Public Records & Notices View a complete day’s public records and notices at memphisdailynews.com. www.chandlerreports.com Thursday, April 11, 2019 MemphisDailyNews.com Vol. 134 | No. 59 Rack–50¢/Delivery–39¢ Texting service for 911 calls starts in Memphis YOLANDA JONES domestic situation, so she texted stress. We determined what the Communications 911 District Dispatch center on Flicker Street Courtesy of The Daily Memphian 911,” said Mike Spencer, emer- situation was and sent an officer launched the system officially to tout the importance of the sys- Shortly after midnight gency communications admin- over there to help her and her Tuesday. It is intended primarily tem, which they said was more Tuesday, the city’s new text- istrator for the Memphis Police family out.” for use by those unable to make than a decade in the making. to-911 system received its first Department. “We went through Memphis became the first 911 phone calls. “I remember back in 2012 emergency text message. our normal interview process. city in the state to have the City, county, state and pub- when they first did some tests “A person had some limited Location is the most important text-to-911 service when the lic safety leaders gathered for English skills (and) she was in a thing, and that is what we will Shelby County Emergency a press conference at the 911 911 CONTINUED ON P2 week they had parted ways, and city officials said they were negotiating separately, with Loews for 100 North Main owner touts a new convention center hotel and Townhouse for mixed-use redevelopment of property at 80 and 100 North Main. The city left the door open for competition to see which company comes up with the best hotel hotel as reducing blight plan, and Loews said it was moving forward on the plaza site. Townhouse argues it would be faster, easier and $20 million less costly to taxpayers for the city to back their plan for a 506-room hotel. It would keep Civic Center Plaza as public space while eliminating 100 North Main’s blighted condition that brought Townhouse and Loews to Memphis in the first place. The $20 million cost savings would come from repurposing 100 North Main’s foundation and su- perstructure and forgoing a donation of city land to the hotel, Townhouse officials said. They also noted that Civic Center Plaza poses challenges because of structural defects and the need to relocate water and electrical infrastructure serving City Hall and the Clifford Davis/Odell Hor- ton Federal Building. ‘The problem at hand’ Arlene Maidman, executive chair of Townhouse, said 100 North Main solves “the problem at hand” while the Loews project doesn’t. “Having a hotel on the plaza with no redevelop- ment of 100 (North Main) is not going to do much for the blight that’s in Downtown,” Maidman said. “The first time I came to town more than two years ago, the idea was to get rid of the blight and help revitalize Downtown and basically have what we called at the time a gateway of revitalization and development,” she said. Townhouse came to Memphis in 2015 when an affiliate helped finance a previous owner’s purchase A modified 100 North Main is up against a new Loews on Civic Center Plaza as candidates for Memphis’ second convention of 100 North Main. Townhouse wound up with center hotel. (PHOTO: Wayne Risher/Courtesy of The Daily Memphian, RENDERING: Courtesy of Architect P.C.) the building after the previous owner defaulted on the loan. WAYNE RISHER in direct public incentives? Until last week, Townhouse and The city’s tallest building, 100 North Main Courtesy of The Daily Memphian New York real estate company Town- Loews were thought to be collaborating opened in 1965. It was designed by architect Robert Repurposing a blighted, vacant land- house Management Co. thinks so and is on a $389 million project that included Lee Hall, who also worked on the Mid-South Coli- mark as Memphis’ second convention touting the advantages of its 100 North a $220 million, 24-story Loews hotel on seum’s design in the same era. center hotel sounds like a worthy cause, Main building following a split with Civic Center Plaza. but is it worth an estimated $70 million Loews, its former development partner. But the companies confirmed last 100 NORTH MAIN CONTINUED ON P3 INSIDE Columns ............................ 3 memphisdailynews.com chandlerreports.com Public Records ................ 4 ©2019 The Daily News Publishing Company A division of The Daily News Publishing Company Memphis, Tennessee The standard for premium real estate Established 1886 • 134th year information since 1968 Public Notices ............... 