“It’s really not as daunting as it looks,” Collierville Schools superintendent John Aitken said Saturday, Aug. 4, as he took reporters on a tour of the $95 million Collierville High School. The new school had its formal opening with a Sunday afternoon ribbon cutting and has its first school day Aug. 13 when the Collierville Schools system academic year begins.

2. Stocks Skid as Trade War Worsens With New Tariff Threats - Thursday, July 12, 2018

NEW YORK (AP) — Global stock indexes are sinking Wednesday after the Trump administration released a list of $200 billion in goods that could be hit with tariffs and China said it would retaliate. The dollar is climbing and oil prices are plunging. Industrial and materials companies are also falling.

3. WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational Set for July 25-28, 2019 - Tuesday, July 10, 2018

The inaugural WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational will be held from July 25-28, 2019, the PGA TOUR announced Tuesday. The tournament will be held at TPC Southwind and will mark the first time a World Golf Championships event has been hosted in Memphis.

4. ISU Defense a Challenge; Tigers Snag 13 Early Signings for 2018 - Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Iowa State may or may not be the best defensive team the University of Memphis has faced this season. But whatever designation you put on the Tigers’ opponent in Saturday’s Dec. 30 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis coach Mike Norvell knows this:

5. What to Expect for Your Personal Finances in 2018 - Tuesday, December 26, 2017

No one wants to be caught off-guard when it comes to their finances. So The Associated Press asked several experts to share their opinion on what will happen with some key issues in 2018 that will directly impact your personal financial well-being. Here's a look at their forecasts:

6. Editorial: Protest and Public Safety Balance Due for Review - Saturday, December 2, 2017

Americans’ right to protest by peaceful and lawful means may be one of the most complex, difficult-to-define rights after freedom of speech.

Some individuals believe there shouldn’t be a formal process for protesting because the nature of protest is spontaneity. Others believe measures to preserve public safety should take a higher priority than the freedom to express dissent, especially when that dissent comes in a lawful but uncomfortable presence.

7. New Task Force Focused on Mental Health Response After Disasters - Monday, November 27, 2017

The Shelby County Health Department, working with several community partners, has assembled a first-of-its-kind volunteer task force in Tennessee that will respond to behavioral and mental health challenges after mass-casualty disasters.

8. Big Question For US Cities: Is Amazon's HQ2 Worth The Price? - Friday, October 20, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) – Dozens of cities are working frantically to land Amazon's second headquarters, raising a weighty question with no easy answer:

Is it worth it?

Amazon is promising $5 billion of investment and 50,000 jobs over the next decade and a half. Yet the winning city would have to provide Amazon with generous tax breaks and other incentives that can erode a city's tax base.

9. Fairgrounds Proposal Coming Into Focus - Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Aaron Shafer saw the writing on the wall, so to speak, at the second public gathering toward a redevelopment plan for the Fairgrounds last week.

10. Enhanced Athletic Facilities Significant Part of Independent School Draw - Saturday, September 23, 2017

Over the last decade or so, Memphis-area independent schools have made major improvements in their athletic facilities – to the point it sometimes looks like an athletics arms race mimicking what is happening across college campuses.

11. Don’t Give Me That Data-tude - Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Humans are a limited species. We cannot with any certainty, given the dynamic nature of life, predict the future.

In some cases you have better odds when running models and scenarios based on judging the future by analyzing past behaviors and patterns, such as insurance actuary tables or credit scores; however, most predictions are wrong.

12. County Commission Joins City Call to Remove Confederate Monuments - Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Shelby County Commissioners approved a resolution Monday, Sept. 11, backing the city’s efforts to remove Confederate monuments with a waiver from the Tennessee Historical Commission. The resolution by commissioner Walter Bailey also backs the Memphis City Council’s move to an ordinance that could take down the monuments after the Oct. 13 decision if the historical commission does not grant the waiver.

13. Last Word: The Amazon Competition, Millington Shelters and Grizz Ownership Drama - Friday, September 8, 2017

With a social media post Thursday morning, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said the city is ready to compete in a very public competition for the $5-billion second North American headquarters Amazon.com announced earlier Thursday. Some context here. The $5 billion investment by Amazon in what it calls HQ2 compares to the $9 billion St. Jude is investing in its expansion including about $1 billion in capital costs and the rest research, technology and other development costs included in what is more than a physical expansion.

