Made For TV
Well, not yet. But if the series East Memphis ever makes it
to the small screen, don't forget you heard about it here first. The show's
creator, Kirk Michael, describes it as a sort of Knot's Landing
set here in the Bluff City. It centers around Peggy and Charles Dunaway,
the owners of the biggest hamburger franchise in town. Mark, their son,
is a big troublemaker, while their daughter Cindy is an Elvis-obsessed rock-and-roller.
Michael, a U of M graduate, says he's completed a series outline for 27
episodes.
Right now, East Memphis is being shopped around to producers
by J.J. Hollis, another U of M grad and president of Illinois-based Say
What Entertainment. No bites yet, but these things take time. "When
you're dealing with big people," Hollis explains, "you get put
on hold a lot."
Knowing When To Say When
Recently, controversy brewed in Tennessee's capital city over the winner
of the Nashville Scene's annual "You are so Nashville if ..."
contest. The winning entry -- "you've checked your flower bed for Janet
March" -- made reference to a Nashville woman who is missing and sparked
angry letters and phone calls. This prompted Scene media writer Henry
Walker to make the case that the contest, in its ninth year, should be dropped,
and not just because one entry was tasteless. "Yes, the March comment
was tasteless," wrote Walker. "Worse, it wasn't very funny. It
was just dumb -- as were most of the winning entries. The annual contest
has run its course and should be dropped."
And he's not even in a city where the daily has "borrowed" the
concept and run it six days a week for over a year.
Drug Borg
"Methodist Central Pharmacy Gets Help From Robot" is a headline
that draws your attention, as it did when it appeared at the top of a recent
press release from Methodist Hospital. Apparently, they've got some new
mechanical pharmacist drone called -- this is true -- R x OBOT, which can dispense all kinds
of drugs without ever making a mistake, etcetera, etcetera. But, of course,
what we all really want to know is whether or not it dispenses drugs to
chimpanzees.
Herenton May Dump City Lobbyist
by Phil Campbell
he Tennessee
General Assembly is long over for the year, and blame among Memphis politicians
for allowing that "toy town" incorporation bill to become law
has been distributed and redistributed several times over by now.
But there may be more fallout for what Memphis officials have to consider a sour state legislative season. That would come down on the city's lobbyist, Robin Merritt. Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton has not yet signed a new $50,000-a-year contract for Merritt, who has held that position since February 1995. The mayor typically renews such business relationships in July, says Herenton spokeswoman Carey Hoffman.
While Chief Administrative Officer Rick Masson says Herenton plans on deciding Merritt's fate "pretty soon," neither he nor Hoffman will say what that fate will be, saying the mayor is still reviewing the situation.
Merritt went to the state capital this year with only a few proposals to actively lobby for, a reflection of her boss' agenda, not hers. She explained to the city council in January that her job this session was to defend Memphis from anti-Memphis legislation.
Whether or not Herenton is privately blaming her for allowing the incorporation legislation to pass on the last day is uncertain. The law allows small communities to incorporate into suburban municipalities that block Memphis from physical growth, and city officials are treating it as the greatest threat to the city's health since yellow fever hit the Bluff City in the late 1800s. Without the ability to annex, Memphis may be economically harmed beyond calculation, they say.
No one knew about the implications of the legislation until it was too late. Was Merritt to blame for that? "It slipped by a lot of people," Masson says. It's a paradox. Although no one is to blame because it got by everybody, everybody is to blame because no one was paying attention.
Of the Shelby County state legislative delegation, Sen. Steve Cohen is the most critical of Merritt and does not think her services should be retained. His reasoning is twofold: She lives in Nashville, and she does not enjoy decent relations with Gov. Donald Sundquist's administration. The first disadvantage keeps her from understanding the needs of her client, while the second prevents her from accomplishing many of those goals effectively.
State Sen. Curtis Person Jr. gives Merritt high marks, however, noting the tough job she had this year. "I think Robin has worked hard and has been an effective lobbyist," he says. "I think she has done as good a job as you can do under difficult circumstances." He adds, though, that the Shelby County administration has consistently been better than the city at providing key information to state elected officials, packaging comprehensive legislative proposals as guides.
Other opinions of Merritt vary. State Rep. Ed Haley says he was pleased by Merritt's help because she always supplied him with weekly updates on key bills. State. Rep. Barbara Cooper, who just completed her first term, barely knew who Merritt was. "I've heard her name. I've read it in the paper," she says.
John Vergos and a few other city council members have another complaint against Merritt: She didn't keep the city council informed. Merritt did go before the council in January with a list of legislative proposals, but she hasn't formally appeared before the group since. "We never saw her again until late June, when she came back down here lobbying individual council members about being rehired by the mayor," Vergos says. This may be a little cynical, however, considering that Herenton doesn't have to consult with council members about giving Merritt a new contract.
Masson said he would try in the future to improve communication between the city council and the lobbyist -- whoever that lobbyist may be.
Merritt could not be reached for comment. Messages have been left on her answering machine and she has been paged since Friday.