“With drag racing, carjackings, car thefts, armed robberies — some resulting in death of victims — murders, etc., being reported every day in our city, we are well past the time of ‘we need to rehabilitate our youth.’”
“The DA and our county commissioners need to stand up for the law-abiding people of Memphis and do whatever it takes to reverse this disastrous bail-reform policy.”
“Our shared future can only be created in community. And to do that, we’ll need to use the most efficient and productive platform humanity has yet devised: a bustling, busy, connected urban center.”
“The City of Memphis’ funding of its Affordable Housing Trust Fund has not been near enough. And it has lagged behind the funding in other peer cities.”
“Brian Kelsey is certainly not the only example of the moral bankruptcy of so much of our society; he’s just a ready and easy pick of low-hanging rotten fruit.”
“The City of Memphis should utilize the same tools that its colleges and universities and schools do when an imminent threat exists.”
“This is not a quick fix on a long-term and wide-reaching issue, but it is a workable start in moving toward and safer and healthier Tennessee for all of us.”
State Senator Brent Taylor discusses increasing penalties for certain violent crimes and proposed legislation that seeks to stem the rise in juvenile crime.
“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, and above all these put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
“Memphis should be led by someone who actually lives here, is committed to the city, and has demonstrated that commitment throughout their career.”
Celebrate Earth Day by spending some time observing a single creature — what it looks like, how it moves, how it interacts with other plants or creatures in its habitat, and whether it makes any distinctive sounds.
“When there’s a medical breakthrough, you’re not going to hear about it first through an ad or sales pitch.”
“Having FedEx’s influence in Memphis the past 50 years — from the high-profile items like FedExForum and the Grizzlies to actions that fly under the larger radar like all the FedEx Cares events in Memphis — has been incalculable in making our city as amazing as we all enjoy it to be.”
“If Johnson, Jones and Pearson think winning the argument means raising their personal profiles and raising lots of money to win safe Democratic seats, then the pounding and yelling seem to have paid off.”
“These three leaders effectively tapped into the political will of a demographic that had been held down, abused and ignored year after year. A megaphone was all that was needed to shatter Speaker Cameron Sexton’s fragile ego and trigger a political earthquake.”
“We strongly urge the MSCS board and the next superintendent to continue making early literacy a top priority for our community.”
In an op-ed, Democrat Phil Bredesen and Republican Bill Haslam, who served as governors successively from 2003 to 2019, offered some specifics around “small step” gun restrictions as starting points.
“We must break down the system silos, invest strategically in communities, and hold ourselves across public and private interests accountable for results.”
“Because of the sanitation workers’ strike and the tragic killing of Martin Luther King Jr. 55 years ago, Memphis has become a welcoming place for refugees and people fleeing unimaginable horrors back home.”
“When teachers, sanitation workers and municipal employees must take time off work to drive across the state to receive care for sick children, we will all feel the consequences.”
“We can’t solve the poverty and cultural issues that plague our community in the short or even medium term. But we can build more prisons, with an emphasis on reform.”
“Community members shouldn’t have to wait years for relief. Instead of making excuses and dodging questions, the Shelby County Health Department needs to act now to make the facility reduce its emissions or — if it continues to refuse — shut down completely.”
“I’ll admit that the Easter bunny is cute and tons of fun – he swings by our house every year. The eggs are nice. The flowers are a delight. In their own ways, they all point to new life. But there is nothing that compares with celebrating what it means for humanity that Jesus walked out of that tomb.”
“I think there is no question that Justin Pearson’s expulsion has given him a much bigger pulpit from which to preach. I now count myself as a member of his flock. What I pray for us all is that we will let compassion and love be the forces which lead us all forward.”
“While my voice is just one that will likely go unheard by itself, I know it won’t be ignored as part of the larger, necessary movement that is already growing in this state, a movement that is being led by our children and the Tennessee Three.”