Rain didn’t hamper the Southern Heritage Classic’s parade Saturday morning, Sept. 8, but the main event was another matter.

Persistent thunderstorms that hit the Mid-South just before the scheduled 6 p.m. kickoff forced SHC officials to cancel Saturday night’s 29th SHC game between Tennessee State and Jackson State at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

2. Storms, Lightning and Standing Water Cause Unprecedented Cancellation of Southern Heritage - Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Storms, Lightning and Standing Water Cause Unprecedented Cancellation of Southern Heritage

Sports

By Pete Wickham

Special to The Daily News

Rain didn’t hamper the Southern Heritage Classic’s parade Saturday morning, Sept. 8, but the main event was another matter.

3. Last Word: Rain and Lightning, Recycling Blues and Polls and Campaigns - Monday, September 10, 2018

Signs of festival season in the air Sunday after what was left of Tropical Storm Gordon dumped most of its remaining rain and wind on the city Saturday. The Central Gardens home tour was doing a brisk business Sunday afternoon with lots of foot traffic in light jackets and lines outside a few of the homes on Belvedere as Birds and golf carts buzzed around. Further south Cooper-Young practicing moderation a week ahead of its milestone event for festival season – a new mural on Young west of Cooper toward the Fairgrounds awaiting your judgment next weekend.

4. Last Word: Graceland Opens Vigil, Hunt-Phelan For Sale and Southern Heritage - Thursday, September 6, 2018

After two years of making the Elvis candlelight vigil more about who paid and getting people in line, Graceland said Wednesday the vigil will return to being a free event next August – no admission, no buying packages that include the vigil. The timing on this is interesting coming about two weeks after the 2018 edition of the vigil.

5. Solid Foundation - Thursday, September 6, 2018

While sitting at his desk, Fred Jones needs only to take a quick look up and to his right to see the strides made by him and his Southern Heritage Classic. But what does the 70-year-old Jones see when he looks up at the hopeful guy in his early 40s staring back from a newspaper photo accompanying a story prior to the inaugural game in 1990?

6. Last Word: Rallings Talks Bridge, Bird at U of M and Spec Industrial - Thursday, August 23, 2018

Part of the unofficial job description of an activist can be to be as provocative as possible. And provocative is what the attorneys and the judge in the Memphis Police surveillance lawsuit trial in federal court got Wednesday from Keedran Franklin. Franklin is one of the activists/protesters in the recent wave of protests locally in the last two to three years who was being watched closely by Memphis Police.

7. Southern Heritage Classic Fashion Show, Brunch Set - Monday, August 6, 2018

In partnership with Fred Jones Jr., founder of the Southern Heritage Classic, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Memphis chapter will host its 28th annual Southern Heritage Classic Fashion Show next month.

8. McKinney Assumes New Role Joining Greater Memphis Chamber - Thursday, August 2, 2018

David McKinney later this month starts his new job as senior vice president for public policy at the Greater Memphis Chamber.

The 36-year-old attorney succeeds Kelly Rayne, who left earlier this summer to become senior counsel for St. Jude ALSAC.

9. New state law seeks to stop 'stalking by way of the courts' - Tuesday, June 26, 2018

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Advocates for domestic violence victims are praising a new Tennessee law that seeks to stop a common tactic that batterers use after their victims have fled to safety: Filing frivolous lawsuits designed to bankrupt or inflict more harm on the people they already have abused.

10. FedEx Rolls Out the Purple Runway For Its Next Generation of Pilots - Saturday, May 26, 2018

FedEx Express is paving a runway for the pilots of tomorrow – a direct pipeline to flying for the Memphis-based delivery services company on the Fortune 500 list.

The subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) announced Purple Runway – A FedEx Pathways Program this spring to address an industry-wide shortage of up-and-coming pilots.

11. Grizzlies’ Pranica Named TN Sportscaster of the Year - Saturday, January 20, 2018

Memphis Grizzlies television play-by-play announcer Pete Pranica of FOX Sports Southeast was voted the 2017 Tennessee State Sportscaster of the Year, the National Sports Media Association has announced.

12. Nomination Deadline For Dunavant Awards Feb. 1 - Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Memphis is lucky to have an abundance of residents with a passion for public service and it is time once again to honor their commitment to improving this community.

Each year the Rotary Club of Memphis East recognizes the importance of public service by hosting the Dunavant Public Servant Awards.

13. Exit Strategy - Friday, January 12, 2018

When Kroger’s Delta Division announced last week it would shutter its stores at 1977 S. Third St. in the Southgate shopping center and 2267 Lamar Ave. near Airways Boulevard, there was already a considerable history of what might follow the Feb. 2 closing.

