In Memphis an Event to Celebrate on Presidents’ Day

One of President Theodore Roosevelt’s lasting contributions as our 26th president was the preservation of some of our country’s most unique natural and cultural resources. His speech in Memphis in 1907 to the Deep Waterways Convention is hailed as a milestone in the beginning of the conservation movement.

Arriving Oct. 4 on the USS Mississippi, Roosevelt landed at our Cobblestone Landing accompanied by Gifford Pinchot and WJ McGee, all of whom saw the importance of the Mississippi Valley and a network of waterways linking the U.S. Read more »

Channel 5 Reports on BSL Status

Channel 5's Jason Miles reported Wednesday that the RDC needs millions "more taxpayer dollars to keep the controversial Beale Street Landing project afloat."


MemphisCobblestones.com blogger, Mike Cromer, clarifies the dollar amounts needed to cover the shortfall - what the RDC is asking for now ($2M) and what will surface down the road at budget time in May ($7M more).

Illustrations of BSL - Where it started, Where it is now.

Here's the location:



















Here's what was there:













Here's what 2002 RDC MasterPlan called for:

















Here's the design from RTN in Argentina:























Here's a model:














Here's what we're building:



















































Tall buildings in background are One Beale, a private hotel/condo project on hold because of the economy.

Take a virtual tour HERE.


Here's where we are now:























Photo taken 2/10/2010. Near completion of Phase 2 with Phases 3, 4A, and 4B ahead.

• The cost has gone from $10.3M to somewhere around $37M.

• The overnight riverboats it was designed to serve have gone out of business.

• We currently have 2 commercial boat landings:

#1 Cobblestone Landing - serves our local riverboat excursion company


#2 Boat landing at Mud Island River Park - closed.

Do we need/can we afford a 3rd?

Good Government - a 2-way Conversation

At City Hall there's a new commitment to transparency and to government's role of serving and representing citizens. To work it requires two-way communication, and that means it's our responsibility as citizens to enter the dialogue - to let our government officials know our thoughts, needs, and priorities. They can't listen unless we talk.

Here are the e-mail addresses for Mayor Wharton and the Memphis City Council. Just click a name to send an e-mail or copy and paste the e-mail address in your own e-mail server.

Mayor@memphistn.gov;
Harold.Collins@memphistn.gov;
Bill.Boyd@memphistn.gov;
Joe.Brown@memphistn.gov;
Kemp.Conrad@memphistn.gov;
Shea.Flinn@memphistn.gov;
Edmund.Fordjr@memphistn.gov;
Janis.Fullilove@memphistn.gov;
Wanda.Halbert@memphistn.gov;
Reid.Hedgepeth@memphistn.gov;
Myron.Lowery@memphistn.gov;
Bill.Morrison@memphistn.gov;
Jim.Strickland@memphistn.gov;
Swearengen.Ware@memphistn.gov;

Emerald Necklace not just a Dream Anymore

Yesterday Mayor Wharton, Congressman Steve Cohen, Councilman Bill Boyd, Park Services Director Cyndy Buchanan, Lauren Taylor of the Hyde Fdn., and Hugh Fraser president of Wolf River Conservancy were all on hand, symbolic shovels in-hand, for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Wolf River Greenway Trail.

The cold weather couldn’t dampen the excitement. Smiles were on every face to celebrate the beginning of what will be a 22-mile greenway connecting parks, neighborhoods, and cultural amenities from Collierville to the Mississippi River.

A huge thank you to all whose efforts over a long period of time have made this possible!!

Click HERE for a short, beautiful journey down the Wolf River.

Click HERE for photos of the groundbreaking.

EPA & State sue Memphis for Dumping Raw Sewage in River

On Monday the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of TN filed a suit in federal court seeking injunctive relief and damages from Memphis for discharging untreated sewage into area waters. The suit, reported by Andy Meek in The Daily News, alleges that the city’s Public Works Dept. has been discharging pollutants from the city’s sanitary sewer system and two wastewater treatment plants into area waters. It's a problem that demands quick attention and brings new costs and stiff penalties to the already stressed city budget. Read more »