A second location of Marshall Steakhouse is planned for Oxford, Mississippi (Credit: Michael Donahue)
A second location of Marshall Steakhouse is slated to open in January or February, 2026, in Oxford, Mississippi.
The new location, which will be called “Marshall Steakhouse Oxford,” is owned by Randall Swaney and his wife, Lori, who are the owners of the original Marshall Steakhouse on Hwy. 178 West between Red Banks and Holly Springs, Mississippi.
Ground-breaking has already been done for the new 18,000 square-foot building, which will be “right across the street from Trade Park, off College Hill Road and Sardis Road,” Randall says. “It will be on the new West Oxford loop, which is a bypass that goes around Oxford.”
The Oxford location, like the Holly Springs location, will seat 320 people. It will feature steaks and other fare during the week, and Italian cuisine from chef Judd Grisanti on Wednesdays and Thursdays. (Grisanti cooks on Mondays and Tuesdays at the original location.)
Judd Grisanti and Randall Swaney at Marshall Steakhouse. (Credit: Michael Donahue)Elfo Special is featured on Italian night at Marshall Steakhouse. (Credit: MIchael Donahue)
The Oxford location will feature heavy timber flooring and rafters and white oak tables, similar to the decor at the original Marshall.
Randall opened the original restaurant eight years ago. It was originally going to be a sawmill. Then Randall considered making it a feed store, then a combination gun store and feed store. He built the tables before he thought about opening a restaurant. “I was making all those tables to sell, basically, and hadn’t sold any.”
That’s when he got the idea to put a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in a screened porch in front of the store and cook hamburgers at lunch on a Weber grill. Then an employee told him, “You might as well have steaks one night.“
At that point, Randall scrapped all the other plans and opened Marshall Steakhouse. He has plans to open more Marshall Steakhouses, including one in Lebanon, Tennessee, near Nashville. Marshall says the Lebanon location will include 100 RV sites and 50 overnight cabins. “That will be ‘Marshall Steakhouse Resort,” he says.
Supporters of Planned Parenthood in the gallery of the Tennessee House of Representatives during a 2021 debate about abortion. (Photo: Ray Di Pietro)
State attorneys are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit over Tennessee’s near-total abortion ban after a new law adding limited exceptions for medical emergencies went into effect earlier this year.
Jenna Adamson, assistant solicitor general in Tennessee’s Office of the Attorney General, told a three-judge panel Tuesday that the new law “made significant changes” to Tennessee’s abortion ban and “makes this a different case.” She argued the lawsuit is now moot.
But attorneys with the Center for Reproductive Rights countered the new legislation, effective April 29, is written in vague and ambiguous language that still leaves doctors uncertain if they are following or breaking the law when providing an emergency abortion. Doctors found to have violated Tennessee’s abortion law face the revocation of their licenses and lengthy prison sentences.
“This really leaves us in no different place than we were before,” said Nicolas Kabat, a staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The fear Tennessee physicians have that they will be prosecuted for providing life-saving abortions, and the fear patients have that they will be denied them “have not changed one bit,” as a result of the new law, Kabat said.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2023, represents seven Tennessee women denied emergency abortions and two physicians who say they fear criminal prosecution for providing lifesaving care. The American Medical Association joined the challenge in March.
Tennessee’s abortion ban went into effect in 2022.
A year later, lawmakers amended the legislation to include a “medical condition exception.”
The 2023 exception says a doctor may perform an abortion “using reasonable medical judgement, based upon the facts known to the physician at the time” if the abortion is necessary to prevent a pregnant woman’s death or to “prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.” The legislation also added molar and ectopic pregnancies as exceptions to the state’s abortion ban. It was this 2023 legislation the lawsuit initially challenged as overly vague.
In 2024, the three-judge panel presiding over the case temporarily blocked the state’s medical board from disciplining doctors for providing emergency abortions.
Their ruling also outlined four specific pregnancy-related conditions that qualify as “medical necessity” exceptions to the state’s abortion ban, noting the “confusion and lack of consensus within the Tennessee medical community on the circumstances requiring necessary health- and life-saving abortion care.”
This year lawmakers further amended the state’s abortion ban to say doctors “may” provide an abortion for certain conditions that mirror those outlined in the panel’s temporary injunction.