14. Dunavant Awards Spotlight Public Servants - Friday, January 12, 2018

Being a public servant often is thankless job, but each year the Rotary Club of Memphis East recognizes the importance of public service to the community by hosting the Dunavant Public Servant Awards.

15. Fairgrounds Plans Concern Liberty Bowl Tenants - Thursday, September 28, 2017

It wasn’t so much what Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium’s football tenants saw in the most recent tentative ideas for the Fairgrounds redevelopment, it’s what they didn’t see – 3,000 parking spaces they estimated would be eliminated in the project.

16. Last Word: Back From Jury Duty, ASD Changes and Southern Heritage Classic Is Here - Thursday, September 7, 2017

Back from a very short-lived jury duty on a short week for the courts – criminal and civil. Even a slow week at the Criminal Justice Center is a learning experience about not only our criminal justice system but also the Constitutional framework that puts those notices in the U.S. mail and results in several hundred citizens at a time showing up in a jury assembly room after the adventure of trying to find parking Downtown.

17. Last Word: Football In The Rain, Shakespeare in Cordova and The Grizz Roster - Friday, September 1, 2017

There are moments in the history of sports amateur and professional that involve turn outs like the one Thursday at the Liberty Bowl for the Tigers football season opener. There were the people who ran the St. Jude marathon in the ice several years back even after the race was cancelled. Going back to the 1980s, there were those who came out in below freezing temps for Alabama Coach Bear Bryant’s last game that came at the annual Liberty Bowl.

18. Graceland Investing $50M in New Theater to Fill Memphis Venue Gap - Thursday, August 24, 2017

The next phase in Graceland’s expansion in Whitehaven is a $40 million to $50 million investment in a 6,000- to 7,000-seat theater and event center about where Heartbreak Hotel currently stands.

19. Graceland To Fill City Arena Gap With $50 Million Whitehaven Theater - Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The next phase in Graceland’s expansion in Whitehaven will be a $40 million to $50 million investment in a 6,000- to 7,000-seat theater and event center about where the Heartbreak Hotel currently stands.

20. Fairgrounds Plan Will Consider Familiar Items - Tuesday, August 22, 2017

The Fairgrounds redevelopment plan forming on a fast track will probably look familiar as far as the elements proposed for it.

“We are starting with the premise that we are using the previous planning efforts as insight for how we move forward,” Paul Young, city of Memphis Housing and Community Development director said on the WKNO/Channel 10 program “Behind The Headlines.”

21. Last Word: Ouster History, Lake District in Foreclosure and Crosstown - Friday, August 18, 2017

Five of the seven flags that fly on the southern tip of Mud Island River Park are folded and stored as of Thursday. The Riverfront Development Corporation took down the five flags that have flown over the turf we now call Memphis – before and since it became a city – including a version of the Confederate flag – leaving only the U.S. flag and the Tennessee flag. This was a reaction to the week-long and counting aftermath from the violence in Charlottesville.

22. City Reopens Fairgrounds Planning Process - Friday, August 4, 2017

About two weeks after unveiling a concept plan for Memphis riverfront development, Mayor Jim Strickland’s administration has reactivated a dormant city move to redevelop the Mid-South Fairgrounds.

23. Last Word: St. Jude School, More Gannett Moves and Maida Pearson Smith - Thursday, August 3, 2017

For most, the school year starts next week. But classes are already underway at St. Jude’s new Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, an idea 15 years in the making, according to the physician who had that idea. The school is a big step in higher education in Memphis and its road to research center status.

24. Strickland Reopens Fairgrounds Redevelopment Planning - Thursday, August 3, 2017

By the end of the year, the administration of Mayor Jim Strickland plans to have a specific enough plan for Fairgrounds redevelopment to take an application for a Tourism Development Zone to state officials for approval.

25. Last Word: Vince Carter Leaves, Fairgrounds and Pulling the Plug on Green Tech - Friday, July 7, 2017

Vince Carter joins Zach Randolph with the Sacramento Kings next NBA season with an $8 million one-year pact for Carter. Still no word on Tony Allen’s free agency status as we put this up. The Grizz plan to retire Randolph’s jersey.

26. Fairgrounds Movement Triggers Liberty Bowl Questions - Friday, July 7, 2017

For a prime piece of real estate that is supposed to be in a holding pattern, there is a lot of recent activity on and about the Mid-South Fairgrounds. And even when Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium isn’t the immediate topic, it is an undeniable presence.

27. Last Word: After the Last Hole, Cutting County Property Taxes and A Recycled Gown - Tuesday, June 13, 2017

The story of how the Overton Park Conservancy raised $1 million in two months didn’t go according to the script. It wasn’t large donors, it was a lot of contributions of $250 or less it turns out, many from people who have never been to the park, the zoo or the greensward in particular whether it’s on foot or in a car. There were donations from Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and every state, except South Dakota.

