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News News Blog

Novel Begins Book Delivery

Novel

Santa isn’t the only one in the delivery business. Novel will begin delivering books with same-day delivery beginning December 5th.

“Christy Yarbro, one of the managing partners, came up with the idea,” says John Vergos, who, along with Matt Crowe, also is a managing partner. “And instead of buying our own van and trying it on a trial basis, we’re partnering with Blue Sky couriers of Memphis.

“If somebody wants, say, four copies of Michelle Obama’s book wrapped and delivered to their house, they’ll call us and the charge will be $7. Our area will extend from the Medical Center to Germantown.

‘“We’re trying this through January 15th to see if it works. Then we’ll sit down and re-evaluate.”


They’ve talked about doing this for some time, Vergos says. “We wrapped up our first year at the end of August. So, it’s something we finally decided, ‘Let’s do it.’ Especially with Blue Sky here, we can do it without a major investment and see how it goes.”

For more information, 901-922-5526.

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Theater Theater Feature

Once & Future: Tennessee Shakespeare Returns to the Forest of Arden

Joey Miller.

“All the world’s  a stage…” — As You Like It

“Also I know what thou arte, and who was thy fadir, and of whom thou were begotyn.” — Le Morte D’Arthur 

I swear, this review is all about Shakespeare and sheep, but it may take me a minute to get there.

See, last night one of my teenage twins randomly started talking about King Arthur. It was a fun, speculative monologue about how different, sometimes contradictory pieces of the legend appear at different points in British history, and how all these shifts in emphasis are difficult reconcile into a cohesive story.

“Maybe this is what’s really meant by Arthur living in a kind of suspended animation on the Isle of Avalon,” I suggested, when it was my turn to talk again. “Maybe we resurrect him — and change the story — whenever ‘England’ is questioning or needing to affirm certain core values.”

I share this super nerdy anecdote about my family’s weird dinner conversations, because the stories we tell over and over again always serve this rhetorical need, whether they’re fact or fantasy. We’re always refining our past and measuring new values against convention and, for better or worse, nothing’s more persuasive than old blades that cut true. Except for an old, rusty blade wielded by a wild-eyed nut who thinks it’s Excalibur. Either way, the metaphor holds up well enough when applied to Shakespeare’s pliable, popular, gender-wise comedy, As You Like It

As You Like It almost always lives up to its name. Memphians have often followed the misadventures of Rosalind, Orlando, and the exiled Duke, as well as various clowns, poets, farmers and professional wrestlers as they’ve journeyed from urban to rural environments looking for sanctuary or satisfaction only to discover love in its infinite variety. In recent decades we’ve been treated to a folksy version of the story set in the Old West and accompanied by melancholy string bands. We’ve seen it in a few surreal dreamscapes with accordions and jug bands. We’ve even seen it outdoors in suburban Shelby County.

Tennessee Shakespeare Company’s (TSC) revival is a charming affair with period music and costumes, and a lively atmosphere designed to conjure a romantic Elizabethan spirit. What it might lack in a unique point of view, it makes up in in clarity and accomplishment.

Tennessee Shakespeare is still settling into its new Trinity-Road home — a custom-built hall of glass and steel that wasn’t custom built for them. It previously housed Ballet Memphis before the dance company packed up camp and moved to Overton Square. The building was, as TSC’s founder Dan McCleary noted in a teary curtain speech, designed for bodies, not for the voice. But that’s all one. TSC is completely at home and comfortable in its identity as a classically oriented company doing the classics classically. The converted dance studio, a modest and intimate echo of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, provides this long peripatetic group, with a sense of stability and ownership it’s only occasionally found performing in borrowed spaces.

As You Like
It doesn’t need a unique point of view to say its piece about attraction, gender identity/politics, other kinds of politics, religion, pedantry, or the urban/rural divide. It does those things on its own, if you let it. A bit of non-traditional casting only reenforces what’s already there without calling too much attention to itself. 

For all of its wise fooling, and keen commentary on urban affairs, it’s often noted that As You Like It is also the closest Shakespeare ever came to writing a musical. The structure is all star-crossed love stories, melodrama, comedy routines, sports entertainment, and song.  Tennessee Shakespeare’s never hesitated to stop any of its shows with an ancient melody or jig, and if the inescapable sounds of Christmas haven’t already worn you out on “Greensleeves,” the song and dance aspect’s covered well enough. 

