Memphis Flyer 9/21/2023

Clockwise from left: Paul Young, Floyd Bonner, Willie Herenton, and Van Turner

Editor

SAMUEL X. CICCI

Managing Editor

JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN

Senior Editors

TOBY SELLS

Associate Editor

KAILYNN JOHNSON

News Reporter

CHRIS MCCOY

Film and TV Editor

ALEX GREENE

Music Editor MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS

Staff Writers

ABIGAIL MORICI

Arts and Culture Editor

GENE GARD, EMILY GUENTHER, COCO JUNE, FRANK MURTAUGH

Contributing Columnists

SHARON BROWN, AIMEE STIEGEMEYER

Grizzlies Reporters

ANDREA FENISE

Fashion Editor

KENNETH NEILL

Founding Publisher

CARRIE BEASLEY

Senior Art Director

CHRISTOPHER MYERS

Advertising Art Director

NEIL WILLIAMS

Graphic Designer

JERRY D. SWIFT

Advertising Director Emeritus

KELLI DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE

Senior Account Executives

KALON AMBROSE

Account Executive

CHET HASTINGS

Warehouse and Delivery Manager

JANICE GRISSOM ELLISON, KAREN MILAM, DON MYNATT, TAMMY NASH, RANDY ROTZ, LEWIS TAYLOR, WILLIAM WIDEMAN

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OUR 1804TH ISSUE 09.21.23

Editor’s note: Flyer writers will occasionally share this space.

“So, who are you voting for for mayor?”

I’ve gotten asked that question a number of times in recent days. I wish I had a resounding answer, but the truth is, I still don’t know for sure.

It’s not like there’s a shortage of possibilities. There will be no fewer than 17 (!) mayoral candidates on the ballot. In case you don’t have them memorized, they are: Carnita Faye Atwater, Jennings Bernard, Floyd Bonner, Joe Brown, Kendra Calico, Karen Camper, J.W. Gibson, Reggie William Hall, James M. Harvey, Willie W. Herenton, Michelle McKissack, Brandon A. Price, Justina Ragland, Tekeva Shaw, Van Turner, Derek Winn, and Paul A. Young.

Early voting started last week and Election Day is October 5th, so we all need to figure it out soon, obviously. I’m going to run through my thinking process here. You are free to take it or leave it.

By process of elimination, I can get rid of 11 candidates, either because I’ve never heard of them, or I’ve heard of them and can’t imagine voting for them for mayor. Looking at you, Judge Joe Brown.

That leaves six possible candidates for my vote (your mileage may vary): Floyd Bonner, Willie Herenton, Michelle McKissack, Paul Young, J.W. Gibson, and Van Turner.

Though the mayor’s race is technically nonpartisan, Bonner appears to be the candidate supported by the Republican Party. You probably received a flyer from the self-proclaimed nonpartisan group, The 901 Initiative, recently. The “grades” that the (anonymous) group posted for all mayoral and city council candidates make it clear who they’re backing. Their roots are showing. The fact that many candidates didn’t participate in the survey didn’t stop the group from giving out (mostly bad) grades on those candidates’ policies. This is some bogus crap.

Bonner is a cop and probably a decent guy, but 55 people have died in Shelby County Jail on his five-year watch and I don’t trust Republicans these days (or that A- they gave Bonner), so I’m going to pass on ol’ Floyd.

Then there’s Herenton, who was elected the city’s first Black mayor in 1991 and won reelection four times. After winning his fifth term in 2007, he resigned in 2009 to run for Congress. He lost that race and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2019, losing to current Mayor Jim Strickland. Now 83, he’s back again, with a platform that can be basically summed up as: “I’m Willie Herenton and they’re not.” He’s refused to participate in any forums or debates with other candidates, preferring to sit back and trust that his loyal base will come through for him. Sound familiar?

Here’s the thing: With so many candidates in the race, getting 15 percent of the vote might be enough to win, and some early polling has shown Herenton in that ballpark. I voted for Herenton three times, but he’s not getting my vote this time around.

And speaking of polling … here’s the latest (September 7th) from Hart Research and the nonprofit TN Prospers: Young (20 percent); Bonner (19 percent); Herenton (13 percent); Turner (9 percent).

Gibson (5 percent) and McKissack (3 percent) are long shots. I’ve worked with McKissack and like her, but neither she nor Gibson appear to have gained enough traction to win this thing, so I’m not going to vote for one of them and possibly help swing the election to Herenton or Bonner.

So what about Paul Young? He worked for Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, then headed the city’s Division of Housing and Community Development, and now is CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission. Of the top three in that poll, Young wins my vote, hands down.

NEWS & OPINION

THE FLY-BY - 4

POLITICS - 6

COVER STORY

“YOU ASKED, THEY ANSWERED” BY CHRIS MCCOY, JACKSON BAKER, AND JACOB STEIMER - 8

FINANCE - 11

But … I’m vacillating because lots of smart progressives I know and respect are supporting Van Turner, including three who endorsed him last weekend: DA Steve Mulroy, County Mayor Lee Harris, and Congressman Steve Cohen. I’ve voted for these guys and I trust their judgment, but as I stated above, I don’t want to vote for someone who can’t win and thereby help swing the election to Bonner or Herenton.

SPORTS - 12

WE RECOMMEND - 13

MUSIC - 14

AFTER DARK - 15

CALENDAR - 16

NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 16

ASTROLOGY - 17

FOOD - 19

CLASSIFIEDS - 22

LAST WORD - 23

So, as much as I like voting early, this time around I’m going to wait a little longer, hoping to see some more polling before I head over to Bellevue Baptist to cast my vote. At this point, you might say I’m Young and restless.

brucev@memphisflyer.com

THE fly-by

ernet

Memphis on the internet.

GREAT WEEKEND

is week u/ropeblcochme wrote on Reddit: “Taking a moment to cut through the negativity and recognizing a great weekend in Memphis.

• [University of Memphis] football winning to a national ESPN audience

• Great weather for CooperYoung Festival

• Brewfest

• Win by 901FC

(Bonus latest mayoral poll nally doesn’t have Willie in the lead.)”

PORN BLOCKED

Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

{WEEK THAT WAS

By Flyer staff

Carp, Mold, & Protest Signs

Some river sh back on the menu, Peabody Elementary closes for cleaning, and a lawsuit dropped.

EAT THE CARP

e Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation recently li ed a “do not consume” advisory for silver carp and big head carp caught in the Mississippi River. However, the advisory remains in e ect for all other sh species in the river near Memphis.

e move was based on sh tissue samples collected last year and from historical data collected from 2005.

e data show the carp are now below Tennessee’s trigger point for all contaminants of concern.

REFILLS FOR CLEAN WATER

Clean Memphis recently won a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to install 50 water bottle re ll stations at Memphis schools and parks. e stations are meant to reduce plastic in waterways, including the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River.

Some Memphis-area Pornhub users reported their browsers were blocked from the site over the weekend. e site cut access to the entire state a er Republican lawmakers required new, strict age veri cation protocols for pornography sites. e block seems to have bled over state lines in places.

MARSHA, MARSHA?

e majority of the water bottle re ll stations were installed this summer at all six Compass Community Schools. Plumbers replaced 35 traditional water fountains with the new re ll stations. Each campus may save up to $10,000 per year on plastic water bottle purchases, Clean Memphis said. School o cials projected Compass students were using more than 500 single-use water bottles daily, mainly due to a lack of functioning fountains.

New water bottle re ll stations are headed for Overton Park, Overton Park Shell, Marquette Park, Whitehaven Park, Glenview Park, Alonzo-Weaver Park, Raines-Finley Park, Fletcher Creek Park, Flowering Peach Park, Germanshire Park, and Tom Lee Park.

MOLD CLOSES PEABODY

Students at Peabody Elementary School will attend class at two other buildings while the school district works to eliminate mold from the 114-year-old structure. Peabody closed September 8th a er mold was discovered in the ductwork and grates. District o cials said they will update parents in October on when they plan to move Peabody’s 323 students back into the building.

SIGN BAN SUIT DROPPED

committee room.

Attorneys for the ACLU of Tennessee do not oppose dismissing the case, but expect to le a motion seeking attorney fees and costs from the state, legal lings said.

NEW CRISIS WELLNESS CENTER

Ground broke on a $34-million crisis wellness center on Broad Avenue last week. e 55,000-square-foot building will expand the reach of Alliance Healthcare Services, the largest crisis services provider in the state.

Credit where it’s due. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) pushed hard on Federal Bureau of Prisons director Colette Peters last week to x problems (like a leaky roof) at the federal prison in Memphis.

Lawyers representing three women who silently de ed a House ban on signs and attorneys for the state have agreed to bring a First Amendment legal challenge to a close. e challenge to new House rules that barred protest signs was led on the third day of Tennessee’s specially called session on public safety — a er state troopers removed three women quietly holding pieces of paper that read, “1 KID > ALL THE GUNS,” from a legislative

Alliance works with police and re departments to help divert those with mental illness from the criminal justice system and into proper treatment. Over a 12-month period, Alliance says its team helps save about $165 million in healthcare and jail costs. e center is expected to open in December 2024.

