Comments by 38104

  • Older Comments
  • Page 1 of 1
  • Newer Comments
Written on Letter: Cities just want to go their own way:

The city subsidized suburban growth and when they later annexed areas, they apparently had the legal right to assume ownership of the schools.
Like it or not, ownership does not revert to the local municipality if MCS goes away. If you want the buildings, you'll have to pay for them.

Written on Downtown entity mulling AutoZone Park purchase, Redbirds officials confirm:

So, the debt service on the bonds would be repaid by revenue from the stadium ... but the Redbirds Foundation wants the city to buy it, presumably because the revenue from the stadium is not high enough.
I love AutoZone Park but this doesn't sound like a good deal for the city. If attendance is improving and it really is an attractive deal, then why wouldn't Fundamental Advisors just sell it to another private buyer without the city's involvement?

Written on Memphis life science industry looks to close local skills gap:

Good for Jordan Jones, both for getting training in an important industry, and for his desire to bring his talents back to Memphis.


The city is part of the county, so when you say "we" in reference to Shelby County taxpayers, and "you" in reference to Memphis, you should remember that the majority of county taxpayers are inside Memphis and paid the same county taxes you did.

Written on Editorial: No place for this industry:

While other states are wasting their time attracting technology and biosciences firms to grow jobs, we here in Tennessee are looking firmly toward the future: horse slaughterhouses.
Way to set our sights high, Andy Holt of Dresden.

Written on Letter: Say farewell to free speech :

If free speech is dead, how were you able to write this letter to the editor?

Written on Faith and fear: Muslims who cherish America's religious freedom find themselves at odds with patriot groups:

in response to audrackos#256732:

Distortion, that is what the CA is good at.

Please note the following quote:
“ Radical Islam is here and it’s threatening every freedom we hold dear,” said Mason Ezzell, a local businessman and former Air Force pilot.”

Which Waters then immediately turns into: “Real to Ezzell and dozens of members of ACT! Memphis, who believe Islam is a threat to American freedom, and that all observant Muslims are radical Islamists in sheep’s clothing, determined to impose an oppressive and archaic form of Islamic law on the U.S.”

David, please show us the quote that supports that assertion. What? You don’t have that? Oh, you just made it up so you could continue this ludicrous discussion? That makes more sense.

The key to this is that ACT is concerned about the radical element…key word, radical. They are not against all muslims, nor do they profess antipathy for them; quite the opposite: “I wish it wasn’t true. I hate that it is. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Many Muslims are good people who just don’t know what’s happening.”

Did you miss that part of the quote David?
Your distortion of the facts puts you at the same journalistic level as Rush Limbaugh or Rachael Maddow; neither one of those folks ever let the truth get in the way of their opinions either.

Here's a quote that supports that assertion:
“Shariah requires Muslims to confuse and deceive non-Muslims to advance the faith,” said Mason Ezzell Jr., head of the Memphis chapter of ACT! for America. “It’s what they call takiyyah.”

Written on One city, two worlds: Stories from both sides of the debate in Memphis over Muslims in America:

Who are these gun-toting old folks - who are "not experts on Islam but have read a half-dozen books on the subject" - to tell Muslims what their religion does and does not preach? That's funny. Muslims don't know the "truth" about their own religion, but Grampa Joe out in Mayberry thinks he does because he watched some videos about it.

Written on Editorial: Road priorities in tight times:

No one benefits from this decision except developers, as usual. Fayette County residents will see their rural neighborhood turn into suburban sprawl and Memphis will watch as more tax dollars are sucked away. And we all get to pay for a project that no one really wants.

Written on Plan for fast-food restaurant at high-profile East Parkway location stalls:

Good for him for pulling out of the burger joint contract. It's a good apartment building in a good location. So rehab it already.

Written on Fisherville fuels anti-annexation move; petitioners prefer to incorporate:

in response to TennesseeDrew:

It's sad to see all of Shelby County (including Memphis) wasting its energy on this. We should be working together to make all of Shelby County better, not infighting.
I hope the Norris bill is found unconstitutional so that Memphis doesn't try to annex this area. I live in Memphis and don't want to keep expanding the city limits. I think Mayor Wharton and the City Council want to work on density in the city and not focus on growing. That was how Herenton operated, but this administration is different. Norris' bill kicked over this hornets nest and if he would just focus on the state business instead of Shelby County business, we'd all be better off.

I totally agree, but Wharton doesn't have to respond with a grenade just because somebody threw a punch. Memphis doesn't want Fisherville and annexation doesn't jibe with Wharton's smart-growth views.

