Considered by many to be the main artery of Memphis’ robust logistical and distribution network, the Lamar Avenue Corridor has long been clogged by its own narrow lanes and outdated capacity. 

2. What If? Preparing For The Future - Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Do you know what the future will hold? How do you plan for future opportunities and challenges that may not be known and might not materialize? Is it a waste of time, or important work?

While no one can predict the future, we can prepare for potential opportunities and challenges. Taking time with board members, volunteers, staff and community leaders can help your organization consider future possibilities. Some changes are likely, others unknown. Think about what data you may need to review to help you understand potential changes in demographics, economics, government programs, law, policy, the arts and the environment. There’s a lot to consider. You can’t think of everything, but you can build future thinking into the life of your organization.

3. What Do Statewide Candidates Say About Health Care in Tennessee? - Tuesday, June 19, 2018

According to Think Tennessee’s State of Our State dashboard, the state ranks near the bottom in the number of adults with heart disease, obesity and diabetes. It also ranks near the bottom of all states for the health of senior citizens, infant mortality, number of adults who smoke, and at the absolute bottom in childhood obesity. Tennesseans are, on the whole, not healthy. What can and should our next political leaders do about it?

4. City Council Approves $685M City Budget, Takes City Tax Rate to $3.19 - Wednesday, June 6, 2018

The Memphis City Council gave final approval Tuesday, June 5, to a $685 million city operating budget, an $87 million capital budget and a $3.19 city property tax rate.

The votes ended City Hall’s budget season with few changes by the council to the budget proposed by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

5. Grant Awarded For Auto Museum - Thursday, May 17, 2018

A facade improvement grant for a new automotive museum near Sun Studio was approved by the Downtown Memphis Commission’s Center City Development Corp. on Wednesday, May 16, clearing the way for Richard Vining’s $1.4 million renovation project at 645 Marshall Ave. to begin.

6. Postal Service: More Financial Loss as Mail Delivery Slumps - Monday, May 14, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. Postal Service reported another quarterly loss on Friday after an unrelenting drop in mail volume and costs of its health care and pension obligations outweighed strong gains in package deliveries.

7. MLK-Inspired - Thursday, May 3, 2018

What today is known as the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis was born out of the city’s fallout from the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike and Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination on April 4, 1968.

8. Young Says Construction About to Begin on South City Residential - Tuesday, May 1, 2018

South City is about to begin construction east of Danny Thomas Boulevard and the road to construction has had some unexpected turns. “There’s a certain amount of anxiety when you talk about these big projects because people don’t know whether it’s actually going to happen or not,” Memphis Housing and Community Development Division director Paul Young said on the WKNO/Channel 10 program “Behind The Headlines.”

9. Council Gets First Look At MATA Route Changes - Tuesday, April 10, 2018

A task force looking to overhaul the city’s bus system presents a draft report Tuesday, April 10, to Memphis City Council members.

The Memphis 3.0 transit plan goes to the council at a 1 p.m. committee session for discussion.

10. Community LIFT Looking to Build $5 Million Loan Pool Amid Growth - Saturday, March 31, 2018

An organization that pursues sources of financial, human and intellectual capital to strategically revitalize neighborhoods wants to build a $5 million loan pool for investing in Memphis communities and leaders.

11. City Working to Settle EPE/Grizzlies Dispute as Litigation Mounts - Tuesday, March 27, 2018

As the litigation piles up in a dispute between two of the most recognizable brands in Memphis, city officials say they are still hopeful a deal can be worked out between Elvis Presley Enterprises and the Memphis Grizzlies.

12. Council and Commission Talk Pre-K and Workforce Development - Monday, March 5, 2018

When 20 of the 26 Memphis City Council members and Shelby County Commissioners got together Thursday, March 1, at Beale Street Landing, the idea of county government providing funds to expand access to prekindergarten got resistance on the county side.