Stories from Chalkbeat Tennessee and Tennessee Lookout contributed to this report. Visit

POSTED TO REDDIT BY U/ROPEBLCOCHME

POSTED

CREDIT: PORNHUB

PHOTO (ABOVE): GOOGLE MAPS Peabody Elementary School

PHOTO (BELOW): ALLIANCE HEALTHCARE SERVICES Alliance Healthcare Services

By Kailynn Johnson

Fashion Revolution

Rough Feathers founder hopes Memphis scene can “pop the top.”

Memphis-bred fashion designer Antonio Jones believes there’s a possibility of a fashion revolution, with the city at its focus.

e words “revolution” and “renaissance” have been tossed into the Memphis zeitgeist repeatedly over the last few years. Usually, the words are used as a commentary about either some up-and-coming scene in the city or a new emphasis on a speci c aspect of Memphis culture.

“We had the music revolution, the dance, entertainment revolution,” said Jones. “I believe the clothing, fashion revolution let it be known that we can create, with all the other things that’s going on in Memphis.”

Fashion has always been a lucrative industry, both nationally and internationally. Information from Zippia says that globally, the fashion industry is valued at $1.7 trillion, and that the United States fashion industry is valued at approximately $343.7 billion.

The city is bursting with creative talent, yet there are some things that need to shift in order to “pop the top,” as Jones puts it.

Jones is the founder of Rough Feathers Clothing Company and has been a freelance designer since 2005. He made the full shift to clothing design in 2012.

During his career, he’s had the opportunity not only to dress Memphis icons such as Moneybagg Yo (before the “blowup,” he adds) and Zed Zilla, but also to participate in the inaugural Harlem’s Fashion Row New York Fashion Week show in 2018.

As with any trade, designing comes with its challenges. However, more o en than not, the obstacles present opportunities for growth. Take Jones’ primitive days for example. He explains that the

educational aspect of design can be tricky, but being from the South, with limited exposure, further complicates the issue.

“Most people go to places like New York and L.A. as the fashion hubs, we don’t get the notoriety, and we miss out on certain things because we don’t have a Garment District, and stu like that,” says Jones.

ings have changed in the past few years with organizations like Harlem’s Fashion Row, founded by Memphian Brandice Daniel, working to increase resources for designers of color like Jones.

Daniel even noted these changes in a 2022 interview, saying her primary purpose was to increase opportunities for Black and Latino designers. However, she also noted that there was more to be done.

Jones shares these sentiments, and explains that accessibility is only part of the battle. While he’s found a way to navigate the hurdle of designing, he says Memphis designers often struggle with gaining exposure.

“You can have a lot of dope people, but when you’re not visible, and don’t know the right people to connect with, you kind of hurt yourself a little bit,” Jones says. While some of these challenges are systemic and represent an inequity in the fashion industry, there are some things that can be done now to help catapult Memphis designers, and the city, to the top, such as more collaboration and better communication.

“ e key is collaborating, and creating a forum, or a scene where people can kind of talk — bounce ideas. Work more together to kind of level up the industry in Memphis,” says Jones. “I think we’re getting there, but the collaboration and communication of who does what, and sitting down to have a conversation about what we can do better to get the city a W. It’s all about the city.”

PHOTO: JOHNATHAN MEADOWS | LOYALTY FILMS Antonio Jones

POLITICS By Jackson Baker

Last Gasp

With early voting underway, candidates for mayor and council take their nal swings.

As would be indicated by the collaborative content shared by the Flyer and MLK50 in this joint issue, public safety has clearly been the predominant topic in the 2023 Memphis mayoral race.

e four leading mayoral candidates have been quoted at length on the matter, but all the candidates have weighed in repeatedly on crime, its consequences, and methods for dealing with it.

Proposals have ranged from the obvious — more community policing and upgrading the MPD — to an ambitious call for a “crime summit” to a somewhat fringey proposal by one candidate to negotiate directly with gangs, presumably so as to cut deals with them.

Uniquely, this is the rst mayoral contest in Memphis history in which all of the 17 candidates, including those acknowledged to be serious prospects for winning, are African-American.

at fact — which re ects the demographic nature of Memphis itself — coupled with what several polls have indicated is an extremely close contest, suggests that a revision may be overdue for the judicial settlement of 1991, which prohibited runo voting in the mayor’s race. At the time, it was feared that a runo would invite stacked opposition from whites to preclude a Black from winning.

In what amounted that year to a two-man winner-take-all race with a token third opponent, former schools superintendent Willie Herenton won a hairsbreadth victory over incumbent Dick Hackett, inaugurating a new era of Black prominence in city government.

Since then, only a plurality — like the one achieved by white councilman Jim Strickland in a multi-candidate race in 2015 — has been necessary for one to be elected mayor. (Strickland would be reelected with a majority over two opponents in 2019.)

But if racial factors in citywide elections (and countrywide ones, for that matter) have largely become irrelevant, the unspoken barrier to female candidates — the so-called “glass ceiling” — remains unbroken. e 2023 mayoral eld includes two well-credentialed women, state House Democratic leader Karen Camper and Memphis-Shelby City Schools board member Michelle McKissack. Both have had their moments, particularly in a pair of televised forums last week, but neither ranks high in the latest mayoral polls.

All the polls anyone has seen so far are uno cial, of course, but all have shown former Mayor Herenton either the leader outright or in the near vicinity of the lead.

Some of Herenton’s potential vote derives from the historical memory of Memphians, especially inner-city ones, but he may also be gaining adherents because of his hard-line position on crime, the theme of the day, and his stated resolve to bring back the data-based policing methods of Blue CRUSH, instituted during his own last couple of terms.

e public-safety issue is paramount also in the mayoral campaign of Sheri Floyd Bonner, who boasts a 42-year record in law enforcement and his ability to deal with the issue “from Day One” of his inauguration.

Most reckonings by political observers see a hotly contested three-way race between Herenton, Bonner, and Paul Young, the Downtown Memphis Commission CEO, who hasn’t been o the clock, campaign-wise, since he announced his intention to run roughly a year ago. Young has accomplished some impressive fundraising and leads all other candidates in that respect, with Bonner a reasonably close second.

Former County Commissioner Van Turner, a former Democratic chairman who led the local NAACP in recent years and was prominent in the e ort to remove Confederate statues from Downtown, had some early stumbles but has come on somewhat of late, especially in the wake of recent endorsements from labor organizations and from County Mayor Lee Harris, DA Steve Mulroy, Congressman Steve

continued on page 20

PHOTO (ABOVE): JACKSON BAKER Fatigue clearly shows on the faces of these mayoral candidates at a late forum — (l to r) Floyd Bonner, J.W. Gibson, James Harvey, Michelle McKissack, and Paul Young.

PHOTO (ABOVE): JACKSON BAKER District 5 candidate Meggan Kiel at a meet and greet

PHOTO (BELOW RIGHT): JACKSON BAKER

Seeking return to council is Scott McCormick (r), here with state Representative Mark White and campaign treasurer Nick Scully.

PHOTO (ABOVE): KELLY ROBERTS Jerri Green

PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER District 2 council candidate Jerri Green campaigning for the legislature in 2021

STORY By Chris McCoy, Jackson Baker, and Jacob Steimer

You Asked, They Answered

Mayoral candidates answer questions suggested by the readers of MLK50 and the Memphis Flyer.

As we approach one of the most momentous mayoral elections in Memphis’ history, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism and the Memphis Flyer have partnered on a unique experiment. With public safety on the minds of the voters, we polled our readers to find out what questions they would ask the mayoral candidates, if they had a chance.

We received more than 130 responses, which our editorial teams boiled down into a set of common questions. Then, we chose the four leading candidates, based on a combination of polling and fundraising data.

Below are some highlights from Floyd Bonner, Willie Herenton, Van Turner, and Paul Young’s responses to your questions.

If you would like to see the candidates’ complete answers, the expanded interviews, edited for length and clarity, can be found on both memphisflyer.com and MLK50.com.

The killing of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police officers damaged the community’s trust in police. What steps would you take to rebuild that trust?

BONNER: It’s about being out in the community, talking with the public, getting them to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can work collectively to keep it from happening again.

HERENTON: I’m going to bring back Blue CRUSH. … You’ve got to have specialized police units, but they’ve got to be well-trained. They’ve got to be appropriately selected. And you gotta have accountability. … What happened in the Tyre Nichols situation? They had a group of officers that didn’t have extensive tenure as police officers, and they lacked supervision. I would have an organizational structure with a chain of command providing appropriate oversight.

TURNER: We will have to make sure that the training and the leadership is appropriately in place to ensure this does not occur again. We need to get back to some of the community policing that we used to have when I was growing up in Whitehaven. … We had a relationship where, if we saw something, we said something, and we were not afraid to contact the authorities or law enforcement.

