Photographer Frank Chin found his way over to Playhouse on the Square for Saturday night’s Condomonium fashion show and fund-raiser.
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Greg Cravens
About Chris Davis’ webpost, “Ole Miss Student Gored by Spanish Bull” …
Ole Miss student: “How can we top UT’s Butt-Chugging event?” Mr. Milley: “Watch This!”
Charley Eppes
With all due respect to Mr. Milley, I’d rather grow old telling my grandkids about the time I survived a goring by a raging bull in Spain, as opposed to hearing bumblin’ Joe Biden publicly refer to me as his “old butt buddy” and having to explain that gaffe for the rest of my life.
Mr. Milley, it could be worse, a lot worse. Glad you lived to tell the tale, sir.
Nightcrawler
I agree, Nightcrawler. That young man should definitely blame Obama for this. Especially when he gets home and has honest American doctor bills, unlike the time he will spend in Spain being treated with godless free socialized medicine.
Jeff
About Wendi C. Thomas’ column, “Good Jobs Lost” …
I feel bad for this lady, but there’s a question that I kept asking myself while reading this article that wasn’t addressed. Why is she still living in Memphis if she can’t find a job here with her high skill set?
If I were to lose my job here, it’s possible I couldn’t find another locally because my skills are specialized. But I’m pretty sure I could find a similar job elsewhere if I were willing to move. There are reasons I probably wouldn’t move, but they have nothing to do with economics or the disappearance of middle-class jobs.
Brunetto Latini
The medical field is as hot as a firecracker right now. Did I read correctly she is both experienced and degreed and can’t find a job, so she hasn’t worked in the field in nine years? I would like to know the rest of the story.
Arlington Pop
Has anyone looked into the cost of relocating, especially with children in school close to graduating? With the constant cuts to NIH funding, there are not as many jobs available anywhere for people with this skill set. Age discrimination is also a factor once you pass age 45, so for those of you in that age group, be prepared.
Been There
All of Wendi’s columns should be turned into epic novels so she can answer any possible question a grumpy old man could dream up. They obviously are incapable of making assumptions based on reason and need Wendi to spoon feed them the answers to every scenario.
Nobody
About Joe Boone’s cover story, “All About That Uptown Funk” …
What an inspiring story about great people doing great, creative things in Memphis. Thanks for giving us the story behind the hit.
Leelo
Nice article supporting Memphis art. However, if you really want to support Memphis arts and artists, you should know (and care enough) to give credit to the artist who painted that fabulous door you so proudly sport on your cover. It would have been nice to have mentioned one of Memphis’ true art treasures, Lamar Sorrento, who is known (and collected) by art lovers worldwide and also a darn good musician. Friends of Lamar say, “Not Cool.”
Fontaine
About Toby Sells’ story, “Council Gets First Look at MATA Trolley Plan” …
It is critical for the small business owners on Main Street that a viable transportation option is in place AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. The cold/rainy weather makes foot traffic draw to a stand-still, so without some alternative, we all stand to lose.
Main Street Business Owner
Councilmembers Flinn and Collins don’t sound serious about one of the top tourist attractions Memphis has. They don’t think an enormous amount of money should be spent to rectify a problem or reinvest into the system? That’s the problem that caused the issue to begin with. Memphis has to get leaders serious about upgrading this system and even replacing the aged trolleys with modern LRVs like you see in the new Atlanta Streetcar project that just opened. Until we get that kind of leadership on council, we’ll be a second-rate city.
TNC2
Close study of major changes in official American policies and attitudes reveals a principle that has been informally given the name of “Nixon-Goes-to-China” — a reference to President Richard Nixon’s historic 1971 diplomatic opening
to a country that U.S. officialdom had always withheld recognition from.
During Nixon’s early prominence, he was a scourge of what he and other Cold Warriors scorned as “Red China,” and it was only from that well-established position that he could so dramatically change positions and tilt for a change in policy.
So we come to the current controversy over a decision by the Republican leader of the House of Representatives to issue an invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and to do so not only without consulting Democratic President Barack Obama but to make sure the president knew nothing of the invitation in advance.
Who better to come to grips with the matter than our own 9th District congressman, Steve Cohen, who, in a public statement, identifies himself as both “a supporter of the state of Israel and a Jewish American.” His views on the Netanyahu matter derive from an undeniable sincerity.
