A Memphis law firm left the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) Tuesday after the firm said the group had “voted to remain silent” on President Donald Trump’s actions to erode the rule of law and an independent judiciary.
Donati Law ended more than 40 years of membership with TBA Tuesday in a letter made public on Facebook Wednesday. The Midtown law firm focuses on employment law, personal injury, and criminal defense, according to its website.
Donati Law via Facebook
”It is with great sadness that we feel obligated to leave the TBA due to its refusal to take a stand consistent with the ideals of the Rule of Law and an independent judiciary in the face of extreme threats from the executive branch,” reads the letter addressed to TBA leaders.
The letter says, specifically, that the TBA “once again voted to remain silent” on April 14. Details of the triggering event on this date were not immediately clear, but Donati attorney Bryce Ashby said it was related to activities from another Memphis attorney, Brian Faughnan, of Faughnan Law.
On his blog, Faughnan on Ethics, Faughnan said many bar associations, like the American Bar Association, have spoken out against Trump actions that erode the rule of law. In an April 8th blog post, though, Faughnan said, ”the Tennessee Bar Association and the Memphis Bar Association have not.”
After private talks with the TBA, he said on April 16, he’d become “more and more convinced that the TBA is actually determined to remain silent in an unforgivable act of cowardice.”
The TBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story. But this story will be updated with their statement if it does.
The Donati letter provides a long list of the Trump-Administration actions that threaten “the very fabric of our constitutional system.” That list includes Vice President JD Vance and Memphis businessman and DOGE frontman Elon Musk calling for the impeachment of judges based on decisions to try to rein in executive overreach. The firm is also wary of Border czar Tom Horan and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who have said that judiciary has no power over the executive branch and that court orders may simply be disregarded.
The list from the firm included the Trump adminstration’s refusal to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court order, as well as those of lower courts that required due process for immigrants facing deportation, and the return of Kilmar Ábrego Garcia from El Salvador.
The firm said Trump has fired “those charged with ensuring the rule of law” including some at the Department of Justice, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, and 17 inspectors general.
Finally, Donati said Trump has ordered retribution against law firms because of positions they have taken on behalf of clients or because of attorneys hired by their firms.
”These are but a few examples of the full-blown assault on the rule of law and the judiciary,” reads the letter. “These actions damage our system of justice and must be condemned.
“Remaining silent is complicity. The TBA has stayed silent and once again voted to remain silent on April 14, despite the TBA’s self-professed role as a ‘strong advocate for the profession and the development and maintenance of our justice system.’ As a result, we can no longer continue our membership with the Tennessee Bar Association.”
Rep. Mark White, a Shelby County Republican, said he will pursue a measure enabling the state to take over administration of Memphis-Shelby County Schools in 2026. (Photo: John Partipilo)
The sponsor of legislation criticized as a “takeover” of Memphis Shelby County Schools confirmed Tuesday the bill is on hold until 2026.
Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis), chairman of the House Finance Committee, said House and Senate versions approved earlier in the day were too far apart for passage.
The Tennessee Legislature adjourned for the year Tuesday evening without taking further action on the bills.
One of the key sticking points was that the Senate bill was amended to enable an advisory board to select replacements for elected Memphis board members removed by the state, a provision considered unconstitutional. It differed from the House version.
White said he wants a “strong oversight board” and that a compromise would weaken the measure. He declined to have competing House and Senate measures sent to a conference committee to work out a compromise.
“We prefer we keep the bill alive,” White said, adding he would work on the legislation through the summer and bring it back next year for consideration.
The House and Senate passed separate bills Tuesday creating a management group to oversee Memphis Shelby County Schools despite complaints that setting up a “takeover” board could prove to be unconstitutional.
White’s decision came as the legislature moved toward adjournment for the year.
Earlier, White told colleagues the change is needed after decades of poor performance by the school district and board, including a billion dollars in deferred maintenance and under-used buildings despite a $1.8 billion budget.
The advisory board, which would be funded locally instead of by the state, would supersede the elected board on budgets, contracts exceeding $50,000 and some policy. Under one plan, it would be responsible for reviewing the entire system and making an improvement plan.
Separately, the legislature approved $6 million for a forensic audit of the school district. But Republicans, who hold supermajorities in the House and Senate, refused requests to complete the audit before embarking on the new format.
