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- (female narrator) 
Production funding for

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Behind The Headlines

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is made possible in part by 
the WKNO Production Fund,

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the WKNO Endowment Fund, 
and by viewers like you.

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Thank you.

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- One year after the bridge 
protests, Memphis 3.0,

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Great Streets come downtown.

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Those stories and more, 
tonight on Behind The Headlines.

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[dramatic orchestra music]

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I'm Eric Barnes, publisher 
of the Memphis Daily News.

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Thanks for joining us.

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I'm joined tonight by a 
round table of journalists,

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starting with Toby Sells 
from the Memphis Flyer,

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thanks for being here again.

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- Thank you, Eric.

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- (Eric) 
Madeline Faber from

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High Ground News, 
thanks for being here.

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- Thanks for having me.

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- (Eric) 
Bernal Smith from The New

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Tri-State Defender.

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- Glad to be back.

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- (Eric) 
And Bill Dries with the

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Memphis Daily News.

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- So, we'll start, Bill, 
it is one year, as I said

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at the top of the show, 
give or take a year

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since the bridge was shut 
down as part of a national

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set of protests, 
tangentially related,

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there was a ruling in 
Federal court this year

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over the so called unauthorized 
list or the protestor list,

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the people who are being 
arguably monitored by the

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police department.

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Tell us, go back in time 
to what that list was about

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and what did the federal 
judge rule this week?

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- Okay, as one of the series 
of protests leading up

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to the bridge protest last 
July, there was a die in protest

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on the front lawn of Mayor 
Jim Strickland's house.

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He signed what's known as 
an authorization of agency

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that says in effect these 
people are trespassers.

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If they come on home, 
on my front lawn again,

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and he left the people 
on that list, who were

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specifically on that list 
up to the police department.

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The police department 
not only put the names

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of those protestors on 
that list, they also put it

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on the city list that 
said you can't go anywhere

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in city hall without a 
uniformed police officer

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by your side.

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And it was not just the people 
who conducted the die in.

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It was some of the people 
who had been on the bridge.

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It was people who had been 
involved in other protests.

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Once the city hall list was 
made public, there was a lawsuit

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That filed in Memphis Federal 
Court that said these people

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were on the list, put on 
the list by the police

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because the police had been 
conducting illegal surveillance

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of them. 
- Which goes back to a

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consent order from the 70s.

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- From 1978 when the police had

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a domestic intelligence unit.

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So this suit and another 
suit over it had been pending

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in court, the other 
one was settled in June

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between those protestors 
and the police department.

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There's one  
that's still pending,

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and Judge Jon McCalla

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has that lawsuit 
in Federal Court.

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And he has now said 
okay, the four protestors

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who were plaintiffs in this 
suit, they are dismissed

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from it because they 
do not have standing.

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But the American Civil 
Liberties Union of Tennessee

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remains as a plaintiff and 
the suit will go forward.

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- And all this, you know, 
it's one year Bernal,

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since there were again, 
the protests as I said,

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around the country.

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Officer involved shootings, 
there have been at least

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one or two, or three here.

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There was such an outcry.

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Mike Rallings, there was 
the huge event, I forgot

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the name of the church, 
very, very a lot of anger

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among the African American 
community, among others

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at the city government, 
at the police about how

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people are being treated.

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Again, it's amazing 
that a year has gone by,

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but has anything changed?

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Has anything moved in 
a different direction?

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- You know, it's interesting 
when you think about it

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that what sort of facilitated 
that particular protest

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was the shooting of 
Philando Castille,

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and it was his fiance actually 
broadcast it on Facebook,

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and you know it was just 
a significant outcry.

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Ironically, almost a 
year later, in that case,

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the officer who did the shooting 
was essentially exonerated

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and let go.

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And so as we reflect 
back, we don't really,

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it's hard to say if 
much has really changed

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on the national landscape.

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It's arguable with 
Jeff Sessions leading our

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Department of Justice.

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- The new Attorney General 
under Trump Administration.

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- Under Trump Administration 
that we've actually

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gone backwards to a degree.

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And then locally, it's 
kind of hard to say.

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We did usher in a new Police 
Director with Rallings

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and the move he 
made on the bridge--

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- Which seemed in some ways 
to satisfy some frustration.

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That he had handled the 
bridge protest so well.

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Some people were critical 
that Strickland didn't just

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make him the police director 
right at the moment,

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but he ultimately did and 
that did seem from my seat

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to kind of calm things down.

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- Yeah, I thought it was what 
the protestors called for.

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At that time, I think they 
felt that he was the right guy

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and it seems that going 
on, that he's done a fairly

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good job of continuing 
to be in the community

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and working with community 
groups and protestors

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to make sure that there's 
an ongoing relationship

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between the police department 
and folks on the streets.

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- Well, you mentioned Jeff 
Sessions and I'll go to

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Madeline, you've written 
about at High Ground,

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I think we've all 
written about it.

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The question of whether 
the Federal Government,

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the Justice Department 
under Jeff Sessions,

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the Attorney General should 
remain under oversight

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by the Federal Government.

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I can't remember when this 
was put in place but some

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time ago, some county 
officials would like that

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oversight to go aways, others 
would like it to continue.

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What have you learned?

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- Yeah, that's a very 
critical thing bouncy around

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Shelby County right now.

