September 14-20, Vol. 5, Issue 38 28 Arts & Entertainment Cooper-Young Festival »celebrates 25 years of fundraising, music, food, arts and more. More than 120,000 visitors are expected at the daylong event. IN REMEMBRANCE: SCHOOL BOARD LOOKS TO INCONVENIENT CIRCUMSTANCes: Events across city last week pay As countywide school board members elected Aug. 2, along with two tribute to those who made ultimate members appointed last week, take oaths of office, the group looks to sacrifice on Sept. 11, 2001. » Page 10 what one member called inconvenient circumstances. » Page 11 SPECIAL EDITION : SMALL BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES EXPLORED FOR AREA'S SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY BUILDING BUSINESS PAges 14-23 Photo: Lance Murphey Participants from area high schools attend the 2012 Economic Development Forum. The forum was produced by the Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Attendees learned about shifting demographics and the business vision for when that occurs. 6 Opera Memphis Approaches Season Opera Memphis is kicking off the 2012-2013 season with a month-long event called 30 Days of Opera. The organization will present free performances throughout the city. DAILY DIGEST: PAGE 2 FINANCIAL SERVICes: PAGE 8 SMALL BUSINess: PAGE 12 NEWSMAKERS: PAGE 29 EDITORIAL: PAGE 34 A Publication of The Daily News Publishing Co. | www.thememphisnews.com 2 September 14-20, 2012 www.thememphisnews.com weekly digest Get news daily from The Daily News, www.memphisdailynews.com. Ex-Stanford Executive ship of cricket tournaments. Authorities said levels. Low rates have also allowed people others called “Preparing To Excel.” Stanford and others in his companies lied to refinance, which lowers monthly mort- It is an effort to connect exhibits in the Gets Three Years for Swindle to investors from more than 100 countries, gage payments and helps boosts consumer museum on the civil rights movement to A top executive in the now-defunct telling them their funds were being safely in- spending. contemporary discussions about education empire of disgraced Texas financier R. Al- vested in stocks, bonds and other securities. To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac reform and education equity. len Stanford was sentenced to three years Pendergest-Holt, 38, a native of Bald- surveys lenders across the country on Mon- The museum has been working for in prison Thursday, Sept. 13, for her role in wyn, Miss., was the first person indicted day through Wednesday of each week. several years to more actively engage visi- helping the once jet-setting businessman in the case. Prosecutors said she and other The average does not include extra fees, tors, especially younger visitors. The efforts bilk investors out of more than $7 billion executives conspired to hide the bank's true known as points, which most borrowers through the website, www.civilrightsmuse- in one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in U.S. financial health and provide misleading must pay to get the lowest rates. One point um.org, are also an effort to engage those history. testimony to the SEC in 2009 when it was equals 1 percent of the loan amount. planning a visit or who have never been to Former Stanford chief investment officer investigating Stanford's bank. The average fee for 30-year loans was the 21-year-old museum. Laura Pendergest-Holt's sentence was part 0.6 point, down from 0.7 point the previous As part of the “Equity in Education” ex- of a plea agreement reached with federal week. The fee for 15-year loans was changed hibit, tour guides of the exhibits also offer prosecutors. She had pleaded guilty in June at 0.6. information about parts of the civil rights to one count of obstruction of a U.S. Securi- 30-Year Mortgage Rate The average rate on one-year adjustable movement that involved education issues. ties and Exchange Commission proceeding Stays at 3.55 Percent rate mortgages was steady at 2.61 percent. The effort includes some new temporary in exchange for the sentence. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans placards that include information about the Pendergest-Holt was a fixture in the The average rate on the 30-year fixed also was unchanged, at 0.4 point. education theme. company’s East Memphis office. At one time, mortgage held steady last week, staying The average rate on five-year adjustable she supervised a group of Stanford analysts slightly above the lowest level on record. rate mortgages fell to 2.72 percent from spread from Memphis to Tupelo, Miss., to St. Low mortgage rates have aided a modest 2.75 percent. The fee declined to 0.6 point Croix in the U. S. Virgin Islands. housing recovery. from 0.7. Paradigm Marketing After U.S. District Judge David Hittner Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thurs- Opens Dallas Location handed down