Ridge Lake Office Building Owners Face Foreclosure

The owners of the 38,472-square-foot Ridge Lake Office Building at 756 Ridge Lake Blvd. in East Memphis are in default, according to a first-run foreclosure notice in the Tuesday, April 15, edition of The Daily News.

The three owners are 756 RL Group I LLC, which has a 78.4 percent interest in the property; 756 RL Private Investor I LLC, which has a 12.1 percent interest; and 756 RL Private Investor II LLC, which has a 9.4 percent interest.

They defaulted on a $3.2 million deed of trust through Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest dated Nov. 16, 2007.

The three owners had purchased bought the property from Saul M. Kaplan LLC for $4.3 million at the same time.

Per newspaper policy, calls to the parties involved, such as the property owner, deed holder or trustee, are prohibited until the notice is published.

Ridge Lake Office Building is a Class B, two-story medical office built in 1986. It sits on 2.1 acres at the northeast corner of Ridge Lake Boulevard and Ridge Bend Road. The Shelby County Assessor’s 2013 appraisal of the property was $3.1 million.

The full text of the notice begins on Page 24 of Thursday’s Daily News and is available at memphisdailynews.com.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Wright Medical Investing in Arlington

Just months after relocating its corporate headquarters to Memphis, Wright Medical Group Inc. is planning a $4.3 million expansion of its manufacturing and distribution operations in Arlington.

Wright will add about 52,000 square feet of warehouse and office space next door to an existing industrial and office location at 11564 Memphis Arlington Road, according to a building permit. Wright moved its headquarters to the wooded office campus at Park Avenue and Cherry Road in East Memphis but has kept its manufacturing and distribution operations in Arlington.

Wright is investing in Arlington following the sale of its hip- and knee-implant business, along with a host of other Arlington facilities, to MicroPort Scientific Corp. of China, a $290 million deal that was finalized in January.

– Amos Maki

Bank On Memphis Continues to Grow

More than 6,400 Bank On Memphis accounts have been created since 2010, when the Memphis and Shelby County governments joined business and nonprofit groups to launch the initiative.

Most of those were checking accounts, with the rest being savings accounts. Most accounts were opened by residents in the 38109 ZIP code of Whitehaven, followed by Midtown’s 38106 ZIP code and Orange Mound’s 38114 ZIP code.

The number of Bank On Memphis community partners and financial institutions also is growing. There are now 12 participating financial institutions and more than a dozen community partners, including the Memphis Area Transit Authority, United Way of the Mid-South and the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.

– Andy Meek

American Bar Association President Visits Memphis

American Bar Association President James Silkenat is in Memphis Tuesday, April 15, for a speech at the Memphis Rotary Club and to visit Memphis Area Legal Services.

Silkenat is a partner in the New York law office of the national law firm of Sullivan & Worcester.

The ABA president’s annual Memphis visit is coordinated by attorney Shep Tate of Martin Tate Morrow & Marston PC. Tate is a former president of the American Bar Association.

Silkenat will meet with the staff at Memphis Area Legal Services to talk about the ABA’s national work on improving access to justice for clients as well as more pro bono representation of clients who cannot afford an attorney.

– Bill Dries

BankTennessee Breaks Ground in Munford

BankTennessee is breaking ground for its new branch in Munford April 22.

The 3,267-square-foot branch will have an expandable second floor and will be located on a 1.12-acre site at 26 Munford Ave. It will mirror the design of the BankTennessee branch in Ripley and is scheduled to open in October.

– Andy Meek

Tenn. Lawmakers Discuss Common Core Compromise

State lawmakers are considering compromise legislation that would delay the testing component for Tennessee's Common Core education standards for one year.

Last month, a broad coalition of Republican and Democratic House members passed a bill seeking to delay further implementation of the new standards for two years. It also seeks to delay the testing component for the standards for the same amount of time.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports legislative leaders are discussing a compromise that would delay testing for a year.

As things now stand, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests are scheduled to begin statewide in the school year that begins in August.

"I think we all agree that there should be more opportunity to consider alternatives to PARCC, or at least to put PARCC out for bid," said Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville. "There shouldn't be a rush to implementation on that, and I think that's what the consensus will be."

Under the proposal, the state Department of Education would put out a "request for proposals" for alternative testing. The state's current testing program, known as TCAP, would continue in the interim.

Proposals to do away with the standards and their assessment component failed in a House subcommittee last month. Tennessee adopted the standards in 2010 and began a three-year phase-in the following year.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is among supporters who say the standards – developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers – are needed to better prepare students for the future. They're intended to provide students with the critical thinking, problem solving and writing skills needed for college and the workforce.

– The Associated Press

Study Shows Increase in Online Information Thefts

The number of Americans who have had important personal information stolen online is on the rise.

That's according to a new Pew Research Center report released Monday.

The January survey shows that 18 percent of online adults had personal information stolen such as their social security number, credit card or bank account information. That's up from 11 percent in a July 2013 survey.

The number of adults that had an online account compromised – such as email or social media – remained flat at 21 percent.

The survey was done after news broke of Target Corp.'s massive pre-Christmas data breach that resulted in the theft of 40 million debit and credit card numbers, along with the personal information of up to 70 million people.

– The Associated Press

Businesses Increased Stockpiles 0.4 Percent

U.S. businesses boosted their stockpiles in February as sales rebounded by the largest amount in nine months.

Stockpiles increased 0.4 percent in February following a similar 0.4 percent increase in January, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Sales rose 0.8 percent in February, bouncing back after a 1.1 percent sales decline in January that was blamed on the harsh weather that month. It was the biggest one-month sales gain since last May.

A separate report showed a surge in sales at the retail level in March, providing support to the view that stronger consumer spending in coming months will encourage businesses to restock their shelves and provide a boost to the economy.

While the economy slowed in the January-March quarter, many economists are looking for a strong rebound in the current quarter.

The report on business inventories covers all kinds of stockpiles, including manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing.

Inventories held by manufacturers rose the most in February, a gain of 0.7 percent, while inventories at the wholesale level were up 0.5 percent. Stockpiles held by retailers were unchanged in February.

– The Associated Press