28. Last Word: Grade Tampering, The Tom Lee Storm and Fred's Strategy - Wednesday, June 7, 2017

There are indications that allegations of grade-tampering at Shelby County Schools are not going to recede as rapidly as they did late last year when the allegations first came up. The first indication was word late last week that the state department of education will audit the grade transcripts of all SCS high schools. But there are still some fuzzy points in that about whether that is a new move or whether it is something that has been underway since last year.

29. Last Word: Recovery Day 6, Trezevant Allegations Resurface and Memphis Is Hard - Friday, June 2, 2017

There is some debate about how the Memorial Day weekend storm compares to the Ice Storm of 1994 and Hurricane Elvis in 2003. A city public works supervisor who is a veteran of both earlier incidents weighed in this week as Mayor Jim Strickland stopped by Collins Yard to rally the city’s troops in the recovery effort. Rodney Wakefield also had a lot to say about what motivates city workers to tackle this hard work in a sweltering spring and do it as quickly and as safely as possible.

30. Southern Heritage Classic Founder Touts Value of Annual, One-Off Events - Friday, June 2, 2017

When he came up with the idea of an annual football game in Memphis between the teams of two historically black universities with large alumni bases locally, Fred Jones had two primary goals for what he called the Southern Heritage Classic.

31. Last Word: 'Ono Poke and the Ghost of The Luau, Council Day and $3 Concerts - Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The ghost of the Luau lives on. Loeb has a new tenant for the Shops of Chickasaw Gardens called ‘Ono Poke that features Hawaiian cuisine. And the restaurant will be just about on the other side of Poplar Avenue from where the Luau used to stand with its large concrete Easter Island head, Polynesian dishes and Hawaii Five-O era architecture – not the remake, the real Five-O and the real McGarrett.

32. Local Concert Business Amping Up, Keeping Memphis Promoters Busy - Saturday, March 18, 2017

The concert business appears to be healthier in 2017, with more performers and artists on tour than in recent years – and more of them are booking shows in Memphis.

But it’s never that simple in the business of shows, where booking is a process and touring is becoming more of a necessity.

33. Free Agent Frenzy? That’s Not Robinson’s Style - Friday, February 17, 2017

Upon his arrival as the Tennessee Titans’ general manager in January 2016, Jon Robinson made an immediate impact with the trade for DeMarco Murray and his wheeling/dealing approach to the draft.

34. New Tri-State Defender Has Credibility, Influence in the Community - Thursday, February 9, 2017

When president and publisher Bernal E. Smith II speaks about his newspaper, The New Tri-State Defender, and how business is conducted today and what’s necessary for success going forward, he sounds like just about any other newspaper executive trying to navigate today’s quick-change media world.

35. Final Goodbye: Roll Call of Some of Those Who Died in 2016 - Monday, January 2, 2017

Death claimed transcendent political figures in 2016, including Cuba's revolutionary leader and Thailand's longtime king, but also took away royals of a different sort: kings of pop music, from Prince and David Bowie to George Michael.

36. Last Word: St. Jude Dollar Amounts, Fred's On The Move and The Treble Clef - Friday, December 9, 2016

Grizz over the Trailblazers 88 – 86 Thursday evening at the Forum. At the end of the first half, Grizz coach David Fizdale had to be restrained by players on the way off the court after a technical was called on him. And welcome to Memphis, Toney Douglas. We love what you are doing with the fourth quarter.

37. Last Word: In Charlotte's Shadow, EDGE Action and Elvis TV Bio at Graceland - Thursday, September 22, 2016

The Memphis City Council’s final vote next month on pot decriminalization is shaping up to be about more than marijuana. The vote on the ordinance proposed by council member Berlin Boyd is the leading edge of a larger push for changes in the local criminal justice system, according to Boyd.

38. Classic Makes Strong Economic Impact and Brings Families, Friends Together - Thursday, September 8, 2016

Two years ago the Southern Heritage Classic celebrated its 25th anniversary. It was a good time to take stock of the event and so a market assessment study was prepared through the Bureau of Sports and Leisure at the University of Memphis.

39. Last Word: School Is In, It's Rallings and Looking At Our Reflection - Monday, August 8, 2016

The school year begins Monday across Shelby County – for students.

Teachers have been back for the last two weeks in one way or another preparing for the year. School administrators longer than that including some new principals at several schools.

40. Pat Summitt Latest Exception to Tennessee Flag-Lowering Rule - Monday, July 4, 2016

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Gov. Bill Haslam's order for flags to be flown at half-staff following the death of former University of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt is the latest exception to state protocols that normally reserve the honor for members of the military.

