Early voting in the first of three 2018 elections in Shelby County opens Wednesday at 21 sites across the county and runs through April 26.

The primaries are led by contests for county mayor, all 13 seats on the county commission and most of the county’s elected offices. The remainder are in the other even-year election cycle or have an eight-year term of office that comes around next in 2022.

2. May Primaries Feature More Candidates, Women - Friday, March 2, 2018

The May 1 Shelby County primary ballot is set, with 33 Republicans and 50 Democrats seeking 23 county offices – specifically the right to advance as the nominees of their respective parties to the August county general election.

3. County Primary Ballot Includes Partisan Match-Ups, Automatic Wins - Monday, February 19, 2018

Two Democratic county commissioners effectively won re-election to new terms of office at the Thursday, Feb. 15, filing deadline for candidates on the May 1 county primary ballot. And a third faces independent opposition in the August county general election.

4. Two County Commissioners Re-elected At May Ballot Filing Deadline - Friday, February 16, 2018

Two Democratic county commissioners effectively won re-election to new terms of office at the Thursday, Feb. 15, filing deadline for candidates on the May 1 county primary ballot. And a third faces independent opposition in the August county general election.

5. Four County Commissioners Unopposed As May Ballot Filing Deadline Approaches - Thursday, February 15, 2018

With a noon deadline Thursday, Feb. 15, to make the May 1 Shelby County primary ballot, four incumbent county commissioners had no opposition filed in their re-election bids.

Five Republican primary races on the ballot for 23 county offices, including the 13 commission seats, were one-candidate affairs with two or more Democrats running in the competing primaries as of Tuesday. Two Democratic primary races were also one-candidate races against a field of multiple Republican contenders in the companion primary.

6. Roland Pulls Petition For Mayor, Running As ‘Uniter’ - Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Shelby County commissioner Terry Roland has been campaigning for Shelby County mayor since last year.

When he pulled his qualifying petition Thursday, Jan. 11, to formally enter the May Republican primary for mayor, Roland did so with a slogan of bringing “positive change to Shelby County.”

7. Madison Hotel Owners Seeking Grant to Renovate Ground Floor Commercial Space - Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Aparium Hotel Group, the owners of the Madison Hotel, are requesting an improvement grant from the Downtown Memphis Commission to overhaul an adjacent commercial building it owns at the corner of Main Street and Madison Avenue.

8. RCV Goes To Ballot, Term-Limit Change May Join It - Thursday, December 7, 2017

Memphis City Council members gave final approval Tuesday, Dec. 5, to a November 2018 referendum that would repeal the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in some city council races starting with 2019 city elections.

9. Last Word: Veto Override, Vince Carter on Fizdale and Corker on Tax Reform - Thursday, November 30, 2017

Signs of life at the old Kroger store on Exeter in Germantown. The new developers for a project that was supposed to be a Trader Joe’s have pulled a $90,000 building permit to remove the façade of the building. But no word on who the new tenant may be and some interesting remarks about recruiting tenants in general who won’t have as many trucks making deliveries in a retail center that borders a residential area.

10. Sawyer, Goff Kick Off Commission Campaigns - Thursday, November 30, 2017

Tami Sawyer and Sam Goff may be seeing each other on the August county general election ballot. But between now and May, they have separate primary races for the District 7 seat on the Shelby County Commission.

11. County Primary Filing Opens With Paperwork Flurry - Monday, November 20, 2017

A total of 37 prospective candidates in the May 2018 county primaries pulled qualifying petitions last week on the first day of the filing period Friday, Nov. 17.

And the first contenders through the doors at the Shelby County Election Commission in a period that extends to a February deadline confirms a few trends.

12. The Next Four Years - Saturday, November 18, 2017

A week before candidates for the 2018 Shelby County elections could pull qualifying petitions to run, Shelby County Commissioner David Reaves was thinking out loud on Facebook.

“Next four years,” was how it began.

13. Midtown Development Corp. Designing Strategy - Saturday, November 11, 2017

The Midtown Memphis Development Corp. has announced it is working on a five-year strategic plan with the help of strategic alignment firm Consilience Group.

14. Midtown Development Corp. Mapping Out Strategy - Friday, November 10, 2017

The Midtown Memphis Development Corp. has announced it is working on a five-year strategic plan with the help of the strategic alignment firm Consilience Group.