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In 2012, the Memphis Shelby 
County Department of Juvenile

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and Justice entered into 
a memorandum of agreement

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with the Department of 
Justice saying, admitting that

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there was racial disparity 
in how youth were sentenced.

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Black youth, they got 
harsher, longer sentences

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for similar crimes 
of white youth.

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People were not given 
proper representation

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and because of that, we 
had to enter into a federal

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agreement under 
federal oversight.

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In April, Jeff Sessions 
dropped a few of the points

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of the oversight, 
about 17 of them.

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But the crucial 
ones still remain.

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Those being oversight of due 
process and detention issues

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and Shelby County Mayor 
Mark Luttrell wants to

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drop those entirely.

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So just get the DOJ out of 
our business altogether.

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The Shelby County Commission, 
everyone voted against this,

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but Mayor Luttrell says 
he's going to veto that

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and move forward 
with the move anyway.

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- Your thoughts on all this.

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We've done any number 
of shows this year about,

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in the last two years 
probably, about conversations

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about criminal justice reform, 
about how the challenging

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mandatory minimums, 
the history of that,

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we've done all kinds of shows.

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There's a new operation 
safe community out

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and of course the 
murder rate has spiked.

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And yet at the same time, 
you've got these issues

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at the jail that I think 
unrelated to the consent

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or that Madeline mentioned.

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They lost some kids, 
they lost some prisoners,

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they had software that wasn't 
working in the prison system,

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I mean, I don't 
know, your take Toby

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on what's been going on.

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- I think the outcry that 
has been going on underneath

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the surface I believe is 
starting to bubble up.

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I think we're starting to see 
organization of some folks

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around those issues.

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You've got Justice 
City now, you've got a

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Black Lives Matter group that's 
really organized and pushing

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a lot of things.

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A lot of outside 
groups coming in.

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I think we're gonna start 
seeing criminal justice

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reform really start 
bubbling up to the top.

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I know Raumesh Akbari, she's 
working on a lot of that

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stuff in the state legislature.

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So I think we're gonna 
see a lot of movement

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around some of this stuff.

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And it may get uncomfortable 
for a little while.

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- Right, and some of that 
segues to what sounds like,

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I think in the news business, 
whenever we talk about

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marijuana legalization, 
we write funny headlines

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and we make a joke of it.

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And so I'm gonna try not 
to do that this time.

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The medical marijuana 
bill in Arkansas is about

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to go in effect.

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- (Toby) 
Yeah.

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- Which for some people 
is not just a business,

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and it's not just letting 
people smoke pot, it is a

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form of criminal justice 
reform, of taking,

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it's a step towards 
decriminalizing marijuana

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instead of throwing people in 
jail for possession or use.

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- Right, so on this past 
Friday, the Arkansas

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medical marijuana 
program got underway.

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They started, they let 
applications for patients,

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for potential growers, for 
potential dispensaries,

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so these people are 
going to start to apply

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and get approved.

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The folks in Arkansas 
believe that probably about

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20,000 or 40,000 patients 
are going to sign up

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to get a medical 
marijuana ID card

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and as soon as the 
dispensaries are approved

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and they go into business, 
they're thinking about

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early 2018 is when those 
are going to go into effect

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in Arkansas.

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And how that's going to 
effect Memphis I think is

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yet unknown, but in a 
little bit of research

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that I've done so far, you 
know, those border areas

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and border states that 
have medical marijuana

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against a state that doesn't.

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Those borders get 
porous and things happen

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and it affects across the 
bridge, so we don't know yet.

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But to your point, in a 
lot of the discussions

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that I've had with people.

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I've talked with people 
who run dispensaries

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in California and other places,

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and they talk about 
Marijuana very soberly.

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They don't use all the 
funny words that we use

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in the headlines.

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They talk about how it 
helps patients all over

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the country with 
all their issues.

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And so it's a very 
different conversation

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that I've been having 
with folks that have

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marijuana than I have 
here where there's still

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a bit of a stigma.

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- Thoughts on any of 
all this Bill, in terms

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of all this criminal justice, 
and you and I have done

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all these shows, we've 
written about it a lot.

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How all these things 
come together.

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- I think that the major 
event that's happened

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between the bridge protest 
and now is the election

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of Donald Trump as 
President in November.

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That really changed.

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We still saw more protests, 
but I think where we're at now

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is a lot of people who 
were new to protesting

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in what we saw leading up to 
November and after November

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up to the inauguration 
are now wondering is this

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all that there is.

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What is beyond the protesting?

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How do you get involved 
and stay involved and still

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live your life on a daily basis?

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Because most of the people 
who have participated

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in this last year of a 
pretty dramatic upswing

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in protest are 
people who have jobs,

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are people who have lives 
outside of their newly

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found political involvement.

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And we also have not 
seen any change in

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police training as a result of 
what happened on the bridge.

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And the issue's growing--

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00:11:14,507 --> 00:11:16,376
- That's a priority for 
Strickland, because he's trying

248
00:11:16,376 --> 00:11:17,877
to get back to 2,400 police,

249
00:11:17,877 --> 00:11:19,846
that's just been 
all in the news.

250
00:11:19,846 --> 00:11:23,550
- And he's been 
upfront about that.