14. Agricenter’s Sunflower Trail Makes Official Debut - Wednesday, September 6, 2017

More than 30 years after its conception, the Agricenter Sunflower Trail finally enjoyed a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, Sept. 5, on the grounds of Agricenter International. Work started on both ends of the Greenprint-certified trail, which was one of the first in Shelby County, back in the mid-1980s.

15. Last Word: School Days, MLGW Moves Off Beale and Room For Peter Pan To Fly - Monday, August 7, 2017

The K-12 school year begins Monday for most of Shelby County including the state’s largest public school system right here. Some schools have started earlier and some start later. So remember that in your daily travels going forward even if you don’t have school age children.

16. Fields Out at Ford; New CEO Hackett Known for Turnarounds - Tuesday, May 23, 2017

DEARBORN, Michigan (AP) – Ford is replacing CEO Mark Fields as it struggles to keep its traditional auto-manufacturing business running smoothly while remaking itself as a nimble, high-tech provider of new mobility services.

17. Last Word: The List and Who Is On It, Lovell's Impact and Fountain Brook Recovers - Monday, February 20, 2017

A list of 81 people who can’t come to City Hall without a police escort includes a lot of names from the last year of protests and marches in the city. And as the week begins, the list is under review by Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings at the request of Mayor Jim Strickland.

18. Last Word: Lovell's Aftermath, West Memphis Tourism and Batter Up - Thursday, February 16, 2017

Political turbulence in the state capitol this week centered on one of the newest members of the Shelby County Delegation leaves the politically-minded among us with a lot to take in when you add the Beltway turbulence of the week in D.C.

19. Ford CEO Hopeful That Trump Will Ease Gas Mileage Standards - Friday, January 27, 2017

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) – Ford Motor Co.'s top executive is hopeful that President Donald Trump could ease government fuel economy requirements and reduce corporate taxes to help the auto industry grow and create jobs.

20. What are the Odds? Blackburn is Still the Favorite - Friday, January 27, 2017

Tennessee has its search firm and its search committee is in place to find the replacement for Dave Hart as the university’s athletic director.

Hart announced last August he would retire June 30, and with Tennessee undergoing a transition in its chancellor’s position, the search for Hart’s replacement was put on the back burner.

21. Ford Cancels Plan to Build New Mexican Plant, Adds US Jobs - Wednesday, January 4, 2017

FLAT ROCK, Mich. (AP) – The auto industry's relationship with President-elect Donald Trump took a dramatic turn Tuesday as Ford Motor Co. decided to shift investment dollars targeted for Mexico to the U.S., while Trump threatened General Motors with a tax on some imported small cars.

22. Last Word: 2016's Toll, Strickland & Herenton and Downtown Hotel Changes Hands - Monday, January 2, 2017

The city’s homicide count was at 228 as 2016 came to an end, breaking the old 1993 record.

In a few years maybe there will be a better idea of the larger trend that made 2016 a more violent year. Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings has said gangs were a factor in more homicides but not necessarily most of them – or if they did, it still remained an act between two people who knew each other and being in a gang wasn’t necessarily what set off the violent reaction.

23. 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.

24. Awards Recognize Highest Ideals of Public Service - Thursday, December 29, 2016

Public service is a worthy legacy, and one that the Rotary Club of Memphis East wants to recognize and encourage in the next generation.

The annual Bobby Dunavant Public Servant Awards recognize one elected official and one non-elected public employee who have exemplified the virtues of former Probate Court Clerk Bobby Dunavant, for whom the award is named.

25. Platform for Property - Saturday, December 3, 2016

Airbnb is revolutionizing the hospitality industry causing legislators worldwide to scramble to regulate it, but the Memphis City Council is gaining state and national attention for its hands-off attitude.

26. Ford CEO Says Production Plans on Track Despite Election - Wednesday, November 16, 2016

DETROIT (AP) – Ford Motor Co. CEO Mark Fields says the presidential election won't change the company's plans to move small car production to Mexico.

27. Oyler Named City of Memphis’ Bike/Ped Program Manager - Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Nicholas Oyler has been named bikeway and pedestrian program manager for the city of Memphis, tasked with establishing walking and biking as safe, convenient and realistic forms of transportation in the city. The wide scope of the position includes tasks such as expanding Memphis’ network of bike lanes, implementing new pedestrian safety projects and educating individuals on the role of walking and biking.

