Tag: Politics

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Politics Politics Beat Blog

Insurrection Figure Meadows Coming to Memphis for Shelby GOP

Mark Meadows (Photo: U.S. government).

Even as Congress deliberates on further punitive actions against Mark Meadows, Donald Trump’s last White House chief of staff, Meadows will be on hand in Shelby County on April 29th at the Agricenter as the keynote speaker at the Shelby County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day banquet. Shelby GOP chair Cary Vaughn made the announcement over the weekend.

Meadows, a Tea Party Republican and a founding member of the ultra-right Freedom Caucus, represented North Carolina’s 11th District in the U.S. House of Representatives before being tapped by Trump to head his White House staff in 2020.

Suspected of complicity in the post-election insurrection against the Capitol, Meadows was uncooperative with the House’s January 6 Select Committee and was held in criminal contempt of Congress. As Wikipedia notes, he was the first White House chief of staff since the Watergate scandal and first former member of Congress to have been so cited.

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Politics Beat Blog

Two Bills Would Quash Legal Challenges to State Authority


The Republican campaign against the kind of expanded voting rights that produced Democratic victories in November has moved into overdrive in the Tennessee legislature, where two far-reaching bills are on the verge of passage.

One bill is SB915/HB1072 (Kelsey, Curcio), which would effectively immunize state government against legal actions by local jurisdictions — or at least establish a barrier prohibiting immediate injunctive relief for plaintiffs.

Another bill, SB868/HB1130 (Bell, Farmer) would create a statewide three-member super-Chancery Court charged with hearing any legal action questioning state actions, including statutes, executive orders, or administrative actions.

Both bills are avowedly aimed at results, both in court and at the polls, that are likely to have favored Democratic candidates and causes. Specifically cited as justification for the two measures is the decision by Nashville Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, in June 2020, calling for extension of mail-in absentee voting in view of the raging coronavirus pandemic.

Lyle imposed an injunction on the state’s enforcement of more restrictive absentee-voting requirements, after which the Secretary of State’s office first delayed its response, then fought the injunction all the way to the state Supreme Court, which, in its ruling, offered some mitigations of the injunction’s effect. But considerable expansion of mail-in voting would still be the end product for the election of 2020.

Almost certainly, this is what Rep. Michael Curcio (R-Dickson), House sponsor of HB 1072, was referring to when, in committee deliberations,  he cited “recent political history” as a reason for passing his bill, which would, in the case of similar future challenges to state authority, mandate an automatic stay of any possible injunctive relief, pending ultimate resolution of the dispute on appeal.

In the case of the 2020 mail-in voting issue, such a law would, because of time restraints imposed by the election calendar, have prevented the possibility of expanding voters’ accessibility to absentee voting before all possible appeals by the state could be heard.

Though state Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) pointed out as much during debate in the House Civil Justice Committee, Republican votes carried the bill through both there and in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the bill is scheduled for final votes on the floors of both the House and the Senate on Monday, April 26.

The situation is less imminent with SB868/HB1072, which still must undergo some committee scrutiny. This bill would establish a three-member state Chancery Court, in effect, to hear all legal challenges to state authority. One member each would represent the state’s western middle, and eastern Grand Districts, but all three judges would be elected statewide.

If the bill passes, Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, would appoint the three initial judges, who would serve until the elections of 2022, which would establish eight-year terms.

As of now, such litigation is heard in Nashville Chancery Court because of that court’s proximity to state government. The proposed three-member state Chancery Court could hear cases in Knoxville, Nashville, or Jackson.

There is little mystery as to the GOP sponsors’ motives for the legislation. As Senate sponsor Mike Bell (R-Riceville) declared in committee deliberations, “Let me just tackle head on why we’re here with this issue. Why should judges who are elected by the most liberal district in the state….Why should they be the ones judging cases?” Bell, who had specifically cited last year’s mail-in ballot issue decided by Nashville Chancellor Lyle, continued that the voters of Davidson County ”in election after election choose members of one party.” There are, he said,  “only two [elected] Republicans  in Davidson County.”

Bell rounded to his point. “Don’t tell me politics don’t affect judicial issues. They do. I want judges who reflect the political makeup of the state…. I completely reject the idea that judges don’t reflect a political philosophy. I am no way rejecting the idea of partisanship in judicial matters. Partisanship should reflect the voters of the state.”

Senator Katrina Robinson (D-Memphis) would object to this logic in the senate Judiciary Committee, as Representative Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis), among others, would in House Civil Justice Committee. But there you have it, presented in all candor and nakedness: The bill is designed to make sure that legal challenges to state authority are heard by a Republican-dominated tribunal — which is what the three-member state Chancery Court would almost inevitably be.

In tandem with the previously mentioned bill, SB915/HB1072, the bill would, if successful, present another barricade to the likelihood of success for progressive or local challenges to state authority. Ironically, given her status as a catalyst for the two measures, Chancellor Lyle of Nashville was originally appointed by Republican Governor Don Sundquist.

As indicated, SB915/HB1072, which guarantees automatic stays of litigation against the state, is due for floor action in both chambers on Monday night. The fate of SB868/HB1130, the Chancery Court legislation, still awaits action in the Finance committees of both chambers.

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Politics Politics Feature

Harold Ford Jr. Returning to the Airwaves for Fox News

Harold Ford Jr. (by Jackson Baker)

Former Memphis Congressman Harold Ford Jr. may or may not be out of politics (that remains to be seen), but Ford, who has logged considerable time in the past as an on-air commentator, will soon be back before the camera, on behalf of Fox News.

Fox CEO Suzanne Scott made the announcement this week that Ford, who some years back was a part-time commentator on her network, will be appearing “on all Fox News platforms” during both daytime and primetime programming.

After his first stint with Fox, Ford hooked up with MSNBC as a commentator and was a frequent guest on various NBC programs and on the syndicated show Imus in the Morning. 

