CBD and Delta-8 products on a shelf at Cumberland Cannabis (Photo: John Partipilo)
Tennessee’s hemp industry is making a last-ditch legal effort to halt sweeping new rules that would ban the sale of popular hemp products legally available in the state since 2019.
Attorneys representing Tennessee hemp retailers and producer associations are expected in a Nashville court Monday just ahead of new state product testing rules scheduled to take effect Dec. 26.
The rules would bar the manufacture, distribution and sale of many of the best-selling hemp products that have helped drive a nascent state industry to generate $280-$560 million in sales annually, based on survey data cited in legal documents.
The hemp products haven’t been outlawed by the Tennessee legislature or the federal government.
Rather, new legislation designed to impose first-time regulations on Tennessee’s five-year-old hemp industry –—such as license requirements, taxes, and age restrictions — have been interpreted by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture in a way that would render certain hemp products illegal.
The rules require products to be tested for the first time for so-called TCHA content, a naturally occurring and still-legal substance found in all hemp plants. When hemp flowers are heated or smoked, the substance converts to THC — an illegal substance in Tennessee when it is present in greater than trace amounts.
The Tennessee Growers Association and the Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association are seeking a temporary injunction they say is necessary to prevent widespread devastation to the burgeoning industry.
Should the new rules go into effect, “a large share of Tennessee’s hemp-derived cannabinoid market will be rendered illegal overnight, shuttering many businesses and forcing downsizing and layoffs at others,” legal filings by the Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association read.
Hemp is a cannabis plant that has been legally available in Tennessee since the Legislature first approved its production, possession, and sale in 2019.
It’s distinguished from marijuana by its concentration of a compound known as delta-9 THC. Cannabis with a concentration of less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC is defined as legal hemp in Tennessee — and federally. Cannabis with concentrations greater than .3 percent is classified as marijuana and is illegal to grow, sell, or possess in Tennessee.
Hemp flowers also contain THCA, a nonintoxicating acid that has not been outlawed in Tennessee. When heated or smoked, however, the THCA in the plant converts into delta-9 THC.
The state product testing rules unveiled by Tennessee’s agriculture department earlier this year will now make THCA products illegal based on their combined concentration of delta-9 THC and THCA, rather than solely their delta-9 THC concentration.
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, which rejected hemp industry administrative appeals of the rules, declined to comment Tuesday on pending legislation.
Both industry groups argue the state’s agriculture department exceeded its authority in formulating the rules, essentially outlawing a product the legislature has determined to be legal.
“Here, it blinks reality to conclude that the General Assembly — in the very statute that expressly defines (THCA) as a legal hemp-derived cannabinoid without any concentration limits — delegated to the Department a clandestine power to outlaw (THCA) products that have been legally sold in Tennessee for years,” legal filings said.
The Tennessee Growers Association has also put forth a separate legal argument that the 2023 law intended to regulate “hemp-derived products” does apply to the unadulterated hemp plant itself.
“Hemp and raw flowers are not HDC’s (hemp derivative products),” the Tennessee Growers Coalition argued. “After all, hemp cannot be ‘derived’ from itself.”
The groups are seeking an immediate preliminary injunction in Davidson County Chancery Court to prevent the rules from taking effect.
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.
A good fact is hard to find, especially in these truth-fluid times. But it’s nice to know there are a few solid ones you can stand upon.
That was my thinking as I pitched this story to our editor, Shara Clark. Then I started compiling these facts and realized even some of them can be fluid. A classic example: Which was the first rock-and-roll song, “Rocket 88” or “That’s All Right”? Either one still makes Memphis the “birthplace of rock-and-roll,” though. Right?
Also, some data rhyme and you have to pick them apart. Example: The current graduation rate for Memphis-Shelby County Schools is 87.3 percent. But the Memphis population with only a high school degree is 31 percent. Both facts are listed as just “Memphis graduates” in a couple of datasets.
Keep all this in mind as you peruse our list of facts. We’ve tried hard to hit the middle of the dartboard. But nailing down a fact can be a slippery thing sometimes. So if you have a quibble and you’d like to discuss, or if we’re plain wrong and you’d like a correction or clarification, please email me at toby@memphisflyer.com. — Toby Sells
History
• Original inhabitants: Chickasaw Nation
• First European explorer: Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto (1541)
• Ceded from the Chickasaws to the U.S. in the Jackson Purchase (1818)
• City founded in 1819 by John Overton, James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson
• Named after the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River
• Original name (anglicized as Men-nefer) means “enduring and beautiful”
• Modern city incorporated as a city: 1826
• Yellow fever epidemics: late 1870s
• Surrendered its charter: 1879
• New city charter granted: 1893
• Elvis Presley records “That’s All Right” at Sun Studio in 1954; widely considered to be the first rock-and-roll record ever recorded
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination: April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel
• Motel opened as National Civil Rights Museum in 1991
Photo: R. Gino Santa Maria / Shutterfree, Llc | Dreamstime.com
Geography and Land
• Total area: 302 square miles (land, 295 square miles; water, 7.6 square miles)
