Paxton Lynch Signs With Denver Broncos

Former University of Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch is a wealthy man. The first-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos has signed a four-year contract worth about $9.5 million.

The Broncos a fifth-year team option that can be exercised after year three.

Lynch set several records while playing at the U of M and led the Tigers to back-to-back bowl games. His competition in Denver will come from former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian.

Denver coach Gary Kubiak recently called Lynch’s progress “up and down,” but remained high on Lynch’s talent and potential for growth, according to a report by the Denver Post.

– Don Wade

Beale Manager Deadline Approaches

With just days left to apply, the Beale Street Tourism Development Authority’s search for a firm to manage the entertainment district is drawing more interest than it did in its first round.

Two weeks before the deadline, Jeff Sanford, a consultant to the authority for the search, said 13 firms have expressed interest in the request for proposal in addition to the four companies who applied in the first round.

The deadline for companies to apply for the job is June 24.

The authority decided to start a second round of applications after saying the four applications in the first round all lacked necessary financial details. But as part of the second round, Sanford also met with the four applicants to talk with them specifically about what the authority needed in the way of detail if they applied in the second round.

The authority also broadened its advertising in trade journals and publications.

Sanford credited that for creating more interest in the RFP.

But he also cautioned that the inquiries don’t amount to formal proposals yet.

“I cannot tell you today … whether we will get one or 13 proposals,” he said at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the authority.

Sanford said he is confident that at least one of the four previous applicants will apply. He didn’t say which one.

– Bill Dries

Living History Program Honors ‘Women of Stax’

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis are bringing to life the stories of six women who played an essential role in Stax Records and Memphis music history.

“The Women of Stax: A Memphis Music Living History Program,” scheduled for Thursday, June 16, is one of several events the Soulsville Foundation’s Stax Museum and Stax Music Academy are staging as part of African-American Music Appreciation Month in June. The living history program features live monologues by six local actresses portraying Stax Records partner Estelle Axton and publicity director Deanie Parker, along with artists Carla Thomas, Mavis Staples, Linda Lyndell and Alberta Hunter.

The program starts at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Stax Museum, 926 E. McLemore Ave., and admission is free.

Several other African-American Music Appreciation Month events are in the works, including concerts, workshops and the June 18 Soulsville Record Swap. A complete schedule is available at staxmuseum.com.

– Daily News staff

Short Film Screenings Headed to Hard Rock Cafe

Film and music festival On Location: Memphis will again partner with Hard Rock Cafe as part of the second annual On Location: MEMPHIS Shorts Festival.

Every Tuesday in July, On Location: Memphis will screen local and international short films at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Live music also is planned as part of the event.

The first screening on July 5 will focus on live action short films. The July 12 screening will be animated films and the July 19 screening will have short documentaries. The final screening on July 26 will screen highlights from last year’s On Location: MEMPHIS festival.

The screenings begin at 7 p.m.

– Madeline Faber

Tigers Sign High School Guard From Florida

Keon Clergeot, a 6-foot-1 senior guard from Auburndale High School in Florida, has signed with the University of Memphis.

Clergeot averaged 26.5 points and 6 rebounds with 6 assists this past season.

“We have a need for him because of his outside shooting,” Memphis coach Tubby Smith said in a statement. “And his ball handling and passing skills. He’s a blue-collar worker. He will take a charge and dive on the floor.”

Clergeot, who previously had committed to play for Smith at Texas Tech, is the second player Smith has brought in at Memphis. He recently signed Coppin State graduate transfer and guard Christian Kessee.

– Don Wade

FedEx Drug Trafficking Trial Gets Underway

The U.S. government and FedEx faced off in a San Francisco federal courtroom Monday, June 13, over the government’s claim that the Memphis-based shipping company knowingly delivered illegal prescription drugs such as Ambien from pill mills to dealers and addicts, some of whom died.

FedEx has denied the charges and says it only shipped what it believed were legal drugs from licensed pharmacies. Though no FedEx officials are facing prison time, the charges carry a potential fine of $1.6 billion.

At press time Monday, prosecutors were making their opening statements, saying FedEx continued to deliver illegal prescription drugs for an internet pharmacy even after law enforcement officials told the shipping giant that the pharmacy delivered drugs to a woman who committed suicide.

Assistant U.S. attorney John Hemann cited the warning during his opening trial statement as evidence that FedEx knew its customers were shipping illegal drugs.

FedEx attorneys were expected to make their opening statement later in the day.