Those exceptions include: previable pre-term premature rupture of membranes (the rupture of the amniotic sac before a fetus is viable); inevitable abortion; severe preeclampsia; mirror syndrome associated with fetal hydrops (a life threatening build up of fluid); and an infection that can result in uterine rupture or loss of fertility. The 2025 legislation also specifically says mental health diagnoses may not be used as an exception to the state’s abortion ban.
The three-judge panel hearing arguments Tuesday were Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal, Judge Sandra Donaghy and Chancellor Kasey Cullbreath. The judges gave no timeline on when they will issue a decision about whether the case will move forward or be dismissed.
Moskal said they would “issue our ruling as soon as we are able to do so.”
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
Tennessee is poised to become the first, and only, Southern state to codify protections for IVF and birth control into law. (Credit: Alicia Peters from Unsplash)
In a legislative session dominated by the GOP supermajority’s conservative agenda, Tennessee lawmakers this spring took the unusual, bipartisan step of protecting certain reproductive rights.
Beginning July 1, Tennessee will become the first — and only — state in the South to have codified the right to access fertility treatments and birth control into state law.
Introduced by two Republican women and signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee, the legislation protects Tennesseans’ access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and a range of birth control methods — reproductive health options that have not, in modern times, been restricted in the state but now have safeguards into the future.
Backers of the bill, among them progressive groups and conservative Republicans who have expanded their families through the use of IVF, called the legislation a needed win for preserving access to care.
“The law provides critical stability and peace of mind in an otherwise volatile political environment for women and families,” said Natalie Schilling of AWAKE Tennessee, which advocates for the rights of children and women.
Despite bipartisan support, however, the legislation was nearly derailed during its last debate on the House floor, a potential signal for future legislative fights that still loom over efforts to restrict access to IVF some Republicans have already indicated they intend to bring next year.
After the bill passed narrowly in the House, 11 Republicans called the legislation a “Trojan horse that could potentially undermine Tennessee’s strong and righteous stance on the protection of innocent human life” in a letter that unsuccessfully sought Lee’s veto of the bill.
Rep. Iris Rudder, R-Winchester,left, sponsor of a bill to protect IVF and birth control with Rep. Esther Helton Haynes, R-East Ridge. (Photo: John Partipilo)
The 11th hour pushback caught Rep. Iris Rudder by surprise. Rudder, a Republican from Winchester, cosponsored the legislation with Republican Sen. Becky Massey of Knoxville.
“I thought it was such a simple bill that said we just want to codify access to contraceptives and IVF,” she said in an interview with the Lookout. “I had no idea it would mushroom the way it did. It opened my eyes. It really did,” she said.
The legislation had sailed through legislative committees and earned a unanimous vote from the state Senate. Yet by the time it reached a vote on the House floor in early April, many of its Republican supporters sat silent during debate.
“I was looking out at the House floor and I was thinking, I am standing here as a woman and this is such an important issue for women,” Rudder said. “Most of those men are married. They have wives. They have daughters. They should be able to understand how important all these conversations are to women.”
The Fertility Treatment and Contraceptive Protection Act runs just five sentences long:
“The law of this state clearly and unambiguously acknowledges the right of a healthcare provider to perform, and the right of a person to receive or use, fertility treatment and contraceptives in this state,” it says in part.
The legislation was introduced in the aftermath of a first-of-its kind Alabama Supreme Court decision that jeopardized access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) in that state – and broader concerns that efforts to restrict abortion access could extend to birth control.
Rudder said she brought the legislation after women and families across the state implored her to protect their access to IVF and birth control.
The measure is similar to unsuccessful legislation brought last year by Democrats Rep. Harold Love, Jr. of Nashville and Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, both Democrats. That bill would have made explicit that Tennessee’s near total abortion ban does not endanger fertility treatments or access to contraceptive care.
I was looking out at the House floor and I was thinking, I am standing here as a woman and this is such an important issue for women. Most of those men are married. They have wives. They have daughters. They should be able to understand how important all these conversations are to women.
Rudder supports Tennessee’s near-total abortion ban and considers her legislation a wholly separate issue.
