ATLANTA – On a weekend trip to this, the city where we honeymooned four decades ago, Susan and I find ourselves in a place touting the “best burgers in Atlanta.” On its menu is the “Fat Elvis,” a half-pound of meat “slathered with a King-sized helpin’ of smooth peanut butter, bacon and fried bananas.” Neither of us opts in for this.

2. Wise Investors Know to Avoid Distractions - Thursday, May 09, 2013

Ray’s Take Hopefully you have a financial plan to guide you to your goals, whether they are college for the kids, a vacation home or a secure retirement. However, one of the key indicators as to whether you will be able to achieve those goals is your ability to avoid distractions from your plan.

3. I Know a Place - Friday, April 26, 2013

I’LL TAKE YOU THERE. “Oh, mmm, I know a place… When Mavis Staples sang those words, everybody in the audience was moved to move. The kind of primal itch you got to scratch, the kind of muscle over mind that makes toes tap, fingers snap, and hands clap.

4. Critics Revive Past Promises to Knock Obama Budget - Friday, April 12, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – Advocates for seniors say President Barack Obama is breaking his promise to protect Social Security, while conservatives say he is breaking his promise not to raise taxes on the middle class.

5. I’m Lucky to Know Bea - Friday, April 12, 2013

REMARKABLE CONNECTIONS. After last week’s column, Bea dropped me a thoughtful email note as she often does about whatever I’m writing about. My story about Linda Courtney and her son Bill struck a common chord, and Bea wanted to share.

6. WKNO's Sports Files Moves to Thursdays - Monday, March 18, 2013

“Sports Files with Greg Gaston” is moving to Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on WKNO-TV, beginning March 21.

7. Quiz Measures Knowledge of Tennessee Sunshine Law - Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Can a government office refuse to turn over public documents? When can elected officials hold meetings that are closed to the public?

The Tennessee Sunshine Quiz is letting Tennesseans test their knowledge of open government issues with an online survey. The quiz measures knowledge of the state’s Public Records Act and Public Meetings Act.

8. WKNO-TV to Broadcast Beale Street New Year’s Eve - Saturday, December 29, 2012

Beale Street will be home to a New Year’s Eve celebration this Dec. 31, with an outdoor concert, the traditional Guitar Drop and fireworks at the stroke of midnight.

This New Year’s Eve theme is “Celebrate 30 Years of Resurrecting the Blues.” The ribbon cutting for the rebirth of Beale Street took place in October 1982. Since that time, Beale Street has become a globally renowned entertainment district.

9. WKNO-TV to Broadcast Beale Street New Year’s Eve - Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Beale Street will be home to a New Year’s Eve celebration this Dec. 31, with an outdoor concert, the traditional Guitar Drop and fireworks at the stroke of midnight.

This New Year’s Eve theme is “Celebrate 30 Years of Resurrecting the Blues.” The ribbon cutting for the rebirth of Beale Street took place in October 1982. Since that time, Beale Street has become a globally renowned entertainment district.

10. Tayloe Brings Banking Knowledge, Energy to Financial Federal Board - Monday, November 12, 2012

At the age of 34, William Tayloe became the youngest president in the 27-year history of Financial Federal Savings Bank. Now, at 39, he has been named to the bank’s board of directors.

11. FDA Regulation of Pharmacies has Knotty History - Monday, October 15, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) – The deadly meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated pain injections has prompted calls for tighter federal regulation of compounding pharmacies, which have periodically been blamed for crippling and sometimes fatal injuries. But this isn't the first time Congress has pushed for more authority over the industry.

12. Examining Unknowns, Certainties - Wednesday, September 19, 2012

US Fed = Yes, ECB = Yes, US Government = Maybe, China = Unknown Last week’s announcement of “unlimited” easing from the U.S. Fed combined with the “unlimited” easing announcement by the European Central Bank extended the global rally in everything but Treasuries.

13. WKNO 'Newsmakers' Features Kernell, Marrero - Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The two Tennessee legislators from Shelby County who lost re-election bids in the Aug. 2 elections are the guests Wednesday, Aug. 29, on the WKNO-TV program “Newsmakers.”

State Rep. Mike Kernell and state Sen. Beverly Marrero will talk with host Eric Barnes, publisher of The Daily News, about their careers in Nashville and how they got involved in politics.

14. Gibson Guitar Acknowledges Exotic Wood Violation - Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Federal prosecutors say a deal has been reached to drop the criminal case against Gibson Guitar Corp. after the instrument maker acknowledged its exotic wood imports violated environmental laws.

15. Seed Hatchery Participants Prep for Investor Day - Tuesday, April 24, 2012

For months, the entrepreneurs behind six new startups have refined their concepts, listened to mentors, learned from each other – and counted down the days.

In a little more than a week, that counting will be over. For the enrollees in this year’s Seed Hatchery program — an intense boot camp-style, mentorship-driven seed stage investment program – May 3 is the day they’ve been working toward.

