Trader Joe’s will officially open its long-awaited Germantown store at 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 14, the company announced Friday, Aug. 31.
37. Kick in the Grass - Saturday, September 1, 2018
Mentally, the ownership group bringing a United Soccer League team to share AutoZone Park with the Memphis Redbirds has been flipping the switch for the better part of two years. After the last out of the Redbirds regular-season home finale was recorded Monday, the act got physical. The concept became real.
38. Even with Jeremiah Martin’s Surgery, Tiger Hoops Fans Can Be Hopeful - Thursday, August 30, 2018
The rumor turned out to be a reality. Sure enough, the best player from last season’s University of Memphis basketball team had surgery last Monday.
To be exact, Jeremiah Martin – the guard who averaged 18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals – had an inguinal hernia repaired. So confirmed a UofM press release
39. Last Word: Oath, Occupancy and Buses - Thursday, August 30, 2018
Shelby County Mayor elect Lee Harris and the 13-member Shelby County Commission with a majority of eight new members take the oath of office Thursday afternoon Downtown at the Cannon Center. And Harris turned in his resignation as a state Senator Wednesday, urging the county commission to leave the seat vacant for the remaining four months left in his four-year term of office in Nashville.
40. College Planning Platform Calls Rhodes a Top Pick - Thursday, August 30, 2018
A mobile-first college planning platform has named Rhodes College to two of its 2019 lists.
Rhodes is on College Raptor’s “Top 25 Best Colleges in the Southeast” and “Hidden Gems in the Southeast” lists. Rhodes is ranked No. 19 on the Best Colleges in the Southeast list. The top college was the University of Virginia, which is in Charlottesville.
41. MATA’s Lack of Funding Could Result in Route Cuts - Thursday, August 30, 2018
The Memphis Area Transit Authority is proposing several adjustments to its bus network, including the elimination of seven routes. Tuesday night, MATA held a public hearing at the Benjamin Hooks Central Library for the proposed changes, which can be found here.
42. Mayor-elect Harris Appoints Chief Administrative Officer - Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Shelby County Mayor-elect Lee Harris announced Tuesday, Aug. 28, Patrice Williamson-Thomas will serve as chief administrative officer – Harris’ first major appointment in his administration.
43. Memphis Cashes In On Airbnb Agreement - Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Airbnb booked 87,000 overnight guests in Memphis and generated more than $647,000 in hospitality taxes during the first year of an agreement with Memphis city government.
The home-sharing platform reported Tuesday, Aug. 28, that rentals were up 67 percent year over year, including a significant spike during this year’s Memphis in May International Festival and Beale Street Music Festival.
44. Mississippi Lawmakers Approve Bill to Create State Lottery - Wednesday, August 29, 2018
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi House reversed itself Tuesday and passed a bill to create a state lottery in the Bible Belt state where churches have long opposed it.
The vote came during a special session, less than 24 hours after the House originally voted to kill the bill that the state's Republican governor promises to sign into law. There was no debate Tuesday as a few representatives changed their votes from no to yes.
45. Dean, Lee Differ on Many Tennessee Topics - Wednesday, August 29, 2018
On first blush, gubernatorial candidates Bill Lee and Karl Dean appear to be cast in a similar mold – business-friendly moderates.
46. Last Word: Firestone Developments, Commission's Busy Day and Main and Beale - Tuesday, August 28, 2018
The Firestone plant site in North Memphis is one of nine across the city the Greater Memphis Chamber is seeking grant funding for as the chamber starts to role out an economic development policy shift on its part. Here is what it means on several levels as well as the eight other sites in the Memphis area that are on the grant applications.
47. County Commissioners Approve Quinn Road Development - Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Shelby County commissioners approved a 500-plus home development on Quinn Road – in unincorporated Shelby County just south of Collierville – with one key amendment change during their meeting Monday, Aug. 27.
48. Chamber Seeks Site Improvement Grants for 9 Sites Including Firestone - Tuesday, August 28, 2018
The Greater Memphis Chamber has applied for state improvement grants for nine economic development sites in Memphis as the first step in a “Sites and Buildings Plan.”
The list of Memphis sites includes the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. plant site in North Memphis, which is one of eight applying via the chamber to be part of the Tennessee Site Evaluation Program.