Later, White said waiting a year would enable the audit to move forward before an advisory board is created.
Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), who carried the Senate version of the bill, laid most of the blame for poor performance on school board members, saying students are “hanging in there like a crackhead’s last tooth.”
White and Taylor denied the plan is a “takeover,” with Taylor instead describing it as “a list of cascading interventions”
Votes in both chambers didn’t come without opposition from Memphis lawmakers who said the state should allow voters to select new school board members, instead of giving the state’s education commissioner authority to remove board members and the district director.
Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) was among numerous Shelby County lawmakers who spoke out against the measure. In response to Taylor, she said, “Memphis is not the last tooth in a crack addict’s mouth.”
Lamar and other Shelby lawmakers compared the plan to the state’s Achievement School District, which is being phased out after a decade and more than a billion dollars spent. They also accused the state of usurping local voters.
“It’s not our job to take the power away from the local school board,” Lamar said.
Lamar later called the outcome a “victory for local control.”
Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis), a consistent critic of the Achievement School District for five-plus years, said the bill’s provision allowing the state to turn schools over to charter operators shows that the plan is designed to benefit hedge funds and corporations.
Shelby County school systems have gone through several stages in the last decade, including dissolution of Memphis City Schools and creation of suburban districts such as Collierville and Arlington, all of which left Memphis Shelby County Schools with a large concentration of low-income students.
Sen. London Lamar, a Memphis Democrat, called the halt of a bill to take over Memphis Shelby County Schools a “victory for local control.” (Photo: John Partipilo)
The Memphis Shelby County School Board also removed its director recently, creating more conflict within the district and giving lawmakers ammunition to single out the school system, even though the bills applied to schools statewide.
Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville) told colleagues he had shifted views after initially thinking lawmakers should wait until the audit is complete before taking action.
“We’ve got to turn the ship around in southwest Tennessee,” Vaughan said. “We’re doing a disservice to children who are not getting a fair shake.”
The legislation also lifted income caps on the Education Savings Account program in Shelby to enable more families to qualify for funds to enroll children in private schools. Recipients can use about $9,500 in state funds to go toward tuition.
Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) predicted such a move would cause confusion and lead to a lawsuit.
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.
Two Texas men were found guilty Tuesday of scamming the city of Memphis out of nearly $774,000 in 2022.
A federal jury found Stanley Anyanwu, 41, and Vitalis Anyanwu, 42, guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to Interim United States Attorney Joseph C. Murphy.
The city fell victim to a business email compromise scam causing a legitimate payment of $773,695.45 to go not to the intended contractor recipient but to a bank account controlled by a sophisticated fraud conspiracy. The city realized what had happened within days but was unable to recover the funds because the conspiracy had already swept the funds away into a large money laundering network.
The FBI investigated and identified Stanley and Vitalis Anyanwu as two members of the conspiracy. During the investigation, the FBI also identified victims of romance scams who had been taken advantage of by the same conspiracy. The defendants’ primary role in the conspiracy was to act as knowing “money mules” for internet-based fraud scams.
A business email compromise scam is a type of computer intrusion that occurs when an employee of a business or similar entity is fooled into interacting with an email message that appears to be, but is not, legitimate. The email message usually contains either malware or fraudulent misrepresentations. The purpose of the intrusion is usually to access sensitive information or to defraud the victim entity.
A romance scam is a type of advance fee scam in which the operator of the scam uses the internet and social media platforms to target potential victims who are seeking friends or romantic companionship. The scammer hides his or her true identity by posing as a potential friend or romantic partner and entering into an online relationship with the victim.
Eventually, the scammer begins to ask for emergency financial assistance of some kind. If the victim sends money, the scammer will present an escalating series of events and false claims necessitating increasingly larger amounts of money.
A money mule is someone who knowingly or unknowingly transfers or moves fraudulently acquired money on behalf of someone else. Money mules are important parts of fraud conspiracies because, among other reasons, they provide the conspiracy with a way to disguise the criminal origins of fraud proceeds.