• Elevation: 337 feet above sea level
• Sited on the Fourth Chickasaw Bluff
• Water source: Memphis Sand Aquifer
• The aquifer spans more than 7,000 square miles under eight states
• Water age: typically over 2,000 years old
• Its pure drinking water was deemed “the sweetest in the world”
• Aquifer volume: more than 100 trillion gallons, enough to cover all of Shelby County up to the top of Clark Tower
• Number of extreme heat days: 20 (2022)
• Number of extreme precipitation days: 4 (2023)
Demographics
• Total population (2020 census): 633,425
• Population estimate (2023): 618,639
• Population decrease: -2.6 percent
• Second-most populated city in Tennessee (after Nashville)
• Black or African American: 64.4 percent
• White: 26.5 percent
• American Indian or Alaskan Native: .3 percent
• Asian: 1.6 percent
• Hispanic or Latino: 8 percent
• Median age: 33.9
• Over 65: 14.6 percent
• Under 18: 31.8 percent
• Ratio: 88 males for every 100 females
• Employment rate: 59.8 percent (2023)
• Total households: 257,188
• Average household size: 2.6 persons per household (2018-2022)
• Children in single-parent households: 43.5 percent (2018-2022)
• Only English spoken at home: 88.6 percent of households
• Language other than English spoken at home: 11.4 percent
• Foreign-born population Memphis: 8.3 percent
• Median household income Memphis: $51,399 (2023)
• Median family income Memphis: $61,977
• Poverty Memphis (2023): 22.6 percent
• Largest poverty age group Memphis: under 18 (36.3 percent)
Housing and Living
• Total housing units: 286,713
• Occupied housing units: 255,642
• Largest housing occupancy by type: married-family couple (45,875)
• Second-largest housing occupancy by type: female householder, no male present (18,726)
• Vacant housing units (2020): 31,071
• Moved from a different state to Memphis (2023): 2 percent
• Moved within Shelby County (2023): 10.2 percent
• Median gross rent Memphis: $1,175
• Homeownership rate Memphis: 44.9 percent
• Largest home category by price: $200,000 to $299,000 (23.5 percent)
• Second-largest home category by price: $300,000 to $499,999 (17.55 percent)
• Average commute time in Memphis: 20.9 minutes
• Largest means of transportation: drive alone (77.8 percent)
• Second-largest means of transportation: car pool (9.2 percent)
• Commuters on public transportation: .8 percent
• Households without a vehicle: 8.4 percent (2018-2022)
Health (all of Shelby County)
• Quality of life ranking (out of 95 Tennessee counties): 87th (2023)
• Social and economic ranking (education, employment, violent crime, children in poverty, more): 83rd
• Life expectancy: 72.5 years (2019-2021)
• All cancer incidence rate: 438.2 cases per 100,000 population (2017-2021)
• Death rate due to cancer: 162.1 per 100,000 population (2018-2022)
• Child mortality rate (under 20): 92.4 deaths per 100,000 population (2018-2021)
• Teens who are sexually active: 32.2 percent (2021)
• Adults who binge drink: 15.7 percent (2022)
• Drug and opioid-involved overdose death rate: 32.4 per 100,000 population (2018-2020)
• Teens who use alcohol: 17.8 percent (2021)
• Teens who use marijuana: 18.9 percent (2021)
• Adults who have had a routine checkup: 79.8 percent (2022)
• Adults with health insurance: 83.7 percent (2023)
• Adults without health insurance: 10.8 percent (2022)
• Children with health insurance: 92.8 percent (2023)
• Children without health insurance: 7.2 percent (2023)
• People with private health insurance only: 50.6 percent (2023)
• Persons with public health insurance only: 26.7 percent (2023)
• Death rate due to heart disease: 209.2 per 100,000 population (2022)
• High blood pressure prevalence: 41.5 percent (2021)
• High cholesterol prevalence: 33.2 percent (2021)
• Adults ever diagnosed with depression: 25.2 percent (2022)
• Adults with any mental illness: 15.8 percent (2018-2020)
• Death rate due to suicide: 11.6 per 100,000 population (2018-2020)
• High school students who attempted suicide: 16.8 percent (2021)
• Adults (20+) who are sedentary: 22.6 percent (2021)
• High school students who engage in regular physical activity: 26.5 percent (2021)
• Death rate due to firearms: 33.6 per 100,000 population (2018-2020)
• HIV prevalence rate: 900.6 cases per 100,000 population (2022)
• Death rate due to HIV: 4.6 per 100,000 population (2018-2020)
• Adults who smoke: 19.3 percent (2022)
• High school students who smoke cigarettes: 3.0 percent (2021)
• Adults (20+) who are obese: 34.1 percent (2021)
• High school students who are overweight or obese: 42.2 percent (2021)
• Death rate due to homicide: 28.7 per 100,000 population (2018-2020)
• Domestic violence incidents per 1,000 population: 17.6 incidents per 1,000 population (2022)
• Alcohol-impaired driving deaths 18.2 percent of driving deaths (2017-2021)
• Bicyclist deaths: 2 (2023)
• Death rate due to motor vehicle collisions 19.5 per 100,000 population (2015-2021)
• Pedestrian deaths: 476 (2023)
• Substantiated child abuse rate: 3.4 cases per 1,000 children (2023)
• Child food insecurity rate: 27.4 percent (2022)
• Total food insecurity rate: 13.4 percent (2022)
• Households receiving SNAP with children: 51.0 percent (2018-2022)
• Households with cash public assistance income: 1.7 percent (2018-2022)
Education
• Memphis-Shelby County Schools graduation rate: 83.4 percent (2024)
• Memphis population high school graduates (2023 estimate): 31.2 percent
• Bachelor’s degree or higher Memphis: 27.9 percent
• Enrolled in school (K-12) in Memphis: 72.4 percent
• University of Memphis is the largest post-secondary school (21,000 students)
• Also home to Rhodes College, Lemoyne-Owen College, Christian Brothers University, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and Southwest Tennessee Community College
Business
• Largest industry employers: education, healthcare, and social assistance
• Second-largest industry employers: transportation, warehousing, and utilities
• Largest worker class: private company (68.6 percent)
• Second-largest worker class: local, state, or federal government (14.4 percent)
• Employer establishments: 19,659 (2022)
• Size of labor force: 431,038 (2024)
• Home to three Fortune 500 companies: FedEx Corp., AutoZone Inc., and International Paper Inc.