41. Congress Putting Daily Fantasy Sports Games Under Scrutiny - Thursday, May 12, 2016

WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress on Wednesday launched a fact-finding mission into the loosely regulated world of fantasy sports games – a multibillion-dollar business that seemingly advertised everywhere during the pro football season.

42. Last Word: Love and Glory and Guitars, New Frost and Scalia's Passing - Monday, February 15, 2016

To each his or her own on Valentine’s Day observances Sunday that become Valentine’s Day memories with the arrival of Monday.

The Majestic Grille, for instance, had the movies Roman Holiday and Casablanca back to back on the screen of the movie theater turned restaurant.
No sound, but you really don’t need sound for the scene where Audrey Hepburn takes the throne with Gregory Peck and a beatnik Eddie Albert among the press corps at the rope line.
And The Majestic saved The Second Line in Overton Square with a loaner of some champagne after Second Line ran a bit short.
Chef Kelly English thanked the Majestic via Twitter for “saving our sweet Valentine’s Day asses.”

43. Last Word: Groundhog Day's Long Shadow, Minority Percentage & The Value of Sports - Monday, February 1, 2016

After the January into February weekend we had with its outbreak of spring fever, you might wonder if groundhogs are allowed to change their minds or if shadows that are the result of television lights count as a prediction on the winter’s length.
Or maybe it would be appropriate to have a weather map that includes the Groundhog Day immunity zones – areas where the long shadow of the groundhog does not venture.
Note to television meteorologists: This would in no way interfere with your right to declare large parts of your viewing areas as places of "potentially severe weather" far into the future. But you will need a different color for the Groundhog Immunity Zones.

44. Sports Community to Memphis: Acknowledge Our Value - Monday, February 1, 2016

In sports, it is natural for some – maybe even many – to say what a player, coach, team or even a city can’t do. Memphis knows this well.

There were doubts about the viability of a Downtown minor-league baseball park. But 16 years after AutoZone Park opened at Third Street and Union Avenue, the ballpark is as beautiful as ever – thanks in part to some $6.5 million in upgrades following the team’s purchase by the parent St. Louis Cardinals.

45. Memphis Sports Leaders to Speak on Local Impact - Wednesday, January 27, 2016

You will find Memphis sports fans everywhere – including in the Redbirds dugout at AutoZone Park.

“Our players like having the NBA here and FedExForum nearby,” said Memphis Redbirds general manager Craig Unger.

46. Last Word: The Big Fizzle, John Jay Hooker's Exit And "A Great Sports Town" - Monday, January 25, 2016

Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it – isn’t that how the saying goes?
In our case, it might be better to say everybody talks about the television weather coverage but nobody does anything about it.
As we all know now, Memphis dodged the “blizzard” warning artfully and passive-aggressively teased by several television stations who shall go un-named here because they know who they are and you do too.
That’s because they spent much of the day of "the blizzard that wasn’t" whining about the reaction from viewers who complained about the hype and then the promos the stations ran the day of the big fizzle.
We didn’t get much in the way of snow in Memphis, but we got a couple of feet of hype.

47. In the Game - Saturday, January 23, 2016

Way back in the 1990s, perhaps before the Grizzlies and FedExForum were even a twinkle in anyone’s eye, Chris Wallace came to Memphis and The Pyramid for a preseason NBA game featuring Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

48. Last Word: Council Round-Up, One Beale's Third Tower and the Battle Over the ASD - Wednesday, January 6, 2016

On a clear day, the song goes, you can see forever.
In Memphis though, it seems that no two politicians will see exactly the same thing or have precisely the same opinion.
On a somewhat sunny but not necessarily clear Tuesday in our fair city there was a lot to see.

49. Sports Execs Tackle Teams’ Economic Impact - Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Football fans in Charlotte, N.C., have had a fun season watching the NFL’s Carolina Panthers reel in 15 wins, a near perfect season, and secure the top playoff seed in their conference.

And it could turn out to be quite the edge for the Panthers in their quest to reach the Super Bowl.

50. College Football Notebook: Vols Get Bowl Upgrade, All-SEC Teams Named - Thursday, December 10, 2015

Last season, coach Butch Jones got Tennessee back to a bowl game. This season, they’ve moved up from the TaxSlayer Bowl to the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.

It’s a tangible step for a program that finished 8-4, 5-3 in the SEC. And looking back over the schedule at what might have been, the Vols easily could have played for the SEC title or at least already have 10 wins.

51. Southern Heritage Classic Founder’s Vision: Go Big - Monday, September 7, 2015

It’s a funny question to him now, 26 years down the line and the Southern Heritage Classic an unquestionable success.

