People Still Struggle After Memphis` Monster Storm

We`re all used to the comforts of our home, which includes at least one we take for granted-- electricity. Thousands of people in Memphis, however, learned the hard way of going without it the past week and a half. Thousands of homes there are still without electricity. News 4 Arkansas` Mike Hellgren provided an update for our 10pm show on Thursday. The clean-up`s been a painful experience...combined with some controversy with an Arkansas connection. The Memphis mayor has been criticized for being here in Little Rock last week for a fund raiser, while his city was going through this emergency. The storm brought big bucks to West Memphis, Arkansas, where business boomed after much of Memphis shut down. And parts of east Arkansas are still cleaning up--although the mayor`s office in Forrest City, Arkansas tells Hellgren power`s back on and most of the work is done. The story`s different in Memphis itself. "It`s definitely time for the air. It`s all I care about. Forget the phone. Forget cable. Air. It`s all about the air," says Memphis resident Ben McGee. Power crews are still working high in buckets and down on the ground to untangle a shocking amount of electrical problems. But down on Beale Street, the drinks are flowing. "Smiling faces, butts in seats, and money exchanging hands. It`s so good," says Shawn Danko of the Hard Rock Cafe, commenting about the resurgence of business there. It`s so good because it`s been so long coming...and hard on workers who depend on Arkansans--and tourists throughout the nation--who`ve been blocked from coming to Beale after cranes at the new N.B.A. arena loomed--unstabilized--over parts of the famous street. "[Workers] calling every day saying, `Can we work? I have no money. Can`t pay the bills. Kids need food," says Danko. The total bill for damages is more than a few lost tips. It`s more than 40 million dollars--proof of the power of nature in the south--and evidence that the road to recovery is a long one. Federal money is coming to help out, but that hasn`t stopped the anger rising among some power customers--who--out of frustration--are getting nasty with some crews trying to restore it. Some traffic lights in the city are still out, too, so be careful if you head that way. And all those fallen trees you saw are partially responsible for increasing the delays in getting basic services--like power--restored in the city. The monster storm in Memphis wasn`t a tornado but straight line winds. That`s why tornado sirens never sounded in the city. The storm originated in Arkansas and picked up speed when it crossed the Mississippi, giving it extra punch before it hit downtown Memphis.