VOL. 127 | NO. 5 | Monday, January 9, 2012
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, got a closer look over the weekend at the proposed set of new district lines for his congressional district.
St. Jude celebrates 50 years of treating childhood cancer
Actor and philanthropist Danny Thomas’ dream of a day when no child would die in the dawn of life continues to be the driving force behind St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which this year marks its 50th anniversary.
The parent company of First Tennessee Bank reports fourth-quarter earnings and its full-year 2011 results this month, and Wall Street analysts are expecting another quarterly profit from the Memphis-based company.
Parkway Properties Inc. has sold the majority of its Memphis portfolio, totaling 672,247 square feet, to Hertz Investment Group LLC.
Memphis-based Education Realty Trust Inc. has had a busy few months, ending fourth-quarter 2011 with several new properties in hand and starting 2012 by turning over a new leaf entirely – to be more specific, a new name, a new logo, new positions for several key executives and a $28 million acquisition.
The upcoming trial of the last two defendants in the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court has been delayed until Feb. 6.
A $500,000 grant to the Overton Park Conservancy from the Hyde Family Foundations is the latest contribution to the nonprofit group that manages and maintains the Midtown park for the city of Memphis.
The Republican leaders of the Tennessee legislature on Friday, Jan. 6, rolled out their second redistricting proposal in as many days.
The schools consolidation planning commission goes on the road Tuesday, Jan. 10, with the first public hearings by the group that will soon begin drafting the plan for operating a single Shelby County public school system.
Shelby County Commission members avoided the topic at least in the public, on-the-record discussions during committee sessions last week.
GOVERNMENT AGENDA
The Shelby County Commission will meet Monday, Jan. 9, at 1:30 p.m. in the Shelby County Administration Building, 160 N. Main St. Click on the meeting icon for a full agenda.
SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Frank Capra might have loved to film the story of Billie’s Pecans, a business that started on a family farm in Mississippi and grew over the years thanks to a mixture of earnestness and family recipes.
LOCAL COLUMNISTS
In my role as a consultant, I occasionally encounter situations where, shall we say, things are not going well for my clients and they want solutions to their problems.
THE MEMPHIS NEWS
Baptist Memorial Health Care celebrates 100 years of service
Memphians packed the new Dr. H. Edward Garrett Auditorium at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis last month to listen to music icon Patti LaBelle discuss her struggle with diabetes and the grief she experienced after losing three sisters to cancer.
The making of modern Memphis is an ongoing story that now has some age on it.
For the New Year, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens chose an exhibition so grand it wouldn’t all fit through the doors.
Michael Patrick came to Memphis in 1997. Things are finally starting to look up.
First wine recommendation of 2012! What a challenge!
MEMPHIS AREA
SEATTLE (AP) – Once-a-year evaluations aren't enough to help teachers improve, says a report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that includes comments about Memphis City Schools.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) – The Tennessee Tea Party, one of several tea party groups in the state, is disbanding after three years.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) – The federal government has declared 14 Tennessee counties as agricultural disaster areas after drought and excessive heat last summer.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) – Four painful years after the Great Recession struck and wiped out 8.7 million jobs, the United States may finally be in an elusive pattern known as the virtuous cycle – an escalating loop of robust job growth, healthier spending and higher demand.
WASHINGTON (AP) – For many people whose job prospects faded most during the recession, 2011 brought a small dose of relief.
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Internal Revenue Service is estimating that people and businesses underpaid their taxes by $450 billion in the most recent year studied.
WASHINGTON (AP) – If you earn less than $200,000 a year, there's a strong chance you don't have to worry about an Internal Revenue Service audit. But if you make more than $1 million annually, the odds have been rising that you'll be hearing from the tax man.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Welcoming positive economic news in an election year, President Barack Obama said Friday, Jan. 6, the new monthly jobs report shows the U.S. economy is starting to rebound. The Labor Department report said the economy added 200,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the lowest in nearly three years.
SPORTS
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kobe Bryant says the Los Angeles Lakers' early-season schedule has been every bit as brutal as they expected, forcing them to learn coach Mike Brown's system on the job rather than in practice.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – Will Barton scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Memphis pulled away late to edge Alabama-Birmingham 62-59 Saturday night in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – It had been a long time since LSU enjoyed such a performance in its Southeastern Conference opener as it did Saturday against Ole Miss.
KNOXVILLE (AP) – Tennessee wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers has had a minor procedure performed on his right index finger.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) – The largest trade show in the Americas must be a great place to show off new products, right? Wrong. The International Consumer Electronics Show is quickly becoming a launch pad for products that fall flat.