An exasperated Memphis City Council urged Memphis In May (MIM) and Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) to put aside “bad blood,” act like “grown ups,” and get a lease deal signed to bring the festivals back to the Tom Lee Park this year.
Eighty-three days before May, the festivals are “in jeopardy,” according to MIM president and CEO James Holt. Some other contracts cannot be signed — like those securing artists for Beale Street Music Festival — until the lease deal for Tom Lee Park is in hand, he said.
(Credit: City of Memphis)
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has long had the groups in mediation to hammer out details. Holt described hours of meetings recently with Strickland and his team directly. Still, one detail has stymied the lease deal.
MIM wants a cap on payments made to repair any damages done to Tom Lee Park during the festivals. MRPP wants no cap on those payments, in a sort of you-break-it-you-buy-it situation.
MRPP president and CEO Carol Coletta said renters are likely responsible for any damage done to government-owned facilities like the Renasant Convention Center and the new Memphis Sports & Events Center.
”Jim Holt — after all the conversations over the last one, and after the mayor his [Chief Operating Officer] Chandell Ryan worked so hard to get the final pieces of this deal — walked away and said, ‘We can’t live with being responsible for our damages, the expense of our damages. We cannot do it. So, we walk away from the negotiations.’”
Holt said MIM agreed to up its average restoration fee of $50,000 a year to $500,000 for the 2023 festivals. Strickland added another $500,000 of city funds. That $1 million would be ready to clean up the park after the festivals.
(Credit: Memphis River Parks Partnership)
The additional money is needed this year as Tom Lee Park is undergoing a major, $60-million renovation. The renovation will include new landscaping, new sidewalks, new buildings, new play and recreation infrastructure, and more.
“We feel that [MRPP is] effectively attempting to shut down our festival,” Holt told council members Tuesday. “Now, the government contractor that the mayor and the city pays … is dictating the terms and has told the mayor and MIM, ‘no, $1 million is not enough. I only accept MIM to take unlimited responsibility for any damage.’”
With MIM being on the hook for damages — even with $1 million in funds to fix any — it would incentivize the group to not damage the park, said council member Worth Morgan. Should the liability fall to MRPP, Morgan said they likely fear MIM “might damage the park unnecessarily as getting back” at MRPP.
Tension between MRPP and MIM rose almost immediately after MRPP unveiled the new look of Tom Lee Park in 2017. MIM officials quickly pointed out that the new design would shrink the size of the festivals, which would also shrink its revenues, and taxes into city coffers. MRPP has defended the park design as a place for all. All of it has made for a tension between the two that even the public can feel.
(Credit: City of Memphis I Memphis City Council member Worth Morgan)
Morgan said the situation was like “the Greensward issue.” There, a similar tension was publicly felt between the boards of the Overton Park Conservancy and the Memphis Zoo. That issue flamed, roiled, and simmered — and included an arduous council-led agreement process — from 2014 until a final agreement between them was inked last year.
“There’s some bad blood between the two and that is really what is inhibiting this [lease deal] rather than dollars and cents.”
Worth Morgan
“You have two boards and there’s distrust, there’s some bad blood between the two and that is really what is inhibiting this [lease deal] rather than dollars and cents,” Morgan said. “That’s why we’re here trying to arbitrate this. So, I would strongly encourage the boards to put down their pitchforks that are pointed at one another and simply agree to the terms that we’ve talked about.”
(Credit: City of Memphis I Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones)
MRPP officials were present at Tuesday’s council hearing on the matter but were not given a chance to speak by chairman Martavius Jones, claiming the hearing was bumping against the council’s full meeting at 3 p.m. Jones invited MRPP back to speak at the next council meeting in two weeks but urged them to have a deal in hand.
And just like that, it’s another year gone. With the snap of a finger, 12 months have flashed by and, gulp, is it the end of December already? Every year since 2020, we’ve wondered if maybe, just maybe, this upcoming year will be the one where we all shake off the doldrums of a post-Covid reality, rush out to the street en masse, and burst into glorious song and dance. Maybe not quite so much exuberance, but things are certainly ramping up. A completed Tom Lee Park is on the horizon, our local music scene is going strong, Memphis sports are gearing up for championship runs, and mayoral hopefuls are quietly slipping the gloves off. If that’s enough to get you giddy with anticipation, well, you’ve earned it. Prepare to take off the handbrake, and read on for our predictions for 2023.