28. Ford Says It Will Have a Fully Autonomous Car by 2021 - Wednesday, August 17, 2016

DETROIT (AP) – Ford Motor Co. says it will have a fully autonomous vehicle ready to provide ride-hailing or ride-sharing services by 2021.

29. Ford to Invest $75M in Autonomous Vehicle Sensor Company - Wednesday, August 17, 2016

DETROIT (AP) – Ford and the Chinese search engine company Baidu will each invest $75 million in Velodyne, a company that makes laser sensors that help guide self-driving cars.

Velodyne, based in Morgan Hill, California, says it will use the $150 million investment to expand design and production and reduce the cost of its sensors. The laser sensors are called Lidar, which stands for light, detection and ranging. They can also be used in conventional vehicles as part of driver assist systems such as automatic emergency braking.

30. Kustoff Victory Caps TV, Outsider Heavy Congressional Campaign - Monday, August 8, 2016

Former U.S. Attorney David Kustoff claimed the Republican nomination for Tennessee’s 8th Congressional district Thursday, Aug. 4, in a 15-county contest in which the eastern parts of Shelby County played a decisive role.

31. Kustoff Claims 8th GOP Primary, Todd Upset by Lovell, Jenkins Over Newsom - Friday, August 5, 2016

Former U.S. Attorney David Kustoff claimed the Republican nomination for Tennessee’s 8th Congressional district Thursday, Aug. 4, in a 15-county contest in which the eastern parts of Shelby County played a decisive role.

32. The Rest of the August Ballot - Saturday, July 9, 2016

If all goes according to plan on the Aug. 4 election day, Linda Phillips hopes the result is that you don’t see her in any of the reporting on election night.

33. Scramble in the 8th District - Saturday, July 9, 2016

You might call it the calm before the storm. The Aug. 4 election, for which early voting starts July 15, is calmer than usual for the election cycle before a November presidential general election – the only election that more than half of Shelby County voters regularly show up for.

34. Do the Right Things - Tuesday, June 28, 2016

So many people focus on the tiny details of their jobs. They are rewarded to sweat the details. In some fields the details are critical, such as medical care, clinical research, nuclear energy; in many fields, however, this focus on details impedes authentic growth.

35. Robots Are Taking Tennessee’s Jobs - Saturday, April 23, 2016

MTSU student Nathan Simpkins found the perfect major when the university started its mechatronics engineering program in 2013, a pursuit practically guaranteeing him a high-paying job in an increasingly automated manufacturing industry.

36. City Council Approves Parkside Development - Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Memphis City Council has approved the concept of Parkside at Shelby Farms Park, a $200 million mixed-use development on the northern border of Shelby Farms Park.

37. Last Word: Budget Basics, A Peak At Greensward Mediation and Elvis & Nixon - Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Spurs 94 – Grizzlies 68 in game 2 of the NBA playoffs. The TNT post-game show just showed the highlights of the game while Shaq and Charles Barkley talked about how big the women are in San Antonio. I’m not making this up. They didn’t even try to talk about the game. This is just grim.

38. Parkside Development Gets Green Light - Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Parkside at Shelby Farms Park, a $200 million mixed-use development on the northern border of Shelby Farms featuring three six-story apartment buildings, won the approval Tuesday, April 19, of the Memphis City Council.

39. Statewide Demand Outstrips Supply of Qualified Workers - Saturday, April 2, 2016

Tennessee is surging as a major manufacturing state, bouncing back from the Great Recession by attracting billions of dollars in new investment and creating thousands of new – and often very high-paying – advanced manufacturing jobs.

40. Don’t Chew With Your Mouth Full - Thursday, March 31, 2016

I am always looking for useful proverbs, adages, mottos, and the like. Especially stuff that can be easily memorized. Like “Don’t chew with your mouth full.” And “I feel a whole lot more like I do now than I did when I got here.”

41. Time On The Porch - Friday, March 25, 2016

ON PORCHES. Whatever porches are about, the best ones are about time. Time for swings and rocking chairs and reflection. Time spent alone with your thoughts or time shared with others sharing space and experience. Time to be very quiet. Or very loud. Life in real time.

42. Last Word: Presidential Distractions, Dude Perfect and The Kirby Farm House - Wednesday, February 24, 2016

When it comes to political surprises, the presidential contenders may be the next group on the ballot locally. But they need to up their game if they are going to hold the attention of Memphis voters.
With three of the Republican contenders on their way to Shelby County this weekend and probably more making plans, the attention Tuesday shifted dramatically to the open 8th District Congressional seat that isn’t on the ballot until the August primaries.