13. Council and Commission Talk Pre-K and Workforce By The River - Friday, March 2, 2018

When 20 of the 26 Memphis City Council members and Shelby County Commissioners got together Thursday, March 1, at Beale Street Landing, the idea of some kind of county government funding for expanding access to pre-kindergarten ran into some resistance on the county side.

14. The Week Ahead: Feb. 12-18, 2018 - Monday, February 12, 2018

Good morning, Memphis! The 50th anniversary of the historic sanitation workers’ strike is remembered this week, a Pulitzer Prize winning author visits to speak about innovation and we get to hear the first declaration of “Play Ball” this year by an umpire at FedExPark. Oh, and don’t forget the waffles.

15. Moore Named Executive Director of Explore Bike Share - Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Trey Moore has been named executive director of Explore Bike Share, the Memphis nonprofit that is preparing to launch a local bike-share system with 600 bicycles and 60 stations. Moore, who is returning to Memphis from Atlanta, Georgia, will lead Explore Bike Share’s staff in operations, fund development and community engagement activities in partnership with the organization’s board of directors.
As executive director, he also is committed to bicycling as a sustainable transportation option with access to as many Memphians as possible, and will help promote a bike-friendly culture in Memphis while encouraging exercise and healthy lifestyles.

16. Piece by Piece: Construction Projects Flourishing Throughout Mid-South - Saturday, December 9, 2017

With $11 billion spread out among more than 300 active projects in the Memphis area, according to data from brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors, it’s safe to say business in the region is good.

17. Avoid 401(k) Loans - Friday, December 8, 2017

Ray’s Take Many employers offer 401(k) plans that grant participants the option to take out a loan. And when times are tough – or maybe you really, really want to renovate your kitchen – it’s tempting to withdraw money from your 401(k) for a loan.

18. Lesley Brown Steers Local Education to True North - Friday, December 8, 2017

Try not to smile when you hear Lesley Brown use the word “kiddos.” I dare you. Try not to feel an immediate rush of care for the children she’s dedicating her career to advancing and engaging.

19. Will Pre-K Put the City of Memphis Back in the Education Business? - Friday, December 1, 2017

For the first time since the city of Memphis ceased funding schools after the historic merger of city and county districts, it’s looking to get back into education – by putting dollars into pre-K classrooms.

20. Microsoft Announces Rural Broadband Initiative - Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Microsoft wants to extend broadband services to rural America by using the buffer zones separating individual television channels in the airwaves.

Microsoft plans to partner with rural telecommunications providers in 12 states, from the Dakotas and Arizona to a far eastern edge of Maine. The strategy calls for a combination of private and public investments and regulatory cooperation from the Federal Communications Commission to get about 2 million rural Americans connected to high-speed internet in the next five years.

21. Kresge Foundation Awards $1.3 Million in Grants - Saturday, June 17, 2017

The Kresge Foundation has announced that 10 local organizations will receive a total of $1.3 million in grant support to boost opportunity for Memphis residents.

The grants range in size from $25,000 to $150,000 per year and are expected to provide support over 12-24 months.

22. Kresge Foundation Awards $1.3 Million in Grants - Friday, June 16, 2017

The Kresge Foundation has announced that 10 local organizations will receive a total of $1.3 million in grant support to boost opportunity for Memphis residents.

The grants range in size from $25,000 to $150,000 per year and are expected to provide support over 12-24 months.

23. Malco Moving Forward With Downtown Theater - Thursday, April 6, 2017

45 E. G.E. Patterson Ave.
Memphis, TN 38103 

Permit Amount: $5 million

Project Cost: $55 million

Application Date: March 2017

24. SCS Enters Budget Talks With Some Flexibility - Wednesday, March 15, 2017

At this time of year, Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson confesses that he’s usually not feeling quite this optimistic.

“It’s a weird situation for me because I’m usually very frustrated and depressed,” Hopson said Monday, March 13, as he unveiled a budget proposal that goes to the school board first and then the Shelby County Commission.

