Author: Joshua Cannon

Memphis Flyer

Thousands of Memphians are expected to participate in a city-wide cleanup initiative organized by local organizations on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

On Monday, January 16th, community leaders will lead cleanup projects at 19 sites from Soulsville to Frayser and Orange Mound. Organized by Memphis Clean by 2019, Clean Memphis, and other partners, this year’s project looks to increase the amount of trash and blight that was removed from city streets last year.

About 4.67 tons of litter was removed last year. That also included 127 vacant parcels being cleaned and cleared, 210 tires removed, and three blighted lots converted into community gardens.

Mayor Jim Strickland will give remarks during a volunteer lunch in Soulsville at noon.

Those looking to volunteer can find more information here.

Low-income households in Memphis face a higher energy burden than anywhere else in the United States, paying an average of 13 percent of their annual income on utilities.

Enter Project Lighthome, an initiative started by Memphian Matt Hrdlicka, that wants, slowly but surely, to change that. Hrdlicka partnered with Service over Self, a local organization that provides critical home repairs in challenged neighborhoods, to raise $9,000. That money will go toward placing LED light bulbs in more than 40 homes and blow-in insulation in about 20 homes. They’ve since exceeded their goal, however, and will use the additional donations to improve the energy efficiency of area charities.

The Flyer spoke with Hrdlicka about how his work with Project Lighthome got started.

MF: When did you start Project Lighthome?

MH: The funding campaign started [in December], but I’ve worked with Service Over Self for several years. I reached out to them in November, and when you know people do good work, the process to get something done is very quick.
[pullquote-1]MF: What was it that sparked something in you to try and alleviate this problem?

MH: Breaking poverty cycles and the environment are two issues I care deeply about. Energy efficiency is the lowest-hanging fruit — much easier than, say, installing solar panels or trying to compel people to open a savings account — and puts a dent in both problems at the same time. These two problems are connected. Low-income Memphians pay more for energy than anybody else in the country — on average, $1.32 of every $10. We’re putting LED lightbulbs into 40 homes and insulation in another 20. For $9,000 we can change these families lives for a decade minimum. Think about how long that is, how different you were ten years ago.

MF: How did you get involved with Service over Self?

MH: They are a local Memphis non-profit that runs summer camps and spring break missions for students. Young people who want to do some good instead of going to the beach for their spring and summer breaks can work for a week fixing roofs in the Binghampton and Orange Mound neighborhoods.

MF: After this goal is met, what is your next step? Do you hope it will motivate others to do more on a larger scale?

MH: Memphis was a natural starting place, not only because our production facility is based there, but it’s also the biggest area of need. We would like to look at scaling to more cities, and partnering with any charity that is doing renovation or building homes for underserved areas. Habitat for Humanity would be a natural fit.

Joshua Cannon

In an effort to curb high energy costs burdensome on Memphis’ poorest citizens, Memphians may see their utility bills rounded up to the nearest dollar next year.

If implemented, the resolution, proposed by Memphis City Council member Patrice Robinson, will automatically donate a portion of customers’ bills to the city’s Share The Pennies Program given they don’t check a box opting out. Robinson will propose the resolution Tuesday at a committee hearing with commissioners from the Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division.

“For people who are economically disadvantaged or living at the poverty level, they spend 13 to 25 percent of their income just on utilities,” Robinson said. “We have energy bills in Memphis that are higher than anywhere else in the United States.”
Joshua Cannon

Under the current program, only 270 people have been served over the past few years, Robinson said. If passed, there will be a six-month period for citizens to decide if they want to opt out of the program. While they will still be able to opt out after that period, customers will automatically be included should they not opt-out before it begins.

MLGW will continue limiting donations to an annual $11.88, as they currently do. Committee Member Worth Morgan, who co-sponsored the resolution, said it will help people — low-income citizens and the elderly — who can’t help themselves.

“If anybody has any doubts about the need for this or the lives that will be affected, I encourage them to go around some these neighborhoods and take a look at what we’re actually talking about.”

University of Memphis Professor Lan Wang has received a patent for developing an algorithm that will increase router speed without upgrading the router.

