Memphis public bus service a lifeline for those without a car just as MATA cuts back routes



Cortez Walker rides the Route 20 Bellvue bus in Memphis.

For Cortez Walker, riding the bus is not just a way to get around, it is the key to his future.

The 29-year-old Memphian just started going to school at Rhodes College. With no car to get around, he needs the public bus.

“I ride the bus everywhere. I live in Hickory Hill, and I come downtown and go to school,” Walker said. “I’m trying to get a degree right now so I can get a job.”

On a Monday morning in late August, Walker was on his way to the Whitehaven Branch Library on the Route 20 Bellvue/Winchester line.

The Route 20 bus, however, is one of the lines where service was recently reduced by the Memphis Area Transit Authority, which means the route will continue, but it come less frequently. During peak times in the mornings and afternoons it is coming only every 30 to 40 minutes and in the off-peak times it is coming every 75 minutes.

People like Walker will continue to be able to ride, but it means a lot more down time to get around. He estimates that it takes upwards of an hour to get from his house to school because of the time it takes to catch a bus in Hickory Hill, transfer at the downtown North End Terminal on North Main Street and then take another bus to the Rhodes campus on North Parkway near Overton Park.

Walker is seeking a business degree, and Rhodes started classes the last week in August.

But on this day, things are a bit more relaxed for Walker because it is prior to the start of school, and all he’s had to do was meet with people and get his class schedule set during the orientation week. The Route 20 bus left the downtown terminal on Main Street just before 10 a.m. with Walker and 11 other people filling up the more than 35 seats.

As the Route 20 bus rumbled through downtown, people got on at several street corners as the seats filled up. The busiest stop was on Union Avenue right in front of the University of Tennessee Medical Center when eight people got on including two children clinging to their parents.

By the time the bus rolled onto Elvis Presley Boulevard, the bus was more than half full. Walker spent his time reading the Bible and listening to music.

“I’m trying to stay on the right path with everything in my life,” Walker said.

Like many riders, Walker had heard about the reductions in service. Two public hearings were conducted in late July where riders could voice their displeasure with the cutbacks. Walker said he was not in favor of the reductions.

“That would make it pretty hard for me to get back and forth. A lot of people need the bus if they have no car to get around,” Walker said. “It’s the only way for people to get around including me.”

Walker got off at the intersection of Winchester and Mill Branch, but the Route 20 bus kept rolling right through to the intersection of Shelby Drive and Tchulahoma Road, dropping off people until getting the end of the line where only five people were left.

As it headed back north to downtown, people got on and off, and the bus again was more than half full while on Elvis Presley Boulevard. After more than two hours, the Route 20 bus had made a complete circle and arrived back at the North End terminal with, coincidentally, 11 people on the bus.

One of those people waiting to get on was Earnest Gwinn, 43, who said he was homeless. He said he spends his time riding around Memphis on the public bus looking for work. To get money for the fare, he asks people for loose change. He gives out his sister’s cell phone number to anyone who might know of a job opportunity for him, and he crashes at her house when she lets him.

Gwinn said he heard about the bus service reductions via an announcement made on the bus, and he said it will be hardship on a lot of people in his position.

“I ride around to stores to get something to eat. I hang out at Walgreens,” Gwinn said. “Basically, I need someone who can help me find a job. I don’t have a car, and for me the bus is the only way I know to get around.”

Sales tax holidays no benefit say some parents; not so good for the economy either

What started as a feel-good attempt to give families a break and stimulate the economy has turned out to be not so popular with the savvy parents of school-age children and not all that good a way to help the economy either.

The season of “sales tax holidays” has arrived with stores in Tennessee giving consumers a break from paying sales taxes on Aug. 2-4 and in Mississippi on July 26-27. The timing is set to help parents pay for back-to-school supplies by eliminating sales taxes on everything from clothes to shoes to electronics.

But some parents say tax free weekend is not worth the effort.

“It’s a zoo. It’s crazy that weekend. I would be out that weekend only if I needed to make a major purchase like a computer. But even then, if you needed a computer, you could always buy that online if you wanted to save the sales tax,” said Debbie Penney, 49, of Cordova, mother of three children including a 12-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter. ”There are plenty of sales prior to, and even after, the tax free weekend you can take advantage of.”

The timing is not so good either because in Tennessee the tax-free weekend comes the weekend right before the start of school for many students including those in the new Shelby County School District, which has an opening day of Aug. 5.

For parents who have a lot to buy and lots of children, waiting until just days before the start of school is not practical. Savvy shoppers recognize the sales tax holidays as a gimmick that does not save them money.