15. Last Word: Fincher in Autumn, Brooks and Mud Island and 115 Years of Chocolate - Wednesday, October 18, 2017

This is a very autumnal part of the political season. Leaves falling and moving toward the end of the calendar year. But before you get too into the year-end holidays, candidates are making their declarations about what they will be running for in the new year. It’s a light touch when it’s done right – just a way of letting you know they will be around once the holiday trappings are put back in the closet on the other side of New Year’s.

16. Loeb Properties Planning $24M Overton Square Hotel - Saturday, September 16, 2017

Loeb Properties wants to build on the revival of Overton Square by adding a $24 million, 100-room hotel in the district.

The Memphis-based company and its partners – boutique hotel developer LRC2 Properties and hospitality management company MMI Hotel Group – are seeking a 15-year tax abatement to construct a 100-room boutique hotel at the southwest corner of Cooper Street and Trimble Place, south of Madison Avenue in Midtown Memphis.

17. Frayser Landfill Expansion Voted Down - Thursday, September 14, 2017

The proposed expansion of a construction landfill in Frayser was unanimously shot down by the Shelby County Land Use Board Thursday, Sept. 14, to the cheers of dozens of concerned residents and students from the nearby Memphis Business Academy who showed up to voice their opposition.

18. August Mortgage Volume Up 16 Percent - Wednesday, September 13, 2017

The vice president of Independent Bank’s mortgage division is expecting to tackle about five mortgage pre-qualifications this week as well as a couple of contracts.

19. Tensions of Density - Tuesday, August 8, 2017

With hundreds of units already announced and all signs indicating there are more to come, the Midtown apartment market is primed to explode.

But when it comes to development, it’s no secret that Midtown residents can be fiercely protective.

20. Shelby County Mortgage Market Sees 14 Percent Gain in May - Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Sam Goff, vice president of Independent Bank’s mortgage division, got two new contracts in place for homebuyers over the weekend, which gave him an upbeat start to the week.

21. 2,700 Vote Early, 3 Election Day Polls Move in House District 95 - Tuesday, June 13, 2017

A total of 2,700 citizens cast early votes ahead Thursday’s special state House District 95 election in eastern Shelby County. And on election day, three of the 14 polling places – two in Collierville and one in Germantown – will move from their regular locations.

22. Turner’s Midtown Expansion Continues With $4.9M Permit - Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Turner Holdings LLC’s multimillion-dollar plans to upgrade its Midtown location took another step toward completion as the company filed for a $4.94 million building permit application with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement.

23. Local Mortgage Market Closes Out Strong 2016 - Friday, January 13, 2017

Sam Goff, vice president of Independent Bank’s mortgage division, was already upbeat about the Memphis-area mortgage market as 2016 was only just getting under way.

24. Opponents of Dairy Expansion To Host Community Meeting - Tuesday, January 10, 2017

A group of Midtown citizens who are opposed to the expansion of Turner Dairy’s Madison Avenue location will hold a public meeting Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the Hattiloo Theatre lobby, 37 S. Cooper St.

25. Growing Pains - Saturday, December 10, 2016

In many ways, Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe in 1971 shaped the way Midtown Memphis looks today, so it’s only fitting that the park continues to inspire citizens to fight for what they feel is right.

26. Mortgage Market Up 13 Percent in September - Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Sam Goff got a call last week from a homebuyer who lives in New York but has family in the Memphis area.

27. Adjustable-Rate Loans See Resurgence - Thursday, July 21, 2016

A loan product that loomed large during the financial crisis of 2007-08 is making something of a return to the local mortgage lending landscape, new data show.

The number of conventional adjustable-rate loans made to Shelby County borrowers so far this year has approached levels not seen since the housing bust, according to figures from real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com. Through the first half of 2016, 114 of those so-called ARMs have been recorded at the time of sale, up 2,750 percent from the first half of 2015.

28. Mortgage Market Sees 8 Percent Gain in June - Thursday, July 14, 2016

Shelby County’s mortgage market is sticking to its familiar pattern and heating up along with the temperatures outside as total purchase mortgage volume hit $214 million in June.

