The Early Word: Will fewer be better at U of M? Plus, a dive into the MATA mess
Good morning, Memphis. It’s Monday, August 26 and the Shelby County Commission is meeting today, for the fourth time this month, where they’ll again discuss a plan to change the terms of a 6% pay raise for most county employees. Why so much time on this? Bill Dries explains.
Colliervillie’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen will also consider pay raises today, for firefighters.
The 40th annual Ostrander Awards, celebrating the best in Memphis theater, will be held at the Orpheum Theatre tonight, where Michael Detroit, executive producer of Playhouse on the Square, will receive the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award
Class is in session at local colleges and universities, but the University of Memphis is welcoming its smallest first-year class in years. Declining college enrollment has been a national story for a decade, one that may be increasing due to a variety of factors, including a demographic shift that’s producing fewer college-aged Americans. But at Memphis there seems to be another part of the story: Higher standards, university president Bill Hardgrave implies, resulting in lower acceptance rates. Jane Roberts also checks in with other Memphis colleges as the new school year opens.
Among the many illuminating nuggets in King Jemison’s deep-dive into issues facing public transit in Memphis is this: Fifty years ago, the city’s system deployed 300 buses to cover roughly 100 square miles. Today, those numbers are reversed: Fewer (maybe many fewer?) than 100 buses to cover nearly 300 square miles. The math doesn’t math, and it keeps on not mathing. Memphis is built for car ownership, but not everyone can handle that burden. Where to go from here as MATA contemplates a drastic budget reduction? An audit, a national transit consultant, a model (Indianapolis) and a growth in smaller, more geographically constructed “on-demand” offerings are all part of the mix.
Plus, a home-smoking pro tip from Patio Porkers, soul food ordering instructions and a Memphis arts meet-up in an unlikely place.
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Chris Herrington
Chris Herrington has covered the Memphis Grizzlies, in one way or another, since the franchise’s second season in Memphis, while also writing about music, movies, food and civic life. As far as he knows, he’s the only member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association who is also a member of a film critics group and has also voted in national music critic polls for Rolling Stone and the Village Voice (RIP). He and his wife have two kids and, for reasons that sometimes elude him, three dogs.
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