A new attraction that will offer unprecedented views of the Mississippi River broke ground at the southern end of Tom Lee Park Thursday morning.
Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) announced that The Memphis Flyway will open in 2026, and will be the only “ free and ADA-accessible observation deck on the Mississippi River.” The organization expects more than 1 million visitors per year.
“The Memphis Flyway will become the premier place to experience the Mississippi River along the Great River Road, which follows the Mississippi River from its source in Minnesota to its delta at the Gulf of Mexico,” MRPP said in a statement.
The Flyway was designed by Studio Gang and SCAPE, who also oversaw the renovation of Tom Lee Park. According to MRPP, the project is a ground-supported canopy boardwalk supported by three steel mast column bundles.
Credit: Memphis Riverfront Parks Parntership Credit: Memphis riverfront Parks Parntership
“It extends along the southeast-northwest direction for a total length of approximately 218 feet,” MRPP said. “ The Memphis Flyway presents a slightly curving main span 105 feet long followed by an overlook span.”
While The Flyway presents a way to preserve history and attract tourists, it will also practice conservation.
“The Memphis Flyway will conserve the unspoiled habitat below the structure for a wide variety of species, including the at-risk Monarch butterfly and offer visitors a view of the more than 100 species of birds that fly past the Memphis riverfront each year,” the organization said.
This project is being funded by the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and an anonymous donor.
Elon Musk. Photo by Trevor Cokley / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Environmental groups cautioned leaders on the effects — especially on electricity and water use — of the xAI facility announced Wednesday.
The tech company owned by Elon Musk plans to build the world largest supercomputer in Memphis. The announcement drew acclaim from area leaders for its promise of economic development.
Protect Our Aquifer, Memphis Community Against Pollution, and Young Gifted & Green said in a joint statement late Wednesday that, while they are thankful of tech industries’ interest in Memphis, facilities like xAI have environmental consequences.
Cloud-computing facilities like these use a lot of electricity for massive air conditioning units and generators, creating a high carbon footprint, the groups said. The Musk facility is expected to use enough electricity to power 100,000 homes.
“Before we welcome xAI with open arms, we must consider how an industry using such a tremendous amount of electricity will further impact communities already overwhelmed with pollution and a high energy burden, such as those around the xAI facility in Southwest Memphis,” reads the statement. “The energy burden measures how much of a family’s income goes to paying their utility bill. The national average is three percent, but in Memphis, the average is 27 percent. Will xAI bear the cost of TVA’s (Tennessee Valley Authority) fuel adjustment fee in times of high energy demand?
“More so, with our recent history of severe weather events and rolling blackouts, TVA and Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) must work closely with this facility to keep energy use off peak demand hours.”
The facility is also expected to need a million gallons of water each day for its cooling towers, they said. That water would come from the MLGW Davis Wellfield in Southwest Memphis, the groups said. The wellfield is where the Byhalia Connection Pipeline was to split and where levels of arsenic have been detected in shallow groundwater, they said.
“We encourage xAI to support investment in a city of Memphis wastewater reuse system to reduce strain on our water supply and drinking water infrastructure,” the statement said.
The air quality impacts of such a facility are unknown, they said. But they called on the Shelby County Health Department to to measure it and other environmental impacts of the xAI facility.
“Lastly, xAI should immediately consider the inclusion of binding community benefits agreements that enshrine its obligations to the local community, including targeted hiring, apprenticeship programs, and funding for neighborhood revitalization efforts,” the groups said. “We encourage Elon Musk and xAI to build solar for the site and invest in a greywater reuse facility to reduce the strain on the water supply and electric grid along with hiring from low-income and disadvantaged communities to boost the local economy.”
Project Green Fork presents sustainably-made food for guests to experience at Loving Local. (Photo: Courtesy PGF)
Strong + Safe Self-Defense Class Crosstown Plaza at the Concourse Friday, June 7, 4-6 p.m. What happens in fight club stays in fight club — I think. I’ve never seen the movie, nor have I been in a fight club. I’m a lover, not a fighter. Fight, flight, or freeze? Sign me up for flight or freeze. But, hey, even lovers, flighters, and freezers need to learn how to defend themselves every now and then, so join Hospitality Hub for a free self-defense class led by Josh Metcalf, owner and head instructor at Midtown Krav Maga & Jiu Jitsu. You’ll learn basic self-defense tactics that are practical for your everyday life. Registration is required. The class is free, but there is a suggested donation of $25. Class will be followed by the Hub Day celebration, 5-6 p.m., with live music, dancing, refreshments, and fun.
