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VOL. 133 | NO. 119 | Thursday, June 14, 2018
Last Word
Bill Dries
Last Word: Kiwanis Debate, Haslam on the Gov. Race and Street Work
By Bill Dries
For the last couple of days there has been this brewing story that Kim Kardashian West was on her way to the city to meet with Alice Marie Johnson, the convicted drug dealer sentenced to life in prison who was pardoned by President Donald Trump last week after serving 21 years in federal prison. And that is just what happened Wednesday – almost. The meeting was in Southaven. And, according to People, it included lessons in how to use Snapchat. The meeting included an interview with the Today show that will air Thursday morning.
Most of the major contenders for Tennessee governor expected at the annual meeting of the Tennessee Bar Association Thursday morning at the Peabody for a forum. However, according to his schedule, Republican contender Bill Lee of Franklin will be campaigning at a town hall meeting in Covington at that time.
Lee Harris and David Lenoir – the two contenders for Shelby County Mayor on the Aug. 2 ballot – had their first debate Wednesday at the Memphis Kiwanis Club luncheon. And for two candidates who have each said in separate appearances that the county still faces challenges that must be met – they have some real differences on how to face those challenges. This is the first of several debates by the Democratic and Republican nominees.
A different kind of discussion about poverty at the National Civil Rights Museum recently centering on the work and observations at the Salvation Army’s Purdue Center of Hope – an in-residence program for homeless women and children.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has seven months left in office and during an appearance Wednesday before the Collierville Chamber of Commerce, he seemed very much in exit mode with some views on those television commercials in the Republican primary to succeed him. And he talked about the problems with student achievement testing – the TNReady tests – and why he thinks it is being used by those who want to break the link between those test results and the evaluation of teachers.
Andy Woodman, John Dobbs Jr. and Barry Pelts are the new partnership behind the coming expansion of Corky's BBQ.
Our Nashville correspondent Sam Stockard on the political afterlife of Nashville’s failed ballot question to fund a mass transit system.
A closer look at the partnership between Corky’s and Dobbs Equity Partners.
And a broader look at riverfront changes coming at a pretty good clip – and not just at Tom Lee Park.
City Hall’s “brilliant at the basics” philosophy means some changes in who keeps up state routes and highways come July 1.
The latest installment of “I Listen to Memphis” the video series by Beale Street Caravan that combines our abundance of musical talent with our iconic places. This time around it is the tiny stage at the P&H Café with Marcella and Her Lovers with Spooner Oldham spilling the stage presence into the audience a bit. Oldham once part of the studio band at Chips Moman’s American Studios at Chelsea and Danny Thomas Boulevard and then part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section at FAME. They go with an Etta James tune ideal for a slow dance if only your heart wasn’t broken in Midtown on a weeknight.