The trial, nearly two years in the making, is unusual both for the government’s decision to bring drug charges against a package delivery company and for the lack of a settlement. Rival UPS Inc. paid $40 million in 2013 to resolve similar allegations that arose from a yearslong government crackdown on Internet pharmacies that ship drugs to customers without valid prescriptions.

– The Associated Press

U of M Music Building to Get Mechanical Update

The University of Memphis is preparing some mechanical upgrades to its 50-year-old music building.

A $3.4 million building permit application filed with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement calls for a “mechanical modernization” of the music building at 3775 Central Ave., which houses the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, Harris Concert Hall and other related offices and classrooms.

The application lists Memphis-based Barnes & Brower Inc. as the general contractor for the project.

Barnes & Brower has been part of several past U of M projects, including the football recruitment lounge, the Larry O. Finch Center and Wilder Tower.

– Daily News staff

ABB Names New Leader for Thomas & Betts

ABB has appointed Doug Schuster global leader of Thomas & Betts, the installation products business it acquired in May 2012. He joins ABB from Eaton Corp., where he led its Critical Power Solutions division globally. He will be based in Memphis, ABB’s Electrification Products division Americas headquarters.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the electrical engineering industry, Schuster will be charged with growing the electrical installation arm of ABB, both in the US and internationally.

“We are delighted to welcome Doug on board,” Greg Scheu, head of ABB in the Americas, said in a statement. “Thomas & Betts is a great business, which is now fully integrated within ABB. We have a portfolio of strong product brands and a reputation for class-leading logistics. We are confident that he can take this business to the next level of success.”

Schuster started his career in the electrical industry with Westinghouse’s electrical business, which Eaton acquired in 1994. He then performed leadership roles in business strategy and marketing consultancy firms before joining Eaton in 2005.

ABB, a global technology company in power and automation, acquired Memphis-based Thomas & Betts in early 2012 for $3.9 billion. Thomas & Betts now operates as a business unit within ABB’s $10 billion Electrification Products division, which offers utilities, distribution channel partners, original equipment machine builders and electrical installers a full range of low- and medium-voltage solutions from Ty-Rap cable ties to substation connectors.

ABB has expanded its local presence in recent months. In March, it began shipping its first ProLine Panelboard products from an 85,000-square-foot production facility in Senatobia, Miss.

When the facility was announced, ABB said it would create 200 new jobs within three years and add 100 more within five years.

– Daily News staff

Graceland to Auction Muhammad Ali Artifacts

Graceland Auctions, which manages collections for Elvis Presley Enterprises, will hold an auction for Muhammad Ali Enterprises on Aug. 27.

Among the artifacts up for bid is a Olympic torch from the 1960 Rome Olympics signed by Muhammad Ali, autographed Everlast boxing trunks and gloves, and signed images from Ali’s most significant fights.

Each item and autograph has been vetted by Graceland Authenticated LLC. Consignments are also accepted.

For more details and event registration, see muhammadaliauction.com.

– Madeline Faber

Collierville FedEx Center Gets $12.7M Renovation

Contractor Grinder & Haizlip Construction has filed a $12.7 million building permit for renovations at the FedEx World Technology Center in Collierville.

In January, the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen ratified a 20-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes incentive package for the FedEx center at 3860 S. Forest Hill-Irene Road.

A term of the PILOT agreement is that FedEx has to invest $40 million in real property and personal property upgrades.

The FedEx World Technology Center has been an economic driver for the city since its 16-acre campus opened in 1998. Currently, the tech hub is the largest employer in Collierville, with 2,500 total workers and a capacity for 3,200.

– Madeline Faber

Law Firm Relocates to Oak Court Office Building

Butler, Sevier, Hinsley & Reid, PLLC is relocating from Downtown to the Oak Court Office Building.

The law firm will move from 6,883 square feet at 88 Union Ave. to 7,704 square feet at the East Memphis office building, 530 Oak Court Drive.

Adam Slovis of Slovis Commercial represented the tenant and Bentley Pembroke, vice president of Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors represented the landlord, WP Glimcher.

Butler, Sevier, Hinsley & Reid joins three other recent transactions at the Oak Court Office Building. Over the past two years, the 125,239-square-foot building has gained more than 50,000 square feet of positive absorption.

Monogram Foods currently occupies 30,930 square feet and will be expanding by 5,500 square feet.

Law firm Shea, Moskovitz & McGhee currently occupies 5,095 square feet and will be expanding by 1,970 square feet.

Premier Storage Investors currently occupies 997 square feet and will be expanding by 130 square feet.

– Madeline Faber

Federal Court Upholds Net Neutrality Rules

A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the government's "net neutrality" rules that require internet providers to treat all web traffic equally.

