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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Feelin’ Groggy: How to Make a Sailor Happy

I never thought much about rum until about eight years ago. While writing an article about the local Delta Sailing Association, the Commodore pointed out that I couldn’t properly do the piece unless I knew how to sail. Fair point, but I suspect he was just short of crew that day. At any rate, once you start hanging around with sailors, you start to form opinions about rum.

It was “America’s drink” long before bourbon whiskey reigned supreme. Old Naval lore is drowning in the stuff — Churchill never made the “Rum, sodomy, and the lash” quip, but someone did. The Royal Navy didn’t officially abolish the sailor’s daily rum ration until 1971. In a boozy counter-point to American’s Whiskey Rebellion of 1791-94, Australia’s Rum Rebellion, in 1808, was more or less successful.

The triggering gripe was that the local soldiers didn’t like the governor of New South Wales, one William Bligh, because he cut off their supply of cheap rum. If the name is familiar, it’s the same William Bligh who commanded the HMS Bounty until that infamous munity in 1789, where the crew set him and a few others adrift in the south Pacific without food, water, or topsiders. The salty bastard survived somehow, so naturally he was made governor of a penal colony. In no time, the Australians hated him as much as everyone else who’d ever met the guy.

It’s worth noting that in the vast annals of business books, there is not one called Management Secrets of Captain Bligh.

Still, with stories like that floating around, what little boy, standing on white sandy beaches of Destin, hasn’t looked out on the Gulf Coast and said, “Golly, those old fellers used to get pretty gassed on something called grog. What was that all about?” Although it’s possible that was only me.

Like a lot of cocktails invented by the British military-industrial complex, grog was essentially just spiked medicine. The official Royal Navy recipe was simple: half a barrel of water, half a barrel of rum, and a quart of lime juice. The rum “sterilized” (sort of) the water, provided a mild pain-killer, and helped the average jack-tar to NOT think about his grim lot in life. The quart of lime juice provided much needed Vitamin C that acted as a hedge against scurvy, thus extending the sailor’s misery.

The problem is that, if you haven’t been press-ganged into the navy, grog is actually awful. So how to make a civilian version? The first step is to lighten it up: use soda instead of still water, keep the ratio about the same: one-part water, one-part rum. Give it a good squeeze of lime, more than a twist. Use dark rum — it’s more interesting. The light stuff has too much of a tiki torch/beach party vibe and no sense of adventure.

There are some fine rums out there that aren’t getting the same attention as bourbon, tequila, or, more recently, gin. Rhum Barbancourt 15 is regarded as one of the best in the world. Interestingly, as it’s produced in Haiti, a country not known for producing the best of anything. It will set you back about $53 and is available at various liquor stores around town. Worth every penny, yes, but too fine for grog.

For cocktails, the middle way is best. For my money, at $18.99, Gosling’s Dark Seal Rum is perfect for the job. Mount Gay also makes a great bottle at $24.99.

Around the same price point, I have a soft spot for Flor de Caña, made in Nicaragua. While in Managua, I managed to run smack into in what they call “social unrest” down there. The story would be a lot better if I hadn’t been using my father as interpreter — he grounded me from going to the riot. Which is why you should never take your father on assignment. Still, Flora de Caña always makes me a tad nostalgic.

Categories
News News Blog

Crosstown Arts Opens Membership-Based Co-Work Space for Artists

CREDIT: Crosstown Arts

Crosstown Arts

A musician works in the sound lab

A new membership-based shared art work space is now open in Crosstown Concourse.

The Crosstown Arts’ Shared Art Making Facility, located on the ground floor of the building, is like a gym for artists, officials with Crosstown Arts said Wednesday. The idea is to offer art-making equipment and software to the public that they may not have the financial resources to purchase or space to house.

Kasey Price, a tech at the facility, said the space is for anyone with a passion for art.

Crosstown Arts

Work in the woodshop

“Shared Art Making is a place for people to work on creative projects and for those who need access to professional equipment,” Price said. “It’s really for anyone who has passion and focus about their art, whether it’s composing a beat or laser-etching a coffee mug.”