16. Gibbs, KnoCo Bring Education to Gaming - Friday, April 06, 2012

Editor’s note: This is the third in a six-part series on entrepreneurs in the current round of Seed Hatchery’s “cohort” boot camp.

Memphians of a certain age – say, late 20s and early 30s – probably remember some of the computer games they played in school.

17. Robinson: Health Study Confirms Known Problem - Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Dr. Kenneth Robinson, public health policy adviser to Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, said he wasn’t at all surprised by a recent study that found African-American women in Memphis are more than twice as likely to die from breast cancer as their white counterparts.

18. Will Barton: Best Player America Doesn’t Know - Friday, March 09, 2012

Will Barton scans the college basketball landscape and doesn’t understand his national anonymity.

19. Will Barton: Best Player America Doesn’t Know - Thursday, March 08, 2012

Will Barton scans the college basketball landscape and doesn’t understand his national anonymity.

“I look at ESPN and it eats me up sometimes,” said the University of Memphis guard. “Makes me want to go out and destroy people.”

20. Leadership Change - Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Eric Mathews, long at the center of a variety of tech ventures and entrepreneurship projects in the city, is taking the reins at EmergeMemphis.

21. EmergeMemphis Names Mathews As Executive Director - Monday, February 13, 2012

Eric Mathews, long at the center of a variety of tech ventures and entrepreneurship projects in the city, is taking the reins at EmergeMemphis.

22. BCS as We Know it is Going Away - Tuesday, January 10, 2012

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The Bowl Championship Series as college football fans have come to know it is going away.

Over the next six months, the people who oversee the much-maligned postseason format will talk about how to reconstruct the system for crowning a national champion. In the tumultuous 14-year history of the BCS, the appetite for change among college football's leaders has never been stronger.

23. WKNO Hosts Tea Party, Downton Abbey Screening - Friday, December 30, 2011

WKNO is inviting the public for tea and crumpets – donated by John’s Pantry – and a screening of the first episode of “Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey” season two, Jan. 7 at 4 p.m. at the WKNO Digital Media Center.

24. WKNO Will Broadcast NYE on Beale Street - Friday, December 23, 2011

WKNO/Channel 10 will air “LIVE! Beale Street on New Year’s Eve” from Dec. 31 at 11 p.m. to Jan. 1 at 12:30 a.m. It will be shown on public television stations in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and other stations throughout the country.

25. WKNO's 'Newsmakers' Series to Feature Sen. Mark Norris - Monday, December 12, 2011

WKNO-TV will premiere a new edition of “Newsmakers,” featuring a conversation with state Sen. Mark Norris, on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 10.

It will repeat at 11 p.m. on WKNO2, available over the air on Channel 10.2 and on Comcast digital cable channel 910.

26. Knowing Where You Stand - Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Edward Irvine “Ed” Koch, three-term mayor of New York City, liked to ride or walk around the city and ask everyone, “How am I doing?” It was his trademark question. He didn’t seem to be trying to elicit praise from his constituents; he seemed to genuinely want ideas on how he could do his job better. It strikes me that this is a great question to constantly address in the workplace; only unlike Ed, employees of your business should not have to ask the question. They should get ongoing feedback without asking.

27. WKNO Airs Preview of Holiday Auction - Wednesday, November 02, 2011

WKNO-TV Channel 10 will present a half-hour preview show Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7:30 p.m. The show will feature some of the items up for bid for the WKNO Holiday Auction.

The online-only auction at www.wkno.org will feature more than 150 items and will run Nov. 3 to Nov. 20. All proceeds will benefit the public broadcasting station.

28. Series on Memphis Gangs to Premiere on WKNO-FM - Wednesday, November 02, 2011

WKNO-FM will premiere a series addressing the issue of gangs in Memphis Wednesday, Nov. 2. The series was created by news director Candice Ludlow. It will air during Morning Edition on Wednesdays over the next several weeks. Morning Edition runs from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m.

29. Obama Knocks GOP Leader, Says GOP Blocks Jobs Vote - Wednesday, October 05, 2011

DALLAS (AP) – President Barack Obama is criticizing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor for saying the president's $447 billion jobs bill will not get a vote in its entirety in the Republican-led House.

30. Address Unknown - Tuesday, October 04, 2011

For anyone in Memphis – and across Tennessee – who uses the U.S. Postal Service to send and receive bills, to get things like newspaper subscriptions by mail and DVDs from Netflix or just to write an old-fashioned letter on paper, things are about to change.

31. Know What You Need To Know - Monday, September 12, 2011

Mission critical to success as a business owner is knowing what you need to know when you need to know it. Better still, know it ahead of time. Budding entrepreneurs today are trying to learn everything in 90 minutes or 90 days and then they can “launch.” There is probably no harm in these things, but they are far from the complete packages needed.

32. State Wants Parents to Know About CoverKids - Wednesday, August 03, 2011

NASHVILLE (AP) – The state wants to make sure parents are aware of Tennessee's low-cost, comprehensive health insurance plan for children.

Information about CoverKids will be going home with school children throughout the state in their back-to-school packets.