Cohen has declared that he will not attend Netanyahu’s speech before Congress. He noted the insult to Obama and the breach of precedent involved in the invitation by Boehner. He pointed out that the Israeli prime minister is a candidate in forthcoming elections in his own country, and that Netanyahu has improperly used video footage of previous speeches before Congress in his electoral campaigns, making the United States government an involuntary campaign supporter by proxy.
Cohen then noted the uses to which the Netanyahu visit will likely be put: “The Speaker’s invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu is political gamesmanship and it is a very dangerous game. The prime minister’s use of the U.S. House chamber as a stage to argue against the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, which is currently being negotiated among Iran and the P5+1 — the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, is reckless.
“While Americans and members of Congress may disagree on anything, even foreign policy, providing a forum of such immense prestige and power to the leader of another country who is opposing our nation’s foreign policy is beyond the pale. It endangers the negotiations, insults the good faith of the other nations involved in the negotiations, and emboldens Iran who may well view this schism in our government as an opportunity for advantage. While we can disagree with our president, we as a nation should be as one on our foreign policy and any disagreements should be presented in a respectful, appropriate and time-honored manner.”
Cohen concludes: “[M]y support of Israel has not wavered but I believe that this speech at this time and brought forth in this manner is dangerous to Israel as well as inappropriate. Nothing should come between our two nations. The actions of the Speaker and the Prime Minister have caused a breach between Democrats in Congress and Israel as well as the administrations of the United States and Israel. My lack of attendance does not mean I will not be aware of the content of the speech nor does it mean I won’t follow the commentary both pro and con, but I will not be part of the spectacle.”
Agree or disagree as you will, this is well and powerfully said.
Greg Cravens
About Bianca Phillips’ “Hotties” story …
Man, I tried every trendy thing I could think of to make this year’s Hotties list. Liposuction. A personal trainer. L.L. Bean duck boots. I hung around the Ashley Madison website. Leased a Prius. Reactivated my old StarTAC.
No call from the Flyer. And when I was tipped about the “Puppy Love” theme, I immediately had my beloved Puckered Spaniel groomed.
But, no. Maybe next year. In the meantime I’ve had cosmetic surgery to display a permanent look of shock and disbelief on my face. Maybe that’ll make the Flyer feel guilty about the snub.
Congrats to all the winners. You’re a good-looking and talented bunch.
Smitty Patterson
Smitty Patterson, I sympathize, after viewing this group, I immediately spanked my spaniel.
Crackoamerican
About Bruce VanWyngarden’s editor’s letter on the Republican rift …
Every so-called common sense Republican who has tried has been devoured. The few who have displayed momentary lapses of lucidity were swiftly chastised and quickly repented. As Charles Pierce says, there’s been a prion disease eating away at the Republican brain for several decades now. The Reasonable Republican is extinct as a political species. There are still Reasonable Republicans out there, but they don’t run for office because they know they can’t get elected in today’s Republican Party.
Jeff
Jeff, I would extend that to say there are reasonable people in both parties. The rise of extremism on both sides (for some reason they are much louder among the R’s) has precluded the participation of anyone that could even remotely be labeled as a “moderate.”
There are stories of hope out there. I read in a New York Times article that Republicans in Iowa have very recently “purged” their leadership ranks of the Tea Party/extremist/libertarian elements. The process was apparently undertaken based on a very strong hint by the national party that the use of Iowa as a litmus test of sorts for new candidates was in serious jeopardy. Apparently there were many potential nominees who were not interested in going to Iowa due to the increasingly far-right activist leadership at the state party level and resulting elections that pointed towards candidates considered unelectable at the national level. However, seeing as Tennessee draws neither attention during national races nor is it considered a prize worthy of investment by either party, I guess our chance of seeing a push from above for more levelheaded Republican leadership is slim at best.
Barf
About the post, “Zeke Logan: 1965-2015” …
Zeke, you will truly be missed. Your thoughts and humor made this city a better place to live. My upmost prayers and thoughts go to your family and friends. Know that you brought so many smiles to the faces of so many people.
Sean Jackson
Much love to Zeke and his sweet family. Peace.
Niles
About Ruth Ogles Johnson’s Viewpoint, “A School Schedule Fix” …
This schedule is ridiculous on so many levels that I can’t begin to count them all. Five-hour school days? Buses on the roads after nightfall? Granted, a change does need to occur, but this is not the answer.