During House debate over the bill, however, some Republicans argued the issues are intertwined.
Rep. Gino Bulso, a Brentwood Republican, unsuccessfully sought to amend the bill to regulate the disposal of unused embryos in IVF treatment to “reaffirm that an embryo is a child.” The legislation, he argued, would create a “right to create and destroy human embryos without qualification, limitation or restriction,” contrary to the state’s recent anti-abortion history.
Republican Rep. Jody Barrett of Dickson said he opposed the bill because it would make it difficult for lawmakers to introduce subsequent legislation protecting embryos.
Rep Chris Todd, a Republican representing Madison county, called the bill “absolutely unnecessary.” He argued the bill would allow for “genetic testing to weed out embryos with undesirable genetic traits.”
And Rep. Timothy Hill, a Blountville Republican, noted that the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood and other groups that support abortion rights supported the legislation, giving him pause.
“The bottom line is today you cast your vote not with a friend, not with a colleague, but with an organization that stands against life,” he warned colleagues on the House floor ahead of a vote on the legislation.
Rep. Chris Todd, a Jackson Republican, called Rudder’s bill “absolutely unnecessary.” (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
“Let’s get something the ACLU has a problem with and let’s come back here next year and get it right,” he said.
Rudder, who stood for nearly 45 minutes in the well of the House defending the bill at times, emotionally, pushed back. She noted that President Donald Trump has signaled his support to protect IVF access.
“Yes, I am your friend,” she told Republican colleagues. “But I don’t stand here as your friend. I stand here as a woman who believes this is important to families in Tennessee.
“I stand with women in this state and families in this state that want the ability to have these precious babies they may not have the opportunity to have otherwise.”
Later, she said in an interview with the Lookout, she had been “naive” in thinking the legislation would easily pass muster with all of her Republican colleagues. She said she was grateful that Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, an East Ridge Republican, stood beside her in the well. “She was the only woman legislator that did,” she said.
“When I walked in there (the House floor), I had 61 votes,” she said. “When I walked out, I had 54.
“The conversation just went in such a different direction,” Rudder said. “When I went into the debate, I just wanted them to know that for women in this state, it’s so important. I was very emotional saying, ‘here I am asking you guys to get on board and understand what this bill actually does.’ I think they missed the point.”
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
The Dickinson brothers, Luther and Cody, are back with new music.
The sons of legendary producer Jim Dickinson just released their latest music video in support of their new album “Still Shakin’.” Produced by Katie Keller, Jeff DeLia, and Boo Mitchell, the new album shows an evolution of the Allstars’ bluesy sound into a more atmospheric mode.
The video for “My Mind is Ramblin'” was shot by the Allstars and friends on smartphones on tour and in Memphis. Memphis filmmaker Chad Allen Barton pulled the pieces together in a elegant edit that reflects the songs’ mood. Take a look:
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
FedEx, based in Memphis, scored the maximum $10,000 rebate for each of its 13 subsidiaries. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Some of the world’s largest companies and the governor’s family business received Tennessee’s biggest new business tax rebate, according to a listing released by the Department of Revenue.
Lee Company, a mechanical engineering and HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services company owned by Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s family, joined Amazon, FedEx, Nissan, Hankook Tire, 84 Lumber, AT&T, and utilities such as Atmos Energy and Alabama Power in netting franchise and excise tax rebates of more than $10,000 each created by a 2024 state law. Memphis-based FedEx, with 13 subsidiaries, landed the maximum rebate for each one, and Japanese-owned Nissan filed for six subsidiaries that each received the rebate.
A governor’s spokesperson did not respond to questions Monday, but his office consistently says he put his interest in Lee Company into a blind trust during his governorship, though he could benefit when he leaves the post late in 2026.
Other notable companies among the 16,000 receiving the state’s maximum break in its business property tax include Bridgestone, Ingram Partners, Aegis Sciences, Ajax Turner, Ascension Care, BNSF Railway Co., Carhartt Inc., Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola Bottling, Denso Manufacturing, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Gannett Co., Frito-Lay Inc., Pilot and Pilot Travel Centers, and Brown-Forman, the owner of Jack Daniel’s.
In all, about 60,000 companies received three-year refunds ranging from less than $750 to between $750 and $10,000.
