The Politics 901: Courtroom poised for mask showdown; does Tennessee Valley Authority have 'tin ear?'
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw will hear arguments Friday morning in a federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new law banning most public school mask requirements, the latest step in a whirlwind week of sometimes clarifying, sometimes complicating decisions on the matter.
Crenshaw, a judge in Nashville, continued his halt on the ruling Monday, but whether his order -- issued less than 48 hours after Gov. Bill Lee signed the law -- applies across the state, or just in specific jurisdictions, remains unclear.
More: Millington, Collierville will remain mask-optional despite orders by health department, judges
Shelby County, bolstered with a requested clarification from another federal judge, issued a memo to public and private school leaders Monday, stating the current health directive must continue to be enforced. Some municipal districts had quickly removed their mask requirements after Lee had signed the bill.
Many are still mask-optional, despite the health department’s order. The Shelby County Health Department said Thursday that it's investigating the school districts that aren't complying.
Crenshaw has scheduled several deadlines for the latest federal suit, where children across the state, via their parents, are suing Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn over the law, which they say is unconstitutional and a violation of federal disability law, also putting school’s federal funding at risk.
More: New Tennessee COVID-19 law banning school mask mandates is unconstitutional, lawsuit says
Currently, Crenshaw has ordered a return to the “status quo” of policies the day before the law took effect. Attorneys for the students have requested a preliminary injunction, which is a more lasting measure that can halt the legislation for as long as the suit makes its way through court. The status quo will likely remain at least through Thanksgiving.
-USA Today Network-Tennessee reporters Laura Testino and Mariah Timms compiled this report.
Strickland embraces Biden administration
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland had a whirlwind 36 hours early this week.
He flew from Memphis to Washington, D.C., in the wee hours of the morning Monday for the signing of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which goes by the very interesting name of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act . He flew back that night.
And, late Tuesday morning, Strickland stood in the Hall of Mayors at Memphis City Hall with officials from the Biden Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice to discuss mental health.
More: Strickland again wants to let Memphis cops live outside the county. What has changed since 2020?
The news conference essentially dwelled on Memphis’ enduring problems: the violence that plagues it, the related trauma people cope with in the aftermath and how COVID-19 has made that situation more complicated.
“We know we can’t arrest or prosecute our way out of crime or out violence,” Theron Pride, deputy associate attorney general, said during the news conference.
Memphis’ enduring problems finding the eye of whomever is in the White House is not new, but the DOJ and White House visit Tuesday reflected a far different tone than the previous administration and a far more willing embrace from Strickland.
Two of former President Donald Trump’s attorney generals came to Memphis so they could announce different, but similar anti-crime initiatives. When former Attorney General Bill Barr came to Memphis last year, he was met by members of the Memphis Police Department, not Strickland. (The Strickland administration said Saturday that the mayor was not invited to visit with Barr last year.
Raise for TVA CEO raises Memphis eyebrows
Tennessee Valley Authority CEO Jeff Lyash got a raise this week, raising his total compensation to $9.9 million. He remains the highest-paid federal employee and is among the highest-paid government employees in the country, making more than some big-time football coaches.
TVA has long argued executive compensation remains below that of peer CEOs in the utility industry and that such compensation is needed to attract qualified candidates to run a massive corporation. That may be. But the optics aren't good. And the large package does not endear Lyash and TVA to Memphis, its largest electricity customer and customer that just so happens to be seriously pondering what life looks like outside of TVA.
Herman Morris, the former Memphis, Light, Gas and Water CEO and former Memphis city attorney, brought up Lyash's salary when we spoke this week. The news of Lyash's raise had come just days after he told The CA the 3 million tons of coal ash from the retired Allen Fossil Plant would likely be buried in a Southeast Memphis landfill, an area that TVA insists on describing as Capleville.
Morris noted both pieces of information would not be received well in Memphis, a city that TVA desperately wants to keep.
"It's almost like they have a tin ear," he said.
What to read
Our Corinne Kennedy wrote a powerful story capturing the scene at Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies following the shooting of Young Dolph there Wednesday.
Tonyaa Weathersbee weighs in on the anti-LGBTQ stance at Briarcrest Christian School.
Katherine Burgess, who has been following the Pervis Payne case for years, has the story about Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich abandoning her pursuit of the death penalty for Payne.
J. Dylan Sandifer shares a powerful perspective on MLK50 about Edmund Ford Sr.'s diatribe during the Memphis City Council meeting this week.
Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He writes the Friday 901, which is focused on politics.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: The Politics 901: Mask showdown, Tennessee Valley Authority CEO's raise