“These defendants defrauded multiple individuals and entities resulting in a significant loss to the city of Memphis,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “The FBI and our partners are committed to holding accountable those who seek to line their own pockets through business email compromise, romance, and money laundering schemes, and will continue to work tirelessly to investigate those who engage in criminal activity resulting in financial harm to members of our community.”
Sentencing is set for July 18, 2025 before Chief United States District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman.
A bill slashing regulations for an estimated 80 percent of Tennessee’s non-federally protected wetlands is headed to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk next Monday after receiving approval from the General Assembly.
The bill’s West Tennessee Republican sponsors — Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Memphis) and Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) — said the legislation removes onerous and seemingly subjective mitigation requirements for landowners and developers.
Environmental advocates and scientists said the legislation paves the way for the destruction of Tennessee’s natural resources.
The bill passed 71-21 with one abstention in the House, and 25-6 in the Senate.
Since the 1970s, wetland regulations in Tennessee have required developers and landowners to seek permission from the state before draining or altering wetlands. The swampy areas can host diverse species, soak up rain water, and filter it as it seeps into groundwater tables, recharging aquifers. Alterations to wetlands required developers to pay for mitigation — efforts to preserve or restore other wetlands nearby.
(Flooding) is a constant that we are dealing with, and these two things are related … and what (Sen. Brent Taylor) belittles as ‘damp dirt’ is actually the stuff that matters.
– Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville
Vaughan and Taylor’s legislation scraps automatic mitigation requirements for most of Tennessee’s isolated wetlands, which lack surface connections to navigable rivers and lakes. Federal law requires mitigation for those larger water bodies, but a 2023 Supreme Court ruling removed isolated wetlands from federal control, leaving their regulation entirely to the states.
Sen. Page Walley (R-Savannah) a West Tennessee Republican who helped shape the legislation, said his district includes swampland.
“That land over in that very agriculturally rich area is flat, it does flood, and it is replete with a variety of wonderful wetlands, but things change … and the state was given the authority to begin to monitor that,” Walley said Monday.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) estimates the legislation will axe development regulations for up to 80 percent of Tennessee’s isolated wetlands.
Recent modeling commissioned by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) indicates most of the state’s isolated wetlands are located in West Tennessee, a region expected to see intense development around Ford’s new Blue Oval City manufacturing campus in Haywood County.
More than 30,000 acres of isolated wetlands fall in the northwest corner of the state, which remains inundated with historic levels of water after severe storms caused generational flooding earlier this month.
Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) grew up in Dyersburg, one of several West Tennessee towns that flooded.
“(Flooding) is a constant that we are dealing with, and these two things are related … and what (Sen. Taylor) belittles as ‘damp dirt’ is actually the stuff that matters,” Yarbro said. “The research is pretty clear that it’s these smaller wetlands that … actually reduce the peak flooding levels in communities.”
The Senate rejected Sen. Heidi Campbell’s (D-Nashville) attempt to add a 2-year sunset provision to the law and an amendment that would have brought the law in line with the recommendations presented by TDEC in 2024.
New wetlands regulations
The sponsors initially planned to eliminate all state regulation of isolated wetlands to match federal law, citing other states’ decisions to do the same.
Instead, the legislation defines four types of isolated wetlands and sets regulatory thresholds for each of them.
Artificial wetlands, a new category, are wetlands created purposefully or inadvertently by the alterations of humans or beavers. Developers are allowed to drain and fill this type of wetland with no regulatory oversight.
No permits or mitigation are required for alterations to low-quality isolated wetlands up to 1 acre, or moderate-quality wetlands up to one-quarter acre.
These wetlands have minimal or moderate roles in ecosystems, natural water cycles, and chemical cycles, according to the legislation. Exact definitions for wetland quality will be created through a rule-making process that includes public input opportunities.
General permits and 1-1 mitigation are required for low-quality isolated wetlands from 1 to 2 acres in size. Changes to moderate-quality isolated wetlands from one-quarter acre to 2 acres require a general permit with mitigation capped at a 1-1 ratio (which raises to 2-1 on the second acre).
Alterations to high-quality isolated wetlands will continue to require more specialized Aquatic Resource Alteration Permits from the state and mitigation, as will changes to low- and moderate-quality isolated wetlands larger than 2 acres.
About 80 percent of Tennessee’s isolated wetlands are smaller than one acre, according to SELC Tennessee Director George Nolan. Around 94 percent of isolated wetlands are smaller than 2 acres.