The son of former Congressman Harold Ford Sr., Ford succeeded his father in Congress as representative of Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District (Memphis), serving from 1997 to 2007. Running as the Democratic nominee, Ford narrowly lost a U.S. Senate race to Republican Bob Corker in 2006.

He later moved to New York, where he worked for some years on Wall Street and briefly flirted with the idea of running for the Senate in that state. Most recently, he has worked as chairman of RxSaver, a healthcare company.

Ford has maintained connections with Memphis and has visited here with relative frequency over the years. In 2019 he was the featured speaker of the Rotary Halloran Speaker Series, cosponsored by the Rotary Club of Memphis and former Orpheum president Pat Halloran.

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Politics Beat Blog

Objection on Commission Forces Monday Vote on Pipeline-Area Sale

An attempt by the administration of Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris to withdraw the the sale of two tax-defaulted properties from a committee agenda having been foiled by a commissioner’s protest on Wednesday, the Shelby County Commission is set for an up-or-down vote on the item at its public meeting on Monday. 

The import of the vote is that the two properties, both now technically owned by the county, lie squarely within the South Memphis area targeted for construction of the proposed Byhalia Connection oil pipeline.

Volatility is expected from both opponents and proponents of the pipeline at Monday’s meeting.

A moratorium on a sale of the two properties was imposed by the Commission in October at the request of Commissioner Reginald Milton, who now chairs the Commission’s Delinquent Tax committee, the only Commission committee whose votes by state law are not open to all members of Commission as a committee of the whole.

The committee’s four members are Milton, Amber Mills, Willie Brooks, and Mick Wright. Milton and Brooks are Democrats, and Mills and Wright are Republicans. On Wednesday, only Milton and Mills were present, and Mills — on behalf, she said, of fellow Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., whose district overlaps with the area of the two properties in question —  objected to withdrawing the item from the agenda.

The votes of Milton and Mills regarding her objection canceled each other out, resulting in a resolution to sell the two properties moving, without a recommendation for or against, onto the Commission’s Monday agenda for a vote by the full Commission body.

As of now, the sale price of the properties is expected to be $11,363.00, the amount of the unpaid tax liability. 

A companion item on Monday’s agenda, also to be voted on by the full Commission, would eliminate the moratorium on sale of the properties.

Such a sale, presumably to Valero Energy Corporation and Plains All American Pipeline, who intend to build the Byhalia Connection pipeline, is sure to be stoutly resisted by pipeline opponents, who see the proposed structure as detrimental to low-income Blacks in the affected area and as an environmental hazard to the underlying Memphis sand aquifer, source of the Memphis area’s drinking water.

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Politics

Attorneys Blast Election Coordinator’s “Assault on Judicial Independence”

An apparent  act of judicial interference from state Election Coordinator Mark Goins has drawn alarm and disdain from the two Memphis lawyers who last year successfully sought to expand mail-in voting in Tennessee. 

Their efforts resulted in a positive ruling from a Nashville chancellor on adding pandemic fear as a legal reason for voters to seek mail-in ballots.

It was revealed in the Tennessean this week that Goins had seemingly been on the drafting end of a would-be legislative effort to oust the judge who made that ruling, Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle.

The ouster resolution, from state Rep. Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro), was backed by a majority of Republicans in the state House and had at least nominal sponsorship in the state Senate as well, but, after kicking up a groundswell of outrage from the state’s legal community, was rejected last week by the House Civil Justice Subcommittee.   

University of Memphis law professor and former County Commissioner Steve Mulroy responded that the bill, HR 23, “was an assault on judicial independence.” 

Said Mulroy: “It sought to remove a democratically elected judge for a single decision holding a statute unconstitutional as applied to once-in-a-century circumstances, even though the bulk of the relief she ordered ended up being ordered by the Tennessee Supreme Court.  That is bad enough. But to find  out that the executive branch was actively cooperating with legislators on this assault is even more concerning, if you care about the separation of powers.”

And lawyer Jake Brown, who, along with Mulroy, had pleaded the case for expanding mail-in accessibility on behalf of Up with the Vote 901, said, “Coordinator Goins is an attorney and knows better. Wherever the initial impulse for the ridiculous resolution originated, it was below the dignity of Goins’ office and law license to have played any active role in that name-calling nonsense. You don’t publicly question a sitting judge’s ethics because she ruled against you. The question is where this memo falls on the line between bad faith and whining.” 

Rep. Rudd has acknowledged that a Goins memo that provided the underlying reasoning and some of the language employed in his ouster resolution had been supplied by the Election Coordinator. Rudd said Goins had responded to his own request for information about legal implications of the mail-in issue.

Much of what Goins offered to Rudd was consistent with arguments made by him and the office of Secretary of State Tre Hargett last year in appeals of Lyle’s ruling, which was partially rolled back by the state Supreme Court. The Court did, however, sanction legitimate anxiety concerning COVID-19 as a factor to be taken into account for applicants with underlying health problems or the caretakers of such applicants.

Lyle’s initial ruling, in June, had  been that the coronavirus pandemic, in and of itself, was sufficient reason for voters to seek mail-in ballots, which otherwise were available only via certain limited and long-established conventional justifications. At one point, when state officials dragged their feet on complying with her order, the judge had said “shame on you” and threatened them with legal penalties.

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News News Blog

House Blocks Amendment To Bar U.S. Military Recruiting on Video Game Sites

An amendment proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that would bar the U.S. military from using the popular video game streaming site, Twitch, was struck down in the House last week.

Launched in 2011, Twitch is now one of the largest video game streaming sites in the world, with more than 15 million average users per day. Users tune in to watch personalities play games as well as interact with them through the chat feature. `

The proposed amendment to the House Appropriations Bill would have prohibited the use of funds for military recruitment via Twitch and other esports activities. The amendment was introduced in response to the aggressive recruiting that had been used by all branches of the military on the site, with the U.S Army being the most prevalent.