33. Lesser-Known Miss. Gov Candidates Offer Platforms - Monday, August 01, 2011

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Democratic and Republican primaries this coming Tuesday will narrow the field of candidates for Mississippi governor.

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant of Brandon and commercial building contractor Dave Dennis of Pass Christian are spending the most in the five-person race for the Republican nomination, while Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree and Clarksdale businessman and attorney Bill Luckett are grabbing the most attention on the Democratic side.

34. Gov't Wants to Know All the Fees Airlines Charging - Monday, July 18, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – Five dollars for a pillow, $10 to jump ahead in the boarding line – all those annoying airline fees can add up.

Now the Department of Transportation is proposing that airlines tell it – and the public – exactly how much they're making on those fees. And, rule proposed Friday by the department would require airlines to break down those fees by the type of item or service purchased, from pillows and blankets to entertainment and snacks.

35. Fed Acknowledges Economy is Growing More Slowly - Thursday, June 23, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve acknowledged Wednesday that the economy is growing more slowly than it expected. But it said it will complete its $600 billion Treasury bond buying program by June 30 as planned and announced no further efforts to boost the economy.

36. A Quest for Knowledge - Monday, June 13, 2011

Last week, we spotlighted the Kemmons Wilson Family Center for Good Grief, which is the first comprehensive bereavement center for children, adolescents and adults in the region. This week we will explore an organization working to “vigorously equip youth to maximize their potential through intellectual and character development”: Knowledge Quest.

37. WKNO/Channel 10 to Host ‘Local Color’ May 26 - Thursday, May 26, 2011

“Local Color,” hosted by Mamie Shannon, this week features Elizabeth Cawein with the Memphis Music Foundation, Melissa Petersen of Edible Memphis, Liz Phillips of gowithfamily.com and Chris Davis with the Memphis Flyer.

38. WKNO to Air Interview with Speaker of Tenn. House - Monday, April 18, 2011

In a half-hour exclusive sit-down interview, WKNO/Channel 10 will explore the life of Beth Halteman Harwell, Tennessee Republican Representative of Davidson County’s District 56 since 1988 and the first woman to be elected Speaker of the House in the 2011 General Assembly.

39. Local Gardening Series Premieres on WKNO - Friday, March 25, 2011

The ‘KNO Tonight lineup will welcome a new program called “The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South,” which will premiere March 28. ‘KNO Tonight airs weeknights at 6:30 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10.

40. WKNO to Screen 'Saving the Bay' - Tuesday, March 08, 2011

WKNO and The Chickasaw Group of the Sierra Club will host a preview screening of the upcoming PBS series “Saving the Bay” Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at BRIDGES, 477 N. Fifth St.

41. Mayor Wharton Slated for WKNO's Interview Series - Tuesday, March 08, 2011

WKNO-TV on Wednesday will premiere the second in its new interview series “Newsmakers,” featuring a conversation with Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr.

Wharton will talk about his childhood in Lebanon, Tenn., and how the values he learned there shaped his later life. Viewers will learn more about a man who didn’t allow the racism of the 1960s and ’70s to dampen his dreams.

42. WKNO, TDN Host Schools Consolidation Forum - Wednesday, February 09, 2011

WKNO and The Daily News will host a television forum Friday at 8 p.m. on the schools consolidation issue.

The hour-long forum will air as a special edition of “Behind the Headlines,” hosted by Eric Barnes, publisher of The Daily News. It will feature Shelby County Schools board chairman David Pickler, Memphis City Schools board members Martavius Jones and Tomeka Hart, and Memphis Southern Christian Leadership Conference leader Dwight Montgomery.

43. Fill Your ‘Knowledge Well’ - Thursday, January 13, 2011

How do some people get so much more done in so much less time than others? It’s often because they have a profound understanding of what they are doing.

Take any job and think about how much better and quicker you could do it if you totally understood what needs to be done and how to do it. In spite of this obvious fact, many people go right on trying to do their job with a superficial knowledge of how to do it. For some reason, they stop far short of mastery. This idea applies to every person and every job that exists on this planet. Here’s an example of how this works:

44. Sun Studio Sessions to Begin on WKNO - Thursday, January 06, 2011

A new season of Sun Studio Sessions – half-hour episodes of TV broadcasts with performers or group recording at Memphis’ historic Sun Studios – has begun airing on public TV stations nationwide.

45. WKNO Honors Long-Time Supporter - Monday, December 27, 2010

The Julian Bondurant Distinguished Service Award has been given to long-time WKNO supporter Jim Springfield, WKNO Public Broadcasting has announced.

46. WKNO's 'Memphis Memoirs' to Highlight Overton Square - Tuesday, November 16, 2010

WKNO is planning a new episode of its nostalgic love letters to the city’s past – its “Memphis Memoirs” series – about Overton Square.

And the public broadcasting station wants to hear from anyone who has photos, stories and/or memorabilia to share about the Midtown destination.

47. Media Corporate Headquarters Moving to Knoxville - Monday, November 01, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Scripps Networks Interactive is moving its corporate headquarters from Cincinnati to Knoxville.