The legislation also prevents TDEC from considering isolated wetlands of any quality when determining a project’s cumulative impact, even if the project encompasses other federally regulated wetlands.
The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Home Builders of Tennessee supported the legislation, as did the Pacific Legal Foundation, a national firm that fought for deregulation of American wetlands at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. They said the changes will support property rights and bring down costs for developers.
Several environmental groups, scientists, and businesses that restore wetlands and sell mitigation credits to developers opposed the legislation, warning that the clause ignoring cumulative impact could super-charge wetlands destruction and hinder an industry that has invested more than $1 billion in restoration and conservation projects in Tennessee.
Vaughan said he sees mitigation requirements as “trampling people’s private property rights.”
“I may own a piece of property and because someone else says that there is something on my property that has resource value that I’m going to have to pay a third party to be able to use my own property. That does not compute,” Vaughan said Monday.
Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) voted against the bill.
“If these changes are being made to improve our environment, are being made to improve the quality of life of people in Tennessee, that’s one thing,” Pearson said. “But if we are changing the protections of our natural resources on behalf of corporate entities to be able to make more profit, I have a significant problem with that.”
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.
Flooding surrounds a house about a mile away from the Obion River in Ridgely, Tenn. on April 9, 2025 after 96 hours of torrential rain. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)
West Tennessee soybean farmers, already on the heels of a tough year, are now facing challenges posed by the remnants of early April floods.
Gina Ward’s low-lying fields near Rives and the Obion River flooded in February, requiring the third-generation farm to make costly repairs to the private levee attached to their land.
Just a few weeks later, the majority of the levee was once again washed away in a near-record-setting flood after rain drenched Northwest Tennessee and surrounding areas.
The 96-hour rain event was the second-highest for the Obion, Forked Deer, and Loosahatchie Rivers, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
When the water finally began to recede from Ward’s drowned fields about 10 days later, it left craters and debris.
“It looks like the surface of the moon now,” she said.
Soybeans cover more acres than any other row crop in Tennessee, according to the University of Tennessee. The crop is most popular in the state’s west and central regions.
April typically marks the beginning of the planting season. Ward had not yet planted her fields when the storms began on April 3, but she wants to get seeds in the ground as soon as possible to maximize her yield.
She has started planting in fields on higher ground. But the sandy moonscape left behind by the flood in lower-lying areas will take a lot of time and work before it’s ready to be planted again, Ward said.
Flood waters left deep ruts on portions of Gina Ward’s low-lying fields in Obion County near the Obion River. Ward said she had planned to plant soybeans on the land. (Photo: Gina Ward)Water from the overflowing Obion River covers a field on Owl Hoot Road in Ridgely, Tenn. on April 9, 2025. The field is about a mile away from the river’s typical bank. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)Craters covered the surface of Gina Ward’s field in Obion County near the Obion River after flood waters receded. (Photo: Gina Ward)Farm equipment is seen partially submerged on a flooded field in Ridgely, Tenn. on April 9, 2025. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)
“The farmers who farm that low-lying ground know that it’s best to wait as long as possible to get outside of flooding season before they start planting that ground,” he said.
But the flooding has pushed back their planting dates, which could lead to lower yields.
“Conventional wisdom in any farming is to get your crop in early, and that’s going to be a little difficult to do on hundreds of thousands of acres in these flood plains, because the water is going to have to go down, and the fields will have to dry,” Maupin said.
Field maintenance could also prove expensive and time-consuming for farmers whose fields were left littered with debris, covered in sediment or rutted by receding flood water.
These delays and extra expenses compound the losses soybean farmers saw in 2024.
Soybean prices paid to Tennessee producers dropped 16 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, despite farmers planting around 15 percent more acreage, according to the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture.
Like any other business, a farmer’s goal is to make a return on their investment, and planting requires significant capital up front, Maupin said. Profit margins are thin due to high interest rates and inflated costs for things like fuel, fertilizer, and pesticides.
“Last year they had no profit in corn, wheat, soybeans and cotton, and they lost a lot of money,” he said. “This year, the prices and the input costs are not any better, so they needed to be able to reduce their costs as much as possible. For those who farm in these flooded areas, it is only going to drive up their costs to put a crop there.”