Written on Letter: Architects of a new Reconstruction :

Norris and Todd represent Eastern Shelby County interests at the state level. They're not meddling in local affairs if they're responding to the will of their local constituents. And Fisherville is fighting to remain unincorporated and be left alone.


I'm pro-Memphis, but I've always had problems accepting our state's annexation laws, which give full power to municipalities and no power to the people. Let Fisherville have a referendum. It's not some parasite suburb living off Memphis as some claim - it's basically rural and self-sufficient. And the cost to Memphis for running services out to serve 17,464 residents (updated numbers from city)in a huge area can't be justified by the increase in revenue.

Written on Lawmakers introduce bills to limit growth of Memphis:

Why annex at all? It's a government trough that feeds developers and starves the city in the long run. They buy county land for cheap knowing that Memphis will add it to its annexation reserve, then Memphis runs sewer and water out to make it suitable for subdivisions, developer clear-cuts for housing and makes his money, city annexes, subdivision residents complain and move east, subdivision declines and the cycle continues ad infinitum. It's happening right now in Fisherville. It's time to break the cycle with a moratorium on annexation, or at least a referendum.

Written on Lawmakers introduce bills to limit growth of Memphis:

I have to take issue with Todd's comment that the Gray's Creek area is "nothing but farmland" and no one would put anything there that would generate tax revenue. No, it's the East Memphis of the future: it's vacant land waiting to be populated by McMansions and Target shopping centers, and he is surely aware of that.

Written on Lawmakers introduce bills to limit growth of Memphis:

This isn't Nashville trying to run Shelby County - it's local legislators responding to the requests of their home districts. Fisherville doesn't want to be part of Memphis and why would they? They're almost an hour from downtown, but 15 minutes from Collierville. I love Memphis but we've sprawled too far east already and can't provide services in our existing area. I'm for anything that limits sprawl.

Written on Letter: Be willing to admit your mistakes :

I couldn't care less about Newt Gingrich's sex life. But I do care about his hypocrisy. That's what I call leading the charge to investigate and impeach a president over an extramarital affair, while simultaneously having an affair. That's why it was an issue in the recent debates - because he made it an issue 15 years ago.

Written on Letter: Global warming confusion :

Let me explain it, Louis. If the average winter temperature in Alaska is, say, 0 degrees, and global warming raises it to 1 degree, it's still cold enough to snow. But because warm air holds more moisture than cold, precipitation is likely to increase. And it will be in the form of snow, because it's still cold.

Written on Stella Marris' party bares watching tonight:

Thanks for fixing the error, Gary. You guys are probably short-staffed for the holidays.
Small criticism: I know the headline is a play on words, but it's such a stretch that it's bothersome. The idiomatic expression is "bears," not "bares."

Written on Memphis seeks bidders for new Beale Street Landing restaurant on the riverfront:

I'd like to see a well-known out-of-town chef give us their take on Southern food. Good opportunity for the chef and a good opportunity to make Memphis a food destination.

Written on Editorial: Dollar stores' proliferation:

"Does anyone really want to live near a field of asphalt with a building stuck in the middle?"

Apparently most of Memphis does, or at least they don't really give it much thought. I agree, we should aim higher in our planning.

Written on Skyline orphan: Once the towering jewel of Downtown Memphis, rehabbing of Sterick Building poses tall order:

in response to ShaniaPain:

It would cost around 2 million bucks to demolish it and clean it up. It would cost 20 million to renovate it (today's money, double tomorrow). If the council used common sense, and wanted to save the building, it would partner with the Sterick like they did with Overton Square. Downtown is dead again because of millions of square feet of empty commercial real estate and declining residential property values in the South Main Historic and Harbor Town districts. Millions in equity were lost and unrecoverable. Banks don't lend for projects surrounded by functionally obsolescent buildings, declining property values, poverty and high property taxes. The commercial rate on the Sterick is 40 percent of the county appraised value, which is usually a fraudulent misrepresentation of the real value. Risher's article is worthy of good memories and colorful reminiscence but a pipe dream with smoke too dense to clear. Freeman Real Estate is Sterick LLC. The Sterick's appraised value by the county is a paltry 250 thousand bucks. Freeman barely paid 9 grand in taxes on the building last year. It stinks and as long as they can get a fraudulent misrepresentation of the real value of the building they'll be able to continue writing down the depreciation as a tax hedge. I'd hire a certified fraud examiner to investigate the potential for tax fraud and mortgage fraud regarding the buildings current status. Dig deeper and you'll find the worm.