So founder Fred Jones Jr. laughs when asked if he had to bankroll the first game with mostly his own money.

52. MIFA’s Feed the Soul Fundraiser Is ‘Memphis At Its Finest' - Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Each year after MIFA’s Feed the Soul event, Sally Jones Heinz has the same thought.

“You come to this party and it really is Memphis at its finest,” said Heinz, executive director of the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association. “It’s such a diverse group of people having a really good time. Every year after the party’s over, I think this is how it needs to be – Memphis all together.”

53. Preseason Analysis: Vols Will Defeat Oklahoma, Finish 8-4 - Saturday, August 8, 2015

Tennessee’s football team has something to prove as it concludes the first week of preseason practices and moves forward to the 2015 season.

The Vols must prove they belong in the national picture in Butch Jones’ third year as coach.

54. Perfect Timing - Thursday, April 23, 2015

She’s new here, both as a resident of the city and as the executive director of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

So Emily Ballew Neff, while confident, ambitious and excited – everything the Brooks board of trustees would want her to be – is also careful not to overstep.

55. Emily Ballew Neff Named Brooks Museum Director - Saturday, February 28, 2015

The Board of Trustees of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has voted unanimously to name Emily Ballew Neff as the museum’s executive director.

Neff currently serves as the President of the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) and served nearly two decades as the first Curator of American Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She established a significant presence for the museum in the field of American art, growing the museum’s collections by more than 30 percent, organizing more than 20 exhibitions at the museum and coordinating 14 traveling exhibitions from other institutions.

56. Neff Named Executive Director of Brooks Museum - Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The board of trustees of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has voted unanimously to name Emily Ballew Neff as the museum’s executive director.

Neff currently serves as the president of the Association of Art Museum Curators and served nearly two decades as the first curator of American painting and sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She established a significant presence for the museum in the field of American art, growing the museum’s collections by more than 30 percent, organizing more than 20 exhibitions at the museum and coordinating 14 traveling exhibitions from other institutions.

57. Heisley’s Legacy: Believing in Memphis - Friday, May 2, 2014

It is said that the famous have their lives summed up in the first paragraph of their public obituary.

The first sentence from a recent obit in The New York Times read: “Michael Heisley, the billionaire financier, who bought the N.B.A.’s floundering Vancouver Grizzlies in April 2000 and soon moved them to Memphis, where he revitalized the franchise, died on Saturday in Illinois. He was 77.”

58. Harris Files Ford Challenge at Deadline - Thursday, April 3, 2014

Memphis City Council member Lee Harris is challenging Democratic state Sen. Ophelia Ford in the August primary for District 29, the Senate seat held by a member of the Ford family since 1975.

59. This week in Memphis history: September 20-26 - Saturday, September 21, 2013

1993: Elvis Presley Enterprises joined the ownership group for the proposed Memphis NFL franchise that city leaders were seeking. William B. Dunavant Jr., the leader of the effort, announced Graceland’s role in the ownership group during a reception at Graceland. Others in the ownership group included Fred Smith, Mike Starnes, J.R. “Pitt” Hyde and Paul Tudor Jones.

60. He Said, She Said: Part 1 - Thursday, June 6, 2013

The posting sent to the members of the cruciverbal community read, “We’re looking for seasoned ... puzzle creators to help us build puzzles for our game, (which) uses a unique crossword-influenced style of word puzzle where the answers are hidden in ... famous quotations. We’re (a small outfit) and ... can’t create puzzles fast enough for the players.”

61. Lot of Love Remains for Tennis Tourney - Saturday, February 16, 2013

The U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships at the Racquet Club of Memphis serves as a reminder of the city’s unique sports mix and how much that mix says about our civic aspirations.

It is a welcome reminder after the last month of incessant chatter about being a “small market” NBA franchise.

62. Public Relations Society Honors Duncan Williams - Saturday, January 5, 2013

The Memphis chapter of the Public Relations Society of America has named Duncan F. Williams, president of Duncan-Williams Inc., as its 2013 Communicator of The Year.

63. Public Relations Society Names Duncan Williams 'Communicator of the Year' - Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Memphis chapter of the Public Relations Society of America has named Duncan F. Williams, president of Duncan-Williams Inc., as its 2013 Communicator of The Year.

64. Terry Dedicates Career to Betterment of Community - Friday, September 14, 2012

Memphis native Laura Terry, development officer at The MED Foundation, has dedicated her career to bettering the community by working in the Bluff City’s nonprofit sector – something she attributes to her parents’ influence.

65. Planning Commission Moves Forward On Schools Merger - Monday, May 7, 2012

The schools consolidation planning commission is getting close enough to its goal of a plan for the merged school system that some members are now weighing how much political headroom to give the countywide school board.

