Lee signs election bills from virus-paused session

By

-

04/04/2020

Bill-Lee-5-900x0-c-default — Gov. Bill Lee as he explained a shelter in place order earlier during the pandemic. (TSD file photo via TN.gov)

by Jonathan Mattise —

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed several election law changes that lawmakers passed before they recessed due to the coronavirus, including one that scales back voter registration drive restrictions that a federal judge blocked and another that details voting options during disasters.

The changes to voter registration penalties were hailed as a win by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the leaders in lawsuits in which a court blocked the harsher restrictions passed last year. The new law removes misdemeanor penalties for not completing certain administrative requirements and eliminates fines for submitting too many incomplete registration forms.

The now-removed 2019 restrictions were likely to stay blocked through the November elections due to the April 2021 trial date.

“Voter registration drives are essential to ensuring that historically disenfranchised groups – including students, people of color, immigrants and senior citizens – can exercise their right to vote,” ACLU of Tennessee legal director Thomas Castelli said in a statement. “We are pleased that our lawsuit succeeded in restoring voter registration and expanding access to the ballot box in Tennessee.”

Still, the voter registration changes yielded criticism from some Democrats, since Republican leaders promised only to work on the budget and other “mission-critical” bills during their sprint to recess last month.

Those final days inside the GOP-dominant Legislature were conducted with the general public banned from the Capitol complex, only able to follow online for several days. Lawmakers hope to come back June 1 if possible.

The new voter registration law allows for penalties of up to $50 per violation when groups don’t turn in people’s completed registration forms within 15 days of receiving them or before the deadline to register to vote, if it’s within the 15-day window.

It also sets up the possible $50 max penalty each time a registration group retains personal identifying information collected from voter registration without getting permission and telling voters how it’ll be used; sets quotas for people collecting forms; or pays workers per form collected.

The law also requires people or organizations who realize they provided wrong information about voter registration and eligibility, voting qualifications, or polling dates, times and locations to inform state and local elections officials. It also makes previously required training voluntary for voter registration groups.

Republican Secretary of State Tre Hargett backed the voter registration original law and pushed for the changes after the court order. Hargett told lawmakers in a February letter that, with the original voter registration law blocked, the changes are “better than no protection at all.” He also advocated for the other two new election laws.

Another new law includes felony penalties for intentionally passing on false information about voter registration or when and where to vote.

Meanwhile, the Republican governor and lawmakers signed off on a law that allows approved use of emergency supersites if their normal polling places are rendered unusable. The move largely responds to Super Tuesday tornadoes last month that required redirecting some voters, but lawmakers rejected amendments that would have allowed widespread absentee voting during the ongoing pandemic, a priority of Democrats nationally.

Arguing for the absentee voting, Republican Sen. Steve Dickerson of Nashville and some Democrats said supersites wouldn’t address a pandemic, when putting more voters of any kind in the same place would run afoul of social distancing guidelines.

Hargett’s office offered several reservations about the prospect of expanding absentee voting.

His office said absentee voting only makes up a small percentage of ballots cast in statewide elections since 2008, and cited additional costs to process more applications, print more ballots, use more postage, secure more storage and counting space, and pay more election officials to count ballots.

His office also pointed to the groups that already can vote by mail, including people older than 60, a group at-risk for the coronavirus, and sick people.

“Shifting to a system where the majority of voters could participate by mail would be a radical change to how elections are conducted in Tennessee,” said Julia Bruck, spokeswoman for Hargett’s office.

Tennessee has a primary election in August, with early voting starting in July. Hargett’s office acknowledged that “circumstances are changing on a daily basis,” saying his team is talking with officials nationwide and locally about what changes might be needed.

Spinning away while social distancing

By

TSD Newsroom

-

04/04/2020

0

In search of how Greater Memphis-area residents are keeping up with their fitness routines during this period of mandated isolation, TSD video-journalist Terrisa C. Mark encountered India Johnson, spinning away.

LEGACY: Bill Withers ‘spoke honestly to people and connected’

By

Associated Press

-

04/04/2020

0

by Mark Kennedy —

Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including “ Lean on Me, ” “Lovely Day” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” has died from heart complications, his family said in a statement to The Associated Press. He was 81.