(Top) Tom Lee Park (Photo: Memphis River Parks Partnership)
Breaking News
Tom Lee Park
Maybe the most anticipated opening of 2023 is the renovated, completely re-imagined Tom Lee Park.
The massive, $61 million project is expected to completely transform Memphis’ riverfront, drawing visitors — locals and tourists alike — to see it. Gone will be the flat, wide-open plain of grass between the Mississippi River and Riverside Drive. It will be replaced with low hills, native plants, lookouts, bathrooms, sports and recreation areas, play equipment, concessions, and more. When the project was announced back in 2019, the new design was described as “a blend of landscaping and architecture meant to mimic and restore some of the 30-acre river park’s natural ecology and better connect the city to the river.”
The anticipation of the park’s opening comes with both excited expectation and some anxiety. The new park design is expected to better connect the park with the rest of Downtown Memphis, to the delight of city leaders. All of those tourists will come at the delight of Downtown business owners.
However, the new design will bring growing pains for Memphis in May. The organization has already predicted a much smaller festival in the park and, maybe, higher prices for festival-goers to pay for the higher fees for using the park.
Memphis River Parks Partnership officials said in September that the project was halfway complete. The park has to at least be ready enough to host Memphis in May in a few short months. Officials said a grand opening of the park will be held after May’s events.
The park’s opening was one major reason travel magazine Condé NastTraveler named Memphis one of the top places to visit in 2023, one of only two places in the U.S. — Toby Sells
Memphis Sports & Events Center (Photo: Frank Murtaugh)
Memphis Sports & Events Center
Expect to (probably) see the inside of the brand-new and newly opened Memphis Sports & Events Center (MSEC) in 2023. The $60 million facility was built in 18 months and will be the centerpiece of the new sports tourism hook for Liberty Park (or the Mid-South Fairgrounds if you’re old-timey).
At 227,000 square feet, the MSEC has a footprint the size of four football fields. Each of two wings features eight basketball courts that can convert into as many as 32 volleyball courts. The north wing includes stadium seating to accommodate 3,500 spectators, along with four VIP suites and boxes for media and recruiters.
The center is a gamble by city leaders that it will attract new visitors to Memphis via youth sports travel teams for indoor sports like basketball, volleyball, and more. Funding for the center, though, is expected to come from tax revenues generated from a zone around the facility, presumably enough to pay for itself. — TS
Moth Moth Moth (Photo: Moth Moth Moth)
Outlawing Drag
The state of Tennessee saw numerous controversies regarding drag shows in 2022. In September, what was advertised as a “family-friendly” drag show at the Museum of Science and History (MoSH) was canceled after a group of Proud Boys showed up to the event armed. The Jackson Pride drag show was limited to participants aged 18 and older after weeks of battling between event organizers and lawmakers in Jackson, Tennessee.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) recently filed legislation for the 113th Tennessee General Assembly that could potentially make drag performances in Tennessee a crime. This legislation would define drag shows as “adult cabaret” and would prohibit these performances in public places.
The bill also goes on to make performing in “adult cabaret performance” on public property or “in a location where the adult cabaret performance could be viewed by a person who is not an adult” a Class A misdemeanor. Repeat offenders face a Class E felony.
Local LGBTQ+ activists in Memphis such as Moth Moth Moth (Mothie for short) have voiced their concerns over social media and are actively working to raise awareness and fight back.
“This is a slippery slope that aims to force drag artists into our homes and LGBTQIA+ people out of public sight,” said Mothie in a Facebook post. “How can you fight this? Call your reps. And scream at them.”
It might be a while before this sticks, as the legislature does not reconvene until January. If passed, the law would take effect in July 2023. — Kailynn Johnson
Jim Strickland (Photo: City of Memphis)
On the Political Horizon
Much of the New Year will be devoted to the selection of a new mayor and city council by Memphis voters. The quadrennial process, which actually got under way in the late months of 2022, will formally conclude on Thursday, October 5, 2023. Long before the resolution of that contest, however, the actual first election of the year, a special election for the state House District 86 seat, will have already occurred. The primary date for the special election, which was called to decide a successor to the late Barbara Cooper, who died in October, is January 24th, with the general election scheduled for March 14th.
A referendum on the November 8th ballot allowing for a third term for the Memphis mayor and members of the city council was rejected by the city’s voters, thereby foreclosing on a possible re-election bid by Mayor Jim Strickland and ensuring that a new face would be at the helm of city government, come October 5th. The reality of an open seat also made it likely that the mayoral field would swell to include numerous challengers, several of whom had announced in late fall and early winter, with more expected after the turn of the year.