49. Last Word: End of Term, After The Testimony and John McCain - Monday, August 27, 2018
Shelby County commissioners meet Monday for what is the last regularly scheduled meeting of their four-year term of office. Eight of the 13 commissioners are leaving the body of 13 at the end of this month as is Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell.
50. Bredesen Wants Criticized Blackburn-Backed Opioid Law Repeal - Monday, August 27, 2018
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Democratic ex-Gov. Phil Bredesen says his first U.S. Senate action would be introducing or co-sponsoring legislation to repeal a 2016 law criticized for weakening federal authority to curb opioid distribution. His opponent, Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, supported it.
51. Around Memphis: August 27 - Monday, August 27, 2018
The Daily News offers a weekly roundup of Memphis-related headlines from around the web, adding context and new perspectives to the original content we produce on a daily basis. Here are some recent stories worth checking out…
52. UTHSC Contributed $4B To 2017 State Economy - Saturday, August 25, 2018
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center contributed approximately $4 billion to Tennessee’s economy last year.
The main campus in Memphis generated approximately $3 billion, or 74 percent of the total economic impact. The medical college employs more than 23,900 people at its Memphis campus.
53. Memphis Climb - Saturday, August 25, 2018
Recently, cbssports.com put out a map showcasing the best college football programs in every state. The state of Tennessee, which forever would have been colored Big Orange, was instead shaded Memphis Tigers Blue. College football writer Barrett Sallee provided a two-part explanation for how this came to be:
54. UTHSC Contributed $4B To 2017 State Economy - Friday, August 24, 2018
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center contributed approximately $4 billion to Tennessee’s economy last year.
The main campus in Memphis generated approximately $3 billion, or 74 percent of the total economic impact. The medical college employs more than 23,900 people at its Memphis campus.
55. Haslam Sees Difference in Need for Testing, How Tests Are Administered - Thursday, August 23, 2018
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says there is a distinction to be made in the current debate about student achievement testing in Tennessee and problems with the testing.
“We need to distinguish between the test itself … and the implementation,” Haslam said Wednesday, Aug. 22, during a visit to the Georgian Hills Achievement Elementary School in Frayser. “Obviously, the technology hasn’t worked and we are committed to getting that right. … It would be such a mistake for the state to throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
56. Testimony Ends in Federal Case Questioning Memphis Police Surveillance Tactics - Thursday, August 23, 2018
After four days, the federal trial where the ACLU sued the city of Memphis over political surveillance of activists, ended Thursday, leaving the decision in the hands of U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla.
57. 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.
58. Brad Jones Named Coach of G League Memphis Hustle - Thursday, August 23, 2018
The Memphis Hustle, the NBA G League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies, have announced Brad Jones as the second head coach in franchise history. Jones most recently served as general manager of the NBA G League’s Iowa Wolves and as a pro scout for the team’s parent affiliate, the Minnesota Timberwolves.
59. Comptroller’s TBI Report Spurs New Legislation - Thursday, August 23, 2018
Legislation to crack down on misuse of state-issued cell phones is being spurred by a state Comptroller’s report showing the former acting director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and his girlfriend downloaded apps enabling them to communicate undetected.
60. It’s Lee’s to Win Unless He Makes a Rookie Mistake - Thursday, August 23, 2018
When Bill Lee drove a tractor through tiny Eagleville last October, hardly anyone noticed. Only a handful of supporters milled around in the parking lot of the Farmers Co-op in southwest Rutherford County that morning where Lee spent a few minutes talking to people inside the store before emerging to ride to another town as part of a statewide tour, a precursor to an RV ride he would take later in the Republican primary race.
61. Haslam: Execution Handled in 'Very Professional' Way - Thursday, August 23, 2018
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam says corrections officials have told him Tennessee's first execution since 2009 was handled in a "very professional manner."
Haslam told reporters Tuesday that state corrections officials and others there during Billy Ray Irick's Aug. 9 execution told him "everybody did their job the way it was supposed to" be done.
62. Mental Evaluation Ordered for Slain NBA Player's Ex-Wife - Thursday, August 23, 2018
MEMPHIS (AP) — A judge in Tennessee has ordered a mental evaluation for the jailed ex-wife of slain former NBA player Lorenzen Wright.
Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee said Wednesday that he's signed an order for doctors to evaluate Sherra Wright's ability to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
63. Last Word: Day Two in Federal Court, Cohen on Manafort and Saturation Concerns - Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings on the witness stand Tuesday in Memphis Federal Court for day two of the trial on police surveillance of protesters.
And Rallings testified that he had only a “vague” knowledge of the 1978 federal consent decree banning such surveillance prior to the lawsuit filed in 2017 by protesters put on the City Hall security list. As a supervisor at the police training academy, Rallings also testified that the rules set by the decree to prevent political surveillance of protesters were not taught to police officers to his knowledge.
64. Bredesen Seeks Rural Broadband Access Through TVA - Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is calling for congressional action enabling the Tennessee Valley Authority to deliver broadband internet access to rural parts of the state, a plan his opponent, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, says would be “anti-competitive.”
65. 1959 Racial Slaying of Mississippi Teen Could Get Fresh Look - Wednesday, August 22, 2018
CORINTH, Miss. (AP) — Eberlene King remembers her 15-year-old brother as he lay dying, after white teenagers cruised through their black neighborhood in a pickup on Halloween night 1959 and shot him in the face.
66. Gov. Bill Haslam Announces School Testing Listening Tour - Wednesday, August 22, 2018
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is launching a statewide tour to hear ideas to improve the state's problem-plagued elementary and secondary school online testing process.
67. MPD Officer Unmasked as 'Bob Smith' in Federal Hearing - Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Memphis police Sgt. Tim Reynolds is “Bob Smith” – the fake Facebook persona the veteran officer used to befriend local protesters and monitor their activities.
68. Last Word: Bob Smith Talks, Crosstown Anniversary and Grant's Parking Lot - Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Bob Smith’s testimony was a good part of the first day of the nonjury trial that began Monday before Memphis Federal Court Judge Jon McCalla on police surveillance of protesters. Smith was the alias used by Police Sgt. Tim Reynolds – Reynolds acknowledged during his testimony Monday Downtown. The identity was also used by several other officers.
69. Memphis Tigers Could Face Defending National Champion Villanova in Thanksgiving Tournament - Monday, August 20, 2018
Penny Hardaway’s first team at the University of Memphis will play a non-conference schedule that features preseason Top 10 Tennessee, Elite Eight participant Texas Tech, and possibly defending national champion Villanova.
70. Last Word: Police Surveillance on Trial, Elvis Alternatives and Firestone's Dilemma - Monday, August 20, 2018
In Memphis Federal Court Monday morning, Memphis Police surveillance of protesters over the last two years is on the docket of U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla. McCalla ruled earlier this month in advance of the nonjury trial that police conducted “political surveillance” of protesters in violation of a 1978 federal court consent decree.
71. Memphis Man Charged In 2007 Killing During Robbery - Monday, August 20, 2018
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the shooting of another man nearly 11 years ago.
The Shelby County district attorney's office said Friday that 48-year-old Ricky Munn also has been charged with especially aggravated robbery in the death of 33-year-old Derrick Hamlin.
72. David Hawk Seeks Speaker post - Monday, August 20, 2018
Republican state Rep. David Hawk, an opponent of the 2017 IMPROVE Act and gas-tax increase, delivered the second shot for the House Speaker’s post, entering a race expected to hotly contested as the 111th General Assembly prepares to convene.
73. Develey Mustard Opens Dyersburg Plant - Saturday, August 18, 2018
A Germany company has opened its first plant in North America in Dyersburg.
Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development commissioner Bob Rolfe attended the grand opening of Develey Mustard & Condiments’ new facility last week. The new West Tennessee plant will employ 150.
74. Compass Schools Conversion Pared From 9 Jubilee Schools to 6 - Friday, August 17, 2018
The Shelby County Schools Board will consider adding nine new charter schools to the system in 2019-2020, including six Catholic Jubilee schools slated to become Compass Community Schools.
Compass originally planned to take over nine of the Jubilee schools in the Memphis Catholic Diocese system, but has pared that back to six. The SCS board meets in special session Wednesday, Aug. 22, so it can hit a state deadline on what is a second round of charter applications.