The three-time Grammy Award winner, who withdrew from making music in the mid-1980s, died on Monday in Los Angeles, the statement said. His death comes as the public has drawn inspiration from his music during the coronavirus pandemic, with health care workers, choirs, artists and more posting their own renditions on “Lean on Me” to help get through the difficult times.

“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other,” the family statement read. “As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to the world. In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones.”

Withers’ songs during his brief career have become the soundtracks of countless engagements, weddings and backyard parties. They have powerful melodies and perfect grooves melded with a smooth voice that conveys honesty and complex emotions without vocal acrobatics.

“Lean on Me,” a paean to friendship, was performed at the inaugurations of both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me” are among Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

“He’s the last African-American Everyman,” musician and band leader Questlove told Rolling Stone in 2015. “Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.”

His death caused a torrent of appreciation on social media, including from former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, who said Withers’ music has been a cherished part of her life. “It added to my joy in the good times, and also gave me comfort and inspiration when I needed it most,” she tweeted.

Withers in 2015 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

——————————————————————

Billy Dee Williams tweeted “your music cheered my heart and soothed my soul” and Chance the Rapper said Withers’ songs are “some of the best songs of all time” and “my heart really hurts for him.” Lenny Kravitz said “My soul always has and always will be full of your music.”

“We lost a giant of songwriting today,” ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams said in a statement. “Bill Withers’ songs are among the most treasured and profound in the American songbook — universal in the way they touch people all over the world, transcending genre and generation. He was a beautiful man with a stunning sense of humor and a gift for truth.”

Withers, who overcame a childhood stutter, was born the last of six children in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. After his parents divorced when he was 3, Withers was raised by his mother’s family in nearby Beckley.

He joined the Navy at 17 and spent nine years in the service as an aircraft mechanic installing toilets. After his discharge, he moved to Los Angeles, worked at an aircraft parts factory, bought a guitar at a pawn shop and recorded demos of his tunes in hopes of landing a recording contract.

In 1971, signed to Sussex Records, he put out his first album, “Just As I Am,” with the legendary Booker T. Jones at the helm. It had the hits “Grandma’s Hands” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which was inspired by the Jack Lemmon film “Days of Wine and Roses.” He was photographed on the cover, smiling and holding his lunch pail.

“Ain’t No Sunshine” was originally released as the B-side of his debut single, “Harlem.” But radio DJs flipped the disc and the song climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard charts and spent a total of 16 weeks in the top 40.

Withers went on to generate more hits a year later with the inspirational “Lean on Me,” the menacing “Who Is He (and What Is He to You)” and the slinky “Use Me” on his second album, “Still Bill.”

Later would come the striking “ Lovely Day,” co-written with Skip Scarborough and featuring Withers holding the word “day” for almost 19 seconds, and “Just the Two Of Us,” co-written with Ralph MacDonald and William Salter. His “Live at Carnegie Hall” in 1973 made Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time.

“The hardest thing in songwriting is to be simple and yet profound. And Bill seemed to understand, intrinsically and instinctively, how to do that,” Sting said in “Still Bill,” a 2010 documentary of Withers.

But Withers’ career stalled when Sussex Records went bankrupt and he was scooped up by Columbia Records. He no longer had complete control over his music and chafed when it was suggested he do an Elvis cover. His new executives found Withers difficult.

None of his Columbia albums reached the Top 40 except for 1977’s “Menagerie,” which produced “Lovely Day.” (His hit duet with Grover Washington Jr. “Just the Two of Us” was on Washington’s label). Withers’ last album was 1985′s “Watching You Watching Me.”

Though his songs often dealt with relationships, Withers also wrote ones with social commentary, including “Better Off Dead” about an alcoholic’s suicide, and “I Can’t Write Left-Handed,” about an injured Vietnam War veteran.

He was awarded Grammys as a songwriter for “Ain’t No Sunshine” in 1971 and for “Just the Two Of Us” in 1981. In 1987, Bill received his ninth Grammy nomination and third Grammy as a songwriter for the re-recording of the 1972 hit “ Lean on Me” by Club Nouveau.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 by Stevie Wonder. Withers thanked his wife as well as the R&B pioneers who helped his career like Ray Jackson, Al Bell and Booker T. Jones. He also got in a few jabs at the record industry, saying A&R stood for “antagonistic and redundant.” Withers also was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.