43. US Employers Hire at Robust Pace, Defying Global Trends - Monday, January 11, 2016

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is motoring ahead despite slowing global growth that caused upheavals in financial markets around the world this week.

Employers added a robust 292,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate stayed low at 5 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. Job gains in the October-December quarter averaged 284,000, the best three-month increase since last January.

44. The Week Ahead: Jan. 4, 2016 - Monday, January 4, 2016

How was your weekend, Memphis? 2016 has kicked off with a full calendar – from an Elvis birthday celebration to a haunted pub crawl. So whether you’re still making your New Year’s resolutions or already have broken a few, here’s our weekly rundown of local happenings you need to know about...

45. Nike’s Global Expansion Connected to Memphis - Thursday, December 24, 2015

Name the earnings conference call this company CEO quote is from: “The success you see today and the opportunities ahead are driven by the strength of our portfolio.”

You could be forgiven for guessing it came from a FedEx Corp. call since Fred Smith, founder and CEO of the Memphis-based corporation, frequently speaks of the FedEx “portfolio.” He also frequently lectures analysts about the perils of judging FedEx by the performance of one part of the portfolio or looking at the portfolio a piece at a time.

46. International Paper CEO: 'Find a Way to Be Relevant' - Friday, October 23, 2015

International Paper chairman and CEO Mark Sutton, who’s been the top executive at the Memphis-based paper and packaging products giant for almost a year now, has some pretty basic guideposts for being a good leader.

47. Ford Surprises in 2Q With Record North American Profit - Wednesday, July 29, 2015

DEARBORN, Michigan (AP) — Ford Motor Co.'s net income jumped 44 percent to $1.9 billion in the second quarter as global sales rose and customers paid more for new trucks and SUVs with premium features.

48. Memphis Sole - Saturday, July 25, 2015

The football field measurements are perhaps inevitable in describing just how big Nike’s Northridge distribution center in Frayser is after its $301 million expansion.

The 2.8 million-square-foot facility – the equivalent of 49 football fields – is Nike Inc.’s largest distribution center in the world.

49. CBU's 'New Vision’ - Wednesday, June 24, 2015

As Kenrick Hall on the campus of Christian Brothers University has been prepped for demolition, leaders of the university have been preparing for what follows when the 1940s-era classroom building is gone.

50. Rieger Begins Work at Memphis Chamber - Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Tom Rieger recently joined the Greater Memphis Chamber as senior vice president of member development, a role in which he will oversee major fundraising activities, conduct membership drive campaigns and implement revenue enhancement opportunities.

51. House Votes to Take Tennessee Capitol Complex Off Guns Bill - Wednesday, April 8, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The House voted Monday to remove the Tennessee Capitol from a bill to expand the areas where people with handgun carry permits can be armed, a move supported by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.

52. US Chamber Of Commerce Honors Knoxville Small Businesses - Saturday, April 4, 2015

As it has been for the last several years, Knoxville is well represented on the 2015 list of U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Blue Ribbon Award winners.

Five Knoxville companies –The Tomato Head, Management Solutions LLC, Design Innovation Architects Inc., Visionary Solutions LLC and AMS Corp. – are among 100 companies nationwide selected for this year’s awards. Only one other Tennessee company made the list.

53. Wharton Not Giving Up on Fairgrounds Plan - Monday, February 9, 2015

Nashville is a more turbulent place than usual these days, especially Capitol Hill. So Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. and his administration probably won’t tempt the turbulence there by taking their plan for a Tourism Development Zone to finance a Mid-South Fairgrounds renovation to the Tennessee Building Commission later this month.

54. Inferno Launches Rebranding, Including New Logo - Monday, February 2, 2015

Memphis-based advertising, marketing, design and PR firm inferno has given itself a makeover.

The firm has unveiled a new brand identity, including the creation of a new logo that reflects its growth and transformation over a 15-year history. Also part of the rebrand is an update to the agency’s website, which inferno has given a newer, modern look and feel.

55. Tech Summit Addresses Industry's Lack of Diversity - Thursday, December 11, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson spent most of this year pressuring the technology industry into facing up to the glaring scarcity of women, blacks and Latinos at companies renowned as great places to work.