The U.S military branches had been cited on multiple occasions for their predatory recruitment tactics that seemed to target children visiting the site. In early July, the U.S Army was given a warning by the site for using fake giveaway links that directed people to recruitment pages.

Piyush Kumar, founder of Memphis-based esports team, Glaive Esports, was critical of the practice.

“I think that U.S Army recruitment is important, but there is a reasonable place for it,” said Kumar. “There is a section on Twitch called “Just Chatting,” where content creators can directly speak to viewers about a range of topics, and many of them can be educational. I see no harm in the military giving educational presentations on the platform about joining the military, but baiting viewers with false giveaways is not the right way to go about it.”

The tactic was also condemned by Ocasio-Cortez.

Though the draft of the amendment was initially approved, Ocasio-Cortez relayed frustration at her colleagues’ lack of knowledge regarding the amendment via Twitter following the vote.

House Blocks Amendment To Bar U.S. Military Recruiting on Video Game Sites (2)

Both the U.S Army and the U.S Navy have denied wrongdoing and have stated that they will continue to stream on Twitch.

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Politics Politics Beat Blog

Early Voting Sites for August 6 Election

The following sites are available through August 1st, for early voting. Hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily, except for Saturday, July 25th (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) and Saturday, August 1st (8a.m.-4 p.m.).

Abundant Grace Fellowship Church
1574 E. Sheby Dr. , Memphis 38116

Agricenter International
7777Wanut Grove E. Memphis 38120

Anointed Temple of Praise
3939 Riverdale Rd Memphis 38115

Arlington Safe Room
11842 Otto Ln Arlington 38002

Baker Community Center
7942 Church Rd Millington 38053

Berclair Church of Christ
4536 Summer Avenue Memphis 38122

Briarwood Church
900 N Germantown Pkwy Memphis

Collierville Church of Christ
5754 Sheton Dr Collierville 38017

Compassion Church
3505 S. Houston Levee Rd Germantown 38139

Dave Wells Community Center
915 Chelsea Ave Memphis 3807

Glenview Community Center
1141 S. Barksdale St Memphis 8114

Greater Lewis Street Baptist Church
SE Corner of Poplar and E. Parkway N. 38104

Harmony Church
6740 St. Elmo Rd Bartlett 38135

James Meredith Building (SCOB)
157 Poplar Ave, Memphis 38103

Mississippi Blvd. Church – Family Life Center
70 N. Bellevue Blvd Memphis 38104

Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church
1234 Pisgah Rd Memphis 38016

Mt. Zion Baptist Church
60 S. Parkway E Memphis 38106

New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
7786 Poplar Pike Germantown 38138

Raleigh United Methodist Church
3295 Powers Rd Memphis 38128

Riverside Missionary Baptist Church
3560 S. Third St Memphis 38109

Second Baptist Church
4680 Walnut Grove Rd Memphis 38117

Solomon Temple MB Church
1460 Winchester Rd Memphis 3811

The Pursuit of God Church (Bellevue Frayser)
3759 N. Watkins Memphis 38127

The Refuge Church
9817 Huff N Puff Rd Lakeland 38002

White Station Church of Christ
1106 Colonial Road Memphis 38117

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Cover Feature News

2020 Vision

There’s no turning back now. The decade’s in the rearview, and our eyes are set on what’s to come in 2020 — in politics, sports, film, music, and more. Happy New Year, Memphis!

CannaBeat

Medical cannabis died in Tennessee in April. Well, a bill that would have allowed it did anyway.

But the sponsor of that bill, Sen. Steve Dickerson (R-Nashville), told The Daily Memphian in June that he intended to bring the bill back to the Tennessee General Assembly in 2020. The strategy to pass it may change, he said. He and House sponsor Rep. Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro) plan to reroute the bill through the legislative process, avoiding committees with members unfriendly to medical cannabis.

Terry, chairman of the House Health committee, issued a formal invitation to actor Michael J. Fox in December to appear before the committee during the 2020 session to talk about his foundation’s work to support expanding research on medical cannabis.

A September poll of influential Tennesseans found that many across the state were in favor of loosening cannabis laws. “In Memphis and Nashville, clear majorities favor making it completely legal for both medicinal and recreational use [57 percent and 58 percent respectively],” according to the Power Poll. About 29 percent of those polled in Memphis thought cannabis should be legal for medical purposes. Only 15 percent thought it should not be legalized at all.

There will be one major change for the possibility of cannabis legislation in 2020. In November, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would legalize marijuana on the federal level. — Toby Sells

Gaydar

When lawmakers return to Nashville in 2020, they’ll also consider a slate of bills against the LGBTQ+ community called the “Slate of Hate” by the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP).

The recurring anti-transgender student bathroom bill would give state legal support to public school districts that experiment with anti-transgender student policies. An adoption discrimination bill would make private adoption/foster care agencies eligible for tax dollars, even if those agencies decide to turn away potential parents because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious views.

A business license bill would prevent local governments from favoring businesses with inclusive policies in their contracting. The so-called “God-Given Marriage Initiative” may emerge here in 2020. It would end marriage licensing and replace it with a man and a woman registering their marriage contract with the state. — TS

A rendering of the MRPP-helmed redesign of Tom Lee Park

Memphis in May/ Tom Lee Park

The sounds of music and the smell of barbecue will again rise from Tom Lee Park in May 2020.

It’s one stipulation of the mediation between the Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) and Memphis in May International Festival (MIM). The mediation ended in December, closing months of talks between the two groups over a redesign of the park proposed by MRPP in February. MIM officials feared the new design would not allow enough space for its festivals in the park.