His music has been covered by such artists as Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Linda Ronstadt, Paul McCartney, Sting, Johnny Mathis, Aaron Neville, Al Jarreau, Mick Jagger, Nancy Wilson, Diana Ross. His music has been sampled for BlackStreet’s “No Diggity,” Will Smith’s version of “ Just the Two Of Us, ” Black Eyed Peas’ “Bridging the Gap” and Twista’s “Sunshine.” The song “Lean on Me” was the title theme of a 1989 movie starring Morgan Freeman.

His songs are often used on the big screen, including “The Hangover,” “28 Days,” “American Beauty,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Crooklyn,” “Flight,” “Beauty Shop,” “The Secret Life of Pets” and “Flight.”

“I’m not a virtuoso, but I was able to write songs that people could identify with. I don’t think I’ve done bad for a guy from Slab Fork, West Virginia,” Withers told Rolling Stone in 2015.

He is survived by his wife, Marcia, and children, Todd and Kori.

(Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits.)

Rust College seniors adapt to virtual learning; commencement delayed

By

Special to TSDMemphis.com

-

04/04/2020

0

by Angelica Owens —

Prospective graduates of the Rust College class of 2019-20 now know that graduation exercises set for April 26 are on hold, indefinitely.

A campus update sent out Friday says the decision to delay graduation was in keeping with Mississippi Gov. Tate Reed’s statewide coronavirus stay-at-home order, which became effective on Friday at 5 p.m. and stays in place until 8 a.m. on April 20.

“We will select a new date after the current Executive Order expires or is rescinded by the Governor,” Rust College President Dr. David L. Beckley said in the campus update. “Hopefully we can schedule a date in June or July. We will keep you informed as soon as the current close down is lifted for group gatherings in Mississippi.”

As the highly contagious COVID-19 virus continues its spread, students have been forced to abandon classrooms and take their instruction online. The Holly Springs, Miss. college ordered students to leave campus March 16 with the directive to complete the remainder of their spring semester courses online.

The Mississippi Department of Health, as of Friday at 6 p.m., had reported 1,358 cases of COVID-19 and 29 deaths since March 11. That included 19 confirmed cases and one death in Marshall County, which encompasses Holly Springs.

Rust, like most institutions of higher learning across the country, had cancelled in-room classes as a precaution. For many students, the sound of an early vacation seemed to be a wonderful thing. When students realized that they were not done with classes, their excitement quickly toned down.

Some students reported having technical issues with the online Blackboard software used to keep track of their assignments and attendance.

Terence Hampton, a senior English major, had difficulty in downloading all of the required software to complete his senior thesis. Others had difficulty as well.

Still, according to Dr. Debayo Moyo, the college’s Blackboard administrator, the resource has enabled a successful implementation of the transition to online learning for the faculty and students.

Malisha Donald, Miss Rust College 2019-20 and a senior majoring in education, said, “Transitioning after college is never the easiest thing to do, but before COVID-19, I had time to figure it out.”

The transition to online classes had Donald concerned. “Personally speaking, I have never taken an online course and it seems like the hardest thing to do.”

Education majors at Rust College are required to perform student teaching at a local school in the Holly Springs area. Because of the restrictions, Donald and other future educators are worried about how they will complete their degree requirements.

Other concerns from students include miscommunication with their professors and the desire for face-to-face classroom interaction. Some students are struggling to find the discipline to stay focused on their schoolwork and not be tempted to surf the web.

Melvin Carey, a senior Mass Communication major, said the COVID-19 pandemic has forced him to “cut back” on his social life. And while Darian Stevenson, a senior Biology major said he’s having technical issues, his bottom-line is this: “I’m just ready to graduate.”

The New Tri-State Defender reached out to Rust seniors through a post on Facebook to learn how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their college experiences. Most of the respondents, who were contacted before commencement officially was delayed, indicated their main concern was graduation.

“It has made my senior year terrible. I’m basically concerned about graduation and if there will be a ceremony,” said Kassandra Porter, a graduating senior majoring in Social Work.

“With the coronavirus spreading the way it is, there shouldn’t be that many people in one place so soon,” Hampton said.

Sharron Goodman-Hill, a radio broadcasting professor, said that the transition hasn’t been the smoothest.

“One of the most pressing issues is that most of the Internet systems seem to be overwhelmed with so much activity since all schools have gone online,” she said.

