Month: December 2003

SPECIAL TO THE FLYER — After six years with Memphis Light Gas & Water, CEO Herman Morris was given his walking papers Monday morning. In a closed meeting with Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton and MLGW Board Chair Dr. James Netters, Morris was told he would not be re-appointed.

By Wednesday, Morris had only informed top staff he would be leaving.

City Councilman E.C. Jones, who heads up the Council’s General Services, Utilities and Communications committee said appointments – and non-renewals – are within the Mayor’s purview but pointed out that Christmas might not have been the best time to break the news.

“The only problem I have is maybe the timing,” Jones said. “But I realize the new term starts on January 1st and the Mayor does not have a lot of time to advise those people that he’s not going to reappoint them.”

Netters said the Mayor was complimentary in the Monday meeting, warning the two that the news might not be so well-received.

“It was such a shock to me,” said Netters, who also expressed concern over the future of the utility’s Board itself. Herenton told Netters he was still awaiting the results of a charter review before making a decision about the Board, but mentioned he had no one in mind to replace the current board members.

There are no official candidates to replace Morris either, although that has been the source of some political scuttlebutt, with some sources hinting that Roland McElrath, a former Memphis schools administrator is in the running.

Netters said during his 20-year tenure on the Board, he has been tapped to fill the top spot on an interim basis. But he said the Mayor hasn’t suggested that as a possibility in this instance, perhaps because of Netters’ own plans to retire within the first six months of 2004.

Herenton first turned up the heat on Morris at a December 2nd Council committee meeting. Councilmembers were debating a rate-hike, but the Mayor stole the show, decrying MLGW administration and hinting that change was in the wind.

(Darrell Phillips first broke this story on WMC-TV Action News Five. This version is expressly for the Flyer, courtesy of the station.)

ROAD WARRIORS

Transportation master planning is the process by which Memphis delays the onset of projects it badly needs while advancing projects it doesn’t need at all.

At least that’s the way it seems sometimes. While drivers stuck in traffic jams await a new or expanded road through Shelby Farms, planning is moving along on a light rail line from downtown to the airport that could cost $400 million.

Memphis is nationally famous for the road it didn’t build, Interstate 40 through Overton Park and Midtown. Some of the ramps and bridges currently being knocked down for the Midtown-Interstate 40 widening were built 35 years ago and never carried a single car.

More recently, roads helped put Shelby County in a financial bind because of their cost and because of the growth they encouraged in places like Cordova, Collierville, and Hickory Hill. So it’s worth keeping tabs on roads and the people who influence them, like the Memphis Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).

In the big picture, Memphis is not doing badly, trafficwise.

“Our road system isn’t that congested yet,” MPO coordinator Carter Gray told board members this month. There is still a lot of “free flow,” and measures to alleviate traffic, like high-occupancy vehicle lanes, are lightly used. The trend is more people making longer commutes, and often doing it alone. But planners are looking 20 years down the road.

The creation of light-rail corridors is moving along, step by bureaucratic step, with every meeting of the MPO, defying the popular notion that government at every level is going broke. By 2026, the MPO and the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) envision a system that would spread from downtown to the airport, southeastern Shelby County, and well into DeSoto County.

“The basic premise of our plan,” says an MPO planning document, “is increased investment in transit to fund a new light-rail network to increase urban density along these corridors and in so doing prevent sprawl.”

The total cost of such a light-rail system would be well over $1 billion. Yet the combined population of Shelby County is projected to increase by a modest 22 percent by 2026, from 897,000 to 1.1 million. The federal government typically pays half of a project’s capital costs, with state and local governments paying the rest.

How can this be? Because the Memphis Area Transit Authority estimates that it will receive $800 million in dedicated funding over the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, getting a road built through Shelby Farms is still one tough nut. There may be no other area of government in which a handful of dedicated activists can have such influence over public policy. The Friends of Shelby Farms Ñ often represented at public meetings by Art Wolf, his wife and former city school board member Bert Wolf, and Laura Adams (Art Wolf’s daughter) Ñ has had a substantial impact on various plans to increase traffic through Shelby Farms.

They know the rules. At a board meeting of the MPO this month, speakers were limited to three minutes each in an effort to move things along. Art Wolf and another member of his group promptly donated their time to Bert Wolf, lest anyone cut her off.

Developers, on the other hand, are sometimes just another voice. Boyle Investment and its executive vice president Rusty Bloodworth are a prime example.

“It is critical to all of our tenants and residents in our developments, as well as the economic health of Shelby County, to have as many linkages into and through Shelby Farms with at least the number of lanes indicated in the current draft,” Bloodworth told road planners earlier this month.

That has been his stance for roughly 30 years. During that time, Boyle has built such developments as Century Center, Humphreys Center, and Regalia. But no new roads have been built through Shelby Farms.

The latest approach to widening Walnut Grove in and around Shelby Farms is to take it in segments, with the section between Interstate 240 and the Wolf River getting first attention. But the Friends of Shelby Farms are wise to the fact that whatever is done there will affect what is done in the park. Traffic will continue to pile up in front of Baptist Memorial Hospital for quite a while.