“I would go that weekend only if I had to buy electronics, but not for general school supplies. Usually, I find them on clearance at Wal-Mart or Walgreens right after the school year ends and get things for the following year,” said Anji Bishop, 31, of Millington, mother of three boys and two girls, ages 5 to 12. “It is not worth it trying to save just 10 cents on the dollar.  … I just feel that you can buy items like this cheaper at other times of the year.”  

Seventeen states this year are conducing some form of a tax free holidays, reports the Federation of Tax Administrators. Some states set them at the same time every year while others approve them every year depending on the political winds at the time. Tennessee’s tax free holiday weekend, which was first conducted in 2006, is set by state law the first weekend in August.

During the recession of 2007 to 2009, some states suspended them due to the cost to state government.  And the costs are significant in lost revenue to state government. Estimates are that in 2012 the state of Tennessee did not collect between $9 and $10 million on the sales tax weekend. Tennessee continued the sales tax holidays even when total sales tax revenues for the state slumped during the recession

The cost to state government is sometimes minimized by the fact that stores often work employees more hours that weekend to accommodate the crowds, which means more state income tax, but in Tennessee that is no benefit due to the lack of a state income tax. Other factors that mitigate the cost to state government happen when the tax free holidays attract shoppers from other states who then buy items that are subject to sales tax.

“Retailers tend to like them. Some customers like them too, but there are studies to show that retailers will jack up the prices so the customers do not get much of a benefit at all,” said Ronald Alt, senior manager for economic and tax policy at the Federation of Tax Administrators. “Customers are not getting much of deal because normally the stores would have sales to bring in people doing the shopping for back to school.”

Alt said most states that participate view them as a way to boost the local economy rather than a way to help consumers. A 2012 study by the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research group, determined that despite their political popularity, sales tax holidays are not a good idea.

 “Sales tax holidays introduce unjustifiable government distortions into the economy without providing any significant boost to the economy. They represent a real cost for businesses without providing substantial benefits. They are also an inefficient means of helping low-income consumers and an ineffective means of providing savings to consumers,” the study determined.

The study found that sales tax holidays only shift the timing of purchases instead of increasing them, distort the economic climate by choosing to make only some items tax free, mislead consumers about savings and also make it difficult on retailers who have to suspend the collection of taxes for a few days.

The retailers, however, like them as they are often used to lure people into stores at a time when consumers are in a mood to spend. At least one retailer defended them as good for consumers. Ursula Roman, marketing director for Fred’s Super Dollar, which has 17 stores in the Mid-South, said she cannot comment on the policies at other stores, but Fred’s does not suspend its specials on the tax free weekends.

“We want people to come into the store that weekend for sure. The tax free is just another added benefit for customers. We run our regular ad circular specials that weekend,” Roman said. “In fact, if customers could combine our ad specials with the tax free and even get more savings.”

One strategy to save on sales tax without buying on the sales tax holidays is to shop consignment sales. Tennessee law allows organizations to conduct two consignment sales per year and not charge the customers sales tax, said Barbara Sampson, assistant commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Revenue.

Another idea is to buy online, where sales tax is not collected in Tennessee if a consumer is buying from a store outside the state or a store that has not agreed to voluntarily collect sales tax. But Sampson said consumers are obligated to pay a use tax even though most consumers do not bother with it.

All agree that stores will be crowded as they always are that weekend. Michael Holland, 41, of Memphis, father of a 2-year-old daughter going to pre-school said he will shop on the sales tax holiday only for a big ticket item.

“It would make sense for me with a computer or maybe some of the more expensive clothing items, but not for the regular everyday items. You could find better sales another time of the year, and on that weekend those kinds of sales are hard to find,” Holland said. “It may be kind of a gimmick, but sales tax is high around here so on a big ticket item is where it makes sense.”

Journoterrorist Michael Koretzky brings his unconventional style to the University of Memphis

Michael Koretzky talks to Bryan Heater. sports editor
at The Daily Helmsman

Michael Koretzky calls himself a “journoterrorist” and says that he likes censorship. He tells audiences that he was expelled from high school, suspended from college and fired from two different jobs.

The South Florida writer and editor has published a newspaper for the homeless, written for supermarket tabloids and helped students put on programs whereby they give up their First Amendment Rights in exchange for food.

Koretzky is no traditional role model, yet he inspires journalism students to do great things.

