Author: Smart City Memphis

It’s one of those weeks when we have to fight the thought that our elected officials are losing their minds.And it’s only Tuesday.First, Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton announces – without a hint of concern about the average...

While we frequently decry the crisis that exists in Memphis City Schools and the more than 100 schools that are not meeting state benchmarks, we want to take this opportunity to salute the schools – 2 high schools, 7...

Get ready for one of those sham celebrations manufactured by the Tennessee Department of Education to mark alleged improvements in student academic performance.While talking about how the state will toughen up its standards for...

There is no sacred cow in the public sector that compares to public education – or can moo as loudly.We’ve been hearing the familiar refrain since June when the Shelby County Board of Commissioners put $11 million in new...

Say the word community and it still brings to mind thoughts of people with something in common who identify with each other as a group and usually as a neighborhood. But this week, the meaning of community is being stretched in...

There’s one fact of life about today’s news media that’s always disconcerting to us – the way that people become one-dimensional caricatures of themselves.Willie Herenton is arrogant, Henri Brooks is unpatriotic, Wyatt Bunker is...

Madalyn Warren emailed from her home in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York to say that “community urban gardens are the single most important grassroots effort for people to participate in.” Ms. Warren was in town for...

From Walter Diggs of the Memphis Public Issues Forum:The Memphis Public Issues Forum is pleased to announce that Carol Coletta will be the featured speaker this Sunday, 3:00 PM, April 13, at the Hooks Central Library, Meeting...

These days, the “Government Watchdog” seems to be doing more whimpering than barking, and all because Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton won’t give him an interview.In recent days, Mike Matthews has petulantly used WREG-TV’s prime...

Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton will lay out his plan for Memphis City Schools in a 60-90 minute presentation on May 6 in City Council Chambers.“I’m going to make the most important presentation in my entire public life,” he...