12 Call 901.523.1561 to subscribe Call 901.458.6419 for more information Page 2 MemphisDailyNews.com Thursday, April 11, 2019 Bartlett-based American Paper Optics eyes South America’s solar eclipse Cordoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires in Argentina’s mountains don’t block the Argentina. eclipse. American Paper Optics president John American Paper Optics has created five Jerit hopes to sell about 5 million solar designs for the July 2 eclipse: Two with a glasses for the event that is expected to Chile theme, two for Argentina and one for draw 500,000 people to the narrow path South America. where totality will occur. The main challenge to selling more “We found we’re doing much better in eclipse glasses in South America is not com- Chile than in Argentina,” Jerit said. “We’ve petition from other countries, but educat- got three or four good distributors down ing the public about the event and the need there in Chile, which is known as the as- for the protective glasses, Jerit said. tronomy capital of the world. The 29-year-old American Paper Op- “It has more clear nights and the larg- tics usually employs just over 30 people, est telescopes in the world are either in, or but ramps up closer to 100 in the months being built in, Chile,” he said. before a big eclipse. American Paper Optics is developing The company makes other kinds of spe- South American relationships in other cialty glasses, including 3-D glasses, decod- ways. In addition to forming partnerships ers that reveal hidden messages for product with the astronomy community, the firm promotions, glasses with whimsical, cus- has adopted a school in Chile’s Coquimbo tom frames, and glasses that create special Alan Harsson works on pressing a sheet of defraction glasses at American Paper Optics’ region. effects when the wearer sees fireworks or Bartlett headquarters on Tuesday, April 9. (Patrick Lantrip/Courtesy of The Daily Memphian) The company gave the school 500 pairs Christmas lights. of glasses and 500 32-page booklets that The company’s sales of solar eclipse TOM BAILEY one, on July 2, that will cross South America. teach about the upcoming eclipse. glasses account for about 10% of revenue, Courtesy of The Daily Memphian The company already has produced 2 In some ways, the South American Jerit said. Half of revenue comes from sales Another total eclipse of the sun will roll million glasses, as well as a 32-page book- eclipse will be more dramatic than the one to companies that use specialty glasses for across the United States exactly five years let, videos and other promotional materi- that cut across the U.S. in 2017. promotions, and 40% comes from retail from Monday. als, for the eclipse that will cross Chile and The South American eclipse will occur sales of the specialty glasses. But the Bartlett-based company that Argentina. about an hour before sunset, meaning it But sales do spike during big events sold 45 million protective glasses for the The eclipse will move west to east along will be low over the horizon. The blocked like the 2017 eclipse. Jerit credits the sales Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse in the U.S. the path of totality, a swath in which the sun will be just over mountains, structures from that event for American Paper Op- doesn’t have to wait for nature’s spectacle moon will fully block the sun for more than and trees, a framing that will be especially tics returning in 2018 to the Inc. 5000 list. on April 8, 2024. two minutes. Cities in the path include La appealing to photographers. Inc. Magazine ranked the company as the American Paper Optics has been pre- Serena, Coquimbo, La Higuera and Vicuna But onlookers must position them- 1,876th fastest-growing company in the na- paring the past 18 months for the next big in Chile and San Juan, La Rioja, San Luis, selves carefully so that Chile and western tion based on revenue growth. 911 CONTINUED FROM P1 the press conference and said through a sign language interpreter that being able going nationwide with texting to 911 ... to text 911, and read texts from 911 opera- the 911 community was going crazy say- tors, is a valuable service. ing how are we going to do this. It was “I know there are a lot of times we kind of a revolt, but we got the technology face situations that we want to help the to do it and a lot of hard-working people hearing community, but we can’t call, so made it happen,” said Raymond Chiozza, I think the text-to-911 is a great service director of the Shelby County Tennessee to become more of a partnership with the 911 District. deaf and hearing community together,” It cost the 911 District $1.6 million to Jackson said. upgrade the service for the city of Mem- Text messages to the system can be phis.