Category: City of Memphis
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Reality Check: “Is crime really down” in Memphis?
For the past several years we’ve been hearing that “crime is down in Memphis”…and don’t we all feel safer? This assertion has been told by all kinds of folks in public life…elected officials, law enforcement, etc. and is more often than not…unchallenged, even though few people can tell that “crime is down” based on reporting…
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Nobody Won
Last night’s election results in the sales tax vote were surprising in the definitive margin of defeat…more than the defeat of the measure itself. It was an issue I struggled with, much like more than one of my friends. As a long time advocate of Pre-K, and someone who actually spent over a year researching…
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What did I mean by ‘value’?
At the end of my last post I talked about value. Specifically I said: In the mean time, the Council needs to think long and hard about their ideas of revenue, expenditures, long-term liabilities, rate and most importantly, value. …phrases used in this and previous budget negotiations are empty political rhetoric unless they include specific…
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Who’s driving this bus?
Memphis budget back and forth raises questions about long-term plans, vision for the City among other things If you’re not confused you’re not paying attention. To be honest, I’ve been on vacation for a week, and doing everything I can to not pay attention, but the events of yesterday’s Memphis City Council meeting snapped me…
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Bridges v. Walls – Annexation Edition
This week’s big story locally has been the fight between the State legislature and the City of Memphis over the Gray’s creek annexation area. The two biggest issues revolve around A) a city’s right to annex area to expand its borders, and B) the desires of the residents of that area to remain autonomous. There’s…
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Restoring Faith
No one said it would be quick, easy, cheap, or without some bad press, but that doesn’t mean all the news is bad. What am I talking about? The growing number of investigations concerning divisions of the City of Memphis government. Over the two years since Mayor AC Wharton assumed the Mayor’s office we’ve seen…