FedEx, based in Memphis, scored the maximum $10,000 rebate for each of its 13 subsidiaries. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
The estimated $1.5 billion in refunds and tax cuts, a large number of them made to out-of-state companies, appears to be having an immediate impact on the state budget. Tennessee’s business tax collections on property and earnings are $335 million short of projections through the first four months of the year — 11 percent off the mark — according to the Department of Finance and Administration. The tax cut amounts to more than $400 million annually.
Tennessee lawmakers approved the refunds and franchise tax break in 2024 when Department of Revenue officials said the state faced legal threats over its business taxes.
Despite the shortfall, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) said in a Monday statement: “I believe now, as I did at the time, that the rebates were the most responsible course due to the strong probability that the state would be in a worse fiscal position after impending litigation. Based on the advice of the attorney general, we were simply not willing to take that kind of risk with Tennessee’s financial future on the line and I stand by that decision.”
Other lawmakers such as House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) said last year they supported Gov. Bill Lee’s legislation because it was good policy, not because of legal threats. Some 80 companies reportedly sent letters to the state requesting rebates.
“Conservative budgeting and fiscal responsibility over the past decade have placed our state in a strong financial position,” Lamberth said in a statement Monday. “The significant tax cut we approved last year reinvested dollars right back into the businesses, communities and workers that fuel the Volunteer State’s economy.”
The state’s lists, which will be on the Department of Revenue website for only 30 days, don’t detail the exact amount of rebates, but the largest amount could run from $10,000 to $75,000.
State Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat, blasted the move as a “corporate tax refund scheme” and encouraged people to check the list to see which companies are benefiting. Campbell said lawmakers approved the measure without a lawsuit or court ruling,
“Just a letter from corporate attorneys and a political class eager to please.” Campbell added the state is dealing with its biggest budget deficit of the year as a result.
The legislature refused to take action this year on grocery sales tax reductions, one sponsored by Democrats accompanied by an effort to go after offshore accounts used to hide income and one backed by Republicans that offered no way to offset the revenue loss.
“This is the real cost of trickle-down economics: corporate handouts while working families get left behind. It’s fiscally irresponsible and morally indefensible,” Campbell said.
The advocacy group Tennessee For All, which supports elimination of the grocery tax, criticized the state’s refunds, saying companies are exploiting the program.
“Instead of closing loopholes so families can get a break on groceries, the majority of legislators chose more corporate giveaways,” said Angela Wynn, a Rutherford County parent and member of Public School Strong, a partner in the Tennessee For All coalition.
The group pointed toward reports by two Democratic lawmakers using state information from 2022 and 2025 that show more than 60 percent of corporations operating in Tennessee pay nothing in excise taxes on income.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
The Kosten Foundation's Kick It Pickleball Tournament
The Kosten Foundation and the Kick It Pickleball Tournament kicked it during the three-day event, held May 16th, 17th, and 18th at Shadowlawn Park in Arlington, Tennessee.
According to a news release, close to $50,000 was raised “to help fund pancreatic cancer research, thanks to the local pickleball community, tournament participants, generous sponsors, silent auction, and giveaway donors, volunteers, and supporters.”
And, it says, “The Kick It Pickleball Tournament accommodates players across various divisions, including men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, all structured in a round-robin format. The tournament welcomes participants of varying skill levels, ensuring an exclusive and engaging experience for all attendees.”
The release says since 2023, the Kosten Foundation “has donated more than $3 million to pancreatic cancer research. The Foundation’s latest round of research grants helped fund research teams in Dallas, New York City, and Edinburg, Texas. In an add-on to its research efforts, the Kosten Foundation hosts the only free, in-person, and virtual pancreatic cancer support group in the Mid-South.”
Tupelo, Mississippi — the city where Elvis Presley took his first breath and dreamed his biggest dreams — is once again ready to celebrate its most iconic son. The Tupelo Elvis Festival returns June 4th through 7th, bringing four days of music, art, and memories to Downtown Tupelo, with events that highlight both the legacy of Elvis and the vibrant creative spirit of his hometown.