Pamela Cates
Can someone tell me why so many people have their panties in a wad because President Obama spoke about historical religious facts? Extremists of all religions are useless, whether Muslim, Christian, or Jew. There are a few churches that are wonderful but too often the extremists ruin it for them. Why deny the truth and get all ticked off because someone mentions historical facts? I would like to get as far away from these people as I can. In fact, I guess that I’d rather be sinning.
Dagmar Bergan
We have had our differences with Tennessee’s junior U.S. Senator, Bob Corker — particularly over his repeated interventions against the United Auto Workers during the UAW’s campaign last year to represent workers at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant. We understood that Corker had been instrumental in attracting the plant to his hometown and that, like numerous other Tennessee figures in both parties, past and present, he had a commitment to the state’s Right to Work law, which allows workers to remain independent of union membership.
In conducting his own high-volume campaign against the UAW, Corker interfered too directly and too insistently with the union-representation election, we thought, and we said so in no uncertain terms. We were also concerned that Corker’s over-zealous effort — supported by other Republican officeholders including Governor Bill Haslam — would contravene Volkswagen’s stated international policy of making management decisions in tandem with “workers’ councils.”
In any case, the plant’s workers were induced to reject the UAW bid. By now, the matter has receded into our rear-view mirror, especially in view of the fact that the UAW has since been permitted to maintain a presence at the VW plant and to lobby there for eventual recognition.
So we can revert to what had been, by and large, our admiration for Corker’s studied attempts to maintain independent views on most matters and to swim against the tide of partisan polarization in Congress, maintaining good communications with the White House and with congressional Democrats.
We are never going to agree 100 percent with either Corker or his GOP Senate colleague, Lamar Alexander, but — even though neither would admit to being covered by the term — both can be considered “moderates” on today’s badly skewed political spectrum, as can Haslam, for that matter. Political realities being what they are in red-state Tennessee, they may be the best we can hope for.
We congratulate Corker on taking over the reins of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as we have previously congratulated Alexander on his chairmanship of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Both can provide useful service — and balance to some of the more extreme views in their now-predominant party. In particular, we trust that Corker’s counsel on the ever-mounting specter of ISIS and other Middle East issues will be seasoned with the same careful judgment that caused him, correctly, to advise disengagement from full-scale war in Afghanistan and, in particular, from the corrupt regime of Hamid Karzai.
John Jay Hooker
We learned this week that another distinguished Tennessean — John Jay Hooker, former gubernatorial candidate, friend of the Kennedys, orator, and tireless campaigner for unpopular issues — has terminal cancer and will be focusing his formidable mind and will on lobbying for legislation in Nashville to allow individuals the right to voluntary termination of life. We don’t necessarily agree with that position, but we admire the courage and invincible determination of Hooker, who once gratified our editorial staff with an extended visit that showed off his good will and his formidable persuasive qualities. We wish him well.
Greg Cravens
About Jackson Baker’s post, “Haslam’s Medicaid Expansion Bill “Hanging by a Thread” …
Kelsey is a fool, a traitor, and a moron! The trifecta, as it were.
Tennessee Waltzer
The majority of people opposed to Insure Tennessee are the Tea Partiers in our legislature. Most Tennesseeans favor the program. And Brian Kelsey should hang his head in shame for being part of the taxpayer-funded state health insurance program while denying the same to the working poor of Tennessee.
Jenna Sais Quoi
It’s dangerous having someone with Kelsey’s mindset — more loyal to his narrow ideology than to the well-being of the people of Tennessee.
Concerned in Shelby County
We have someone as president who is 100 times more dangerous with his own narrow ideology and use of executive orders to bypass Congress.
Firefox
You couldn’t be talking about the current president, who has signed fewer executive orders than all presidents since Grover Cleveland and uses Republican ideas like the ACA.
Concerned in Shelby County
I’ll just put this here: “Six of seven senators who shot down Insure Tennessee have state health care.” Hint: three of them are in this article, and the fourth one is our local idiot.
Charley Eppes
About Chris Davis’ Viewpoint, “‘Night, Darlin'” …
Poetic touching tribute. You paint a picture of a moment that many of us shared in our own way. Thanks for a beautiful private look into the way a kind soul can make a difference in many lives. Larger than life. Thank God.
Peter Ceren
To be inside the P&H after last call and the doors were locked was a cross between a return to the womb and breakfast at Valhalla.