25. NuVasive Receives 11-Year PILOT, Will Invest $116 Million - Friday, February 17, 2017

Medical device company NuVasive Inc. has been approved for an 11-year tax incentive that will allow them to invest $116 million into their southeast Memphis facility and create 15 net new jobs.

26. Elusive High-Speed Internet Sprouts in Rural Tennessee - Tuesday, January 10, 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Rural Scott County could serve as a model for how grant money can be leveraged to spur much-needed infrastructure investments such as high-speed Internet.

The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/2iw1xMn) reports that Scott County, located 60 miles northwest of Knoxville, is classified by the state as economically distressed, but its local cooperative now has some of the fastest internet services in the nation.

27. Large Deals, Office Construction Among Memphis' Commercial Real Estate Trends - Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Coming off of a strong year in 2015, the commercial real estate market in the Memphis metropolitan area continued to do well in 2016.

Larry Jensen, president and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors, said his company was tracking approximately 6 million square feet of net absorption in the industrial market headed into the last week of 2016, as compared to 8.4 million in 2015.

28. Transcript: CBU to Transform Campus, Transition to Project-Based Learning - Saturday, November 19, 2016

Christian Brothers University is not only changing the look of its campus at Central Avenue and East Parkway. Leaders of the institution are embarking on the second phase of a $70 million capital campaign that includes plans to “blow up” the university’s department of education to include Crosstown High School and the neighboring Middle College High School, extend internships to all students and to create a new library that is more than “air conditioning for books.”

29. City's Fourth Bluff Project Gets $5 Million Grant - Saturday, September 10, 2016

A new national effort to counter the growing economic and social fragmentation in U.S. cities has awarded Memphis’ Fourth Bluff project a $5 million grant.

The effort, called Reimagining the Civic Commons, is a partnership of four national foundations that seeks to foster civic engagement, economic opportunity and environmental sustainability by revitalizing and connecting parks, libraries, community centers and other public spaces.

30. MATA Awarded $4.3M Federal Grant to Replace Buses - Friday, September 9, 2016

The Memphis Area Transit Authority has secured $4.3 million in federal funding to purchase replacement buses, saving the system money by deploying new transit technology.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration was announced Thursday, Sept. 8.

31. Memphis’ Fourth Bluff Project Gets $5 Million Grant - Friday, September 9, 2016

A new national effort to counter the growing economic and social fragmentation in U.S. cities has awarded Memphis’ Fourth Bluff project a $5 million grant.

The effort, called Reimagining the Civic Commons, is a partnership of four national foundations that seeks to foster civic engagement, economic opportunity and environmental sustainability by revitalizing and connecting parks, libraries, community centers and other public spaces.

32. City of Hernando Awarded $400,000 Brownfields Grant - Saturday, August 27, 2016

The city of Hernando has earned a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will be used to clean up a brownfields site for redevelopment.

Grants of $325,000-$400,000 were issued to four Mississippi communities to go toward EPA cooperative agreements.

33. City of Hernando Awarded $400,000 Brownfields Grant - Friday, August 26, 2016

The city of Hernando has earned a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will be used to clean up a brownfields site for redevelopment.

Grants of $325,000 to $400,000 were issued to four Mississippi communities to go toward EPA cooperative agreements.

34. Memphis Misses Promise Zone List - Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Memphis wasn’t on the list announced Monday, June 6, of nine communities – including Nashville – that will receive federal Promise Zone assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

35. The Week Ahead: May 9-15 - Monday, May 9, 2016

Alright, Memphis, grab your calendars! Whether you want to book it over to the Ruby Bridges Reading Festival or just baste in the scent of barbecue, there’s plenty to do this week. Here’s our roundup...

36. Pastner To Remain Tigers’ Basketball Coach - Friday, March 18, 2016

University of Memphis President M. David Rudd and Athletic Director Tom Bowen put a lot of speculation to rest Friday, March 18, when they announced Josh Pastner will remain head coach of the men’s basketball team.