Interesting points. I'd like to see some further investigation here.

Written on Memphis Grizzlies' fans line up for Zach Randolph's basketball ticket 'give-back':

Thank you, Zach Randolph, for being a generous guy and doing something nice for the city.

Written on Memphis City Council votes 8-2 to spend $16.5 million on Overton Square:

The better investment would have been for the private owners of the Square to keep their tenants and maintain their buildings. After that, restoring the light rail lines on Madison and Cooper a few years ago would've been great. After that, a high-end grocery store would've been a welcome addition. This is my least-favored option, but since we can't go back in time to revisit missed opportunities, it's still better than allowing developers with no vision to destroy one of the last cool things in Memphis.

Written on Councilman Edmund Ford proposes 2.7 percent hotel-motel tax increase for Memphis:

Is it a 2.7 percent increase as the headline states, or an increase to 2.7 percent?
Either way, charging out-of-towners more seems like a logical first step toward reducing the tax burden on locals. Nashville charges something like 18 percent.

Written on Often choosing demolition over preservation, Memphis struggles to maintain sense of place:

Some of these comments are so Memphis. Small-town, conservative, stuck in the mud, just like always. Major cities have major landmarks and tight-knit neighborhoods, but Memphis just gets more strip malls, asphalt and cul de sacs. Preservation adds value to a city - sprawl reduces it.

Written on Candidates for Center City Commission's top spot include well-known officials:

At first I questioned why anyone would trade down from Seattle to work in Memphis. Then I Googled her and found the CCC job pays way more than her job as OED director in Seattle. Whatever, I hope the CCC considers an outsider with some progressive ideas. We could use them.

Written on Oklahoma developers plan Overton Square overhaul:

The reason people live in Midtown is because it doesn't look like the generic sprawl outside the 240 loop. So building suburban-style crap will backfire in the long term. It's not really about saving some old buildings bc they're historically important (they're not)- it's about fighting to save the bits of character that make Midtown different from the boring burbs.

Written on Plans for Pyramid differ widely among Memphis mayor candidates:

Wasn't the Convention Center just asking for more space? There is a giant, empty, government-owned, arena next door they could have. And no need to retrofit it for solar panels, roller coasters, aquariums or giant Bass logos. Problem solved.

Written on Overton Square demolition eyed; developer wants upscale grocer, shops at site:

Did June really say "early 19th century"? She meant early 20th.

Anyway, while those buildings are not historic in the "George Washington slept here" sense, their architecture is unique to Midtown. Replacing them would remove the "early 20th century" character from the neighborhood, which is the entire reason people live in Midtown as opposed to out in Sprawl-ville. Sooner Investments would be shooting themselves in the foot to cheap out by demolishing them.

Written on Effect on wetlands from Tenn. 385 expands costs:

I hope Shelby County and VDOT are finally reaching the conclusion that building endless suburban loop roads doesn't make financial sense anymore. It's not only about tree-hugging. The costs of developing more farmland into disposable sprawl with a shelf life of 20 years or so aren't justifiable. It makes more sense to concentrate most development in Memphis and keep the counties mostly rural.

Written on Main Street mall changes afoot:

Most of the cities where I've seen downtown malls work have a few things in common: They are small or medium-sized college towns with smaller, people-scaled streets and buildings, and an abundant supply of young, progressive, college kids and 20-somethings living within walking distance. Memphis has none of the above.
Ironically, I think South Main, where the buildings are more quaint and better suited to small restaurants and boutiques and Central Station and the Arcade act as anchors, might have worked as a pedestrian mall. But the north end, with its oversize office buildings and eerily empty plazas, will remain dead without the constant hum of vehicle traffic to keep it going.

Written on History reborn: Grand opening celebrates Lowenstein renovation:

I saw the interiors of these buildings pre-renovation and the amount of hard work and perseverance involved in this project must have been monumental. Congratulations to everyone involved. I hope that momentum can be carried over to some of our other mothballed downtown landmarks.

Written on City considers options for dated Memphis Cook Convention Center:

We have a giant, iconic, publicly-owned, pyramid-shaped empty box with a half-million square feet of space and parking a few yards away from the current convention center. It's no good as an arena or concert venue and no one knows what to do with it besides turn it into a tackle shop. But we're considering building a new convention center from scratch and leaving two empty buildings on the riverfront? If we truly need a new convention center, seems like the choice is pretty clear.

  • Older Comments
  • Page 1 of 1
  • Newer Comments