CL Mullins
About Wendi C. Thomas’ column, “Thanks, Obama!”
I’m a Democrat who pays the Halls tax and federal taxes. Insuring others keeps my own personal health care less expensive because I’m not paying for anyone else’s unpaid bills.
I also have a pre-existing medical condition that prevented me from ever getting health care outside of an employer. Without insurance, I would be spending upwards of $15,000 a year staying alive and healthy. Since the health-care exchange opened, I have had a peace of mind that I have never enjoyed before in my adult life, because I have choices that extend beyond finding a job with top-notch insurance and going broke trying to stay alive.
CSH
Rural hospitals are closing all over Tennessee. When good, God-fearing, country folk start dying on the two-hour trip to the nearest hospital, there’ll be hell to pay … for Democrats, of course. Republicans will blame Obamacare.
Jeff
I was a conservative Republican when I was laid-off from my job in 2000. The ever-increasing cost of maintaining insurance via COBRA convinced me that socialized medicine is the way to go. I don’t mind my tax dollars supporting such a system, even though Obamacare isn’t such a system and doesn’t go nearly far enough toward socialized medicine.
Republicans lose their jobs as frequently and as easily as anyone else. And I just want to laugh at retired Republicans with Medicare who oppose Obamacare.
Brunetto Latini
To those who can understand the plight of the uninsured and support medical insurance for the least of our brethren and don’t fear to speak up about it — my hat is off to you!
Truth Be Told
I hope others are joining all good Republicans like myself in leaving this country if Obamacare continues. We shall find a civilized country without socialized medicine, like … uh … uh. I’ll have to get back to you, brothers. Hold off on the packing.
tnRepublican
So far in 2015, we have been sufficiently dosed with annual “State of …” speeches delivered by the heads of government of most direct importance to us — the governor of Tennessee and the mayors of Memphis and Shelby County.
And we have heard both preamble and follow-up speeches from all three officials. Though, as expected, all three, Governor Bill Haslam, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, and Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, found much to boast about, they all also, with varying degrees of frankness, touched upon some dire needs — for more money, more efficiency, more ingenuity, or whatever — to avoid a curtailment of vital governmental services, including provisions for public safety, that all citizens, regardless of ideology, insist on.
All three chief executives can, with some justification, state a claim that serious efforts have been made within their jurisdictions over the past several years to operate their governments in accordance with the dictates of economy and the needs of hard-pressed taxpayers. But, even amidst the boasting, all three conceded the degree of difficulty they’re operating under.
As Wharton acknowledged on Tuesday, the strain of keeping the city in the black has been considerable. Speaking of the wrenching changes he deemed necessary in the benefits package of city employees, Wharton said, “We’re all scarred, but our city is better off as a result.”
And Luttrell has confessed that the incentives offered to potential new businesses by the EDGE (Economic Development and Growth Engine) board supervised by himself and Wharton are under fire and very likely — like the board itself — in need of review.
Meanwhile, Haslam also has his problems. He is fresh from having offered a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly an unusual bargain — some $1.4 billion annually in federal funding (a measurable part of it derived from this state’s taxpayers in the first place) in order to facilitate health-care insurance for an estimated 200,000 Tennesseans who have not been able to afford such coverage.
Temporarily, anyhow, this bonanza — based on a carefully structured plan with numerous free-market components — has been denied to these citizens, as well as to the state’s over-burdened hospitals, by an ad hoc state Senate committee. The committee was stacked in advance by Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey with opponents of the governor’s plan for Medicaid expansion, called Insure Tennessee, and denounced by them as synonymous with the imagined excesses of “Obamacare.” This, despite the fact that the Haslam’s plan has numerous distinguishing features and was designed to spare the state of Tennessee and its taxpayers any expense whatsoever.
Perhaps the General Assembly, meeting now in regular session, will revive Insure Tennessee. We hope so. The Shelby County Commission, in two bipartisan votes, has urged just that in no uncertain terms. So have our two mayors. We hope, too, that the scars spoken of by Wharton will heal, and that his and Luttrell’s devices for attracting new jobs, and for developing the workforce to assume those jobs, can reach the right kind of equilibrium to satisfy all components of what is still a seriously divided community.
We agree that these leaders have all managed to get some roses to bloom. But the thorns are still there, too, and somehow have to be plucked.
