A Tax on Income? As the Tennessee General Assembly prepares to interrupt its regular 1999 agenda for a special session on taxation called by Governor Sundquist, there is heartening evidence that legislators may actually bite the bullet that former Governor Ned Ray McWherter tried to serve them up almost a decade ago. That was when McWherter proposed a state personal income tax, arguing that such a tax was the only equitable and effective way to guarantee the revenues that Tennessee would need for its basic services as the state approached the 21st century. It is fair to say the legislators of that time gagged on the proferred meal, rejecting it decisively. But here it is on the very edge of the new millenium, and members of the Assembly are said to be looking at the prospect of a state income tax with at least an open mind. That was the word after a meeting of several key legislators with House of Representatives Speaker Jimmy Naifeh on Tuesday. And, reportedly, several members have proposals at the ready. Why the change in outlook? Clearly, it is a recoil of sorts from what many members of the General Assembly regard as an even bitterer pill offered them by Governor Sundquist, whose current tax-reform proposal – particularly its provisions for an across-the-board payroll tax on businesses – has occasioned a good deal of resistance, especially from the proprietors of small businesses, to whom it might arguably present a disproportionate burden. It is to the governor’s credit, however, that he has started a long-overdue debate, and the resurfacing of the income tax as an idea would probably not have occurred without the stimulus he has provided. Hail to the Cobras! Things are looking up on Pennsylvania Avenue, and Bill Clinton has nothing to do with it. There’s a celebration going on at Carver High, the venerable school at 1591 Pennsylvania in South Memphis. Not only did the Cobras bring home the Tennessee AA state boys basketball title last week, but later this spring the 850 students at Carver will move into a new, state-of-the-art building next door. Memphis high schools used to dominate the Tennessee high-school basketball tournament played every year in Murfreesboro. But lately the rest of the state has caught on to and incorporated the Memphis style of play. Austin-East High School, the Knoxville powerhouse that Carver beat to win the title, is said to play “Memphis basketball,” a pressing, baseline-to-baseline style. Carver, which had to overcome a 17-point first-quarter deficit to beat Austin-East, proved once again that the best basketball in the Volunteer state is still played in the Bluff City. To their credit, the Carver players are sharing their good fortune with the neighborhood. The team is making visits to the elementary schools that feed Carver – A.B. Hill, Florida, Riverview, and Kansas – and will also visit the school’s adopters, the Hardison Law Firm and Memphis Light, Gas and Water. So, congratulations to principal Jerry Marlin, athletic director Robert Cole, head coach Stevenson Bratcher, and the members of the 1998-99 Carver basketball team. We rejoice in their victory and look forward to the opening of their new technology-driven school.