Sara Malinowski and Nicolas Durreaux Picou lead the tight and versatile ensemble and make a fine couple both as Orlando and Rosalind and Orlando and Ganymede. They are strongly supported by Stuart Heyman, Merit Koch, Marlon Finnie, Claire Hayner, Caley Milliken, Gabriel Vaughn, and a large ensemble of seasoned Shakespeareans.  Joey Miller.

Of all the great clowns, Touchstone’s probably my favorite. He shifts fluidly between so many classic comic types — the lawyer, the minister, the lover, the pedant, the poet, the brawler, and he’s an ever attentive servant to none but his own appetites. Paul Kiernan’s improvisations are forced, sometimes, but he’s keen to the funnyman’s word games and quick with a bit of classic fooling, and even a bit of sleight of hand. Touchstone’s misguided love affair with Audrey, the shepherdess, is an especially fun lampoon of the central story that speaks many silly, sad truths about affairs of the heart and affairs of the pants. 

I haven’t forgotten the promise of sheep. Though, it seldom appears in any serious commentary about the text, subtext, metatext etc., there can be little doubt that an As You Like It without sheep jokes isn’t an As You Like It worth sitting through. Whether one chooses to go blue and bawdy or green and wholesome, the opportunities presented by a pastoral (read “poop-mined”) environment are too good to pass up, though a surprising number of productions do just that. TSC’s given us a free-range affair where the wooly critters sometimes populate the entire stage, bleating, chewing their cud, and staring down the audience as only sheep can — Delivering an entire monologue’s worth of editorial content with a well placed “baa.” It’s the most lighthearted piece in a tightly wound show made of air and imagination.

Tennessee Shakespeare’s newest As You Like It may not be one for the ages. Though set in the present on a makeshift stage full of actors wearing antique and anachronistic fashion, it’s certainly not one for the moment. But it is both literally and figuratively one for all seasons, and for each of the seven ages of man — suitable for all weather and ACA compliant to boot. What’s not to like?

As You Liked It — Some past productions of Shakespeare’s comedy show just how flexible it can be. Theatre Memphis, Tennessee Shakespeare’s first production, Rhodes College, and Rhodes College.

Categories
News News Blog

Leaders Unveil a New Manassas, Safe for Bikes and Pedestrians

MMDC Streetscape from Allworld Media Group on Vimeo.

Leaders Unveil a New Manassas, Safe for Bikes and Pedestrians

Drive there today, and you’ll find a whole new Manassas.

The Medical-District street between Martin Luther King Jr. and Poplar has been completely changed after it was re-paved by the city in April. The re-imagining and renovation of the street is thanks to the city of Memphis and the Memphis Medical District Collaborative (MMDC).

The new street improvements were formally unveiled in a ceremony Wednesday morning.

The re-paving project shrank the former five-lane street to three “to better accommodate traffic flow from Poplar to MLK Avenues and added dedicated bike lanes to connect existing and future bicycle routes in the city.”

Memphis Medical District Collaborative

MMDC said the streetscape improvements to Manassas brought:

• Pedestrian bump-outs and crosswalks to provide additional visual cues to drivers to reduce speeds and watch for pedestrians and reduces crossing time and distance for pedestrians

• Concrete traffic domes further calm traffic and protect pedestrians

• Bike lane protections including wheel stops and posts to keep cyclists safe

• 70 self-watering planters to buffer traffic and beautify the landscape

• Trash and recycling cans

• High-visibility crosswalks

• Artistic crosswalk designed by Cat Peña in partnership with Anthony Lee and Kaleob Elkins

“Our priority was to create a safer street for all users – pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles — and we’re very proud of the results,” Susannah Barton, MMDC’s quality public spaces manager, said in a statement. “We hope that Manassas will serve as an example for street re-design projects throughout our city and help put Memphis on the map of cities making huge strides in creating great, safe streets.”

Nicholas Oyler, the city’s Bikeway and Pedestrian Program Manager, said Manassas “now boasts some of the most attractive and safest facilities for walking and bicycling of any street in Memphis.”

“What’s more, come spring the bike lanes on Manassas will connect with new bike lanes scheduled for installation on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, establishing a seamless connection by bike between Downtown, the Medical District, and Midtown.”

Categories
News News Blog

Responding to Allegations, XPO Announces New Policies, Investigation

In response to concern from House members about the company’s working conditions, XPO Logistics announced there will be an independent investigation into the allegations made and new policy for pregnant employees.

