Commissioner Mick Wright

An increase in violent crime has attended the pandemic in cities across the country, but we have felt its intensity deeply in Memphis.

Viral videos out of China this week paint a vivid portrait of what happens when insane authoritarian policies are not met with sufficient political opposition and civic power.

One does not need to look very far to discover that our culture has completely lost touch with reality. Empty slogans and utter nonsense rule the day.

One characteristic of governance in the COVID era is that it literally didn’t work. Parks and buildings were off limits to visitors. Schools were closed to students. The public was prevented from observing or participating in the legislative process. Even after the lifting of certain restrictions, basic public services could be still unavailable, spotty, unresponsive, inadequate or slow.

Shelby County students will return from spring break to a situation that remains dire for them.

Following two academic years defined by remote instruction, quarantines, cancelled activities, social distancing, obstructed faces, plexiglass barriers and taped-off water fountains, the learning gaps have grown larger.