56. Ford Profit Falls in Third Quarter on Truck Costs - Monday, October 27, 2014

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford's new aluminum-sided F-150 will be a lot lighter and more efficient when it goes on sale later this year. But for now it's a serious drag on profits.

Net income dropped 34 percent to $835 million in the third quarter, largely due to the cost of launching the pickup. The new F-150, which is 700 pounds lighter due to its aluminum construction, is scheduled to go on sale by the end of this year.

57. FDA Tweaks Food Safety Rules Due Next Year - Monday, September 22, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) – The government will rewrite sweeping new food safety rules after farmers complained that earlier proposals could hurt business, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

58. Editorial: Growing Rape Kit Backlog Raises More Concern - Saturday, September 20, 2014

The backlog gets bigger. And with the recent news that 196 rape kits dating back to 1976 have been found by Memphis Police, questions never fully answered about the rape kit backlog that surfaced about a year ago become more urgent.

59. Bigger, Better, Louder - Saturday, August 16, 2014

“When it comes to college football, the South has no equal, because the Southeastern Conference has no equal. Find me a conference with a better commissioner, better players, better head coaches, better staffs, better game-day atmospheres, better-looking coeds – better anything.”

60. Growth Strategy - Thursday, June 12, 2014

Cotton helped make Dunavant Enterprises into a worldwide brand, but the family and company have maintained a long-term association with the logistics industry.

Col. William Pemberton Dunavant first ventured into logistics shortly after the Civil War – decades before Dunavant entered into the cotton trade – when he was involved in building short-line railroads in Mississippi.

61. Entrepreneurial Eagles - Monday, May 19, 2014

It was a gathering of eagles. You know, the people who like to soar, and, more importantly, they like to push eaglets out of the nest so that they can also learn to soar.

And, like eagles, they have both vision and focus. I recently attended the CSG Entrepreneurship Days, sponsored by the Council of State Governments’ State Pathways to Prosperity Initiative and State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, who is the 2014 CSG National Chair.

62. End of Windows XP Support Spells Trouble for Some - Tuesday, April 8, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) – Microsoft will end support for the persistently popular Windows XP on Tuesday, and with an estimated 30 percent of businesses and consumers still using the 12-year-old operating system, the move could put everything from the operations of heavy industry to the identities of everyday people in danger.

63. 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.

64. Fields Begin to Gel for May and August Ballots - Friday, February 7, 2014

With two weeks to the filing deadline for candidates in the May Shelby County primary elections and two months to the deadline for those in the August state and federal primaries and county nonpartisan elections, the fields have solidified enough that some political players are weighing their prospects for a late entry before the filing deadlines.

65. Gold Strike Promotes Slade to PR Manager - Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Elizabeth Slade has been promoted to public relations manager at Gold Strike Casino Resort. In her new role at the MGM Resorts International property, Slade will lead in developing and executing integrated marketing communication plans with components such as media relations, social media strategy, community partnerships and brand management.

66. Mississippi Children Learn With Blues Curriculum - Friday, December 27, 2013

TUNICA, Miss. (AP) – In cotton country a couple miles east of the Mississippi River, just off a road known as the blues highway, fourth graders at Tunica Elementary School are exploring the Delta's homegrown music to learn about rhythm, rhyme and chord progression.

67. Meadows Appointed to State Dentistry Board - Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Dr. Dan T. Meadows has been appointed to the Tennessee Board of Dentistry by Gov. Bill Haslam. Meadows, who has a private practice on Walnut Grove Road, will serve as the Rotating Dentist member through June 2016.

68. Filing Deadline Nears for School Board Races - Thursday, September 26, 2013

It looks as if the prospective candidates in many of the suburban school board races on the Nov. 7 ballot had already decided the winners a day away from the noon, Thursday, Sept. 26, filing deadline for the six sets of races.

69. Commercial Professionals Achieve Designations - Saturday, March 9, 2013

Eleven members of local professional organizations in commercial real estate reached elite status in 2012 in their respective fields, which include the Memphis metro area’s appraisers, commercial brokers and property managers.

70. Commercial Professionals Achieve Designations - Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Eleven members of local professional organizations in commercial real estate reached elite status in 2012 in their respective fields, which include the Memphis metro area’s appraisers, commercial brokers and property managers.

71. Food and Drug Administration Proposes New Food Safety Rules - Monday, January 7, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens.