66. Planning Commission Recommends Outsourcing Schools Custodians and Buses - Friday, May 4, 2012

The schools consolidation planning commission is recommending that the merged school system outsource custodial work at schools as well as bus transportation for students to private companies.

The vote by the panel Thursday, May 3, is a preliminary vote but with most of the 21 members there and all but two to three voting for the recommendation, it is an important indicator.

67. Roots of Faith - Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The man who correctly predicted the stock market convulsion of 1987, a veteran hedge fund manager who today is one of the richest men in America, held up a notebook at a celebration in his honor late last week.

68. Vandy Going for 3rd Bowl Win Ever vs Cincinnati - Monday, January 2, 2012

Vanderbilt linebacker Chris Marve will have his own cheering section for the Liberty Bowl. It will include about 100 family and friends, and he couldn't help everyone asking for tickets.

Marve grew up in Memphis, Tenn., and went to high school at White Station. Former coaches and their families will be joining his relatives and friends in the stands Saturday when Vanderbilt plays Cincinnati.

69. Prescott Leads Schools Planning Commission - Friday, September 30, 2011

Former Memphis City Schools board member Barbara Prescott is chairman on the new schools consolidation planning commission.

70. Schools Planning Commission Begins Work - Thursday, September 29, 2011

The 21-member schools consolidation planning commission goes to work Thursday, Sept. 29, in a conference room at the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement in Shelby Farms.

71. Schools Consolidation Saga Turns Corner - Monday, August 29, 2011

Where does a 23-member countywide school board meet? “FedExForum is open,” replied Shelby County Schools board chairman David Pickler last week to the question from fellow board member David Reaves.

72. Business Leaders Back Consolidation Charter - Monday, September 27, 2010

Several dozen of the best known corporate leaders in the city turned out Friday afternoon to go public with their support of the consolidation charter.

The “Charter Means Business” campaign includes Gary Shorb, CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, philanthropist and AutoZone founder J.R. “Pitt” Hyde, Leigh Shockey, chairman and CEO of Drexel Chemical and Southern Heritage Classic founder Fred Jones as well as 65 others.

73. Events - Tuesday, September 14, 2010

LaunchMemphis will present a seminar with author Larry Farrell Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. at EmergeMemphis, 516 Tennessee St. Farrell will speak on the topic “Iteration Trumps Perfection.” Cost is $25. To register, visit www.larryfarrellbreakfast.eventbrite.com.

74. Beale Street Honors - Monday, September 13, 2010

Memphis has a music heritage going back a hundred years.

And some of those earlier and more obscure artists could be forgotten if it wasn’t for the Beale Street Brass Note Walk of Fame.

The small brass music notes lining the sidewalks of Beale Street are engraved with names as well known as Elvis Presley and as obscure, at least to some, as Dr. Herman Green, who played with many jazz greats.

75. Wharton Flips Switch On Tiger Lane - Thursday, September 9, 2010

With a crowd of several hundred watching, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Wednesday evening flipped the switch on the lights for the new Tiger Lane project at The Fairgrounds.

It lit up a set of streetlights and parallel lower trails of blue lights that mark the parking and tailgating areas along the green space.

76. Architectural Stories - Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The houses on this year’s Central Gardens Home and Garden Tour chronicle a century of architectural styling.

They begin with traditional designs that borrow from past times and end with a 1967 residence built for the modern age. The 34th annual tour, which features six homes, will be from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

77. Time to Shine Lights on Tiger Lane - Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The $15 million Tiger Lane project at the Mid-South Fairgrounds will get a “blue” opening Wednesday evening.

The blue isn’t from the University of Memphis Tigers’ opening loss of the football season. It is strings of blue lights from the East Parkway entrance to the western wall of the Liberty Bowl stadium.

78. Fan Friendly - Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Mid-South Fairgrounds may be the most unlikely landscape for a civic project that has succeeded in catching the eye of skeptical Memphians.

But it isn’t the architectural renderings of water-colored citizens strolling in the glow of a possible future that has our attention. It’s what Memphians don’t see when they drive by the fairgrounds that has their attention.

79. Action! We Belong in the Movies - Friday, August 6, 2010

Gene Hackman has a big head.

I’m not talking ego, the man really does have a head the size of a medicine ball. I know because I stood next to him one morning in Court Square chatting about the Hebe Fountain. Okay, he wasn’t actually talking to me, he was talking to the little guy on the other side of him – Tom Cruise. Maybe 5-7, depending on his shoes. They were here shooting “The Firm.”

80. Tough Crowd - Friday, July 30, 2010

The Metro Charter Commission never drew close to a hundred citizens at all but one of its public hearings earlier this month. The exception was the first hearing at Memphis Botanic Garden.