Shortly after 97 House members sent a letter to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce urging an investigation of the many allegations of “disturbing treatment” of employees at XPO’s warehouses around the country, including one here, the company responded in a Tuesday statement, saying it has “an absolute commitment to providing a safe workplace for all of our employees.”

“We take seriously recent allegations concerning one of our warehouses and have launched an independent investigation,” the statement said.

The investigation will be led by Tina Tchen of Buckley Sandler’s, a Chicago-based firm that specializes in unique litigation, counseling, and crisis management skills. Tchen, an expert in gender equity and workplace cultural compliance, will investigate the workplace conditions of the warehouse and make recommendations for improvement, according to XPO.

Meanwhile, the company said they are taking “proactive steps to enhance our policies” with more accommodations for expecting mothers.

“As a woman, and as part of the XPO family, you’re entitled to special consideration if you’re expecting a baby,” the beginning of the company’s new policy reads. “Instead of wondering how you’ll balance pregnancy and work, you can feel secure in your job”

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The new policies and benefits will provide increased support for pregnant employees, paid family leave, and 30 new types of wellness benefits for women and families. XPO said its new Pregnancy Care Policy is “among the most progressive in the industry,” and exceeds requirements set by federal, state, and local laws.

“Our new approach is tailor-made to provide the kind of support pregnant women need, without impact for any temporary change in the nature of their work,” XPO’s statement reads. “We look forward to sharing more details about the work we do to foster a culture of respect and information regarding the enhanced policies and benefits we are launching to support women and families with these representatives.”

Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen, one of the 97 House members who sent a letter to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Tuesday urging an investigation into claims against XPO, said he’s “encouraged” by XPO’s commitment to reform.

“I’m encouraged that XPO Logistics has made good on its commitment to me when we met in Memphis to make substantive reforms,” said Congressman Cohen. “I believe this is a step in the right direction, but we must continue to ensure that all workers are treated fairly, that the law reflects that and that companies across the country adhere to these core American values.”

XPO, which operates in 23 states, has faced several allegations of harassment, discrimination, and unsafe workplace conditions at its Verizon warehouse here in the past. In the last year, more than a dozen XPO employees around the country have filed Equal Employment Opportunity claims against the company relating to unsafe conditions.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 88, South Dakota State 80

If you remain curious about the Penny Hardaway Experiment with Memphis Tiger basketball, you had 13,583 reasons Tuesday night to believe it’s heading in the right direction. With South Dakota State in town — not so much a rival as an exotic outpost on the college basketball landscape — on a Tuesday night in early December, FedExForum welcomed more fans than attended any Tiger game during the 2017-18 season. The big crowd left happy, too, as the Tigers beat the Jackrabbits to end a two game losing streak and improve to 4-4 on the season.
Larry Kuzniewski

Alex Lomax

Freshman guard Tyler Harris hit four three-pointers and led the Tigers in scoring (along with senior guard Jeremiah Martin) with 22 points. Harris also drew three charges, defensive stops that energized his new coach as a young team seeks cohesiveness and a playing style that, Hardaway believes, will yield more wins than losses.

“It’s a huge win for us,” said Hardaway after the game. “You gotta get the first one coming off the road. A three-headed monster: Mike Daum [18 points], David Jenkins [35], and Skyler Flatten [13]. We knew what they were going to be, and they were as advertised. I’m proud of the guys for hanging in there. Guys got uncomfortable today and did things they weren’t used to doing, and we came away with a great team victory.”

As distant as South Dakota State may seem, the Jackrabbits have played longer seasons of late than Memphis, appearing in the NCAA tournament each of the last three years. They entered Tuesday’s contest with a 7-2 record and riding a four-game winning streak. Daum is an All-America candidate who carried averages of 24.1 points and 11.2 rebounds to tip-off. The Tigers held him to 18 and 4, respectively, primarily by getting him into early foul trouble, an objective Hardaway acknowledged following the game. “To keep him below his averages, we had to get him out of the game,” said Hardaway. “We planned to go at him on the post, and continue to put pressure on him.”