72. Obama Carries Shelby, Cohen Over Flinn and Two Tax Hikes Defeated - Wednesday, November 7, 2012

President Barack Obama carried Shelby County in unofficial Nov. 6 election returns as his Republican challenger Mitt Romney took the state’s 11 electoral votes.

Voter turnout in the most popular election cycle among Shelby County voters was 61.9 percent, about the same percentage as four years ago. But the 371,256 voters is fewer than 2008 when more than 400,000 Shelby County voters cast ballots. The percentage is about the same because there are fewer registered voters in Shelby County than there were four years ago after a purge by election officials.

73. Soul Map - Monday, October 22, 2012

The Soulsville arrows beneath the Bellevue Boulevard railroad overpasses near Walker Avenue point north and south. It is the first indication that you are in an area where several possibilities can coexist.

74. Local Entrepreneurs Will Soon Have ‘Urban Workspace’ - Tuesday, September 18, 2012

A shared open work space, modeled after incubators in Los Angeles and New York City, is on the brink of being launched in Downtown Memphis.

Urban Workspace Powered by Cricket Wireless, located in the City House Memphis Condos at 6 W. G.E. Patterson Ave., will provide an affordable, shared working environment for freelancers, entrepreneurs, small businesses and startups eager to collaborate and share resources. The co-working facility opens Oct. 1.

75. Drought-Stricken States Welcome Rain From Isaac - Wednesday, August 29, 2012

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The remnants of Hurricane Isaac could bring welcome rain to some states in the Mississippi River valley this week, but experts say it's unlikely to break the drought gripping the Midwest.

76. Suburban School Board Races Almost Set - Friday, August 17, 2012

Races on the Nov. 6 ballot for six sets of suburban school boards took shape Thursday, Aug. 16, at the noon filing deadline for candidate qualifying petitions.

The candidates that made the deadline have another week to withdraw from the races if they wish.

77. Biz Owners Weighing Health Care Law Impact - Monday, August 13, 2012

So far, it’s not easy to get a clear picture of how President Barack Obama’s health care law will affect Memphis-area small businesses.

That’s mainly because there are lots of business owners – including both supporters and even strident critics of the Affordable Care Act – who themselves don’t know what impact the law will have.

78. Commission Approves $1.2 Billion Budget - Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Shelby County Commission may not have the last word on a county government operating budget it added nearly $1 million to and for which it raided the county’s $90 million reserve fund to balance the budget.

79. County Commission Amends Budget, Moves Basketball Complex - Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Shelby County Commissioners added nearly $1 million in grants to county government’s $1.1 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The commission balanced the budget Monday, May 21, over the objections of Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell by taking the money from the county’s $90 million reserve fund. The amount is 24 percent of the county budget total that doesn't include elected officials outside the county administration.

80. Montoya Speech Highlights Biotech Trade Opportunities - Monday, May 21, 2012

With an emerging economy and expanding middle class, the Philippines – the honored nation of this year’s Memphis in May International Festival – is experiencing a growing demand for biotechnology products. That demand is creating business opportunities for Mid-South life science companies seeking a market presence in the Southeast Asian country known as the “Pearl of the Orient.”

81. Fed Drug Case Zeroes in on Defendants - Wednesday, March 7, 2012

For three weeks, federal prosecutors in the Craig Petties drug organization trial have told a jury the wide-ranging story of the organization and dozens of the leaders and other players in it.

82. Petties Drug Trial Testimony Focuses on Defendants - Tuesday, March 6, 2012

After three weeks of detailing a broad conspiracy to sell drugs in the Memphis region and silence those who cooperated with authorities, prosecutors in the Petties drug organization trial began the trial’s fifth week with more specific testimony about the two defendants.

83. Obama Promotes Job Training at Community College - Tuesday, February 14, 2012

ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) – President Barack Obama called on Congress Monday to create an $8 billion fund to train community college students for high-growth industries, giving a financial incentive to schools whose graduates are getting jobs.

84. Grinding it Out - Monday, February 6, 2012

After most recessions, real estate bounces back.

But the Great Recession has been notably different – long, deep and very prolonged.

That’s the message Dr. John Gnuschke, director of the Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research and co-director of the Center for Real Estate at the University of Memphis, delivered in December at the Urban Land Institute’s Real Estate Outlook for the Mid-South.

85. Threadgill Steers BACC Toward Life Sciences - Monday, January 30, 2012

The life sciences sector is getting a heavy push from John Threadgill, president of the Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce.