But the group did find an interesting array of opinions even when the numbers were small.

81. Charter Commission Takes Message to the People - Monday, July 12, 2010

The Metro Charter Commission drew a crowd of 200 last week at the first of three public hearings on the consolidation proposal still taking shape.

The two-and-half-hour session at the Memphis Botanic Garden even included something the group hasn’t encountered much in public forums held by other groups – applause for the idea of consolidation.

82. Bass Pro and Beyond - Monday, June 14, 2010

"Adaptive reuse” is the term for what city leaders hope will happen at The Pyramid.

Throw in the Mid-South Fairgrounds and the Beale Street Landing projects, though, and “adaptive reuse” seems inadequate to define what is happening among the three concepts.

83. FedEx Q3 Earnings Exceed Expectations - Friday, March 19, 2010

Positive signs abound at FedEx, the city’s largest employer.

Not only was the company’s hometown hub, Memphis International Airport, confirmed this week as the world’s busiest for cargo for the 18th straight year – thanks almost entirely to FedEx’s massive volume – but the shipping giant registered third-quarter profits that nearly doubled from last year.

84. FedEx Q3 Earnings Exceed Expectations - Thursday, March 18, 2010

Positive signs abound at FedEx, the city’s largest employer.

Not only was the company’s hometown hub Memphis International Airport confirmed this week as the world’s busiest cargo airport for the 18th straight year – thanks almost entirely to FedEx’s massive volume – but the shipping giant registered third-quarter profits that nearly doubled the previous year.

85. Fairgrounds Work Continues Despite Flux - Thursday, March 18, 2010

On his way home from church one Sunday last month, Kevin Kane and his family decided to go by the Mid-South Fairgrounds to see what was left of the Zippin Pippin.

86. Fairgrounds Work Continues Despite Parking Questions - Thursday, March 11, 2010

The demolition and cleanup of the old Libertyland theme park is just about finished, and a 10-0 vote by the Memphis City Council this week means that and other work to create a “great lawn” at the Mid-South Fairgrounds will continue for now.

87. Fairgrounds Work Gets Greenlight From Council - Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Demolition work at The Fairgrounds resumes now that the Memphis City Council has greenlighted the idea of a “great lawn” off East Parkway.

Future council votes are still to come on starting $600,000 in design work and then approving the design.

88. UPDATE: Fairgrounds Work To Resume - Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Demolition work at The Fairgrounds resumes now that the Memphis City Council has greenlighted the idea of a “great lawn” off East Parkway.

Future council votes are still to come on starting $600,000 in design work and then approving the design.

89. Fairgrounds Jump Start on Council's Agenda - Tuesday, March 9, 2010
 

Memphis City Council members will be called on today to jump start the stalled renovation of The Fairgrounds.

The push by the Liberty Bowl's three tenants is to get an immediate council vote on a plan to create a great lawn at the Fairgrounds and demolish seven buildings including the Pipkin Building.

An ad hoc committee including council members and representatives of the three tenants met Monday evening to talk about current demolition underway at the Fairgrounds.

The demolition of the old Libertyland amusement park caused some concern when it went into a parking area outside the park.

Southern Heritage Classic founder Fred Jones immediately began expressing concerns that the new activity as well as the digging of a temporary siltation pond would cut the number of parking spaces available for his annual Jackson State-Tennessee State football matchup.

The work was stopped several weeks ago as the council tried to sort out where the demolition ended and the creation of a “great lawn” during the brief tenure of Mayor Pro Tempore Myron Lowery began.

“There’s a whole lot of work still being done,” Jones told the committee Monday evening of what he had seen earlier that day.

City Housing and Community Development director Robert Lipscomb said it was only a “clean up” of the area.

At Monday’s meeting, the three tenants of the football stadium said they back going ahead with the great lawn project as long as the lawn, in some form, and a plan to demolish the seven buildings, most of which are livestock barns, can all be done by the time football resumes at the Liberty Bowl with the Sept. 11 Southern Heritage Classic.

Some of the demolition contracts run out next week.

Jones said he supports the concept of a great lawn from East Parkway to the stadium. But he questioned whether the plans would increase the number of parking spaces from the current 5,372 within the Fairgrounds property to 7,568.

“We need to know exactly what we have. I don’t mean conceptually,” Jones said. “You’re not creating new spaces.”

Architect Tom Marshall, the city’s consultant on the project, insisted new and more parking will be created with the demolition of the buildings and Libertyland.

Marshall offered to come up with a detailed map showing individual parking spaces for today’s council discussion expected to begin during executive session at 1pm.

“I’ll even put in big cars,” he told Jones at one point.

