McDonald’s Files Permit to Rebuild Restaurant

McDonald’s has filed a $1.6 million permit with the city-county office of construction code enforcement to “rebuild a new restaurant” at 2030 S. Germantown Road.

The company for years has operated a restaurant at the location, which is on the east side of Germantown Road just north of its intersection with Poplar Avenue. Built in 1979, the existing restaurant is 6,443 square feet and sits on 1.3 acres.

The property is owned by the Virginia A. Bugg and James R. Maddox Jr. Living Trust, according to the Shelby County Assessor of Property. The 2014 appraisal is $1.2 million.

No contactor or architect is listed on the permit.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Author Jess Walter to Appear at Libration

The Memphis Library Foundation has announced that Jess Walter, author of the New York Times bestseller “Beautiful Ruins,” will join fans and library supporters during the foundation’s annual Libration event.

The event, which features three “chapters,” takes place Oct. 16-17 and benefits the Memphis Public Library.

The event kicks off with Chapter One on Oct. 16, where library supporters are invited to an exclusive evening with Walter at the Galloway Mansion from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. that will include gourmet food, premium wine and a full bar. Tickets to the event are $200.

Chapter Two brings Walter to the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library for a public talk and book signing Oct. 17 at 11 a.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Libration concludes with Chapter Three that night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., again at the Central Library. The celebration features live music, a silent auction, dinner buffet, beer garden, wine, a signature cocktail, games and a silent disco. Guests are invited to dress as a favorite book character. Tickets are $75 per person or $125 for a VIP experience with private lounge, champagne and bar.

“Beautiful Ruins,” released in 2012, spent 41 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was named Book of the Year in 2012 by Esquire Magazine. A former National Book Award finalist and winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award, Walter is the author of six novels, one book of short stories and one nonfiction book.

For more information on Libration, visit memphislibraryfoundation.org.

– Don Wade

Lee Named Chief Justice of Tenn. Supreme Court

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee has been elected by her fellow judges as chief justice of the state’s highest court, effective Sept. 1.

The election among the justices followed the August statewide retention races in which Lee, Justice Cornelia Clark and outgoing Chief Justice Gary Wade were retained by voters.

Lee was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court from the state court of appeals in 2008 by then-Gov. Phil Bredesen. Before that, she was a county and city attorney, a mediator and a municipal judge in Madisonville, Tenn.

– Bill Dries

Awards Show Coming to WKNO This Fall

An awards show produced in partnership with WKNO-TV, the Lipscomb Pitts Breakfast Club, Media Source and The Rotary Club of Memphis will launch this fall to honor positive achievements.

For The SPARK Awards, members of the community are invited to nominate individuals, nonprofits, corporations and schools that are igniting change and making a positive impact in the Memphis area.

The show is an extension of the WKNO-TV series “The SPARK,” a monthly half-hour show hosted by Lipscomb Pitts Breakfast Club president Jeremy Park about business and community leaders fueling change and giving back to the community. Nominations for the awards will be accepted through Sept. 15 at thesparktv.org, and a list of rules and guidelines for nominations can be found at that site.

Nominees will be evaluated based on their philanthropic leadership, volunteerism and impact in the Memphis area from Jan. 1, 2012, to Aug. 15, 2014.

– Andy Meek

5 Tennessee Sites Added to National Register

Five Tennessee sites, including one in Memphis, have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The registry is part of a nationwide program that coordinates and supports efforts to identify, evaluate and protect historic resources. The Tennessee Historical Commission administers the program in Tennessee.

The new sites are: Happy Holler Historic District in Knoxville, C.C. Card Auto Company Building in Cleveland, Picardy Place Historic District in Memphis, Miller Farmstead in Carter County and Norris Dam State Park Rustic Cabins Historic District in Anderson County.

For more information about the National Register of Historic Places or the Tennessee Historical Commission, visit tn.gov/environment/history.

– The Associated Press

Tennessee Panel to Examine Sentencing, Recidivism

Gov. Bill Haslam has formed a task force to develop legislative and policy recommendations related to sentencing and recidivism.

It’s part of the administration’s overall effort to reduce crime and improve public safety.

In June, the Governor’s Public Safety Subcabinet announced a partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice, a policy and research organization based in New York.

The partnership was formed to review sentencing and correction policies and practices, and the creation of a task force is the next step in that collaboration.

The current sentencing structure in Tennessee has been in place for more than 20 years. Officials say an examination will ensure that the structure is in line with the variety and severity of criminal behavior.

The task force is expected to submit its recommendations by June 2015.

– The Associated Press

Clarksville to Vote on Wine Sales in Stores

Voters in Clarksville, Tenn., will decide in November whether to allow wine to be sold in the city’s supermarkets.

Montgomery County Administrator of Elections Vickie Koelman told The Leaf-Chronicle that enough signatures have been gathered and certified through petitioning to place the wine question on the November ballot in referendum.

Backers of the concept gathered 2,157 signatures approving the referendum’s appearance on the ballot this fall.

Petitions have been circulating via the statewide “Red, White, and Food” campaign, and in Clarksville, the petitions were signed at Kroger, Publix and Food Lion stores.

The measure to possibly allow grocery store wine sales comes after Gov. Bill Haslam and the Tennessee General Assembly authorized supermarket wine sales in Tennessee earlier this year.

– The Associated Press

US Factory Output Surges in July

U.S. factory output rose for the sixth consecutive month in July, led by a jump in the production of motor vehicles, furniture, textiles and metals.

Manufacturing production rose 1 percent in July compared with the prior month, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. Factory output in June was revised slightly higher to a 0.3 percent increase. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing has risen 4.9 percent.

Demand for autos surged 10.1 percent last month, the largest increase since July 2009. The broader increase in manufacturing points to stronger growth across the economy, suggesting that manufacturers expect the pace of business investment and consumer spending to improve in the coming months.

“Manufacturing will continue to add to the recovery throughout 2014 and into 2015,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services.

Overall industrial production, which includes manufacturing, mining and utilities, rose 0.4 percent in July, dragged down by a 3.4 percent drop in production at utilities.

Several other reports suggest that factory production improved this summer.

Manufacturers added 28,000 workers last month, according to the government’s jobs report.

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, reported that its manufacturing index climbed to 57.1 in July. That’s the highest level since April 2011 and up from 55.3 in June.

– The Associated Press