This year, the festival takes on a more intimate and historic tone, with the centerpiece of the celebration moving to the Lyric Theatre — the very place where a young Elvis once watched movies and was inspired by the magic of performance. It’s a fitting venue for a festival dedicated to the life and legacy of the King of Rock-and-Roll.
A highlight of the week is the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest, a thrilling competition sanctioned by Elvis Presley Enterprises. Some of the world’s best tribute artists will grace the Lyric Theatre stage, channeling the charisma, voice, and energy that made Elvis a legend.
In addition to the competition, the Lyric will feature two signature evening concerts: That ’70s Show on Friday night, a dazzling tribute to Elvis’ iconic Las Vegas era, complete with jumpsuits, big vocals, and all the glitz fans love; and the Pure Elvison Saturday night, a powerful musical journey through the life and music of Elvis Presley, performed by some of the best tribute artists in the business.
Beyond the music, this year’s festival features a Pop-Up Art Show at the GumTree Museum of Art, showcasing original artwork from past Tupelo Elvis Festival posters. It’s a visual tribute to the evolution of the festival and the artistic inspiration Elvis continues to spark.
Car enthusiasts will love Ride Like the King, a classic and custom car show taking place in the Cadence Bank Arena parking lot on Saturday. While the Running with the King 5K returns for those looking to combine fun and fitness. This annual favorite invites runners and walkers of all ages to hit the pavement in a spirited salute to Elvis — costumes encouraged!
A new and exciting addition this year is TCB at The Depot, a two-night series of free live music at The Depot, Downtown Tupelo’s newest venue. Friday night features the soulful rock of Drunken Prayer, while Saturday, June 7th, brings a high-energy performance from The Kudzu Kings.
While you’re in town, don’t miss a visit to the Elvis Presley Birthplace, where you can step inside the modest two-room house where Elvis was born, explore the museum, and visit the church where he first sang gospel.
From tribute performances to fine art, classic cars to rock-and-roll nights under the stars, the Tupelo Elvis Festival continues to evolve while staying true to its roots. Celebrate the legacy of Elvis in the town where it all began — June 4th through 7th in Downtown Tupelo.
Judd Grisanti and Randall Swaney (Credit: Michael Donahue)
It’s a marriage made in Mississippi.
Beginning May 19th, chef Judd Grisanti will begin cooking his cuisine on Monday and Tuesday nights at Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He’s known for his cuisine at Grisanti restaurants, including the old Ronnie Grisanti & Sons and Spindini restaurants.
He and Marshall Steakhouse owner Randall Swaney are longtime friends, Grisanti says. They also have farms close to each other. “We’re always talking farm business,” Grisanti says. “Both talking about the hogs he was raising, and the stuff I was doing, cattle and horses, and whatnot.”
About two weeks ago Swaney asked Grisanti, “How would you like to do a Grisanti’s at Marshall Steakhouse on Monday and Tuesday nights?”
Grisanti answered in the affirmative. He said, “Man, I think it’s a great idea.’
For one thing, it would get him back cooking in a restaurant a couple of days a week, which was perfect, Grisanti says.
It also was perfect for Swaney. “Because the economy has been kind of bad for the past year,” Swaney says. “My business for seven years was up until August ’24. And then it went down. Like the rest of the country. We’re down about 10 percent.”
He was racking his brain — as well as praying about — how to get more business. Then, he says, a lightbulb went off. He ran into Grisanti four times last month. He thought, “Wait. I’ve already got a building. A whole kitchen. And nobody’s in there. What a perfect opportunity to open up a completely different restaurant on Monday and Tuesdays.’”
And there are all those people who follow Grisanti on social media “who would love to eat at a Grisanti’s restaurant. And now we have one inside Marshall Steakhouse. This is a huge winner for everybody.”
Grisanti’s dad, the late Ronnie Grisanti, was one of his inspirations when he opened Marshall Steakhouse, Swaney says. Ronnie would go into the dining room and speak to the customers. Swaney does the same thing. “The owner acknowledging the customers is something I learned and never forgot.”
Grisanti says his “biggest battle” was picking the dishes. “There are so many. Right?” Grisanti says.
“The first couple of days we’re going to start off doing what I call ‘chef’s picks.’ Judd’s favorite all-time classics dishes.”