The festivals will be moved to another location in 2021, however. Tom Lee will close after the festivals in 2020 for the construction of the park’s many new features. — TS

Marc Pegan

Avant-garde jazz ensemble The Dopolarians

Music

Shopping around for a New Year’s resolution? Here’s one that will have a ripple effect: Get out to see more live music. Compared to the late 20th century, this is a veritable Golden Age of venues and performers for Memphis. And the list keeps growing.

Consider New Year’s Eve at what may be both the newest and the oldest club in town, Hernando’s Hide-A-Way. Co-owner Dale Watson and his Lone Stars often hold court there, as they will on the last night of the year, recording a live album to boot. But there are plenty of other national acts already taking advantage of this mid-sized venue, intimate yet spacious, swanky yet country.

Piper Ferguso

Booker T. Jones

If 2019 was the year that Crosstown Theater reached cruising altitude and the Green Room at Crosstown really came into its own, the year to come looks to continue that upswing. At the former space, January 18th will witness a homecoming show of sorts for the great Booker T. Jones. Those who saw him speak at Stax in November got a taste of his new album; now Memphians can hear that album and more, live and in the moment. As a perfect contrast, acclaimed avant-garde jazz ensemble The Dopolarians, boasting two Memphis-associated players and some elder legends of the genre, will play the Green Room on February 7th.

In the classical realm, watch for the remainder of the Iris Orchestra’s season at both GPAC and the Brooks Museum, starting with their performance of “Spoonfuls,” pianist Conrad Tao’s new work in honor of Memphis’ bicentennial, on January 25th. Meanwhile at the Cannon Center, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra will feature Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and a Marimba Concerto by Abe, among other works, as they continue their season from January through April.

The city’s newest club, The Lounge at 3rd & Court, promises to be the jazz viper den that many in the city have longed for, often featuring guitar great Joe Restivo and band. And then there are the unsurpassed standby clubs for rock, country, and jazz, which continue to feature original music: Bar DKDC, Lafayette’s Music Room, Wild Bill’s, B-Side, Hi Tone, Minglewood Hall, Murphy’s, Lamplighter, Blue Monkey, and many others, including the ever-reliable Beale Street. Get out there and keep it alive! — Alex Greene

The Memphis City Council moves into 2020 with six new members

City Council

The Memphis City Council will move into 2020 with six new members. This is the first time five African-American women will sit on the council together. Councilwoman Patrice Robsinson will chair the group in 2020, with Frank Colvett Jr. serving as vice chairman.

Jeff Warren, Rhonda Logan, Chase Carlisle, Edmund Ford Sr., Michalyn Easter-Thomas, and J.B. Smiley Jr. will join the council next year.

“We’re going to make a better Memphis as a team,” Robinson said of the new council.

After approving Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) rate hikes for water and gas at its last meeting of the year, the council will return to the issue of electric rate hikes in 2020. Beginning in July, MLGW customers’ bills will go up $2.23 if no rate increase is approved for electric.

MLGW proposed increasing electric rates by a total of $9 for the average customer. The council voted this move down, prompting the MLGW board to reconsider their proposal. The council will consider MLGW’s new proposed increase once the utility’s board comes up with the new numbers. — Maya Smith

Bikes

Next year the city is slated to add about 20 miles of new bike facilities, says Nicholas Oyler, the city’s bikeway and pedestrian program manager. One new bike facility will be the completion of the Hampline in early 2020. This is a project nine years in the making that will connect the Shelby Farms Greenline to Overton Park.

In other bike news, the city will get 500 new federally funded bike racks primarily located near existing bus stops to “encourage synergy between using transit and bicycling for the last- and first-mile connections,” Oyler says. — MS

Police Surveillance

Later this year, U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla will decide what to do with the 1978 Kendrick consent decree that prevents police surveillance by the Memphis Police Department (MPD).

McCalla ruled last year that the city and MPD had violated the decree and imposed sanctions. Since then, a court-appointed monitor team has been working with the police department on improving its adherence to the decree and developing policies and procedures related to the decree. At a final evidentiary hearing scheduled for June, the court will decide if the decree should be modified, and, if so, how.

In the meantime, the monitor team and MPD are in the process of finalizing updated social media and training policies for MPD, which are subject to the court’s approval. Additionally, the monitor team will organize focus groups in early 2020 to hear more from the community on the consent decree. — MS

Larry Kuzniewski

Coach Penny Hardaway points the way to Tiger victory

Sports

The new year — new decade — in Memphis sports will be unlike any we’ve seen before. Such is the case every year, of course, as the sports world remains among life’s few truly unscripted delights. Perhaps, even without the recently departed James Wiseman, the Tigers will will make a deep NCAA tournament run. Perhaps Ja Morant returns to full health and dribble-drives his way to the NBA’s Rookie of the Year trophy. Perhaps the University of Memphis football team finds a way to top its 2019 season. Okay, let’s be realistic …

Penny Hardaway’s Tigers will regain center stage with conference play, his program seeking a first American Athletic Conference championship. The nation’s top freshman class — prior to Wiseman’s departure — will find its biggest test come tournament time in March. (Memphis hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since 2014.)

The Ja and Jaren era is upon us with Grizzlies basketball, Mr. Morant and Mr. Jackson having become the faces of a franchise now climbing back toward playoff relevance in a Western Conference top-heavy with superstars, most notably those playing for the two Los Angeles franchises. Still shy of his 21st birthday, Morant could become only the second Grizzly to earn top-rookie honors (and the first since Pau Gasol raised the hardware in 2002).

Spring could bring one of the top prospects in baseball to AutoZone Park. Outfielder Dylan Carlson earned the St. Louis Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the Year honor for 2019, primarily for his performance at Double-A Springfield. The 21-year-old slugger will compete for a spot on the Cardinals’ major-league roster in March but will more than likely fine-tune his swing in Memphis with the Redbirds before making his big-league debut.