YOUNG: I think that the ordinances that were passed at City Council were a step in the right direction.

How would you describe Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis’ performance as police chief?

YOUNG: I think she’s done a good job. Obviously the incident with Tyre Nichols and the SCORPION unit and what appears to be a lack of oversight is something that she has to own. I think she has owned the mistakes and tried to do the things necessary to right the course, and that’s what leadership is about. … The visceral hate that we’re seeing in our community between residents and officers is something that only goes away when you build relationships, and the chief has to be the tip of the spear when it comes to making that happen.

BONNER: I’ve been asked many times, would I let her go if I was elected? I don’t think that’s fair. All city directors will be evaluated in my administration, and decisions will be made accordingly.

HERENTON: In all probability, she would not have been my choice. … From what I’ve read in the press and from what I’ve heard, there were some troubling issues in her past that I probably would have had to carefully weigh. If I could have identified an individual that had the competency level that I could trust with that leadership role, I would have selected from within.

TURNER: I thought she was good as far as being transparent on the release of the Tyre Nichols tape, and the reprimand and termination of those five officers. I think perhaps there’s some room for growth and accountability as it relates to the use of this tactical squad being used for just a mere traffic stop and not for something that it was organized to do: to take down maybe a drug operation, to go after the heavily armed bad guys that were going to have AR-15 rifles and shoot back. … To deploy a team like the team that was deployed in the death of Tyre Nichols was a failure of leadership. She should be held accountable for this even occurring.

MPD has about 1,900 officers, but says it needs 2,500. Do you agree 2,500 is the right number? If not, why not? If so, how would you look to help?

HERENTON: It’s going to be very difficult reaching that 2,500 goal because I will implement the highest standards. I think they’ve lowered the standards, which is troubling to me.

TURNER: I think 2,500 first responders is the right answer. I don’t know if they necessarily all have to be rank-and-file police officers. … We need a full complement of first responders, but I would suggest that perhaps 200 to 250 of those first responders should be comprised of specialty units and of specialty officers who can emphasize de-escalation, address mental health issues, address nonviolent, non-threatening traffic stops, and address some of the domestic [violence] issues that we see. We really have to look at a comprehensive strategy to resolve crime more effectively in the community.

YOUNG: I agree. I don’t know that many people would disagree. … Just like we have training programs in high schools for the trades, we could introduce them to public safety careers. I think we obviously should continue to recruit from other cities. I want our officers to be the highest paid officers in the region. I want them to feel like the big dog: When you work in Memphis, you’re on the premier force. You’re going to have the most resources, you’re going to have the best equipment, and you’re going to have all the support that you need.

BONNER: It’s going to take two to three years to get to where the staffing levels need to be right now. We can’t wait that long. … How would I go about doing our desk-to-duty plan? It’s taking some officers out of precincts, out of the public information office, and getting those officers back out on the streets. We have officers doing tasks that civilians could be doing — for instance, fixing the SkyCop cameras.

Currently, nearly 40 percent of the city of Memphis’ budget goes to police. Should residents expect that, under your administration, that share would go up, down, or stay the same?

TURNER: My budget would likely be the same if you look at the whole spectrum of public safety. But I would like to increase the budget as it relates to prevention and investments in disinvested communities, disinvested youth, disinvested community

centers. I think that’s where we really have to pour a robust allocation of our investments into because what we’re doing now is not working.

BONNER: Right now, even with the budget the way it is, our police need more cars. … So there’s some things in the police department that we need to x. … I can’t say that the budget would increase, but it’s certainly nice to stay where it’s at.

YOUNG: You would see incremental increases as a result of increasing the number of sta , but I don’t see it going up signi cantly or going down signi cantly. In order to truly make our community safe, we have to nd ways to make additional investments in public safety that’s not necessarily MPD.

MPD is currently under a civil rights investigation by the Department of Justice. How do you plan to ensure that the Memphis Police Department treats all citizens fairly?

HERENTON: It is clear to me that we need to x the culture of MPD. I’m committed to doing that. I know exactly how to get the culture straightened out and to make sure that we have transparency. We’ll have accountability, and we’ll have constitutional policing.

TURNER: We go to each community — and I mean each and every community — and we listen. … We focus on training and we make sure that our most senior o cers are being utilized more than what they’re being utilized now. ere were no senior o cers [there] the night of the murder of Tyre Nichols, that was a misstep and a problem. … ird, we have to focus on recruiting the right individuals with the correct temperament, the right mind to serve and protect.

What public safety solutions have you seen work in other cities that you would seek to implement here?

YOUNG: Pittsburgh re-trained their o cers on how to engage on police stops. ey talk about the weather and make small talk to disarm. ey do that to reduce the likelihood of a negative encounter. In Omaha, they put together a coalition of people from di erent agencies focused on holistic public safety. ey’re using data to identify the young people that need other interventions, and they have a host of programs that are able to engage those young people when they’ve been identi ed.

Some cities have tried to respond to mental health crises with rst responders who aren’t police o cers. Is that a solution you’re interested in exploring for Memphis?

HERENTON: A lot of individuals out here have all kinds of mental disabilities that the policemen, if they’re not well trained, don’t know how to recognize. You have to broaden the training because they are running into some mental health issues that need to be addressed.

TURNER: I think that there’s a role for individuals who have that type of expertise to be used by law enforcement and by re. O entimes, EMTs are rst on the scene and there are issues that they have to address which concern mental illness. And they’re not equipped to do so. … We need a unit that will do it, that will travel with re and police and make sure that mental health issues don’t result in death.

YOUNG: I’ve talked to people that have done it. e challenge you nd is that when you have individuals responding to an intense scene or somebody’s having a mental health episode, with the proliferation of guns in our community, you still need a trained o cer. Can we send mental health workers out with o cers? Yes. Sending them out alone? No, I don’t think that’s wise.

How do you plan to engage with young people, to help them avoid gangs and criminal activity?

BONNER: It’s all about intervention and prevention. At the sheri ’s o ce, we have a Crime Prevention Unit that o ers over 40 di erent programs for our youth. … We can’t sit in the o ce and let parents or kids come to us. We’ve got to get out in the neighborhoods to nd out what we can do to help these kids be successful.

TURNER: A kid that joins a gang is looking for love, looking for acceptance, looking for protection, looking for a community. ey nd that in the gang because it’s not at home, it’s not at church, it’s not on the football team. You really have to disrupt that pattern of the gangs preying on these vulnerable youth because once they get ahold of them, it’s hard for them to let go, and it’s hard for that young person to get out of it. So we have to step in before the gangs get to them and provide that positive community for them. at’s why [I like] the Boys & Girls Club; it’s a positive community.

continued on page 10

PHOTO: ANDREA MORALES | MLK50

Floyd Bonner

PHOTO: BRANDON DILL Van Turner

PHOTO: ANDREA MORALES | MLK50

Willie Herenton

PHOTO: BRANDON DILL

Paul Young

SIERRA HULL

continued from page 9

Memphis always ranks poorly in the number of roadway deaths. How would you help make our streets safer without relying solely on increased MPD enforcement?

YOUNG: We need drivers to be informed that the public right of way isn’t just for cars. It’s for people. People walk, they bike, and they drive cars. We need public service announcements that remind people that they have to share the roads. We also should be exploring design solutions.

BONNER: You increase traffic enforcement, attention to red lights, and things like that. We’re gonna have to take a long hard look at traffic patterns.

HERENTON: I’ve never seen the level of reckless driving, inappropriate driving behavior, as I’m seeing on the expressway and streets. I’m so happy to see the increased level of Highway Patrol in our city. I will support that 100% — to increase the presence of highway patrolmen. They do it right.

As mayor, what is a measure you would take to reduce car break-ins and theft?

TURNER: Part of addressing the issues is to not only require a permit to have a gun on your person, but require permits to have guns in your cars. Many times, they’re looking for guns and other valuables. … The uptick occurred when we allowed guns in cars without a permit, and every law enforcement person in the state was against what the assembly was doing. … You disrupt how they make money off of what they’re doing. You use good detective work, good policing to break up the chop shops.

BONNER: My wife and I’ve raised two sons in this community. We were responsible for their actions and where they were, but these young people that are out there that are breaking in cars, we’ve got to get down to the root problem of that. That could be a food issue; it could be a homeless issue. We’ve got to find out what those issues are, and then change the trajectory of those kids.

YOUNG: I had an opportunity to sit on a town hall panel with NLE Choppa a few months ago, and there was a young person who said he liked stealing cars. I asked why. He said, “I’m bored and I need some money.” Those are things we should be solving for! We have to find ways to engage youth, have them earn money, and have fun.

HERENTON: There’s some brands of cars that are [more] susceptible to car thieves than others. In fact, I think I read that our current mayor was joining with some other mayors who’re talking about suing automakers who make cars so easy to be stolen.