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 artists in "Not Only Seen, But Felt" (Photo: Belinda Herrera)
Gabrielle Yasmeen began her photography discipline on disposable cameras, taking pictures of her school friends on the bus. She wouldn’t have called it a discipline then. It was about capturing memories. Her family lived outside of Memphis, and this was her way of feeling like she was a part of something, of her friends’ story, of her story.
“It took me a while to call myself a photographer, or an artist actually,” she says, even though she would always have her camera on her, asking her friends to pose this way and that. Over time, though, she began working with clients and taking paid gigs for events. “It really changed my perspective around the importance of what I was doing and the work that I was doing — that people really appreciated it,” she says. “That’s when I was like, maybe, it’s okay to call myself a photographer. Maybe, I can really go for this role that I’m pretending to play.”
Some of this hesitation she attributes to anxiety. “I think I was scared to live up to the photographers that I’ve looked up to, like Carrie Mae Weems and people of that stature. ‘Oh, am I on par with that? Could I ever produce work that felt the way that those images make me feel?’”
Carrie Mae Weems is perhaps best known for The Kitchen Table Series, where the photographer takes center stage at the kitchen table in scenes of mundane life, smoking a cigarette or applying lipstick. These domestic images made Yasmeen “feel like my presence is appreciated, … that I could be displayed in a museum.”
It’s that sense of presence that Yasmeen wants to recapture in the exhibit she’s curated at the Urban Art Commission (UAC): “Not Only Seen, But Felt.” With work by seven Black women photographers, including Yasmeen, the exhibit quilts a narrative of Black life in Memphis, giving rise to each unique voice. “All these pieces, they honor where you’re from, where you’re at, how you show up, and give you a chance to be seen and felt,” Yasmeen says.
Gabrielle Yasmeen (Photo: Belinda Herrera)
“I have not seen in the last five or 10 years a show that was all photography-based and all Black women-based,” she says. “It felt important to me because obviously that’s what I do and that’s who I am in conversation with a lot of times. And us being in Memphis, that’s a majority-Black city, I would think that we’d see more shows kind of dedicated to that. And then just the history of photography here in this city, it’s been something that our ancestors have done, capturing those really historical, sometimes extremely poignant images throughout time, and so I just thought that this might be a space to celebrate some of the higher points.”
The artists featured in this exhibit are A.C. Bullard, Akeara W., Alexus Milons, Ariel J. Cobbert, Jasmine Marie, and MadameFraankie, in addition to Yasmeen. At its core, the show is collaborative. Though Yasmeen is the curator in name and came up with the title, each photographer chose the pieces in their portfolios that they thought best adhered to the theme. “I wanted to do a group show to say that it’s not just about me; it’s about all of us collectively,” she says. “And it feels good to know that you’re not the only one doing this — prioritizing taking images of Black life and celebrating it.”
In all, Yasmeen and her fellow artists have found the exhibit to be inspiring for themselves, even as they strive to inspire others to see and feel for themselves. As Yasmeen says, “To hear their why behind what they do, it has reinvigorated my own search for my why.”
In the gallery, the pieces are arranged in a way so that they are in conversation with one another, rather than grouped by the artist, and the photos range in style, representing each photographer’s individual practice. From a smiling boy flashing cash at a car show to a woman covered in flowers in a studio, these are moments of joy in being seen but also in making one’s presence known, spontaneous and posed. Both are worthy of wall space.
(Photo: Belinda Herrera)
“In today’s time, anyone can take a picture,” Yasmeen says. “But I do think there’s a difference when you set out to deliberately tell a story with your images. That’s what all of the women in this show do: They tell stories with their work and they’re able to tell a full narrative within one image. … And generally speaking about art, there’s the powers-that-be that set the tone of what is and what isn’t art. In a lot of cases, that has been a white-male dominated space, so it takes us to do something about that and say these things are of value and that they matter.
“I do think that things are changing, but larger narratives show that we are coming up against a front and a battle for that and for the legitimacy of other voices. And so it is very validating to be able to put a show like this together and to have it selected.” As part of a new initiative this year, UAC has offered its Office Exhibition Space for free to local artists, like Yasmeen, who apply to the program. (This does not include any funding, just space, but UAC takes no commission on any sales.)