901 FC will take the pitch (pardon the pun) at AutoZone Park for its second season in the USL Championship. The Bluff City’s new soccer outfit went 9-18-7 in its first season, making up in fan-base passion what it may have lacked in finishing ability. With the likes of Louisville City FC and Birmingham Legion FC to catch in the standings, regional rivalries are already growing, gas to the fire for the local futbol faithful.

As for football, American style, the Memphis Tigers will have to follow-up on the finest season in program history, one that ended with an American Athletic Conference championship and an appearance in the prestigious Cotton Bowl. A new coach will be on the sideline, Mike Norvell having taken his stellar four-year mark (38-15) to Florida State. Star running back Kenneth Gainwell will return to spark the offense, which suggests winning won’t be a thing of the past at the Liberty Bowl. Since 2014, the Tigers are 35-5 at home.— Frank Murtaugh

Jackson Baker

Bill Lee

Politics

It may well be that, as politics takes its course in 2020, the nation’s currently beleaguered president, Donald J. Trump, will survive a vote of confidence this year, as, locally, Mayor Jim Strickland did at the city polls in 2019 and Governor Bill Lee’s program probably will with the legislature. But advance polling always had Strickland comfortably ahead of his rivals, and a just-concluded Vanderbilt University poll of state voters has given first-termer Lee a 62-percent approval rating. Trump, uniquely, has never been over the 50-percent mark — not even in 2016, when Hillary Clinton actually out-polled him nationally. Trump’s only sure win would seem to be in the GOP-dominated Senate, over the sudden-death matter of impeachment.

And Republican numerical domination, not popular demand nor irresistible logic, will empower the Governor’s prospects in the General Assembly. But not necessarily. It is famously (or infamously) true that Lee’s controversial bill to permit private school vouchers (or “education savings accounts,” in the euphemism of the day) passed by a single vote in the state House and only by means of highly devious wheeling and dealing and overtime arm-twisting on the part of the since-disgraced GOP Speaker Glen Casada, who was later forced into resigning. The new Republican Speaker, Cameron Sexton, is a sworn foe of vouchers and has indicated that, at the very least, he’d like to delay the onset of ESAs, which are due to be imposed (take that, you blue bailiwicks!) only on Shelby and Davidson Counties.

In the long run, Democrats are hoping for a swing of the electoral pendulum that could bring them more of the incremental suburban vote gains that got them close to a couple of major legislative upsets in Shelby County in 2018. The expected large Democratic vote in the presidential election will be helpful in that regard. The timing of vouchers, health care, and the question of freeing up TANF (temporary assistance for needy families) will be on the agenda in Nashville, as will, very likely, the return of the “fetal heartbeat” anti-abortion measure.

A U.S. Senate race will be on the statewide marquee, with primary races in both major parties. The Republican winner will be heavily favored. In city politics, it will be interesting to see if the development community’s hold on the Council will be loosened by the addition of some of the grassroots winners from the October election. In Shelby County politics, Mayor Lee Harris is on again/off again on solidarity with the County Commission. It is universally assumed that he is looking ahead to a future-tense congressional race, but in the meantime he has seemingly (and sensibly) committed himself to some center-left populism focused on wage equity and minority/women-owned business enterprises advances.

Former Shelby County Democratic chairman Corey Strong will meanwhile take a crack at the 9th district Congressional seat now held by long-running Democratic monolith Steve Cohen. — Jackson Baker

Film

No doubt the biggest story in the Memphis film scene for 2020 will be the opening of the new Indie Memphis Cinema. Just before 2019’s annual film festival, Malco Theaters struck a deal with the nonprofit to turn over operation of one of the screens at Studio on the Square in Midtown’s Overton Square.

Malco will be renovating the aging Studio to bring it up to the standards set by Malco Powerhouse (read: new seats and a greatly expanded food and drink program) this winter and spring. Then, Indie Memphis will begin daily showings of the acclaimed films from the festival circuit and repertory offerings that have populated their increasingly popular weekly screenings.

This will be a sea change for film fans in Memphis. The Malco Ridgeway Cinema Grill has built a steady audience with sophisticated, non-blockbuster offerings in East Memphis, but this new arrangement will mark the beginning of a true art house in the Bluff City. The seeds of Indie Memphis were sown in the mid-1990s with an effort to build such a theater in Midtown before morphing into a festival, so this new cinema is the realization of a long-term dream.

2020 will be the year the mainstream industry fully faces Disney’s market dominance. Since the acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the House of Mouse is now set to control almost half of the total global box office. Their slate for 2020 is a mixed bag. In February, Fox Searchlight drops Wendy, a retelling of the Peter Pan story from the heroine’s POV, and 20th will offer an adaption of Call of the Wild with Harrison Ford that looks promising. March begins with Pixar’s urban fantasy Onward and ends with the live-action remake of Mulan, which looks to have slightly more reason to exist than the flaccid Aladdin. In April, Marvel takes a mulligan on the last X-Men film with The New Mutants, then the long-anticipated Black Widow premieres on May Day. Pixar’s second film of the year is Soul in June, a musical by Inside Out director Pete Docter. In the fall, expect Marvel’s The Eternals and Disney Animation’s Raya and the Last Dragon.

Studios not named Disney also have anticipated offerings. Robert Downey Jr. will talk to animals in his first post-Iron Man role as Dr. Doolittle in January, which will go up against Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Bad Boys for Life. In February, Warner Brothers will again attempt to make a watchable DC comic book movie with the Margo Robbie-led Birds of Prey, and the cringeworthy Sonic the Hedgehog will face a horror adaptation of Fantasy Island from Blumhouse. In March, Paramount will try to replicate a sleeper hit with A Quiet Place Part II. Daniel Craig will strap on the Walther PPK for the last time as James Bond in No Time to Die. June is stacked with the return of Diana Prince in Wonder Woman 1984, Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, and the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned musical In the Heights. In July is Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which will reunite the original cast, and the Kristen Wiig road trip comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar.