Jones was the only no vote in the seven member committee vote to ask the city council for immediate approval of the project.

“I’m not really satisfied with what I’ve seen,” he said after he and others said the work by some divisions of the city including the Park Services division didn’t mesh with what other parts of city government were saying. “It’s just too convenient that the park services people weren’t here. Every time we say there is additional parking, I have not seen it.”

Council member Reid Hedgepeth moderated the session, trying to keep all of those involved from discussing past mis-steps.

“From now on people are going to know what’s happening,” he said. “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it. If not … let’s send them home,” he said referring to demolition crews.

Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart said pre bowl game events should have some kind of building on the grounds to host them. Lipscomb said a tent will serve the purpose even though Ehrhart would prefer one of the surviving Fairgrounds buildings.

“A tent would be better than those buildings,” Lipscomb said.

Marshall estimated what is known as phase one of The Fairgrounds overhaul could cost $6-million to $9-million. There are no plans for a second phase or anything else beyond the great lawn and the building demolition.

The phase one cost could vary depending on bids and design work still to be done. Construction would start in June. But the council could vote on a specific design in April or May.

“We’re supportive of it,” University of Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson said near the end of the two hour session. “I’m more and more concerned about the land. But we want to move on it.”

The construction of the Salvation Army Kroc Center on a Fairgrounds lot along East Parkway next to Fairview Junior High School is independent of the city’s on again-off again plans for the rest of the Fairgrounds property including phase one.

90. UPDATE: Council To Be Asked To Jump Start Fairgrounds Project - Monday, March 8, 2010

Memphis City Council members will be on the deciding end Tuesday of a push to get an immediate council vote on a plan to create a great lawn at the Fairgrounds and demolish seven buildings including the Pipkin Building.

91. Southern Heritage Classic Founder Receives Lifetime Achievement Award - Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Fred Jones has received the Arthur S. Holmon Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Memphis Black Student Association.

92. Memphis Companies Tap Into Renewable Energy Sources - Friday, November 20, 2009

From solar power to wind power, from hybrid automotive technology to geothermal engineering, Memphis companies large and small are tapping into renewable energy.

The biggest news story surrounding local businesses going green involves shipping giant FedEx Corp., whose president and CEO Fred Smith earlier this year unveiled the company’s plans to become more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly through its EarthSmart initiative.

93. Merck, Now No. 2 Drugmaker, Set for Future Buys - Thursday, November 5, 2009

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The new Merck & Co. has become the world's second-biggest drugmaker overnight with a huge acquisition, but it still has a fat wallet and plans more wheeling and dealing.

94. FedEx Takes Hits But Comes Out Swinging - Thursday, June 18, 2009

The end of fiscal year 2009 brought good news and bad news to FedEx Corp., which released its fourth quarter and full-year earnings report Wednesday.

95. Events - Friday, June 5, 2009

The Greater Memphis Chamber will hold a leadership luncheon today from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Holiday Inn-University of Memphis, 3700 Central Ave. Fred Jones of Summit Management Corp. will speak. Cost is $25 for members and $35 for prospective members. For more information, contact Tunga Lee at 543-3571 or tlee@memphischamber.com.

96. Events - Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence will hold a workshop titled “Human Resources 101” today from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Alliance office, 5100 Poplar Ave., Suite 502. The facilitator will be Tiffany Chisnall, who will discuss how to manage human resources for a nonprofit organization. For more information or reservations, call 684-6605 or visit www.npexcellence.org.

97. Events - Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens will host Talks on the Terrace with Mike Berkley today from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Dixon, 4339 Park Ave. Berkley is the co-owner of GroWild Inc. Cost is $15 for members and $25 for nonmembers. Reservations and pre-payment are required. For more information, call 761-5250.

98. Events - Monday, June 1, 2009

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens will host Talks on the Terrace with Mike Berkley Tuesday from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Dixon, 4339 Park Ave. Berkley is the co-owner of GroWild Inc. Cost is $15 for members and $25 for nonmembers. Reservations and pre-payment are required. For more information, call 761-5250.

99. Fairgrounds Discussion Becomes More Ambiguous - Thursday, April 16, 2009

For two hours this week the lights were dimmed in the theater of the Children’s Museum of Memphis and Memphis City Council members got a review of plans for the Mid-South Fairgrounds renovation.

When the house lights came up and the PowerPoint presentation went dark, many concluded the ambitious Herenton administration plan is “back to square one,” to quote several council members.

100. Wal-Mart Revamps Own Label Amid Store-Brand Boom - Wednesday, March 18, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Wal-Mart is stepping up the competition to draw cost-conscious shoppers, promising that store-brand products from cereal to cookies will be tastier, smell better and look more attractive.