Jackpot!
Boyd Gaming Corporation unveiled its "targeted first
responder" program in Tunica last week by equipping Sam's Town Casino and Gambling
Hall with automated external defibrillators. According to their press release, "AEDs
are used to treat people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Worldwide, approximately
one million people die each year from the condition. Defibrillation is the only effective
treatment for the primary cause of SCA, but therapy must be delivered within a few
minutes." No word, however, on the percentage paid out by the AEDs or whether Sam's
Town will now have the "Loosest Defibrillators in Tunica."
Tennessee Firsts
We were pretty excited to find out that Tennessee is the first state in American history
to adopt an "official picture." It's entitled "Tennessee Treasures,"
and if you look at it closely you can find "10 of the most common symbols of
Tennessee." Or so says the pitch from Limited Editions of Tennessee -- the
organization that is trying to drum up money to place the picture in every public school
in the state. The symbols, by the way, are the mockingbird, the tulip poplar tree, the
raccoon, the passion wildflower, the iris, the lady bug, the zebra swallowtail butterfly,
the largemouth bass, the Tennessee River pearl, and -- of course -- limestone. "From
the masked face of the raccoon to the silent drifting of the largemouth bass,"
continues the pitch, "this image instills an inner calmness and serenity to every
onlooker " So that's what serenity and calmness feel like. And to think, we
thought it was just embarrassment and shame.
What's In A Name?
During our off hours, we like to spend our quality time perusing fine literature -- our
favorite tome being the local telephone directory. During our reading, we noticed quite a
few rather unusual names listed therein, and thought we'd share some of them with you.
Please don't ask us to explain any of these:
Exodus Rappin Roots
Jerry (Bone Daddy) Snow
Peeper Sparrow
T. Phantom Stranger
Coopers Two
Running Bear
Leap Bun
Tiny Castle
Dung Dang
B.A. Dove
Mojo Foto
and our favorite, Aaron "Track King" Garcia. (Thanks, B.F.)
Hard Rock Means Hard Times For Beale Studio
by Mark Jordan
t may have been the world's most elaborate
eviction notice: dozens of local celebrities and dignitaries, representatives from every
media outlet, a huge food spread with complimentary beverages, and even free t-shirts.
Everybody was there except the evictee; she wasn't invited.
The "eviction notice" was actually the press conference held last month on Beale Street to announce the coming of a Hard Rock Cafe to the historic district. But as Beale Street developer John Elkington and Mayors Jim Rout and W.W. Herenton were celebrating their latest tourist attraction coup, Elizabeth Johns was wondering where she's going to move her business.
Johns is the owner of 315 Beale Recording Studios, which is located in the building that will be occupied by the new Hard Rock. According to Johns, in the months leading up to the Hard Rock announcement, when rumors spread that the restaurant chain would open in her building, Elkington's Performa Management and her own landlords, Memphis Sound Productions, said that no deal was imminent. "That continued up until 5 p.m. the day before the press conference," Johns says. "I was told there was no deal and that nothing had been signed yet. Then the next day the press release comes out saying the Hard Rock is going where I am."
Two days later, Johns received a letter from MSP telling her to vacate the building by the end of her lease, which expires at midnight June 29th. She immediately asked MSP for more time to move thousands of dollars worth of heavy, expensive equipment. MSP responded by serving her a subpoena for eviction, a move that was struck down last Monday in court.
In the meantime, however, Johns still has to be out by the end of the month. Besides a working recording studio that has been home to such high-profile artists as blues guitarist Luther Allison and producer Jim Gaines, Johns has a fledgling record label that is close to signing a major, national distribution deal. Johns' first records under her label, ironically titled Beale Street Records, were due to come out next month, but with the termination of her lease, she has had to postpone their release.
In an effort to relocate her studio, Johns recently made an offer on the old Three Alarm Studios building which has sat empty at the corner of Linden and Second for years. Johns' initial offer of $600,000, however, was rejected by the building owner, First Tennessee, and the asking price raised, according to Johns, to $1.5 million.
Johns says she has talked to Herenton, who has told her he's sorry but "his hands are tied. He just doesn't know what he can do for me."
She has also recently contacted the Center City Commission to see if they can help her find a new home for her studio downtown.
Herenton and Elkington could be reached for comment.
Johns says it's a shame that Beale Street, which is supposed to be the heart and soul of the city's music scene, is forcing its only professional recording studio off the street, but she remains determined to stay in business somewhere. "I'm not giving up," she says. "I'm going to find a place; if I have to, I'll build a place"
Rural Towns Can't Afford Protection Against Chemical Spills
by Debbie Gilbert
ON MAY 8TH, AN EXPLOSION AT BPS Inc., a chemical-storage facility in West Helena, Arkansas, killed three firefighters and released a toxic cloud over the town, forcing the evacuation of residents. There are seven chemical plants in Phillips County, where West Helena is located, but the county has no hazardous-materials team to help deal with toxic accidents. The closest team is in West Memphis, more than an hour away.
In the wake of the BPS incident, nervous citizens have been pressuring West Helena's leaders to establish a hazardous-materials team, but the small rural town simply doesn't have the money. It's a familiar situation in the Mississippi Delta, where manufacturing agricultural chemicals is big business, and where the surrounding socioeconomic conditions are often at or near poverty level.