Speaking of reuniting the original cast, in August, Bill and Ted Face the Music brings back Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter as the Wyld Stallyns. Edgar Winter takes a swing at psychological horror with Last Night in Soho. In October, Kenneth Branagh does Death on the Nile, and Jamie Lee Curtis returns for Halloween Kills. The biggest film weekend of the year looks to be the titanic matchup on December 18th, when Dennis Villeneuve’s science-fiction epic Dune, Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, Columbia’s adaptation of the Uncharted game franchise, and Memphis’ own Craig Brewer directing Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America battle for box office supremacy. See you at the movies. — Chris McCoy

P/K/M Architects

Rendering of the proposed new South of Beale

Food

There’s no doubt that big things are going to happen in 2020, and many of us — myself included — may find ourselves stress-eating or self-medicating with food. With that said, Memphis foodies have a lot to look forward to in the year ahead, including more French food, riverfront views, and even a brand-new brewery. Cheers!

Out east, the fine dining establishment Erling Jensen: The Restaurant will undergo an expansion in early 2020, more than doubling the size of its bar menu and dining room. East Memphis will also welcome a new crab restaurant when The Juicy Crab opens a new location in a 7,200-square-foot space in the Eastgate Shopping Center.

In the suburbs, Slim Chickens plans to open a second location in Collierville in late spring at the corner of Poplar and Maynard Way, and Wing Guru is expanding to new locations in Collierville and Hernando, Mississippi. Their current locations can be found on Mt. Moriah in Memphis and on Stage Road in Bartlett.

Downtown, Memphis’ newest brewery, Soul & Spirits Brewery, will open in the Uptown neighborhood at 845 N. Main. Owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Blair Perry and Ryan Allen, the brewery will likely focus on traditional German-style beers “inspired by the diverse music culture of Memphis” (per their Facebook page).

South of Beale, Memphis’ first gastropub, will move to a new location. The new venue, located on the first floor of the old Ambassador building, will open in the spring at 345 S. Main.

Memphis chefs Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer will bring a taste of Europe Downtown when Bishop, in the Central Station Hotel, has its grand opening in January. After a soft launch in December, the French restaurant will be fully open in January serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Also Downtown, One Beale finally broke ground in 2019 and has a projected completion date in 2020. Besides apartments and hotels, the massive development project will include a new riverfront restaurant and a rooftop whiskey bar with indoor and outdoor seating.

As that project comes closer to completion, another project will begin: Construction on Union Row is projected to start in 2020, and the plans include a few new restaurants and a hotel overlooking AutoZone Park.

In keeping with the Downtown hotel boom, Memphis’ first Aloft Hotel will also open at 161 Jefferson in the summer of 2020. The hotel will include a full-service restaurant and the brand’s signature WXYZ bar. — Lorna Field

Categories
Cover Feature News

2018: A Look at the Year Ahead for Memphis

Business and Development

No franchise can deliver a blockbuster year after year, and while 2018 won’t see the opening of a Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid or a Crosstown Concourse, there is plenty of boom on the horizon.

Central Station: Maybe the biggest development on the Memphis landscape next year will be the re-opening of Central Station on South Main. Back in March 2015, Archie Willis, president of Community Capital, and Henry Turley, CEO of the Henry Turley Co., revealed a $55 million plan to the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) to transform its 103-year-old train station and surrounding area into a boutique hotel, restaurant, bar, and more. 

Central Station

The project has also brought new apartments to the South Main area on the station’s campus. Dirt is now being moved on a five-screen Malco movie theater there, too. Officials hope to have the new Central Station opened by summer 2018.

Tourism Development Zones: City officials went on a Tourist Development Zone (TDZ) blitz late this year. They hope to score a new TDZ for a $160-million re-development of the Mid-South Fairgrounds into a recreation and sports hub. They also hope to change an existing TDZ for downtown to include the Memphis riverfront, in order to build — possibly — an aquarium on Mud Island and a new home for the Brooks Museum of Art on Front Street, among other things. State officials were slated to review these plans late this year and in early 2018. 

Other projects: Look for two new apartment buildings that will transform the corners of Madison and McLean, and Union and McLean.

Work may begin next year on a plan to transform The Edge district, with a $70 million project that includes apartments, offices, and retail spaces. 

Dirt will be moved all around the University of Memphis campus next year, as the school follows its $66 million, five-year master plan that includes a new music hall, a land bridge over Southern Avenue, a parking garage, and more.

Finally, you’re likely to see some big changes as you jet in and out of Memphis International Airport next year. Work is slated to begin on MEM’s $214 million plan to modernize its concourse.  — Toby Sells

Restaurants and Dining

One of the most anticipated openings of 2018 is the Gray Canary in the Old Dominick Distillery. It was a stroke of genius to recruit Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman for the job. The pair are concentrating on an open-fire concept. From the press release: “It’s a technique-driven restaurant, where we get to explore every style of cooking with fire, from flame to ember to smoke to ash.” It’s set to open in January.

Chef Ryan Trimm will be in the kitchen at 117 Prime, a new steakhouse slated to open in spring at 117 Union, formerly the site of Belle Diner. The goal of 117 Prime is “to bring a traditional old-school-style steakhouse to downtown Memphis,” says Johnny Lawrence, director of operations for Across the Board restaurant group, which also includes Sweet Grass, Next Door, and Sunrise.

The restaurant may be old-school, but it won’t look old-school. “The steakhouse is going to be a very elegant space, but we’re going to steer away from the ‘going into the steakhouse and it’s so dark in there you have to use a flashlight to read the menu.'”

Their restaurant will be “light, bright, airy, and open.”

