Rep. Vaughan says that "international events" have made it necessary to let big oil companies have more leverage in laying pipelines unhindered by local ordinances. It's "bigger than just a community," he says.
Last year, Valero's Byhalia Pipeline project was cancelled after a two-year fight by residents of Memphis and Shelby County. Their objections centered around the pipeline going through Black neighborhoods, which activists say reflects a racist pattern of using low-income neighborhoods to expand industrial infrastructure.
But environmentalists also argued that an accidental oil spill in that same area could wind up polluting the Memphis aquifer, where much of Memphis gets its water.
While gas prices have hit an all-time high, oil companies arereaping record profits. Future pipelines through Tennessee, Vaughan says, could help those companies make additional income.
Also in the news, State Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) announced he would not run for reelection, citing "an exciting change to my personal life."
Political analyst Otis Sanford says Kelsey's popularity with voters was already on the wane, and his departure from the race opens the door to other Republicans candidates such as Brent Taylor.
Finally, the Overton Park Conservancy, the Memphis Zoo and the City of Memphis reached an agreement over overflow parking on the greensward. Sanford credits the deal to patiences and cool-headedness by all the stakeholders.
