Good Monday morning from Memphis, and welcome to a week of beginnings: tomorrow is the first day of fall (come at me, Autumnal Equinoxers); Shelby County Schools starts its school year with all-virtual classes; and the Tigers start football season Saturday without the team's star running back. Also, a quick housekeeping note for regular readers: yours truly has been conscripted for an all-day newsroom project tomorrow, so don't look for a column until Wednesday. But first...
After seeing mass utility disconnections last week, the first cut-offs in five months, some of Memphis' elected leaders are looking to close the floodgates, per our Sam Hardiman.
This week, City Council member Martavius Jones and chairwoman Patrice Robinson plan to propose shuffling $5.7 million in coronavirus-dedicated federal CARES Act funding. Instead of making up the Memphis Zoo's shortfall, the money would go to the Metropolitan Interfaith Association (MIFA) for utility assistance. Meanwhile, the zoo's finances would be shored up with money from cutting Memphis police and fire budgets.
That last part — about cutting Memphis police and fire — could make the resolution the latest battleground for proponents and opponents of the "defund the police" movement.
But for Jones and Robinson, cutting police and fire isn't a political statement so much as it is an attempt to balance the city's response to the virus. Since April 28, the city has allocated $2.5 million for utility assistance and $1 million for rent assistance, although MIFA only received that money last week. (That's a bureaucratic tragedy that deserves more time than we can spend on it this morning. But moving on...) The CARES funds set aside to help Memphians in need won't go far in a city of roughly 650,000 people, not with 14,000 Memphis Light, Gas and Water customers eligible for disconnection.
In contrast, the city is debating using $12.5 million in CARES funding just on hazard pay, mostly in the police and fire departments, according to City Council documents. Hazard pay for policing during a pandemic is justified, but isn't taking care of the Memphians who are jobless or struggling to pay their utility bills as important, if not more important? In a nutshell, that's the argument for setting aside more funding for utility assistance.
But there's a counterargument, of course.
Mayor Jim Strickland told Sam in June that he doesn't believe the city can substantially cut police and fire without affecting services. Maybe that's true, although as Jones pointed out, $5.7 million is just 1.2% of the two departments' combined budgets.
Another complication: we still don't really know how dire the disconnection problem is. MLGW has 14,000 "customers" eligible for disconnection, but it's unclear how many of those are actual residents as opposed to the landlords of empty houses or businesses. MLGW already has robust financial assistance and payment plan options, so is the problem really a lack of assistance — or that people don't know about them because Strickland's administration didn't promote the options to citizens ahead of mass cut-offs?
Maybe we'll get answers when the resolution comes up in Tuesday's council meeting.
But let's not forget that this debate should have happened weeks or even months ago, long before MLGW restarted disconnecting people during a pandemic. At this point, the city's assistance might be too little and arriving too late for thousands of Memphians.
Gainwell opts out over COVID concerns
Over the weekend, the big news for Memphis Tigers football fans was that preseason All-American sophomore running back Kenneth Gainwell will opt out of the 2020 season.
And that's completely understandable considering he's lost four family members to COVID-19, as our Jason Munz and Evan Barnes report. From their story yesterday:
Curtis Gainwell Sr. told The Commercial Appeal on Sunday night that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic played a role in his son's decision as the family has lost four members after contracting the virus, including an uncle whose funeral was this weekend.
"He decided that he didn't want take any chances with the coronavirus going on. You don't want to to get out there and get sick and bring it to us, his brother or his teammates," Gainwell Sr. said.
Losing Gainwell will hurt the Tigers, but the team has a deep — if young — bench of running backs. Sophomore Rodrigues Clark, junior Kylan Watkins, Miami transfer Asa Martin and junior college transfer Kalyn Grandberry will all be competing to fill the void.
As for Gainwell, it's too early to say whether he'll enter the 2021 NFL draft, although that's a distinct possibility. If he does, he'll be among the top running back prospects.
Speaking of sports: Columnist Mark Giannotto says it's time to get excited about the start of college football in Memphis. Also, FedExForum won't be a polling place this November, our Evan Barnes reports. Plus, our Khari Thompson reports that Wooddale star Johnathan Lawson is once again considering joining the Memphis Tigers.
Remembering Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Boseman, the actor who starred as King T'Challa in Marvel's "Black Panther," died Friday of colon cancer, sending shock waves rippling through his wide fan base.
But there's an extra layer of sorrow for Memphians who may remember that Boseman visited St. Jude Children's Research Hospital a couple of years ago to celebrate the birthday of a young patient and fan of his, as recounted by our Katherine Burgess.
St. Jude highlighted the visit in a couple of tweets over the weekend:
Most Memphis thing you'll watch today
Some of the teachers of Memphis Delta Prep — King, Hall, Dire, and Page — teamed up to make what is now one of my favorite coronavirus-inspired music videos of the year, "Teachers on Zoom." It's hilarious. Give it a watch...
What else is happening in the 901
- For subscribers: Our Max Garland takes a closer look at the delays over at FedEx SmartPost, a service that involves the U.S. Postal Service. (Not a subscriber? Please consider becoming one for only $1 for three months thanks to a Labor Day sale.)
- FedEx is testing a pilot-less airplane that could deliver packages to smaller markets, our Max Garland reports.
- Congressman Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, wants to see federal officers in Memphis fitted with body cameras, our Katherine Burgess reports. Cohen's comments on the issue come after U.S. Marshals wounded a man they mistakenly thought was a homicide suspect.
- The Memphis police officers who shot and killed a man waving a realistic-looking BB gun at them and motorists in Raleigh in December 2018 won't be charged, our Corinne Kennedy reports.
- Last week, after commuting her sentence last year, President Donald Trump issued a full pardon to Memphian Alice Marie Johnson just in time for her prime time speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention. But his appointees aren't showing the same level of compassion, our Tonyaa Weathersbee opines.
- Food for thought: After 22 years, Deli on the Square — the deli in the house in front of the entrance of Malco's Studio on the Square — is moving to a new location on Madison Avenue, our Jennifer Chandler reports. Also, Memphis-based chain Red Hook Cajun Seafood & Bar plans to add four new locations in the Memphis area. Jennifer also checks in on how Wiseacre is doing in its new Downtown digs.
- Memphis rapper NLE Choppa's "Top Shotta" album debuted at No. 10 on Bilboard's album charts last week, our Bob Mehr reports.
- Joe Hayden, one of the best journalism professors at the University of Memphis (take it from a former student) penned an op-ed for us that takes a well-aimed kick at a new law that makes camping outside Tennessee's Capitol a felony offense.
The Fadeout: Burnside's 'Coldwater'
The Memphis-born, Mississippi-raised, Grammy-nominated Cedric Burnside just released a new single, "Coldwater," with Greenville, Mississippi-born artist Steve Azar. Is the song's title a play on the name of Coldwater, Mississippi, south of Memphis? Could be. Give it a listen and decide for yourself...
Like The Fadeout? Check out The 901's Spotify playlist. Want to submit a recommendation of your own? Reach me by email, address below.
Columnist Ryan Poe writes The 901, a running commentary on all things Memphis. Reach him at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @ryanpoe.
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The 901: Should Memphis cut police, fire to bolster utility assistance? - Commercial Appeal
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