As mayor, what is a measure you would take to help get guns off the street?

BONNER: Aggressive policing, first of all. We’ve got to hold people accountable. But also, we’ve got to change the mindset whereby we don’t have conflict resolution anymore in the schools or anywhere. I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen with the churches and pastors, community organizations that are willing to step up now and really get the message out as to how serious this is in our city. Because a lot of time our youth don’t understand the consequences of pulling the trigger on a weapon. So when you talk about trying to get those guns out of their hands, we’ve got to find a way to talk to them and get them to understand that violence is never the answer to anything, but also holding them, again, responsible and accountable for their actions.

HERENTON: I think that the legislative body in Tennessee is going to have to exercise more accountability and responsibility as we look at gun violence and gun control. So I’m for a lot of the reform measures, but within the powers of the executive branch, which the mayor is in. We just have to operate within the confines of the Constitution and state legislature.

TURNER: Obviously, talking to the Tennessee General Assembly won’t work. When the states have failed us in the past, we’ve turned to the federal government. As a civil rights attorney, that’s what I’ll do. I will support litigation to make sure that we at least put all the issues on the table. … I will seek an injunction in federal court, and I know what would likely happen. But the important thing is that we will create a record. We will have experts who will have testimony. We’ll get all those folks on the stand who’ve been ill-affected by gun violence. And then we’ll take that record to the U.S. Congress and we’ll ask for the United States Congress and for the president to give us relief. We’ve had a ban on assault weapons before. It can happen again. We should not give up on this issue.

YOUNG: Gun buyback programs — making sure people are turning those things in. And making sure we address illegal guns. When people commit crimes with those types of weapons, we should make sure there’s a higher penalty.

FINANCE By Gene Gard

Minimum Distributions

How to pay proper attention to the IRS rules.

If you’re nearing or living in retirement, it’s likely you’re at least somewhat familiar with the rules surrounding required minimum distributions (RMDs). As a refresher, by April 1st following the year you reach age 73, you must start taking distributions from your tax-deferred retirement accounts, per IRS rules. Each year a er that, you must continue taking RMDs or face severe penalties from the IRS.

Even if you’re already taking RMDs, you may not be familiar with all the rules surrounding them. Here, we highlight ve lesser-known facts about RMDs.

RMD rules can di er for inherited IRAs.

If you inherit an IRA or another taxdeferred account from someone other than your spouse, you may be required to withdraw the full balance of the account within 10 years. is is a recent change from previous rules that allowed payments to be stretched out over the course of a bene ciary’s lifetime.

IRAs and 401ks is that if you’re still working at age 73 (and don’t own more than 5 percent of the company), you can choose to delay taking your rst 401k RMD until the year in which you stop working. However, you must begin taking IRA distributions at age 73 whether or not you’re still working.

e tax withholding on RMDs is optional.

IRA providers typically withhold 10 percent of RMD distributions as a payment to the IRS. However, this payment is completely optional. If you prefer to have less or more than 10 percent withheld, simply notify your IRA provider. Your wealth manager may recommend modifying your withholding amount if it makes sense to do so based on your personal nancial situation.

Regardless of the amount withheld at the time of your RMD, you’ll still be responsible for paying taxes on your distribution at your ordinary income tax rate.

e penalty for missing an RMD can be waived. Most people know that if you fail to withdraw the required RMD amount, you’ll be assessed a 25 percent penalty on any amount you didn’t withdraw. However, did you know that penalty can be lowered or waived in certain situations?

IRA RMDs can be aggregated. If you own multiple traditional IRAs, you have the option to aggregate the RMD amount and take the total distribution from one or more accounts of your choice. is exibility allows you to plan your withdrawal strategy in order to optimize your tax situation.

401ks and IRAs have slightly di erent RMD rules.

Unlike IRAs, the IRS doesn’t permit the aggregation of employer-sponsored plan RMDs. at means if you have multiple employer-sponsored retirement plans, such as 401ks and 403bs, you must take an RMD from each account based on the same life expectancy factor that applies to IRA distributions.

Another important di erence between

If you take the necessary RMD by the end of the year following the year in which it was due, the penalty drops to 10 percent. e penalty may be waived completely if you’re able to establish that the missed distribution was due to reasonable error and that you’re taking steps to remedy the shortfall. In order to qualify for a waiver, you must le IRS Form 5329 and attach a letter of explanation.

Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory rms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s nancial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.

PHOTO: KELLY SIKKEMA | UNSPLASH Be aware of IRS rules.

arts music food arts

SPORTS By Frank Murtaugh

music food arts music

Redbirds 2023 Review

FOOD ARTS MUSIC FOOd

ere will be no playo s this year, but three players stood out in the 2023 season.

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FOOD ARTS MUSIC FOOD

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Every baseball season is memorable. Even those that don’t end with a championship, as four have since the Memphis Redbirds arrived in town 25 years ago. With a 68-76 record entering their nal home stand of the season, the Redbirds will not qualify for the International League playo s. But we saw three players who starred brightly here in 2023, with hopes for even bigger things next year.

music food arts music

FOOD ARTS MUSIC FOOd

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Audubon Park, Memphis, Sept 22-24

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FOOD ARTS MUSIC FOOD arts music food arts

• Luken Baker slammed 33 home runs and drove in 98 runs — the latter gure tops in the IL through Sunday — in only 84 games for Memphis. e hulking rst baseman posted a jaw-dropping slash line of .334/.439/.720, gures that should garner Baker some votes for IL Player of the Year, even with the limited service. (Baker spent much of the last two months riding the bench with the St. Louis Cardinals.) In just two seasons with the Redbirds, Baker has climbed to fourth in franchise history with 54 home runs. He’ll all but certainly be occupying a big-league roster spot next April, either with the Cardinals or another franchise (via trade).

• e electrifying Masyn Winn needed only 105 games with Memphis to shatter the franchise record for runs scored in a season with 99. ( e previous record of 92 had held for 19 years.) e 21-yearold shortstop batted .288 and clubbed 18 homers while stealing 17 bases. He showed o his much-talked-about cannon of a right arm, one already drawing oohs and aahs at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. His impact on the club? Memphis was 59-59 when Winn was promoted to St. Louis on August 18th. ey are 9-17 without him. Expect Winn to contend for the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year award.

• Among the most important, if awkward, decisions the Cardinals must make this winter involves the team’s backup catcher. Former Redbird Andrew Knizner has played the role for three seasons, the rst two behind Yadier Molina and this season behind Willson Contreras. But here’s the awkward part: Ivan Herrera is a better player. In his second season with Memphis, the 23-year-old Herrera has put up a slash line of .294/.449/.495 and OPS of .944. Knizner’s numbers with St. Louis: .246/.289/.442 and .731. Like Baker, Herrera will all but surely be on a big-league roster next April. Expect St. Louis to move Herrera or Knizner before Opening Day.

Pittsburgh Pirates), their biggest need is starting pitching. Michael McGreevy tops the Redbirds with 127 innings pitched and 10 wins, but lacks the swing-andmiss arsenal St. Louis craves desperately. (McGreevy has only 101 strikeouts in those 127 innings.) Gordon Grace o also carries high expectations, but shoulder inammation slowed his progress in 2023. You get the sense 21-year-old Tink Hence — a top-50 prospect — may leapfrog McGreevy and Grace o in a race to the Cardinals’ rotation. Hence split 2023 at Class A Peoria and Double-A Spring eld, with mixed results. He’ll be among the star attractions in Memphis next season.

1-800-889-9789

ere are two more names to remember as local baseball thoughts shi to 2024. In elder omas Saggese arrived in the Cardinals’ system as part of the trade that sent pitcher Jordan Montgomery to Texas at the trade deadline. A er hitting .313 with 15 homers in 93 games for Double-A Frisco, Saggese batted .331 with 10 more long balls in only 33 games for Spring eld. He had a four-hit game for Memphis last week and appears to be a rarity in the modern game: a pure hitter.

As the Cardinals aim to recover from the club’s rst last-place nish in 33 years (barring a two-week run that catches the

Finally we have Victor Scott II. e 22-year-old out elder has stolen 95 bases in 2023, splitting the season between Peoria and Spring eld. at kind of thievery calls to mind — for Cardinal followers of a certain vintage — Vince Coleman and the runnin’ Redbirds of the 1980s, an era that included three National League pennants and the 1982 world championship. It’s not the brand of baseball we’ve seen much at Busch Stadium in recent years, nor at AutoZone Park. ere would be some cross-generational poetry to an “old” way of winning baseball games helping a proud franchise escape an uncomfortable cellar.