Isaiah Maurice came off the Memphis bench and scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked four shots in 20 minutes to counter Daum’s presence.
Larry Kuzniewski

Penny Hardaway

The Tigers fell behind early (10-5), but took the lead on a Kyvon Davenport three-pointer six minutes into the game. They extended the lead to eight points (40-32) by halftime and never trailed in the second half. South Dakota State committed 23 turnovers and shot 45 percent from the field (more than half the Jackrabbits’ shots were from three-point range). The Tigers shot 51 percent from the field and matched their own 17 turnovers with 17 assists (that ratio being an early-season concern).

“Coach Penny is never going to scoot down to our level,” said freshman guard Alex Lomax, who contributed 12 points in 29 minutes. “People are getting on the same page, even changing their games [to improve].”

“The teams we’ve played have helped point us in the right direction,” said Hardaway. Eight games in, Memphis has already faced a pair of Top 25 teams and multiple programs that played in the NCAA tournament last March. The Tigers’ next six games will be at FedExForum, starting with an old Conference USA rival — UAB — Saturday afternoon. (The Blazers beat Memphis last year in Birmingham.)

Their regular season having already reached the quarter pole, the Tigers have big-picture goals, but within a more narrow frame, one where progress can be more easily measured and quantified. Lomax summarized it nicely late Tuesday night: “We’re trying to win the month of December.”

Categories
News News Blog

Council Members Walk Out on Vote for District 1 Seat

Four Memphis City Council members walked out of the body’s Tuesday meeting after the council voted to open the floor back up to all six candidates vying for the vacant District 1 seat.

Resuming its November 20th meeting, the council began its 108th round of voting, deciding between the top two vote-getters from the previous meeting: Rhonda Logan, executive director of the Raleigh Community Development Corp., and Lonnie Treadaway, sales manager for Flinn Broadcasting Corp.

After one round of voting, the council appeared to be following a pattern similar to the November 20th meeting. Council members Ford Canale, Kemp Conrad, and Chairman Berlin Boyd passed, while Councilmen Worth Morgan, Frank Colvett, and Reid Hedgepeth voted for Treadaway, and Council members Joe Brown, Jamita Swearengen, Patrice Robinson, and Martavious Jones supported Logan.

Two rounds in, Conrad made a motion to open the process back up to all candidates, but that idea was shot down by Robinson and Jones, who both said that would be “unfair” and inconsistent with the council’s rules.

“We have a candidate here that the community has asked for,” Robinson said. “The community deserves to have the candidate they want no the one that we want.”

Jones encouraged his colleagues to be “fair and consistent” in how the council appoints new members, saying that when Canale was appointed to the council in May, the process was simpler. “We didn’t even ask questions of Mr. Canale or any of the other candidates.”

“So for us to apply different standards here is unfair and inconsistent,” Jones said. “We are not in a position to vet who the people want.”

Looking blindly at the candidates on paper, “taking names and faces away,” Jones said “there is no way that anybody would not vote for Ms. Logan.”

The motion to open up the floor to the other four candidates again passed, prompting Jones, Swearengen, Robinson, and Brown to simultaneously pack their belongings and leave the council chambers. Members of the audience cheered and applauded, as the meeting was forced to suspend due to there no longer being a quorum present. Seven members are needed for a quorum.

Outside of the chambers, Jones said the council’s vote to open the floor back up “goes against all the rules that we set forth as a rule-making body.”

“Instead of participating in what we feel is a sham process, we just chose to walk out,” Jones said. “You have a person that has been entrenched in this community practically for all her life. Let’s take race and gender out of it and look at these candidates on paper.

“How could any of my colleagues support someone who just eight months ago was living in an entirely different state and think that person is the best to represent District 1? It’s an insult to all of the voters.”

Jones attributed the council’s inability to reach a decision to the disproportionate representation of African Americans on the council. In a 65 percent African-American city, Jones said there should be at least eight or nine African American council members.

“Our current structure allows for us to have a very thin 7-6 majority,” Jones said. “I don’t know how much this is being motivated by race.”

“At the very least,” Jones said the seat should be filled by someone who has lived in and is invested in the community rather than someone “who decided to relocate just to be an opportunist.”

“If any of my colleagues could articulate why on paper Treadaway is the better candidate than Ms. Logan in a clear, concise manner, it may change my mind,” Jones said.

As of press time, the four council members had not returned in order for the meeting to resume. This means the council’s meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 4th has not yet been called to order.

After meeting with the council attorney Allen Wade, the remaining six council members returned to the chambers. Morgan made a motion to ask attorneys for the city and Memphis Light, Gas, and Water to take the issue to Chancery Court in order to compel the four council members who walked out to attend a subsequent meeting and tend to other council business. Legal action could be taken later this week, Boyd said.