That’s an 8 percent improvement over June 2015’s total of a little more than $198 million, according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

29. Shelby County Mortgage Market Up 33 Percent in February - Thursday, March 10, 2016

Bankers and real estate professionals were insisting as 2016 got under way that a hot mortgage market was in the cards, and the just-in numbers for February appear to add some weight to that belief.

30. Midtown Memphis Ready for Apartment Building Boom - Friday, February 5, 2016

It’s been more than a decade since new apartments were built in Midtown, and that’s poised to change in a big way with a wave of new multifamily construction stretching from Binghampton to Crosstown.

31. Shelby County Mortgage Market Up 18 Pct. in November - Thursday, December 10, 2015

When Sam Goff gets phone calls these days from prospective homebuyers wanting to start the mortgage loan process, the conversations tend to start the same way.

32. Shelby County Mortgage Market Rises 14 Percent - Friday, July 10, 2015

On a normal day, Independent Bank vice president of mortgage Sam Goff will get maybe one or two calls from buyers asking about rates and looking to buy a home.

33. Events - Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Startup Grind, a series designed to educate, inspire and connect entrepreneurs, will host a discussion with James Ruffer on Wednesday, March 25, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Cowork Memphis, 902 S. Cooper St. Ruffer is a security expert, ethical hacker and co-founder of mobile payments startup PAAY. Tickets are $15 online or $20 at the door. Visit startupgrind.com/memphis for details.

34. Events - Saturday, March 21, 2015

Midtown Memphis Development Corp. will present the inaugural Mojo of Midtown Awards Wednesday, March 25, at 6 p.m. at Circuit Playhouse, 51 S. Cooper St. The awards honor individuals and organizations whose contributions benefit Midtown Memphis. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Email Sam Goff at sam@i-bankonline.com or George Larrimore at gmlarrimore@yahoo.com.

35. Shelby County Mortgage Market Sees Improvement - Tuesday, January 27, 2015

The mortgage market in Shelby County ended 2014 in a slighter better position than where it stood in 2013.

Banks and mortgage lenders made 8,471 purchase mortgages in Shelby County during 2014, up 2 percent from the 8,301 mortgages during 2013, according to the latest data from real estate information company Chandler Reports,www.chandlerreports.com.

36. Shelby County Mortgage Market Dips 2 Percent in May - Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Sam Goff, a vice president of mortgage and senior loan originator with Independent Bank, said he’s “covered up” at the moment with requests for mortgage pre-qualifications.

37. Mortgage Market Up 8 Percent in April - Thursday, May 8, 2014

Sam Goff, a senior loan originator at Independent Bank, announced in a post to his Facebook followers last month that mortgage rates were at one point about as low as they’d been in 2014 so far.

38. Events - Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Cannon Wright Blount will hold a QuickBooks seminar Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at its office, 756 Ridge Lake Blvd. The session will cover setting up payroll items and employees, time tracking, and paying employees and tax liabilities. Cost is $75. Visit cannonwrightblount.com/resources to register.

39. Events - Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Methodist South Hospital will host a lunch and learn titled “Breast cancer awareness: prevention, symptoms and treatment options” Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in meeting rooms A and B of the hospital, 1300 Wesley Drive. Cost is free. RSVP to 888-777-5959.

40. Events - Monday, October 14, 2013

The Orpheum Theatre will present “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” Tuesday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 20, at the theater, 203 S. Main St. Visit orpheum-memphis.com or call 525-3000 for showtimes and tickets.

41. Memphis Housing Market Waiting for Shutdown Impact - Monday, October 7, 2013

The shutdown of the U.S government has had a minimal impact on the local housing market so far, but that could change if the shutdown stretches on for a week or more.

Homebuyers in the process of acquiring a house could be delayed while lenders are blocked from key actions like confirming Social Security numbers and accessing IRS tax records.

42. Midtown Momentum - Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Midtown real estate market has long been an anomaly compared to its Bluff City counterparts, with fundamentals as diverse as its demographics.

“The types of real estate that you’ll find in Midtown can be some of the most expensive or some of the most modest when it comes to prices and facility,” said Gary Myers of Gary Myers Co. “Retail in particular.”

43. Q1 Mortgages Up 12 Percent - Tuesday, April 17, 2012

As the new year got under way, it didn’t look like Shelby County’s mortgage market was going to be ringing in 2012 with a bang.