Most of the company's operations are located in Knoxville, where Scripps Networks dedicated a new expansion earlier this year.

48. WKNO to Broadcast Gov. Candidate Interviews - Tuesday, September 14, 2010

To help voters bone up on what they need to know about the candidates for Tennessee governor in the November election – Democrat Mike McWherter and Republican Bill Haslam – WKNO is airing two half-hour programs featuring interviews with both men.

49. ‘KNO Tonite To Feature News, Local Programming - Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Now that WKNO has settled into its new 39,000-square-foot digital media center, the public broadcasting station is moving to the next item it’s long had on its to-do list.

The station whose call letters are an abbreviation of the phrase “Window of Knowledge” has been itching to produce and broadcast more local programming. And the production and broadcast capabilities of its new digital media center will allow WKNO to take a big step in that direction next month with the launch of a new week-long series of evening shows.

50. 'KNO Tonite to Feature News, Local Programming - Monday, August 23, 2010

Now that WKNO has settled into its new 39,000-square-foot digital media center, the public broadcasting station is moving to the next item it's long had on its to-do list.

The station whose call letters are an abbreviation of the phrase "Window of Knowledge" has been itching to produce and broadcast more local programming. And the production and broadcast capabilities of its new digital media center will allow WKNO to take a big step in that direction next month with the launch of a new week-long series of evening shows.

51. UT Knoxville Ranked 47 by U.S. News & World Report - Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville has been ranked 47th among all public universities in the U.S. News and World Report’s 2011 undergraduate rankings.

UTK moved up five spots from last year and ranks 101 among all national universities in a list that includes 260 American universities offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

52. WKNO Forum Further Delineates Governor Hopefuls - Thursday, May 27, 2010

All four Republican contenders for Tennessee governor offered differing definitions of conservatism this week in a Memphis television forum.

The joint appearance is nothing new for Chattanooga Congressman Zach Wamp, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey. They’ve done dozens of joint appearances in the past year and a half.

53. WKNO to Air CCHS Documentary - Wednesday, May 26, 2010

In other Christ Community Health Services news, WKNO-TV will present a new half-hour documentary on the history and impact of the Memphis-area health service organization.

“Christ Community: A Ministry of Care” will premiere Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10.

54. Wells Fargo Acknowledges Gov't Investigation - Tuesday, May 18, 2010

The San Francisco bank Memphis and Shelby County governments sued in December over its lending practices has acknowledged it’s the subject of a probe by “certain government entities” over the same thing.

55. You May Not Know Them, But They Know You - Friday, April 23, 2010

Paris.

Cabs in Paris are about the size of clown cars, and putting more than three passengers in one has the same effect.

So, when the five of us arrived – my wife and I, our kids and my mother-in-law – we split up in two cabs. Gaines, 5 at the time, and I had the all-guy cab. The front seat passenger was a dog the driver referred to as “le navigateur.”

56. Memphis Could Benefit From Knoxville Investment - Monday, March 15, 2010

Instead of investing venture capital from a new state program in a Memphis company, the Innova Fund II LP made Knoxville-based TrakLok its first choice.

57. Godwin Acknowledges Political Aspect of Crime-Fighting - Monday, February 22, 2010

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. recently nominated Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin for reappointment. It confirmed that the longest-serving police director during the 18-year tenure of Mayor Willie Herenton has made the transition to a new mayor.

58. Marijuana Expert Regales Rotarians With Lesser-Known Facts - Thursday, February 04, 2010

Marijuana researcher Mehmoud ElSohly sees the humor in his work, especially when he’s talking about a THC suppository.

He concluded a speech to the Memphis Rotary Club by acting as though he was smoking a joint then suddenly hiding it down below after getting caught. He lifted the bit of physical humor from Jay Leno. ElSohly can get away with stealing from the comedian because he was the brunt of that joke.

59. Rhea Receives WKNO’s Distinguished Service Award - Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Stephen H. Rhea has received the Julian Bondurant Distinguished Service Award from WKNO Public Broadcasting.

Rhea is the WKNO Capital Campaign chair and led the campaign for the digital transition that brought in $16.9 million. The campaign enabled the station to build the Digital Media Center.

60. Industrial Megasites Fraught With Unknowns, Political Maneuvering - Monday, December 14, 2009

When cities and states compete for economic plums, the advantages seem to be weighted heavily in favor of businesses looking to build new plants.

Nothing bolsters a local or even regional economy like a new manufacturing plant or factory. That remains true even in this age of bioindustry, intellectual property and tech corridors. At least for now, the jobs created by those sectors don’t pay as many people or as well as good old-fashioned manufacturing jobs.

61. Before You Buy That Gift, Know the Return Policy - Monday, November 30, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) – It’s OK if your boyfriend doesn’t like the digital camera you bought him. So long as he doesn’t open the box.

As you begin your holiday shopping, remember that return policies vary greatly, even among products from the same store. For example, some retailers charge a 15 percent restocking fee on digital cameras and other electronics if the packaging is unsealed. That’s even if the items weren’t used.