The algorithm compresses a router’s forwarding information base (FIB), allowing it to occupy less storage space while making updating speeds more efficient. The invention will allow for 50 percent compression at a speed 50 percent faster than current options. With a software update, current and new routers can be upgraded. It will lower costs for internet service providers, who are forced to continuously replace routers, Wang said.

“The internet relies on routers to forward its traffic,” Wang said. “As the internet grows, routers need to maintain more forwarding information. The fast growth of routers’ Forwarding Information Base is a major concern for Internet service providers (ISP) as it is costly for them to upgrade routers. Our solution, FIB aggregation, reduces the FIB size considerably by merging multiple FIB entries into one, thus extending the lifetime of routers and potentially leading to huge savings for ISP’s.”

The patent is shared among four inventors: Beichuan Zhang of the University of Arizona; Xin Zhao, previously a graduate student under Zhang, now employed at Google; and Yaoqing Liu, a U of M graduate who studied under Wang, now employed at Clarkson University.

Joshua Cannon

ALSAC CEO Richard Shadyac speaks on the St. Jude Expansion that will create 1,800 new jobs.

The state of Tennessee will invest $12 million to improve the public infrastructure surrounding St. Jude, growing the Children Hospital’s mission and revitalizing the nearby Pinch District.

“We have a state full of people with their hearts in the right place,” said Governor Bill Haslam during a news conference at the hospital’s campus on Thursday. “The beauty of what St. Jude does is that people all over the world rush to help every day. I don’t know anywhere else like St. Jude that has a constituency so broad based and committed to this mission.”

An additional investment of $25 million in public infrastructure projects by the city of Memphis will expand the nearby Pinch District, developing it into a commercial area.

“All of the city, state and county money spent here is going to be spent on infrastructure in the Pinch District outside the gates of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” said ALSAC president and CEO Richard Shadyac. “Little if any of the money is going to be spent on the St. Jude Campus.”

The expansion will create 1,800 new jobs.

“Our great Founder Danny Thomas knew after he visited Memphis if there was any community in the world that would ultimately make St. Jude a success, it was this great city,” Shadyac said. “Today marks another commitment that we will not stop searching for cures at St. Jude until no child anywhere, not just in Memphis or in Tennessee, suffers from cancer or the side effects of pediatric cancer.”

This story will be updated.

Lausanne’s Headmaster Stuart McCathie couldn’t attend the Memphis Chamber’s Annual Chairman’s Luncheon Wednesday. He was at Xiamen #1 School in China, making official a partnership with the Collegiate School that will open a new campus next year.

“Since we’re a process school, we’re continually looking for ways to improve,” said Noma Anderson, the president of Lausanne’s board of trustees, on McCathie’s behalf. “We’re now one of only 19 schools in the nation to adopt an International Baccalaureate program from pre-K to 12th grade.”

Located in the Fujian province of China, Xiamen #1 Lausanne International School will be the first school away from the main campus when it opens in August 2017. The school will educate 1,200 students from around the world.
[pullquote-1]”Part of our commitment is to bring global perspectives to Memphis,” Anderson said. “And also taking perspectives from Memphis around the globe.”

At home, The Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce has launched a new app to spur innovation and create job growth within the city. MemphisWorks will assist with career navigation, training, career counseling, case management, and hiring.

“It’s the most comprehensive system of its kind on the market,” said Willie Gregory, the director of Global Community Impact for Nike Inc. “From your first job to a thriving career, hundreds of people from our community have created videos to tell you what they do and why they love it. Their inspiration unlocks job opportunities and educational pathways.”

The Delta Regional Authority also announced it would invest 370 thousand dollars into supporting manufacturing in the Greater Memphis area. The Authority will expand into the Metro Memphis Export Alliance, an organization focused on driving local exports and attracting manufacturing opportunities to the region, said Chris Masingill, the Authority’s federal co-chairman.

“This strategic investment is going to help attract good jobs for our people, new companies to the region, and bring local businesses and entrepreneurs to the global marketplace,” Masingill said.

This story will be updated with more information.