By the end of January, the market was in pretty much the same place as it was one year earlier, with total mortgage volume barely budging (to $67 million, barely up from January 2011’s mortgage volume of $65.3 million).

44. Recovery Roadblock - Monday, March 21, 2011

As the housing market inches closer to correction, the potential elimination of government-controlled housing institutions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could bring the recovery to a screeching halt.

In 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were pushed to the verge of collapse, partially because both failed to charge enough for the guarantees they sold to protect lenders and investors, which for decades were fully backed by the government.

45. Low Rates Spark Mortgage Activity - Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Mortgage rates that have fallen to the lowest levels on record are bringing with them a sound loan officers in Memphis no doubt like to hear – the incessant ring of the telephone.

A robust jump in second quarter local mortgage activity coincided with a dramatic plunge in mortgage rates, as rates on 30-year fixed mortgages that already were at historic lows dropped even further during the past several weeks.

46. Mortgage Numbers Stronger in Q1 - Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The mortgage industry’s first quarter was the picture of progress compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Although this year’s first quarter fell a little short of Q1 2009, each month of the new year showed a slight improvement and March showed a rare year-over-year improvement, giving the industry hope that recovery is near.

47. Loan Changes Could Alter Market - Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Federal Housing Administration will enact a couple of changes in its loan procedures, including one going into effect next week, but how much they bear on home sales remains to be seen.

Beginning Monday, FHA will increase its upfront mortgage insurance premium from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent. So, for someone buying a $100,000 home, that’s an additional $500 they’ll have to finance into the loan.

48. Mortgage Numbers Drop In February - Thursday, March 18, 2010

Like anyone in the real estate business, mortgage bankers have April 30 circled on their calendars.

That’s when the federal homebuyers tax credit is set to expire, bringing an end to the program that gives cash for a home purchase.

49. Dewald Selected to Chair Life and Health Insurance Foundation - Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Jack Dewald will serve as chairman of the board for the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education.

Dewald is president and owner of Agency Services Inc.

50. Mortgage Activity Sums Up Dreary ’09 - Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Although the mortgage industry enjoyed an uptick in activity as the year ended, it by no means salvaged an otherwise abysmal 2009.

Lenders suffered one of their worst years for purchase mortgages in recent memory, making only 8,399 loans in 2009, according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com. (Data for this report included purchase mortgages only, not refinances.)

51. Mortgage Originator Not Consumed by Industry Woes - Monday, January 4, 2010

The road Sam Goff took to his current position as mortgage originator at Evolve Bank and Trust has been a long and winding one, to say the least.

52. Mortgage Activity Looks Up in November - Monday, December 14, 2009

It stands to reason that whenever home sales have a good month, the mortgage industry will also. Not surprisingly, the latest loan data held up their end of the bargain and for the first time all year outpaced the same month of 2008.

53. Mortgage Industry Hopes for Turnaround - Monday, November 23, 2009

Last week saw the installation of new officers for the Memphis Mortgage Bankers Association, and last month saw further stabilization of local mortgage numbers.

Meribeth LaBarreare, senior loan officer at Magna Bank and outgoing MMBA president, said the past year has been a rocky one for the industry, but that her tenure as president was a positive experience – even calling it a “blast” – despite these crazy financial times.

54. Mortgage Numbers Down But Rising - Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Keith Barger, an executive vice president at Patriot Bank, said the Millington-based community bank has considered itself blessed throughout 2009.

55. Experts: Mortgage Numbers Still Down, But Rebounding - Monday, September 21, 2009

It’s hard to find a mortgage banker who doesn’t appreciate the $8,000 first-time homebuyers federal tax credit. The program, set to expire Nov. 30 unless Congress extends it, has provided a spark for the industry as hundreds of thousands of buyers are taking advantage of it.

56. Q2 Mortgages Up 34 Percent - Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The mortgage industry is yet another group that viewed the second quarter numbers with some ambivalence. The period (April through June) was highlighted by slight improvements from the previous quarter but well off the mark from the same quarter the previous two years.

57. Q1 Mortgage Numbers So Predictable - Tuesday, April 14, 2009

With home sales continuing their dramatic decline, it stands to reason that mortgage activity would mirror the sales slump and register its own set of disappointing numbers.

