VOL. TMN-7 | NO. 4 | Saturday, January 18, 2014
Commercial real estate professionals forecasting good year
When Rob Clark and his wife moved into their home in the historic Evergreen neighborhood in 1993, catalog and distribution operations were still active at the Sears Crosstown building.
As political shockwaves from the backlog of 12,000 rape kits not tested by Memphis Police over a 30-year period continue to be felt, the backlog is but one of several profound cracks in the foundation our criminal justice system is built upon.
THE MEMPHIS NEWS ALMANAC
1998: A Klan group rallied on the steps of the Shelby County Courthouse to protest the federal holiday honoring civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The protest ended with police using pepper spray and nightsticks to disperse the crowd of counter demonstrators and onlookers after several counter demonstrators breached a police barrier.
The first earnings presentation by the Memphis-based parent company of First Tennessee Bank in 2014 – its 150th anniversary – offered a recap of the fourth quarter, in which the company reported lower revenue but higher profit than during the year-ago period.
Peer Power boosts students’ success, leadership
Imagine it: Memphis students helping their fellow students make better grades and, in the process, substantially boosting standardized test scores and overall academic performance – a feat school officials have been trying to accomplish for years.
A digital marketing agency is expanding at Clark Tower in East Memphis.
The incentives Memphis and Shelby County offered J.M. Smucker Co. LLC were sweet enough for the peanut butter and jelly maker to expand its operations in the city.
Chief Juvenile Court Magistrate Dan Michael says he is prepared if his opposition in the race for Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court judge tries to make an issue of reforms underway at the court.
Plans for the pedestrian and bicycle boardwalk on the north side of the Frisco Bridge are being redesigned after the first bids on the boardwalk came in too high.
Court to decide best plan for saving Ashlar Hall
The future of Ashlar Hall has become nearly as unpredictable as its eccentric former proprietor, Robert “Prince Mongo” Hodges.
Shelby County Schools leaders expect to hear a lot Thursday, Jan. 16, when they hold a public hearing on the latest tentative list of 13 schools that could be closed in the new school year that starts in August.
From a youth symposium at the Memphis Cook Convention Center to street sweeps near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. is hoping the Be the Dream Weekend helps young people to link past, present and future.
The Shelby County Rape Crisis Center is starting a weekly support group for rape victims whose rape kits were among the 12,000 left untested by Memphis Police Department over a 30-year period.
It’s a new year and, like many people, business leaders are also resolving to make some personal and professional improvements.
Campbell Clinic program treats joint issues for children, young adults
Looking back, Cathy Rogers sees there were clues that then seemed mere oddities.
Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy scrambled Monday, Jan. 13, to overcome some of the nagging questions about an anti-blight initiative aimed at “tax dead” properties and overcame most of them for now.
On one of the first pages of a more than 80-page plan to kick start entrepreneurial growth in the Memphis area, a reader is greeted with a stark assessment.
The newest Shelby County Commissioner is not a newcomer to politics.
The city of Memphis and Shelby County governments have a difference of opinion about tax revenue and education funding.
Economic factors appear to spell demolition for the Tennessee Brewery
Discussions are underway about the particulars of an imminent demolition contract for the Tennessee Brewery, and the owners of the castle-like structure Downtown could decide the property’s fate by sometime in February or March.
Memphis City Council member Wanda Halbert calls it a “serious quagmire.”
A veteran Shelby County prosecutor has been censured by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility for his conduct in a high-profile death penalty case from the 1990s that is scheduled to be retried later this year in Shelby County Criminal Court.
On a rainy Friday afternoon, Bailey Brocato, a sophomore at the Memphis College of Art, was using a hammer and chisel to remove a tile backsplash in the kitchen of a second-floor unit at The Venue Apartments on Central Avenue.
When Rob Clark and his wife moved into their home in the historic Evergreen neighborhood in 1993, catalog and distribution operations were still active at the Sears Crosstown building.
As political shockwaves from the backlog of 12,000 rape kits not tested by Memphis Police over a 30-year period continue to be felt, the backlog is but one of several profound cracks in the foundation our criminal justice system is built upon.
1998: A Klan group rallied on the steps of the Shelby County Courthouse to protest the federal holiday honoring civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The protest ended with police using pepper spray and nightsticks to disperse the crowd of counter demonstrators and onlookers after several counter demonstrators breached a police barrier.
Already, the national conversation has started. Who deserves to be on the NBA’s Western Conference All-Star team?
Kevin Durant is a nice guy. He’s also a cold-blooded competitor.
MEMPHIS NEWSMAKERS
Leslie Shankman-Cohn has been elected the 2014 president of the Tennessee Interior Design Coalition, a statewide coalition committed, through legislative and regulatory endeavors, to enhance and protect the right to practice interior design. Shankman-Cohn is a partner in Jill Hertz Interior Design, a division of Eclectic Interiors. She specializes in custom-designed furniture, space planning, furnishings and finishes specifications, universal design, Aging in Style and sustainable design issues.
REAL ESTATE RECAP
450 U.S. 72, Collierville, TN 38017, Sale Amount: $1.5 million -
The 19,152-square-foot fred’s retail store at 450 U.S. 72 in Collierville has sold for $1.5 million.
A new coffee shop is opening near the University of Memphis soon, and the founders have a multipurpose mission for it.
LOCAL COLUMNISTS
A BILLION IS, LIKE, A LOT. Sometimes numbers are so huge – so much larger than life, if you will – they are beyond our comprehension.
The name we go by with our friends and family can be a very personal thing.
Ray’s Take: DINKs (dual incomes, no kids) might not actually be bringing home as much additional gross income as they think. When kids enter the picture, it’s probably time to take a long and hard look at the pluses and minuses – financial and otherwise – of continuing to have both parents work outside the home.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if he who made the sun and the moon and hung the stars on high could be merciful and just, then so can you.” Thus began the closing argument of a defense attorney.
The Memphis Medical Center near Downtown is currently in the midst of a significant building boom. Major new facilities by Southwest Tennessee Community College, University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the Bioworks Foundation are underway or nearing completion, joining successful hospitals, clinics, educational institutions and many other great small businesses.
Ask about anyone in business about their biggest competition, and they’ll likely offer up the name of a rival company. I’d argue that for most companies, the fiercest of all competitors is prospect indecision and apathy – the predominant deal-killers faced by sales teams day in and day out.
The S&P 500 has been the world’s performance bell cow since the great recession on the relative strength of the U.S. economic recovery. The S&P 500 has outperformed the MSCI All World ex USA All Cap Index by 17 percent over the last year, 11 percent annualized over the last three years and 5 percent annualized over the last five years.
Successful fundraising requires qualified volunteer leadership. Whether you are launching an annual campaign or a capital campaign, you need a campaign chair who is committed to your cause and willing to put in the time required to achieve your fundraising goal.
A young man came to interview for an internship. When he arrived, the first two things I noticed were that he was wearing his sunglasses casually on top of his head and was chewing gum. Less than two minutes in, I’m thinking: gum + sunglasses = unprofessional. This is just one small example of how you can turn people off before they get to know the real you. I gave Mr. Cool what I hoped was a bit of welcome advice, sending him off for his next career adventure.
The new year is a time of growth planning, renewed focus and basic housekeeping. We encourage you to take this time to evaluate your business for pruning opportunities. Just like nature’s cycle, the old must die to make room for the new in the business realm as well.
There is an African saying that “When elephants fight, only the grass gets trampled.” Since my only encounters with elephants are limited to an occasional trip to the zoo, I did not really get the full impact of the saying until I saw elephants fight on an Animal Planet show.