Month: October 2016

Joshua Cannon

Nearly 11 months after receiving a federal resilience grant to assist with unmet recovery needs following ruinous flood damage in 2011, government officials outlined Thursday at John F. Kennedy Park how they will combat future disasters brought forth by climate change.

“For those who don’t accept science, too bad,” said Congressman Steve Cohen. “This project will work to protect us from future floods. We need to be on the frontline of preparing our people for the disaster that’s coming. It’s going to come because we’re ruining our earth.”[pullquote-1]

In January, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded Shelby County $60 million in part of its National Disaster Resilience Competition. Breaking up a seismic $1 billion and spreading it between select counties, states, and cities, as well as Puerto Rico, it’s an initiative to strengthen the environment for future generations, said Ed Jennings, Jr., HUD’s southeast regional administrator.

“On behalf of the Obama administration, resiliency is a priority we’ve set,” Jennings said. “It’s not just about how we have enough money to rebuild housing or infrastructure, but that we protect ourselves for a new generation.”

Shelby County’s plan, called “Greenprint for Resiliency,” will restore wetlands and flood storage areas along the Wolf River to protect downstream homes and residents. A portion of the grant will be allocated for repairs and upgrades to Rodney Baber Park and Kennedy Park — which, currently, is the only city park with a boat launch ramp into the Wolf River. About $9 million will go toward completing the 18-mile Wolf River Greenway Connection, said Keith Cole, executive director of Wolf River Conservancy.

“For many people, getting outside, enjoying the river, hiking and biking, that’s what the Wolf River Watershed is all about,” Cole said.

HUD’s grant will further assist the Wolf River Conservancy with mitigating future flooding and preventing soil erosion that could have negative affects on the Memphis Sand Aquifer. Native wildlife, too, will be better protected, according to Cole.

“The mission of the Wolf River Conservancy is just as relevant today if not more so since our founding in 1985,” Cole said.

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland championed the Greenprint plan, saying it was accomplished by officials at all levels of government working together. Pointing to a nearby softball field where he played as a teenager, Strickland said “the same thing that was true then is true now, you win with teams.”

Noting other recent “game changers” in the Mid-South, Cohen mentioned the new bike and pedestrian friendly Harahan Bridge, a $15 million dollar Tiger grant to increase downtown walkability, and a $30 million federal grant to revive Foote Homes. Though the Greenprint project isn’t “sexy like the Harahan bridge,” Cohen said it was just as imperative.

“This here, $60 million, this is a very big deal,” Cohen said. “Memphis is the city of good abode. This project is going to help people in need, and that’s what we need to do with our time on earth. This is what cities need to be known for.”

The Arkansas Supreme Court disqualified one medical marijuana initiative from the November ballot, but voters will still be able to vote for a competing amendment. 

The court disqualified Issue 7 because it found that there were not enough valid signatures on the petition to qualify it for the ballot. The court disallowed more than 12,000 signatures, leaving the petition with 65,412 signatures. The petition needed nearly 68,000 signatures. 

Supporters of Issue 7 have said that it was written from a patient-centered position, as it allowed more qualifying conditions for the use of medical marijuana as well as the ability for a patient to grow their own plants if they lived a certain numbers of miles away from a dispensary. 

Arkansas for Compassionate Care, who led the campaign for Issue 7, posted today on their Facebook page that they would continue to fight in court for the allowance of the initiative on the November ballot. The post also urged Arkansas voters to still vote yes to the competing amendment, Issue 6, should they ultimately lose in a higher court.

If both initiatives fail, it could be years before Arkansans have the chance to vote on medical marijuana. 

The appeal on the TVA’s two wells won’t be heard today as the Sierra Club wants more time to gather evidence and experts.

The Shelby County Health Department granted the delay after objecting to it initially, but they asked the club to make haste, “recognizing that TVA is experiencing significant costs during this period of appeal and has expressed its strongest desire to have this matter heard at the Board’s earliest opportunity.”


The Sierra Club filed the appeal on Oct. 4. According to the Rules and Regulations of Wells in Shelby County, at least 30 days is required between the receipt of the appeal by the Health Department and the hearing, which would make the earliest eligible day Nov. 3.

The proposed TVA wells would draw 3.5 million gallons of water daily from the Memphis Sand Aquifer, the source for Memphis’ famous and delicious drinking water, in order to cool a new power plant under construction.

According to Scott Banbury, local coordinator for the Sierra Club, at least four wells are needed to adequately cool the plant. TVA has already been granted three permits that can no longer be appealed. If the last two permits are denied to TVA, they will be forced to consider other options for obtaining the needed water.