In the meantime, the council will have a standing meeting every day beginning Wednesday until there is a quorum. The standing meetings could extend into the weekend, Boyd said.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Locally-made Delta Sunshine beer hits Memphis

Nate Carter, Todd Paden and Allison ‘Sunny’ Higi of Delta Sunshine Brewery.

Meet Delta Sunshine — a new line of locally brewed beers, which recently hit the Memphis restaurant/bar scene.

“We just launched here in Memphis and we’re getting ready to go in some other markets soon,” says Todd Paden, founder and president of Delta Sunshine Brewing Co. The beer is designed for craft beer drinkers as well as “people who might not necessarily be a craft beer drinker all the time. It’s a beer that’s locally made that meets what they’re looking for in terms of a great, well-made, sessionable beer.”

For now, the beer, which is being sold through Athens Distributing Co., will be served on draft in restaurants and bars. “We wanted these beers to complement what restaurants do. (They) have some good body and flavor going on. And won’t take away from the great food that these people are creating in restaurants around town.”

Later, they will go into retail, but “it’s on down the road quite a ways.”

Paden’s family is from the Mississippi Delta, hence the name “Delta Sunshine,” he says. “The sunshine — the sunrises and sunsets — are some of the best in the world.”

The first three beers they’ve introduced are Hwy 61, Toll Booth Amber, and Room 414 Pale Ale.

Hwy. 61 is for beer drinkers who “want a nice, easy, clean, pilsner/lager beer.”

Toll Booth Amber is “more of a malt-based beer. We used five malts and three hops in it. So, what that creates is a nice coffee/based, bread, biscuity-type aroma when you’re smelling it. And it finishes nice and clean based on the hops that we used.”

Room 414 Pale Ale is “for the beer drinkers that like a hoppier beer. The hops that we chose build and have a nice floral aroma.”

It “finishes clean,” And it’s a hoppy beer that people can “enjoy more than one.”

Where did “Room 414” come from? “That’s the room that Robert Johnson recorded his first album in in Texas.”

The Delta blues figure as much as “sunshine” in their beer. Delta Sunshine Brewing will promote, support, and embrace blues artists from the Mississippi Delta. The brewery is committed to supporting groups that provide support and education to children in the Mississippi Delta area.

For now, Delta Sunshine beers are being brewed at City Brewery, the “old Coors, Schlitz plant on Raines Road.”

Brewers, he says, “can come in and use their equipment, basically. It’s state of the art. The best equipment you could possibly work with.”

Allison “Sunny” Higi, their brewmaster, “has her degree in biochemistry from Purdue. She was a scientist first.”

Paden grew up in the bar/restaurant business. His dad, Bill Paden, opened the original High Cotton on Cooper, South of Union. “My partner, Nate Carter, and I have spent every day since college in some kind of food service sales. We know restaurants really well and are able to go in and work with staff and talk to the customers.”

Delta Sunshine beer now is available at Central BBQ – Downtown, Local on the Square and Local on Main, The Green Beetle, Bardog Tavern, Aldo’s Pizza Pies, Slider Inn, Venice Kitchen, B. B. King’s Blues Club & Grill, Raffe’s Deli, Lucchesi’s Beer Garden, Young Avenue Deli, Amerigo Italian Restaurant, and The Casual Pint.

Categories
News News Blog

Projects On Deck for Former MCA Property, Cooper-Young

Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board

Two new projects would transform a familiar Midtown corner and connect a now-disconnected Midtown street.

Officials with both projects will seek approval by the Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board on Thursday, Jan. 10th.

Poplar Art Lofts
Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board

Memphis College of Art will close in 2020. Earlier this year, school officials began selling its many buildings, apartments, and studios.

Poplar Art Lofts LLC said its partners intend to buy the property at the corner of Poplar and Tucker (just across the street form Overton Park) demolish the buildings there, and build a new, six-story, $18 million apartment building.

Google Maps

“My clients intend to purchase the property, demolish the existing structures, and construct a six-story, 120-unit residential building with all the modern conveniences and appurtenances desired in today’s market,” reads a letter of intent from Cory Brady, of Integrated Land Solutions.

The letter said the design is for a “podium-style” building, which look much like those like the Madison@McLean project and The Citizen at Union and McLean.