86. MED Fdtn. Names Brandenburg Director of Development - Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Joe Brandenburg has joined The MED Foundation as director of development.

Hometown: Connersville, Ind.

Education: B.A., mass communications, Western Kentucky University; master’s in public administration, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

87. PA Demand Remains High For Industry - Monday, November 14, 2011

During a time when many people are searching for a glimmer of hope on the national employment scene, the outlook for physician assistants is getting brighter, particularly in the Mid-South.

In July, Christian Brothers University announced the launch of the first-and-only physician assistant program in Memphis. Beginning January, the program will allow students to earn a master’s in Physician Assistant Studies.

88. City Pride - Tuesday, October 18, 2011

“Memphis,” the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, took New York by storm where it started a successful run two years ago.

In Memphis, the popular musical’s namesake city where this weekend at the Orpheum Theatre it kicked off an 80-week tour, it may have to work a little harder to resonate with audiences.

89. Wharton, Fullilove & Conrad Re-Elected -- Harris-Ford to Runoff - Friday, October 7, 2011
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. won a full four-year term of office as mayor Thursday, Oct. 6, two years after he claimed the mayor’s office in a special election.

And all 12 of the Memphis City Council members seeking re-election won new four year terms in the city election cycle, marking the largest return of incumbents to the 13-member council in the 43-year history of the mayor-council form of government.

90. In Midwest, Obama Seeks Ideas for Jolting Economy - Wednesday, August 17, 2011

PEOSTA, Iowa (AP) – Seeking some help from rural America, President Barack Obama on Tuesday implored Iowans to share ideas with him about how leaders can give an economic jolt to the nation's heartland. He promised better days in a time of relentless joblessness, saying, "We'll get through this moment of challenge."

91. Growing Innovation - Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The investors have been courted. Early-stage companies are about to enroll in the next round of a local training program.

Customers for newly formed companies are being targeted, and new apps that promote fresh uses for everything from quick response (QR) codes to virtual graffiti are rolling out to the public.

92. 4 Council Members - All 3 City Court Judges To Run Unopposed In Oct. Elections - Friday, July 22, 2011

Four incumbent Memphis City Council members and all three incumbent City Court Judges were effectively re-elected at the Thursday, July 21, noon deadline for candidates to file their qualifying petitions for the Oct. 6 Memphis ballot.

93. Exxon Facing Questions About Natural Gas Push - Thursday, May 26, 2011

DALLAS (AP) – Exxon Mobil Corp. rode higher oil prices to a $30 billion profit last year. But shareholders at its annual meeting Wednesday were more concerned about its big push into natural gas.

94. Qualifying Period for City Races Opens - Monday, April 18, 2011

Here come the city elections. Monday is the first day candidates in the Oct. 6 Memphis elections can begin picking up and filing qualifying petitions for mayor, all 13 seats on the Memphis City Council, City Court clerk and the three divisions of City Court.

95. Turning Ideas Into Revenue - Thursday, March 24, 2011

Welcome to this occasional series of columns on intellectual property, designed to provide the Greater Memphis business and entrepreneurial community with insights into this extraordinary asset – what it is, how it can be turned into revenue and strategies to minimize the risk and expense of legal challenges involving it.

96. MPACT Director to Participate in Brussels Forum - Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Gwyn Fisher is known among Memphians as a tireless evangelist spreading an increasingly important message: that a city’s destiny is linked to its cultivation and support of young professionals and emerging leaders.

97. Red Door Hits First Year by Exceeding Goals - Friday, March 4, 2011

Red Door Wealth Management, a financial advisory business that has an alliance with local accounting firm Cannon Wright Blount PLLC, just wrapped up its first year in existence this month.

98. Intel Chief to Join White House Council on Jobs - Monday, February 21, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Casting about for innovative job-creation ideas, President Barack Obama is naming one of his critics to an advisory council responsible for finding new ways to promote economic growth and bring jobs to the U.S.

99. Gala Celebrates Young Minority Professionals - Monday, December 13, 2010

Memphis Urban League Young Professionals will host its inaugural Agents of Change Awards gala at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Tower Room, 5100 Poplar Ave.

100. Cargill $72M PILOT Gets IDB Green Light - Friday, October 22, 2010

The Industrial Development Board of Memphis and Shelby County unanimously granted Cargill Inc. a $72 million retention payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) to renovate and expand its Presidents Island corn-milling facility.