“It takes a village to see the value in what’s being displayed,” Yasmeen says. “Photography is universal, and you can see yourself within any image. And I challenge people to do that, to see the value in the work that’s being displayed.”
“Not Only Seen, But Felt” closes today, Thursday, April 17th, with a reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Urban Art Commission.
Smokeable cannabis products, especially the THC they create when lit, took another — possibly lethal — blow Thursday as the Tennessee Senate followed the House in passing a law that bans products containing THCA.
House members passed an amendment last Thursday removing THCA from legal cannabis products in the state. THCA was already banned in the Senate version of the bill traveling through the committee process.
That bill passed Thursday after a lengthy floor debate ending in a vote of 23 to ban the substance and only nine against it. The only legislative glimmer of hope for cannabis companies across the state now is a veto from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) sponsored the Senate bill. He argued the bill protects consumers, taxes cannabis products fairly, and does not harm Tennessee hemp farmers. He said much of the products on shelves here are grown out of state. But the bill was about a lot more than all of those, he said.
“We’re really gonna be voting here on whether to have recreational marijuana or not,” Briggs said, noting that many products on shelves here now will get consumers high. “If we vote no on this bill, we’ll have unregulated recreational marijuana.”
Briggs described an anything-goes market in Tennessee with a variety of products to smoke, vape, eat, and drink. Also, the product sold today, he said, is “not your grandfather’s marijuana” that “they confiscated at Woodstock.”
“The average strength of marijuana in 1995 was 4 percent,” he said, without confirming his source information. “You can walk 20 minutes down the street here and buy…gummy bears that are 10 times that.”
On Thursday, as he’s done for years when talking publicly about cannabis products, Briggs pronounced “gummy bears” as “goomy bears.”
Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) agreed with many of Briggs’ points. But she said she could not vote for the bill out of fear that state-by-state regulation on cannabis products has increased “black market activity.”
“We all know that people are going to other states and getting the products and coming back,” Campbell said. “When we attempt to put regulations [on these products] we actually drive people to other markets and drive a market here that is less predictable and less controllable…because people are going to be selling tickets on the black market.”
Sen. Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) pushed back on the bill because he said it would make it illegal to manufacture, cultivate, produce, and sell these products. But Tennessee criminal law now does not make it illegal to possess these products, he said.
“I could drive to Kentucky,” Roberts said. “I could drive to North Carolina. I could drive to all these surrounding states and I could load up my car with as much as I want, and I can bring it home. I can do what I want to do with it all day long. I’m not going to be prosecuted by any (District Attorney) in Tennessee for violating law because I will not have violated a law.”
Sen. Page Walley (R-Savannah) said he’d recently watched the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. Dylan’s song, “The Times They Are A-Changin'” was an anthem for those in the Civil Rights Movements, Walley said. He said “times are changing right now.”
He explained that most were comfortable with most of the bill, but uncomfortable with 5 percent-10 percent. Though he never spoke in specifics, Walley seemed uncomfortable with the THCA provisions.
“We’ve really decided to change the rules and move the goalposts in this conversation after the game is in progress,” Walley said. “We told our farmers, we told our retailers, we told small business people who are honest, that are paying rents on facilities, that these were the rules.”
Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) agreed, saying “we’re pulling the rug out from under” Tennessee’s cannabis businesses. He the state is moving in a “prohibitionist direction” on cannabis issues while others move forward.
“We are too much, in this instance, like The Simpsons‘ character yelling at the clouds,” Yarbro said. “This is time for us to get serious, to get real, and actually help Tennessee consumers, to actually help Tennessee farmers, to actually help Tennessee businesses. And I don’t think this bill is the right way.”
The bill will become law upon Gov. Lee’s signature. Barring that, THCA protections are under review now in a lawsuit from the Tennessee Growers Coalition. That suit is to be heard this summer in Nashville.
The Mississippi River is the most endangered river in the country, according to a new report from American Rivers, a national conservation organization.
The biggest threats to the river are the Trump administration’s promises to severely cut or abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program. American Rivers said these threats “[risk] river health and human safety along the entirety of its 2,320-mile stretch and could compound long-standing threats to the river.”