62. Summit Asset President Rhea Wins WKNO Service Award - Tuesday, November 24, 2009

WKNO Public Broadcasting has awarded its Julian Bondurant Distinguished Service Award to Stephen Rhea, the co-president and financial adviser at Summit Asset Management LLC in Memphis.

63. Housing Slump Makes Self Known In October - Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Shelby County homebuilders continue to feel the brunt of the housing slowdown, as October saw builder sales plummet and housing starts reach a seven-month low.

Homebuilders filed just 38 permits for new homes last month, the worst period for starts since the March total of 30. That marked a 9.5 percent decline from 42 starts in October 2008 and a 33.3 percent decline from 57 starts in September, according to the latest from real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

64. EPA Fines Knoxville Utility for Sewage Overflows - Thursday, November 12, 2009

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Knoxville's utilities division for repeated raw sewage overflows.

Bill Elmore, the senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Knoxville Utilities Board, told The Knoxville News Sentinel the utility has made considerable progress in eliminating overflows, but will continue to face sanctions until it completes an effort to fix the problems.

65. Home Sales: The Unknown Frontier - Monday, November 02, 2009

Residential real estate experts are hopeful the market is ready for a rebound. November begins with the coming expiration of the federal firsttime homebuyers tax credit, barring its renewal. With or without the credit’s renewal, where home sales go from here is anyone’s guess.

66. Ashby Brings Immigration Knowledge To Donati Firm - Thursday, October 29, 2009

Bryce W. Ashby recently rejoined the Donati Law Firm LLP after clerking for Judge Bernice Donald in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Ashby, who is fluent in Spanish and has worked extensively as an advocate and organizer in Latino and immigrant communities, practices in labor and employment law and civil rights law.

67. Research Funding Doubles At UT-Knoxville - Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Research funding to the University of Tennessee’s main campus in Knoxville has more than doubled in the past year to more than $175 million.

Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said Friday the size of the increase is “extremely rare and reflects the hard work of our faculty.” The increase was up from $87 million in 2008.

68. WKNO Mounts Foreclosure Education Blitz - Thursday, June 18, 2009

Public broadcasting audiences in Memphis soon will have access to a new fountain of information about the mortgage crisis that will span TV, radio, the Internet and the printed page.

Next month, the local public television station whose call letters stand for “Window of Knowledge” will kick off “Facing the Mortgage Crisis.” And WKNO is launching the project with the same mission implied in the station’s name.

69. New Dentistry Dean Tackles Knotty Agenda - Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Dr. Timothy Hottel has a punch list to complete and a deadline to do it by.

As the new dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry, his tasks are to renovate a 33-year-old building, raise the money to pay for the improvements and revamp a program that was once ranked among the best in the nation.

Next year, the College of Dentistry could face accreditation problems because of outdated equipment and a faculty shortage.

Although he’s been on the job for only five months, Hottel is making progress. He has added two key faculty members and upped the timetable for a crucial renovation.

Out to hire well

One of the new faculty members, Dr. Franklin Garcia-Godoy, followed Hottel to Memphis from Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Garcia-Godoy, who has authored dental textbooks and more than 370 articles in scholarly journals, came on board this month as the new dean of research. His focuses include biomaterials, tooth erosion and teeth whitening.

“We will be building new labs for Dr. Garcia-Godoy,” Hottel said. “He does a lot of clinical research that’s very applicable to private practice. He’s very, very well known.”

Dr. Lina Cardenas agreed last week to become the chair of pediatric dentistry. She will be coming to Memphis from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

Cardenas will be making history as the first woman to chair a department within the College of Dentistry.

“She’s a young lady who is full of energy,” Hottel said. “I’m trying to hire younger faculty because we need younger faculty to build up so that when older ones like myself leave, we’ll have people that will be in their place.”

Hottel currently has 12 faculty positions to fill.

“I’ve got some others coming of similar quality,” Hottel said. “We are really going out to find the right people to fill the spots. I have a commitment from the chancellor’s office to go forward with these positions.”

Time for a cleanup

In discussing the needed renovations, Hottel will joke about the ugly pink curtains in his basement office when his primary concern is actually what’s happening on the fourth floor, which is ground zero for keeping accreditation. It is the clinical area for pre-doctoral students.

The American Dental Association Commission on Accreditation is scheduled in March to inspect the college and review its program – which happens every seven years.

“With the fourth floor, we are $200,000 shy of having all the money to do that and we are going forward with that project starting in September,” he said. “When I came here, I was told we would be lucky if that project got started by the time accreditation came here. I said we can’t do that.”

When the accreditation team arrives, the renovation to the clinical training area will either be complete or nearing completion, he said.

“Eventually, the entire inside of the building is going go have to be changed and modernized,” Hottel said. “We’re 33 years old and there’s lots of problems, mechanically, structurally, etc., so we’re going floor by floor, area by area, and redoing. That’s a challenge, but one that I feel like we will be able to meet.”