251
00:11:23,550 --> 00:11:26,986
So has Rallings, that 
they think that the public

252
00:11:26,986 --> 00:11:29,756
needs to be more 
educated in how the police

253
00:11:29,756 --> 00:11:32,425
do their jobs, that the 
police don't necessarily need

254
00:11:32,425 --> 00:11:37,030
to dramatically change their 
tactics in handling protests.

255
00:11:37,030 --> 00:11:39,365
- You bring up the Trump... 
I'll turn to you Bernal,

256
00:11:39,365 --> 00:11:41,234
I remember, a year, a 
year and a half ago,

257
00:11:41,234 --> 00:11:44,237
so it was pre-election, being at 
law school for journalists,

258
00:11:44,237 --> 00:11:46,272
which had a lot of local 
journalists in town,

259
00:11:46,272 --> 00:11:48,875
and they brought in a 
deputy attorney general

260
00:11:48,875 --> 00:11:51,344
from the Obama administration, 
and he talked about

261
00:11:51,344 --> 00:11:52,946
new strategies for policing 
and community policing

262
00:11:52,946 --> 00:11:56,649
and it was very much again, 
and they were going into

263
00:11:56,649 --> 00:11:58,418
various communities 
including Memphis,

264
00:11:58,418 --> 00:12:00,520
I think in Chicago, 
places they were invited

265
00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,156
to talk about new 
strategies in policing,

266
00:12:03,156 --> 00:12:05,992
and what they thought was 
very forward thinking.

267
00:12:05,992 --> 00:12:08,428
Then you have an election 
and Jeff Sessions is the

268
00:12:08,428 --> 00:12:10,229
new attorney general 
and he's kind of back to

269
00:12:10,229 --> 00:12:13,600
law and order and 
lock them away.

270
00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,769
And I am sure there are people 
listening to this show saying

271
00:12:16,769 --> 00:12:19,439
well, the murder rate's up, 
violent crime is terrible,

272
00:12:19,439 --> 00:12:21,941
yeah there should be 
this kind of old school

273
00:12:21,941 --> 00:12:23,409
lock 'em up approach.

274
00:12:23,409 --> 00:12:25,111
I'm not sure which one's 
better but it is a dramatic

275
00:12:25,111 --> 00:12:27,246
shift that a lot of 
people didn't expect.

276
00:12:27,246 --> 00:12:28,748
- Yeah it is.

277
00:12:28,748 --> 00:12:31,918
And I think when I look at 
the protestors and of course

278
00:12:31,918 --> 00:12:35,588
as a commemoration sort of 
what happened on the bridge

279
00:12:35,588 --> 00:12:39,759
last year coming up, there 
they, they called for a number

280
00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,262
of things that I don't 
think has really happened.

281
00:12:43,262 --> 00:12:46,165
One was a sort of cultural 
sensitivity training

282
00:12:46,165 --> 00:12:48,968
for police officers 
here in Memphis.

283
00:12:48,968 --> 00:12:52,939
And many protestors were 
saying hey, we need outside

284
00:12:52,939 --> 00:12:56,242
entities to help connect 
police officers with the

285
00:12:56,242 --> 00:12:59,612
community so there's 
a greater understanding.

286
00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:02,849
But when you look at sort 
of what Jeff Sessions,

287
00:13:02,849 --> 00:13:07,253
the tone and tenor that he 
set, it's really, hey we're

288
00:13:07,253 --> 00:13:12,158
gonna go all out to make 
sure that we're giving the

289
00:13:12,158 --> 00:13:14,994
stiffest penalties and 
that we're having a higher

290
00:13:14,994 --> 00:13:17,163
level of sentencing.

291
00:13:17,163 --> 00:13:20,466
And I think that goes against 
everything that Eric Holder

292
00:13:20,466 --> 00:13:23,503
and under President Barack 
Obama had put in place

293
00:13:23,503 --> 00:13:26,339
and I think it's also 
affecting the tone and tenor

294
00:13:26,339 --> 00:13:30,243
with how local police 
departments are dealing with

295
00:13:30,243 --> 00:13:32,812
arrests and how they 
relate to the community.

296
00:13:32,812 --> 00:13:34,981
Hopefully that doesn't 
happen here in Memphis

297
00:13:34,981 --> 00:13:37,817
'cause I think 
we've made progress.

298
00:13:37,817 --> 00:13:40,620
- I was just gonna say as 
far as what the protestors

299
00:13:40,620 --> 00:13:42,488
were looking for, we may 
get a clearer picture

300
00:13:42,488 --> 00:13:45,091
of that on Sunday, they're 
having a reunion of that group.

301
00:13:45,091 --> 00:13:47,994
It's the, Bill, the Memphis 
Coalition of Concerned Citizens,

302
00:13:47,994 --> 00:13:49,896
is that the name of the group?

303
00:13:49,896 --> 00:13:52,865
They're getting together 
at Tom Lee Park at 4:00 p.m.

304
00:13:52,865 --> 00:13:56,869
and they're gonna have a 
number of living newspaper

305
00:13:56,869 --> 00:13:59,439
kind of stuff and skits 
and activities down there.

306
00:13:59,439 --> 00:14:02,208
And they'll likely talk 
about some of those things.

307
00:14:02,208 --> 00:14:04,410
Hopefully, they'll say, 
here's what we asked for,

308
00:14:04,410 --> 00:14:05,945
here's what we have 
gotten and didn't get.

309
00:14:05,945 --> 00:14:07,747
And kind of get a 
checkup with those folks.