Crosstown Concourse has already added plenty to the culinary landscape, but it isn’t done. Hoping to open in late January is the Crosstown Brewery. The brewery was originally supposed to be inside the concourse, but that would have required removing one of the building’s necessary beams, so they opted for building an adjacent space west of the concourse. They hope to have the beer available around that same time. Set to open in March is Elemento Neapolitan Pizza, at the front of the building near the Next Door Eatery.  

Cocktail-centric space Atomic Tiki, with island-style food and drinks, is opening early in the year on Overton Park.

Coming next spring is Hopdoddy, the Texas-based burger chain. The Memphis restaurant will serve the bleeding, plant-based Impossible Burger.

Hattie B’s

Hattie B’s, the Nashville hot chicken place, is set to open in the old Curb Market spot on Cooper in early April. There will be seating for about 120 (with 60 of that outdoors), plus a cool retro design. Says Nick Bishop Sr., co-owner, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, “We are so excited about our Memphis opening in early spring. It’s such an honor for all of us at Hattie B’s to be a part of the community, and we look forward to seeing our many Memphis friends and meeting new hot chicken lovers real soon!”  

Eastward, the restaurant group behind Rec Room, Railgarten, Loflin Yard, and Bounty on Broad is planning something at 525 South Highland. Expected to open this winter.

— Michael Donahue & Susan Ellis

Politics

For the first time in many years, the preview of the coming year in politics will offer a plethora of competitive primaries and statewide races involving name candidates in both parties.

No fewer than seven candidates — several of them with decent financial backing and prospects — will be vying for the Republican nomination for governor in 2018, to succeed term-limited two-term GOP Governor Bill Haslam. Suiting out for this battle royal are Haslam’s former Commissioner of Economic Development, Randy Boyd; 4th District U.S. Representative Diane Black; state House of Representatives Speaker Beth Harwell; former state Senator Mae Beavers; former Trump campaign official Kay White; and Nashville-area businessman/rancher Bill Lee.

Democrats, who now constitute the minority party in Tennessee and who in recent years have fielded no-name candidates for state office, are attempting a rebound with two solid starters in their own gubernatorial primary: former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and state House minority leader Craig Fitzhugh.

It appeared for a while that Democrats might also manage a competitive primary for the U.S. Senate being vacated by Bob Corker, but Nashville lawyer and Iraq war vet James Mackler, a promising newcomer, finally saw discretion as the better part of valor and withdrew in favor of Phil Bredesen when the former Nashville mayor and two-term governor, the last Democrat to win statewide office, offered himself as a standard-bearer to his fellow party-mates just before Christmas.

As befits their majority-party status, Republicans will see a race featuring two serious candidates — 7th District U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn and former 8th District Congressman Stephen Fincher, with several wannabes filling out the ballot list.

The local ballot has some fascinations, as well — with Shelby County Commissioner Terry Roland, County Trustee David Lenoir, and Juvenile Court Clerk Joy Touliatos competing for the GOP nomination for county mayor, while state Senator Lee Harris hopes to capture the Democratic nomination without a serious foe but, at year’s end was having to keep an anxious eye on the possibility of a race by Bartlett Bank president and former state representative Harold Byrd. Meanwhile, former city councilman and current Memphis Chamber of Commerce official Shea Flinn continues to hint at a race for county mayor as an independent.

Beyond these marquee races, the year promises some stout legislative tangles and at least one controversial referendum for city voters — a rerun of the successful 2008 referendum authorizing Instant Runoff Voting — in time for the Memphis city election of 2019. — Jackson Baker

What’s New Downtown

The “I Am A Man” Plaza near Clayborn Temple is slated to open in conjunction with the citywide recognition of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination in Memphis. To commemorate the occasion, the National Civil Rights Museum will hold a two-day speaker symposium, followed by a time of musical and spoken tributes, and finishing with An Evening of Storytelling where living civil rights activists tell their stories of fighting social and racial inequality.

I Am A Man Plaza

The weekend of events will be themed on King’s final book, Where Do We Go From Here?

The focal point of the commemoration will be the art plaza on the corner of Hernando and Pontotoc. The interactive art installation will acknowledge the historical significance of Memphis, the sanitation workers’ strike, and King in the Civil Rights Movement, while providing visitors interactions with art that inspires them to stand up for social justice and positive change.

Vintage Trolleys: It’s been a long time coming, but the vintage trolleys are set to return to the Main Street tracks in April. And when they do, the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s CEO Gary Rosenfeld says, they will be much safer than the previous fleet of trolleys, which were discontinued after fires and other safety issues in 2014. The 100-year-old trolley cars are being re-engineered from top to bottom, which includes new wiring, brakes, and tires.

Alcohol on Main: You might soon be able to get off the trolley, buy a beer, and walk the length of Main sipping it, as the Memphis City Council is considering an amendment to a city ordinance that would allow just that. On January 9th, the council will take the third and final vote on whether to allow open plastic containers of beer, wine, and liquor on Main from E.H. Crump to A.W. Willis. — Maya Smith

Music

As I scan the horizon ahead through the holiday haze, I spy 2018 sending up flares. Let’s look first to the live music scene. Ring in the new year with Quintron & Miss Pussycat at the Hi-Tone. Fast on their heels, the new year will offer sounds of the old, weird America, as our beloved Dead Soldiers do a set at Buckman Arts — a great space for listeners — while J.D. Wilkes will get so creaky-stompy at Lafayette’s Music Room that televisions may flicker. Meanwhile, Hi-Tone will host its Za Fest IV, rocking out and inward with edgy and/or emo music by Ten High, Faux Killas, Alyssa Moore, and others. January will also see an influx of blues players both famous and unknown, at the International Blues Challenge.

Joe Restivo

This winter, expect a flurry of world class jazz, as the Germantown Performing Arts Center hosts Russell Hall, Storm Large, and John Scofield, capped off with the inventive and soulful Joe Restivo on February 9th. Shading into classical, Branford Marsalis will soon after be appearing with Memphis’ Iris Orchestra.