He brought his non-traditional style to the University of Memphis March 27 as part of the 31^st annual Freedom of Information Congress at the University Center Theater. More than 100 people attended the event, and many more met with him as he spent the day in the Meeman Journalism Building meeting students and addressing the staff of The Daily Helmsman.

 “He was really insightful. He told us what we are doing right, and what we are not doing so right. He gave us a ton of good ideas for stories, and he told us how to cater to the student audience,” said Chris Field, a junior journalism student and sports writer for The Daily Helmsman. “He gave us a lot of ideas of how to take the paper in some new directions.”

The title of his presentation was  “Why I like Censorship (I seriously do, this isn’t a cheap reverse psychology marketing ploy)” He lambasted the thin-skinned news media along with pompous university administrators.

Koretzky used his own story as a way to inspire students, telling them that getting fired is not the end of the world - if you get fired for the right reasons. The right reasons would be standing up for principles and speaking truth to power.

For example, he discussed his experience as the campus newspaper advisor at Florida Atlantic University, where he was fired in 2010. He says he was fired because the school administrators did not like how the campus newspaper was calling them to task.

So instead of going away, he volunteered as an advisor at no pay, even though the school told him he could not do that.

Christopher Whitten introduces Michael Koretzky
at the Freedom of Information Congress.

One of his messages is that it is OK to fail. You will be better for it. He said he is a better journalist for getting suspended from the University of Florida in 1989 and then dismissed from the South Florida Sun Sentinel in 1997.

“Commit sins of commission, not omissions,” is one of his mantras for young people who sometimes are too timid to take on people in positions of power and authority.

Memphis journalism students said they found Koretzky inspiring.

“I learned that you should do what you love. We are all journalists, and I am a writer so I should be writing about what I love,” said JJ Greer, journalism student. “He convinced me that there is a market for what we write about. I am a soccer player, and I do live to write. He convinced me to turn my career into someone who writes about soccer. You have to write about your passions and your interest.”

Koretzky said he was humbled by the invitation to be part of the Freedom of Information Congress, an event in the past has featured such journalism heavyweights as Anderson Cooper of CNN, the late David Broder of The Washington Post and Helen Thomas of United Press International. The event is sponsored by the U of M Society of Professional Journalists chapter and the department of journalism.

To find out more about Koretzky’s unconventional ideas, visit his blog, journoterrorist.com. He currently works as a magazine editor, and he continues as a regional representative for the Society of Professional Journalists.

About his experiences in Memphis, Koretzky wrote,” It turnsout the University of Memphis is a quirky and contradictory place. It bothdepressed and impressed me.”

 

Research answers the question: Was The Commercial Appeal responsible for Martin Luther King's death?

From the Commercial Appeal, Feb. 23, 1968. 

An examination into the Memphis Commercial Appeal from the winter of 1968 shows that the newspaper played a role in the death of Martin Luther King.

I recently presented a research paper “Beyond the Bounds of Tolerance: Commercial Appeal and the 1968 garbage strike” at The Media andCivil Rights Symposium at the University of South Carolina. The research examined the editorial page copy in the newspaper from February to April 1968. It specifically examined the editorials and the editorial cartoons.

It showed that the newspaper’s anti-union and paternalistic attitudes failed to act as a voice of reason. The strike of garbage workers is what precipitated the visit of Martin Luther King to Memphis, where he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968.

The research revealed that the newspaper’s belligerent tone at the start of the strike changed as violence began to erupt, and toward the end the newspaper was calling for conciliation. The newspaper at first vilified King and derided him for coming to Memphis. But after this death, the newspaper timidly praised him.

The research was enhanced by a never-before published interview with Frank Ahlgren, who was Commercial Appeal editor at the time. Ahlgren helps put into perspective the motives of the newspaper and its staff during the strike.

The symposium presentation was made on March 22, and it coincided with other research that focused on how the media influenced the civil rights era. Also attending the presentation was Hank Klibanoff, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Race Beat.

Watchdog Workshop at the University of Memphis shows journalists the power of investigative reporting



Russ Ptacek of WUSA shows some of his work.

Journalists from the Mid-South joined students and faculty for a Watchdog Workshop Jan. 25-26 where participants learned how to maximize Google searches, unleash the reporting power of Excel spreadsheets and expand the investigative muscle of Twitter.

Investigative Reporters and Editors presented the workshop, which was sponsored by the U of M Journalism Department and the student Society of Professional Journalists chapter. It attracted more than 50 people to the all-day Friday session, and another 25 to the hands-on Saturday classroom training.

“The most interesting thing I learned was how much information is waiting to be found online,” said Taylor Smith, a junior journalism student. “It really is true that everything stays online, and if you know how to find it and analyze it. You can get some incredible stories.”