The first gauge of true candidate viability will come on or around January 15th, when end-of-the-year financial disclosures will be required of the mayoral hopefuls, with information on their campaign war chests to be made publicly available. Several of the so-far announced candidates — notably Sheriff Floyd Bonner, former County Commissioner and NAACP head Van Turner, and president/CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission Paul Young — are thought to have good fundraising prospects, with the potential to scare off rivals. Race is unlikely to be a factor, since all the actual or rumored candidates to date have been African Americans — a development consistent with the city’s demographic profile. Gender could be important, however, especially if either school board chair Michelle McKissack or state House Democratic leader Karen Camper stay in the race and get up a good head of steam. A few long-odds candidates, already in or thinking about it, include former TV judge Joe Brown and former County Commissioner Justin Ford.
In Nashville, the Republican legislative supermajority, somewhat further entrenched after redistricting, remains in charge, and two bills that are aimed at the state’s LGBTQ+ community have already been filed, and, with administration acquiescence if not outright support, will doubtless go to the head of the class. One would prohibit gender-affirmation surgery on behalf of transgender youth; another would place serious restrictions on public drag shows. Legislation to update the revenue sources undergirding the IMPROVE transportation act sponsored by former Governor Bill Haslam in 2017 is considered urgently necessary, especially in anticipation of the forthcoming needs of Ford’s BlueOval project at the West Tennessee megasite. Governor Bill Lee has made it clear, however, that further increases in the state’s gasoline tax are off the table.
Meanwhile, the version of the Shelby County Commission elected in August is Democratic-controlled (nine Democrats vs. four Republicans) and conspicuously more liberal (in every sense of the word) than the GOP establishment in the state Capitol. In a meeting just before Christmas, the commissioners put together a wish list of financial favors it wants from the state that may have hard going with the parsimonious Lee and his legislative leadership.
The commissioners’ list includes millions for Regional One Health (long known as The Med and, now as then, regarded as financially ailing) and more millions for new schools, a new jail, sewer expansion, mental health, and broadband improvements. All in all, the requests add up to $1.2 billion.
For some decades now, tension has developed between spokespersons for Shelby County and the state political establishment (regardless of political-party issues). Especially in view of the state’s apparently ever-mounting efforts to limit local options, the coming session should underscore these further. — Jackson Baker
Artina McCain (Photo: Courtesy Artina McCain)
Rock On: Live Music in 2023
With in-person performances roaring back to life over the past year, there are plenty of concerts to look forward to in 2023, though the various viral hazards still at large may still yet cause cancellations. For starters, of course, New Year’s Eve shows are just around the corner, including Blind Mississippi Morris and band at Blues City Cafe, Louder Than Bombs at B-Side, the Memphis Funk-N-Horns at Neil’s Music Room, and a double header of Formerly Known As and Twin Soul at Lafayette’s Music Room. With Jerry Lee Lewis’ recent death, many will likely flock to Hernando’s Hide-a-Way as they ring in 2023 with Jason D. Williams, who carries the Jerry Lee torch in his own inimitable way.
As January rolls on, local venues are bringing the entertainment without a pause. Lafayette’s general manager Julien Salley Jr. says, “It’s pretty exciting to see our ticketed shows return to full speed after what Covid did to us. Beyond a heavy schedule of the best local artists in Memphis, we also have incoming: Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche, Samantha Fish, Tab Benoit, Marc Broussard, Adelitas Way, Smile Empty Soul, and a ton of other exciting acts.”
Meanwhile, even more exquisite concerts will grace Memphis concert halls. The Germantown Performing Arts Center (GPAC) already has the likes of Tommy Emmanuel, Stacey Kent, and The Milk Carton Kids in January; Neko Case, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Pilobolus, and Samara Joy in February; and Step Afrika!, Marie-Stéphane Bernard, and Anthony Wilson in March.
Crosstown Arts will host more classical concerts than ever in the new year, including the Mahogany Chamber Music Series, three shows curated by Artina McCain that spotlight Black and other underrepresented composers and performers. There’s also the intriguingly titled “Mozart and Electric Guitar Concerto” by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Iris Collective’s “Spacetime.” But it’s the jazz curation that should win Crosstown medals, as they begin with guitarist Jimmy Bruno, then go deep in March when Crosstown’s “jazz month” will include another guitar giant, Peter Bernstein, as well as Marc Ribot, The Bad Plus, Deepstaria Enigmatica, singer Morgan James, and James Sexton’s The Otis Mission.