Although there still are difficulties adjusting, Moyo suggests the college consider offering online courses in their current degree programs in the near future

‘NOTHING IS NORMAL’: Small-town hospital soldiers ahead against pandemic

By

Lee Eric Smith

-

04/03/2020

0

Just like health providers all over America, the staff at Alliance Healthcare System in Holly Springs, is working overtime to fight COVID-19, often with limited equipment and resources. (Courtesy photo)

Marketia Morrow is quietly terrified.

Marketia Morrow is the Chief Nursing Officer at Alliance Healthcare System in Holly Springs, Mississippi. (Courtesy photo)

As the Chief Nursing Officer at Alliance Healthcare System in my hometown of Holly Springs, Miss., she is in a combat zone – she can’t self-isolate. Can’t keep a six-foot distance. Can’t work from home. She faces the enemy – COVID-19 – every day, averaging 50-60 hours a week since the pandemic began. She fears that she – and by extension, her family – are being silently attacked, though she might not know for days.

She did not sign up for this.

“I signed up to be a nurse to provide care to patients, not necessarily thinking we would ever be in such a high-risk situation,” she told me Tuesday. “I was talking to (Alliance owner) Dr. (Kenneth) Williams about how everything had changed. He made the statement that nothing is normal. And when I got off the phone, I thought about it.

“Nothing is normal,” she added. “Everything has changed.”

Alliance Healthcare System in Holly Springs is fighting COVID-19 in rural Marshall and Benton Counties in Mississippi. (Photo: Lee Eric Smith)

As of March 31, the Mississippi State Department of Health’s website was reporting 1,073 total cases statewide and 22 fatalities. Marshall County, where Holly Springs is, had reported 15 cases and no deaths, so far.

Hospitals are slammed because of coronavirus – no surprise there. We see it play out in cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles every day. Local Memphis news teams are doing phenomenal work informing and educating Memphis and beyond.

But all across America, there are thousands of small towns like Holly Springs fighting this virus without cameras rolling – also without essential equipment, staff or training. Town leaders are improvising on the fly, even as the landscape is shifting underneath their feet.

Kelvin Buck, Mayor of Holly Springs, Mississippi

“With all of the hospitals and medical facilities Memphis has, they have a clear advantage in their healthcare facilities and access to different kinds of needs relating to treating this pandemic,” said Holly Springs Mayor Kelvin Buck. “With that said, we were able to get online with some of those things pretty quickly.”

Many of the challenges facing Holly Springs are the same ones facing Memphis – how do you keep people from gathering in public? What about educating children while school is out? How will people deal with job disruptions and layoffs? Buck said that for the most part, citizens are complying with stay-at-home orders and social distancing.

But he envied how quickly Shelby County Schools was able to quickly ramp up “School on TV” with WMC-TV 5 and other accommodations. The Holly Springs School District wasn’t set up at all for remote learning.

“It took us a while to get caught up with laptops for the students,” he said. “So many kids didn’t have computers and a lot don’t have the Internet.”

And then, there’s church.

“One of the biggest challenges has been there were a couple of churches that didn’t want to comply,” Buck said. “And they were using arguments of constitutional rights and freedom of religion and stuff like that.”

He wouldn’t name the churches. “I’m trying to keep them out of the public because one of them has said they’ll try to be back next Sunday,” he said. “We’ll see.”

“I feel like, if I don’t, who will? You never know, I may need somebody to provide care for me. . . . I don’t know what makes me keep coming back. I just feel like it’s my responsibility. I do all I can to protect myself while I do it and I just keep coming.” – Marketia Morrow (Courtesy photo)

Back at Alliance, Morrow is facing the same shortages that other providers are: specifically PPE’s – personal protective equipment. Ordinarily, such equipment would be thrown into the red biological waste container, never to be used again, she said. But the supplies just won’t allow that.

“Once you go in that room (wearing protective gear), it’s infected. It’s contaminated,” she said, referring to non-pandemic procedures. “And it goes in the garbage can. We don’t reuse anything. But as far as face shields are concerned, we have to (reuse them) because we don’t have any more.”

And then there’s the fact that Alliance has no intensive care unit. The hospital can handle a few cases of respiratory illness, but when the onslaught hits, patients will be referred to larger hospitals in places such as Memphis, Olive Branch, Southaven, Oxford or even Tupelo, Morrow said. And all of that was before The White House projected “a painful couple of weeks.”