• Home to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Photo: Chengusf | Dreamstime.com
Economic Development Growth Engine(EDGE) stats since 2011
• Total jobs: 52,877
• Total capital investment: $11,691,419,735
• Number of PILOTs approved: 125
• Spending with local and minority companies: $804,417,653
• Average wage (PILOTs only): $83,251.28
• Average PILOT term: 11 years
• Local tax revenues generated: $1,956,924,055
• Total tax not charged to companies: $936,907,722
• Benefit-to-cost ratio: 2.09
• Incentive amount per job per year: $3,256.59
• Number of TIFS approved: 6
• Number of loans approved: 118
• Total loan amount: $15,924,841
• Number of bonds approved: 12
• Total bond amount: $569,737,850
Industry sectors
Food and Beverage industry
• Employed: 53,288 (2022)
• GDP: $4.9 billion
• Locations: 2,517
Manufacturing
• Employed: 43,918 (2023)
• GDP: $11.7 billion
• Locations: 1,132
Agribusiness and AgTech
• Employed: 9,231 (2023)
• GDP: $2.6 billion
• Companies: 623
Automotive and Parts Suppliers
• Employed: 18,735 (2023)
• GDP: $3.7 billion
• Operations: 1,119
Healthcare and Life Science
• Employed: 88,725 (2022)
• GDP: $10.4 billion
• Operations: 4,114
Headquarters and Finance
• Employed: 49,743 (2022)
• GDP: $12.4 billion
• Companies: 5,111
Information and Technology
• Employed: 7,753 (2022)
• GDP: $2.4 billion
• Companies: 1,318
Photo: F11photo | Dreamstime.com
Music and Entertainment
• Employed: 29,295 (2022)
• GDP: $2 billion
• Companies: 828
Supply Chain and Logistics
• Employed: 119,002 (2022)
• GDP: $18.9 billion
• Companies: 3,602
Small Business and Entrepreneur
• Employed: 229,000 (2024)
• Payroll: $11 billion (2021)
• Businesses: 137,000
Port of Memphis
• Second-largest inland port on the Mississippi River
• Total operations: 127 (2018)
• Employed: 22,465
• Taxes generated: $44.5 billion
• Economic impact: $9.2 billion
• Home to the only petroleum refinery in Tennessee
• Hub for all five Class I railways that serve Memphis: BN, CN, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific
Memphis International Airport (MEM)
• Passenger traffic: 4.8 million (2023)
• MEM facilitated 4,981 flights (Nov. 2024)
• 77 percent on time
• 65 airlines
• Top three international destinations: Windsor, Canada; La Romana, Dominican Republic; Kerry, Ireland
• 274 routes
• Busiest routes: Chicago, Houston, Dallas
• Top three airlines: NetJets, Delta Air Lines, Flexjet
• Cargo operations: 8.56 billion pounds (2023)
• Busiest cargo airport in North America (2023)
• Second-busiest cargo airport worldwide (2023)
Photo: Jeff Schultes | Dreamstime.com
FedEx Corp.
• Total revenue for fiscal year 2024: $87.7 billion
• FedEx Express: $74.7 billion (85 percent of total revenue).
• FedEx Freight: $9.4 billion (11 percent of total revenue).
• Other services like FedEx Office and FedEx Logistics: $3.6 billion (4 percent of total revenue)
• Operates world’s largest cargo airline, covering over 650 airports globally
• Moves an average of over 14.5 million shipments daily
• Serves over 220 countries and territories
• Connects 99 percent of the world’s GDP
• Global employees: ~500,000 (2023)
• Memphis employees: ~35,000 (2024)
• Operating facilities: ~5,000 worldwide (2023)
Photo: Sean Pavone | Dreamstime.com
Tourism and Cultural Assets
• Visitors: 13.5 million (2023)
• Annual economic impact: $4.2 billion
• Employment: 44,000 (Shelby County)
• Companies: more than 2,300
• Hotel rooms: 26,000 rooms (Shelby County), 4,000 (Downtown)
• Beale Street visitors: 4 million annually
• Graceland visitors: more than 500,000 annually; second-most visited private residence in the U.S. after the White House
• Graceland’s economic impact: about $150 million annually for Memphis
• The city’s name is mentioned in more than 1,000 song lyrics and titles, more than any other city in the world
• Home to more than 100 barbecue restaurants
• Home to more than 160 parks
• Memphis Zoo is home to about 3,500 animals representing more than 500 species
• Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid is one of the largest retails spaces in the world; its 28-story elevator is the world’s largest freestanding elevator
• Unique offenders by sex: male (70,000), female (29,000)
• Offenders released: 172,579
• Remained in custody: 2,099
• Top offenders by number of arrests: Brian Holmes (55), Deundra Milligan (45), Michael Jones (40)
• Full-time police officers per 1,000 residents: 3.16, 2022 (national average for cities with more than 250,000 people is 2.4 per 1,000)
City of Memphis budget
• Total revenue: $891.3 million (2025)
• Top revenue categories: local taxes ($600 million), state taxes ($79.2 million), licenses and permits ($27.8 million)
• Total expenses: $891.3 million
• Top expense categories: personnel ($640.8 million), materials and supplies ($176.6 million), grants and subsidies ($73.9 million)
• Expenses by top divisions: police services ($309.7 million), fire services ($246.7 million), grants and subsidies ($65 million)
• Top paid employees (2023): Cerelyn Davis, director of police services ($280,862); Gina Sweat, fire chief ($205,665); Donald Crowe, assistant chief of police services ($177,768); Jayne Chandler, administrative judge ($172,016)
Photo: Pierre Jean Durieu | Dreamstime.com
Sports
NBA team: Memphis Grizzlies
• Originally Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-2001)
• Relocated to Memphis: 2001
• First three seasons played at the Pyramid
• Home games: FedExForum since 2004
NCAA basketball: University of Memphis Tigers
• Home games: FedExForum
Minor League Baseball: Memphis Redbirds
• Major League Baseball affiliate: St. Louis Cardinals
• Home games: AutoZone Park since 2000
NCAA football: University of Memphis Tigers
• Home games: Simmons Bank Liberty Bowl
• Biggest crowd: 65,885, versus University of Tennessee in 1996
Sources: United States Census Bureau, Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Memphis-Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine, Greater Memphis Chamber, Shelby County Health Department, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Port of Memphis, Memphis International Airport, FedEx Corp., Memphis Tourism, Graceland, Downtown Memphis Commission, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Memphis Zoo, Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid, Memphis Police Department, City of Memphis, OpenPayroll, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Wikipedia (fact-checked), University of Memphis, Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis Redbirds, Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Commercial Appeal, National Endowment for the Humanities, Encyclopedia Britannica, Sun Studio, National Civil Rights Museum
Fire Pit Friday Tom Lee Park, Visionary Grove Friday, December 6, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Get s’more time with the family on Fridays this December at Memphis River Parks Partnership’s Fire Pit Fridays, starting this Friday (how many times can I say Friday in one sentence?). Each week will feature a fun new twist; this week is story time and photos with Santa! Limited free s’mores will be available at the first three events, so arrive early to enjoy this treat. Guests are welcome to bring (and share) their own s’more ingredients — skewers will be provided. On Friday, December 6th, 13th, and 20th, Jasper Float & Spa brings the ultimate Dream Zone experience to the riverfront, featuring relaxing samples, sleep essentials, and a chance to win a 60-minute relaxation massage.