Puppies! Puppies!! Puppies!!! It’s the dog days of summer, and Memphis knows it. The city’s got three pup-centric events this weekend. Three! At least three, that is.
Pup Party- First Friday on Broad: Put your pups first on Broad Avenue’s First Friday this month, where there’ll be treats, games, and lots of fun “pup-tivities” like paw painting, a dog and owner look-alike contest, puppy snacks, pupcakes, pup cups, discounts on dog merchandise, and pups available for adoption. Broad Avenue, Friday, June 7, 5-8 p.m.
Walk Me, Mane: Walk (or run) with shelter dogs at Memphis Animal Services. Whether you’re a seasoned runner or just enjoy a leisurely walk, your time will help our furry friends stay happy and healthy. Sign up to volunteer at the kickoff event for the Bluff City Canine Crew here. There will be refreshments and coffee for volunteers along with treats for the dogs to get the day started. Memphis Animal Services, Saturday, June 8, 8-10 a.m.
Summer Sundays: Puppies on the Plaza!: Head to the Brooks for a dog-friendly event, where you can craft pawprint ornaments, groove to DJ Sledro’s sounds, and meet adorable adoptable dogs from Tails of Hope Rescue, Alive Rescue, and Team Memphis Rescue. There’ll be refreshments and more. Register for the free event here. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Sunday, June 9, 2-4 p.m.
Liars’ Ball TheatreWorks Friday, June 7, 8 p.m. | Saturday, June 8, 8 p.m. Improv can be fun. I’m not bluffing. Just ask the Bluff City Liars, who’s hosting a two-night Liars’ Ball where all the improv will be to music by Louise Page (Friday) and Rosey (Saturday). Tickets are $12 in advance (purchase here) and $15 at the door.
Cemetery Cinema presents Ghost Elmwood Cemetery Friday, June 7, 8:30 p.m. Woah, my love, my darling … I’ve hungered for your touch … A long … lonely time … so is now the time to admit that I’ve never seen Ghost? I know, I know, a sin against Patrick Swayze. But this weekend is my chance — and everyone’s chance — to see Ghost on the big screen. Elmwood’s Cemetery Cinema will project the 1990 classic on the roof of the historic cottage as the last light of the day washes away. The movie is outside, so don’t bundle up. Bring lawn chairs and picnic baskets, and don’t forget about the food truck The Best of the Wurst. Tickets are $17.85. Get ’em here. You in danger, girl!
Chris Bell’s “I Am the Cosmos” 50th Anniversary Tribute Concert Maria Montessori School Amphitheater Saturday, June 8, 5 p.m. Chris Bell’s “I Am the Cosmos” turns 50, and to celebrate, Maria Montessori School Amphitheater’s River Series is putting on a tribute concert, which you can read more about in this week’s music column by Rich Tupica. Tickets for the show are $20/adults and $8/kids and can be purchased here. Wiseacre and ChiPhi food truck will be on site. Doors open at 4 p.m.
Project Green Fork Presents: Loving Local 2024 Grind City Brewing Co. Sunday, June 9, 2-5 p.m. Eating your greens doesn’t sound nearly as fun as eating green. Project Green Fork (PGF) has been bringing sustainability into the food space for a while now, and you can see the results at its Loving Local this weekend. Experience dishes from PGF-certified chefs and partners: Lulu’s Cafe, Good Fortune Co., Biscuits & Jams, Shroomlicious Meals, and Mempops. You can also enjoy beer for purchase from Grind City Brewing as well as samples and shopping experiences for eco-friendly products from Boshi Botanicals, Tiny Human Skin Care, and SAMILIA. The event is free, but registration is encouraged.
Wyly Bigger & the Coyotes Lafayette’s Music Room Sunday, June 9, 7 p.m. Our very own Michael Donahue recently wrote about Wyly Bigger, and Donahue always has his finger on the pulse. So check out Bigger’s show this weekend at Lafayette’s because, let’s face it, if Donahue is a fan, we should all be.
LoCash and Runaway June Handy Park Thursday, June 13, 7:30 p.m. Kix on Beale celebrates 20 years of bringing music to historic Beale Street. This season will bring six free country acts to Beale Street’s Handy Park. All ages are welcome and all shows start at 7:30 p.m. The series kicks off with duo LoCash and openers Runaway June. Upcoming acts include George Birge and Ryan Larkins on June 20th, Frank Ray and Annie Bosko on June 27th, Elvie Shane and Kylie Morgan on July 11th, and Chris Lane and Hailey Whitters on July 25th.