The shared work space has equipment for digital arts, music production, woodworking, printmaking, photography, and other art forms. The digital lab houses seven iMac stations, all with the full Adobe software suite, large-format printers, a laser cutter, vinyl cutter, and industrial sewing machine. The wood shop includes a CNC router for precision cutting, power tools, work tables, and common hand tools.

There’s also a sound lab with private work spaces and equipment for music recording, as well as editing bays and equipment for video work. A silkscreen studio provides tools to create and screen-print images for projects like, T-shirts and graphic posters.

Crosstown Arts

Artist working in the space’s sound lab

“We’ve seen artists use the equipment in a lot of fun ways — a rabbit house, laser-etching images into a banana peel, a vinyl chicken woman, and drawer partitions,” Jamie Harmon, Shared Art Making manager, said.

Memberships are $80 per month, if paid on a month-to-month basis, and $75 per month with an annual membership. Members can be artists of any skill level, but must be 18 years or older.

The facility will also allow members to host classes for the public in their area of expertise.


The studio is open Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m; Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday, noon-6 p.m.

See more of the space below. 

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We Recommend We Saw You

Midtown Halloween party – on Halloween. Plus Burger Fest, RiverArtsFest and more!

CREDIT: Jon W. Sparks

Jon W. Sparks

People dress like me on Halloween, so I know what Dracula, Frankenstein, Spiderman and Spongebob must feel like on Oct. 31. This year, Coliseum Coalition president Roy Barnes .dressed as me and he and filmmaker Mike McCarthy passed out candy on McCarthy’s porch on Halloween.

I wondered if anybody still celebrated Halloween with a party on Halloween. Not the weekend closest to Halloween, but on Halloween.

So, on a whim, I asked some costume-clad revelers leaving Kroger at Union when I was in there October 27th if they knew of a Halloween party taking place on October 31st.

Sarah Thompson said residents at University of Tennessee were having a party on Halloween night in Midtown. I asked if I could cover it. She texted a few days later and said the host would love for me to attend.

On a dark and stormy night, I parked near the house. The party was at the home of Travis Kauffman and Jill Palchinsky. Spooky lights and headstones graced the front yard.

Palchinksy said she and Kauffman and most of the other guests were pediatricians.

“We’re not pediatricians,” Kauffman told Palchinksy. “Because you’re a maid and I’m a bellhop.”

He explained their costumes to me. “We’re Disney-themed characters. I’m the bellhop from the House of Terror. She’s the maid from the Haunted Mansion.”

When he got out of character, Kauffman said they all love children – obviously – and they have lots of trick-or-treaters.


This is the third year they’ve held the Halloween party, he said.

I took a photo of their great-looking front yard, got in my car and drove off – only to find out I had a flat. That was my Halloween surprise. Three nails in the tire. I called my insurance company and they sent Mow Decher with Flash Roadside Service to change my tire. Wearing a Halloween costume, Decher put on the donut.

I rounded out the evening by watching the second episode of “Chilling Adventures of 

Sabrina,” gratified people still celebrate Halloween on Halloween.

Michael Donahue

Jill Palchinsky and Travis Kauffman

Michael Donahue

Mow Decher of Flash Roadside Service wore a Halloween costume while she worked on Oct. 31.

………………

Michael Donahue

Meat Me in Memphis

Meat Me in Memphis is an event I look forward to each year. It’s not your average party.

It’s the sole fundraising event for the Monogram Loves Kids Foundation, which was created as part of the commitment by Monogram Food Solutions to give back to the community.

Area chefs served dishes made from one Monogram Foods product as well as signature items from their restaurants.

Silent and live auctions were included. Entertainment was by the extremely talented members of Sound Fuzion from University of Memphis.

This year’s event was October 25th at The Columns. The Memphis grant recipients included Girls Inc., Palmer Home for Children, Memphis Child Advocacy Center, and Church Health.

Over the last seven years of Meat Me in Memphis events, almost 90 percent of all funds went directly to the charities selected by the team members.

And, according to Monogram Foods communications coordinator Alix de Witt, this year’s event was a success: “We had about 700 attendees and we raised over $60,000.”

Michael Donahue

ASBEE Kosher BBQ Competition and Festival

……………..

I’ve been a judge many times at the ASBEE Kosher BBQ Competition and Festival at Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth Congregation. This year I judged the brisket. I had a blast, as usual.