Season of Delight Crosstown Concourse Friday, December 6, 5-8 p.m. Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! ’Tis the Season of Delight! Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! Go we now to Crosstown Concourse! Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la! That’s right, you can kick off the holiday season at Crosstown with a night of festivities at the Crosstown Concourse’s annual atrium lighting complete with live music, hot chocolate, seasonal cocktails, holiday-themed games, crafts, family photos, and more. Plus Crosstown Arts will screen A Christmas Story for free and will open its residency studios for its Open Studio event. Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la!
Cabaret Noel 9 TheatreWorks @ The Square Friday, December 6, 8 p.m. | Saturday, December 7, 8 p.m. | Sunday, December 8, 2 p.m. Life is a cabaret, old chum, so head to the Cabaret Noel 9, presented by Emerald Theatre Company. Expect an evening of classic and modern Christmas- and winter-themed songs, hilarious slapstick humor, and the bringing together some of Memphis’ finest entertainers. Get your tickets here.
Holiday Sip + Shop Metal Museum Saturday, December 7, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Last Christmas I gave you my heart, and I’m afraid I can’t top that this year. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to find something at the Metal Museum’s Holiday Sip + Shop, where there’s a curated selection of handcrafted gifts and unique treasures from talented artisans. Even if I can’t find anything, I can enjoy a complimentary glass of bubbly cava and delicious cookies while I browse. (P.S. Don’t forget about the St. Jude Marathon that might affect your driving path. You’ll be able to access the museum via the highway and Crump Blvd.)
Raised by Sound Fest Crosstown Concourse Saturday, December 7, 1-11 p.m. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. And there will be lots of singing — and just plain-old sound — at the Raised by Sound Fest this Saturday. Starting at 1 p.m., you can expect a lineup of free music from Blue Tom Records (revue), fosterfalls, HeartBreak Hill Trio, Cut Worms, and Hurray for the Riff Raff (solo). Then there’s the main event — J Spaceman & John Coxon of Spiritualized doing a live score to William Eggleston’s Stranded in Canton — but it’s sold out, so unless you already have tickets, you snooze, you lose, baby. There is a ticketed after-party with a DJ set by the Black Keys and performances by Lil Noid and Tommy Wright III. You can still get tix ($65.87) here.
A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage Orpheum Theatre Saturday, December 7, 2 p.m., 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Christmas time is here. … I’m singing the song from ACharlie Brown Christmas if you can’t tell, not just making a statement. It’s also the only part of the song that I know. I usually just mumble the other lyrics. I never bothered to learn the song, or really most Christmas songs. Oh well. That’s not the point. The point is that A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage is coming to Memphis, bringing my mom’s second-favorite animated Christmas movie to the stage. Tickets ($30-$60) can be purchased here.
It’s a Bestie Silent Book Club Pajama Party! Novel Saturday, December 7, 2-5 p.m. Already tired of holiday parties? Or, at the very least, tired of adding them to your calendar? Here’s one that just might relieve your stress because all it calls for is a book and silence (you don’t even have to bring a book; you can buy one at the store if you so please). And pajamas if you’re bold enough to wear them in public. This event is free — no registration required, with complimentary hot cocoa.
Autumn Art Party Urevbu Contemporary Saturday, December 7, 4-8 p.m. Urevbu presents this evening filled with art, music, food, drinks, and connections. This is more than an event — it’s an experience. Expect an intimate evening surrounded by inspiring art and passionate people. Dress to impress and prepare for a night of memorable connections and culture. General admission (free) and VIP tickets ($25) are available online only.
Christmas Ghosts: A Victorian Tradition Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum Saturday, December 7, 4 p.m. & 7 p.m. Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum welcomes ghosts of Christmas past — just past, no future and present; this isn’t AChristmas Carol (you can see that at Theatre Memphis now through December 23rd). In 19th century England, Christmas tradition was to huddle around the fire with the family and tell tales of spirits and spooks while celebrating the holiday season. Relive that tradition this weekend with Woodruff-Fontaine’s ghost experts. Refreshments, including warm cider and hot cocoa, will be served prior to storytelling and there will be a stroll through the mansion afterward to view all of her festive grandeur and trimmings of the season.
Stumbling Santa Holiday Pub Crawl Flying Saucer Draught Emporium Saturday, December 7, 7-11 p.m. You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, I’m telling you why: Stumbling Santas are comin’ Downtown. They’re donating toys, heading to bars, spreading lots of Christmas joy at all of their stops. Join the Stumbling Santas Downtown. All you have to do is bring an unwrapped toy donation appropriate for a preschool-age child under 5 or a cash donation for Porter-Leath, and dress in your best festive attire! Planned stops include Rum Boogie Café, King’s Palace Café Tap Room, Silky O’Sullivan’s, The Absinthe Room, Blues Hall Juke Joint, Alfred’s, Courtside Grill, and Tin Roof. Those who can’t make it to the Stumbling Santa event can still donate online or by dropping off toys at Poplar Plaza (corner of Highland and Poplar) on Thursday to Saturday, December 5th to 7th; WMC Action News 5 (1960 Union) on Friday to Saturday, December 13th to 14th; or IKEA (7900 IKEA Way) on Friday to Saturday, December 20th to 21st. For more information and to view Porter-Leath’s wish list, visit here.
Medical District Holiday Market Memphis Made Brewing & Flyway Brewing Company (formerly High Cotton Brewing Company) Sunday, December 8, noon-3 p.m. Shop, shop, shop till you drop at this holiday market, presented by Memphis Medical District Collaborative at BOTH Flyway Brewing Company (formerly High Cotton Brewing Company) and Memphis Made Brewing Co. (For reference, the two venues are a three-or-so-minute walk from each other.) The full vendor list is here. I am far too lazy to type it all out; I hope you’re not too lazy to click on the link. But also I don’t care as long as you’re not too lazy to support local artists and businesses.