Of course, the rock world choogles on, so keep checking the offerings at Hernando’s, Growlers, Hi Tone, Bar DKDC, Young Avenue Deli, Railgarten, the Cove, Lamplighter Lounge, and B-Side. If you’re thinking big, Graceland Live will keep bringing the national touring acts — like Cinderella’s Tom Keifer and Mr. “Pretty Little Poison,” Warren Zeiders, in February. The Orpheum and Halloran theaters have even more on deck, from the Black Love Live soul concert to Don Bryant and the Bo-Keys, not to mention Mark Edgar Stuart’s ongoing songwriter series, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros., the McCrary Sisters in February, and a smashing lineup of Buddy Guy, Patti Labelle, Van Duren, and John Mellencamp in the months to follow. — Alex Greene
Timothée Chalamet returns in Dune: Part Two.
Future Film
There was much kvetching about the future of the theater business in 2022, as box office returns ranged from extraordinary (Top Gun: Maverick made $1.5 billion) to job-killing (Disney’s $100 million loss on Strange World cost CEO Bob Chapek his career). But 2023’s release calendar looks a little more stacked, money-wise, than 2022’s pandemic-ravaged offerings. January starts strong with M3GAN, a creepy doll robot horror movie, and a reboot of the ’90s hip-hop classic House Party. February has Soderbergh sprinkling stripper fairy dust with Magic Mike’s Last Dance, the year’s first Marvel movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and a true story whose name says it all, Cocaine Bear.
In March, star Michael B. Jordan takes to the ring as director of Creed III. Memphian Henry Gayden returns as writer for the sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Keanu Reeves kicks all kinds of ass in John Wick: Chapter 4, and Chris Pine leads an attempt to translate Dungeons & Dragons to the big screen with Honor Among Thieves. April dawns with The Super Mario Brothers Movie, featuring the other, lesser Chris — Pratt — as the Italian plumber, for some reason. Chris McKay helms Renfield, starring Nicolas Cage as freakin’ Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as the vampire’s thrall. Later, a new crew takes on the Deadites in Evil Dead Rise, and the beloved Judy Blume novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret finally gets an adaptation.
The big guns come out in May, when James Gunn takes his final bow as a Marvel director with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Fast X brings all the family back together to drive fast some more. In June, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse will test if Marvel can keep its Spider-streak alive. The next week, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will no doubt supply me with fodder for an entertaining pan. June 16th, everyone who’s anyone (Swinton! Cranston! Hanks! Goldblum!) will be in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, while walking PR crisis Ezra Miller tanks The Flash. The month ends with Harrison Ford’s swan song as the world’s favorite archeologist in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
In July, Tom Cruise hopes to repeat 2022’s box office triumph with Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. July 21st brings the strangest pairing of any weekend, with Christopher Nolan’s biopic of the man who invented the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer, and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. For the record, I’m up for both. August slows down with a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles flick, Disney’s long-delayed Haunted Mansion, and Blue Beetle. In a September with The Equalizer 2, The Nun 2, and The Expendables 4, the only potential bright spot is the latest installment of Branagh’s Agatha Christie kick, A Haunting in Venice. Kraven The Hunter leads October, and Saw X rounds out Halloween weekend. Return to Arrakis on November 3rd with Dune: Part Two (if you thought the first one was a snoozer, this is where all the good stuff happens). Was anyone asking for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes? At least DreamWorks’ windfall from Trolls 3 will help pad Justin Timberlake’s retirement account. Currently scheduled for December is Timothée Chalamet in Wonka, a remake of The Color Purple, and a currently untitled Ghostbusters sequel, before the year squishes to a close with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. — Chris McCoy
Penny Hardaway (Photo: Larry Kuzniewski)
2023 Tip-off: Memphis Sports
It’s the Sweet 16 or bust for Coach Penny Hardaway and his Memphis Tigers basketball team. This is especially the case for the nine(!) seniors that make up virtually the entire rotation for the fifth-year coach. New arrival Kendric Davis — a transfer from SMU — could pull off the rare feat of winning his league’s Player of the Year honors two years in a row for different teams. If Davis stays healthy and continues to excel, and supporting veterans like DeAndre Williams and Alex Lomax make the right kind of impact, reaching the NCAA tournament’s second weekend for the first time since (gulp) 2009 is within reach.