“The Mississippi River is vital to our nation’s health, wealth, and security. We drink from it, we grow our food with it, we travel on it, we live alongside it, and simply, we admire its beauty,” said Mike Sertle, central region director for American Rivers. “We cannot turn our back on Mississippi River communities or the health of the river millions depend on at this critical time when they need unified direction instead of uncertainty at the national level.”
In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that would push much of what FEMA does to states.
“Federal policy must rightly recognize that preparedness is most effectively owned and managed at the state, local, and even individual levels, supported by a competent, accessible, and efficient federal government,” reads the order. “When states are empowered to make smart infrastructure choices, taxpayers benefit.”
The order also called for the federal government to “streamline its preparedness operations.” This led to hundreds of layoffs at FEMA with many more promised, leaving states worried about the future.
FEMA’s mission goes beyond emergency response and rebuilding after disaster, according to American Rivers. It develops minimum standards for construction in floodplains, provides flood insurance to homeowners, and mitigates future risks. FEMA also helps in relocating flood-prone homes to higher ground.
“Without strong federal leadership in flood risk management, communities along the Mississippi River — and across the country — will face even greater threats from worsening floods,” said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM). “At the same time, we recognize that states and local governments must take on a greater role in managing flood risks. Strengthening their capacity — whether through incentives or penalties — will lead to better outcomes.
“But no amount of state or local action can replace the need for coordinated federal support, especially when major disasters strike. Now is the time to reinforce our national commitment to flood risk reduction, not walk away from it.”
The Mississippi River spans 10 states and 123 counties from the headwaters in Minnesota to its mouth in Louisiana. The river carries more water than any other of the nation’s rivers and is the primary source of drinking water for more than 50 municipalities. The river is also a source for manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, navigation, and energy.
The river and its 30-million-acre floodplain also provide vital habitat for more than 870 species of fish and wildlife, including dozens of rare, threatened, and endangered species.
Long-standing threats to the river include chemical runoff that has led to regular toxic algae outbreaks in significant stretches of the river as well as hypoxic dead zones, sea level rise that is accelerating wetland loss and saltwater intrusion, exacerbating droughts, and infrastructure like levees and navigation structures that negatively impact the natural flow of the river.
The Mississippi River City and Towns Initiative, a group of mayors from up and down the river, said it does not believe the river has earned the designation of the most endangered waterway. Instead, the group said it believes “there is always a need to protect our nation’s and the world’s most important waterway.”
“A total elimination of the agency would cripple the nation’s emergency response and risk management apparatus,” said Belinda Constant, mayor of Gretna, Louisiana. “Additionally, disaster response along the Mississippi River is inherently a multi-state question and thus, FEMA needs to continue to play a vital role in coordinating the efforts of many states to systemically mitigate risks, recover, and restore infrastructure.”
Tennessee lawmakers are proposing a $6 million audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht for Tennessee Lookout)
Tennessee lawmakers could spend $6 million to audit Memphis-Shelby County Schools as a potential forerunner to a state “takeover” of the district.
Senate finance committee Chairman Bo Watson (R-Hixson) confirmed Monday another $3 million for a forensic audit was placed in the Senate’s $59.6 billion budget plan to go with $3 million in Governor Bill Lee’s supplemental budget amendment.
Senators also placed $4.5 million in the budget plan to expand Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s special litigation unit, which previously was tasked with opposing former President Joe Biden’s policies.
When the 2025 session started, Republican lawmakers started discussing appointment of a state management board that would supersede the elected Memphis Shelby County School Board. Memphis residents testified against the bill.
Representative Mark White, a Memphis Republican, said Memphis schools have “a decades-old issue of underperformance.” (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
The proposal hasn’t gained a foothold yet, but lawmakers appear bent on auditing the school district even though the Comptroller’s Office conducts school system audits.
Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said Monday the audit is needed to start a deeper look at the school district.
“That kind of money spent on that kind of audit, that’s the kind of audit that somebody goes to the pokey over, and this is something that’s been building for decades, and it’s time we finally take the bull by the horns,” Taylor said. He didn’t pinpoint any wrongdoing on the part of Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials.