Morrow has the curse of knowing too much. Used to be when she got home, her kids rushed outside to give her big hugs and kisses. But not anymore. She takes off her clothes before entering the house, goes straight upstairs for a shower. The clothes are immediately washed. And then, hugs . . . maybe.

“The nurse in me is still worried when I go home to provide care for them,” she said, her voice cracking. “Breathing in front of them. Talking to them.

“Now that it’s everywhere, all over your workplace and you’re having to go home and you don’t want to expose your family to it because they didn’t sign up for it. You did,” she added. “It makes you think . . . a lot. I signed up to be a nurse, but I didn’t really expect all this. But one day at a time, you push through. As many prayers as possible.”

Like a good reporter, I ask her a question I already know the answer to: With so much personal risk – to herself, to her family – what makes her keep coming back?

“I’ve never given up easily,” she replied. “I feel like, if I don’t, who will? You never know, I may need somebody to provide care for me. . . . I don’t know what makes me keep coming back. I just feel like it’s my responsibility. I do all I can to protect myself while I do it and I just keep coming.

“Honestly, I can’t give you a direct answer,” she sighed.

Like I said, I knew the answer before I asked. So I told her.

“I know why you come back,” I said. “Because you’re a freaking SUPERHERO, that’s why. You run into the burning building so you can save lives. That’s what superheroes do.”

Which is why I smiled when she sent me pictures of her and her team at work – in nurse gear, head coverings . . . and face masks. Of course.

Just like superheroes.

(Lee Eric Smith is an NNPA award-winning columnist and co-founder of Abundant Earth Global CDC, a nonprofit aimed at blending eco-friendly home construction, urban farming and waste-to-energy production to regenerate neighborhoods. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @l3esmith.)

ON APRIL 4th: Remembering MLK – a virtual broadcast; more

By

TSD Newsroom

-

04/03/2020

0

Virtual Dr. King — In response to the COVID-19 pandemic surge, the National Civil Rights Museum has retooled its original event to produce digital content and a virtual broadcast entitled, “Remember MLK: The Man. The Movement. The Moment.”

A virtual commemoration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy will be presented on April 4th by the National Civil Rights Museum.

The presentation will mark the 52nd anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, which the museum encompasses.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic surge, the museum has retooled its original event to produce digital content and a virtual broadcast entitled, “Remember MLK: The Man. The Movement. The Moment.”

The program airs from 5 p.m to 6:30 p.m. on April 4. View it on the museum’s website, YouTube, Facebook and Livestream platforms.

The virtual commemoration will include selected segments of MLK50 and past ceremonies, with remarks from civil rights icons the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., the Rev. James Lawson and Dr. Omid Safi, Islamic Studies Duke University.

Performances include selections from the MLK50 Legacy Choir and spoken word by Ed Mabrey.

The broadcast will culminate with an excerpt of “The Mountaintop speech” and a moment of silence and reflection at 6:01 p.m. the time Dr. King was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.

“We should always stop and reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. King on April 4, but this year it is needed more than ever as we try to navigate through this public health crisis,” said Museum President Terri Lee Freeman.

“Dr. King’s message of economic equity is so relevant. We are seeing the devastation this crisis is taking not just on the health of our communities but on the economic wellbeing of our neighbors,” Freeman said.

“We are seeing just how fragile the financial safety net is for far too many people. Celebrating King’s acceptance of humanity, but disdain of inequity and injustice, is very important in 2020,” she said.

Last Saturday (March 28), the museum began sharing digital elements to highlight the final year in the life and works of Dr. King – from his delivery of the “Beyond Vietnam” speech, to the “Mountaintop” speech hours prior to his assassination, and subsequent reactions.

Key components shared on the museum’s digital platforms will include:

Music video: A remote gathering of musical artists from various parts of the country performing one of Dr. King’s favorite songs, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.

STORYTIME – Museum educator, Dory Lerner, will read the children’s book, “Martin’s Big Words,” provide activities and answer questions for parents and children to learn more about Dr. King and his principles. Time: 10 a.m.

TIMELINE – Starting from March 28 when Dr. King marched for the sanitation workers in Memphis to April 4th when he spent his final hours at the Lorraine Motel. The timeline will illustrate the work he was doing for the “everyday heroes.” See the timeline.