310
00:14:07,747 --> 00:14:10,383
But another thing that 
came up during all that was

311
00:14:10,383 --> 00:14:12,819
policing of course, but 
also economic opportunities

312
00:14:12,819 --> 00:14:15,154
that they were looking 
for in Memphis.

313
00:14:15,154 --> 00:14:16,923
And I'm not sure how far 
we've moved the needle

314
00:14:16,923 --> 00:14:18,424
on some of that stuff yet.

315
00:14:18,424 --> 00:14:20,393
- Well, and I'll segue a 
little bit to you Madeline,

316
00:14:20,393 --> 00:14:22,762
you've written a lot and High 
Ground's written a lot about

317
00:14:22,762 --> 00:14:25,231
the transformation about 
the South City area.

318
00:14:25,231 --> 00:14:28,401
We did a show last week with 
Paul Young, with Marcia Lewis,

319
00:14:28,401 --> 00:14:32,038
Archie Willis about this last 
of the big housing projects

320
00:14:32,038 --> 00:14:33,406
in Memphis.

321
00:14:33,406 --> 00:14:35,241
But your take on this 
transformation, what's about to

322
00:14:35,241 --> 00:14:39,011
happen, with the backdrop 
of, public housing has been

323
00:14:39,011 --> 00:14:42,515
concentration of poverty, 
concentration of crime,

324
00:14:42,515 --> 00:14:44,884
and as Toby was just 
saying, not a lot of

325
00:14:44,884 --> 00:14:46,119
economic opportunity.

326
00:14:46,119 --> 00:14:48,054
What's happened 
in the South City?

327
00:14:48,054 --> 00:14:50,156
- Well I hope that 
people keep in mind that

328
00:14:50,156 --> 00:14:51,691
what's going to happen with 
South City is a new kind

329
00:14:51,691 --> 00:14:53,559
of federal program, it's 
called Choice Neighborhoods

330
00:14:53,559 --> 00:14:55,895
as opposed to Hope VI, 
which has gotten a lot of

331
00:14:55,895 --> 00:14:59,298
criticism for not being 
accessible to the previous

332
00:14:59,298 --> 00:15:01,134
residents of public housing.

333
00:15:01,134 --> 00:15:03,970
They tear down the housing, 
build up nicer, better housing,

334
00:15:03,970 --> 00:15:05,938
but then also put in place 
all these restrictions

335
00:15:05,938 --> 00:15:07,940
that make it very difficult 
for the former residents

336
00:15:07,940 --> 00:15:09,976
to move in, so they don't 
really reap the benefit.

337
00:15:09,976 --> 00:15:13,479
Choice Neighborhoods has 
again those same restrictions

338
00:15:13,479 --> 00:15:15,615
but they're designed 
in cooperation with the

339
00:15:15,615 --> 00:15:17,116
former residents.

340
00:15:17,116 --> 00:15:18,551
So they have a say in the 
kind of people they want

341
00:15:18,551 --> 00:15:20,052
living as their neighbors.

342
00:15:20,052 --> 00:15:23,756
So I hope that that will make 
this project more accessible

343
00:15:23,756 --> 00:15:26,759
than previous renovations 
of public house have been.

344
00:15:26,759 --> 00:15:29,028
- Yeah, and South City I 
should say is basically

345
00:15:29,028 --> 00:15:32,532
to the southeast of FedEx 
Forum, the Foote Homes.

346
00:15:32,532 --> 00:15:34,433
I always mess these 
names up, and I got--

347
00:15:34,433 --> 00:15:38,471
- Foote Homes and Cleaborn 
Pointe and areas beyond that

348
00:15:38,471 --> 00:15:41,107
that are not within 
the footprint of either

349
00:15:41,107 --> 00:15:42,542
of those developments.

350
00:15:42,542 --> 00:15:46,145
- It goes to Main, 
Crump, Walnut, and... yeah.

351
00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:49,415
- And all that demolition, 
most of the people

352
00:15:49,415 --> 00:15:51,217
have been moved out, that 
demolition starts based

353
00:15:51,217 --> 00:15:52,652
on what we talked about,

354
00:15:52,652 --> 00:15:55,054
which was a fascinating 
conversation, not for anything

355
00:15:55,054 --> 00:15:57,190
I did, but for Paul Young 
whose father had grown up,

356
00:15:57,190 --> 00:16:00,927
and Paul Young is the Head of 
Housing & Community Development.

357
00:16:00,927 --> 00:16:02,461
His father had grown up in 
Foote Homes, Marcia Lewis,

358
00:16:02,461 --> 00:16:04,497
and they just talked 
about how do you break the

359
00:16:04,497 --> 00:16:06,966
cycle of poverty, how do 
you break the cycle of what

360
00:16:06,966 --> 00:16:11,237
was meant to be housing to 
get people on the right track

361
00:16:11,237 --> 00:16:13,573
and became for a lot of 
people as Paul Young said,

362
00:16:13,573 --> 00:16:15,041
the kind of warehousing 
of the poor.

363
00:16:15,041 --> 00:16:16,943
And so thoughts on 
where that goes in terms

364
00:16:16,943 --> 00:16:20,112
of this last, will they do 
this one better than the

365
00:16:20,112 --> 00:16:24,383
10 or 11 other housing 
projects they've transformed.

366
00:16:24,383 --> 00:16:28,020
- Well, Memphis has certainly 
been on a foreground if you

367
00:16:28,020 --> 00:16:31,224
will of the transformation 
of what we've known to be

368
00:16:31,224 --> 00:16:33,059
housing projects historically.

369
00:16:33,059 --> 00:16:36,395
But I think in this particular 
instance, you still have

370
00:16:36,395 --> 00:16:40,466
the disruptiveness of having 
to get people to move out

371
00:16:40,466 --> 00:16:42,501
and then they're 
placed somewhere

372
00:16:42,501 --> 00:16:44,704
in the Memphis community.

373
00:16:44,704 --> 00:16:47,139
And then potentially 
moving back.

374
00:16:47,139 --> 00:16:49,876
And I think those kind 
of things are unlikely

375
00:16:49,876 --> 00:16:52,678
to have people to make 
those kinds of moves.

376
00:16:52,678 --> 00:16:55,848
So I think the transition is 
difficult although I think

377
00:16:55,848 --> 00:16:58,551
the spirit of what they're 
trying to accomplish I think

378
00:16:58,551 --> 00:17:01,854
is there, but the actual 
carrying out of it I think

379
00:17:01,854 --> 00:17:03,756
is still a very difficult task.

380
00:17:03,756 --> 00:17:06,959
- When we talk about 
transformation, uh, Memphis 3.0,

381
00:17:06,959 --> 00:17:10,763
which is the city's plan to 
come up with a plan for Memphis.

382
00:17:10,763 --> 00:17:13,733
It hasn't had a comprehensive 
city strategic plan

383
00:17:13,733 --> 00:17:15,234
in many decades.

384
00:17:15,234 --> 00:17:18,671
There have been community 
meetings, a couple of rounds

385
00:17:18,671 --> 00:17:22,275
of that, you were partly hosting 
one, Bernal at the Brooks,

386
00:17:22,275 --> 00:17:24,744
at Midtown recently that 
I went to just as a citizen.

387
00:17:24,744 --> 00:17:26,546
Your thoughts on that process.

388
00:17:26,546 --> 00:17:28,881
I'll get everybody's thoughts 
but I'll start with you.

389
00:17:28,881 --> 00:17:30,850
We're about a year into, 
eight months to a year

390
00:17:30,850 --> 00:17:32,551
into Memphis 3.0.

391
00:17:32,551 --> 00:17:37,223
- Just about a year and 
they've done a lot of research.

392
00:17:37,223 --> 00:17:41,761
They've done a decent job 
of I think of engaging

393
00:17:41,761 --> 00:17:44,096
the community, I think 
that can be better in terms

394
00:17:44,096 --> 00:17:48,034
of really trying to 
communicate a wider section

395
00:17:49,201 --> 00:17:51,804
of the community to be 
engaged in this process.

396
00:17:51,804 --> 00:17:55,741
It's been since 1981, 
since we've even attempted

397
00:17:55,741 --> 00:17:58,778
a real strategic plan 
for the Memphis community

398
00:17:58,778 --> 00:18:01,914
and I think, so 
certainly we're overdue.

399
00:18:01,914 --> 00:18:05,051
But when you look at some 
of the preliminary results

400
00:18:05,051 --> 00:18:08,054
that they find, some of the 
findings and some of the

401
00:18:08,054 --> 00:18:10,489
input from the community, 
it's really telling about

402
00:18:10,489 --> 00:18:12,792
where we are as a community 
and certainly where we

403
00:18:12,792 --> 00:18:16,262
need to go and that's 
what that last discussion

404
00:18:16,262 --> 00:18:17,797
was really about.

405
00:18:17,797 --> 00:18:19,098
- And some of this stuff is 
on the Memphis 3.0 website.

406
00:18:19,098 --> 00:18:21,233
But they talked a lot 
about population shifts,

407
00:18:21,233 --> 00:18:23,669
it's a stagnant population 
in Memphis and through

408
00:18:23,669 --> 00:18:27,673
annexation, a very big 
footprint that that needs

409
00:18:28,874 --> 00:18:31,444
to be you know, that's 
a tough one to adjust.

410
00:18:31,444 --> 00:18:33,145
But Memphis 3.0, sometimes 
it's get real esoteric.

411
00:18:33,145 --> 00:18:34,447
What are we talking 
about, what's the plan?

412
00:18:34,447 --> 00:18:36,082
It's really about 
transportation.

413
00:18:36,082 --> 00:18:39,452
It's about where 
investments should be made.

414
00:18:39,452 --> 00:18:41,654
What kind of neighborhoods 
we should have.

415
00:18:41,654 --> 00:18:43,956
I think you've written 
some Madeline, about it.

416
00:18:43,956 --> 00:18:46,926
Your thoughts on Memphis 3.0 
give or take a year into it.

417
00:18:46,926 --> 00:18:49,829
- You know, I hope that 
people don't succumb to

418
00:18:49,829 --> 00:18:51,998
what we feel as meeting 
fatigue about Memphis 3.0.

419
00:18:51,998 --> 00:18:54,834
It's gonna be awhile before 
we see some actual change.

420
00:18:54,834 --> 00:18:57,703
Though they have identified 
maybe some low hanging fruits,

421
00:18:57,703 --> 00:19:00,673
some you know, short term 
projects they could achieve.

422
00:19:00,673 --> 00:19:03,776
I think that the initial 
findings from Memphis 3.0

423
00:19:03,776 --> 00:19:06,345
confirms sort of what we 
just know living in the city,

424
00:19:06,345 --> 00:19:09,281
that we have a stark 
income disparity,

425
00:19:09,281 --> 00:19:12,351
that our employment hubs 
are difficult to access

426
00:19:12,351 --> 00:19:14,153
through public transportation.

427
00:19:14,153 --> 00:19:16,689
And that older parts of 
the city, older housing,

428
00:19:16,689 --> 00:19:20,226
they're not up to energy 
efficient methods.

429
00:19:20,226 --> 00:19:22,428
So that poorer Memphians, 
maybe who live in older

430
00:19:22,428 --> 00:19:24,030
parts of the city have 
to spend a lot more

431
00:19:24,030 --> 00:19:25,364
on their energy bill.

432
00:19:25,364 --> 00:19:27,967
- Right, and it's 
the meeting fatigue.

433
00:19:27,967 --> 00:19:30,236
I mean some of the earlier 
meetings I went to.

434
00:19:30,236 --> 00:19:33,272
It is interesting because 
you think this is sort

435
00:19:33,272 --> 00:19:35,608
of a lot of talk, a lot of 
consultants, a lot of plan,

436
00:19:35,608 --> 00:19:37,076
and then it gets put on a shelf.

437
00:19:37,076 --> 00:19:38,544
But cities who've done it right,

438
00:19:38,544 --> 00:19:40,513
Milwaukee had a plan, 
Denver had a plan,

439
00:19:40,513 --> 00:19:41,781
Nashville had a plan.

440
00:19:41,781 --> 00:19:43,582
These plans really do, 
if they're done right,

441
00:19:43,582 --> 00:19:45,117
and they bring the 
right input in, they get

442
00:19:45,117 --> 00:19:47,953
everybody on board, 
community activists on board,

443
00:19:47,953 --> 00:19:50,923
politicians on board to, 
not necessarily dramatically

444
00:19:50,923 --> 00:19:53,092
transform the city but 
to do some smart things

445
00:19:53,092 --> 00:19:55,728
and put in a multi- 
year process in place.

446
00:19:55,728 --> 00:19:59,065
- When you look at one of 
the telling components of it,

447
00:19:59,065 --> 00:20:03,202
it said that since 1974, the 
population growth of Memphis

448
00:20:03,202 --> 00:20:06,439
has been about 4% 
but over that same time,

449
00:20:06,439 --> 00:20:10,443
the land growth of 
Memphis was 55%.

450
00:20:10,443 --> 00:20:14,346
So it really tells we've 
basically had the same people

451
00:20:14,346 --> 00:20:17,650
just moving from place 
to place, as we've built

452
00:20:17,650 --> 00:20:19,618
these new neighborhoods 
and made these significant

453
00:20:19,618 --> 00:20:22,822
investments in infrastructure 
and utilities and so forth.

454
00:20:22,822 --> 00:20:24,957
So I think it even impacts 
this whole discussion

455
00:20:24,957 --> 00:20:29,428
about de-annexation, 
because again, the city

456
00:20:29,428 --> 00:20:31,697
and the county 
has invested many,

457
00:20:31,697 --> 00:20:33,632
many dollars to 
build infrastructure

458
00:20:33,632 --> 00:20:35,401
not for new people 
moving to the area,

459
00:20:35,401 --> 00:20:37,103
but for the same people that's 
moving from place to place.

460
00:20:37,103 --> 00:20:38,504
- Right, we were talking 
before the show trying

461
00:20:38,504 --> 00:20:40,039
to get a fix on that.

462
00:20:40,039 --> 00:20:42,108
That there's this proposal 
to de-annex about six areas,

463
00:20:42,108 --> 00:20:44,376
about 10% of the land mass, 
city council's not moved

464
00:20:44,376 --> 00:20:46,011
on that, I think there's 
still some behind-the-scenes

465
00:20:46,011 --> 00:20:48,380
negotiation with the 
neighborhood groups and the city

466
00:20:48,380 --> 00:20:50,082
is my sense--

467
00:20:50,082 --> 00:20:51,917
- Yeah, I think  
the administration

468
00:20:51,917 --> 00:20:53,519
at City Hall is still

469
00:20:53,519 --> 00:20:56,088
counting votes to see if 
they have seven votes.

470
00:20:56,088 --> 00:20:58,924
There are some council 
members who I've talked to

471
00:20:58,924 --> 00:21:02,895
pretty recently who still 
have a fundamental problem

472
00:21:02,895 --> 00:21:06,398
with voting to de-annex 
any area of Memphis

473
00:21:06,398 --> 00:21:09,435
just on principle 
aside from the numbers.

474
00:21:09,435 --> 00:21:14,240
And beyond that, you also 
work out how does this work?

475
00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:16,509
Because you don't just 
do this overnight,

476
00:21:16,509 --> 00:21:19,211
if it's approved by the council.

477
00:21:19,211 --> 00:21:21,547
There are some financial 
considerations.

478
00:21:21,547 --> 00:21:25,184
The city has some kind of 
reimbursement that's involved

479
00:21:25,184 --> 00:21:29,054
in this for infrastructure 
that's in those areas.