Apparently, this year’s event, which included Kosher dill pickle eating contests, set records. It was held October 21th.

They had a record number of barbecue teams, says Martha Wagerman, chair of the judging tent. They had 40 this year. “That’s more than normal,” she says. “Usually, it’s around the 35 mark.”

And, says Wagerman, former executive of Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth women’s congregation, “As far as guest visitors there, my understanding is that it was one of the biggest crowds they ever had. They said something about 6,000 or 7,000.”

Michael Donahue

ASBEE Kosher BBQ Competition and Festival

………….
Michael Donahue

Pat Kerr Tigrett and her guests watched the bridge lighting from her penthouse.

Pat Kerr Tigrett held a soiree at her downtown penthouse apartment to watch the unveiling of the new lights on the Hernando de Soto Bridge.

The invitation to the October 27th soiree read, “Please come to cocktails at sunset! To celebrate the bridge and its exciting new look.”

And, it read, “Ol’ Man River got lit – (for the first time) – 32 years ago creating a bright, welcoming iconic bridge for our great river city. This memorable evening was co-chaired by Henry Turley and Pat Kerr Tigrett.”

It was her idea to light up the bridge more than three decades ago, Tigrett says.

“It was,” Tigrett says. “I was living in London and all the bridges were lit beautifully. And Paris and all over Europe. And they’re so pretty. And that ‘M’ bridge was built in ‘73, the year John (Burton Tigrett) and I married.’”

She thought: “This is ridiculous. The only lights on the bridge at night – it was so black and dark – were the Memphians returning at 11 from the racetrack. That was it.”

Tigrett says she said to then city mayor Dick Hackett, “We really need to put some lights on the bridge.”

She also mentioned it to then state senator Jim Sasser one evening when he was visiting at her penthouse. “He walked out on the patio and he was talking about the expanse of the river and the view. It really is spectacular and it changes every day.”

Tigrett said they really ought to have lights on the bridge.

She says Sasser told her, “You know, I believe this will be a menace to aviation if we do not light this bridge.”

“He was teasing,” Tigrett says.

Hackett told Tigrett the next day, “OK. Are you ready to be in charge of this?”

He said, “Henry Turley is going to help you.”

Asked what she thought of the new, colorful LED lights on the bridge, Tigrett says, “I like this, really. They have a lot of energy and excitement about them. I just love the whole thing. I particularly like the way that they’ve left the lights where the original lights were. So, when it isn’t in colors and doing things and celebrating holidays or whatever it is – football or basketball wins – it reverts back to the simplistic, sort of charming lights like it’s been for 32 years.

“They invited me to come down to see the early rendering of it. I said, ‘I have one request.”

She wanted them to put the LED lights in the same places they put the old sodium vapor lights.

They originally sold 1,000 lights at $200 a piece, Tigrett says. A plaque near the escalator at Mud Island River Park lists the names of those donors, she says. “ A couple wrote the sweetest letter to me saying, ‘I cannot thank you enough. We come down every night and sit in Tom Lee Park where it’s very peaceful and watch our son’s light come on.’”

When they began replacing the old lights with new ones, Pat asked if she could have the old ones. “What I want to do is to have something for all the people and give them back their light.”

Michael Donahue

Tigrett treated guests to a colorfuly-lit buffet to match the colorfully lit Hernando de Soto bridge.

Michael Donahue

A colorful sunset preceded the colorful Hernando de Soto bridge ‘unveiling.’

Michael Donahue

RiverArtsFest

………..

Pittsburgh-based artist Matthew Naftzger was impressed with this year’s revamped RiverArtsFest. Instead of scattered about on South Main and its side streets, this year’s event lined up the booths side-by-side on both sides of North Riverside Drive.

“It lets the show be the show,” says Naftzger, whose paintings were for sale. “People get to fully experience the show for itself. Instead of looking at six booths and going, ‘Oh, let’s go to a restaurant,’ I felt it became a more enveloping experience – the show and the river.”

RiverArtsFest creative director/scholarships coordinator Chuck Mitchell says, “I think it went great with the new location. I’m not sure yet if it’s a record. Everybody loved it. We hated to lose our community we had grown with – South Main – all those years, but with hotel construction and trolley construction, we lost 50 or 60 booths and really had to move somewhere.”