FROM THE VAULT – From the museum’s Collections archive, images of never-before-seen condolence letters sent to the Lorraine Motel following King’s death will be shared in the museum’s Collections blog, “From the Vault,” and social media channels. READ the blog

RISE – A special performance of Collage Dance Collective’s “RISE,” a dance tribute to Dr. King. His “I’ve Been to th Mountaintop” speech is the backdrop for this full-length neo-classical ballet. Watch the livestream at 6:30 p.m. CDT on April 4.

Visitors to the museum’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn social channels @ncrmuseum will be able to share their stories and thoughts about Dr. King’s legacy and ideas for positive social change.

Moderated comments can also be shared during the virtual broadcast on April 4.

(For more information, visit april4th.org.)

Gov. Lee strengthens stay-at-home order, jobless claims soar

By

Karanja A. Ajanaku

-

04/03/2020

0

Gov. Lee — Gov. Bill Lee. (Photo: Twitter)

by Adrian Sainz and Jonathan Mattise —

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee strengthened a stay-at-home order Thursday after initially resisting a statewide mandate despite pleas from the medical community that more robust action was needed to confront the coronavirus.

Lee, a Republican, said that a recent uptick in “movement around the state” forced him to order individuals to avoid all non-essential travel until April 14 because of the global pandemic.

Previously, the first-term governor had only “strongly urged” people to stay home, saying he was stopping short of a statewide mandate to “protect personal liberties.”

“I have updated my previous executive order to clearly require that Tennesseans stay at home unless they are carrying out essential activities,” Lee said in a statement.

Lee said his administration analyzed traffic patterns and used cellphone mobility data to determine that more people were traveling across the state at “pre-COVID-19 levels.”

Lee received thousands of pleas from doctors and other medical professionals to issue the order, one of them being former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

However, Lee’s newest order does not include a strong enforcement mechanism. Instead, Lee said during a media briefing Thursday that it’ll be up to individual law enforcement agencies to decide how to implement the order.

“We’ll watch this and take appropriate steps necessary for enforcement as we see them,” Lee said.

Lee’s new decree came after Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke issued a strict stay-at-home order. Berke is mandating that residents stay home by restricting all non-essential travel and suspending access to city-owned public spaces.

In Cookeville, the CEO of a nursing home confirmed Thursday that 28 patients and 16 employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, The Tennessean reported. Most of the people who tested positive didn’t have any symptoms.

“That’s what’s scary about this right now,” Lee Rooney, CEO of Signature HealthCARE of Putnam, told the newspaper. “Staff and the residents aren’t feeling sick.”

Around the state, the number of jobless Tennesseans continued to swell as more companies lay off workers. New unemployment claims climbed to about 94,500 last week, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported Thursday.

The number of claims more than doubles the 39,100 new unemployment claims from the previous week.

Three weeks ago — before cities and counties began issuing orders closing non-essential businesses — only 2,700 unemployment claims were filed in Tennessee.

The large bump in claims caused the state’s jobs website to experience problems from a 2,000% increase in usage. Technicians added capacity to the site to improve responsiveness, officials said.

Some of the biggest recent temporary layoffs include more than 880 workers at automotive parts maker ABC Technologies in Sumner County; 830 people at hotel company Chartwell Hospitality in Sevier, Williamson and Davidson counties; and 222 workers with auto parts manufacturer Takahata Precision Tennessee in Scott County.

Tennessee’s health department has reported more than 2,800 cases of the coronavirus and at least 32 deaths. Shelby County, which includes Memphis, has seen 638 cases and seven deaths.

As more people get sick, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found some locations to convert to medical care facilities to ease the burden on hospitals.

Some of those will be the Music City Center in Nashville, the Gateway Shopping Center in Memphis, the Chattanooga Convention Center and the Knoxville Expo Center, the governor said.

Additional Memphis sites are also under consideration, Lee said.

The search for more medical sites comes as hospitals anticipating a patient surge seek out more supplies, including masks, ventilators and beds.

In Memphis, the need for volunteer medical staff, ventilators and hospital beds is growing, said Dr. Manoj Jain, an infectious disease physician and member of Shelby County’s coronavirus task force.

Hospitals need three times the existing number of ventilators, double the amount of regular hospital beds, and four times the number of intensive care beds, Jain said, citing state-level data.

Memphis’ four major hospital systems are considering new strategies such as putting two virus patients in one room, converting regular rooms to intensive care rooms, and using ventilators from anesthesia and surgical rooms for treatment, Jain said.