The new listening room at Crosstown Arts is on every music fan’s mind, and I’m assured it will be open in 2018; meanwhile, their old space across Cleveland will host the intriguing Afrospace event, featuring “intergalactic sounds of the African diaspora” including Spekulate the Philosopher and others. Later in January, Crosstown will see a crack jazz quartet pay tribute to Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers.

The Wailers

A more dread beat will kick off 2018 at the New Daisy when Bob Marley’s original backers, the Wailers, take the stage, still boasting bassist Aston “Familyman” Barrett and guitarists Julian Junior Marvin and Donald Kinsey. And, dominating the skyline in far-distant March, we’ll have George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic — start charging your flashlights. A month later, Mississippi’s Big K.R.I.T. will bring his politically conscious rap to the venue.

As for local underdogs going global, the great Oblivians will reunite twice next year — at the Debauch-A-Reno (yes, in Nevada) in April and at the Primavera Sound festival (yes, in Barcelona) in June. Meanwhile, all our favorite dives, clubs, and house show hosts are gearing up for untold delights, and check the smartly-curated lineup for the River Series at Harbor Town when the nights get balmy.

— Alex Greene

Film

The first interesting release of 2018 is on January 12th, with Proud Mary, Taraji P. Henson’s solo debut as a kick-ass blackspoiltation heroine. I have high hopes for that one. The same day sees Steven Spielberg’s The Post, the story of the Pentagon Papers, starring Meryl Streep as Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham, show in Memphis, and the advance word is extremely good. The next weekend, the highly acclaimed love story Call Me By Your Name hits town.

Black Panther

After awards season calms down, we’ll get the year’s first Marvel movie, the highly anticipated Black Panther. And then everybody’s favorite softcore lifestyle porn series ends with Fifty Shades Freed. Whoopee!

March looks pretty packed with Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of the beloved science fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time, and Wes Anderson’s star-studded, stop motion, pup-stravaganza Isle of Dogs. Spielberg’s dive into metafiction, Ready Player One, could either work wonders or die in the Tomb of Horrors.

April looks quiet, with only the potentially goofy Super Troopers 2 to provide laughs on 4/20, but the summer blockbuster season blows up early with Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th. Then geeks get to see if Kathleen Kennedy and Ron Howard successfully saved the troubled Solo: A Star Wars Story on May 25th. We crash into June with Deadpool 2, the all female heist picture Ocean’s 8, Pixar superhero sequel The Incredibles 2, Jurassic Kingdom, and Best of Enemies co-director Morgan Neville’s must-see Mr. Rogers documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

July 4th gives us Marvel’s Ant Man and the Wasp, before we will be asked to pretend to care about Mission Impossible 6, long gestating anime adaptation Atilla: Battle Angel, and the aptly named Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!

From there, things get hazy. The Coen Bros were brought in to save Universal’s Scarface remake, so keep your fingers crossed in August. There’s a Robin Hood reboot from Lionsgate in September. October opens big with Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born, Damien Chazelle directing Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong in First Man, and Jamie Lee Curtis returning to the Halloween franchise. In November, we have another retelling of the X-Men: Dark Phoenix saga with Game of Thrones‘ Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, for which I feel 0 percent anticipation, and J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

The big year-end offerings will be Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse, Mortal Engines, Aquaman, and finally, the Freddy Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Will 2018 clear the high bar set by 2017’s film releases? Only one way to find out — go to the movies.

— Chris McCoy

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Fairer Sex

As becomes increasingly obvious, we are unmistakably in the middle of a sea change apropos relations between the sexes. That “we” clearly refers to the corridors of power in politics, media, entertainment, and elsewhere. And by the sexes, we mean something beyond the erstwhile binary sense of the word. It is obvious, in this polymorphing world, that a contemporary Noah would be hard put, in filling a lifesaving craft with representative survivors, to restrict himself to the ordinary one-and-one-makes-two.

There was a time when the mechanics of the existing sexual universe could be rendered by the old cartoon of a stone-age man using one hand to drag an unconscious female by the hair, while the other hand held the club that rendered her supine and the bully boy’s to dispose of, presumably as a guest, permanent or temporary, in his lair.

Crude as that old stock image was as a metaphor for primitive courtship, it bespoke an uncomfortable truth about the enduring algorithms, through stage after stage of social evolution and of gender and power.

Now all that is being called into question, and good riddance. The club — which is to say, the male dominance built into the prevailing social model — is being challenged with a vengeance. Maia and Isis are reincarnated as Wonder Woman, who is no man’s tool and won’t be dragged anywhere. The Playboy Philosophy has gone to its reward. The reversals of fortune that have seen Bill O’Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, and Charlie Rose, and seemingly countless others purged from their positions of acceptability have been quick and presumably irrevocable.

The parameters of the emerging new order are indistinct, as yet. The old order will no doubt reassert itself to some degree. The giddiness felt by some will doubtless subside. The boundaries between healthy sexual interplay (flirting, hooking up, etc.) and sexual harassment are in flux and are being redefined. And the challenge now is to reform and redefine stable and just forms of behavior. The boys club is being deconstructed.

This is a revolution that won’t be accomplished by elaborate blueprints nor by elites with specialized knowledge. It will be determined by men learning to behave and by women reporting bad behavior.

The only “guidance” the current moment of transformation has required is an old-fashioned one, summed up in the biblical phrase: “You shall know the truth, and it shall make you free.” The instigators of the powerful change now underway have, for the most part, been members of the American free press doing their jobs: afflicting the comfortable by exposing various male misbehavior and predation, previously behind facades of silence and acquiescence.

It is no accident that the deniers of this overdue revolution are represented by bona fide predators — in Washington as well as in Hollywood, New York, Alabama, and elsewhere. But it appears increasingly obvious that those who deny their acions and seek to sustain the dying male-dominated zeitgeist are doomed to be outed.