Artists were pleased with the new location, he says. “It didn’t hurt we had great weather both days.”

RiverArtsFest will be at the same location next year, Mitchell says. After that? “We’re going to evaluate and see.”

Michael Donahue

Jeremy Klubeck and Matthew Naftzger at RiverArtsFest

……………..

Michael Donahue

Jeff Ayers at Burger Fest

The slider eating contest at this year’s Burger Fest, which was held October 27th at Tiger Lane, was a bit different. Memphis area high school coaches were the contestants.

Chris Clark, assistant coach at Germantown High School, was the contest winner.

Michael Donahue

Mayor Jim Strickland and Slider-eating champion Chris Clark at Burger Fest.

……………
Michael Donahue

Lexi Perkins

…………..

Michael Donahue

Members of Kappa Sigma fraternity from University of Memphis held its ‘Autumn Leaves’ fundraiser for St. Jude’s Up Till Dawn.

Bayley Shields, president of Kappa Sigma fraternity at University of Memphis, loves pumpkin latte and “pretty much anything pumpkin,” he says. “Anything harvest theme.”


And, he says, “I’m all about Fall.”

So, it was fitting that Kappa Sigma’s fundraiser, which was held October 26th at Pimento’s, was titled “Autumn Leaves.”

It featured artwork by Lexi Perkins, Cheeto Ryan and Kyle Owens.

Proceeds from the event went to St. Jude Up Till Dawn, says Doug McClew, Kappa grand master of ceremonies.

Michael Donahue

Cheeto Ryan

Michael Donahue

Kyle Owens

       

[slideshow-1]

Categories
News News Blog

New Plan Reboots Marine Hospital

CREDIT: Downtown Memphis Commission

Downtown Memphis Commission

Developers are hoping, once again, to revive the former U.S. Marine Hospital in the French Fort area this time with a $18.7 million project that includes 71 apartments.

The hospital was originally established in the 1880s to care for workers injured on waterways. Only one building — the Nurses Quarters — remains on the property from that time, however. Most of the remaining buildings, including the main hospital building there now, were built in the 1930s, according to the property’s owners. The hospital’s latest official use was as a National Guard headquarters during Operation Desert Storm.

Downtown Memphis Commission

In 2010, a plan to renovate the hospital with condominiums was scuttled by the faltering economy. In 2016, another plan would have converted the space into low-income housing. But the plan was vacated because property owner Lauren Crews didn’t like it and opposition was expected by French Fort neighbors and the Ornamental Metal Museum, according to documents.

Crews still owns the property and is back with a new plan and a new team to convert the long-vacant property. The plan would create 71 market-rate apartments with a pool, covered parking, courtyards, water features, fallout shelter, bike-care facilities, common areas, and a pet-washing station.

Downtown Memphis Commission

To do it, Crews’ company, Desoto Pointe Partners, hopes to score a 20-year tax break deal with the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC). In a letter to the DMC, Crews said the project qualifies for the 24-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) deal, though he understands the usual term is 15 years. However, Crews said “the additional years are needed to make the project possible.”

The deal would be worth more than $3.6 million to the investment group, according to its application, over the 20-year PILOT term. Over that same time, the project would add $1.2 million more to local tax coffers than the property would if it wasn’t improved, according to the application.

DMC staff recommended the PILOT deal for the project in its report.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Three Thoughts on Tiger Football

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

• What kind of difference will four weeks make? It seems like a month since the Tigers have taken the field at the Liberty Bowl. (Because it’s been a month since the Tigers took the field at the Liberty Bowl.) At kickoff on October 13th (against UCF), the Tigers were clinging to hope in their effort to repeat as American Athletic Conference West Division champs. But the 31-30 loss to the Knights gave Memphis three league losses and all but extinguished those hopes. The Tigers absorbed a drubbing at Missouri the following week, followed by a bye and finally a road win — their first — last Saturday at East Carolina.
Larry Kuzniewski