Presenting at the workshop was Mark Horvit, executive director of the IRE; Russ Ptacek, investigative reporter for WUSA in Washington; Brian Faughnan, Memphis attorney Alison Young, investigative reporter for USA Today; and Doug Haddix, director of the Kiplinger Program at Ohio State University.

Horvit discussed how most people, journalists included, rarely use Internet search engines to their full potential. Offering some concrete examples of how it is done, Horvit showed how within minutes a reporter can gain valuable background information on just about anyone in the world.

“The Internet's a big storage file of personal and private information. I'm not sure a lot of people realize that,” said Beth Cooper, a senior journalism student. “In the workshop we learned how to use that to our benefit as journalists, looking for associations and information that may lead to the formation of a story idea, or just to fill in the holes inside a story with more factual information."

Ptacek discussed his own work as a reporter to identify unsafe restaurants, corrupt politicians and social injustices. In one piece, he demonstrated how asking the right questions uncovered discrimination in the way Washington cab drivers treated black customers.

Faughnan discussed some of the pitfalls with Tennessee’s open records law while Young showed how to complete quick investigations. Young’s work at USA Today and at the Atlanta Journal Constitution included examinations of toxic chemicals near closed factories and her coverage of issues associated with the Centers for Disease Control.

At the hands-on training, Horvit showed how a journalist can use an Excel spreadsheet to organize information and come to conclusions about issues that otherwise no one would know.

“I learned how simple the process of analyzing information actually is,” Smith said. “It can be a little intimidating when you're handed an Excel sheet for a story, but going to the workshop taught me how to break documents like that down and wring out all the data I could possibly need.”

Haddix showed how social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are valuable reporting tools. Any journalist not using social media to report a story is missing out on half the news. A journalist using Twitter can identify news stories, locate news sources and uncover information.

Investigative Reporters and Editors is a nationwide organization of reporters dedicated to improving the quality of journalism. It conducts Watchdog Workshops around the country as well as training programs at his base in Columbia, Mo.

“The workshop helped stimulate me to find better stories, not just everyday story ideas, but ones that really inform about key issues,” Cooper said “I think the IRE is doing great work and I'm really satisfied with how much I learned in such a short time.”

Shea Flinn a fish out of water in Memphis politics

Councilman Shea Flinn

By his own admission, Shea Flinn is an anomaly in Memphis politics.

The 39-year-old City Councilman is a white Democrat in a city where the racial divide cuts along the political divide. The Democrats are black, and the Republicans are white. So perhaps it is fitting that Flinn is making his mark on city council where the positions are officially non-partisan.

“At the end of the day I am a white Democrat in a city where being Democrat is synonymous with being black so I would lose most primaries on that issue. I am far too liberal on social issues to ever be elected in a Republican district so it’s a pretty short ceiling,” Flinn said. “I recognize that, and that’s fine. … It is an honor and privilege to be on city council, but it is not something I would want to do forever.”

First elected to council in November of 2007, Flinn is in the forefront of the biggest city issues, and he has not been afraid to tackle some of the thorniest. He rarely can be pigeon holed.

For example, he injected himself into the 2011 campaign that convinced Memphis citizens to give up its school charter and force the merger with Shelby County Schools, even though he was not a school board member and it only indirectly affected city government. His goal was to reduce the burden on the city, which was embroiled in a debate over whether the city should support the city schools.

Flinn is championing the cause of reducing property taxes to make Memphis more attractive to businesses and new residents, a cause most closely associated with conservative Republicans. His goal is to increase taxes and increase fees in other areas in order to make the city a more attractive place to buy a house or start a business.

He also proposed and promoted establishing an adult entertainment district for the city, an issue that other politicians would not even touch. His thinking is that adult entertainment is here to stay so why not make sure it is allowed to operate in an area that will not offend the neighborhood.

Basically, Flinn wants to make his mark in Memphis politics by being the person who is willing to make the difficult decisions and tackle the difficult issues. The status quo has just not been working in a city with a poverty rate of 25 percent and a stubborn unemployment rate for the Memphis metro area of 9.6 percent.

“We are not going to continue do things the way we have always done it. We have been losing population in the city. We have been losing population in the county. How we’ve always don’t it, is not working,” Flinn said. “We have to find new ways to do things.”

Because he sees no wider political future, Flinn is willing to speak up for issues and say things that someone with higher political ambitions may not say. That includes raising fees on some services in order to lower property taxes and get the city out of the business of doing things that Shelby County should be doing. The school issue is the best example, but he is also working to get the city out of the business of doing vehicle emission inspections and turn that over to the county.

