Recent editorials from Tennessee newspapers:
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Jan. 31
The Commercial Appeal on services to help low-income families and children:
There are numerous entities in this community working on initiatives to close the faucet spewing a toxic mixture of conditions that negatively impact poor families and the children in those families.
These efforts are mostly designed to plug the pipeline of adverse childhood experiences that result in children not reaching their full potential.
That means stabilizing families by developing strategies to meet a family’s specific needs.
Agape Child and Family Services received a major boost in that direction last week when it was announced the agency will receive a three-year, $12.2 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Human Services to build on the work it does with families in targeted areas of Memphis.
The grant allows the faith-based nonprofit agency to provide additional services to 1,000 families over the course of the award.
The grant, a combination of state and federal funds, will help Agape with the two-generation work being done with parents and children inside specific apartment complexes in Frayser, Hickory Hill and Whitehaven through its Powerlines Community Network.
David Jordan, executive director, called the complexes “some of the greatest hot spots in our city.” These are communities where poverty is prevalent but resources are not.
It has been well documented in The Commercial Appeal that some apartment complexes in these neighborhoods are breeding grounds for crime, poverty and hopeless. Some are far worse than the public housing complexes that the city, working with Memphis Housing Authority and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, demolished and replaced with single-family-style rental housing.
Powerlines was launched in 2009. Families take part in after-school programs, job readiness programs, life skills and nutrition classes. There are partnerships with the Achievement School District, the University of Memphis, the Workforce Investment Network and other community agencies
It is part of a growing network of foundations and programs, such as the Universal Parenting Places, that recognize that the one-size-fits-all approach to providing social services to help families climb out of poverty is not very effective.
Last year, DHS launched 2G for Tennessee, a strategy that focuses on partnering with parents and children to improve the well-being of the entire family, in what they call a two generation or “two-gen” approach.
William “Bill” Morris had that point in mind when he launched his Free The Children anti-poverty initiative in 1988 while he was Shelby County mayor. The initiative, which eventually ended, was designed to provide tailored services to families to help them climb out of poverty.
Agape’s Powerlines somewhat fits the Free The Children mold, plus participating families will have $100 a month, or $1,200 a year, set aside for “when life happens,” such childcare or transportation problems.
Every time we use this space to reiterate that Memphis’ violent crime problem cannot be solved unless the community finds a way to mitigate family situations that breed new criminals, there is pushback from those who say the solution is more suppression tactics, such as more police officers and tougher prison sentences.
Those things are important, but so are intervention strategies to stabilize poor households, where conditions are turning out more criminals.
Online:
https://www.commercialappeal.com
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Feb. 1
The Johnson City Press on higher education in Tennessee:
Gov. Bill Haslam unveiled a bold plan Monday to offer every Tennessean without a post-secondary degree a chance to attend a state community college for free.
The Reconnect Tennessee Act would expand Tennessee Promise, which was the first program of its kind in this nation to offer two free years of tuition and fees for graduating high school seniors who wish to attend a community college. Haslam now wants to allow any Tennessean, who has lived in this state for at least a year, to attend a community college without paying tuition.
Reconnect Tennessee promises to deliver on “Drive to 55,” an initiative Haslam launched in 2013 aimed at seeing that 55 percent of Tennessee’s residents earn a post-secondary degree by 2025. State officials say 39 percent of Tennesseans now hold some sort of a higher education degree.
At the same time, 900,000 residents of this state have attended college, but have failed to earn a degree. Haslam says Reconnect Tennessee can change that.
Other states are now talking about making community college free to its residents. Meanwhile, enrollment in Tennessee’s community colleges has seen a sharp increase in recent years, thanks largely to the program.
Haslam says the free community college education program comes at no extra cost to this state’s taxpayers
The governor believes offering all Tennesseans an opportunity to earn a community college degree will help fight the rising costs of higher education, while raising the bar for students and state institutions alike. Free tuition should also help Tennessee students of any age not only to enroll in college, but to stay and earn a degree.
This program promises to make Tennessee a national leader in higher education. And after years of being ranked near the bottom for states whose residents hold a college degree, that would be a distinction that all Tennesseans can be proud of.
Online:
https://www.johnsoncitypress.com
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Jan. 31
Knoxville News Sentinel on the effects of “Black Wednesday” on Knox politics:
Ten years ago, on the morning of Jan. 31, 2007, the News Sentinel published an article containing admissions by Knox County commissioners that they had engaged in private deliberations about court-ordered appointments - violations of the state’s Open Meetings Act.
Knox Countians later that day watched with mounting outrage as commissioners brazenly and repeatedly violated the law during recesses of the public meeting held to fill those appointments.
The meeting became known as “Black Wednesday,” and the fallout changed Knox County government for the better.
The genesis of Black Wednesday was a state Supreme Court ruling that, while noting deficiencies in Knox County’s charter, upheld term limits - a charter provision that had been ignored. Twelve officeholders had to step down.
Commissioners said they had discussed how to fill the seats - eight on the county commission, plus sheriff, register of deeds, trustee and county clerk - in private conversations. The Open Meetings Act, also known as the sunshine law, bars two or more members of a public body in Tennessee from deliberating privately.
Black Wednesday exposed just how sordid the deal making could be. Votes were held without any public discussion of the appointments. When commissioners became deadlocked over one of the commission appointments, they called recesses to make deals out of earshot of the public. Some of their discussions devolved into heated confrontations.
Eventually, all the appointments were made, but the damage to Knox County government’s reputation lay in tatters. In addition to the secrecy, nepotism and cronyism marred any semblance of government. Three relatives of commissioners received appointments to the body. Political favors were rewarded.
Nine citizens and News Sentinel Editor Jack McElroy filed a lawsuit in Chancery Court formally alleging the violations. Commissioners remained defiant.
Factions within the City County Building struggled for supremacy. Reporters found that members of the county mayor’s inner circle routinely used county-issued purchasing cards to buy personal items - including groceries, gas and even a cruise. The finance director resigned, one of four administration figures to step down as a result.
At a civil trial, a jury of Knox County citizens held their government accountable by finding commissioners violated the sunshine law in all 12 appointments. Then-Chancellor Daryl Fansler nullified the appointments and ordered commissioners to make new ones - this time with public deliberations. He also warned they could be found in contempt for future violations.
The change since then has been profound. Commissioners began issuing public notices of any events at which two or more members might attend, including informal lunches and parties.
In a referendum, voters reduced the size of the commission to 11 members, one from each district and two elected at-large. The previous structure, with multiple members representing each district, practically invited sunshine law violations.
While the changes in structure and behavior have been positive, there is no guarantee future officeholders will follow the law. One consequence of term limits is that over time officeholders will not have first-hand recollections of Black Wednesday and could succumb to temptation. The public and the media need to remain vigilant to ensure commissioners conduct the public’s business in public.
Online:
https://www.knoxnews.com
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