Amenties at the proposed Poplar Art Lofts would include a pool, fitness room, executive business center, and a rooftop terrace.

Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board

Cooper Station
Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board

Elzey Partners is planning to build a planned development on the site of the former Christie Cut Stone facility on Elzey in Cooper-Young.

That development would include 18 detached, single-family homes with minimum lot sizes of 3,200 square feet. Developers said the project would be “very similar” to the one just west, a section of newer homes locals call “New Elzey.” Each lot would have a garage or carport with access from an alleyway behind the homes.

Google Maps

Where Elzey ends on the ‘New Elzey’ side (looking east).

Google Maps

Where Elzey ends on the other side (looking west).

The Cooper Station project would connect the “New Elzey” section with Elzey. It is now split by a wall and an empty field. Elzey would be extended through and the homes would line a median to be built in the middle of a the newly built section of the street.

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

This Week At The Cinema: Movie Trivia, Jookin, and White Christmas.

Memphis Majic

Tuesday night at Malco Ridgeway, a Memphis Hometowner documentary gets an encore performance. Memphis Majic, directed by Eddie Bailey, tells the story of jookin, the Memphis street dance that took over the world. If you missed it at Indie Memphis, now is your chance to rectify that situation! Tickets are available now at the indie Memphis website.

This Week At The Cinema: Movie Trivia, Jookin, and White Christmas.

Across town at Crosstown Arts is Indie Memphis’ Annual Holiday Film Trivia Contest. For the first time, I will be co-hosting with the event’s longtime master of questions, Commercial Appeal film critic John Beifuss. There will be prizes for the winning teams, complimentary food and beverages, and other surprises. So, come out and test your knowledge of film past and present! Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with trivia smackdown commencing at 7 p.m.

Here’s a little hint for all you trivia heads out there:

This Week At The Cinema: Movie Trivia, Jookin, and White Christmas. (4)

On Wednesday, December 5th, the Memphis premiere of an acclaimed Japanese anime feature. Mirai is a family story about a boy who is jealous of his new baby sister, until a little time travel intervenes. Director Mamoru Hosoda’s seventh film has been wildly successful in Japan, and will probably be on the short list for animation Oscars in America this year. The film premieres at the Paradiso and Malco Collierville at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

This Week At The Cinema: Movie Trivia, Jookin, and White Christmas. (2)

Then on Sunday, Dec. 9th, Turner Classic Movies presents the holiday classic White Christmas. The 1954 film was directed by Casablanca helmer Michael Curtiz, and stars Bing Crosby revisiting his Irving Berlin-penned Christmas song from Holiday Inn, which won the Best Song Oscar in 1942. Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, and Vera Ellen round out the cast. The Crosby version of the title song is the best-selling single of all time, with an estimated 50 million units moved worldwide. Here’s a little taste from YouTube, which does not do justice to Paramount’s 70 mm VistaVision image.

This Week At The Cinema: Movie Trivia, Jookin, and White Christmas. (3)

See you at the movies! 

Categories
News News Blog

Explore Bike Share Cranks 25K Rides in Six Months

Explore Bike Share

More than 25,500 bike trips have been taken on Explore Bike Share (EBS) bikes since the city-wide system launched here nearly six months ago, according to new figures from the group.

EBS also shared heat maps (see below) to show where most of those rides were taken. Downtown is easily the top neighborhood for EBS rides. But riders also explored Midtown and West Memphis on many rides, according to the map.

Explore Bike Share

“You can clearly see paths of travel between communities across the city and high usage within many neighborhoods, even along the Greenline into Shelby Farms and the Big River Trail in Arkansas,” Trey Moore, EBS executive director said in a statement. “Explore Bike Share is for transportation, recreation, and of course exploration, so it’s incredibly inspiring to see such robust interconnectivity.”

Here are the system’s top six most popular stations:

1. Big River Crossing
2. Overton Park
3. Beale St. Landing
4. Court Square
5. Loflin Yard
6. Crosstown Concourse

Altogether, the 25,522 rides taken on EBS bikes between May 23rd and November 28th have taken riders 81,445 miles and burned about 3.2 million calories, according to EBS.

EBS plans to expand to the University of Memphis campus and the University District next year.

Explore Bike Share

Midtown and Overton Park

Explore Bike Share

South end of Downtown and Big River Crossing

Explore Bike Share

Downtown Core.

Explore Bike Share

North end of Downtown

Explore Bike Share

Downtown and West Memphis