Guests can expect to see Grisanti’s pan-seared “Halibut Rombo” with roasted red pepper pesto over white wine risotto topped with peekytoe crab and micro arugula.
He also will feature the meatballs in rustic pomadoro sauce, topped with hard ricotta salata cheese, a dish he and his dad came up with.
Grisanti also will be doing some steaks, including his “Filet de Manzo con Gorgonzola.” It’s the one I’ve been doing for 40 years,”Grisanti says. “We could never take it off the menu. An eight-ounce filet — roasted garlic encrusted, bacon wrapped, and stuffed with gorgonzola cheese, and served with sautéed mushrooms and veal demi glaze.”
Appetizers will include prosciutto-wrapped grilled jumbo shrimp with roasted garbanzo beans, and a play on Italian humus, with roasted red peppers and ‘black olive salt.’ (I take) Kalamata olives and I dehydrate them and they become hard as stone. I put them in a coffee grinder. My own salt.”
Grisanti say he’ll have his tiramisu and his “Miss Mary” or “Mia Nona” salad, his Caesar Salad with black garlic, and, for dessert, his home-made tiramisu.
And, Grisanti says, “We will have wines we normally have at Grsasnti’s.” These include a Badia a Coltibuono Cetamura chianti.
Later on, he will add more classic Grisanti dishes, including manicotti, lasagna, and ravioli. For now, he wants to “just give a little taste of what we can do and, hopefully, just grow from there.”
The restaurant will seat “only 130 guests each night because we don’t want it to be overwhelmed. We want everybody to have a good experience.”
People can make reservations on Yelp! or the Marshall Steakhouse Facebook page. But, Grisanti says, “We’re not going to turn you away at the door.”
Tennessee’s plans for passenger rail — and similar plans around the country — are likely on hold during the Trump Administration but a group of Congressional Democrats are trying to get them back on track.
The Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), a $1.2 trillion bipartisan law, provided $1.5 billion in 2021 to encourage intercity passenger rail projects, through planning grants and more. However, the portion of the law funding these projects is set to expire next year.
Hope seems dim for passenger rail planning as President Donald Trump slashes government funding for agencies across the federal government. For rail projects specifically, Trump pulled a $64 million planning grant in April for a Texas high-speed rail project that would connect Dallas and Houston. On Tuesday, Trump told reporters he pulled $4 billion from a California rail project, citing cost overruns.
However, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-9th District) and a two other transportation leaders in Congress filed a bill Wednesday to extend passenger rail funding to 2031.
The bill would reauthorize rail planning programs with $7.5 billion between Fiscal Years 2027 and 2031. It has the support of Rail Passengers Association, SMART Transportation Division, Southern Rail Commission, and Transportation for America, Cohen said.
“As a longtime advocate of passenger rail service, I urge my colleagues to support the federal-state partnership that is preparing the United States for a surge in rail travel,” Cohen said in a statement. “I am looking forward to one day taking Amtrak along the recently identified Memphis-Nashville-Chattanooga-Atlanta corridor that is being funded by a Corridor ID grant and, eventually, along a route linking Memphis to Little Rock and beyond. Passenger rail is the future, and this bill ensures its ongoing support.”
Cohen is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He is joined in filing the legislation by U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (Nevada-1st District), a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials; and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee member U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten (Michigan 3rd District).
While it may seem implausible in Tennessee that any issue has support from both sides of the aisle, passenger rail does. In a 2022 bipartisan effort, Tennessee lawmakers asked a group of government experts to study the potential of linking Tennessee’s biggest cities via passenger rail.
In March 2023, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly submitted an application for federal funds in partnership with the mayors of Atlanta, Nashville, and Memphis to begin planning for a new Amtrak route through those cities.
Credit: State of Tennessee
In 2023, that group of state government experts — the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) — reported that passenger rail lines here would increase connectivity and tourism here. In December 2023, the Atlanta-Chattanooga-Nashville-Memphis group of mayors announced they’d won a $500,000 planning grant from the feds to study possible routes here.
It was not immediately clear whether those funding efforts were still underway or still funded through the federal grant. We’ll update this story as we hear from state officials and/or other experts on the matter.
The 2023 TACIR report said the top priority for rail service in Tennessee should be a line that connects Nashville and Atlanta through Chattanooga. The line would connect the largest amount of people and create the biggest economic impact.