75. Firestone Fallout - Saturday, August 18, 2018
The red letters grow fainter as the years pass in North Memphis. The Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. plant’s smokestack, once a symbol of the industrial base that defined North Memphis, has become a different kind of symbol in the 35 years since the tire plant closed.
76. Rookie Receiver Deontay Burnett Younger Than Titans Name - Friday, August 17, 2018
Deontay Burnett is so young that, to anyone’s knowledge, he is the first player to wear a Tennessee Titans uniform who was born after the team played its first game in the Volunteer State.
Burnett is just 20 years old and in Titans camp as an undrafted rookie receiver. He was born Oct. 4, 1997, a full six weeks after the then-Tennessee Oilers topped the Oakland Raiders to kick off the franchise’s lone season in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
77. TNReady Testing Patience of All Concerned - Thursday, August 16, 2018
If Clint Eastwood were to make to a sequel of “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” state Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver could play Granny Hawkins because of her penchant for blunt language.
78. Why Local One Commerce Square Owners Are Selling to Out-of-State Investors - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
After successfully renovating the 29-story iBank Tower in Downtown Memphis, the work is done for a group of prominent Memphis investors as they prepare to sell the office building to a new owner with deeper pockets.
79. Last Word: Hotel on the Mall, The Twist in Council Day and Rallings on Surveillance - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
At this point, the second convention center hotel is a bit like the Pyramid was at one point. Before the first dirt was turned on the Pyramid in the late 1980s, there was the discussion about where it should go and there were a lot of ideas on that covering a lot of territory – so much so that then-Shelby County Mayor Bill Morris had a model of a pretty generic looking Pyramid on his desk that had some lego wheels attached to it.
80. Historic District Compromise Tabled Over State 'Threats' - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
After months of discussions, compromises and amendments, the city council member sponsoring an ordinance giving the council more oversight of the local Landmarks Commission tabled the measure on third and final reading.
81. Historic District Compromise Tabled Over State 'Threats' - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
After months of discussions, compromises and amendments, the city council member sponsoring an ordinance giving the council more oversight of the local Landmarks Commission tabled the measure on third and final reading.
82. Historic District Compromise Tabled Over State 'Threats' - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
After months of discussions, compromises and amendments, the city council member sponsoring an ordinance giving the council more oversight of the local Landmarks Commission tabled the measure on third and final reading.
83. Convention Center Hotel Plans Reveal Likely Civic Center Location - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Representatives with the New York-based company redeveloping 100 N. Main St., including their hotel partner Loews Hotel & Co., were in Memphis on Tuesday, Aug. 14, scouting locations for a convention center hotel.
84. Bredesen Agrees To Four Senate Debates - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen has agreed to participate in four U.S. Senate debates with Republican contender Marsha Blackburn covering East, Middle and West Tennessee.
85. Develey Mustard Opens Dyersburg Plant - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
A Germany company has opened its first plant in North America in Dyersburg.
Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development commissioner Bob Rolfe attended the grand opening of Develey Mustard & Condiments’ new facility last week. The new West Tennessee plant will employ 150.
86. Newsmakers: Aug. 15, 2018 - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Joseph W. Smith, associate attorney at Rice, Amundsen & Caperton PLLC, has been selected as an associate member in the Leo S. Bearman Sr. American Inn of Court. Smith was nominated and voted by the Masters of the Inn. He began his legal career at Rice, Amundsen & Caperton as a runner during his undergraduate studies at the University of Memphis and continued as a law clerk while attending the U of M Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. He joined the firm as an attorney in May 2016 and focuses his practice on all aspects of domestic relations, including divorce, custody, support and adoption.
87. Memphis Union Mission To Begin $16.5M Expansion - Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Memphis Union Mission this week submitted a building permit application for an expansion of its men’s emergency shelter in Downtown.
The application estimates construction at 383 Poplar Ave. will cost $16.5 million. The organization six years ago initiated the purchase of the nearby 3.1 acres bounded roughly by Poplar on the north, Danny Thomas on the west, Washington on the south and High Street on the east.
88. Last Word: Bigger Goodlett, Collierville's Dilemma and Ronnie Grisanti's at Regalia - Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Shelby County Schools officials breaking ground Monday evening on the new Goodlett Elementary School to open a year from now on the grounds of the current Goodlett Elementary at 3001 S. Goodlett. The bigger Goodlett will allow for nearby Knight Road Elementary to close and its students to attend the new Goodlett. GOODLETT.