As one of the three representatives to Super District 9, which is the northern part of Memphis, Flinn, was first introduced to politics as a fill-in for state Senator after the election of Steve Cohen to the House of Representatives in 2006. He previously ran un-successfully for the state House before determining his future was in non-partisan politics.

His day job is as general counsel for Flinn Broadcasting, a company his father owns. He is a graduate of Rhodes College and the University of Memphis Law School. Flinn attributes his independence to the fact his mother was a Democrat, and his father a conservative Republican. His father George Flinn won the Republican primary for Congress this past summer.

“I have the zeal of a convert about my distaste for partisanship. I can’t stand it. I think it is ridiculous. It is a team sport view of politics, and that is not how politics is supposed to work,” Flinn said. ”Someone once said about politics it is like professional wrestling. All the fighting is for the cameras. The problem we have now is that cameras are never shut off.”








U of M students, faculty at Tennessee Press Association

University of Memphis students along with faculty members Tom Hrach, David Arant and Otis Sanford attended the 2012 Tennessee Press Association winter conference in Nashville on Feb. 8-10. At the event, students learned about the newspaper business and opportunities at some of the state's weekly and daily newspapers. Also attending were several state legislators along with Gov. Bill Haslem.

Memphis basketball coach discusses her team, her style

Reporting students at the University of Memphis conducted a press conference with Memphis Tigers women's basketball coach Melissa McFerrin on Feb. 1, 2012. McFerrin discussed expectations for her team and the upcoming Conference USA tournament. The Tigers are the pre-season favorites to win Conference USA and are in first place.

CA columnist Wendi Thomas talks about news in Memphis

Wendi Thomas, columnist for the Commercial Appeal, talks about her experiences in commenting on the news in Memphis. She spoke to the staff of the Teen Appeal on July 25, 2011, at the University of Memphis. Among the topics she discussed were her support of the city school system, her criticism of city leaders and her desire to make the Bluff City a better place to live and work.

Click on the arrow to hear what she had to say.

A visit to St. Louis

University of Memphis Journalism Professor Tom Hrach visited St. Louis in August 2011 to attend a journalism educators conference. While he was there, he was able to see views of the St. Louis arch along with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the new Busch Stadium. Here is a look at some of the scenes from that trip.

Women play to win while the men play defense: At soccer’s highest level, the females just play a better game

The USA’s win over Brazil in the Women’s World Cup has settled the debate. It cannot be disputed any longer. The truth is women play soccer at its highest level way better than do the men.

It is not that the women play any more skillfully, any more athletically, or anymore aggressively.

They just play a better game to watch. It is more thrilling. It is more high drama. There’s more scoring, and there’s less whining, complaining and flopping from the players. It is just a better game, and anyone who is not watching the Women’s World Cup from Germany is missing some of the greatest athletic thrills in a generation.

I know that this conclusion may seem a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, seeing how the USA’s win on Sunday is being called the greatest match ever. You cannot ask for much more than having a team playing a man down tie the match at 2-2 in stoppage time of overtime and then win it on penalty kicks.

That may never happen again, but it almost assuredly would not happen in the men’s game. Last year’s World Cup in South Africa, let’s just be honest, was dreadfully boring. None of the matches came even close to the drama that this year’s Women’s World Cup matches have achieved. Can you even remember a memorable moment from South Africa?

Last summer’s final between Spain and the Netherlands could go down as most boring soccer match in history. Was either team even trying to score? In fairness, Spain did score once, and then spent the rest of the match playing defense.
That’s one of the big differences between South Africa last summer and Germany this summer. Scoring. Goals make the game more exciting. The women try to score while the men play defense. Defense may win championships in that other game called football, but it makes for awfully dull soccer matches.

The numbers do not lie. Through the quarter finals of this summer’s Women’s World Cup, the average goals per game is 2.5. In all the matches from last summer in South Africa, it was only 2.25. The women so far have had just one match finish with the dreaded 0-0 draw. The men achieved that ignominious feat seven times.

I am not a big fan of settling a match with penalty kicks. They are like settling a baseball game by conducting a home run hitting contest. But you cannot deny it is an exciting way to end it. Two of this year’s women’s matches so far have been settled that way – USA-Brazil along with England-France. What made it exciting was that in both matches the teams scored real goals before ever making it to the penalty kicks.

In South Africa last year, there were two matches settled with penalty kicks as well. But, as you might have expected, one of those was because Paraguay and Japan ended up in a 0-0 draw.