PRESENTED BY FRIENDS OF THE PINK PALACE MOBILE MINI JUNIOR LEAGUE

PHOTO: WES HALE Ivan Herrera

steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

The Wasp By Abigail Morici

“I’ve lived in L.A., I’ve lived in New York, I’ve been all over the world, and this theater scene [in Memphis] is one to pay attention to,” says actor Meghan Lisi Lewis. Lewis, for her part, has been preparing for an upcoming role in Quark eatre’s production of e Wasp. is will be the rst time the critically acclaimed play, written by London-native Morgan Lloyd Malcolm in 2015, is performed in the United States, so, yes, the Memphis theater scene is one to pay attention to.

“I just sort of stumbled across it,” says director Tony Isbell, who founded Quark eatre with Louisa Koeppel and Adam Remsen in 2015. “When I read the script for the rst time, I lost count of the number of times I was taken by surprise because there are so many twists and turns. Usually, especially if you do theater a lot, you can read a script and kind of get an idea of where it’s going. But I will admit I did not see where this one was going. Even up until the very last page, I did not see where it was going.”

A psychological thriller, e Wasp unravels the relationship between once-childhood friends Heather and Carla, who have lost touch since school where a bully incident tore the two apart. At the start of the play, the two reunite over tea at a cafe, before one o ers the other a signi cant amount of cash and an unexpected proposition. What ensues is a dark exploration of how trauma shapes us.

As with most Quark productions, the cast of the play is small — just two women: Lewis, who was most recently in eatre Memphis’ e Play at Goes Wrong, and Mary Hollis Inboden, whom you might recognize from her TV work on shows like Kevin Can F**ck Himself and e Righteous Gemstones. “You just don’t o en get the opportunity to do a two-woman show,” says Lewis. “So for me, that is a gi . I was hooked by this script from jump. It’s a smart, smart script. … e way that these women are written is so complex.”

“In a way I feel like only women can,” adds Inboden, “the show touches on empathy, and love and support and understanding and also cruelty and violence and how we hold resentment. And it’s so completely well-rounded the way they kind of get at these really hard topics.”

So far, more than 50 percent of tickets to e Wasp performances have been sold, and Isbell predicts the show will sell out. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at quarktheatre.com. Performances will run September 22nd through October 8th, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinées at 2 p.m.

THE WASP, FIRST CONGO THEATER, SEPTEMBER 22-OCTOBER 8, $20.

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES September 21st - 27th

Pink Palace Cra s Fair

Audubon Park, Friday-Saturday, September 22-23, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Sunday, September 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

e annual Pink Palace Cra s Fair, bene ting the Museum of Science & History, returns for its 51st anniversary. is year’s fair expects nearly 150 artists from around the country selling eclectic pottery, jewelry, paintings, woodwork, leatherwork, sculpture, woven goods, and so much more.

Marvel at demonstrations by master cra smen. Enjoy a cool beverage and a bite to eat from food/drink vendors while you kick back and enjoy live music. Entertain the kiddos at the petting zoo and with a ride on the popular choo-choo train, plus wall climbing and pony rides.

Early bird tickets are $8/adult, $6/ seniors and military, $3/children 5-12, and free for children under 5. Purchase them at moshmemphis.com.

Memphis Comic Expo

Agricenter International, Saturday, September 23, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Sunday, September 24, 10 a.m.-5p.m. Memphis Comic Expo is one of the few remaining creator-focused conventions that shines a spotlight on artists and writers in the world of comics. Bringing you the best in local and regional talent, up-and-coming creators, and of course, the big names, this expo has one of the best comiccreator lineups in the South, a cosplay contest, panels, vendors, voice actors, artists and writers, and more. is year Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, will make a special appearance.

Visit memphiscomicexpo.com for more information and to purchase tickets. Tickets are $40 for Saturday general admission and $35 for Sunday general admission. Kids (12 and under) get in free.

Latin Fest

Overton Square, Saturday, September 23, noon-6 p.m., free admission

Latin Fest is a family-oriented Latin festival that provides a place to gather with family and friends to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, listen and dance to live Latin music, and taste some Latin food and drinks. ere will also be vendors and cra s for kids.

Meet the Author: Chloe Joy Sexton Restaurant Iris, Friday, September 22, 6:30 p.m., $23.99-$75 Join Novel at Restaurant Iris for a live cooking demonstration with dinner to celebrate Chloe Joy Sexton in honor of her book Big Yum: Supersized Cookies for Over-the-Top Cravings. Two ticket options (in-person and virtual) are available. Find out more at novelmemphis.com.

PHOTO: COURTESY QUARK THEATRE Mary Hollis Inboden, Tony Isbell, and Meghan Lisi Lewis

Muscle Memory

Augusta Palmer wrote in the Oxford American in 2017, “ e Memphis Country Blues Festivals, held yearly from 1966 to 1969, changed the way Memphians — and Americans — think about the blues, and they couldn’t have happened anywhere else.” Originally organized by a countercultural coterie that included the late Jim Dickinson, the short-lived but in uential annual series at the Overton Park Shell eventually led to a 1968 album on Sire Records, and later the lm Memphis ’69, only recently restored and released at the behest of Fat Possum Records. e latter is especially revealing as one sees the performances range from Furry Lewis playing solo, to Rufus omas backed by the Bar-Kays, to a full-on rock show by Johnny Winter. Clearly, the organizers’ idea of country blues included some decidedly urban forms.

at’s one thing that Alvin Youngblood Hart nds appealing about the Shell’s revival of the tradition in recent years. Along with hometown favorites, the North Mississippi Allstars, Hart and his band, Muscle eory, will be playing the 2023 Memphis Country Blues Festival this Saturday, September 23rd, as part of the Shell’s Orion Free Concert Series. And its signi cance is not lost on the singer/ songwriter, whose own work is as eclectic as Memphis itself.

“I love watching Memphis ’69, and making other people watch it,” Hart says. “I’m actually doing some gigs with the Allstars right now, and we were just talking about that last night. It’s cool. We all sort of feel like we’re a part of that Memphis Country Blues Festival tradition.”

Hart understands better than most how much that tradition means to the Allstars’ Luther and Cody Dickinson — they’ve known each other since the last century. “I think we met in ’99,” says Hart. “Because their dad was producing one of my records. So he invited me over when they were recording their rst record. And then I went on the road with them quite a few times. I’d open for them solo and then come back and play, on and o through the night.”

As for the festival’s traditions, both artists have devoted themselves to the styles of Furry Lewis, Johnny Winter, and everything in between, and this weekend’s show will give both acts a chance to revel in the breadth of their in uences. Hart’s most recent work, for example, leans into his soulful original songs and electric guitar stylings, yet the covers range from Blind Willie Johnson’s “In My Time of Dying” to Doug Sahm’s “Lawd, I’m Just

a Country Boy in is Great Big Freaky City.” Meanwhile, only last year Bob Dylan dedicated an entire chapter of his book, e Philosophy of Modern Song, to Hart’s lilting acoustic guitar version of the Stephen Foster chestnut, “Nelly Was a Lady.” But Hart recorded that 20 years ago; now he’s steadfastly focused on looking forward. e Dylan mention “hasn’t led to that much,” he says. “Nobody knows who Stephen Foster is! My big fun the last year was being asked to open for Mike Campbell’s band, the Dirty Knobs. I did two tours with them.” Working with Tom Petty’s axe man resonated deeply with Hart’s inner journeyman rocker. “Mike has been one of my guitar heroes since I was in high school.”

To be sure, Hart contains multitudes and wears all his diverse in uences on his sleeve. But that can be a challenge if one tours heavily, as Hart has since the nineties. “ ere’s no hiding in live performance,” he says. “You have to get with it, get inside of it, you know? Go for it. And then, it’s like a ght. Am I going to swim with gators or am I going to swim with dolphins? It all depends on the audience. ere’s a crowd out there — who’s with you?”

Still, having lived in Memphis for 24 years (only leaving for Mississippi last year), Hart’s con dent that Saturday’s audience will be able to stay with him through any genre-hopping he might do. He’ll stay true to his eclecticism because, as he says, “that’s how I grew up to experience music. And for me personally, that was always one of the attractions of Memphis music, was that it was all those things, right? at’s always been an attraction of Memphis music for me.”

e Overton Park Shell will host the Memphis Country Blues Festival, featuring the North Mississippi Allstars and Alvin Youngblood Hart’s Muscle eory, on Saturday, September 23rd, 5:30 p.m. Free. A new Mississippi Blues Trail historical marker for the Shell will be unveiled between sets.

PHOTO: MATT WHITE Alvin Youngblood Hart

Alvin Youngblood Hart contains multitudes — just like the blues.

MUSIC By Alex Greene

AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule September 21 - 27

Baunie & Soul

Sunday, Sept. 24, 7-11 p.m.

RUM BOOGIE CAFE

Blind Mississippi Morris

Friday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m.

BLUES CITY CAFE

Robbie Bletscher on Piano

A singing waiter with talent.

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 5-8 p.m.

WESTY’S

Sarah Spain

Saturday, Sept. 23, 6-8:30 p.m.