There’s always something happening in Memphis. See a full calendar of events here.
For Lindsey Donovan Rhea, financial advising is about more than making money. It’s about making relationships. That’s why when she launched her own wealth management firm in 2018 she named it Alia, Latin for “apart.” “We wanted to set ourselves apart,” she says. “We set our clients apart; we’re apart from the norm of our business.”
“You think it’s kind of all about numbers and things like that, and that is important,” Rhea says, “but what I really enjoy is really connecting with my clients and building the relationships that I have and when I got into the business [in 2007], I didn’t really realize that.”
After graduating from University of Memphis, Rhea began her career in finance with Morgan Keegan before becoming part of Veesart Financial in 2011. Today she is recognized with inclusion in LPL Financial’s Chairman’s Club Masters for 2024, being named number 469 out of 22,000-plus advisors. She was also recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors 2024, as well as a Top Women Wealth Advisor, Best-in-State for 2024.
In her years in finance, Rhea says the industry is always evolving and changing — most compelling, though, she’s noticed more women working in her field. “It’s still very male-dominated,” she says. “It has been for years.” In fact, about 31% of financial advisors are women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Yet women, she says, whether by nature or nurture, tend to approach financial advising through an empathetic lens, which is often welcome, especially by women clients. “It’s almost like sometimes I feel like I play the role of a little bit of a therapist sometimes,” she says. “Even with clients with the most thought-out financial plans, during difficult moments, and when you have the death of a loved one or a career transition or a moment in time where you really need to lean on your financial adviser, you want somebody that can understand, and they can listen, and learn with you and learn from you.”
That’s the role a financial advisor should fill, Rhea says. “I try to kind of demystify this scary world because there’s a lot of acronyms and money is a sensitive subject, but at the same time, fortunately, or unfortunately, however you look at it, money helps you to facilitate life, and so it’s hard to get away from it and but it’s something that’s kind of taboo.”
Rhea, for her part, finds herself working with women and women-owned businesses as clients. “I want to grow with women and for women,” she says.
In the last 12 months, Alia Wealth Partners has added three advisors: Ted Cashion in May 2023, Somer Taylor in 2023, and Mark Loft last month. Alia says it achieved its largest single-year of growth, managing more than $388M in assets by year-end 2023.
Elon Musk is coming to Memphis and bringing the AI revolution with him.
Musk, who is CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and runs several other companies, is opening a major facility in Memphis that will be the heart of his X.AI Corp (xAI). The Greater Memphis Chamber, which hosted the announcement Wednesday, said it represents the largest single private sector investment in Memphis’ history.
The company was founded in March 2023 and is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. While there are several companies exploring the world of artificial intelligence, Musk is bringing his own vision to what it can and should be, which in the broadest sense is “to understand the true nature of the universe.”
As the billionaire entrepreneur told the Greater Memphis Chamber, “My vision is to build the world’s largest and most powerful supercomputer, and I’m willing to put it in Memphis.”
Ted Townsend, president and CEO of the Chamber, said the organization was contacted about three months ago of the company’s interest in locating in Memphis. Prior to that, Phoenix Investment Group of Milwaukee acquired a 200-acre property, plus a 600-acre parcel.
It was Phoenix that provided the connection to xAI, which was interested in the property. Top executives in Musk’s organization wanted to meet right away with the Chamber as well as Doug McGowen, president and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas and Water. It went well.
The deal was not a deal yet, but the interest was clear. There were more meetings in rapid succession with the idea of firming it up and announcing by June.
Locating the xAI operation here also means associated enterprises will be along for the ride. The facility will need computer chips and servers and skilled, high-tech labor.
“Memphis is positioned to extract the benefit of their presence here, and the enormity of capital investment being deployed here, and the direct and indirect and induced impact from an economic development perspective is truly transforming,” Townsend said.
The Securities Exchange Commission reported in December that xAI had raised $134.7 million in outside funding. Last month, the company announced a funding round of $6 billion from key investors.
xAI has already developed Grok, a series of models that have been frequently updated since the initial release last August. Grok-1.5 is available to premium users of X (formerly Twitter).
Musk has long been a fan of science fiction, particularly the works of Douglas Adams, who famously wrote the series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. One of the six volumes in the series is “Life, the Universe and Everything,” which is referenced on xAI’s home page with the slogan “Discover the answers to life, the universe, everything.”
Where the Downtown skyline overlooks the Wolf River harbor and the Mississippi River, cosmic sounds will soon reverberate from the Maria Montessori School Amphitheater, where local musicians will come together to perform the songs of the late Chris Bell at the school’s ongoing River Series. Bell, the mastermind behind Big Star and his posthumous solo record, I Am the Cosmos, was born and raised in Memphis. While he saw little commercial success in his lifetime, neither his still-growing international cult fanbase nor his family have forgotten about his acclaimed body of work.
One of those carrying the torch for Bell is Brittain Wells, whose mother, Cindy Bell Coleman, is Bell’s younger sister. Wells now helps manage the school’s River Series concerts and wanted to honor the 50th anniversary of Bell recording the song “I Am the Cosmos,” the title track of Bell’s lone solo album. “Maria Montessori School is where our 3-year-old son attends,” Wells says. “How sweet that we can celebrate 50 years of this magical music as a family, a school family, and a Memphis community, while also raising money for Chris’ great-nephew’s school.”
The concert, set for Saturday, June 8th, at 5 p.m., will feature Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, Van Duren, Greg Cartwright, Adam Hill, Alex Greene, Krista Wroten, and more. The Turnstyles open the show.
A post-Big Star era Chris Bell performs an outdoor show in 1975 in London. His brother and then-manager David Bell funded the promotional trip to England. (Photo: David Bell)
Wells, 38, was born years after Bell was tragically killed at age 27 following a 1978 car wreck on Poplar Avenue. “It’s amazing. I never knew him, but I feel him all the time through his music and his fans,” Wells says. “Seeing how many people are devoted to his legacy and music makes me happy. I’m thrilled he can live on in so many ways.”
Along with “I Am the Cosmos,” Bell will also forever be entwined with the brick hallways of Ardent Studios in Memphis. That’s where the guitarist/vocalist spent countless nights co-engineering his band’s now-classic 1972 debut, Big Star’s #1 Record (Ardent/Stax Records). On that disc, the original Big Star lineup, which comprised Jody Stephens and the late Alex Chilton and Andy Hummel, crafted pristine power-pop standards like “In the Street,” “Feel,” and “Thirteen.”
After the LP failed commercially, a distraught Bell tumultuously exited the band and even quit music for a year. But from that dark period came inspiration, and a born-again Bell ultimately landed on his feet inside Shoe Productions, where he tracked “Cosmos,” his melancholy magnum opus. It all started at Huey’s on Madison Avenue, where Bell happened to sit next to sound engineer Warren Wagner, who’d just co-founded Shoe.
“We were sitting at the bar talking, and Chris said he liked what I put together over at Shoe,” Wagner told me while I was researching my book, There Was a Light: The Cosmic History of Chris Bell and the Rise of Big Star. “Within the next day or two, Chris calls, and we end up in the studio one night with just him and me. … He made some acoustic recordings, and then we got a band over there with him. We ended up doing ‘I Am the Cosmos’ in one night. We probably didn’t do more than two takes.”
For the “Cosmos” session, Bell enlisted drummer Richard Rosebrough and bassist/keyboardist Ken Woodley of the band Alamo. Though both have since passed away, they were interviewed for There Was a Light and shared vivid memories of recording “I Am the Cosmos.”
“Chris was fun to work with at Shoe,” the late Rosebrough recalled in 2013, two years before his death. “He always had a smile on his face, a kind of evil grin. The ‘cat that just ate the canary’ expression, but he wouldn’t talk a lot. He was this shining star over in the corner of the room. He was excited to be in a different studio with different people, playing his own songs.”
Woodley, who died last year at 74, also recalled an eccentric, witty Bell. “He was quiet and could sometimes look a bit stern. He could also be a perfectionist,” Woodley said in 2017. “He’d say, ‘I know you can do better than that.’ I’d be like, ‘Chris, I just learned it!’ But we always got along great. I wasn’t a part of the Big Star clique, the people he’d grown up with, so we were friends on a different level.”
Though often described as introverted in daily life, he was anything but quiet in the studio, especially while tracking “I Am the Cosmos.” “Chris would turn it up just as loud as he could,” Rosebrough recalled. “He’d get this piercingly bright, brilliant sound. It’s all distorting and melting down, but it’s just a dynamite sound.”
The song still powerfully resonates for many, including Jody Stephens, who will play drums on “I Got Kinda Lost” and “Get Away” at the River Series concert. “It just comes in so heavy. Not as people define ‘heavy’ these days, but emotionally heavy — and instrumentally, too.”
This family’s got some summer learning ahead. (Photo: Courtesy
Patricia Lockhart)
It’s officially summer! My kids are completely elated, and to be honest, so am I. But as an educator, I’m always asked, “What are your kids doing during the summer?” Well, the short answer is they are still learning. While their traditional school may be out, summer learning in my household is in full effect. My kids are 10, twin 12-year-olds, and a 15-year-old (OMG, he’ll start driving this summer!).
Here’s what this curriculum looks like:
• Learn how to read the MATA bus schedule and ride the bus across town. I know that Uber is a thing, but I still believe in public transportation. I feel that people should know how to travel in their city in all formats.
• Put together a shelf. Following directions is a learned skill. And following printed instructions is even more difficult. So each of my kids will be required to purchase a shelf (using their allowance) and put it together by themselves.
• Read an autobiography. You don’t have to experience life’s hard lessons in order to learn from them. One can gain a lot of insight about life from reading about someone else’s experience.
• Paint a wall. Okay, I’m sure there’s some educational aspect to painting a wall, but honestly I just want a few accent walls in the house and the kids have nothing but time.
• Learn the lyrics to important Disney songs. So far, they have failed their “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Up next is “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas. My kids have near zero music knowledge, unless it comes from video games. And I refuse to have them embarrassing the family name because they don’t know a single song from The Lion King. So, may the odds be ever in their favor.
• Learn how to bake the perfect cookie. This task shouldn’t be too hard since I’ve given them the recipe to the perfect cookie dough base. Especially since the end product is so delicious, they should be extra motivated to get it right. The secret is in the temperature.
• Learn how to make strawberry jam. In order to do this, they need to first pick some fresh strawberries from Jones Orchard. Then follow a simple recipe and voilà! I can’t wait to see if the kids get the consistency right and are able to explain why. Science!
• Grocery shop and prepare meals. During the school year, I did the grocery shopping. As a family, we each took turns to prepare dinners. My husband, my oldest son, and I each had our own day. The twins and the youngest daughter shared a day. But now, they must learn and strengthen their tech muscles and stretch their cooking skills. Each kid is responsible for going on kroger.com and putting their needed items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner into the shopping cart for review. They must also notify me of the lunch and the dinner they will be preparing the following week.
• Learn how to operate Google Calendar. With four kids, each wants to hang out with their friends and go to different events. It can become overwhelming trying to remember everything for everyone. So if they want to engage in anything outside of the four walls of our house, they must send us a Google Calendar invite.
• Learn how to navigate public spaces. I think this may be the only part of summer learning they are looking forward to. One day a week, they get to decide where they would like to hang out. In navigating public spaces, they need to practice respect of the place and the people, noise level control, and basic street-smarts. They’re already excited about practicing this at the MoSH, Crosstown Concourse, Memphis Chess Club, and the library.
• Learn how to play spades. (This is a prerequisite to gaining their Black Card.)
• Learn about music greats such as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Prince, Miles Davis, and Sam Cooke to name a few. They will be given a playlist that they are more than welcomed to listen to as they clean their rooms.
Through this summer learning curriculum, the kids utilize their reading, math, science, and social studies skills. They are learning things that they wouldn’t necessarily get in an ordinary classroom. I have always believed that I am my child’s first teacher, and there’s no way that our school systems can teach our children everything. One thing that I have learned in my years as an educator is that children will learn! They are going to learn something, from someone or from somewhere. It’s up to us as parents to ensure their learning is rounded and balanced.
Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. Her days are filled with laughter with her four kids and charming husband. By day, she’s a school librarian and writer, but by night … she’s asleep. @realworkwife @memphisismyboyfriend
Kortland Whalum with Robert Moody behind him conducting the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (Photos: Michael Donahue)
About 8,000 celebrated the last Sunday evening of May listening to Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, and Sousa. They sat on blankets or chairs with their shoes off or on, and a full-scale picnic or just a flat box with a pizza in front of them.
Theo ThomasCarl and Amasa EalingAlexis Burnett and Abrian ClayCassandra Hopper. Matthew Houston, Arlo Hopper at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jill and Chris Williams at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Magnus Terry, Katherine Terry, Russ Thompson at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)
This was Sunset Symphony, which was held May 26th at Overton Park Shell. The Memphis Symphony Orchestra performed under the direction of Robert Moody and Kyle Dickson. Kortland Whalum and Marie-Stéphane Bernard sang.