That logic certainly prevailed in the first quarter of 2009, which saw a significant dropoff in residential mortgages, according to the latest data from real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

58. Mortgage Bankers Aflutter Over Refi Boom - Thursday, January 15, 2009

The new year brought new hope for the embattled mortgage industry, but it also brought a continuation of low interest rates, which has spurred a refinancing boom unlike any in recent memory in Memphis and elsewhere.

59. Bankers Thank Their Stars '08 is Over - Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Go ahead and count the mortgage industry as yet another group overjoyed to see 2008 come to an end.

“Thank God it’s over – that’s what everybody is saying, ‘Thank God it’s over,” said Meribeth LaBarreare, vice president and senior loan officer for Magna Bank and 2009 president of the Memphis Mortgage Bankers Association.

60. McDowell Named Radiology Director At Methodist University Hospital - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Tina McDowell has been promoted to director of radiology at Methodist University Hospital. She served as the manager of diagnostic radiology at MUH for the past six years.

61. Boyle’s Halperin Receives Realtors Commercial Alliance Award - Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Mark Halperin of Boyle Investment Co. has received the 2008 Realtors Commercial Alliance National Award from the Realtors Commercial Alliance.

62. Mortgage Bankers Anticipate More Activity - Monday, September 22, 2008

The phone has been ringing nonstop for Sam Goff, mortgage loan originator for Evolve Mortgage and vice president of the Memphis Mortgage Bankers Association (MMBA).

With the recent drop of interest rates on the heels of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac crisis, Goff’s mortgage clients are calling to see if refinancing their mortgages might be a good idea.

63. July Mortgage Activity Drops 37 Percent - Monday, August 11, 2008

The federal housing bill recently signed into law might bring relief to the beleaguered mortgage industry, but it likely won’t bring results for a few months. In the meantime, the real estate market sputters along and lenders struggle to keep pace with last year’s numbers.

64. Mortgage Industry Gets Sound Drubbing - Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The mortgage industry continued to get knocked around this week, absorbing a flurry of punches on both the national and local fronts.

First, various media outlets reported that Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, is being investigated by the FBI for securities fraud.

65. Residential Growth Draws Commerce, Industry in DeSoto - Tuesday, February 6, 2007

It was only 50 years ago that DeSoto County was a collection of small, sleepy agrarian communities. But over half of a century, things have changed dramatically. And just in the past year, development has continued at a breakneck pace.

66. DeSoto's Dance with Development - Thursday, January 19, 2006

It's no secret the DeSoto County residential market has been thriving over the past few years, but commercial development is closing in fast on the heels of the many new DeSoto County residents.

Chuck Roberts, who has lived in Mississippi for around 20 years and owns Chuck Roberts Commercial Real Estate, has seen the area's commercial development pick up over the years. He points to the Southaven Towne Center at Interstate 55 and Goodman Road as the most obvious commercial development in the county.

67. Med Nurse Earns State Leadership Award - Wednesday, November 2, 2005

The Tennessee Nurses Association recognized Dr. Diane Todd Pace with the Alma E. Gault Leadership Award. Pace is a nurse practitioner/nurse scientist with the Regional Medical Center at Memphis/Health Loop Clinics. She earned a doctorate from the University of Tennessee.

68. UTHSC Names Neonatology Division Chief - Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Dr. Ramasubbareddy Dhanireddy was named neonatology division chief and Sheldon B. Korones Professor in Neonatology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dhanireddy also will serve as medical director of the Sheldon B. Korones Newborn Center at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. He previously served as neonatology division chief at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.

69. Archived Article: Memos - Wednesday, August 7, 2002
Amanda Dame joined archer>malmo as an account supervisor, with day-to-day responsibility for managing the Valent U

Amanda Dame joined archer>malmo as an account supervisor. She will manage the Valent U.S.A. team and leading new business dev...

70. Archived Article: Memos - Wednesday, August 1, 2001
The Memphis Advertising Federation announces the following appointments to its 2001-2002 board of directors: Judy McCown of B Dr. Marian Levy was named director of grants and research and Sallie Hazelrigg was named director of major gifts and planne...

71. Archived Article: Milestones - Friday, July 16, 1999
The Memphis Advertising Federation has elected John Doyle of The Barking Dog Agency president for 1999-2000 The Memphis Advertising Federation has elected John Doyle of The Barking Dog Agency president for 1999-2000. Other officers include first vic...