CENTRAL BBQ

Songwriter Night: Kathy Zhou, Foster Falls, Liv Zemer

Friday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS

The Blues Trio

Saturday, Sept. 23, noon; Sunday, Sept. 24, 11:30 a.m.;

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 4:30 p.m.

B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB

Wendell Wells & The Big Americans

Free live music, songwriters, musicians, singers, and jam session. Saturday, Sept. 23, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

WESTY’S

An Evening with Maggie and Mark O’Connor is husband-wife duo performs both originals and classics featuring violin, guitar, mandolin, and vocals. $45/reserved seating. Friday, Sept. 22, 8-9:30 p.m.

BUCKMAN ARTS CENTER AT

ST. MARY’S SCHOOL

Natchez with Bob Nelson

$10. Friday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m.

NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM

Rich Sounds at the Garden: Memphis Symphony Orchestra Ensemble

Enjoy performances and demonstrations from local arts and culture organiza-

tions in conjunction with the “Rich Soil” exhibition at MBG. Sunday, Sept. 24, 2-5 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Aktion Kat! Transgress!

Album Release

Unleash the sonic revolution with Aktion Kat’s Transgress. $5. Saturday, Sept. 23, 9-11 p.m.

MURPHY’S

Alexis Jade ursday, Sept. 21, 7-10 p.m.

THE SLIDER INN

Bailey Bigger, Lahna Deering

Saturday, Sept. 23, 9 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Deep Roots

Saturday, Sept. 23, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Devil Train

ursday, Sept. 21, 9:30 p.m.

B-SIDE

Enchanting Strings: A Classical Guitar Showcase by Peter Fletcher

ursday, Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m.

BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY

Jeremie Albino (Orion Free Concert Series)

Memphis Black Arts Alliance’s pre-show kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with a performance by Rozelle Creative and Performing Arts Optional School. Friday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Lahna Deering, Lorette Velvette

Friday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m. BAR DKDC

Sept-HYMN-BEER! Fall into Beer & Hymns

Come one, come all, for an evening of singing, suds, food, fellowship, and fun!

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 6:308:30 p.m.

HAMPLINE BREWING

Shara’s Songwriter

Showcase

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Soul Glo + Zulu with Playytime

Monday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m.

GROWLERS

3 Balls of Fire, Will Sexton, Amy LaVere, T. Jarrod Bonta

$12. Wednesday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m.

HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY

Dueling Pianos

Sunday, Sept. 24, 6-9 p.m.

HUEY’S SOUTHAVEN

Heartbreak Hill

Sunday, Sept. 24, 6-9 p.m.

HUEY’S OLIVE BRANCH

Jad Tariq Band

Sunday, Sept. 24, 6-9 p.m.

HUEY’S SOUTHWIND

Tangerine Flavour & Voodoo Rose

$10. Saturday, Sept. 23, 8 p.m.

HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY

Bluegrass on the Collierville Square

Bring a chair and have a picnic. Free family fun open to all spectators. Musicians welcome. Acoustic only.

Friday, Sept. 22, 7-10 p.m.

COLLIERVILLE TOWN SQUARE

Patti LuPone in Concert: Don’t Monkey with Broadway

Spend an evening with a true Broadway legend as three-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone performs indelible interpretations of classic Broadway show tunes.

$65. Saturday, Sept. 23, 8-9:30 p.m.

GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS

CENTER

Richard Wilson

Friday, Sept. 22, 12:30 p.m.;

Sunday, Sept. 24, 12:30 p.m.

JACKIE MAE’S PLACE

PHOTO: MAIA ROSENFELD Mark and Maggie O’Connor

CALENDAR of EVENTS: September 21 - 27

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.

DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENT LISTINGS, VISIT EVENTS. MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.

ART HAPPENINGS

Arrow Creative’s Marketplace in Motion Shop local artists and makers while enjoying food and drink from Loflin Yard. Saturday, Sept. 23, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

LOFLIN YARD

Made in Memphis Market

Shop the work of local businesses, makers, and artists while enjoying DJ sets. Saturday, Sept. 23, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

SHOPS OF SADDLE CREEK

Meet the Artist Reception with Sally Hughes Smith

Explore the current exhibitions during open late hours and meet the artist Sally Hughes Smith in the Mallory/Wurtzburger Galleries. Thursday, Sept. 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

BOOK EVENTS

Book and Author Talk: The 5th Little Girl

NCRM welcomes Sarah Collins Rudolph, a prominent civil rights icon and the co-author of The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (The Sarah Collins Rudolph Story). Tuesday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m.

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

Meet the Author: Chloe Joy Sexton

Take one small step through a cornfield, one giant leap into family adventure at the Mid-South Maze.

Joy Sexton in honor of her book Big Yum: Supersized Cookies for Over-the-Top Cravings

Friday, Sept. 22, 6:30 p.m.

RESTAURANT IRIS

Reading with Michael Kiggins

A reading and book signing with Michael Kiggins for his debut novel, And The Train Kept Moving. Friday, Sept. 22, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

BURKE’S BOOK STORE

COMEDY

Carlos Mencia

Chris Tucker

Chris Tucker is an internationally recognized, award-winning actor, producer, and comedian. $39.50-$79.50. Friday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m.

THE ORPHEUM

FESTIVAL

51st Annual Pink Palace Crafts Fair

Explore a variety of eclectic pottery, jewelry, paintings, woodwork, leatherwork, sculpture, woven goods, and so much more. Friday, Sept. 22-Sept. 24.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

Latin Fest 901

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at this family-oriented Latin festival. Saturday, Sept. 23, noon-6 p.m.

THE TOWER COURTYARD AT OVERTON SQUARE

Memphis Comic Expo

Take part in one of the few remaining creatorfocused conventions that shines a spotlight on artists and writers in the world of comics. Saturday, Sept. 23-Sept. 24.

AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL

Mid-South Fair at Landers Center

Enjoy an array of family-fun activities from over 50 rides Through Oct. 1.

LANDERS CENTER

Mighty Roots Music Festival

Join Novel at Restaurant Iris for a live cooking demonstration with dinner to celebrate Chloe

Carlos Mencia is one of today’s most popular entertainers and comics. $35-$50. Tuesday, Sept. 26, 7 p.m., 9 p.m.

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Friday, February 15, 2019

Crossword

55 Character in “All’s Well That Ends Well” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

57 Viking king of note

58 NASA’s InSight probe, for one

59 Org. that rings a bell

60 Acted omnipotent DOWN

1 Crime boss

2 Public house options

3 Contents of some childproof containers, for short

4 “Exit full screen” button

5 Cheer for

6 Financially O.K.

7 Like some Olympic races

8 Folksy

9 Kyoto cash

10 Skedaddle

11 #2 on Rolling Stone’s “100

Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time”

12 Pioneer in hydrostatics

13 Many an aspiring exec,

Edited by Will Shortz No. 0111

A weekend of music, revelry, art, food, and memories. Friday, Sept. 22-Sept. 24.

CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is back with food trucks, Mighty Souls Brass Band, and more to come! Saturday, Sept. 23, 1 p.m.

WISEACRE BREWERY

LECTURE

A Conversation with David Brooks Rhodes College will present a conversation with New York Times op-ed columnist and author David Brooks on American politics and society. Free. Thursday, Sept. 21, 6 p.m.

RHODES COLLEGE

SPECIAL EVENTS

Dance Party in Chimes Square

Belt out the classics, the latest hits, and everything in between with a free party. The theme is Boy Bands vs. Girl Bands: Who will win? Free. Friday, Sept. 22, 7-9 p.m.

OVERTON SQUARE

“Get Lost” in Space

Step into a corny cosmos this fall. With twists, turns, and surprises around every corner, you’ll be navigating like a real astronaut. Through Oct. 31.

AGRICENTER MEMPHIS

The Barbie Rave!

Calling all Barbies and Kens. You’re invited to get plastic and throw down on the dreamhouse dance floor. $10. Friday, Sept. 22, 9:30 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

SPORTS

Memphis Redbirds vs. Charlotte Nights

Thursday, Sept. 21, 6:45 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 22, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 23, 6:05 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 24, 2:05 p.m.

AUTOZONE PARK

Mid-South Mayhem

Back-to-back nights of action-packed pro wrestling. Friday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m.

THE SOUNDSTAGE AT GRACELAND

THEATER

The Crucible

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Based on events which took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, this tragedy tells the story of a village that becomes embroiled in a witch hunt. Through Oct. 1.

