Sublurbia
Who knew suburban incorporation could get so macho? Recently, when Gordon
Olswing, an attorney representing incorporating areas, was asked if he expected
further legal attempts to block incorporation, he waxed Brando-esque, saying,
"Yeah, they'll probably have a few more suits -- just to piss me off."
What is Olswing rebelling against? What have you got?
On a more romantic note, Election Commission chairman O.C. Pleasant had
this to say about the speed with which the commission set a December 9th
date for incorporation referendums at its last meeting. "No need for
courtship or foreplay," he said. "We just go in and do it."
What a player.
Seen
Word burnt up Cooper-Young Monday night that Bob Dylan was seen groping
through the vintage-wear at Flashback on Central Avenue. According to sources,
he's in town to shoot some video footage at a downtown location before he
kicks off the fall leg of his tour Friday at Mississippi State University
in Starkville.
The Lump of Coal for the Nineties
"As you begin writing your holiday features, Shout has a little gift
to share with you. For a perfect stocking stuffer, try Shout Wipes -- portable,
instant stain treater towelettes that fit perfectly into a purse, diaper
bag, lunch box or glove compartment." -- from a press release for a
new product from the makers of Shout Laundry Stain Remover that includes
just a ton of useful information. For example, "According to a recent
Shout survey, men and women agree they would be most embar-rassed to dribble
or drip in front of President Bill Clinton (45 percent), talk-show host
Oprah Winfrey (26 percent) and basketball star Michael Jordan (16 percent)."
And we thought we were the only ones.
Southern Culture High and Low
The two got all mixed up last week at Ledbetter Lusk Gallery at the opening
of an exhibit for local photographer Huger Foote. There was wine, of course,
and beer. The beers, however, were served in that most revered of white-trash
symbols: the foamy insulator thingy, complete with gallery logo. Presumably,
this is because Foote's nickname is "Huggie," as the good-old-boy
accessory is sometimes called. Pretty cute. At least until Bill Dance starts
shipping gallery promos with his famous spinner baits.
Billboard Issue May Go To Polls
By Phil Campbell
emphis
City Councilman John Vergos is currently pushing for another proposed billboard
ordinance, but he and local activists are losing faith in the notion that
the city council can effectively curb the proliferation of outdoor advertisements.
Though the intentions have been noble, something would always come up to ruin whatever bill was being considered. The last proposed ordinance actually had industry support. Universal Outdoor, the biggest billboard company, was happy to endorse a bill that would freeze billboard growth and ensure their company's monopoly at the same time. The bill was withdrawn by bill co-sponsors Brent Taylor and Rickey Peete after The Commercial Appeal pointed out that they had received campaign money from Universal.
Before that, billboard baron William Tanner mocked everybody by comparing his signs to the paintings in the Sistine Chapel and cutting down and allegedly poisoning trees that stood in the way of his billboards. The city council never knew how to respond.
Now there's a new ordinance before the council, but its sponsor is already making backup plans. If his proposal fails, Vergos says, a local group will try to collect petitions that would make a billboard ordinance a referendum during the 1998 elections.
Lawyer John Chandler is leading that effort. Chandler is with Mid-PAC, a political action committee formed a few years ago and composed of some of the same people who run Midtown neighborhood associations such as Cooper-Young and Central Gardens, he says. According to him, the organization spent at least $15,000 in campaign donations during the 1995 city-council elections. Chandler also claims his group was crucial in councilman John Bobango's victory over incumbent Jack Sammons.
His position seems to leave little room for compromise. "We just don't like billboards," he says. "We've got too many of them."
Vergos has a tough proposal in committee right now. If passed, it would require that three old billboards be taken down for every new one that goes up. It would reduce the maximum size allowable from 1,000 square feet to 680 square feet. Tobacco, alcohol, and adult-oriented business ads would not be allowed within 1,500 feet of a school or church. And billboards would have to be 500 feet -- not the current 100 feet -- away from residential areas.
Shortly after introducing it, Universal general manager Randall Swaney weighed in with an opinion that is expected to influence a number of council members. "Universal's whole position on the whole thing was that we were in favor of the previous ordinance [proposal]," he said. But the proposal to take down three old billboards for every new one, Swaney says, is "ridiculous." He argues that his $100 million company would be hurt.
In the meantime, Chandler and Vergos are looking at precedents for billboard restrictions. When the city council in Jacksonville, Florida, wouldn't pass a billboard law, citizens passed their own law through a referendum. The ordinance was tested in the courts, but the anti-billboard groups ultimately won. More than 1,000 billboards are now slated for removal by the year 2015.
"If the council is not prepared to vote for a really good ordinance, that's the tactic the citizens of Memphis will be prepared to take," Vergos says.
According to the city attorney's office, to get a referendum on the ballot, Memphis activists would need to collect 12,683 signatures, 10 percent of the voting population that participated in the last mayoral election.
Vergos didn't want to publicize the referendum idea until the current proposal fails, but after Chandler told a Flyer reporter, the councilman says he hoped it might persuade billboard companies to be more willing to compromise. "We'll see what happens," he says. "If it causes the industry to get serious or not."
Go Ahead ... Everybody Else Has.
Pigeons roosting on the sides of The Pyramid have made quite a mess of the gleaming stainless-steel panels. Although the building's management office says the outside of the structure is cleaned on a regular basis, at press time no one could confirm when it's done -- or how. It would take a mighty long hose.