Back to greatness

The UTHSC College of Dentistry has a rich history. Founded in 1878, it is the oldest college of dentistry in the South and the third-oldest public dentistry school in the U.S. Over the past three decades, the college has suffered from a decline in state funding and budget cutbacks.

Former Gov. Winfield Dunn, the man that the dentistry building at 875 Union Ave. is named after, warned the state Legislature in March that the program could lose accreditation. His comments generated media attention, but no additional state dollars.

Dunn is also the honorary chairman of a capital campaign to raise $15 million from private donors.

So far the campaign has $2.8 million in the bank and more than $6 million in pledges. Big donations have come from Delta Dental of Tennessee and Delta Dental of Arkansas.

However, the campaign is also reaching out to alumni.

“What we’ve been doing is going to areas where there is a concentration of UT alumni, having either dinners or just little social gatherings,” Hottel said. “Sometimes, it’s been at someone’s house as a private party for six people to do this campaign.”

As the college focuses on raising money for needed renovations, Hottel said, it will not neglect its community service mission. The college is a partner with the Church Health Center and the Christian Mobile Dental Clinic. It is also working with the state of Tennessee to open a community dental clinic in an impoverished area of Jackson, he said.

A goal in Memphis is to improve the visibility of the College of Dentistry, he said, having discovered that many city residents don’t even know it exists.

“My biggest goal long-term is to pull this school up from where it’s at and put it up in the top 10 schools in the country, where it historically has been,” Hottel said.

70. ‘Sultana’ Author Offers Perspective On Little-Known Disaster - Thursday, May 07, 2009

Alan Huffman is the author of a new book on the April 1865 explosion of the steamer “Sultana” on the Mississippi River.

71. Corker Wants to Know How Banks Are Using TARP Money - Thursday, April 30, 2009

Tennessee’s junior U.S. Senator wants more accountability from banks flush with money from the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has introduced legislation along with U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., that would add new requirements to the way the banking system accounts for and tracks TARP funds.

72. Bernanke: People Need to Hone Financial Know-How - Tuesday, April 21, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans need to sharpen their financial know-how to help them best use their money, especially during the current economic crisis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.

73. Caywood Brings Marketing Knowledge to Classroom - Friday, April 17, 2009

The customers companies think they know are fast becoming different consumers because of tough economic times.

“Their buying habits have changed,” said Mary Caywood, a former marketing professional who teaches marketing and supply chain management at the University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business and Economics. “Before, they may not have been looking at coupons. Before, they may not have been going to somebody like ALDI’s, which is a very aggressive, growing discounter. Understand your consumer now – what’s motivating them now – because that whole landscape has definitely changed.”

74. WKNO’s Kimsey on Lookout For Downtown Memories - Friday, April 10, 2009

If anyone has any old photos or interesting stories to tell about Downtown Memphis, Pierre Kimsey wants to know about it.

Kimsey is the WKNO producer for a coming episode of the station’s “Memphis Memoirs” program that serves as a visual scrapbook of colorful and significant chapters in the city’s history. The subject of the episode Kimsey is working on is the heyday of Downtown Memphis.

75. WKNO Seeks Downtown Memories - Wednesday, April 08, 2009

WKNO Channel 10 is planning to focus on Downtown Memphis’ history for a coming episode of WKNO’s Memphis Memoirs show.

And to do that, the station is asking for members of the public with photos, films and stories about Downtown from the 1900s to the 1970s to get in touch with them for the planned documentary.

76. WKNO to Air Sanitation Strike Film - Friday, February 13, 2009

Right after President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of Congress Feb. 24, WKNO Channel 10 will air “I Am A Man: From Memphis, A Lesson in Life,” a documentary about the city’s 1968 sanitation workers’ strike.

77. Foreclosure Program To Air on WKNO - Friday, February 06, 2009

A film crew from the weekly PBS TV program “NOW” was in Memphis at the end of January conducting interviews about and researching the impact of the foreclosure problem in the city.

People contacted by the program included several Memphis City Council members and members of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners. Of particular interest to the crew was the lawsuit that soon will be filed on behalf of Memphis and Shelby County against national mortgage lenders determined to have exacerbated the local foreclosure problem.

78. Hodgkins Takes Reins of MAHBA During Unknown Building Times - Friday, December 05, 2008
Stephen Hodgkins wasn’t sure congratulations were appropriate for his appointment as 2009 president of the Memphis Area Home Builders Association (MAHBA) when contacted earlier this week.

Hodgkins, who took charge of the state’s second-largest homebuilders association Monday and formally will be installed at a ceremony tonight, understands the myriad challenges that lie ahead in his role as spokesman for an embattled industry.

He knows housing is at the center of the current financial crisis, but he also knows how crucial it is for homebuilders to weather the storm and be ready to respond in full force when the market rebounds.

“It is difficult, there’s no question about that,” Hodgkins said. “We have to believe there’s an innate and underlying demand for houses, and sooner or later it’s going to come back. We’ve got to have a healthy economy and we’ve got to have good housing values or we can’t make it.”