THEATRE MEMPHIS

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

PUZZLE BY JIM HORNE AND JEFF CHEN

ARIES (March 21-April 19): So it begins: the Building and Nurturing Togetherness phase of your astrological cycle. The next eight weeks will bring excellent opportunities to shed bad relationship habits and grow good new ones. Let’s get you in the mood with some suggestions from intimacy counselors Mary D. Esselman and Elizabeth Ash Vélez: “No matter how long you’ve been together or how well you think you know each other, you still need to romance your partner, especially in stability. Don’t run off and get an extreme makeover or buy into the red-roses-and-champagne bit. Instead, try being kind, receptive, and respectful. Show your partner, often and in whatever tender, goofy way you both understand, that their heart is your home.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): From May 2023 to May 2024, the planets Jupiter and Uranus have been and will be in Taurus. I suspect that many Taurus revolutionaries will be born during this time. And yes, Tauruses can be revolutionaries. Here’s a list of some prominent rebel Bulls: Karl Marx, Malcolm X, activist Kathleen Cleaver, lesbian feminist author Adrienne Rich, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, artist Salvador Dali, playwright Lorraine Hansberry, and dancer Martha Graham. All were wildly original innovators who left a bold mark on their cultures. May their examples inspire you to clarify and deepen the uniquely stirring impact you would like to make, Taurus.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini writer Joe Hill believes the only fight that matters is “the struggle to take the world’s chaos and make it mean something.” I can think of many other fights that matter, too, but Hill’s choice is a good one that can be both interesting and rewarding. I especially recommend it to you in the coming weeks, Gemini. You are poised at a threshold that promises substantial breakthroughs in your ongoing wrangles with confusion, ambiguity, and enigma. My blessings go with you as you wade into the evocative challenges.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Author Crescent Dragonwagon has written over 50 books, so we might conclude she has no problem expressing herself fully. But a character in one of her novels says the following: “I don’t know exactly what I mean by ‘hold something back,’ except that I do it. I don’t know what the ‘something’ is. It’s some part that’s a mystery, maybe even to me. I feel it may be my essence or what I am deep down under all the layers. But if I don’t know what it is, how can I give it or share it with someone even if I wanted to?” I bring these thoughts to your attention, Cancerian, because I believe the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to overcome your own inclination to “hold

something back.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In her book Undercurrents: A Life Beneath the Surface, psychologist and author Martha Manning says she is more likely to experience epiphanies in “grocery stores and laundromats, rather than in the more traditional places of reverence and prayer.” She marvels that “it’s in the most ordinary aspects of life” that she is “offered glimpses of the extraordinary.” During these breakthrough moments, “the baseline about what is good and important in my life changes.” I suspect you will be in a similar groove during the coming weeks, Leo. Are you ready to find the sacred in the mundane? Are you willing to shed your expectations of how magic occurs so you will be receptive to it when it arrives unexpectedly?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): My favorite creativity teacher is author Roger von Oech. He produced the Creative Whack Pack, a card deck with prompts to stimulate imaginative thinking. I decided to draw one such card for your use in the coming weeks. It’s titled EXAGGERATE. Here’s its advice: “Imagine a joke so funny you can’t stop laughing for a month. Paper stronger than steel. An apple the size of a hotel. A jet engine quieter than a moth beating its wings. A home-cooked dinner for 25,000 people. Try exaggerating your idea. What if it were a thousand times bigger, louder, stronger, faster, and brighter?” (PS: It’s a favorable time for you to entertain brainstorms and heartstorms and soulstorms. For best results, EXAGGERATE!)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): If you buy a bag of popcorn and cook it in your microwave oven, there are usually kernels at the bottom that fail to pop. As tasty as your snack is, you may still may feel cheated by the duds. I will be bold and predict that you won’t have to deal with such duds in the near future — not in your popcorn bags and not in any other area of your life, either literally or metaphorically. You’re due for a series of experiences that are complete and thorough and fully bloomed.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Writer George Bernard Shaw observed that new ideas and novel perspectives “often appear first as jokes and fancies, then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion, and finally as established truths.” As you strive to get people to consider fresh approaches, Sagittarius, I advise you to skip the “blasphemies and treason” stage. If you proceed with compassion and good humor, you can go directly from “jokes and fancies” to “questions open to discussion.” But one way or another, please be a leader who initiates shifts in your favorite groups

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

“These are the bad facts,” says author Fran Lebowitz. “Men have much easier lives than women. Men have the advantage. So do white people. So do rich people. So do beautiful people.” Do you agree, Virgo? I do. I’m not rich or beautiful, but I’m a white man, and I have received enormous advantages because of it. What about you? Now is a good time to tally any unearned blessings you have benefited from, give thanks for them, and atone by offering help to people who have obtained fewer favors. And if you have not received many advantages, the coming months will be an excellent time to ask for and even demand more.

and organizations. Shake things up with panache and good humor.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Novelist and astrologer Forrest E. Fickling researched which signs are the worst and best in various activities. He discovered that Capricorns are the hardest workers, as well as the most efficient. They get a lot done, and they are expeditious about it. I suspect you will be at the peak of your ability to express these Capricornian strengths in the coming weeks. Here’s a bonus: You will also be at the height of your power to enjoy your work and be extra likely to produce good work. Take maximum advantage of this grace period!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The British band Oasis has sold over 95 million records. The first song they ever released was “Supersonic.” Guitarist Noel Gallagher wrote most of its music and lyrics in half an hour while the rest of the band was eating Chinese take-out food. I suspect you will have that kind of agile, succinct, matter-of-fact creativity in the coming days. If you are wise, you will channel it into dreaming up solutions for two of your current dilemmas. This is one time when life should be easier and more efficient than usual.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “When sex is really, really good,” writes Piscean novelist Geoff Nicholson, “I feel as though I’m disappearing, being pulverized, so that I’m nothing, just particles of debris, smog, soot, and skin floating through the air.” Hmmmm. I guess that’s one version of wonderful sex. And if you want it, you can have it in abundance during the coming weeks. But I encourage you to explore other kinds of wonderful sex, as well — like the kind that makes you feel like a genius animal or a gorgeous storm or a super-powered deity.

FOOD By Michael Donahue

Cheers to Cafe 1912

e Midtown restaurant celebrates 21 years of business.

afe 1912 is celebrating its 21st anniversary with specials for the next couple of weeks.

is week’s menu will include the restaurant’s signature Mardi Gras item: fried oysters with remoulade sauce.

Beef bourguignon with buttered noodles also will be featured. “Beef bourguignon was on the very rst menu we did at La Tourelle,” says Martha Hays, who, along with her husband, Glenn, owns Cafe 1912 at 243 Cooper Street.

She and her husband also owned the now-closed La Tourelle, which they opened in 1977 on Monroe Avenue just o Overton Square. e restaurant, named for the tower, or turret, on top, was more of a ne dining/white tablecloth restaurant with its prix xe menu.

Glenn also wanted a restaurant that was “more eclectic” and “would appeal to a broader range of folks,” Martha says. Cafe 1912 was named a er the year the building housing the restaurant was constructed. “ e facade has ‘1912’ on it.”

a chef. Jensen arrived three weeks later and moved into the apartment above La Tourelle. He now owns Erling Jensen: e Restaurant.

Glenn opened Cafe 1912 a er discovering the space next to Barksdale Restaurant, where he o en ate, was for lease.

Martha remembers when Glenn told her he signed the lease to open another restaurant. “My reaction this time was, ‘Oh, I think that’s a good idea.’ Which is totally di erent from my reaction when he told me about La Tourelle. I was completely scared. You have to remember how young we were. Our oldest was 18 months old. And I was teaching school. He cashed in a life insurance policy to get the money for him and his partner to start renovating.”

ey’ve “always had a burger on the menu” at Cafe 1912, but they also serve ne dining items, Martha says. e fare initially was “French inspired. But that’s changed somewhat over the years as people got more into di erent kinds of spices and things like that.”

Cafe 1912 and La Tourelle “coexisted for ve years,” Martha says. La Tourelle closed “because we were having trouble nding a quali ed person to put in the kitchen.”

And there was “a lot more competition” from new ne dining restaurants.

“One brunch, Kelly English came in with his family. And Glenn happened to be here and was talking to him. He said, ‘Do you know anybody who wants to buy a restaurant?’ And Kelly said, ‘I do.’ And that’s exactly what happened. We sold it in November 2007, and Iris opened about six months a er that.”

ey opened La Tourelle because Glenn, who worked in the athletic department at the University of Memphis, loved to eat, loved to go to France, and loved to read cookbooks. He wanted a restaurant that served the type of French dishes he enjoyed, says Martha, who was teaching French and English at Lincoln Junior High School at the time.

Glenn was the chef when La Tourelle opened. “He came in every day and cooked. I made bread and desserts at home. Glenn made stew-type things: beef bourguignon, blanquette de veau, and cassoulet. All one pot. at’s what we did for the rst six weeks. en reality hit. Summer was ending and we both had to go back to our jobs.”

ey began hiring chefs, including Erling Jensen, who worked at the restaurant for seven and a half years. Jensen answered an ad, which Glenn put in e New York Times when he was looking for

eir seafood crepe is one of their longest-running menu items. “It has shrimp and bay scallops and béchamel sauce wrapped up in the crepe. It’s served hot.”

Keith Riley, Cafe 1912’s executive chef since 2009, added “pan-seared grouper with roasted red pepper, asparagus, and risotto with sun-dried tomato beurre blanc.”