37. Study: Medical Device Industry Has $2.6B Local Impact - Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Companies like Smith & Nephew, Medtronic and Wright Medical don’t just help augment the human body as a result of the products and medical devices they manufacture.

Their products also represent something of a support structure for the Memphis economy, which is braced thanks in part to the reinforcement of the medical device industry.

38. Last-Minute Negotiations Secure $30 Million Foote Homes Grant - Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Foote Homes public housing development is still standing with word Monday, Sept. 28, that the city of Memphis has secured a $30 million federal grant to convert it to a mixed-use, mixed-income development.

39. Memphis Nabs $30 Million South City Grant After Last-Minute Negotiations - Friday, September 25, 2015

The Foote Homes public housing development is still standing with word Monday, Sept. 28, that the city of Memphis has secured a $30 million federal grant to convert it to a mixed-use, mixed-income development.

40. Cadence Bank Supports Memphis Organizations with Direct, Indirect Aid - Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Banks are important community institutions not just for the services they provide – consumer loans, small business financing, etc. – but also for the investment they make in communities.

Such investments include the one announced by Cadence Bank recently, a six-figure equity-equivalent investment to River City Capital to support its Small Business Loan Fund.

41. Job Losses Reflect Risks of Economic Development - Monday, May 11, 2015

Tennessee officials say they are watching the fallout from Conduit Global’s sudden mass layoffs at its Memphis-area call center and that the state could eventually move to reclaim grant funds the company was awarded.

42. Commission Likely to Question Extras in Schools Budget - Monday, April 27, 2015

Shelby County Commissioners have the $14 million list of extras the Shelby County Schools system wants in its budget request for the coming fiscal year.

And once the county’s budget committee gets to the request, there should be plenty of questions about each of the 15 line items that include extra teacher, guidance counselor and social worker positions.

43. Shelby County Schools Seeks New Funding for Classroom Investments - Thursday, April 23, 2015

The bottom line on the Shelby County Schools budget proposal headed to Shelby County Commissioners is $973.5 million, but the dollar figure commissioners will be considering is $14 million.

That’s the amount of new funding the system is seeking from county government for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Otherwise, the school system’s budget is balanced.

44. School Board Approves $973.5M Budget, Seeks $14M In New County Funding - Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Shelby County Schools board members sent a $973.5 million operating budget proposal to the Shelby County Commission Tuesday, April 21, for funding.

The budget is $14 million in the red and includes a request for Shelby County government to fund the extra amount including a list of 15 items schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson has referred to as “high leverage investments.”

45. Executive Inn Demolition Long Time Coming - Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The old Executive Inn hotel on Airways Boulevard where Brooks Road dead ends is the latest problem vacant property to be demolished and touted by Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. as another step in his administration’s anti-blight effort.

46. Bioworks Helped Spur Memphis Economy in 2014 - Thursday, January 1, 2015

In a variety of ways, the biosciences industry in Memphis helped lead the way in 2014 in terms of job creation and laying a foundation for economic growth in the future.

About that groundwork for growth to come, for example, the Memphis Bioworks Foundation got tapped early in 2014 to lead a new entrepreneurship venture in the city called The EPIcenter, with the goal of creating 1,000 entrepreneurs and 50 companies in the city over the next decade.

47. Bigger LIFT - Friday, October 31, 2014

The former Cadence Bank branch on Court Avenue Downtown is the new and bigger home for Community LIFT, the local intermediary with community development corporations founded by a coalition of nonprofits and the city of Memphis four years ago.

48. In Case of Incapacitation - Thursday, August 21, 2014

Ray’s take: A financial power of attorney is a powerful tool in your financial planning arsenal in the event your investments or other financial matters need action and you can’t do it.

49. Uphill Climb - Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Shelby County’s homebuilding industry is off to a slow start in 2014, with builders filing 16.6 percent fewer permits in the second quarter than in the same three-month period a year ago.