Darrell Henderson

The Tigers will host Tulsa (2-7) four days after Penny Hardaway’s Tigers tipped off their much-anticipated season and a day after the Memphis women’s soccer team hosts Wisconsin in a first-round NCAA tournament game at Mike Rose Soccer Complex. Yes, the case could be made that Saturday’s football game is the week’s third-most significant event involving blue-clad Tigers. And, once more, a weak sister on the other sideline. Add the Golden Hurricane’s record to those of the four FBS teams Memphis has beaten and you have a combined mark of 9-35. But it’s a Catch 22 this season. The Tiger defense isn’t fit to beat prime competition, so a happy exit from the Liberty Bowl for local fans seems to require bottom-feeding competition. It will be interesting to see not just the attendance figure Saturday morning (kickoff is 11 a.m.), but the mood of those in the stands.

• The Darrell Henderson story continues to thrill. Henderson ran for 132 yards and scored three touchdowns last week at East Carolina, but it actually didn’t feel like a Darrell Henderson game. Perhaps this is because only one of his scores covered more than 50 yards (the others were merely 20 yards and 39 yards). This is how skewed our perspective — or at least my perspective — has become in the season’s ongoing highlight reel. Henderson’s 1,280 yards are the most in Memphis history (single season) by a man not named DeAngelo Williams. His career total of 2,916 is second only to Williams’ 6,026. (Read that latter figure again, in case you’ve forgotten just how great a college player Williams was.) Henderson has scored 18 touchdowns (tied for tops in the country) and two more trips to the end zone will tie him with Anthony Miller on the Tigers’ career chart with 40 (second to Williams’s 60). He actually has a chance to break one of Williams’s records: 23 touchdowns in a single season (2004).

Henderson is third in the country with 44 plays of at least 10 yards (behind two wide receivers). He’s had 15 plays go at least 30 yards and nine at least 50. The numbers are as silly as they seem. Enjoy every Henderson carry (or catch) the rest of the season. He may be playing on Sundays a year from now.

• How soft has the Tiger defense become? Well, the numbers (and rankings) are ugly. Out of 130 FBS programs, Memphis ranks 95th in scoring defense, allowing 31.6 points per game. The Tigers are 86th in total defense (417.2 yards per game) and 80th in opponents’ third-down conversions (40.4 percent). Memphis has allowed 132 plays of at least 10 yards, also 80th in the country.

The good news? The Tigers are on track to score 500 points for the fourth year in a row, thus the 5-4 record to date. But the U of M requires a significant transformation on the defensive side of the ball before we return to a discussion of Top 25 possibilities.

Categories
News News Blog

Memphians Vote Against Longer Term Limits, Repeal of Runoff Voting

Memphis voters said no to all three Memphis City Council-related referendums on Tuesday’s ballot.

The controversial questions asked voters to extend term limits for the mayor and city council members, to repeal instant runoff voting (a system 71 percent of voters approved in 2008), and to eliminate runoff voting in single council districts.

About 60 percent of voters said no to elected officials serving three consecutive four-year terms in office. There were 101,607 no votes and 67,220 yes votes.

Shelby County Election Commission

Shelby County Election Commission

Voters also said no to repealing instant runoff voting, with 62,316 votes in favor of the repeal and 104,431 — or 63 percent — against it.

Shelby County Election Commission

Shelby County Election Commission

Finally, 54 percent of voters, or 91,183 voted against eliminating runoff elections in single council districts, while 77,243 voters voted for the elimination.

Shelby County Election Commission

Shelby County Election Commission

This comes after the city council voted late last month to fund a public education campaign related to the three ballot questions. Council Chairman Berlin Boyd said Tuesday that the Carter Malone group was contracted to implement the campaign, and that he was unaware of how the campaign was actually carried out.

The group Save Instant Run-off Memphis said in a Tuesday-night Tweet that the “landslide victories” show that voters understand and support IRV.

“Local leaders should unequivocally end obstruction of democracy and work to implement these voter led initiatives without hesitation,” the group said on Twitter. “Memphis has spoke loud and clear.”

Memphians Vote Against Longer Term Limits, Repeal of Runoff Voting

For more coverage of Tuesday’s election results, see Jackson Baker’s report here. 

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

Election 2018: Winners, Losers, and Close Calls

CREDIT: JB

JB

The thrill of victory was experienced by (l to r) Aaron Fowles, Steve Mulroy, and Racquel Collins, opponents of the losing referendum to repeal Instranr Runoff Voting.