U.S. Raises Terror Alert to “High” at Peak of Holiday Travel Season

or go to http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/22/national/22ALER.html?hp)

What a nice gimmick this is. We’ve seen it before, and we’ll see it again, I suspect, before November 2004.

The current administration must love having this particular arrow in their quiver. Raise the alerts whenever you want people to be “aware” of how unsafe they are — thereby subliminally reminding them of how lucky they are to have a resolute, strong leader like George W. Bush at the helm.

“Be afraid. Be very, very afraid. Be careful even as you drop your children at day care. Be afraid when you go bowling. Be afraid when you cross the Golden Gate/Brooklyn/Hernando Desoto bridge. Be afraid always. “They” are out to get “us.” So never cease being afraid.”

(“And never forget: things could be worse if “we” weren’t looking out for you…”)

Well, we’ve been afraid now for 27 months — to no effect, by the way. No one in public office, no one with any sense of self-preservation re. his/her political scalp, has had enough lack of fear, and enough political courage, to point out the obvious:

Which is this:

(a) Not a single American has died in a “terrrorist” attack on American soil since 9/11/01, and…

(b) In many, many parts of the world, going 27 months without a single terrorist death would be considered a remarkable victory.

So why don’t the Bushies claim this victory? Because to do so would threaten the very foundation of what has been, since 9/11, this administration’s political raison d’etre. At the core of their security policy is this simple fact: if we the American people “win” the war on terrorism, then we the American people will probably be less likely to vote for George W. Bush in November 2004.

Yes, I know, this sounds a bit cynical. Or way more than a bit, I can here the Republicans among you snickering. But, friends, before you dismiss this as left-wing rant, consider the one basic premise that underpins the entire “terrorism” universe:

And this is it, simply put. Human nature, being what it is, guarantees that on some day, at some place, at some time, the Fearmongers will strike it rich. Some day, some place, some time, on American soil, the “terrorists” will strike again.

Unfortunately, at some point, our complex, tortured global village will throw up another Muhammed Atta. Or (probably more likely, in the short term) another Timothy McVeigh. Face facts: modern civilization is like that. It occasionally produces wackos. Think Charles Manson. Think Jim Jones. And those are just the ones who are “Merikan” enough for us to remember and recall their names…

And so one day, inevitably, the Fearmongers will be able to turn to the American people and say: “See? We told you so! We told you to be very afraid, didn’t we? Maybe you weren’t listening; maybe next time, you will. Maybe next time, you’ll be really, really afraid!”

What music to Karl Rove’s ears this must be! It is a no-lose situation.

As long as the powers-that-be in the Bush Administration can rachet up the “fear index” whenever they feel they need a little bump, the majority of the American people wil be reluctant to “change horses in midstream.” And if something truly “bad” actually happens? Well, that would be awful, yes, but who THEN would even consider changing horses?

Let me let you in on a little secret. Whether we as a nation are at Code Orange, Code Red, or Code Spumoni, we will never be completely safe. Any Irishman (like myself) who lived through the 1970s in that country will tell you this: if there are a handful of people who are hell-bent on wreaking havoc on “civilized” life, they will eventually succeed in doing so, at least once in a while. The very definition of civilization — open, free interaction between sophisticated peoples — insures that they will occasionally succeed.

The dirty little secret the Bush Administration does not want to share with the American people is this: there is no way that a “war” on terrorism can ever end in victory. And since modern America is perhaps the world’s greatest “target rich” environment for anarchic expression, total safety and perfect security can never be achieved. Another “terrorist” attack is pretty damn near inevitable, all the code colors of the rainbow notwithstanding.

Case in point: I traveled on an Amtrak train to New Orleans last month. In sharp contrast to the absurdist airport scenes we all know and have grown to accept — aiports where I have thoughtlessly lost more than a couple of corkscrews, where I now take off my shoes even before I’m asked, where we have created hundreds of thousands of new jobs for people who spend their days trying their very best to administer security systems that resemble quaint medieval rituals, days spent trying to do their jobs with grace and sincerity — I give you the situation at the train station in Memphis that night last month:

No one gave a rat’s posterior about what kind of contraband I might have had in the large suitcase I dragged onto that train. And no one would have even noticed if, after leaving my large suitcase in my first-class sleeping-car storage area, I just happened to get off the train, say, in Yazoo City, MS, leaving my timed explosive device to go off, oh, an hour later, perhaps while the train was passing through downtown Jackson.

If I packed enough dynamite correctly, said contraband suticase might have enough force to take out not just several score on the train, but just as many in the surrounding neighborhoods. Hell, I wouldn’t even have to worry about whether I’d counted right about the number of virgins you get in heaven when you’re a suicide bomber. I could have a car waiting and drive back to Memphis from Yazoo City in three hours, getting home just about in time to watch all the phoo-phah about the incident I created on CNN and Fox News…

Does that scenario scare you? Then think about this: the opportunity to repeat EXACTLY what Timothy McVeigh did in Oklahoma City exists today and will exist tomorrow and next week, no matter how many zillions we give Tom Ridge.