Finding solutions

If anyone can see that demand for housing will return, it’s a person who has worked in the business for 35 years and witnessed extreme highs and lows in the marketplace.

Hodgkins began his career in 1973 working as a mortgage banker, putting together construction loans for homebuilders. After a decade or so doing that, he decided to try the other side of the equation and launched a building company, Oaktree Homes LLC, in 1984.

Now, Hodgkins will put his financial and homebuilding savvy to use as president of MAHBA, a 64-year-old trade association that serves 905 members in Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties. With building permits at seven-year lows and sales by homebuilders plummeting each month, Hodgkins sees the need for some changes that will help homebuilders throughout the region.

He said mortgage lending has tightened too much in response to the subprime meltdown and needs to be relaxed a little bit to allow for easier homeownership – not back to stated income or low credit-score standards, he added, but not as stringent as they’ve become in the past year either.

“Times are tough, we’re not going to deny that, but we have to get loans more available to more people,” Hodgkins said. “The pendulum has definitely swung too far in the other direction. But, it does no good to have anyone in a house they can’t afford because that’s one of the problems with all the foreclosures.”

Making a difference

Hodgkins foresees a time next year when the market will bottom out and turn around, especially if the mortgage industry adjusts. And with builders working feverishly to reduce inventory, the laws of supply and demand soon will turn the buyer’s market into a seller’s market.

“Demand is down, but even with that, the supply of houses is diminishing,” he said. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure that now is a time to buy a house while there still is a supply. We can’t afford to reproduce houses for what we’re selling them for, so they’re going to have to go back up.”

Don Glays, MAHBA’s executive director, said Hodgkins will be a great replacement for Doug Collins, who served as 2008 association president.

“The membership of MAHBA is excited about Steve taking the reins of leadership, especially during this time of housing slowdown,” Glays said. “With his wealth of experience as a banker and a builder, Steve brings a diverse set of skills to the association. Equally importantly, he has an engaging ‘let’s get it done’ attitude that will be necessary as the industry recovers.”

Hodgkins especially looks forward to advising Mid-South builders on how best to work with banks and suppliers, which is mission critical for staying viable during a slowdown.

“It’s hard times like this where you find out who the good people are,” Hodgkins said. “Our suppliers are working with us, our banks are working with, and most of them, as long as you communicate with them and tell them what’s going on, they’ll work with you.”

That knowledge, which he wants to convey to homebuilders throughout the next year, has Hodgkins excited about his post as MAHBA president even as the industry struggles.

“With my background,” he said, “I think I can make a difference.”

79. UT-Knoxville Adjusts Thermostat - Tuesday, December 02, 2008

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The University of Tennessee is turning down the heat on the Knoxville campus.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the university released a new energy conservation policy Monday for its main campus and adjoining agriculture campus in Knoxville.

80. Wharton Acknowledges Run For City Mayor Post - Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton Jr. is running for mayor of Memphis in 2011, but in his first set of interviews about the decision he said voters won’t see him actively campaigning this far out.

“It will be a long time before that happens. We simply for legal reasons had to set up a different structure before we can spend money and raise money,” Wharton said. “But I am serious about it. … But I don’t want to give the impression that I’ll be on the street corner waving signs tomorrow.”

81. WKNO’s Robertson Joins Public TV Assoc. Board - Friday, October 31, 2008

WKNO television program and operations manager Debi Robertson has been added to the Public Television Programmers Association board of directors.

Robertson, who has worked for WKNO for 27 years, is now part of the leadership of an organization whose goal includes maintaining communication and information sharing among public television programmers and groups.

82. WKNO to Air Homer Documentary - Thursday, October 09, 2008

WKNO Channel 10 today will present the two-hour documentary “Winslow Homer: Society and Solitude” about the life of famed painter Winslow Homer at 8 p.m.

The film is a result of six years’ work by director Steven John Ross, a professor in the Department of Communications at the University of Memphis.

83. WKNO to Educate Viewers On Digital Switchover - Tuesday, September 16, 2008

WKNO TV has scheduled a round of programming next month to familiarize viewers with the federally mandated switchover next year from analog television broadcasting to digital broadcasting.

Across the country, community education efforts are expected to increase in number so that the Feb. 17 end of analog broadcasting – and the subsequent obsolescence of current analog TV sets – does not catch consumers by surprise.

84. Katrina Documentary To Air on WKNO - Monday, August 11, 2008

WKNO Channel 10 will air a documentary about the experiences of people who fled from Hurricane Katrina, beginning Aug. 19 at 8 p.m. The documentary will be rebroadcast Aug. 20 at 1 a.m.

The film will focus on the disaster relief offered to Gulf Coast residents who evacuated to the Memphis area and documents United Way’s relief efforts as well as interagency cooperation. The project is a collaborative effort between the Center for Multi-Media Arts (CMA) at the University of Memphis’ FedEx Institute of Technology and United Way of the Mid-South.