Then there is just the whole issue of how the players conduct themselves on the field. Despite some questionable refereeing, you rarely see the women with that “what foul” look on their faces. You rarely see a woman screaming at an official after a referee’s decision. You rarely see a woman acting like she was shot with cannon whenever she gets elbowed by another player. The women just get out there and try to score.

That’s not just my sentiment either. Esteemed New York Times Columnist George Vescey is watching the Women’s World Cup from his living room couch and noticed the same thing. He lamented the differences in the men’s and women’s game after the USA’s third match of the opening round saying, “Sweden and the United States just reminded me why women’s soccer stands by itself as a special sport. The women never stop playing. Never mind techniques or tactics. I am talking here about heart.”

Yes, the women play with more heart. The women play to win, and you win by scoring. The men play not to lose, and you do that by playing defense. I will take scoring every time.

Memphis restaurant inspections scores more difficult to digest now that they are no longer online

Walk into any restaurant in town, and you will see hanging somewhere near the front entrance a yellow piece of paper with a big black number scrawled across the front.

That yellow piece of paper has no bearing on whether you order the ribs wet or dry, the eggs poached or scrambled or even whether you choose the egg foo young or the pepper steak. But it does have a bearing on whether you leave the restaurant feeling you got a good meal or whether you leave a bit queasy.

Those yellow pieces of paper are the restaurant inspection reports, which for the past two months got a lot more difficult for the public to digest. That is because the Tennessee Department of Health has not had the reports available online for the public to view.

Sure, those reports are hanging in every restaurant. But try to read one of those hanging behind the cash register and you will see it is not so easy.


At Bob’s Barksdale Restaurant in Midtown, the report is hanging right next to the Auburn Tigers pennant behind the counter, but it is partially obscured by the lost and found hook filled with hats and key chains. Admittedly, the large “85” is clearly visible in the bottom right corner.

At Central BBQ nearby, the report is hanging behind the counter too - right next to the Memphis in May poster that says “Peace, Love and Pork.” But you would have to have laser vision to make out anything other than the large black “91” written across the front.

Online made it easier

Prior to July 1, those inspection reports had been available online. The service was extremely useful and easy to use. If a restaurant was inspected one week, the report was available online within a week. Every food service establishment is required to have an inspection every six months.

Yet those are not available online right now due to a change in a state contract with a new a new computer company, said Lori LeMaster, Environmental Health Program Manager with the Tennessee Department of Health. There is no definite date for getting them posted again, but she said the goal is as soon as possible.

“I have had several calls from folks who have wondered where they are. They are required to be posted in the restaurants, but I agree that online is the easiest way to look for the inspections,” LeMaster said.

Is it a bit hard to believe someone would consider the restaurant inspection report before deciding whether to get barbecue or Chinese?

“I would say once or twice a week someone asks to see it. But we have it posted right here where anyone can see the score without even asking. I have never had anyone ask to take it off the wall to look at very closely though,” said Bob Henry, owner of Barksdale.. “But they do see the score even if they never say anything.”

Reports good for the public

It is a truism that sunlight is the greatest disinfectant, especially in the restaurant business. Even for people who never look at the yellow piece of paper or who never go online to see the report benefit from the fact that it is online. It keeps restaurateurs on their toes, and protects the public.

“People will drop by and see if it is hanging there,” said Kenny Burnett, kitchen manager at Central BBQ. “Sure, people care. No one wants to eat a nasty restaurant. If you get a bad score like a 70, you can’t hide that.”

As for whether anyone goes online before deciding on the pork plate or the beef brisket, Burnett said he has no way of knowing that.

It also brings up another interesting thing about the scoring. Contrary to what the public and the restaurant owners believe, there is no failing score according to LeMaster.. There are critical violations that can force a place to close, but there is no magic number that has to be reached.

Yet everyone has been to school so everyone knows a 90 or higher is an A, and anything less than 70 is a D or an F.

LeMaster said the average score is actually in the low 80s – a B- by most people’s standards.

“Again,.people make their own decisions on where they want to eat and what score you want your restaurant to be at,” LeMaster said. “Being in the restaurant you can tell by the way things look. Take that all into account and look into the score as well.”
Even people in the restaurant business acknowledge that having the report available online is valuable.

“If I walked into a place and score was below a 70 or a 72, I do not think I would walk out. But I would be looking around to see what’s going on,” Henry said. “You have to remember that anyone can have a bad day in this business, …A low score does not always mean it is not safe, but if you see a low score keep your eyes open. I would tell you that most people are at a bigger risk in their own kitchen than they are in a restaurant that gets inspected at least twice a year.”