Sippin’ with Santa Paws benefiting Streetdog Foundation Loflin Yard Sunday, December 8, noon-4 p.m. Santa Paws has made a list and all the good boys and girls are on it. They might not all know how to sit or stay. Some of them may lick you; some may drool; some may demand constant attention. But they’re all good boys and girls. That’s just how Streetdog Foundation rolls. Your $25 donation at this event will get you a picture with Santa Paws (featuring you and your 4-legged bestie and/or your human kiddos), a Santa Paws cup, access to the free dessert table, and a wristband to enjoy drinks discounted to $5 each. Plus, there will be live music, adoptable dogs, a silent auction, and a pup costume contest. Purchase tickets at the door (cash, card, or Venmo).
Earlier this week, Arrow Creative announced its closure following its Holiday Bazaar, which will conclude on December 22nd. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will absorb the majority of the nonprofit’s programming, including workshops and camps, artist coworking spaces, and retail opportunities.
“Our goal has always been to empower creatives,” said Abby Phillips, co-founder of Arrow Creative, in a press release announcing the closure. “We know that the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is already a very strong champion for this mission.”
The launch of Memphis Fashion Week, which sought to showcase Memphis’ fashion design industry, marked the beginning of Arrow Creative in 2012. In 2017, with the closure of Memphis College of Art (MCA), Arrow expanded its reach, outside of just fashion, to support creative entrepreneurs and engage artists of all skill levels in visual arts, hoping to fill the gap created by the school’s closure.
In that mission, this weekend, for instance, Arrow will host a Macrame & Mimosas: Tree Wall Hanging workshop ($54.13) and a Winter Watercolor Workshop ($49.87). It will also continue its Holiday Bazaar, where you can shop more than 100 local artists and makers (Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) through December 22nd, which, as aforementioned, will be its last day of business.
(Photo: Arrow Creative | Facebook)
All programming added to the Brooks’ existing framework will be recognized under Arrow Creative’s name, with the transition taking place over the coming months. Expect a schedule in early 2025 at brooksmuseum.org.
“By integrating Arrow Creative’s innovative programming into the city’s art museum, we can provide even greater opportunities for artists and creatives of all ages to make and learn while ensuring these resources remain accessible,” said Brooks Executive Director Zoe Kahr in the press release.
Arrow had also purchased key equipment from MCA in 2019, including tools from the woodworking, ceramics, photography, illustration, painting, fashion design, sound lab, letterpress, paper-making, and print-making departments. Those pieces will be distributed to local and regional art organizations, schools, and individual artist groups.
“Memphis has an indelible legacy of incredible creativity and collaboration,” said DeMarcus Suggs, director of creative and cultural economy at the city of Memphis. “I am excited to see these groups come together to support our artists and the creative community.”
“The board, staff, and I are incredibly proud of our work over the last 12 years,” said Phillips. “We look forward to what the next 12 will look like under the helm of Memphis’ art museum.”
Next steps after the federal government’s report on excessive force within the Memphis Police Department (MPD) are not known, of course. But at least one big sign points to “not much,” as far as the next White House occupant is concerned.
President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign ran on “law and order” as a central theme. His campaign said ”there is no higher priority than quickly restoring law and order and public safety in America.” He even just tweeted those words in all capital letters four years ago:
However, the American Civil Liberties Group (ACLU) has said that “law and order” in a second Trump administration is a “shorthand message promising repression of the Black community.”
”Specifically, Trump’s law enforcement policies call for further protections for abusive police, including condoning the use of force against protesters, which he once described as a ’beautiful thing to watch’,” reads an ACLU analysis of Trump policies in July. “This rhetoric risks encouraging state actors to take a similarly brutal approach.”
If the ACLU is correct on the premise, this means Trump’s “brutal approach” to law enforcement could, maybe, trickle down to state and local leaders, emboldened by the President to allow tough justice to be doled out across the country without major repercussions to law enforcement officials — i.e. police officers.
To get there, Trump promised to ”strengthen qualified immunity and other protections for police officers.” Qualified immunity allows government actors (i.e. cops) to perform their jobs without the risk of civil liability. This means, basically, that if a cop breaks some laws while they are making an arrest, they can’t be sued for it in court. So, Trump would give cops extra protection against the citizens they serve even if they hurt those citizens during the course of their work.
1. Sign a record investment in hiring, retention, and training for police officers. The bill will increase vital liability protections for America’s law enforcement officers.
2. President Trump will require local law enforcement agencies receiving DOJ grants to return to proven policing measures such as stop-and-frisk, strictly enforcing existing gun laws, cracking down on the open use of illegal drugs, and cooperating with ICE to arrest and deport criminal aliens.
”…to qualify for this new funding and all other Justice Department grants, I will insist that local jurisdictions return to proven common sense policing measures, such as stop and frisk — very simple — you stop them and you frisk them….,” Trump said in a campaign video.
City leaders and President Joe Biden’s DOJ are now tussling on whether or not the two will approve a consent decree for MPD. An agreement like this would bring in federal monitors to watch over the police department on a day-to-day basis to ensure it adhered to new policies for improvement. The city’s attorney has said the city will not approve a consent decree.
First, the city argued, the investigation didn’t take long enough. These can last up to three years. The DOJ wrapped up the MPD review in 17 months. Memphis officials said, also, they need a legal avenue to question the DOJ’s investigation methods.
Leaders here, though, won’t likely have to worry with threats of a lawsuit to enact the consent decree. Only one such decree was enacted in Trump’s first term. So far, 17 have been issued under Biden. Trump also cancelled a consent decree enacted during Barrack Obama’s Adminstration against the city of Baltimore.
City leaders also argued that such a consent decree would cost too much. Memphis taxpayers would be on the hook to pay for all the federal monitors and programs to adhere to the agreement. Leaders said this could cost millions of dollars.
That cost would come, too, as city taxpayers face paying out a $550 million civil penalty to the family of Tyre Nichols. The beating death of Nichols at the hands of MPD officers drew the eye of the DOJ investigation in the first place.
As of Thursday afternoon, Trump did not make any statement about the DOJ on his Truth Social platform.
Travel funds given to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to speak at a conservative Christian conference broke state law, according to an opinion issued Tuesday by the Tennessee Ethics Commission (TEC).
The opinion was requested by Lee after he accepted expenses for a trip in July to speak at the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Summit in July 2024, according to TEC. The only event scheduled on the ADF website for July was its Legal Academy, held on Marco Island, Florida. Lee was paid for “certain travel expenses,” though those were not detailed in a statement from TEC Tuesday.