Three questions will follow the Memphis Grizzlies into 2023. Can Ja Morant win the MVP award (would be a franchise first)? Yes. Can the Griz win the freakin’ NBA championship? Yes. The third question is the most problematic: Can the Memphis Grizzlies ever play at full strength? The team has climbed to the top of the Western Conference standings without playing a solitary game featuring Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane all in uniform. Should the team be able to unleash their big-three on the rest of the NBA for a sustained stretch — preferably into May and June — there may be a large parade this summer on Beale Street.
The Memphis Redbirds will take the field for their 25th season in a refurbished AutoZone Park, a brand-new playing surface complemented by a brand-new video board. And the St. Louis Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate may feature two of the top prospects in all of minor-league baseball. Slugger Jordan Walker — a third-baseman and outfielder — could make the club’s big-league roster out of spring training despite his tender age (20). Shortstop Masyn Winn is another elite young talent, with an arm that makes many pitchers blush. The Redbirds are looking to make their first playoff appearance since joining the International League in 2022. — Frank Murtaugh
Memphis 901 FC are coming off their best-ever season after making it to the USL Eastern Conference semifinals. With titans in defense, midfield, and attack, coach Ben Pirmann unlocked the full potential of this squad, who were a penalty kick away from the conference finals. Pirmann will unfortunately no longer lead the team next season, having accepted an offer from USL rival Charleston Battery FC. Next year it’s Scotsman Stephen Glass, who has previous coaching experience in America with MLS side Atlanta United and its USL affiliate Atlanta United 2. And crucially, the organization has gone to great lengths to retain key players. Rather than building from scratch, star striker Phillip Goodrum (21 goals last season), midfielders Aaron Molloy and Laurent Kissiedou, defender Graham Smith, and captain Leston Paul, among others, will all return. Memphis came close to reaching the conference finals. For the following year, taking that next step is a distinct possibility. — Samuel X. Cicci
2021 was twice as deadly as 2020 for Covid-19 in Shelby County. In 2020, 903 died of Covid here. In 2021, 1,807 passed from the virus.
A consent decree forced Horn Lake leaders to approve the construction of a new mosque.
Family members wanted $20 million from the city of Memphis; Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW); and the Memphis Police Department (MPD) for the 2020 beating death of a man by an MLGW employee.
New DNA testing was requested in the West Memphis Three case for recently rediscovered evidence once claimed to be lost or burned.
February
An ice storm knocked out power to nearly 140,000 MLGW customers.
The new concourse — in the works since 2014 — opened at Memphis International Airport.
Paving on Peabody Avenue began after the project was approved in 2018.
Protect Our Aquifer teamed up with NASA for aquifer research.
A prosecutor moved to block DNA testing in the West Memphis Three case.
March
A bill before the Tennessee General Assembly would have banned the sale of hemp-derived products, like Delta-8 gummies, in the state. It ultimately provided regulation for the industry.
The project to fix the interchange at Crump Ave. and I-55 resurfaced. Bids on the project, which could cost up to $184.9 million, were returned. Work did not begin in 2022 but when it does, it could close the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge (the Old Bridge) for two weeks.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee temporarily cut sales taxes on groceries.
April
The Mississippi River ranked as one of the most endangered rivers in America in a report from the American Rivers group.
Critics lambasted decisions by Memphis in May and Africa in April to honor Ghana and Malawi, both of which outlaw basic LGBTQ+ rights.
The federal government announced a plan to possibly ban menthol cigarettes.
Lawmakers approved Gov. Lee’s plan to update the state’s 30-year-old education funding plan.
Tom Lee Park (Photo: Memphis River Parks Partnership)
May
Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi prepared for the likely overturn of the Roe v. Wade decision, ending legal abortions in the state.
The Greater Memphis Chamber pressed for a third bridge to be built here over the Mississippi River.
Cooper-Young landlords sued to evict the owners of Heaux House for “specializing in pornographic images.”
The Memphis City Council wanted another review of Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) plan to remove coal ash from the shuttered Allen Fossil Plant.
June
New research showed Memphis-area women earned 83 percent of their male counterparts income in the workplace from 2000-2019.
Gov. Lee ordered schools to double down on existing security measures in the wake of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
MPD arrested four drivers in an operation it called Infiniti War Car Take-Over.