Good advice.

Environmentally friendly house in Memphis' uptown neighborhood is one of a kind

A project designed by University of Memphis architecture students recently received a Platinum rating from the United States Green Building Council. That project known as the TERRA House was completed earlier this year, and now it is a functioning home in Memphis’s uptown neighborhood.

The Platinum designation makes the house the first in West Tennessee to receive the rating. The house was designed to use significantly less electricity and less gas than a standard Memphis home of the same size. The house also uses less water, and it has many other features that make it energy efficient and earth friendly.

Derek Phillips, 28, who lives in the house with his father Monte Phillips, recently offered a tour of the house, which is located at the corner of North Main Street and Greenlaw Avenue.

“Everyone who drives by is gawking. It really is unique. They see the solar panels on top, and they know it is something really different,” Derek Phillips said. “It has a whole different look. … I like it here. It’s really a great place to be.”

The house was completed earlier this year, and it was purchased by Monte Phillips. TERRA stands for Technology and Environmentally Responsible Architecture. Here’s a look inside the TERRA House.

Save the BCS: It's best for everyone no matter how many schools are in each conference

Let me get this straight. There will be 12 schools in the Big Ten and 10 schools in the Big 12?

No wonder things are so mixed up in big time college football these days. And there’s nothing more mixed up than the debate about whether there should be a national championship playoff in major college football.

I want to be the first person this season who offers a salvo in that great debate. Here it is. No playoffs. I love the current system. I love the Bowl Championship Series. Don’t change a thing.

In the heart of the Southeast Conference, that is probably blasphemy. I mean if there were a playoff, it would mean more games for the powers like Florida and Alabama. Incidentally, I would like to thank the Southeast Conference for never putting a number in its name, which means schools can be added or taken away without confusion.

And here in Memphis, where our local university is salivating at getting out of Conference USA and into a big time conference, the issue is especially relevant. That is assuming Coach Larry Porter is able to revive the football program and get to the point where the Tigers would even be considered a national championship contender.

Incidentally, I would like to thank Conference USA for not only keeping numbers out of its name but keeping out compass directions as well. If Maine or Hawaii want in, no confusion.

Up in Arms?

It is true that nothing gets America’s sports fans and their radio talk-show brethren more up in arms than discussing the BCS. That’s the system that decides which college football teams play in the biggest payday bowl games.

It is unfair. It is un-American. The championship should be settled on the field. It even violates the law, according to U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah who conducted a Congressional hearing into the whole thing. America is screaming for a playoff system in big time college football.

Be careful what you wish for.

The BCS has been the best thing for college football since Knute Rockne started using the forward pass. If American sports fans kill the BCS, it will be like killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

The truth is that college football is thriving and growing in popularity every season. Television ratings for big time college football are through the roof. Even schools not in the BCS like Memphis are benefiting simply from the nationwide discussion and interest about whether they are good enough to be in one of the top conferences.

Examples to follow

Ever heard of Boise State before that school broke through the BCS barrier and started winning big time bowl games? An obscure state university in one of the most anonymous states is getting its games on national television and selling out stadiums because they play with the moniker that they are not in a BCS conference.

It could happen in Memphis too, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on our new coach.

For a quick refresher, the current system of choosing the national championship college football team is done by using computers and polls to chose the top two schools. The top two schools then play a title game sometime in January, which is scheduled about a month and a half after the Ohio State-Michigan game.

The best part of this system is that there are no playoff games. The schools go straight to the title game without all those preliminaries. It ensures the best teams end up in the big game without a playoff upset along the way to spoil the fun.

The current system is so deliciously interesting that throughout the season some of the most anticipated moments are when the BCS rankings are revealed. Even if a fan slept through the entire week of games, there’s still plenty of interest on the Monday morning rankings.

The best of both worlds

The BCS rankings cleverly combine the best of both worlds – the computer’s brains and the human brain. What better way to rank the schools that with the power of technology and people? Coaches can spend hours just examining those BCS rankings to derive ways to raise their scores.

And the truth is that the rankings just keep up the interest in college football. We love to rank things – from the hottest celebrities to the most miserable cities.

I know this nowhere near settles this great debate, and there will be plenty more talk about this subject as the season progresses But I would like to make one more suggestion. Now that the Pac-10 has added Colorado and Utah, how about re-naming it the 12-Pack.