The TEC ruled that accepting funds from the group to attend the event was a “prohibited gift.” That’s because the group’s ADF Action subgroup is a registered employer of a lobbyist in Tennessee.
Lee originally argued that the event sponsor — the overarching ADF group — and its political group were different organizations. Therefore, the the payments did not break state law. Though, he noted the two do share resources.
However, after a thorough review of state laws and the Tennessee General Assembly’s intent for enacting them, the commission said the payment — even though paid indirectly from ADF — still broke the rules.
“Even a cursory review of the information presented by ADF and ADF Action establishes a close working relationship in the pursuit of similar goals with resources shared to achieve their common purposes,” reads the opinion.
Aside from the names of the groups, another such “striking resemblance” of the two groups, according to TEC, are their mission statements. ADF advances “every person’s God-given right to live a speak the truth” whereas ADF Action advocates for “public policies supporting religious freedom, freedom of speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life and marriage.”
“ADF Action cannot escape the broad reach of the gift prohibition statute by its related organization — ADF — paying the expenses at issue, whether overtly or covertly on its behalf, or to advance their shared interests,” reads the opinion.
State Rep. Caleb Hemmer (D-Nashville) applauded the ruling, calling it a “misuse of power to take luxury trips paid for by interest groups, breaking Tennessee law.”
“The Ethics Commission has stood firmly on the side of the people, making it clear that the governor isn’t above the law,” Hemmer said in a statement. “They have ordered him to pay back the trip to Florida, funded by an organization employing a lobbyist in Tennessee.
“I hope this advisory opinion will stop lobbyist groups from offering these illegal and unethical trips to influence the Lee Administration.”
Hemmer said he was reviewing legislation to strengthen these ethics laws in next year’s session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Tennessee’s Attorney General is set to defend the state’s gender affirming care ban for minors in the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday against challengers who say the 2023 law endangers children.
While attorneys for the plaintiffs claim the law violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said lawmakers took “measured action” in 2023 when they prohibited gender affirming care for children to protect them from “irreversible, unproven medical procedures.”
“Lawmakers recognized that there is little to no credible evidence to justify the serious risks these procedures present to youth and joined a growing number of European countries in restricting their use on minors with gender-identity issues,” Skrmetti said in advance of oral arguments at the high court in Washington, D.C.
One of Tennessee’s main claims is that the Constitution doesn’t stop states from regulating medical practices involving “hot-button social issues.” Primarily, though, the state says the law doesn’t discriminate based on sex.
“Little to no credible evidence to justify the serious risks these procedures present to youth,” said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti of gender affirming care for minors. (Photo: John Partipilo)
But the father leading the legal challenge against Tennessee’s law said the ban on gender affirming medical care is “an active threat” to his daughter’s future.
“It infringes not only on her freedom to be herself but on our family’s love,” the father said Monday morning in an online press conference. He said his daughter started taking puberty-blocking medications and then hormone therapy at age 13, only after nine months of conversations and consultation with experts and physicians, and is “happy and healthy” as she prepares for college.
Another father, an Ohio lobbyist who identified himself in the press conference as a Republican, said his son was near suicide in 2012 before starting the years-long process of changing sexes.
“One thing I learned was being transgender is a real thing, and if it’s a real thing, in my view, it transcends any political ideology,” the man said.
Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, three families of transgender children say Tennessee’s law violates their constitutional right to equal protection under the law. Dr. Susan Lacy of Memphis is among the plaintiffs as well.
Chase Strangio, an attorney for the ACLU, said Tennessee banned hormone therapy and puberty-delaying medication for children only when prescribed to allow adolescents to live and identify with a sex “inconsistent” with their sex at birth, making it a violation of their rights.
“We are simply asking the Supreme Court to recognize that when a law treats people differently based on their sex, the same equal protection principles apply regardless of whether the group impacted by the law happens to be transgender,” Strangio said.
It’s about whether politicians can restrict access to healthcare treatments in order to impose their narrow, harmful, stereotypical view of gender.
– Sasha Buchert, Lambda Legal
Sasha Buchert of Lambda Legal said the case’s outcome will determine whether families will continue to have the freedom to make medical decisions with their doctors. Otherwise, “unqualified politicians will step into the shoes of families and medical professionals to make those decisions in ways that undermine the care, safety, and dignity of transgender youth,” Buchert said.
Buchert said the argument goes beyond access to gender affirming care, which has been restricted in 24 states, to whether the courts will uphold decades of legal precedent affirming that the state must “show its work when it chooses to discriminate on the basis of sex.”
“It’s about whether politicians can restrict access to healthcare treatments in order to impose their narrow, harmful, stereotypical view of gender,” Buchert said.
Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) filed the gender affirming care ban bill in 2023 after a right-wing media outlet reported that Vanderbilt University Medical Center was providing the treatment to children. The hospital said it wasn’t performing surgeries on minors.
Johnson and several other lawmakers introduced the bill in a rally at the Capitol attended by hate groups. It passed the legislature largely along party lines, although three Democrats voted for it in the House.
In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, Skrmetti backed up his argument by saying European countries that pioneered gender affirming care treatment started pulling back because of concerns about safety and effectiveness. The brief said Tennessee lawmakers considered European restrictions and listened to accounts “of regret and harm” from people who switched back to their original sex.
Skrmetti’s brief says the federal government, which entered the legal battle on the side of the plaintiffs, is trying to displace Tennessee’s law “by reading its preferred policies into the Constitution.” The attorney general’s brief says Senate Bill 1 contains no sex classification and differentiates between minors seeking gender transition drugs and those seeking treatment for other medical purposes.
Plaintiffs in the case say the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down the lower court’s decision to block the law, failed to look at the case with “heightened review,” a legal standard for evaluating constitutionality based on characteristics such as gender.
But Skrmetti’s brief says the court should decline such “doctrinal revolution” because sex isn’t a “but-for cause of SB1’s age- and used-based restrictions.”
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. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and X.
In January, a new “blended sentencing” law will go into effect in Tennessee that could usher hundreds of children into the adult criminal justice system with fewer checks than the existing adult transfer process. It will also keep those kids in the juvenile justice system longer.