The 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is a win for the Obama administration, consumer groups and content companies such as Netflix that want to prevent online content from being blocked or channeled into fast and slow lanes.

The rules treat broadband service like a public utility and prevent internet service providers from offering preferential treatment to sites that pay for faster service.

The Federal Communications Commission argued that the rules are crucial for allowing customers to go anywhere on the internet without a provider favoring its own service over that of other competitors. The FCC's move to reclassify broadband came after President Barack Obama publicly urged the commission to protect consumers by regulating internet service as it does other public utilities.

Cable and telecom opponents argue the new rules will prevent them from recovering costs for connecting to broadband hogs like Netflix that generate a huge amount of internet traffic. Providers like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T say the rules threaten innovation and undermine investment in broadband infrastructure.

But Judges David Tatel and Sri Srinivasan denied all challenges to the new rules, including claims that the FCC could not reclassify mobile broadband as a common carrier. That extends the reach of the new rules as more people view content on mobile devices.

Judge Stephen Williams dissented in part and said he would have struck down the rules.

The industry had argued that broadband was an information service, and the FCC didn't have the authority to change in which camp it fell. But the court ruled that the FCC was justified in reclassifying broadband as a telecom utility because consumers see broadband as a pipe for internet service and use it mostly to get to websites and apps.

The same appeals court previously had struck down the FCC's efforts to enforce net neutrality twice before. The latest decision is expected to be appealed.

– The Associated Press

Memphis Bioworks Wins Nearly $4M Federal Grant

The Memphis Bioworks Foundation has been awarded a nearly $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor as part of its Strengthening Working Families Initiative.

In the Memphis region, the funding will be used to facilitate short-term job training, coaching and job placement for unemployed or underemployed parents in Fayette, Lauderdale, Shelby, and Tipton counties. The program will include support services, including funding for and access to child care resources and transportation assistance.

Training will be targeted in advanced manufacturing, health care and information technology careers, and the program’s goals are to provide grant-funded services and education and training to more than 500 participants by June 2020.

Memphis Bioworks will also consult with the Employer Advisory Council it manages for insight and input on job training curricula, industry trends, essential skills training and employment opportunities.

– Andy Meek

Mallory Alexander Opens Houston Office

Mallory Alexander International Logistics of Memphis has opened a Houston office as the company’s third major location in the South.

The operations at the Port of Houston focus on customers in the Gulf region as well as around the world.

“This new office presents the opportunity to expand our footprint near the fastest-growing Gulf port,” said Neely Mallory III, president of Mallory Alexander. “It also allows Mallory to re-enter a market that is expected to increase its imports and exports tonnage with the expansion of the Panama Canal.”

Mallory Alexander already has warehouses in Texas and offices in Dallas and Laredo.

The Houston office services will include consulting work on customs regulations, customs clearance, automated pre-filing for importers, quota entries and advice on free trade agreements.

The company has more than 500 employees in the U.S. along with branch offices in Hong Kong, Mexico and China.

– Bill Dries

Grizzlies’ Jordan Adams Has Knee Surgery

The Memphis Grizzlies announced that guard Jordan Adams underwent cartilage transplant surgery on his right knee on Wednesday, June 15.

In August, Adams underwent a lateral meniscectomy on his right knee after sustaining a partially torn meniscus during an offseason workout.

Adams never really recovered and underwent a debridement surgery on Jan. 12. Following that surgery, he participated in a lengthy rehab program, extending through the second half of the 2015-16 season.

But ultimately he was unable to return to contact play without pain in his right knee. He will be out indefinitely.

“This is obviously difficult news for Jordan and our organization,” Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said in a statement. “Jordan has been on a tough road for the better part of a year.”

The surgery was to be performed by Dr. Riley Williams at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

Adams holds career averages of 3.2 points and 0.9 rebounds in 32 games since being taken 22nd overall by the team in the 2014 NBA Draft.

– Don Wade

Wunderlich Analysts Win Industry Distinction

Two Wunderlich analysts have been named among the top performing research analysts in their respective coverage sectors.

In the 2016 Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards, Liam Burke was ranked No. 1 Stock Picker in the machinery category, and Rommel Dionisio was ranked the No. 2 Stock Picker in the leisure products category.

The Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards recognize the world’s top individual sell-side analysts and are considered a standard in objective measurement of sell-side analyst performance.

Burke is a two-time recipient of the Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards. He is a managing director covering the specialty industrials and materials space. Dionisio, meanwhile, is a managing director covering the recreational/leisure and active lifestyle sectors.