Note: For reasons that remain obscure, the following text, published in the early morning of November 7, vanished from online, to be replaced by an earlier election-highlights brief that was posted on election night itself. I am happy to see the longer piece, like Lazarus, freed from untimely interment and restored. — jb

When the final report was done, the last round poured, the surviving hors-d’oeuvres wilted, the election results locally mirrored those nationally. There were lots of near misses, college tries, and moral victories — mainly among Democrats who had aspired to overturn the verdict of 2016 (or, in many ways, of the last few decades).

But the inherent limitations of the near miss, the college try, and the moral victory would rapidly become obvious as the reality of defeat and the resilience of the status quo sunk in.

The purest and most unsullied triumph locally was enjoyed by the band of activists in Save IRV Memphis and their sympathizers, who resisted a concentrated effort by the Memphis City Council on behalf of three ballot referenda that, the activists contended, were designed to protect the incumbency of Council members.

To start there, the count was 62,316 for and 104,431 against in the case of Ordinance No. 5669, which would have repealed the prior 2008 referendum authorizing IRV (a method of vote -counting that successively redistributes runner-up votes in a given race until a majority winner emerges). The vote was 67,220 for and 101,607 against for Ordinance No. 5676, which (via language that was ambivalent, to say the least) would have lengthened term limits for mayor and Council members from two to three four-year terms. And Ordinance No. 5677, which would have abolished runoff elections altogether, lost out by a vote of 77,223 for and 91,184 against.
The Democratic candidates, all first-time candidates, who attempted to oust Republican state legislators in the suburbs, made a good run of it, but fell short. In the most avidly watched race, Gabby Salinas, the three-time cancer survivor and budding scientist lost to incumbent District 31 state Senator Brian Kelsey by the relatively narrow margin of 40,313 for Kelsey to 38,793 for Salinas.

Republican incumbent Mark White turned back Democrat Danielle Schonbaum in the District 83 House of Representatives race, 15,129 to 11,376. And incumbent GOP state Representative Jim Coley defeated Democrat Allan Creasy by a vote of 12,298 to 10,073 in District 97.

More decisive victories were won by Republican incumbent Kevin Vaughan over Democear Sanjeev Memula in House District 95 and by the GOP’s Tom Leatherwood (a ballot replacement for the late Ron Lollar) over Democrat Dave Cambron in District 99.

Democratic state Rep. Dwayne Thompson, an upset winner in 2016 in House District 96, retained his seat by a vote of 14,710 over 10,493 for Republican challenger Scorr McCormick.

In the races for Governor and the U.S. Senate, local totals were:

For Governor: Democrat Karl Dean, 173,699; Republican Bill Lee, 105,369
For U.S. Senator: Democrat Phil Bredesen, 188,923; Republican Marsha Blackburn, 95,351.

Those local totals were almost diametrically opposite the statewide ones, which showed resounding victories for Lee over Dean, 1,291,458 (59.3 percent) to 846,186 (38.8 percent); and for Blackburn over Bredesen, 1,224,042 (54.7 percent) to 981,667 (43.9 percent).

Though arguments on the point can and will rage indecisively, the statewide results possibly reflected the natural dispositions of red-state Tennessee in cases where the Democratic challenge is muted by politesse. Dean and Lee reciprocated their gentlemanly approaches to each other, while Bredesen’s acknowledgement of partisan differences was minimal to the point of non-existence.

Bredesen surely qualifies for the 2018 “Oh, Yeah?” award for his mid-race statement to Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: “I’m in the fortunate position that people on the left are enraged enough that they will find almost anything I do, with the D after my name, acceptable.”
Count that as arrogance or as self-deception. It was demonstrably incorrect.

Bredesen’s public embrace of President Trump’s Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh and his suggestion in a late ad that he and Trump (“a skilled negotiator”) could blissfully work together to lower drug prices were downers to his base, whereas Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s throwdown of the gauntlet to Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race almost brought him a victory. Texas is clearly no more liberal a place than Tennessee.