The law is “extremely harmful for youth in Memphis,” said Ala’a Alattiyat, coordinator for the Youth Justice Action Council. “It will not keep our community safer, and it will continue to perpetuate the cyclical nature of the justice system by making it harder for youth to exit that cycle.”
Children as young as 14 could be subject to blended sentencing. These children will be required to serve juvenile sentences until they turn 19. They will also face up to four years of adult prison or probation.
Initially, this adult sentence is stayed, meaning it will only take effect if certain criteria are met. Only one of these criteria concerns whether a child has committed another delinquent act.
As a result, kids could end up in adult prison without committing anothercrime, said Zoe Jamail, policy coordinator at Disability Rights Tennessee. Instead, the text of the law allows children to increase their risk of going to prison by breaking curfew or failing to graduate from high school.
Ultimately, children “who would otherwise never have been facing an adult sentence” will be swept into the adult system, said Jasmine Ying Miller, a senior attorney at Youth Law Center.
Blended sentencing is part of a broader effort by some lawmakersto make Tennessee’s juvenile justice system more punitive, even though rates of youth crime in the state have been declining for at least a decade.
Rep. John Gillespie. Photo by Andrea Morales for MLK50
The blended sentencing legislation, which also passed in May, was introduced and sponsored by several Memphis-area lawmakers. In the State Senate, the bill was sponsored by state Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis). In the House, the bill was sponsored by Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis), Rep. John Gillespie (R-Memphis), and Rep. G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis).
“State policies related to youth justice consistently and disproportionately target Memphis, which is a predominantly Black city,” said Alattiyat. As a result, “this type of law always ends up disproportionately targeting Black youth.”
Blended sentencing’s sponsors often imply — incorrectly — that youth are responsible for most of Memphis’s crime.
“We are living in a state of fear in Memphis, in the surrounding area,” Rep. Gillespie told colleagues during a House discussion of blended sentencing, “and it is almost entirely because of juveniles committing violent crimes that are going unpunished.”
These claims are misleading. Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court has said that adults are responsible for most crimes in the county. Children do seem to be disproportionately involved in car theft; about a third of those charged with vehicle-related crimes are youth offenders, according to the Memphis Police Department. Available data suggest that youth are less involved in violent crime.
According to statistics maintained by the Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court, juvenile crime did increase in 2022. But by 2023, juvenile crime had fallen to the same level as 2021. Overall, juvenile crime in Memphis has been on a steady decline since at least 2011.
Nevertheless, legislators insist that drastic action must be taken on youth crime in Memphis.
Rep. Mark White during a House committee hearing in March of this year. Photo by Andrea Morales for MLK50
“Juvenile laws traditionally have been there to protect the juvenile,” said White, who introduced the bill in the House. In his view, protection is no longer the right approach. “We’re living in a different time with some of the crimes committed by these 14, 15, 16, 17-year-olds.”
Currently, Tennessee’s juvenile justice system operates on two tracks: either children remain in the juvenile system — where they must be released by 19, no matter the offense they’ve committed — or they can be transferred to the adult system.
White believes that the first track, in which children remain in the juvenile system until age 19, enables juvenile crime. Under the current system,children “can shoot and kill a person at 17 and go free at 19,” he said.
Children accused of murder and attempted murder are usually transferred to adult court unless they have been abused or coerced, lawyers say.
Some juvenile judges also take issue with this part of the law; they’d like the option to keep older kids who have committed serious offenses in the juvenile system beyond 19.
“We all want a tool where we can extend jurisdiction to capture youth past the age of 19,” said Judge Aftan Strong, chief magistrate of Memphis-Shelby County’s Juvenile Court. “Extended jurisdiction” would give courts more time to rehabilitate young offenders, she said.
Blended sentencing bears little resemblance to this policy. And while juvenile judges are legally required to rehabilitate youth offenders, the architects of blended sentencing have made it clear that rehabilitation is beside the point.
White introduced an initial version of blended sentencing to the legislature in April 2023. The next month, White published an op-ed where he wrote, “We are well past the time of ‘we need to rehabilitate our youth.’” Instead, he wrote, the juvenile justice system should focus on “discipline, correction and punishment.”
A view of the state legislature floor during a House session in March 2023. Photo by Andrea Morales for MLK50
In that same op-ed, White compared Memphis’ “undisciplined youth” to the 1870s yellow fever epidemic that killed or displaced 30,000 Memphians.
Ultimately, blended sentencing will likely incarcerate more children while failing to address youth crime, critics say. Empirical research on young people “does not support this viewpoint that you can punish your way into reducing crime.” said Cardell Orrin, Tennessee executive director at Stand for Children.
White is not concerned by this critique. “We have to have a system where [young offenders] understand the seriousness of what they did and that they will be detained in the system,” White told MLK50.
“A lot of the issues are coming from 2 percent-4 percent of our [youth] population,” he continued. “If we would just detain those people and make believers out of them, it may keep other people from reoffending.”
Four percent of Memphis’ population between the ages of 10 and 17 is roughly 2,700 children, based on available U.S. census data.
“We may have to go too far to one side trying to correct it in order to get back to sanity,” said White.
Rebecca Cadenhead is the youth and juvenile justice reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. She is also a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Email her rebecca.cadenhead@mlk50.com.
Some 60 percent of Tennessee third-grade students scored below proficiency in English language arts on 2024 state tests. Fewer than than 1 percent of them were retained under the state’s reading and retention law, and about 2.5 percent are no longer enrolled in public schools, according to new data.
Among fourth graders who had been promoted by receiving tutoring during the 2023-24 academic year under the same law, just over 1 percent were held back this school year, while at least 4 percent have left their public school.
The findings, presented by Tennessee’s chief academic officer to the State Board of Education on Thursday, show some of the effects of Tennessee’s 2021 reading intervention and retention law aimed at accelerating learning after the pandemic.
The controversial statute was pushed by Gov. Bill Lee, who said he wanted to draw a hard line to “stop the cycle of passing without preparation.” The legislature has since approved severalrevisions to loosen the policies and provide more pathways to promotion for students who don’t test as proficient readers.
State leaders are ‘encouraged’ by tutoring and summer program data
The big question is whether students are becoming better readers with the state’s interventions.