480
00:21:29,054 --> 00:21:31,223
So all of that has 
to be worked out.

481
00:21:31,223 --> 00:21:35,094
Meanwhile, there is still 
de-annexation legislation

482
00:21:35,094 --> 00:21:38,831
that is ready to go in 
Nashville and the legislature

483
00:21:38,831 --> 00:21:40,533
goes back to work in January.

484
00:21:40,533 --> 00:21:43,636
- Yeah, we talk about 
investment and I mentioned

485
00:21:43,636 --> 00:21:45,304
at the top, the Great Streets.

486
00:21:45,304 --> 00:21:46,872
And you've written about 
this, I think most of us

487
00:21:46,872 --> 00:21:49,108
have touched on it at various 
points, but Madeline, what are

488
00:21:49,108 --> 00:21:50,910
the Great, this Great Streets 
program that's going on in

489
00:21:50,910 --> 00:21:52,511
downtown, what is it?

490
00:21:52,511 --> 00:21:54,180
- So if y'all haven't 
driven downtown in awhile,

491
00:21:54,180 --> 00:21:55,681
you should go check it out.

492
00:21:55,681 --> 00:21:58,651
Peabody Place where it abuts 
with South Main has been

493
00:21:58,651 --> 00:22:01,820
transformed into kind of this 
interesting way to reimagine

494
00:22:01,820 --> 00:22:03,455
infrastructure in Memphis.

495
00:22:03,455 --> 00:22:05,658
Seeing it more as an amenity 
than something that purely

496
00:22:05,658 --> 00:22:07,259
belongs to cars.

497
00:22:07,259 --> 00:22:09,028
So that street is very wide.

498
00:22:09,028 --> 00:22:11,931
They've taken every 
other lane or the lanes

499
00:22:11,931 --> 00:22:16,735
on the outside and put in 
chairs, tables, outdoor games.

500
00:22:16,735 --> 00:22:18,003
- It's all but European.

501
00:22:18,003 --> 00:22:19,271
(laughing)

502
00:22:19,271 --> 00:22:23,375
It's very striking, 
for better or worse.

503
00:22:23,375 --> 00:22:25,477
But it goes, I remember 
when they first announced

504
00:22:25,477 --> 00:22:27,746
this Bernal, I think 
we talked about this.

505
00:22:27,746 --> 00:22:29,682
You can say these things 
are sort of oh it's just

506
00:22:29,682 --> 00:22:32,952
for hipsters or it's 
kind of some foundation

507
00:22:32,952 --> 00:22:35,621
funded fantasy, but it's 
right across the street

508
00:22:35,621 --> 00:22:37,790
from Service Master 
which is real money

509
00:22:37,790 --> 00:22:40,593
and real investment 
in downtown Memphis.

510
00:22:40,593 --> 00:22:43,362
And you look at the other 
end of downtown with

511
00:22:43,362 --> 00:22:46,732
St. Jude planning billions 
of dollars in investment

512
00:22:46,732 --> 00:22:49,335
in the Pinch District 
in similar ways I think.

513
00:22:49,335 --> 00:22:52,438
Similar ways, reconnecting 
with the street,

514
00:22:52,438 --> 00:22:53,973
not just building parking 
lots and getting people

515
00:22:53,973 --> 00:22:55,441
off the street.

516
00:22:55,441 --> 00:22:57,209
This is how a new generation 
of people want to live

517
00:22:57,209 --> 00:22:59,345
and it's where they want 
to live and work and play,

518
00:22:59,345 --> 00:23:00,613
it's not just a slogan anymore.

519
00:23:00,613 --> 00:23:01,880
So this is real stuff.

520
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,316
- Yeah, I think it's 
interesting how they've

521
00:23:04,316 --> 00:23:07,152
laid it out, I mean the 
funny thing though, I just

522
00:23:07,152 --> 00:23:08,721
haven't seen many 
people engaged.

523
00:23:08,721 --> 00:23:11,624
Maybe we have to sort of 
warm up to this new layout.

524
00:23:11,624 --> 00:23:13,726
But they got all these 
tables and chairs there

525
00:23:13,726 --> 00:23:18,230
and so I think part of it is 
helping our own community.

526
00:23:18,230 --> 00:23:21,767
Sort of reimagining we 
engage with one another.

527
00:23:21,767 --> 00:23:23,936
- Well, they've done similar 
stuff in the medical district.

528
00:23:23,936 --> 00:23:26,005
I don't know how much you've 
written about that Toby,

529
00:23:26,005 --> 00:23:27,906
but it's interesting to drive 
through the medical district

530
00:23:27,906 --> 00:23:30,542
and they've put, it's 
just much more attractive.

531
00:23:30,542 --> 00:23:32,244
I mean, that was always 
kind of a dead zone,

532
00:23:32,244 --> 00:23:33,846
you just drove 
through, it was ugly.

533
00:23:33,846 --> 00:23:36,348
Bit by bit they are 
aesthetically improving it

534
00:23:36,348 --> 00:23:38,384
and it's a much more pleasant 
place to go through at least.

535
00:23:38,384 --> 00:23:39,952
- And the traffic 
is a lot slower.

