Rep. Joe Towns addresses legal threats over removal of Confederate statues in Memphis saying 'Bring it. Bring your lawsuits.'
Katie Fretland/The Commercial Appeal
The 9:01 is a coffee-fueled weekday column on all things Memphis
Good morning from Memphis, where Tigers football fans are looking forward to Saturday's championship game. But first...
For the first time Sunday, Tennessee House Democrats elected a black lawmaker — Memphis' own Karen Camper — to lead their embattled caucus.
The election of Camper, a U.S. Army veteran with 12 years in the House, is significant as another example of the "black girl magic" that has turned politics on its head in Memphis and elsewhere. But it's also significant because it gives Memphis a prominent friend in Nashville at a time when Memphis desperately needs prominent friends there — even though the Democrats have little power in the Republican House and Senate.
Since Memphis removed its Confederate statues at the end of 2016, some Republican lawmakers seem hell-bent on punishing the city. And this year, they might actually do it.
Memphis lost two high-profile friends last year when Collierville Republican and Senate majority leader Mark Norris was confirmed as a federal judge and when Memphis Democrat and Senate minority leader Lee Harris won election as Shelby County mayor.
And now it's looking like Republican Glen Casada will become speaker of the House. Casada, you might remember, led a recall of a resolution honoring Tami Sawyer, a Memphis activist-turned-Shelby-County-commissioner who helped lead a grassroots campaign to take down the city's Confederate statues. She's braced for reprisals:
So, Camper has a hard job ahead. But that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of Memphians for her election. Here are some of the responses:
It's also worth noting that newly elected senator Raumesh Akbari of Memphis is running for Senate Democratic Caucus chairwoman — and according to Democratic sources is likely to win. While the leader focuses on policies, the chairwoman focuses on elections.
Additional reading: Speaking of politics, the Shelby County Election Commission is certifying election results today after counting up provisional ballots. The Daily Memphian has more on that topic.
The ups and downs of Memphis sports
Memphis beat Houston Friday to win the AAC West title.
Jason Munz, Southern Miss Sports Writer
So, first the good news: The University of Memphis football team beat Houston to win the American Athletic Conference West Division championship last week, Evan Barnes reports. The team now plays the University of Central Florida for the AAC championship.
Memphis is the underdog in the match. From Evan:
UCF (11-0) moved up two spots to reach No. 7 in the coaches poll. With the Knights also ranked No. 7 in this week's AP poll, they will be the highest ranked team Memphis has played since 1999, when they lost 17-16 at No. 7 Tennessee.
For details about the championship game Saturday, our Jason Munz has you covered. Evan also reviews what bowl game invitations the Tigers could get.
Now, the bad news: The Tigers and the Grizzlies basketball teams both lost games last week. Here's our David Cobb on what went wrong with the Grizzlies:
The Knicks outscored Memphis 35-19 in the quarter, and the Grizzlies had no answer for [Enes] Kanter. Even [Jaren] Jackson struggled to contain Kanter in the post as the Knicks turned a 13-point deficit into a seven-point lead entering the final quarter.
“We didn’t play our brand of basketball," [Grizzlies' player Marc] Gasol said. "I thought that we got a little too full defensively, not enough urgency, too many mismatches, cross-matches, easy layups, and they made us pay for that. We had control of the game, and then it took a lot of energy to get close again. We kind of ran out of gas at the end.”
Knicks' coach David Fizdale, whom the Grizzlies fired, got emotional afterward:
New York Knicks coach David Fizdale got emotional discussing a surprising victory over his former team, the Memphis Grizzlies.
David Cobb, The Commercial Appeal
Our Mark Giannotto has more on Fizdale's year-in-the-making hug with Gasol.
As for what went wrong with the Tigers in their 20-point loss to Oklahoma State, coach Penny Hardaway blames himself. But Hardaway isn't giving up on this season yet:
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway isn't looking ahead to next season. He wants to compete this year.
Drew Hill, The Commercial Appeal
Election past, Palazzolo eyes growth
Germantown's recent mayoral election showed a town deeply divided on how the city should grow. The pro-growth candidate, Mayor Mike Palazzolo, won by just 127 votes.
With that less-than-glowing referendum, Palazzolo reaffirmed his pro-growth position in an interview published Saturday in The Daily Memphian. But don't worry, Palazzolo says — he's not going to let any apartments for people with low to moderate incomes in:
“I think what the market is bringing is more the village concept in high-end urban and suburban areas, not the patio form of the sprawling apartment complexes,” he said. “The stand-alone multifamily is what most of our residents fear. I have a fear for that as well. When you have a sense of place, a sense of life that drives a lot more activities and life in an area – you don’t get that in 20 acres off to the side that just has apartments and nothing else around it. That’s not really the model that we are looking for.”
Of course, there's a right and wrong way to grow, and unbridled development of low-income apartment complexes would be a wrong way to grow. That could overwhelm the new school district, drive down property taxes, etc. But growing by just catering to the rich is also a poor growth strategy — unless you're rich and only interested in yourself.
If Germantown wants to be truly rich, then grow smart — but in a way that benefits both rich and poor, black and white, and Germantown and the Greater Memphis area.
Recommended reading
The Fadeout
Nashville-based Americana star Margo Price — who recorded her two breakout solo albums in Memphis — returns to the Bluff City on Wednesday to headline Methodist Hospice's annual charity concert at Minglewood Hall, our Bob Mehr reported last week.
The doors open at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, with $100 tickets available at minglewoodhall.com or methodisthealth.org/nightlife.
Ryan Poe writes The 9:01, a column on everything Memphis that runs weekdays at 9:01 a.m. Reach him at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @ryanpoe.
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