That includes summer programming, which began in each school system in 2021 to mitigate the effects of disruptions to schooling during the pandemic. About 121,000 students went that first year, and participation has leveled off to about 90,000 in subsequent years.
Chief Academic Officer Kristy Brown, in her presentation to the board, said attendance rates improved for recent summer programs, indicating that parents are finding value in them.
As far as academics, she said: “What we’re really seeing is the effects of decreased summer slide, or the lack of it, for students who are participating, compared to those who are not.”
Summer slide, referring to when students’ academic proficiency regresses during summer break, is a common phenomenon, especially for historically disadvantaged populations.
As for required small group tutoring, which younger students receive weekly during the school year if they don’t meet expectations on state tests, Brown said students testing in the bottom level, called “below” proficiency, are moving in the right direction.
In addition, almost half of the 12,260 fourth graders who received required tutoring in 2023-24 showed improvement as the year progressed. Over 14 percent of them scored as proficient on their TCAPs last spring, and nearly 33 percent met the threshold for showing adequate growth based on a state formula.
The data is the first available for fourth-graders who started receiving additional support after scoring below proficiency in the third grade.
“To finally have the numbers — to see that the needle appears to have been moved in a positive way like that — I was glad to see,” said Ryan Holt, a member of the state board.
Several other board members also said they were “encouraged” by the data.
Brown, the state’s academic chief, cautioned that gains can’t be traced at this point to any single part of the state’s reading interventions.
“It’s a combination of the things that we’ve done,” she said, “with professional learning for teachers, and summer programming, and tutoring, and those things customized for those students to see the gains that I think we’ve seen in Tennessee.”
Many educators and parents have been less enthusiastic.
The legislature’s most recent revisions to the law were intended to give parents and educators more input into retention decisions.
Many students facing retention used alternative pathways to promotion
After the 2023-24 school year, most of the nearly 44,000 third graders who were at risk of retention used other pathways to promotion.
Nearly 27 percent were exempted for various reasons, including having a disability or suspected disability that impacts their reading; being an English language learner with less than two years of ELA instruction; and having been previously retained.
Over 4 percent retook the test at the end of the academic year and scored as proficient.
Others were promoted through a combination of tutoring and summer program participation.
For the 12,260 fourth graders who participated in tutoring last school year, over 14 percent scored as proficient on the state’s assessment in the spring.
Over 32 percent met the state’s “adequate growth” measure that’s tailored to each student. It’s based on testing measurements that the state uses to predict the probability that a student can become proficient by the eighth grade, when they take their last TCAP tests.
And nearly 44 percent of at-risk fourth graders were promoted by a new “conference” pathway that lawmakers approved on the last day of the 2024 legislative session. It allows the student to be promoted if their parents, teacher, and principal decide collectively that it’s in the child’s best interest.
Any fourth grader promoted to the fifth grade via the conference pathway must receive tutoring in the fifth grade.
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
With pressure building for potential tax increases in Memphis city government, the outlook for additional aid from state government took a hit Monday, as the State Funding Board acknowledged weaker-than-expected revenues and set a deliberately slow growth rate.
The board, composed of the state’s three constitutional officers and the state finance commissioner, set a growth rate in general fund revenue of 1 percent to 2 percent and total tax growth at 1.25 percent to 2.15 percent for fiscal 2025-26. That is on the heels of an estimated total growth rate projection for fiscal 2024-25 of -1.68 percent to -1.34 percent.
Economic growth has ground down considerably in Tennessee after a double-digit revenue windfall of two years ago. Among other factors, the state is facing a $1.9 billion business tax reduction stemming from legislative approval of Governor Bill Lee’s proposal to eliminate the property portion of the state’s franchise and excise taxes. That move followed additional tax breaks for businesses the previous year. The Department of Revenue has processed nearly $900 million in rebates this year, and more are expected.
On the eve of the oncoming 2025 legislative session, the weak budget outlook could affect lawmakers’ decisions, leaving in the lurch not only localities’ requests for aid but funding requests from state agencies totaling over $4.2 billion. The revenue forecast isn’t expected to come close to matching that figure, even with anticipated federal funds covering some of the costs.
• Two Memphians are finalists to succeed soon-to-be-retiring state Court of Appeals Judge Arnold Goldin of Memphis: Shelby County Circuit Judge Valerie Smith and interim Memphis Chancellor Jim Newsom. A third candidate is Jackson Chancellor Steve Maroney, a former chair of the Madison County Republican Party.
Smith was a member of a three-judge chancery court panel that dismissed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the state’s school voucher program. The decision was later reversed by the Court of Appeals.
Newsom was named in 2015 to a Chancery Court position by former Governor Bill Haslam but was defeated for re-election in 2016 by current Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins. He was reappointed interim chancellor this past summer by Governor Lee to assume the duties of Chancellor Jim Kyle, who has been disabled by illness.
• The three gun-safety measures approved resoundingly by Memphis voters earlier this month via ballot referenda have predictably come under legal challenge. The Tennessee Firearms Association has filed a lawsuit in Shelby County Circuit Court seeking to block city government from activating the measures.
In a sense, the gun-lobby group’s suit is pointless, in that backers of the referenda conceded that voter approval of the measures was conditional on the will and pleasure of state government, which had made clear that state policy at this point would disallow the implementation of the three measures.
State House Speaker Cameron Sexton had angrily opposed the referenda as antithetical to state law and threatened to retaliate by cutting Memphis off from various state-shared revenues if the measures were enacted.
The measures, certified for the ballot by the city council, would re-institute a requirement locally for gun-carry permits, ban the sale of assault weapons, and enable the local judiciary to impose red-flag laws allowing confiscation of weapons from individuals certified as risks to public safety.
Mindful of Sexton’s attitude, backed by Governor Lee, the Shelby County Election Commission originally acted to remove the referendum measures from the November ballot, but they were approved for the ballot by Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson.
• It begins to look as though the beleaguered Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert will survive various ouster attempts and will survive in office until the election of 2026, when she will be term-limited.
Her latest reprieve came from Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson, who disallowed an ouster petition from attorney Robert Meyers, ruling that such an action had to be pursued by Shelby County Attorney Marlinee Iverson, who had recused herself.
Judge Corbin-Johnson had previously disallowed an ouster attempt from Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp, who was acting as a special prosecutor.