As chronicled elsewhere, Governor Bill Haslam began this week of legislative special session in Nashville with the challenge of persuading reluctant members of his Republican Party to suspend their aversion
to what they call Obamacare and accept his home-grown version of Medicaid expansion called Insure Tennessee.
Prior discussions of the matter in the media have focused almost entirely on the mechanics of the plan or the political matters at stake or the financial incentives available to Tennessee (and its hard-pressed hospitals) should the General Assembly opt to give its statutorily necessary approval to the proposal. Those financial stakes are large indeed, amounting to somewhere between $1 billion and $2 billion annually. But the political obstacles are large, as well: GOP talking points against Obamacare (the vernacular name for the Affordable Care Act) are so well established that the governor’s arguments for Insure Tennessee had to be couched in terms that drew the broadest possible distinctions between his Tennessee variant and the federal act.
Accordingly, Haslam made much of marketplace methodologies embedded in Insure Tennessee — including an alternative plan-within-the-plan for vouchers to pay for private insurance, as well as requirements for co-pays and modest premiums for those new insurees opting for coverage under TennCare (Tennessee’s version of Medicaid). And the governor catered to home-state Republican sensitivities by adding an anecdote to his prepared speech involving his past entreaties to President Obama, along with those of other Republican governors, to allow Medicare funding to be dispensed to the states via block grants for the states to dispense as they wished.
But much of the governor’s speech was taken up, too, with appeals to the legislators’ hearts as well as to their heads. Opponents of Insure Tennessee have been shedding crocodile tears at the plan’s provision for discontinuing Insure Tennessee after two years if either the federal government or the Tennessee Hospital Association default on promised funding. That would drop thousands of new insurees from coverage, the critics say. To this, Haslam offered the common-sense rebuttal that two years of coverage are significantly better than no health-care coverage at all.
And he offered his listeners a real-world anecdote about a Tennessean whose stroke, resulting from his inability to afford health insurance, had “landed him in the hospital, followed by rehabilitation” and taken him out of the workforce. “He was a hard-working Tennessean who wasn’t able to get the care he needed on the front end and that has real consequences for him and his family. Having a stroke wasn’t only devastating to him and his family, it could have been prevented, and not preventing it is costly to all of us.”
The governor then, having argued facts and savings and marketplace models, laid the matter to rest on the bedrock issues of values and good will: “I think this is also an issue about who we are. My faith doesn’t allow me to walk on the other side of the road and ignore a need that can be met — particularly in this case, when the need is Tennesseans who have life-threatening situations without access to health care.”
Indeed. It’s a matter of good faith and we agree with the Governor: That’s the nub of the issue.
Greg Cravens
About Richard Alley’s cover story, “20<30” …
I laughed to myself when I picked up your latest issue and read the cover — on the eve of my 36th birthday and marveling at its “pushing 40” feel — my first thought was only a sardonic “guess none of my old friends will be on that list.”
These young people touched my heart. I’m a true optimist who grew up in Memphis, left for many years, then chose 901 five years ago with zero regrets. We absolutely love living here and raising our son in this wonderful city. And yet … one Commercial Appeal story or Action News 5 viewing too many can really get me down. I need reminders like these that there are so many special people — smarter, more talented, and more ambitious than me — who do more than sit around letting their emotions get manipulated by the daily news. They inspire me to do more and give me so much hope for the future of this amazing city that I love.
And I was wrong that I wouldn’t know anybody on the list. Bennett Foster, though he wouldn’t remember me, was a favorite sighting at my high school haunt Java Cabana when his dad Tommy still owned it. I’m not surprised at what a big-hearted man he’s grown up to be.
Kat Justice Leache
About Chris McCoy’s review of American Sniper …
While I understand the points of Chris McCoy’s review of American Sniper, I take exception to his contention that the Best Years of Our Lives can be interpreted as questioning whether the war was all worth it.
In that film’s memorable soda fountain scene, it is the man who did not serve in the war who tries to tell Homer, who lost his hands during the war, that his sacrifice was “for nothing.” Homer is outraged and even without his hands scuffles with the man. Fred, Homer’s friend and fellow veteran, does punch the man out. Fred, who is the soda jerk, loses his job, but says “the customer is always right. But this one wasn’t.”
The film was realistic in showing the challenges veterans have in readjusting to civilian life and in finding jobs. But none of the main characters, least of all Homer, questioned that the war was worth it.
