$10M Construction Loan Filed for Soulsville School

The Soulsville Charter School LLC has filed a $10 million construction leasehold loan through SunTrust Community Development Enterprises LLC. The loan will fund construction of a school building – announced last year – on a 2.1-acre parcel and a 1.9-acre parking easement owned by The Soulsville Foundation Inc.

The school is to be built at 1115 College St., near the STAX Museum of American Soul Music at 926 E. McLemore Ave.

The new building – which will include classrooms, a library, science and media labs and administrative offices – will replace 13 portable classrooms the school has used since it opened in 2005 as a middle school, according to Soulsville communications director Tim Sampson.

In conjunction with the financing document, a lease statement was filed, amending Soulsville Foundation Inc.’s lease to The Soulsville Charter School LLC. The 99-year lease has a yearly rent of $1. A $5.3 million building permit was filed last year.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Kate Simone

MED's Coopwood Joins Health IT Task Force

Dr. Reginald W. Coopwood, president and CEO of the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, has been selected to serve as a member of the Task Force on Delivery System Reform and Health Information Technology.

The task force was launched this month by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank established in 2007 by former Senate majority leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell.

Coopwood is one of 24 national health system experts and leaders on the task force, co-chaired by former Senate majority leaders Daschle and Bill Frist, co-leaders of the BPC’s Health Project.

The task force, which held its first meeting June 2, will identify examples of organizations that have promoted accountable, patient-centered care and highlight opportunities related to leveraging health IT to support these models of care. The task force later this year will make recommendations for aligning current health IT efforts to best use public and private resources in support of new care delivery models.

Coopwood took over executive leadership at The MED in early 2010. He previously served as both CEO and chief medical officer at Metropolitan Nashville Hospital Authority.

– Aisling Maki

United Housing, SRVS Open Oakwood Home

United Housing and Shelby Residential and Vocational Services will celebrate the completion and occupancy of a new home for people with disabilities with a ribbon-cutting June 29 at 2 p.m.

The home, at 1586 Oakwood Drive, was built by a partnership between the two organizations, with funding provided by the Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the TARP stimulus package. SRVS received $1 million to renovate a total of seven single-family homes.

The Oakwood home is the result of a collaborative effort to provide affordable housing opportunities to low-income people with disabilities. The once-foreclosed property was renovated by United Housing for disabled accessibility, and is occupied by service recipients from SRVS, a nonprofit United Way partner agency that supports more than 800 people with disabilities through programs, including a residential living component.

The partnership has created economic benefits for the Memphis community by providing jobs and reinvestment into neighborhoods that would otherwise become a source of blight, and complements the mission of SRVS to foster community integration and independence among the special-needs population.

– Aisling Maki

B.B. King's, Itta Bena Launch Social Media Campaign

Local Beale Street favorite B.B. King’s Blues Club Memphis, and its third-floor counterpart restaurant, Itta Bena, recently launched a social media campaign to better connect with fans, patrons and visitors.

Both restaurants will use outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare to share and connect.

“We love the idea of sharing that B.B. King’s experience – the people, food and music that make it so special – with people all over the world through social media,” B.B. King’s Jada Thompson said in a statement. “There is so much locals and visitors alike don’t know about the club and the restaurant, and we want them to get to know us better before they even step foot inside.”

Popular food and drink recipes from the people who prepare them daily will become available to followers in the coming months, and visitors will have the ability to tell their stories and experiences with other fans.

Howell Marketing Strategies LLC will handle the social media accounts for both restaurants.

“This creates great, new channels for an established name like B.B. King’s to tell its story and create new buzz,” said Amy Howell, CEO of Howell Marketing.

– Sarah Baker

Financial Federal Adds New Loan Officer

Memphis-based community bank Financial Federal has added Judson Williford as a residential loan officer.

He was previously with Crye-Leike Realtors, where he was a member of its Million Dollar Club.

“Judson will be a great addition as we respond to growing demand in our residential mortgage division,” said Mary Floyd, executive vice president. “His real estate experience will be appreciated by both Realtors and homebuyers.”

Financial Federal specializes in customized banking solutions within its three divisions: residential, commercial and private banking.

– Andy Meek

Hope House to Hold 'Theatre for Hope' Fundraiser

Hope House will host its third annual Theatre for Hope July 16 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Playhouse on the Square, 51 S. Cooper St.

Theatre for Hope will be emceed by WMC-TV 5’s Anna Marie Hartman and will feature a silent auction showcasing work by local artists and a special performance of Playhouse’s production of the musical “Footloose.” Funds raised will go to Hope House, which helps HIV/AIDS-impacted children and families living in Memphis and Shelby County.

Tickets are $50 per person and $75 per couple and can be purchased by calling 272-2702, extension 206, or by visiting www.hopehousememphis.org.

– Taylor Shoptaw

Summer Scholars Institute Under Way at U of M

Shelby County Schools middle-school students begin a two-week summer camp Monday, June 13, emphasizing science, technology and math skills.

The fifth annual Shelby Summer Scholars Institute runs from through June 24 at the Fogelman Business College on the University of Memphis campus.

Hundreds of students are broken up into teams that tackle projects using skills from all subject areas. The goal is to get students to see the applicability of what they might learn in advance-level math and science courses in high school.

The projects at this year’s camp involve soil sampling and sustainable agriculture, underwater robotics, analytical technology and earthquake-resistant construction techniques.

The Navy League, IBM, the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering and the University of Memphis are partners in the camp, which is free to students and taught by teachers who are selected as math-science fellows.

– Bill Dries

LaHood: More Info Needed on Distracted Driving

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood applauded car companies Thursday for beginning to fight an "epidemic" of distracted driving and said he's waiting for a study on the problem before discussing whether the government should regulate communications technology built directly into vehicles.

"We are data-based. Our credibility comes from having good data," LaHood said. "If we have good data, then we can make a case."

LaHood has waged a campaign to discourage people from sending emails and making phone calls while driving. He praised Subaru for spending millions to air public-service ads warning about the dangers and said BMW has now produced a similar ad.

But LaHood did not join the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in questioning the safety of building communications tools directly into cars, making it easier for drivers to do other things. The head of the administration, David Strickland, said earlier in the day that was putting the auto industry on notice that safety matters more than quick connections to Facebook and Twitter, the Detroit Free Press reported.

LaHood said a study is under way to quantify the dangers of texting or making calls while driving. Any discussion of regulating built-in communications technology must wait until those results are available later this year, he said.

"Is messing with your GPS a cognitive distraction? Is changing the channel on the radio a cognitive distraction?" LaHood said. "We're looking at that now."

LaHood, speaking to a meeting of the Illinois Associated Press Editors Association, said he has spoken to the head of every car company and told them to take action against distracted driving.

"You figure out how you can be helpful to us," LaHood said he told them.

He compared the fight against distracted driving to the early stages of discouraging drunken driving and promoting the use of safety belts.

– Christopher Wills/The Associated Press