A key piece of the Tom Lee Park renovation project won a $3.7 million federal grant, which was expected to trigger nearly $9 million in additional funds.
Tennessee Republican attorney general fought to keep gender identity discrimination in government food programs.
Jim Dean stepped down as president and CEO of the Memphis Zoo and was replaced by Matt Thompson, then the zoo’s executive director and vice president.
Locals reacted to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
July
Memphian Brett Healey took the stage at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Eating Contest.
One Beale developers returned to Memphis City Hall for the fourth time asking for financial support of its luxury hotel plans.
The Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) board placed Superintendent Joris Ray on paid leave as they investigated whether he violated district policies with relationships with co-workers and abused his power.
The project to forever eliminate parking on the Overton Park Greensward got $3 million in federal funding.
Tennessee’s attorney general celebrated a win after a federal judge blocked a move that would have allowed trans kids to play sports on a team of their gender.
Tennessee’s top Pornhub search was “interracial” in 2021, according to the site.
August
A panel of Tennessee judges did not give a new trial to Barry Jamal Martin, a Black man convicted in a Pulaski jury room decked out in Confederate portraits, flags, and memorabilia.
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert caught flak from the Tennessee Comptroller after traveling to Jamaica while her offices were closed to catch up on the controversial backlog of license plate requests from citizens.
MSCS superintendent Joris Ray resigned with a severance package worth about $480,000. Finance chief Toni Williams was named interim superintendent.
Officials said the Memphis tourism sector had made a “full recovery” from the pandemic.
A new bail system unveiled here was touted by advocates to be “one of the fairest in the nation.”
Eliza Fletcher (Photo: Memphis Police Department)
September
Memphis kindergarten teacher Eliza Fletcher was abducted and murdered while on an early-morning run. Cleotha Abston, out of jail early on previous abduction charges, was arrested for the crimes.
MLGW’s board continues to mull the years-long decision to, possibly, find a new power provider.
Ezekiel Kelly, 19, was arrested on charges stemming from an alleged, hours-long shooting rampage across Memphis that ended with four dead and three injured.
A Drag March was planned for the “horrible mishandling” of a drag event at MoSH. Event organizers canceled the show there after a group of Proud Boys arrived armed to protest the event.
October
Workers at four Memphis restaurants, including Earnestine & Hazel’s, sued the owners to recover alleged unpaid minimum wage and overtime.
Shelby County was largely unfazed by an outbreak of monkeypox with only about 70 infected here as of October.
Animal welfare advocates called a University of Memphis research lab “the worst in America” after a site visit revealed it violated numerous federal protocols concerning the care of test animals.
While other states have outlawed the practice, Tennessee allows medical professionals and medical students to — without any kind of permission — stick their fingers and instruments inside a woman’s vagina and rectum while she is under anesthesia.
Joshua Smith, a co-defendant in the election finance case against former state Sen. Brian Kelsey, pleaded guilty in court.
The Environmental Protection Agency told South Memphis residents little could be done to protect them from toxic emissions from the nearby Sterilization Services facility.
West Tennessee farmers struggled to get crops to market because of the record-low level of the Mississippi River.
November
Groups asked state officials for a special investigator to review the “very real failures that led to [Eliza] Fletcher’s tragic murder.”
A group wanted state officials to change the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park.
The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional.
A plan to forever end parking on the Overton Park Greensward was finalized by city leaders, the Memphis Zoo, and the Overton Park Conservancy.
December
The Commercial Appeal dodged layoffs in the latest round of news staff reductions by Gannett.
Federal clean-energy investments will further ingrain Tennessee in the Battery Belt and help develop a Southeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (H2Hubs).
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee criticized Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) for canceling gender affirmation surgery for a 19-year-old patient.
State and local officials investigated an alleged milk spill into Lick Creek.
MLGW rejected Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) 20-year rolling contract but will continue to be a TVA customer “for the foreseeable future.”
Former state Senator Brian Kelsey’s law license was suspended after he pled guilty to two felonies related to campaign finance laws last month.
Visit the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.
Carlisle Cutbank Bluff Credit: Memphis River Parks Partnerships
The Carlisle Corporation has made a $1.5 million investment into the first ADA-accessible walkway that connects the bluff in Downtown Memphis to the riverfront at Tom Lee Park.
The path will be named Carlisle Cutbank Bluff in honor of the late Gene Carlisle. According to Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP), this is the first time that “commercial development has been connected to the riverfront.”