There is no amount of money that could ever be spent with the Department of Homeland Security that could ever gurantee that an incident like the one I described above would never happen. Or that next year’s Timothy McVeagh might drive his truck up next to the YMCA in Pittsburgh. Or that someone could carefully put an explosive device in the lobby at next fall’s opening Opera Memphis performance, and get the season off to a real bang.

Friends, we call this logic. This is not a matter of my opinion versus someone else’s; this is cold, hard truth. So why will no one in politics or the media come out and state the obvious?

Well, I can think of one reason. And while, yes, my even writing this will probably occasion a visit or phone call from the Friends of Tom Ridge, I will tell you all now what message I’d ask these fellows to pass along to their boss, if and when they call:

“This, Mr. Secretary, is grand farce. You know and I know that, short of declaring martial law and drastically interfering with everybody’s holiday shopping plans this December, there is no way that a truly “secure” America can ever be achieved. Your color-coded alert system, sir, is a joke.”

Which leads me to my point, and a final question: who benefits most when we go Code Orange? I will let you all draw your own conclusions, only pointing out that I am ready to make book on the projection that we will be either Code Orange or Code Red in November 2004. Any takers?

( Kenneth Neill is the publisher/CEO of Contemporary Media, Inc., the parent company of The Memphis Flyer.)

MOMENTS TO LAST A LIFETIME

Ahhhh . . . Christmas draws near. A time for joy, a time for cheer . . . and a time for lists. I’ve already passed along my wishes to Santa (gotta have that KISS symphony DVD!). The time seems right for a good old sports list, one you can debate over the egg nog, maybe even under the mistletoe.

Herewith, Part One of the Ten Greatest Sports Moments in Memphis history:

10) November 18, 1938 — You remember this one, don’t you? A defensive clash on the gridiron between Mid-South rivals Memphis State College and Delta State, a game the Tigers won, 8-0, to finish the only undefeated, untied season in school history. Those Tigers under coach Allyn McKeen beat all 10 of their opponents, compiling four shutouts and giving up a total of 41 points all season. While whipping the likes of Cumberland College and Troy State doesn’t exactly qualify as waking up the echoes, the singular achievement of winning every game (particularly for a football program with the struggles of this one) makes this date — and this team — worthy of acclaim.

The time seems right for a good old sports list, one you can debate over the egg nog, maybe even under the mistletoe.

9) December 29, 1982 — Legends, they say, never die. In the case of Paul (Bear) Bryant, they grow with every autumn. The Bear didn’t make his name by taking his Alabama Crimson Tide to the Liberty Bowl; he was more accustomed to playing on New Year’s Day. But for his 29th and final bowl game, Bryant commanded a sideline in Memphis, houndstooth on head, aura everywhere. When the Tide beat Illinois, 21-15, Bryant marched into retirement with a Division I-A record 323 wins. Exactly 28 days later, the Bear was dead. After all, there was no more football left to coach.

8) June 30, 1986 — A one-man circus by the name of Bo Jackson came to town for an early-summer treat at Tim McCarver Stadium. Despite having been the top selection in the NFL draft (by Tampa Bay), the reigning Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn shocked the football establishment by choosing a career in baseball, one that would begin with our Double-A Chicks. With more than 150 members of the press in attendance — Jackson made the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week — the star ripped an RBI single to begin a career that would turn “Bo Knows” into a national mantra. Jackson went on to hit .277 with seven homers in 53 games for Memphis.

7) March 6, 1977 — Professional tennis made a pair of Memphis appearances before the U.S. National Indoor moved to The Racquet Club in 1977, but it was this event that spawned a relationship between a private club, the world’s greatest tennis players, and a legion of local fans that has continued to gain momentum for more than a quarter century. Sweden’s Bjorn Borg was carving his legend upon his Memphis debut, having won the first of five consecutive Wimbledon titles in 1976. Remembered for his stoic demeanor, Borg was anything but during his run to the Memphis championship. Over the course of the week-long event, Borg’s griping led to the removal of a pair of linesmen, an announcer, and his own fiancee. He dispatched Brian Gottfried in a four-set final and was never seen in Memphis again.

6) May 23, 1965 — Reigning Masters champion Jack Nicklaus began the fourth round of the Memphis Invitational Open in 10th place, five strokes behind leader Julius Boros. The 25-year-old Golden Bear (Cub?) marched the Colonial Country Club course on his way to a five-under-par 65, forcing a playoff with Johnny Pott, a regular in Memphis since the pros first teed up here in 1958. When Pott bogied the first playoff hole, Nicklaus earned his first and only Memphis championship. He played Memphis four more times over the course of his briliant career, with top-10 finishes in 1966 and 1975. When Tiger Woods wins 10 more majors, we’ll have a conversation about the greatest golfer of all time.

Log on next week for the Top Five.