A logistics group is working to find face masks for doctors and nurses. And testing capacity is increasing, Jain said.

“It’s always an uphill battle doing the task that’s ahead of us of such magnitude,” Jain said by phone.

In most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and may be life-threatening.

(Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press writer Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report).

___

Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.

U of M community grateful for impact of criminology professor Wells

By

Liaudwin Seaberry

-

04/03/2020

0

lenard (1) — The late University of Memphis criminal justice instructor Dr. Lenard Wells is the namesake of the mock trial exercises -- the Lenard Wells Mock Trial Scene. (Photo: UofM)

The death of well-respected University of Memphis criminal justice instructor Dr. Lenard Wells has deeply affected students and faculty who knew and worked with him.

News reports said Wells, 69, died March 21st of complications resulting from the COVID-19 virus while visiting Wisconsin with his wife. He had a 30-year career with the Milwaukee Police Department before beginning his teaching career.

“His untimely passing with leave an indelible void for some time to come. He will be sorely missed by his family, students, and colleagues,” the U of M said in a statement.

The staff, students and others he interacted with agreed that they benefitted from his wisdom and positive outlook on life.

In a March 23 email sent to faculty, staff, and students, Dr. K. B. Turner, chair of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department, emphasized the impact that Dr. Wells made on his students, while supplying his fellow peers with lifelong lessons along the way.

“During his tenure at the University of Memphis as an instructor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Dr. Wells touched the lives of many students,” Turner said in the email. “He was well known for his compassion and dedication to the impartation of knowledge and providing guidance to students regarding their future careers and life.”

Alexsis Brandon, a graduate student in the Criminology Department, is testament to that. She developed a close relationship with Dr. Wells. She met him in the fall of 2017, and he provided her with knowledge that extended beyond the classroom.

“I viewed him more than a professor,” Brandon said. “He was like my grandfather whose door was always open for any advice or just to calm us with the stress of graduate school.”

Wells, born in Milwaukee, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in psychology. Choosing to further his education, Wells earned a PhD from the Cardinal Stritch University, focusing on leadership, learning and service. He completed these accomplishments while working as a full-time officer on the Milwaukee Police Department.

Wells served as a police lieutenant in Milwaukee for 27 years. After finishing his time on the force, he was named chairman of the Wisconsin Parole Board.

Still wanting to serve others, Wells transitioned into life as a professor, working at the U of M for nearly seven years.

Fellow colleagues and students of the late professor recall his kindness and reflected on the wisdom he routinely provided them.

As evidence of his kind heart, Dr. Wells and his wife frequently took all of the graduate students out to eat; at times, even, the entire department.

Another tradition that Dr. Wells conducted during his tenure at the U of M was to provide students with their own graduation photoshoot. He often would share these works with department faculty.

It Brandon sad that the tradition will not be continued this year, and she greatly misses Dr. Wells.

“With me graduating from graduate school this May, it breaks my heart that I won’t be able to experience that with him,” Brandon said. “Dr. Wells really was a pivotal person in the department and in my life, and I will truly miss him.”

In another email, department Chairman Turner, said Dr. Wells’ impact was immeasurable, particularly as it relates to the students he has taught at the University of Memphis.

“He was much more than a classroom instructor who held his students to a high standard. He always was willing to devote time to talk to students not just about academics, but also their future careers and life.”

Dr. Wells teaching abilities led to him being the recipient of a prestigious teaching award. Turner wrote the letter of support Wells and he’s saddened that Dr. Wells will not be able to receive the award next month.

“In addition to being a meticulous instructor, he was a supportive colleague our faculty also understood they could talk to,” Turner added. “Because he was a good listener, it also contributed to him being a great colleague.”

Wells’ impact on the criminology department will be seen forever with the mock trial exercises renamed the Lenard Wells Mock Trial Scene.

“I pray that when my career ends, I will receive at least a fraction of the positive and affectionate comments students have intimated about Dr. Wells,” Turner said. “I will truly miss my friend.”

TSD COVID-19 Flash!

By

Karanja A. Ajanaku

-

04/02/2020

0

Stay Home Billboard — COVID-19 digital billboards such as this are up for the next two weeks, courtesy of Memphis-based Three(i). (Courtesy photo)

Awareness campaign: ‘Stay home, mane’

Three(i) President Kenneth Worles. (Photo: @blackenterprise/ #be_modernman)

The loose confederation of super-talented young people that periodically intersect my orbit include Kenneth Worles, president at Three(i), a social-impact marketing firm using billboards to flatten the COVID-19 curve throughout Memphis.