“The Carlisle Cutbank Bluff represents the partnership’s commitment to easy, equitable access to the new park,” said Tyree Daniels, board chair of MRPP. “This beautiful new feature makes it so much easier and more fun to move between Downtown and the riverfront. It means that visitors will find it much easier to get from upstairs on Main Street down to the river in a more equitable way, and we couldn’t be more excited about this achievement, but also making this available for our community.”
Chance Carlisle, CEO of Carlisle LLC, said, “Two things that really hit home for us was the ability to provide the first of its kind, ADA-accessibility to the park. For the last 40 or 50 years, with the exception of maybe a month or so in May, Tom Lee Park was sort of an afterthought, rather than a signature riverfront. It’s hard to be a great riverfront city without an excellent front door, and what Memphis River Parks has done, and all of the donors, is really give Memphians a park that we can be proud of, for all of Memphis.”
Carlisle said the river plays an important role in the future of Downtown, transitioning from a center for agricultural products and commerce to a “twenty-first century vision of it being about tourism, development, and a high-quality of life.”
He said, “This is what it means to be in Memphis, and to have that be associated with us is wonderful. It’s always been — and Downtown has always been — a neighborhood for everybody. The investments made at the Mobility Center, the investments made at Tom Lee Park, just continue to add to that momentum.”
The bluff includes an ADA-compliant switchback ramp as well as a staircase, two “stone scrambles” for climbing, and new trees and grasses.
Garrett Uithoven of Montgomery Martin Contractors says that the colorizations of the stone are designed to go from cool blues and grays at the bottom, and transition to cream beige and a red-orange at the top to reflect the natural recurring colors in the bluff along the Mississippi River.
“If you cut into the undisturbed bluff at any point along the river around this region, you would get that same color in the dirt and rock that make up the banks of the river,” Uithoven said.
He also says that there are accent lights with uplights that shine on some of the trees, with others shining on the stone faces.
The bluff will open in 2023, the same time that Tom Lee Park will be open to the public. Daniels says that Tom Lee Park is now 50 percent completed.
“Imagine the catalytic effect on Downtown, when Tom Lee Park is complete,” said Penelope Huston of the Downtown Memphis Commission. “To unlock the true power of Downtown, all the individual assets have to be connected, like they are here at the Cutbank Bluff.”
“After one night in Nashville, this is the best way I can describe the difference between the two cities,” wrote Bob Boccia on Facebook recently.
Tom Lee Sneak Peek
Posted to Facebook by Memphis River Parks Partnership
Memphis got a peek behind the curtain at some of the play structures (in the form of some cuddly creatures) that will soon be installed at the renovated Tom Lee Park.
The Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) shared several images to Facebook, including the one above showing a river-otter slide in construction and the one below showing how it will look with its otter partner.
Posted to Facebook by Memphis River Parks Partnership
The MRPP also shared this bird’s-eye-view shot of the Cutbank Bluff section of the park, noting the brown portions of the bluff will soon be green as thousands of seeds have been planted there.
Posted to Facebook by Memphis River Parks Partnership
Memphis In May (MIM) attendance fell to a 20-year low this year, yielding a record-setting financial loss, officials said Wednesday, “as a result of being held outside of the traditional riverfront home Downtown in Tom Lee Park.”
Combined attendance for Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest fell below 115,000, officials said. The figure was 178,478 in 2018, and 175,330 in 2019.
Low attendance brought a record-setting financial loss of $1.9 million for 2022 festival operations. The previous record loss of $1.8 million was set in 2020 when the festival was canceled due to Covid. Smaller festival events were presented in 2021 due to ongoing concerns on Covid.
“Our fans were pleased we presented the full-scale festival in 2022, for the first time in three years,” said James Holt, MIM president and CEO. “We knew we would experience a significant decline in attendance because of our displacement from Tom Lee Park.
“The ongoing Covid pandemic, inflationary environment, and artist cancelations at Beale Street Music Festival also partially contributed to the decline in attendance.”
However, MIM said its 2022 programs were a “boon” to local hotels. Occupancy rates across the city peaked at 88.8 percent during Music Fest and Barbecue, according to MIM.
The 46th edition of MIM is slated to return to Tom Lee Park next year.
A key piece of the Tom Lee Park renovation project won a $3.7 million federal grant announced Tuesday and is expected to trigger nearly $9 million in additional funds.
The Tailout Trail section of the park redesign is expected to give “visitors an immersive experience of an ecologically-diverse area at the far south end of the park.” The elevated walkways and Canopy Walk overlook there are the keys to the more-natural southern end of the park called Habitat Terraces in design documents.
The $3.7 million grant is from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) for the Tailout Trail, a “canopy boardwalk” along the Mississippi River. The EDA said the grant will be matched with $6 million in local government funds and is expected to generate $2.8 million in private investment.
“This project will provide a unique opportunity to experience the natural splendor that Memphis and the Mississippi River have to offer, while creating opportunities for new local businesses in river touring, biking, and hiking,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo.
Credit: Studio Gang/SCAPE
Habitat Terraces, where the Tailout Trail will be located, is one of four distinct segments of the new park design. The others, from north to south, are the Civic Gateway, the Active Core, and the Community Batture.
Designers described the Habitat Terraces as “a more intimate experience of the natural landscape. It is expected to include a Canopy Walk that connects the park to the city by means of an elevated path through the biodiverse forest of Tom Lee Park’s southern zone and immersive platforms which offer park-goers a quiet acoustic environment to experience the sights and sounds of the Mississippi River.
“The Tailout Trail will be one-of-a-kind, inviting visitors up and (during high water) over river habitat for spectacular views of the Mississippi, the Arkansas floodplain, and the more than 325 bird species,” U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) said in a statement. “The project will draw national attention and support to Memphis and is expected to bring thousands of new visitors to the riverfront.
Credit: Studio Gang/SCAPE
“These visitors will have a significant impact on nearby restaurants, music venues, and hotels. Once completed, the Tailout Trail will be a major focal point for eco-tourism in Memphis, spawning new small businesses associated with river touring, biking, and hiking, which will help increase employment opportunities, spur private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region.”
The funding for the trail comes from EDA’s $240 million competitive American Rescue Plan Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation program.
Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest will call Liberty Park home next year.
Memphis in May’s (MIM) usual home, Tom Lee Park, is under construction for a $60-million makeover. The project is slated to wrap before the MIM events in 2023.
Music Fest is now planned for April 29th-May 1st. Barbecue Fest is planned for May 11th-14th.
Liberty Park was selected “because of its unique size, uninterrupted layout, existing infrastructure, and the public’s familiarity as a long-time entertainment location.” Barbecue Fest was moved to the site in 2011 during the flood on the Mississippi River.
The maw of a big, yellow front-end loader pulverized the tiny gazebo that sat quietly (and largely unused) in Tom Lee Park Thursday morning, marking the beginning of what will be a brand-new park.
As we reported earlier this week, construction on the Tom Lee Park project can officially begin after some key approvals. A final permit was issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) earlier this week, as was an approval from the mayor’s office.
The Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) called the approvals “major milestones.”
Construction on the Tom Lee Park project can officially begin after a final permit was issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and an approval from the mayor’s office.
The project is spearheaded by the Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) and will completely transform the now-flat and wide-open riverside park with small hills, paths through forests, a cafe with a porch, a covered space for recreation, a new entry plaza, a canopy walk, and more. Construction on the Cutbank Bluff portion of the project got underway earlier this year and is scheduled to be complete this spring.
Check out a gallery of the latest images of the park plans here:
(Credit: Memphis River Parks Partnership)
Half of the project funding will come from state, city, and county coffers. The remainder of will be raised privately, an effort that got an early boost with a $5 million gift from the Hyde Family Foundation. The Tennessee Department of Conservation and Environment (TDEC) recently granted $800,000 for trails in the park. All funds for the 30-acre park project now total $52 million.
The plans also got a key approval Tuesday from Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s Riverfront Steering Committee for the final construction documents for the park and Riverside Drive. MRPP called that approval and the the USACE permit “major milestones.” They come just before crews begin work Thursday to demolish the existing grass and ground at the park.
A free, signature park that will put Memphis on the map, complete with fascinating features for everyone to enjoy, 365 days a year.
Carol Coletta
“As I look out my window and see children playing in the River Garden, I think about what an amazing experience Memphis’ kids will have in the new Tom Lee Park,” said MRPP president and CEO Carol Coletta. “From nature walks, to outdoor concerts, to running through the misting fountains on a hot summer day — and so much more — that’s what we have to look forward to. A free, signature park that will put Memphis on the map, complete with fascinating features for everyone to enjoy, 365 days a year. With today’s (USACE) permit approval, we’re a big step closer.”