The local difference in the gubernatorial and Senate races manifestly arose from the demographics of Shelby County, where Democratic turnout was at levels approximating those of presidential years. The stout showing of the Democratic challengers in legislative races was also buoyed by the turnout, a continuation of sorts of the blue wave that crested so strong in the august election.

The turnout factor was also prominent in the blowout win of 9th District Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen over GOP perennial Charlotte Bergmann, 143,690 to 34,710, though it was not too much help to Democratic challenger Erika Stotts Pearson in the wider West Tennessee expanse of the 8th Congressional District, where Republican incumbent David Kustoff triumphed, 66,889 to 32,578.

More to Come:

There were races in most of Shelby County’s suburban municipalities, too — the most dramatic being those in Germantown and Lakeland, where the issues of city spending and economic development loomed large.

In Germantown, Mayor Mike Palazzolo apparently won reelection by the razor-thin margin of 10,240 to 10,113 for challenger John Barzizza, who declined to concede, pending a final certification of results. The main issue in the mayoral contest was Palazzolo’s backing of Thornwood, a mixed-use development on Germantown Parkway.

Meanwhile, Palazzo’s coattails proved unavailing for two candidates he endorsed for city positions: Scott Sanders, a Barzizza endorsee, defeated Brian White in an alderman’s race, while Robyn Rey Rudisill lost a School Board race to angela Rickman Griff. Two other mayoral endorsees, Alderman Mary Anne Gibson and School Board member Betsy Landers triumphed over Jeff Brown and Brian Curry, respectively.

In Lakeland, where the primary issue was Mayor Wyatt Bunker’s development plans, including those for a new high school, Bunker was upset by challenger Mike Cunningham, 2,648 to 2,324.
Apparent winners for the city Commission were Richard Gonzales and Michelle Dial, while School Board winners were Kevin Floyd, Laura Harrison, and Deborah Thomas.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 76, Tennessee Tech 61

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

On an election night when Tennessee remained red, FedExForum turned decidedly blue in support of a rookie college basketball coach. An announced crowd of 15,231 — the largest for a Memphis Tiger game since February 2016 — witnessed the program’s first victory under the watch of Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. Senior forward Kyvon Davenport scored a career high 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the way while senior guard Jeremiah Martin contributed 18 points. Ten Tigers played at least 11 minutes to help Hardaway earn his first college win.
Larry Kuzniewski

Kyvon Davenport

“We’re grateful and honored to be part of this era that we know will last a long time,” said Martin after the game. “There’s room for improvement. We have a lot of freshmen. But everything counts now. We seniors need to be there for [the freshmen]. We were locked in the first 15 minutes. If we can hold that for another 25 minutes, we’ll be good.”

Martin scored 10 of his points in the game’s first five minutes, fueled by — and fueling — the raucous crowd. The Tigers led 22-10 not quite midway through the first half and weren’t threatened the rest of the way, despite the Golden Eagles commanding the glass with 42 rebounds to the Tigers’ 35. Memphis played at a frenetic pace, though, taking 74 shots (22 more than Tennessee Tech) and forcing 26 turnovers.

“Really crazy game, but we’ll take the win,” said Hardaway. “The first half was good, then everything went downhill. Our seniors stabilized us. Freshmen were being freshmen tonight. We’ll continue to lean on Kyvon and Jeremiah, our senior leadership. We’ve been really hard on Kyvon in practice because he’s pretty laid back. We know he’s going to take care of business on the floor, but we need him more vocal. [He may not always get] 30 and 10, but he’s a double-double machine.”

The win is tantalizing, somewhat ironically, for all that was missing from the Tigers’ attack. Still nursing a back ailment, Mike Parks didn’t play, further tilting the frontcourt advantage to the Golden Eagles. Junior transfer Isaiah Maurice didn’t make the impact he did in the Tigers’ two exhibition wins (one field goal and three rebounds in 11 minutes). Freshmen sharpshooters Tyler Harris and David Wingett combined to miss all 10 of their three-point attempts. And foul trouble limited freshman swingman Antwann Jones to 12 minutes (three points, three rebounds). Improved play from any of these five will make the Tigers significantly more dangerous.
Larry Kuzniewski

Penny Hardaway and Kareem Brewton

Senior guard Kareem Brewton came off the bench and finished a team-high +19 in 16 minutes with seven points and five steals. Freshman Alex Lomax scored eight points and led Memphis with four assists.

