Salvation Army Files Kroc Center Permit

The local chapter of the Salvation Army has filed a $24 million permit application with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement to build the Kroc Center of Memphis at the Mid-South Fairgrounds. The formal address of the 100,000-square-foot facility is 800 East Parkway S., according to the permit.

A call to Kroc Center director Steve Carpenter wasn’t immediately returned, but the Salvation Army has been raising money for the center since 2005, when Memphis was one of 25 cities around the country awarded a Kroc Center.

The facility will be known formally as Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center after McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc and his wife, Joan, the latter of whom bequeathed $1.6 billion to the Salvation Army for the creation of community centers nationwide.

Of that amount, $60 million was granted in matching funds to the Memphis facility on the condition that the local Salvation Army first raise $25 million. As of press time, just $41,826 was needed to be raised before breaking ground, according to the Kroc Center’s Web site.

The Memphis Kroc Center will sit on 15 acres at the northwest corner of the fairgrounds, near the intersection of Central Avenue and East Parkway. Amenities at the sprawling facility will include a swimming pool, indoor and outdoor athletic fields, performing arts center and fitness area.

The Kroc Center will employ 35 people once it is fully operational, and a trio of companies will also have staff inside the facility: Memphis Athletic Ministries, Urban Youth Initiative and the C.R.O.S.S. Fire Commandos.

For more on the Kroc Center, see the June 22 edition of The Daily News, www.memphisdailynews.com.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Eric Smith

Memphis Attorney Censured By State High Court

Scott Thomas Beall, a Memphis solo practitioner, was censured Oct. 29 by the Tennessee Supreme Court for violating Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4 (Misconduct), according to a statement released Friday by the state Board of Professional Responsibility.

Beall submitted a Conditional Guilty Plea to the court accepting his public censure.

The BPR reported Beall violated court rules when he instructed a client in North Carolina to shred duplicate photocopies of account statements the client had taken illegally from a former employer.

Beall had specifically advised the client not to take the documents. However, the client did not tell Beall, instead signing two affidavits stating he had not taken confidential customer information. The client didn’t tell Beall or his local North Carolina attorney the affidavits contained untrue statements.

Once the perjury became known, Beall instructed his client to destroy the photocopies the client had so the client would be in compliance with federal and state financial privacy laws. Beall and the North Carolina attorney disclosed their client’s perjury and shredding of documents to opposing counsel and to the state Supreme Court.

A statement from the BPR reads “although Mr. Beall’s instructions were not intended to mislead or prevent disclosure of his client’s wrongdoing, under the totality of the circumstances, his instructions were not proper and have led to this agreed censure.”

A public censure serves as a warning, but does not affect an attorney’s ability to practice.

– Rebekah Hearn

Budget Hearings Get Under Way Amid Bleak State Forecasts

Tennessee’s bleak budget picture is leading Gov. Phil Bredesen to expect the next six months to be what he calls his “most difficult time as governor.”

The Democratic governor kicked off public budget hearings Monday, beginning with the Education Department. Leaders in both parties agree they want to spare school funding from the deep cuts that will be necessary in other areas.

Bredesen has asked state agencies to present plans to cut up to 9 percent from their spending for the budget year that begins July 1. That’s on top of the average of 12 percent cuts that were put into place for the current budget year.

Complicating budget planning is that federal stimulus money will run out by the middle of the upcoming budget year.

– The Associated Press

Retail Sales Rise 1.4 Percent in October

Retail sales rose more than expected in October largely due to a big rebound in auto sales. But broader consumer spending remains under pressure, raising questions about the durability of the recovery.

Last month’s jump in sales also followed a dismal September retail performance that was revised even lower by the government, and many analysts remain concerned about consumer demand going forward.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday that retail sales rose 1.4 percent last month. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a gain of 1 percent.

But excluding auto sales, retail demand rose 0.2 percent, half of the expected 0.4 percent rise. The government also revised the September results down to a 2.3 percent decline, from the 1.5 percent drop initially reported.

The big swing in overall activity reflects the recent roller-coaster ride for auto sales. New car sales surged in August as shoppers rushed to take advantage of the government’s Cash for Clunkers sales incentives before they expired at the end of the month. Sales plunged in September.

For October, auto sales jumped 7.4 percent, recouping about half of the 14.3 percent drop in September. Automakers already reported their sales rebounded last month to an annual rate of 10.5 million units, from 9.2 million in September.

The 0.2 percent increase in retail sales excluding autos was down from a 0.4 percent rise in September and was the weakest showing since July.

Sales also fell 0.8 percent at furniture stores and 0.6 percent at electronics and appliance stores. Sales were flat at gasoline service stations and posted a modest 0.2 percent rise at grocery stores.

Department store sales also grew 0.3 percent although the broader category that includes big retail chains such as Wal-Mart and Target posted a 0.8 percent rise. Analysts believe that in the current hard times many shoppers are relying more heavily on discount stores.

– The Associated Press

Dept. of Commerce, Insurance Seeks Comments on Sprinklers

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance is seeking written public comments relating to the cost and effectiveness of sprinkler equipment in one- and two-family dwellings in areas where residential sprinklers are in use.

The department is conducting an analysis regarding the cost and effectiveness of sprinkler equipment in conjunction with its administrative role implementing Gov. Phil Bredesen’s Future Clean Energy Act of 2009 and at the direction of the General Assembly.

The department will report the results of the analysis to the General Assembly by May 1.

Written comments are requested by Dec. 31. Comments may be addressed to Assistant Fire Commissioner Jim Pillow and sent by e-mail to jim.pillow@tn.gov or by mail to 500 James Robertson Parkway, Third Floor, Nashville, TN, 37243.

– Taylor Shoptaw

National Bipolar Foundation To Celebrate Initiative

The Memphis-based National Bipolar Foundation today will celebrate its new initiative with the MedicAlert Foundation.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. is scheduled to be at a press conference at 2 p.m. on the campus of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center when details about the “Safe ’til Stable” program will be announced. The program provides emergency responders with information about people with bipolar disorder through a 24-hour service.

The National Bipolar Foundation was established in 2007 to reduce stigma, educate the public and seek affordable health care for those people living with bipolar disorder.

– Tom Wilemon

Businesses Cut Inventories For 13th Straight Month

Businesses slashed inventories for a 13th consecutive month in September although the pace of reductions slowed from the previous month. The economic rebound is expected to remain tentative until businesses switch to rebuilding their stockpiles.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday businesses reduced inventories 0.4 percent in September. That’s slightly better than the 0.7 percent drop economists expected and much improved from a 1.6 percent decline in August.

Sales also fell 0.3 percent in September, the first setback since May.

Still, businesses soon may begin restocking depleted store shelves after more than a year of cuts. If that occurs, factory production will begin to rise on a sustained basis, helping to bolster a broad recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s.

The ratio of sales to inventories held steady in September at 1.32. That means it would take 1.32 months to deplete stockpiles at the September sales pace.

The September decline reflected a 1 percent drop in inventories held by manufacturers and a 0.9 percent fall in stockpiles held by wholesalers. Retail inventories rose 0.6 percent.

Factories hold about one-third of all inventories, wholesalers hold about 25 percent and retailers hold the rest.

– The Associated Press