Credit: State of Tennessee
The report said the second priority for rail service here would be a route to connect Memphis and Nashville on population size.
“The route would connect Tennessee’s two largest cities, and connecting areas with large populations is often a key to success for passenger rail projects, although neither of these cities has as many people as Atlanta,” reads the report.
But the route would give Nashville (and other cities along the route) a connection to Memphis’ Amtrak service, which runs from Chicago to New Orleans, the report said. Freight volumes on existing lines from Memphis to Nashville are lower than other cities. Also, the route lacks “geographic barriers” of other proposed lines, apparently meaning the lack of hills and mountains would make it easier to build.
Reneé Davis Brame,
Jenny Odle Madden, and
Rae Kestrel in "Rumors" at Theatre Memphis earlier this year. (Photo: Steve Roberts)
Have you heard? The rumors are true — opening night of Theatre Memphis’ latest show went off without a hitch, though the same can’t be said for the characters. That’s right, folks, Fleetwood Mac has nothin’ on Neil Simon. (Okay, I promise I won’t do any more rumor puns.) Anyone who loves theater will have at least heard of Neil Simon, one of the most popular American playwrights of the 20th century, and anyone who loves Neil Simon will probably appreciate a good farce. Rumors, then, will not disappoint.
(Trigger warning: this play, and subsequently this review, mentions suicide.) Rumors opens on the evening of a fancy dinner party, although we learn in about the first five seconds that this particular soirée is not going to plan. It’s Myra and Charley Brock’s 10th wedding anniversary, and their friends are dressed to the nines and will be arriving soon to celebrate. The problem is Myra’s nowhere to be found and Charley, who happens to be the deputy mayor of New York, has blown off his own earlobe in what might have been a botched suicide attempt. No one really knows what the whole ear thing is about, but in order to avoid scandal, the Brocks’ friends decide that this (*gestures wildly*) fiasco cannot get out. Reputations are on the line, after all, including that of party guest Glenn Cooper, currently running for state senate. To 2025 audiences, it may seem almost quaint that such silly things could have the potential to jeopardize a campaign. After all, if 34 felony convictions don’t hurt your political career, what will? But those were the times.
Because this play was written in the late 1980s and premiered in 1988, its content might be somewhat shocking to the younger subset of modern viewers. To sum it up bluntly, there are aspects of this play that would not be considered politically correct today. To me though, Rumors stands the test of time in large part because it is so obviously criticizing the types of people portrayed onstage. It’s helpful to know that the playwright himself wrote the story to shed light, and not a very flattering one, on the fact that great liars are practically above reproach in our society. Charm and a good yarn can get you out of almost anything, especially if you’re rich. One of the main themes of this show is the disastrous effect of miscommunication, but instead of being preachy about it, Simon chose to serve up the lesson on a hot platter of comedy.
Let me put it this way, if you love Keeping Up with the Kardashians, this is the play for you. Watching out-of-touch rich people totally lose their shit while being as catty as possible is, after all, wildly entertaining. And the characters in Rumors are as loaded as they are toxic. There were some genius line-readings in this production, and trust me, the end of act two is 100 percent worth the wait. Gabriel Thomas Kestral as Lenny Ganz as Charley Brock (it makes sense when you’re watching the show) delivered a monologue for the ages. The cast had their timing down to perfection, which is essential in a fast-paced, zany show like this one. The payoff was an enthralled and delighted audience. It’s always great to see the wackiest physical comedy paired with witty dialogue, and while pulling off both at the same time is difficult, this cast nailed it.
Visually, Rumors is stunning, with the ’80s brought to life by the two-story set and flashy costumes. The costumes, in the wildly saturated finery of 1988, were enough to make me glad for the recent crunchy-lifestyle dismissal of polyester. Still, they were gorgeous to look at and lent the characters a glittering, color-coded mythical quality.
Rumors is everything a theater-goer could hope for in a farce. Don’t bring the kids to this one, as it definitely has some adult themes and colorful language. But do go and enjoy watching some oddball characters make bad choices. This is a situation so ludicrously removed from reality that it’s amusing instead of stressful, but don’t take my word for it.