536
00:23:39,952 --> 00:23:41,920
If you've driven through 
the medical district,

537
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:44,123
you see people just 
piling through there,

538
00:23:44,123 --> 00:23:46,692
but on Great Streets, 
I know I've talked to

539
00:23:46,692 --> 00:23:49,928
some downtown business 
owners, and they just said

540
00:23:49,928 --> 00:23:53,432
any criticism they would 
have is the administration

541
00:23:53,432 --> 00:23:55,868
didn't get a lot of buy in 
from a lot of the business

542
00:23:55,868 --> 00:23:57,236
owners around there.

543
00:23:57,236 --> 00:23:59,204
And one day it just 
popped and it was there.

544
00:23:59,204 --> 00:24:00,739
And they were like 
well what's this?

545
00:24:00,739 --> 00:24:02,341
And so then they found out 
about it and they were like

546
00:24:02,341 --> 00:24:04,009
well this is great, 
but you know,

547
00:24:04,009 --> 00:24:05,210
if you would have 
asked me first.

548
00:24:05,210 --> 00:24:06,879
- The community 
strategy has to improve

549
00:24:06,879 --> 00:24:08,947
on many of these 
projects I think,

550
00:24:08,947 --> 00:24:13,018
just the level of engagement 
in terms of talking

551
00:24:13,018 --> 00:24:16,555
to stakeholders I think 
has to really improve

552
00:24:16,555 --> 00:24:17,990
all the way around.

553
00:24:17,990 --> 00:24:20,426
'Cause I think it was a 
surprise to many in downtown,

554
00:24:20,426 --> 00:24:23,228
many business 
owners in that area.

555
00:24:23,228 --> 00:24:25,864
- Right, just a minute 
and a half left.

556
00:24:25,864 --> 00:24:28,901
So as, we taped this on 
Thursday, as of this week,

557
00:24:28,901 --> 00:24:31,136
Zack Randolph from 
the Grizzlies is gone.

558
00:24:31,136 --> 00:24:33,472
Signed a contract 
with Sacramento.

559
00:24:33,472 --> 00:24:36,141
I mean, even if you're 
not a basketball fan

560
00:24:36,141 --> 00:24:39,845
in the Xs and Os, he really 
did embody the new Grizzlies,

561
00:24:39,845 --> 00:24:42,114
the what, seven or eight 
year playoff run Grizzlies,

562
00:24:42,114 --> 00:24:43,749
the whole grit and grind era.

563
00:24:43,749 --> 00:24:47,186
Again, as we tape this, 
it's likely that Tony Allen

564
00:24:47,186 --> 00:24:49,455
who is part of that same, 
who coined the phrase

565
00:24:49,455 --> 00:24:50,956
grit and grind will 
likely be gone.

566
00:24:50,956 --> 00:24:52,391
Thoughts on it,

567
00:24:52,391 --> 00:24:54,526
not from a basketball 
point of view, but just as a

568
00:24:54,526 --> 00:24:55,961
hometown team point of view.

569
00:24:55,961 --> 00:24:57,996
- I think it really 
reinforces the notion that

570
00:24:57,996 --> 00:24:59,398
basketball is a business.

571
00:24:59,398 --> 00:25:03,402
So as much as we get 
ingrained into these players

572
00:25:03,402 --> 00:25:07,239
and we ingratiate them, and 
we love them, we understand

573
00:25:07,239 --> 00:25:10,542
at some point, he's far 
along in his career,

574
00:25:10,542 --> 00:25:13,645
he's got a two year 
$24 million deal.

575
00:25:13,645 --> 00:25:14,847
- (Eric) 
Right.

576
00:25:14,847 --> 00:25:16,782
- I mean how can 
you argue with that?

577
00:25:16,782 --> 00:25:20,519
I mean, so we love 
Z-Bo but I understand

578
00:25:20,519 --> 00:25:22,154
that it's time to go.

579
00:25:22,154 --> 00:25:23,655
- Bill, thoughts?

580
00:25:23,655 --> 00:25:26,425
- We're still waiting to see 
what shakes out with this but

581
00:25:26,425 --> 00:25:29,995
this is I think the 
death of grit and grind,

582
00:25:29,995 --> 00:25:34,900
for some other type of 
style of play and branding,

583
00:25:34,900 --> 00:25:36,668
which has been emerging.

584
00:25:36,668 --> 00:25:41,407
- The Warriors forced that into 
being, gotta get that addressed.

585
00:25:41,407 --> 00:25:42,841
- (Eric) 
High scoring, yeah, right.

586
00:25:42,841 --> 00:25:44,710
Toby, thoughts?

587
00:25:44,710 --> 00:25:46,678
- I'm just going to miss Tony 
Allen and the airport man,

588
00:25:46,678 --> 00:25:47,679
that's it, you know.

589
00:25:47,679 --> 00:25:49,281
(laughing)

590
00:25:49,281 --> 00:25:50,516
- Madeline?

591
00:25:50,516 --> 00:25:51,450
- (Madeline) 
We're gonna miss him.

592
00:25:51,450 --> 00:25:52,484
- We're gonna miss him.

593
00:25:52,484 --> 00:25:53,952
Okay.

594
00:25:53,952 --> 00:25:55,154
Well, that is about all 
the time we have this week.

595
00:25:55,154 --> 00:25:56,789
Thank you all for 
being here, thank you.

596
00:25:56,789 --> 00:26:00,859
And thank you for joining us, 
join us again next week.

597
00:26:02,094 --> 00:26:05,664
[dramatic orchestra music]