VOL. 127 | NO. 68 | Friday, April 6, 2012
FedEx Corp. has added another existing domestic ground network in Europe with the announcement of an agreement Thursday, April 5, for the Memphis-based cargo giant to acquire Polish courier Opek Sp.z.o.o.
Flower shop owner puts philanthropy over profit with Rachel’s Kids
When Rachel Coats Greer 15 years ago relocated her business, Rachel’s Flower Shop, from the Poplar and Highland area to its current location at 2486 Poplar Ave. near North Hollywood Street, she increasingly became aware of the many needs of children in the Binghampton community.
Thorpe Products Co. is relocating its Memphis branch location to a site with higher ceiling heights and better proximity to its clients.
The past few years have been among the toughest ever for interior designers, but Lynne Catron chooses to view the downturn as an opportunity, not a hardship.
The chairman of the countywide school board, Billy Orgel, was effectively elected to his District 7 school board seat without opposition at the Thursday, April 5, filing deadline for candidates on the Aug. 2 primary and general election ballot in Shelby County.
When Toyota Motor Corp. began making its cars and moving the parts for them as well as the cars to market in a different way than its rivals in the auto industry, it changed the concept of a supply chain.
For several months, the Tennessee treasurer and comptroller struggled to get and reconcile basic head counts for both of Shelby County’s public school systems to make a decision on whether 17 new charter schools to open in August would be too much of a financial drain on the systems.
MEMPHIS STANDOUT
Editor’s note: This is the third in a six-part series on entrepreneurs in the current round of Seed Hatchery’s “cohort” boot camp.
SPORTS
The new Memphis Redbirds manager needs one of those veteran leaders, a guy who will willingly play multiple positions, a tough-nosed player between the lines, and a laid-back leader outside the lines who can discreetly take a young player aside.
Going into their Friday, April 6, game at Miami, the Grizzlies were 30-23 with 13 games left in this lockout-shortened season. We’ve seen them win at Oklahoma City, inspiring that “Believe Memphis” sentiment from last season. And we’ve seen them lose at home to Toronto, making us wonder if they’re still capable of finishing ninth or worse in a Western Conference playoff picture with room for only eight teams.
LOCAL COLUMNISTS
GHOST OF A RIVER. Jimmy Ogle is a Memphis history savant. He knows things about people and places around here that even those people didn’t know in the first place.
For every dollar invested into your institution what is the return to Memphis and the region? Is there a social impact? Political impact? Economic impact? How do you measure it? What do you track? These are questions to ask as you consider how to make the case for giving and investing in the nonprofits you are involved with.
MEMPHIS AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) – A judge in Nashville has found three Memphis attorneys in contempt of court and ordered them to repay nearly $670,000 to people who thought they were buying insurance.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) – A bill to close public access to teacher evaluation records is headed for the governor's signature.
NASHVILLE (AP) – A measure that would require "family life education" curricula taught in schools to be abstinence-centered has passed the Senate.
REGIONAL
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A Mississippi House chairman on Thursday abandoned his effort to revive tougher immigration enforcement provisions that included requiring local police to report suspected illegal immigrants to federal authorities.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell to a four-year low last week, suggesting employers kept hiring in March at a healthy pace.
NEW YORK (AP) – Retailers from discounter Target to department-store chain Macy's reported better-than-expected sales in March in the latest sign that Americans are feeling better about the economy.