“It’s just a beautiful display of Memphis,” says the Shell’s executive director Natalie Wilson. People were “spilling out” onto other nearby areas, including the Greensward at Overton Park and the grounds of Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, to hear the symphony because the event was so crowded.
Daniel Amram and Danielle SchaefferJosh Russell, Maddox Russell, Nathalie Russell, Mason Russell, and Jessica RiveraAce and JJ Leonard (Credit: Michael Donahue)Sara and Cody Oscarson at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Elands Kelly and Robin Noel at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)
“This is what Memphis is about. We come together. We’re joyous. Children run and play. We enjoy the arts. We’re so blessed with these spaces that bring us together.”
This was the fourth year that Sunset Symphony, which many people associate with its Memphis in May predecessor at Tom Lee Park, took place at the Shell. “A joyous re-creation of a historic event at a historic place.”
Lilly, Venus, and Louis Hamric at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Lucy Nardo, Owen Isinger, Joseph Nardo, Lydia Nardo, Stella Isinger at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Paris Carter at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Matthew Hernandez at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Laurie Stark, Kathy Mitchener at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jeremy Plyler and Stephanie Beliles at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)Pearson, Andrew, Rachel, and Emerson Black at Sunset Symphony (Credit: Michael Donahue)We Saw You
When Karen Camper, the Democrats’ leader in the state House, ran for Memphis mayor last year, she discovered that, her impressive credentials notwithstanding, she lacked the citywide name recognition of locally based officials.
Consequently, she never developed enough traction to compete effectively for the mayoralty. And her name recognition problem was exacerbated further by the fact that members of the General Assembly are prohibited from active fundraising during the course of a legislative session.
The reality, especially in the case of the minority party statewide, is that state legislators, however much they may shine in the environs of Nashville, simply lack enough day-to-day connection with local voters to become household names on their home front.
A possible exception to that rule may arise in the case of a legislator whose public activities impinge directly on a festering local issue — as in the case of Republican state Senator Brent Taylor, whose nonstop efforts as the sponsor of bills to affect the status of local law enforcement have doubtless earned him a certain local notoriety.
Taylor’s party cohort John Gillespie, equally active on similar issues in the state House of Representatives, is on the fall ballot as a candidate for re-election and has attracted similar attention, for better or for worse.
The aforementioned Rep. Camper, meanwhile, is attempting to familiarize her constituents in House District 87 with the activities of state government by means of an innovation she calls “State to the Streets,” an event she will unveil on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at New Direction Christian Church.
She calls it “a unique opportunity” for residents of District 87 to engage with more than 20 state and local government agencies, ask questions, voice concerns, and receive assistance on a wide range of topics, including healthcare, education, employment, and social services.
Among the services that will be spoken on by representatives of the affected state agencies are:
• Job search opportunities from the TN Department of Labor and Workforce Development
• SNAP benefits and Families First assistance from the TN Department of Human Services
• Help processing REAL IDs from The TN Department of Safety & Homeland Security
• Mental health, addiction, and substance abuse counseling from the TN Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the TN Sports Wagering Council
• Legal advice from the Memphis Bar Association
• Expungement and Drive While You Pay assistance from the General Sessions Court Clerk’s Office
• Help searching unclaimed property listings from the TN Department of the Treasury
• Voter registration and information from the TN Secretary of State’s office and the Shelby County Voter Registrar
“This is a great chance for me to talk with my constituents and hear their thoughts about the recently concluded legislative session and the direction of the state,” says Camper, and she may have something there.
• With the fiscal-year deadline approaching, Monday’s regular meeting of the Shelby County Commission saw action on many matters — including the county’s proposed tax rate and numerous budgetary items — deferred for further discussion at the commission’s June 12th committee sessions, but one long-standing uncertainty was finally dealt with.
This was the question of $2.7 million in funding from opioid-settlement funds that had been embedded in the sheriff’s department budget, pending the commission’s decision on where to route them — whether to a proposed program for remedial medical treatment of inmates deemed incompetent to stand trial, or elsewhere.
Elsewhere was the answer, with $5 million going to CAAP (Cocaine and Alcohol Awareness Program), and another $18 million to juvenile court, where it will pay for a variety of wraparound services for youthful wards of the court.