Taylor, who is sponsoring the bill to make major changes in the district, said lawmakers shied away from a takeover because of problems with the Achievement School District, which is being abolished because it failed to make major improvements over a decade in spite of a billion dollars in expenses. The bill’s wording remains in talks, though, and an advisory board could be placed in the measure, he said.
Senator Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) a member of the finance committee, called the pending expenditure “ridiculous.”
“The purpose of our school funding is to educate children, not to create ammunition for some garbage political fights,” Yarbro said.
Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) has been pushing for change this session to deal with what he calls “a decades-old issue of underperformance.”
The purpose of our school funding is to educate children, not to create ammunition for some garbage political fights.
– Senator Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville
His bill contains a provision to put a nine-member management group appointed by the state in charge of operating the school district, giving it authority over the locally-elected school board and administrators.
Taylor’s version isn’t quite as restrictive but puts the state in charge by allowing Tennessee’s education commissioner, with approval from the Department of Education, to remove the schools director or school board members and allow the county commission to replace them. If a school district goes through three district directors in three years, a county mayor could appoint a new director for a four-year term.
The Senate bill also would lift income caps on the Education Savings Account in effect in Shelby County, the governor’s initial private-school voucher program, and change the process for a public school to become a charter school.
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.
Stop twiddling your (green) thumbs and head to the Memphis Botanic Garden’s plant sale. (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Botanic Garden)
Plant Sales This weekend is for the plants. Seriously, there are at least three plant sales happening this weekend, so get your green thumb out of your booty and get out there:
Shelby Forest Spring Fest Meeman Shelby Forest State Park Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Take part in a Mardi Gras-themed festival with music, food, arts and crafts vendors, wildlife and cultural exhibits, and more. Admission is $5 (kids 4 and under get in free). Get your tickets here.
Cooper-Young Porchfest Cooper-Young Historic District Saturday, April 12, noon-5 p.m. Now is your chance to invade your neighbors’ privacy and get up on Cooper-Young’s lawns as an eclectic mix of bands will play on residents’ front porches at this fifth-annual all-volunteer event. A full schedule and map is available here. Porchfest also coincides with the Cooper-Young Community Yard Sale, which will be held 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. That map can be found here.
The Mid-South Korean BBQ Festival Grind City Brewing Company Saturday, April 12, noon-6 p.m. Grind City Brewing Company hosts a backyard cooking competition of traditional American barbecue and Korean barbecue. General admission tickets come with entry and samples (as supplies last) and cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Get your tickets here.
Shop Black Fest Bass Pro Drive + Riverside Drive Saturday, April 12, 2-7 p.m. Shop from Black-owned businesses. General admission is free.
Metal Petals + Healing Roots Exhibition & Silent Auction Reception Evergreen Presbyterian Saturday, April 12, 6-8 p.m. Arts from around Memphis and the country have transformed gun parts into jewelry, sculptures, and gardening tools as part of the Metal Museum and Evergreen Presbyterian’s Guns to Gardens sage surrender program. The exhibition will open with a reception and sale of the items, with larger items staying on display for the community for one month. Proceeds from the sale will go back into the Guns to Gardens safe surrender program and to the artist participants.
Star Trek Day Neil’s Music Room Sunday, April 13, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Trek over to Neil’s Music Room for the 10th anniversary celebration of Shelby County Star Trek Day, where you’ll enjoy Star Trek-themed food, contests, vendors, music, and more. Special guests will Zoom in for a Q&A: Jonathan Frakes, Armin Shimerman, Kitty Swink, and Juan Carlos Coto. More info here.
Huey’s 55th Anniversary Block Party Huey’s (Midtown) Sunday, April 13, 1-8 p.m. Huey’s is turning 55, a good age. I don’t know why we don’t say that past the age of, like, 4. That’s a good age; that’s when they start … well, I don’t know much about 4-year-olds. I’m not around them that much. Maybe being a 4-year-old isn’t a good age to be, but 55, that’s something. At least, for Huey’s. They’re hosting a whole free block party with live music on Overton Park Shell’s Shell on Wheels, a kids zone, community vendors, and local food and beer options. More info here.
Black Arts & Wine Festival Pink Palace Museum & Mansion Sunday, April 13, 2-6 p.m. Shop visual art by Black creatives and sample wines and liquors from Black brands. Tickets are $50.