What's happening in Gulf is a disaster - not spill, leak or incident

When my daughter knocks over a cup of milk at dinner, that’s a spill. When I let the gasoline can leak on my lawn mower, that’s a spill. When I get knocked over roller skating, that’s a spill too.

But when an offshore rig explodes and millions of barrels of oil flow into the Gulf of Mexico for more than three months, that is NOT a spill. That’s a catastrophe. That’s a nightmare. That’s a disaster. So why do are we still referring to what’s happening as a spill?

Maybe it is because BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward continued to refer to the catastrophe/nightmare/disaster as a spill when he went before Congress on June 17: “The explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon and the resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico never should have happened─ and I am deeply sorry that they did.”

He later referred to it as an “incident.” It was more than an incident too. But to be fair to Hayward, there were points in his Congressional testimony where he did call it a “disaster” and then referred to the explosion and deaths of the workers involved as “tragic events.”

Even President Barack Obama in his speech to the nation on June 15 referred to it as the spill at least seven times. He said, “Tonight, I've returned from a trip to the Gulf Coast to speak with you about the battle we're waging against an oil spill that is assaulting our shores and our citizens.” He certainly could have opened his speech by using disaster/catastrophe or nightmare.

Obama also called it a leak at least two times. When my tire runs low on air, that’s a leak. When the bathroom pipes drip onto the floor, that’s a leak. This is not a leak either. But in fairness to the president, he also referred to it as a disaster, catastrophe and an epedmic at least once each in his address.

When BP decided it needed someone other than Hayward to be the face of the company, native Louisaian Daryll Willis was recruited to do the job. The serious looking executive promises viewers in recent TV commercials to make it right. Yet he barely refers to what happened, and only once refers to the oil at all, again calling it a spill.

The point is that using the word spill or leak or incident is a way of downplaying its significance. It is a way of minimizing the event. So here today I am officially suggesting the nation come up with a new term. One contender: How about the Gulf Oil Dump?

To dump something indicates a general willfullness on someone’s part. If I dump trash along the road, it indicates that I am doing it intentionally and that it is not being done in a very careful manner. A dump is a place where people throw away trash, not a place where we dispose of trash in an environmentally friendly manner. Reasonsible people take their trash to a landfill.

Another contender: How about Gulf Oil Disaster? This is a good one. A disaster is a event that has far reaching consequences. A disaster is something unplanned, unexpected yet it does not condone it was a random act. Someone can cause a disaster and someone can avoid a disaster. In this case, the oil in the gulf certainly could have been avoided.

Another option: Gulf Oil Catastrophe? A catastrophe is a sudden or widespread disaster. It is bigger than a disaster, but it also connotes some finality. We do not know how this one will end. Will it end up in catastrophe? Or will we recover? Only time will tell on that one.

So for the record, I say the nation stops calling it a spill and settles on Gulf Oil Disaster. In time we may know it as the Gulf Oil Catastrophe, but it is a bit too soon for that. Gulf Oil Dump just seems a tad too crude - pardon the pun.

I know there is some history with word spill. After all, we still refer to the Exxon Valdez in 1989 as an oil spill. But as we now know, this will end up being a bigger event than that.

The Gulf Oil Disaster. Let’s hear Hayward say it. Let’s hear Obama say it. Let’s hear BP executives, public officials and citizens call it what it is. It is a disaster.

Willie Herenton discusses journalism, politics, his future

Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton discussed his upcoming campaign for Congress with student journalists at the 2010 Teen Appeal Camp at the University of Memphis on July 21.

His most pointed comments were reserved for journalism, and those in the news media who he says are actively campaigning to destroy his political career. Along the way he also discussed President Barack Obama's endorsement of his opponent Steve Cohen and some of his accomplishments as mayor for 17 1/2 years. Click here to listen to what he said.

Program shows youngsters how to stay safe

The Germantown Safety City program attracted 128 5- and 6-year-old children to the Germantown Church of Christ on June 14 to 18. The program, which is sponsored by the Germantown Safety Committee, is designed to teach children the importance of staying safe.

Some of the key lessons for the children were to remember to wear helmets while bike riding and the importance of crossing streets carefully. Other lessons centered on how to dial 911, what to do in case of a fire and importance of using life vests while boating. A new element this year was a lesson on what do if a child gets lost in the woods.

The program targets children who will be entering Kindergarten and the first grade because these are youngsters who will be riding a school bus for the first time and crossing streets for the first time by themselves.

Sponsored by the Germantown Public Safety Education Committee, the week-long program had the support of local businesses as well as many volunteers from area high schools and middle schools.