“We were six for 24 from three,” noted Hardaway, “and they were open looks. They just didn’t make them tonight. We’re gonna make them. We need to go over our principles offensively and what we want defensively. We have a tough game [at LSU] on the road next week, and we need to prepare.”

Hardaway said he still hasn’t been hit with the pregame anxiety he anticipated with the arrival of his first season as a college coach. He attended the postgame press conference with a game ball signed by every player, a memento he intends to keep in his office at the Laurie-Walton Family Basketball Center. As for his sideline demeanor, the 47-year-old rookie looked like a seasoned veteran. “I stayed calm,” he said. “We play a lot of freshmen, and you want them to stay calm. Not get over-excited. I’m gonna try and stay even-keeled, and not get too animated.”

Categories
News News Blog

MPD Director Refutes ‘False Narrative’ About Officers’ Actions

MPD director Mike Rallings

Memphis Police Department (MPD) director Michael Rallings said Tuesday there is a “false narrative” regarding the actions of officers.

“This narrative is problematic and can have negative consequences and jeopardize public safety,” Rallings said. “Given our environment and the national climate, I thought it was of utmost importance to present you the facts regarding incidents in Memphis.”

Rallings said in the past the media has reported that 95 percent of Tennessee’s officer-involved shootings take place in Shelby County, but based on information that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI) has provided that is “not even close to being correct.”

There have been 43 officer-involved shootings investigated by TBI statewide; three of those shootings or 6.9 percent involved MPD officers, Rallings said. MPD officers hardly use any type of force, he said. 

“We rarely have an incident where officers use deadly force,” Rallings said. “In all actuality, officers only responded to resistance 1.2 percent of the time in 2017. That’s a very sharp contrast to the 200 homicides recorded in 2017.”


Rallings also said that in 2017, excessive force reports from citizens were down.

In the past seven years, there have been 11 officer-involved shootings in the county. Three were fatal. Since 2011, Rallings said there has been a 73 percent decrease in officer-involved shootings.

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Ralling’s comments came during a Memphis City Council committee discussion on the TBI investigating all officer-involved shootings — both fatal and non-fatal.

Rallings said he worries that if TBI does this for Memphis, it will have to implement the same policy for the entire state, which based on his conversations with TBI, without having more staff, the Bureau would not be able to do.

The council will vote on a resolution supporting the involvement of TBI in all officer shootings at its meeting in two weeks.

The Shelby County Board of Commission already approved a similar resolution 7-4 at its meeting last week.

This comes after the TBI stepped in to investigate the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks in September. Banks was was shot by three officers who did not have their body cameras turned on at the time of the shooting.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Vote, then Go Eat

CREDIT: usatoday.com

usatoday.com

Farm Burger, the burgeriffic chain with a location in the Crosstown Concourse, announced last week that it’s opening late today, 12:30 p.m., to allow its employees to vote. That’s cool. Cooler still, customers who show up with an “I Voted” sticker get free fries.

Those who stop by Celtic Crossing with an “I Voted” sticker can enter to win a $25 gift card.

Chef Kelly English is also encouraging his employees to vote. In an article in Food & Wine last week, he writes,

They are us and they don’t know it yet, so it’s our duty tell them that they are. Challenge them. Ask them what the single biggest political or social issue is to them. They don’t have to answer, but make them think about it. Let them know that as hard as it is on you to be down a set of hands, that in 27 states (including my own state of Tennessee) they can be paid for time if they are scheduled on voting day. Get your team together to hammer out a schedule that works for everyone, so that people have a chance to vote and no one gets too badly in the weeds. Show them that business and humanity can coexist.

In our restaurant group we have made an agreement with Sweetgrass, another restaurant here in Memphis, to give a gift certificate to each other’s employees who vote, to encourage our communities and to give them a place to go that isn’t where they work. Make sure the people you work with know this is their (sometimes first) opportunity to feel seen and to be part of a huge decision. Encourage them to share their thoughts with a vote the same way they share their culture with your team to make it stronger. These types of sharing and strength are no different from each other. Tell your teams that they are you, and you are going to vote.

Socially responsible? Count us in. And go vote, then go eat.