Sexual Revolution?
Or so it seems on a form sent to Tennessee employers by the Tennessee Department
of Human Services as a part of a program, effective October 1st, that requires
the state's employers to report "certain information about employees
who have been newly hired, rehired, or have returned to work." Listed
on the form among the optional information is "Gender," complete
with the three -- that's right, three -- choices: M, F, or U. A call to
the customer service line to find out what "U" might stand for
elicited the response, "It's a printing mistake."
"The Incorporators"
The above sounds like a forgotten spy-vs.-spy series from the '60s -- but
it's not. It's the title given by The Commercial Appeal to
"an occasional series of profiles on the 10 communities that are trying
to become Shelby County's newest towns," and it even comes with a spiffy
logo. Now if only there were, say, a recently mobile NFL franchise in search
of a regionally appropriate name. Give me an "I"?
A Herenton Slip
It seems a memory of past triumph caused Memphis mayor Willie Herenton to
commit a slip after the first meeting of the city/county negotiating committee.
Asked by a reporter if he and Shelby County mayor Jim Rout had "buried
the hatchet," he said he didn't care for that phrase. He initially
repeated said phrase, however, as "bury the Hackett," a phrase
we imagine he's pretty fond of.
Uplifting Metaphor of the Week
"Hutcheson and McDonald were lemmings, too. But in mid-life crisis,
they quit successful careers in advertising and psychology to develop a
national program to help people create more satisfying lives -- The Highlands
Program." So says a press release pitching a new book by the self-help
duo of Dr. Bob McDonald and Don Hutcheson, titled The Lemming Conspiracy:
Redirecting Your Life From Stress to Balance. According to the release,
the theory outlined in the book, "metaphorically compares unhappy professionals
to lemmings, arctic rodents that run in herds over cliffs to their deaths."
Somehow, that bit about "to the death" isn't making us feel any
better.
The King Sings
Jerry "The King" Lawler may be off the local airwaves for the
time being, but he has other media outlets at his disposal. A new CD, Memphis'
Other King, surveys his 25-year recording career that began with his
1974 Barbarian Records single "Bad News." "This collection
has a few omissions," observes Barbarian-founder James Blake in the
liners, "but gives a good indication that Jerry Lawler isn't just `King
of Memphis,' but king of all he surveys."
Did we mention he covers "Brown Eyed Girl"?
Pete Sisson's TESCO Property Among Top Violators
by Phil Campbell
helby
County Commissioner Pete Sisson's property management company runs one of
the most poorly maintained apartment complexes in Memphis, according to
records at the city's Housing and Community Development Division.
At the request of The Memphis Flyer, HCD's code enforcement director Donnie Mitchell gathered the names of area apartment complexes that have had the most persistent maintenance problems and tenant complaints.
The worst apartment complexes in any big city are commonly and derisively referred to as slums, in large part because negligent, absentee landlords ignore the complaints of their low-income tenants.
One of the apartment complexes Mitchell named is Pepper Tree Apartments in Whitehaven, which code enforcers inspected in mid-July. These apartments are owned by TESCO Development, Inc., a Germantown-based company. Sisson is TESCO's chief executive officer.
The Pepper Tree Apartments are located just south of Raines Road and north of Finley Road between Graceland Drive and Southwind Drive. On the outside, they do not appear any worse than other apartment complexes in the inner city. The code enforcement division, however, has learned otherwise.
Mitchell says tenant complaints against Pepper Tree's management company grew too long to handle separately. Between 1994 and the present, HCD has compiled so many complaints about Pepper Tree that the folder is now two inches thick. So, last July, Mitchell organized a "sweep," in which the entire department, all 20 code inspectors, descend upon the complex at once. The inspectors came back with 46 pages of violations, some pages listing more than one violation.
The problems in each Pepper Tree apartment unit varied, but almost every housing shortcoming imaginable is listed, including leaking roofs and water heaters, damaged exterior siding, deadbolts in need of replacement, cracked steps, stairways and railings, broken air conditioners, toilets and sinks, cracked or dilapidated walls, and missing gutters.
Mitchell says TESCO wouldn't have addressed the problems if HCD had not stepped in. "It took that sweep of that apartment complex to actually get them to start working on them, but they do send status reports now."
Sisson says he hadn't heard about problems at Pepper Tree. His company owns or manages 8,000 to 10,000 apartment units in 14 states. "With that many, we do have violations," he says. "But once they're called to our attention, we try to correct them." TESCO regional manager Brent Frost says he has been working with HCD, and that progress has been made on repairing the problems.
Besides the Pepper Tree Apartments, Mitchell provided the addresses of five other apartment complexes with a history of violations. They are:
* Raleigh Station Apartments, at 4010 Jackson, owned by Lonnie Roberts. This is one of the most diversely populated complexes in Memphis, with indigent Mexican and African immigrants living alongside African-American tenants. Many of the buildings are burned down, and HCD is trying to force Roberts to demolish them, though the cost could be prohibitive -- Mitchell estimates the figure at $200,000.
* Oakwood Apartments, in the 4200 block of Overton Crossing, owned by Mohammed Khelif. Recent violations against his building fill a number of folders.
* Dwight Aire Apartments, at 2331 Dwight Rd., and Oakview Apartments, at 2681 Kimball Ave., both owned by Robert Bates. HCD handed Bates a host of violations in October and November of 1996. They have only recently been corrected. Code inspectors meted out three more sets of violations this month for the same apartments.
* Boshwit Bros. Properties, at 799 Mississippi Blvd., owned by Boshwit Brothers Mortgage Corp. HCD took the Boshwit family to court in June. After gaining 13 continuances, the family only had to pay court costs and a $50 fine, according to HCD records.