Auditorium Slated For Fairley High School
The city of Memphis has filed a $2.5 million permit application with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement to build an auditorium at Fairley High School, 4950 Fairley Road, in the Westwood area.
The auditorium at Fairley was approved by the Memphis City Schools board in 2006, although the addition had been promised to the school about four years prior, according to archived media reports.
Nine venders responded to the RFP on the project earlier this year. The lowest bidder was Omega General Contractors Inc. of Memphis, whose bid came in at $2.9 million – a base of $2.5 million plus other fees.
A call to the Memphis City Schools media department for details about the project wasn’t immediately returned.
Fairley High sits south of East Shelby Drive and north of East Holmes Road.
Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports
– Eric Smith
Harrah’s Rebrands Sheraton Casino
Harrah’s Entertainment is rebranding one of its three casinos in Tunica.
The Sheraton Casino will become the Tunica Roadhouse Casino and Hotel.
The casino will close for four days because of the rebranding. The Sheraton will shut down at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 14 then reopen at 5 p.m. Dec. 18 as the Tunica Roadhouse. The new casino will have a bluesy, Southern rock roadhouse atmosphere.
The rebranding follows a name change at one of Harrah’s other Tunica properties. Last year, the casino company changed the Grand Casino to carry the flagship brand name, Harrah’s. The company’s third Tunica property is the Horseshoe.
– Tom Wilemon
Wright Medical Group Launches Ankle Product
Arlington-based Wright Medical Group Inc. has released the Valor Ankle Fusion Nail.
The product is for people requiring fusion of the ankle joint because of conditions such as arthritis, skeletal deformity and diabetes. The system fuses three bones in the foot and ankle: the calcaneus (heel bone), the talus (ankle bone) and tibia (larger of the two leg bones).
Bob Fenci, director of Wright’s Foot and Ankle business, said the product offers an alternative to a total ankle replacement for many people. Wright also has a product for ankle replacements, the Inbone.
– Tom Wilemon
Gibbons to Release Tax, Investment Information
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Gibbons said he is releasing five years of tax returns and his current investment information to the media.
The Shelby County district attorney general said in a release Thursday the move underscores his dedication to government transparency.
Gibbons has lagged behind his main competitors in fundraising for the Republican gubernatorial primary. The other main candidates include Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga and state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey of Blountville.
Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen can’t run again next year because of term limits. There are five active candidates seeking the Democratic nomination.
– The Associated Press
ACORN Founder To Speak in Memphis
Wade Rathke, the founder and former chief organizer for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN ) – a politically active and controversial band of community-based advocacy groups – will give a public lecture Monday in Memphis.
His topic is “Common Wealth: The Campaign to Save Working Families,” and he’ll give his lecture at 6:30 p.m. at the University of Memphis Fogelman Executive Conference Center.
ACORN has been in the headlines recently after a pair of conservative activists posing as a prostitute and pimp visited several ACORN offices asking for and receiving advice about things such as how to evade federal taxes.
– Andy Meek
Grace St. Luke’s Receives $250K Grant
Grace St. Luke’s Episcopal School has been awarded a $250,000 grant from The Assisi Foundation of Memphis Inc.
The grant will help fund the school’s “Anchoring the Future” capital campaign. The capital campaign is funding the construction of a new multipurpose building, the Anchor Center, which will include a gymnasium, library, cafeteria, greenhouse, science labs, art and music rooms and dedicated after-school care space.
The school has said the new facility is an important component as it plans to increase the enrollment from the current 520 to more than 600 students during the next 10 years.
Grace-St. Luke’s is a co-educational independent school in Midtown Memphis with students in preschool through eighth grade.
– Taylor Shoptaw
Job Creation Data Flawed, Stimulus Watchdog Says
The watchdog overseeing economic stimulus spending said the White House was too quick to take credit for saving or creating 640,000 jobs.
The White House trumpeted job figures released last month, saying they proved the administration is on track to save or create 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year.
But Earl Devaney, whose agency collected and released the data, said Thursday there are too many errors to know how many jobs have been created. Under questioning on Capitol Hill, he agreed the White House should have acknowledged the doubt surrounding the numbers.
He said the downside of the unprecedented transparency is embarrassment, and there’s enough embarrassment over the accounting problems to go around.
– The Associated Press
Shelby County Resident Charged with TennCare Fraud
A Shelby County man has been charged with TennCare fraud, allegedly trying to fill a forged prescription for the painkiller Lortab.
The state Office of Inspector General announced Wednesday the arrest of Seth Dondeville, 20, of Memphis. He is charged with one count of TennCare fraud and one count of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by forgery.
Illegally obtaining TennCare medical benefits is a Class E felony with a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud is a Class D felony and carries a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison.
– Rebekah Hearn