BEAUTY IS...

BEAUTY IS...

• by Chris Davis

Radioactive Future

The new energy bill is a disaster on all counts.

• by Charles Sheehan-miles

THE WEATHERS REPORT

STEAL THIS SONG The RIAA and MPAA probably have the law on their side. Yes, to get a copy of Eminem's last album for nothing is to undermine the copyright laws and to take money out of Eminem's pockets. Likewise, to download Norah Jones's nice little album that won all those Grammys is to prevent nice little Norah from getting her full monetary due. And to pirate a song or film for nothing is certainly to snatch a buck from the giant recording and film-distribution companies. To all of which, after giving it much thought, I can only say, "So what?"

• by Ed Weathers

MOSS' VOTE FOR COUNTY BUDGET DEAL BREAKS IMPASSE

What threatened to be a summer-long barnburner of a budget battle came to a proximate and unexpected end Wednesday with the tell-tale vote of Republican Tom Moss in budget committee for a Democrat-sponsored property tax increase of 37 cents. That made the final tally 6-6, a clear indicator of the expected 7-6 favorable vote when absent Democrat Julian Bolton is added on at Monday's meeting of the full commission.

• by Ed Weathers

MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE...

MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE...

• by Chris Davis

Auschwitz in Winter

Cracow, Poland, is off the beaten tourist track but is well worth the visit.

• by Steve Haley

TRANSLATION: MEMPHIS: No Piece of Cake

Somehow it never occurred to me that the word ÒcakewalkÓ was anything other than a figure of speech.

• by Jenn Hall

Cashing In

Another crooked corporation taps into the Iraqi gold rush -- without competitive bidding.

• by Molly Ivins

TWO MEMPHIANS NAMED TO STATE LOTTERY BOARD

Former Shelby County Commissioner Morris Fair and local industrialist Marvell Mitchell have been named as two of seven members of the newly created Lottery Board for the state of Tennessee. The announcements were made in Nashville Monday afternoon by Governor Phil Bredesen.

• by Ed Weathers

SATIRE IN CRISIS

SATIRE IN CRISIS

• by Chris Davis

JOHN FERGUS RYAN: 1930-2003

John Fergus Ryan, one of those writers unique enough to have invented a style, was in his own way a realist. He wrote some non-fiction, too, mainly for Esquire, but he was at heart a fiction-writer, and his outlandish plots and cartoonish characters reflected his sense of the way things really were.

• by Ed Weathers

TRANSLATION: MEMPHIS: No Piece of Cake

Somehow it never occurred to me that the word "cakewalk" was anything other than a figure of speech.

• by Jenn Hall

CITY BEAT

THE VISION THING -- AGAIN The most studied piece of real estate in the county is about to get it again. But the committee appointed this week by the county commission to study the future of Shelby Farms is a much more diverse and political group than the one proposed by former mayor Jim Rout and businessman Ron Terry a little more than a year ago.

• by Ed Weathers

FROM MY SEAT

HALFWAY HOME We've reached the midpoint of the 2003 baseball season and, as our Redbirds continue to fight back toward respectability, the parent St. Louis Cardinals have a battle of their own in the months ahead. A few observations after three months of baseball at Busch:

• by Frank Murtaugh

City Reporter

Memphis prepares for new child safety-seat law, and other news.

• by Flyer Staff

ELVIS MUSICAL SLATED

A new stage musical based Elvis' hit film Jailhouse Rock has been announced. The show is set to open in London's West End before the end of the year and on New York's Broadway next year. It will be based on Presley's 1957 movie and feature songs from the era.

• by Ed Weathers

The Mystery of the Old Hospital

Urban spelunkers turn up a mother lode of files at a former medical facility on Lamar.

• by Mary Cashiola

John Fergus Ryan -- 1930-2003

John Fergus Ryan -- 1930-2003

• by Jackson Baker

DCS' JUANITA WHITE GETS THE AX

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services announced the dismissal of Shelby County regional administrator Juanita White today citing "personal reasons" of White and the department as reason for her termination. DCS Commissioner Michael Miller made the announcement Friday at the state office building, 170 N. Main, following a meeting with supervisors in the Memphis office. The dismissal comes as the state office is conducting an internal investigation of botched investigations by employees into the deaths of several Shelby County children.

• by Ed Weathers

Short Cuts

Transatlantic dance party with Audio Bullys and Electric Six.

TWO MEMPHIANS NAMED TO LOTTERY BOARD

Former Shelby County Commissioner Morris Fair and local industrialist Marvell Mitchell have been named as two of seven members of the newly created Lottery Board for the state of Tennessee. The announcements were made in Nashville Monday afternoon by Governor Phil Bredesen.

• by Ed Weathers

POLITICS

TENNESSEE'S GOT GAME NASHVILLE -- Events of the last several days have greatly improved the outlook-- at least in Tennessee -- for two of the Democratic contenders vying for the right to challenge President Bush in next year's presidential election. Those two are Florida senator Bob Graham, who was in Nashville Saturday night to deliver the keynote address at Tennessee Democrats' annual Jackson Day dinner; and ex-Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, whose recent rise in the polls has been accompanied by a surprisingly strong fund-raising surge.

• by Ed Weathers

THE ERASER

You've got to hand it to those clever little problem-solvers at the White House. What a bunch of brainiacs. They have resolved the entire problem of global warming: They cut it out of the report!

• by Ed Weathers

RADIO ADDRESS BY REP. HAROLD FORD

"...I voted for the use of force in Iraq. We are safer without Saddam in power. But our continued security depends on our intelligence being accurate and trusted. We must ensure that it is...."

• by Ed Weathers

Turning Green

Got high hopes for Hulk and From Justin to Kelly? Lower them.

• by Bo List

Postscript

Flyer readers respond.

• by Flyer Readers

The Invertebrates

The newest political party?

• by Cheri DelBrocco

The Vision Thing -- Again

Politicians and developers get a voice on a new Shelby Farms committee.

• by John Branston

Going for Broke

It's Ronald Reagan's "morning in America." Here's the deal.

• by Leonard Gill