the sentence he revoked Pen- day, Sept. 13, that the rate on the 30-year dergest-Holt's bond, and she was taken into loan was unchanged at 3.55 percent. In July, Memphis-based firm Paradigm Market- custody. She waved to her husband Jim Holt the rate fell to 3.49 percent, the lowest since Civil Rights Museum Gets ing & Creative has opened a satellite office before she was put in handcuffs and taken long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. Social Media Upgrades in Dallas in an effort to expand its business from the courtroom by federal marshals. The average on the 15-year fixed mort- and gain clients in a growing market area. Prosecutors said Stanford, 62, used gage, a popular refinancing option, slipped The National Civil Rights Museum is The majority of Paradigm’s clients come the money from investors who bought to 2.85 percent, down from 2.86 percent the upgrading its website and social media pres- from the areas of real estate and develop- certificates of deposit from his bank on the previous week. That's above the record low ence with a $549,547 grant from the Bill and ment, hospitality, medical, biosciences and Caribbean island nation of Antigua to fund of 2.80 percent. Melinda Gates Foundation. other service-related industries. The firm, a string of failed businesses, bribe regulators Cheap mortgages have helped lift the With the more robust presence on housed at 8275 Tournament Drive in South- and pay for a lavish lifestyle that included housing market. Sales of new and previously Facebook and Twitter, the museum will also wind Office Center B, collaborates mainly yachts, a fleet of private jets and sponsor- occupied homes are well above last year's launch a discussion in those forums and with business-to-business companies. Connect With Us Stay Connected With MLGW • Go to MLGW.com for bill payment and analysis, service transfers, outage updates and more. • Connect with us at facebook.com/mlgw1 to share comments and ask questions. • Follow us on Twitter @mlgw. • Check mlgw.blogspot.com for conservation and MLGW news. • Sign up for text alerts at mlgw.com/mobilealerts. We can help! www.thememphisnews.com September 14-20, 2012 3 Get news daily from The Daily News, www.memphisdailynews.com. weekly digest Allen Bussell, Paradigm project manager who has been part of the team since 2004, will manage the Dallas location. Allen lived in Texas previously and has had his eye on FROM THE BLOG expanding into the market for the past few years. Paradigm is a full-service, boutique mar- Chef Kelly English Expresses Excitement About keting agency that was founded in 1992. The Overton Square’s ‘Charming Neighborhood’ agency has provided services to markets in 34 states and 10 countries. This year marks Paradigm’s 20th anniversary of business. Editor’s Note: “From the Blog” is a weekly weekend visit to Memphis, English was enjoying feature that highlights some of the enterpris- brunch with his father-in-law at Café 1912. That’s ing work our staff and contributors post on The when owner Glenn Hays heard English talking Pinnacle Dispatchers Daily News blog, blog.memphisdailynews.com. about what he did for a living. Ratify New Contract “He asked me if I knew anybody that was Union dispatchers for Memphis-based SARAH BAKER | The Memphis News interested in looking at a restaurant that he had,” Pinnacle Airlines Corp. have ratified a new English said. “I was really happy working where contract agreement with the regional air I was, but of course I wanted to take a look. We carrier. he Sept. 6 edition of The Daily News explored The vote by members of the Transport Tthe revitalization of Overton Square from the walked over to La Tourelle, and being a New Workers Union of America was tallied Aug. existing tenant’s perspective, including that of Orleans boy, the first thing I saw was the stained 31 and announced Tuesday, Sept. 11, by the glass fleur-de-lis. I said, ‘oh my goodness, we’re company. Kelly English, chef-owner of Restaurant Iris. Pinnacle executives are renegotiating While it’s clear he’s “fired up” about the uptick in big trouble.’” their collective bargaining agreements with in traffic, perhaps taking a step back and explain- After touring the space, English then walked all of the airline’s employee unions after the out front to find a rainbow over what is now Play- company’s first bankruptcy reorganization ing how he got started in the space at 2146 Mon- plan from April was scrambled in June. The roe Ave. will shed new light on his excitement. house on the Square. initial reorganization plan was scrapped English and his wife (a native Memphian) after Delta Air Lines won union agreements For the full blog entry, visit blog.memphisdai- with its pilots that allow Delta to fly fewer were living in New Orleans, not too far away of the 50-seat regional jets sooner that Pin- from his hometown of Baton Rouge.