– Andy Meek

ESPN to Televise Three Memphis Football Games

The University of Memphis football team will have three games on ESPN, one on ESPN3.com/WatchESPN and two on CBS Sports Network, the American Athletic Conference announced.

More televised games are expected, as the league’s television partners have a 12-day window to add contests as the 2016 season progresses. Further, the Oct. 1 nonconference road game at Ole Miss will be televised by one of the Southeastern Conference’s television partners.

Memphis’ 2016 season and home opener against Southeast Missouri kicks off Sept. 3 with an ESPN3.com/WatchESPN broadcast. After a bye week Sept. 10, the Tigers make an ESPNU appearance against Big 12 Conference foe Kansas on Sept. 17. Memphis’ contests against Southeast Missouri and Kansas will be at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

The Tigers’ American Athletic Conference opener against Temple is slated for a Thursday night ESPN telecast. Memphis hosts the Owls Oct. 6 at the Liberty Bowl. The following week, the Tigers play their league road opener at Tulane for a Friday night ESPNU broadcast on Oct. 14.

Memphis also has a pair of games on CBS Sports Network, with both contests on the road. The Tigers’ first scheduled CBS Sports Network appearance is the program’s first trip to Annapolis, Md., to face Navy Oct. 22, and Memphis’ contest at Cincinnati is set for a special Friday CBS Sports Network telecast on Nov. 18.

– Don Wade

Last Elvis Studio Recordings Due for August Release

RCA Records and Legacy Recordings announced Thursday, June 16, they will release the last recording sessions of Elvis Presley, made in the Jungle Room of Graceland.

“Way Down in the Jungle Room” is slated for an Aug. 5 release date.

The sessions were recorded Feb. 2-8, 1976, and Oct. 28-30, 1976, less than a year before Presley’s death on Aug. 16, 1977.

Some of the recordings were included in the 1976 album “From Elvis Presley Boulevard.” Others were included on the “Moody Blue” album released a month before Presley’s death.

The two-CD set includes the master takes, with the second CD being outtakes and studio dialog between takes in the sequence in which they happened. The only exception on the second CD is an alternate take of the song “She Thinks I Still Care.”

That song and the outtakes were mixed earlier this year at Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis.

– Bill Dries

Presidents Island Warehouse Sold to Love's Parent

The parent company of Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores has purchased a Presidents Island warehouse.

In a June 8 warranty deed, Archer-Daniel Midland Co. sold the industrial property to Musket Corp. for $1.6 million.

The warehouse at 2655 Riverport Road is 100,000 square feet. It was most recently appraised at $1.4 million.

In the same warranty deed, Musket Corp. purchased two related parcels of vacant land.

One parcel is 7 acres at the address 0 Riverport Road. The other parcel, also bearing the address of 0 Riverport Road, is 4.3 acres.

– Madeline Faber

Construction Begins on Carousel Building

The Memphis Grand Carousel is closer to its summer 2017 opening. Montgomery Martin Contractors recently filed a $4.4 million building permit for “a single family banquet room” at 2525 Central Ave. The project is part of the Children’s Museum of Memphis campus, and the new building will house the 107-year-old carousel that previously spun at the Mid-South Fairgrounds.

When the fairgrounds closed, the carousel was boxed up and shipped to Ohio for a $1 million renovation.

With architect Designshop, CMOM is building a 20,000-square-foot addition to house the carousel. The glass-enclosed building will feature a carousel lobby, an attached banquet hall, a pre-event gathering space and a smaller meeting room.

– Madeline Faber

Pinnacle Adds Professionals in Memphis, North Miss.

Pinnacle Financial Partners has expanded its Memphis-area team again.

The bank has hired a trust adviser assistant and financial adviser assistant, both in the Quail Hollow office in Memphis. The bank also added a mortgage advisor assistant in its North Mississippi mortgage office.

Molly Elkins is a new trust adviser who came over from SunTrust Bank’s private wealth management group where she’d been a client support specialist and trust associate.

Janice Wright is a financial adviser assistant who’s come from Cadence Bank, where her roles included commercial loan assistant, assistant branch manager and consumer banker.

Cindy Gerrard is a mortgage adviser assistant who comes from Mortgage Investors Group, where she was a senior processor.

– Andy Meek

First Tennessee Bank Hosts Public Blood Drive

First Tennessee Bank will host a public blood drive on Monday, June 20, honoring victims of the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., that killed 49 and injured 53.

The Lifeblood Bloodmobile will be at the bank’s financial center at 4990 Poplar Ave. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Go to www.lifeblood.org/pdfs/DonationRestrictions.pdf for more details.

– Andy Meek