85. Knox Walkup Presented Francis X. Bellotti Award - Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Former Tennessee Attorney General Knox Walkup was presented the Francis X. Bellotti Award during the National Association of Attorneys General 2008 summer meeting in Providence, R.I.

Walkup is only the seventh recipient of the award, which recognizes a former attorney general whose work has furthered the mission of the nationwide attorneys general organization.

86. WKNO Names New Board Members - Monday, July 07, 2008

WKNO Public Broadcasting has named its new board members and officers.

The officers for the 2008-2009 board are William L. Taylor, chairman; Chuck Hughes, vice chairman; Dr. Craig Esrael, secretary; and Michael LaBonia, treasurer.

87. Permit Filed for $10 MillionWKNO Headquarters - Wednesday, April 23, 2008
     WKNO held its official groundbreaking ceremony last month, and now the public television station has formally filed application for a permit to build its $10 million, 39,000-square-foot digital media center on a 7.69-acr

88. Pyramid Future Remains Unknown Despite Bass Pro Exec Visit - Monday, March 24, 2008

The head of Bass Pro Shops picked an interesting day to visit Memphis.

Bass Pro President and CEO Jim Hagale held a series of private meetings Downtown Thursday with city and county government leaders. The meetings came within an hour of a private luncheon a few blocks away in which Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton announced he is resigning effective at the end of July.

89. Lawmakers Push Special Elections to Avoid Knox Co. Problems - Thursday, February 14, 2008

NASHVILLE (AP) - Legislators hoping other local governments can avoid recent chaos experienced by Knox County want to require special elections rather than appointments for filling multiple vacancies on a county commission.

90. Award-Winning Filmmaker Tells Little-Known St. Jude Story - Friday, February 01, 2008

Documentary filmmaker and University of Memphis film professor Craig Leake won two Mid-South Emmy Awards last week in Nashville, Tenn., for his film, "The Chemo Ate My Homework," a look at the teachers who work for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

91. Regulators Say They're Closely Watching Markets; Full Economic Impact Not Yet Known - Friday, September 07, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional Democrats promoting legislative solutions to the mortgage-market crisis said Wednesday that a Bush administration plan doesn't go far enough to protect homeowners who face huge increases in their monthly payments when rates on their adjustable mortgages jump in the months ahead.

92. Investors, Policy-Makers Don't Know Number Of Troubled Mortgages and Lenders Nationwide - Thursday, August 30, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) - It's hard to know how scared to be if you don't know the size of the threat. No, not terrorism, housing.

The U.S. mortgage-lending business is a sprawling, varied enterprise that no one regulator oversees, making it impossible to know how many mortgages or lenders whose deposits aren't insured by the government are in trouble.

93. Northwest CEOAcknowledges Mistakes - Tuesday, August 14, 2007
     Northwest Airlines Corp. ended May by emerging from bankruptcy. Then it ended June and July by canceling hundreds of flights.
     In an effort to avoid the same problems this month, chief ex

94. Scripps Co. BuysKnoxville Alt. Weekly - Thursday, June 28, 2007
     The E.W. Scripps Co., which owns two daily Tennessee newspapers, including The Commercial Appeal, has bought Metro Pulse, Knoxville's weekly alternative newspaper.
     As part of the purchas

95. Shootings Force Us to Acknowledge Our Interconnectedness - Friday, April 27, 2007

In the aftermath of the killing spree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Daily News reporters, along with colleagues near and far, have turned their attention to examining the incident's effects.

96. Lights Made by Hand: The Only Way Fourteenth Colony Knows - Monday, April 02, 2007

Some 50 years ago, Jimmie Graham and his wife, Dottie, bought a five-room house on Cooper Street where they started a handcrafted-lighting business.

Jimmie, who was a hardware salesman, would come home in the evening and, using raw material, make the lighting fixtures and lamps for the new business. During the day, Dottie took orders and sold the lights.

97. Ryder Puts Years of Know-How Into Bankruptcy and Commercial Litigation - Thursday, January 18, 2007

Attorney John L. Ryder is a member of the well-known Memphis law firm of Harris Shelton Hanover Walsh PLLC. The firm formed in 2000 as the result of a merger between two longtime Memphis law firms: Harris, Shelton, Dunlap, Cobb & Ryder PLLC and Hanover, Walsh, Jalenak & Blair PLLC.

98. Local Data Storage Business Gives Ft. Knox a Run for its Money - Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Within four years, two disasters - the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, 2005 - rocked the security and emergency preparedness of the United States.

99. Emergency Service OfficialsSay Know When to Dial 911 - Tuesday, September 26, 2006
     Shelby County residents soon will have the opportunity to learn how to use 911 - the right way. Shelby County's 911 Emergency Service announced last week the launch of its community education program, "9-1-1: When Life i

100. Knox St. Clair Prepares for Move To Bigger Facility - Tuesday, September 05, 2006

When Knox St. Clair Millwork Distributors Inc. in June received its payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, approval, one of the considerations that won big points with the Memphis Shelby County Industrial Development Board (IDB) was where the company planned to move.