Philip Williams
About Toby Sells’ story, “Pinch Potential” …
Your recent article was more timely than you may have known. As we speak, the Tennessee Historical Commission is considering delisting the Historic Pinch District from the National Register of Historic Places. The reason they cite is that there aren’t enough “historic resources” left in the district. Another way of saying this is that too many important historic properties have been demolished. We at Memphis Heritage disagree, as does the Memphis Landmarks Commission, which voted unanimously not to support the delisting. We believe that the boundaries of the district can be redrawn to carve out the abandoned lots.
A few tragic things led to the potential delisting of the district. When the Pyramid was constructed, a few shortsighted property owners razed some significant historic properties for parking lots. We see how well that worked out. Another issue is our woefully lacking regulations governing the building permit process. Recently, a property owner in the Pinch razed a historic building without applying for a demolition permit. Her penalty? A $50 fine.
A listing on the national register makes it much easier for property owners and developers to apply for and receive Historic Tax Credits, which are a huge incentive to redevelopment that could help bring the district back. MEMFix events are fabulous and successful. A pop-up party in the Pinch will enlighten a lot of Memphians about a real gem of a neighborhood. Let’s just hope we’re not too late.
Joey Hagan, AIA
Memphis Heritage President
Greg Cravens
About Toby Sells’ post, “Bass Pro Jobs Fair Coming in February” …
Y’all might as well not even apply for the gator wrastlin’ job, cause I got it locked up.
Jeff
After reading the review by Chris Davis of Opera Memphis’ production of Hansel and Gretel, I was confused. I thought that I had attended an opera. However, the review made apparent that I had attended an art show of the works of Michelle Duckworth with a ballet and musical backdrop of Hansel and Gretel. It was all about the stage art, as if the performers had nothing to do with mood, story propulsion, or much of anything else.
Perhaps I should contact Opera Memphis about a refund and scold them for false advertising. Or perhaps you should scold your reviewer for a single-minded review of an opera that had little to do with operatic performances. No named credit for the singers, some of whom spent nearly the entire 90 minutes on stage (a long time to gaze at nothing but scenery, however splendid) to say nothing of the musicians and directors responsible for the overall success of the show. Are there not appropriate avenues for praising Duckworth’s art that do not by backhanded negligence discredit an entire production in the process?
I. Miller
Editor’s note: Davis’ webpost was not a formal review of Hansel and Gretel; it was intended to spotlight a unique local artist, Michelle Duckworth.
About Jackson Baker’s story, “The Governor and the Majority Leader” …
Sounds like the Mark Norris I know: prudent. Keeps an open mind. Knows all the facts before he makes a decision. Pays attention to the details. Not swayed by emotion, but understands the reality. We shall see how this plays out.
Arlington Pop
About the passing of former University of Memphis Provost Ralph Faudree …
Recently for the first time ever, the University of Memphis football team was ranked in the end-of-season AP Top 25. This is a great accomplishment and deserves great praise. That said, year in and year out for several years, the University of Memphis math department has consistently been ranked in the top 25 of a major subfield of mathematics: discrete mathematics. This is due largely to the efforts of one person, former provost and math professor Ralph Faudree.
One of the biggest figures of 20th century mathematics was Paul Erdős. With over 1,500 articles published in peer reviewed scholarly journals, Erdős is the most published mathematician in history. Erdős was so prolific and revered, it became an honor to co-author an article with him. If you co-authored a paper with him, you became an Erdős 1.
Due to Professor Faudree’s dedication, the University of Memphis math department has had at least five Erdős 1 mathematicians. Out of the roughly 500 Erdős 1 co-authors that Erdős had, three of the five most frequent Erdős co-authors were University of Memphis professors: Cecil Rousseau, Richard Schelp, and Professor Faudree himself.
In the immediate short run, his death will have a significant impact on the department’s status as a top discrete mathematics program. Faudree’s contributions to math and the University of Memphis are his legacy. I hope that the greater Memphis community will recognize that legacy and rally around and support the University of Memphis math department, like we have admirably done for basketball and football, and ensure that the department maintains and improves its status as a premiere discrete mathematics department.
Mahendra Ramanna Prasad
About Toby Sells post, “Trolley Plan to Go Public” …
It’s disappointing that a total shutdown was the course of action taken by MATA last June. Then it was only for “three or four months.” It was a total overreaction on MATA’s part. Get the trolleys back now; all lines are a vital part of our city.
Midtown Mark