Riley substitutes other sh, including corvina or scallops, when grouper isn’t available.

Cafe 1912 expanded in 2007 when the bay next door went up for lease. “We put in the bar. And that’s really pretty much what changed our vibe a bit.”

Memphis Flyer senior editor Bruce VanWyngarden “referred to us once as ‘ e Cheers of Midtown.’ A lot of our crowd is older and they’re Midtown. ey come in here and I can’t tell you how o en everybody knows everybody.”

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE Keith Riley with fried oysters

continued from page 6

Cohen, and the current political star of stars, state Representative Justin Pearson, who received international attention for his prominence in anti-gun protests during the spring legislative session.

Reportedly, Pearson, via independent expenditures licensed by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, is about to endow the cause with $100,000 for a last-minute ad blitz aimed at rousing local Democrats.

Like candidates Camper and McKissack, self-funding businessman/philanthropist J.W. Gibson did well in public forums last week, but in his case, as in theirs, it could be a case of too little, too late.

If female candidates are struggling in the mayoral race, they are more than holding their own in city council races. Indeed, it is theoretically possible for the council races to end with a female majority of one serving. And in tight multicandidate races in districts one through seven, a runo provision will mandate a majority winner and provide a second chance for some.

In council District One, incumbent Rhonda Logan is heavily favored over opponent Kymberly Kelley.

ere are six candidates vying in council District Two, including Jerri Green, a former legislative candidate and current policy advisor to County Mayor Harris; ex-councilman and former Plough Foundation director Scott McCormick; and business consultant Marvin White.

ere are no fewer than three female candidates in council District ree — longtime activist Pearl Eva Walker, Kawanias “Kaye” McNeary, and Towanna C. Murphy — contending with veteran political gure Ricky Dixon and the Rev. James Kirkwood, a former ranking o cer in the Memphis Police Department.

e two candidates in council District Four are not only both women, but both are also veterans of prior service on the council. Teri Dockery served as an interim council member during a vacancy, and Jana Swearengen-Washington is the incumbent.

District Five boasts a trio of candidates, one of whom, Luke Hatler, is still a student at White Station High School. e other two candidates — Meggan Wurzburg Kiel and Philip Spinosa — are locked into a serious and costly mano-a-mano in which each candidate has raised resources of more than $100,000.

Kiel, though a novice candidate for o ce, is no stranger to civic a airs. She was one of the founders of the progressive activist group MICAH (Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope). Her opponent, Spinosa, is no newcomer, either. Elected to the council in 2015, he served part of a term and resigned to head up the Chairman’s Circle on the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce. He now works in logistics.

In one sense, the contest is a battle of initialized groups: MICAH vs. CAISSA, the latter being a PR group catering to centrist and right-of-center candidacies. ere have been no direct encounters between the two candidates, and potentially volatile issues have largely been on the back burner, but Spinosa in a TV ad has accused Kiel of wanting to defund the police, a charge she has vehemently denied.

District Six is currently being served by incumbent Councilman Edmund Ford Sr., who is heavily favored over opponents Keith D. Austin II and Larry Hunter.

Anyone looking at the crowded roster of District Seven candidates might assume it to be an available open seat, but, in fact, incumbent Michalyn Easter- omas is in good shape to repeat. e super uity of challengers owes mainly to what was a lingering prospect that her status as an employee of the Memphis River Parks Partnership, an adjunct

PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER

District 3 council candidate Pearl Walker at Sidney Chism’s summer picnic event

POLITICS By Jackson Baker

of city government, might cause her to be declared ineligible. Among those taking a shot at the seat are Edward Douglas, Jimmy Hassan, Jarrett “JP” Parks, Dee Reed, Austin Rowe, and Larry Springfield.

All of the candidates in the council district races just discussed, even those who are distinct underdogs, might be nursing hopes of winning in the runoff stage of the election, which does not exist for the mayor’s race nor for the Super District 8 and Super District 9 seats.

These are winner-take-all, and there are no second chances for second-place finishers.

In two of them — 8-1, held by JB Smiley, and 9-3, occupied by Jeff Warren — there are no other candidates besides the incumbent. And in two others, the incumbents — Chase Carlisle in 9-1 and Ford Canale in 9-2 — have opponents, newcomers Benji Smith in 9-1 and Brandon Washington in 9-2, with only remote chances of winning.

Super District 8, Position 2, is actually an open seat, though Marion LaTroy A-Williams is a perennial, and Davin D. Clemons is considered something of a fringe candidate. Janika White, who was runner-up to Steve Mulroy in the 2023 Democratic primary for district attorney general, is virtually a sure winner, having been hand-picked essentially by current incumbent Cheyenne Johnson, who opted out of a reelection effort.

The other Super District seat, for Position 3, is an open seat as well and boasts a genuine contest involving six contenders — the foremost ones being entertainer-activist Jerred Price, former District 7 incumbent Berlin Boyd, and consultant Brian Harris. Also in the race are Lucille Catron, Yolanda Cooper-Sutton, Damon Curry Morris, and Paul Randolph Jr.

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THE

LAST WORD

By Izzy Wollfarth

Traveling Miss America

Very American abroad.

ere’s nothing more humbling than being an American in a country that is not America. is summer I traveled to London where I stayed for a month and then for 10 days a er, I traveled to Switzerland, Milan, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Florence, and Venice. My travels lasted for about ve weeks but gave me enough knowledge to last a lifetime. I rst realized my Americanness when I was in London standing on the Tube — the subway equivalent for you American folk. Me and my friends were all laughing about something hilarious. Amidst the heavy laughter, I stopped and looked around. We were the loudest voices on the Tube. e babies around us had not even touched the sound decibels we had reached. Another incident like this was on July 4th. Of course, on this day, I was in London. Even though we talked loudly and there were about 30 of us in a pack, I thought my friends and I were good at ying under the radar. I put myself in the shoes of a local and thought, “Ah, yes, it’s just another normal day for us Londoners.” is ended rather quickly when someone on the street wished us a “Happy Independence Day.” Rats. I would never t in here.

When venturing to Paris, I had a big ego. I have been taking French since middle school, almost 10 years now. I had always told my relatives that I was uent in French and most certainly could hold any conversation. On our train ride from Amsterdam to Paris, I voiced in my head how to order di erent meals at restaurants. I even practiced scenarios where I negotiated prices at markets and shops. No matter how out of place I might look — I never went anywhere without my fanny pack — or feel, I would blend in easily. Only being in Paris for a day or two, there were slim opportunities to use my French. It’s like everybody knew we were Americans. It was like when you nally turn 21 and the bartender doesn’t even ask to see your ID. ey always know. On our nal day in Paris, me and my travel buddy set o to the train station. Our next destination was Zurich, Switzerland. In a nal feeble attempt, I stopped at a nearby café. With rising fear and anxiety, I approached a sweaty and overwhelmed French man behind the bar. “Je voudrais un pain au chocolat et — ” cut o , in a thick French accent. “Please, order in English, it’s easier.” Ah! e utter shame. What a stupid American I am!

For the rest of the trip, I was even more aware of my American identity. On our train ride from Basel to Zurich, we sat across a Swiss man and a Parisienne man — this is not an assumption, but a fact gathered from extensive eavesdropping. A er a full day of traveling and lugging two 40-pound suitcases upstairs, I was a little delusional and big-mouthed. My introductory question to the Parisienne man was, “Do people from Paris hate Americans?” e man laughed. e answer was obvious under his wide smile and averted eyes. In the corner of my eye, I saw a woman snickering at our conversation. Oh, I had forgotten that I was the loudest person on the train. A er some moments, the Parisienne man looked at me and said, “I can’t speak for all French people, but I think you are okay.” Even though this was a basic and almost expected answer, it li ed my heart.

is whole trip, I had been gleefully assuming that I was a nuisance to the countries I was entering. I had been hyper aware of myself as an American and I didn’t like it. But it’s not about me, is it? I had entered these countries and aside from the customs o cers, no one had invited me to enter these places. Entering these countries was a self-commitment to be present in di erent cultures and respectful of the spaces around me. e people on the Tube didn’t tell us to quiet down; they just put in their headphones and probably prayed for us to shut up. ese men on the train had no concern about where we were from; instead, they met us with smiles and laughter. Considering the French man behind the counter, maybe my French pronunciation was just hard to understand, and he wasn’t in the mood to be patient. We are all di erent. Sometimes in more ways than not. What makes us di erent makes our conversations more interesting and the journey to understanding more fruitful. You’re not a dumb American. You’re someone on their journey to understanding. You’re working to understand the cultures and customs that are di erent from yours yet beautiful in their own ways. Maybe, a quiet Tube ride is what most people need in the mornings. Noted.

Izzy Wollfarth is a Rhodes College student and intern at Contemporary Media, Inc.

PHOTO: COURTESY IZZY WOLLFARTH

A bunch of Americans, not in America