89. County Commission Considers Changes To EDGE Near Term's End - Tuesday, August 14, 2018
With only one more regularly scheduled meeting left in their four-year term of office, Shelby County commissioners are considering some changes to the joint city-county Economic Development Growth Engine – or EDGE.
90. University of Memphis Commercial Aviation Degree Takes Flight This Fall - Monday, August 13, 2018
After a three-year process, the University of Memphis is partnering with a local flight school to offer a Bachelor of Science in Commercial Aviation this fall. When U of M Provost Karen Weddle West went before the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for approval in July, she highlighted a “strong letter of support” from Fred Smith.
91. McCalla Says City Violated Consent Decree on Political Surveillance of Protesters - Saturday, August 11, 2018
U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla ruled Friday, Aug. 10, that Memphis Police gathered political intelligence on protesters over the last two years in violation of a 1978 federal court consent decree. And if the plaintiffs in the 2017 lawsuit against the city can establish their standing in court next week, McCalla said he is prepared to declare the city in contempt of the consent decree and impose sanctions.
92. Last Word: MIM Numbers, Feeding 700 Teenagers and Elvis Week Arrives - Friday, August 10, 2018
The honored country tradition of the Memphis In May International Festival is one of those things that gets called into question whenever there is some thought about changes to the city’s biggest party. And the keepers of the festival’s flame always defend the tradition against the notion that they should just go straight to the party and not worry about anything profound.
93. Perfect Vision - Saturday, August 11, 2018
As owner of Tharp’s Optical Boutique in Midtown, Dr. Linda Tharp has run her private optometry practice from the same 1720 Madison Ave. location the past 27 years. Despite the fact that she has no street frontage, her business has grown over the years strictly through word-of-mouth and referrals.
94. Last Word: Transition Time, Two Years of Heart and Eads De-Annexation Growth - Thursday, August 9, 2018
Here comes the transition in the county mayor’s office. Shelby County Mayor-elect Lee Harris announced Wednesday that the transition team will be co-chaired by former Downtown Memphis Commission president Paul Morris and former Grizz coach Lionel Hollins. Harris’s campaign manager Danielle Inez will be executive director of the transition team. They are soliciting applications to be on the transition team and the resumes have to be in soon. Harris takes office as outgoing mayor Mark Luttrell leaves at the end of this month.
95. Lack of Young Employees Hurting Construction - Thursday, August 9, 2018
The epidemic diminishing of the construction workforce in a post-recession world is primarily fueled by a sharp decline in the number of young construction workers, according to research conducted by BuildZoom’s chief economist Issi Romem.
96. Tennessee Set to Kill 1st Inmate in Nearly a Decade - Thursday, August 9, 2018
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is set to execute its first inmate since 2009 on Thursday evening, barring any last-minute intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court or some unexpected change.
97. 1940 Civil Rights Worker Slaying Case Reopened - Thursday, August 9, 2018
MEMPHIS — More than 78 years after civil rights worker Elbert Williams' body was found in a Tennessee river, a district attorney announced Wednesday that he is reopening the investigation into the slaying.
98. Colonial Country Club Submits Request for Redevelopment of a Larger Tract - Wednesday, August 8, 2018
The planned redevelopment of Colonial Country Club in Cordova has taken a major turn, including a new, deep-pocketed development partnership planning to add acreage, a mix of retail, restaurants, offices and full-service hotel.
99. American Way Middle Makes Debut as an I-Zone School - Wednesday, August 8, 2018
It may have been inevitable that American Way Middle School would be on the schedule of Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson to visit on the first day of the school year.
Earlier this year, state education officials wanted the grade 6-8 Parkway Village school turned over to the state-run Achievement School District or SCS to approve a charter to turn around the low-performing school.
100. Last Word: DEB Comes to Memphis, Collierville's New School and Lamar Avenue - Monday, August 6, 2018
At the end of an eventful week on several fronts, two of those fronts met Saturday evening in Memphis Park. The park, cleared of all remaining Confederate monuments and markers earlier in the week, was the site of the first Le Diner en Blanc in the city. This is an event that takes place in other cities with the Paris DEB 30 years old and still running.