Another of those millennial creatives, Brianna A. Smith (the TSD’s All Over Town columnist) actually tipped me about the billboards before I got the official word. In the hubbub of getting this week’s print edition of The New Tri-State Defender published while feeding TSDMemphis.com and our Daily Digital, I lost track of her heads-up.

Then this afternoon, Worles, who shared his creative talent/spirit on staff with the TSD before blasting into the entrepreneurial world, put out the word, officially and widely.

“We’re usually behind the scene helping amazing brands and organizations with their initiatives and campaigns,” Worles, said in his media release. “But we knew we needed to do more. Everyone is affected by this and we all need to work together as a community to flatten that curve.”

The billboards read “COVID-19 won’t bluff – Stay home, mane.”

According to Worles, within two days of the campaign the billboards have been shared on social media by thousands of users, including local elected officials, Academy Award winning film director, Craig Brewer, and Memphis rap legend Gangsta Boo.

The digital billboards are up for the next two weeks at the following locations:

3361 One Place
5916 Macon Cove (next to Southwest Community College
Ketchum Cv Memphis, TN 38114
278 West McLemore
I-40W @ I-240 Flyover Ramp

Brother Worles, way to go, mane!

NOTE THIS: Find out more about Three(i) by visiting https://www.weare3i.com.

‘We will be here for you – and with you!’

By

Karanja A. Ajanaku

-

04/02/2020

0

With You — The New Tri-State Defender is among the members of the Tennessee Press Association this week choosing to speak with a common voice to assure readers they are not alone in this "new reality" we are all experiencing.

On two separate occasions shortly before the worst public health crisis in the U.S. in a generation, I was reminded of the role that Robert R. Church Sr. played in there even being a city of Memphis to worry about during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Associate Publisher/Executive Editor Karanja A. Ajanaku

During a taping of the ‘Where Do I Go From Here?” podcast, which I now host on TSDMemphis.com, Church, widely recognized as the first African-American millionaire in the South, was presented freshly to me by the Rev. Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray Jr., author of “Metamorphosis: Memphis, Beale Street and the Blues (1819-2019).”

Dr. Gray spoke of Church as a person who routinely stepped up to help and meet challenges, including buying the first $1,000 municipal bond to help the Bluff City bounce back from bankruptcy after being reduced to a taxing district in the midst of the yellow fever epidemic.

Days later, Raymond Neal, who has worked 35-plus years as a waiter, approached me at Mahogany Memphis Restaurant. He’d recently secured the Memphis City Council’s embrace of a resolution naming the late “Mr. Church” as the “Father of Modern-day Memphis” for Church’s move(s) to save the city.

Dr. Gray and Neal painted a mental picture of a person who essentially was saying, “I am here for you – and with you.”

Then came the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 and a frightening set of numbers that now serve to project the deaths of 100,000 U.S. citizens, if mitigating measures – read as stay at home, social distancing and wash your hands – are adhered to religiously.

Memphis’ world now is upside down as the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases rise, with three Shelby County deaths reported at the time I put these thoughts together. The chilling prediction of many, many, many more deaths and thousands in need of acute hospital care, along with virus-response measures that have the economy on lockdown, fill our lives with sorrow and uncertainty.

Whatever happens, whenever it happens, The New Tri-State Defender will be there for you. We’ll be there to let you know how our community is managing through this crisis – from business to government to the health care system and schools to the drastic impact on individuals and families, particularly the most vulnerable among us.

Already, we’ve told you about a 56-year-old caregiver (with two preexisting health conditions) holding steady with the care of her 82-year-old mother, who is in a nursing home. We will continue to bring you accounts of other good and extraordinary things happening in the midst of this crisis, along with basic information to help you survive, stay safe, grow and develop.

“We need every Tennessean on board to beat this pandemic,” Gov. Bill Lee has said. “Success starts with swift, accurate information and we support the efforts of the press to keep every Tennessean informed.”

Our commitment to that includes fact-based, reliable reporting and a commitment to keep an eye on state and local leadership relative to the needs expressed by local communities.

We will be here for you – and with you!

Buy now

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Awareness campaign: ‘Stay home, mane’

Share this:

Share this: