In the course of unveiling to Memphis Rotarians on Tuesday the
particulars of a new “City of Choice” P.R. campaign for what is more
familiarly known as the city of Memphis, City Council chairman Myron
Lowery delivered himself of one of
those seemingly impetuous outbursts which co-exist in his character
with an otherwise orderly and genial demeanor.
Lowery was commenting on the latest chapter of the
Bass-Pro-to-the-Pyramid saga — one which finds the city, having
just acquired the county’s power of attorney and its ownership rights
to the Pyramid, empowered at last to deal one-on-one with the giant
outdoors outfitter’s chain regarding its on-again/off-again development
plans for the vacant facility.
“It’s time for them to put up or shut up,” said Lowery of Bass Pro,
expressing a sentiment which surely lies latent on every tongue in our
town. So far, so good. Down the line of his remarks, the phrase would
return to the chairman’s lips — this time in relation to a more
controversial subject: His Honor the mayor, Willie Herenton. Or rather
to the mayor’s chief nemesis these days, which is not Steve Cohen, the
9th District congressman whom Herenton aims to replace, but the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, which may envision other plans for the mayor’s
future.
Indeed, there is something in the FBI’s vague dangling of its
intentions across the space of months, if not years, that does remind
us of Bass Pro’s maddeningly irresolute behavior regarding the Pyramid.
“I’m tired of hearing about it,” said Lowery. “The FBI should put up or
shut up!”
By golly, we thought, the man’s right. As news-media people
ourselves, we have shed many a tear for the plight of the city’s TV
stations, which in these recession times have so often committed
expensive personnel and equipment to day-long — sometimes
week-long — death-watches along the concrete plains that
connect City Hall with the nearby Federal Building. So far, all for
naught.
Nor was Lowery through. He didn’t quite employ the magic phrase
again, but he seemed equally put out when he noted that negotiations
had “stalled” between the city (read: the mayor) and the entrepreneurs
who would redevelop the Fairgrounds.
There is indeed much old business to complete before we can even
contemplate that grand urban future which is to be boasted under the
head of “City of Choice.” Keep firing, Myron! We’re frustrated, too.
But another metaphor occurs to us — one which precedes the phrase
which constitutes the headline of this editorial.
On the Other Hand …
Sometimes the absence of action is exactly the right action. Such
was the case when, after a marathon session Monday afternoon, the
Shelby County Commission voted to defer action on some 100 employee
layoffs proposed by the county administration. After hearing
convincingly righteous testimony from the heads of several county
departments — notably the Sheriff’s Department — about the
potential ruinous effects of the layoffs, the commission quite properly
voted to commit the whole mess to the body’s budget committee for
another review. Granted, there may be no obvious alternative, but,
where lives and public safety are concerned, it won’t hurt to take
another look.
