The HUB is there to make a difference in Memphis and involve people, either on the receiving end as well as people on the giving end.”

And according to Beatrice Kimmons, the executive director of the Hospitality HUB, coffee is important to the work.

“People don’t realize that we take for granted the small things,” she said. “A cup of coffee at the HUB starts a relationship. It makes people feel like, ‘Okay, you’re not trying to push me into any change. I’m getting coffee.’ That gives us a chance to talk to the person, network with the person, and hopefully develop some changes in their lives.”

“The HUB is a vital part of the Memphis community,” she said. “The HUB is able to give what one individual or agency can’t give. We give the whole scope. We have the time because of our counselors. We’re simply saying to the community: Don’t forget the HUB. Continue to support us so we can make some changes in people’s lives and help end homelessness.”

J. Brooks’ HUB flavor will be available this week at John’s Pantry, Trolley Stop Market, Miss Cordelia’s Grocery, both locations of Muddy’s Bake Shop, and the SuperLo on Spottswood.