Builders filed 245 permits in Shelby County in the second quarter, compared with 294 permits in the second quarter of 2013, according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com. Builders filed 191 permits in the first quarter.

50. Legacy Farm Owner Files $29.8 Million Loan - Tuesday, June 24, 2014

1120 Winchester Road
Collierville, TN 38017
Loan Amount: $29.8 million

Loan Date: June 18, 2014
Maturity Date: July 1, 2021
Borrower: Legacy Farm LLC
Lender: CBRE Capital Markets Inc.
Details: The owner of the 368-unit Legacy Farm apartment complex at 1120 Winchester Road in Collierville has filed a $29.8 million loan on the property.

51. Grants Prove Bioworks is Delivering Good Results - Saturday, May 24, 2014

One grant is good. Two grants are better.

In 2012, Memphis Bioworks received a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Workforce Developmental and Job Training Program (EWDJT). The $300,000 grant issued provided training for 110 persons, 65 of whom already have been placed in full-time jobs.

52. CDC Leaders Have Challenges in Communities - Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Community development corporations are designed to help create more housing in areas where investors and banks might not normally invest without incentives.

But the CDCs, as they are known, are increasingly in the business of adding business development to the housing in a combination of community building.

53. Smucker Given Amended PILOT to Expand - Thursday, January 16, 2014

The incentives Memphis and Shelby County offered J.M. Smucker Co. LLC were sweet enough for the peanut butter and jelly maker to expand its operations in the city.

54. Affordable Care Act - Saturday, September 28, 2013

On Oct. 1, a new shopping website will launch in Tennessee.

Much like Amazon.com, it will offer a place where consumers can compare products from different sellers and buy the one that best suits their needs.

55. Raleigh Village Apartments Sell for $2.3 Million - Saturday, July 6, 2013

Raleigh Village, a 182-unit apartment complex constructed in 1974 and 1980, sold June 28 for $2.3 million, or $13,000 per unit.

Tommy Bronson III and Blake Pera with the CBRE Memphis Multifamily Division represented the seller, Grant Investments LLC, in the sale.

56. Raleigh Village Sells for $2.3 Million - Thursday, July 4, 2013

Raleigh Village, a 182-unit apartment complex constructed in 1974 and 1980, sold June 28 for $2.3 million, or $13,000 per unit.

Tommy Bronson III and Blake Pera with the CBRE Memphis Multifamily Division represented the seller, Grant Investments LLC, in the sale.

57. ZeroTo510 Accelerator Accepting Applications - Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The ZeroTo510 startup accelerator is now accepting applications from entrepreneurs who’d like to be part of the program’s sophomore season.

March 25 is the deadline to apply for the program, the goal of which is to help entrepreneurs bring medical device products and services to market.

58. Downtown Focus - Monday, February 11, 2013

With its own tax incentives, a narrowly focused group of development boards, a variety of neighborhood demographics and development clusters that run the gamut from commercial to residential, Downtown Memphis is a veritable petri dish of economic development.

59. New Seed Hatchery Season Launches - Friday, February 8, 2013

This weekend marks the start of the third season of Seed Hatchery, Memphis’ startup accelerator that aims to turn six teams of founders into well-prepared, more polished entrepreneurs.

And from several vantage points, it’s one of the most diverse collections of startup talent in the 90-day bootcamp’s three-year history.

60. Six New Seed Hatchery Teams Chosen - Thursday, January 31, 2013

Six new teams have been lined up for the 2013 Seed Hatchery cohort.

Seed Hatchery is Memphis’ high-growth tech startup accelerator and puts entrepreneurs through a 90-day boot camp, with a crash course in customer discovery, business development, go-to-market strategies and investor pitches. And this year’s cohort marks the third collection of founders to go through the program.

61. Southern College of Optometry Receives $250,000 Assisi Grant - Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Southern College of Optometry has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Assisi Foundation of Memphis Inc. to support the college’s “Envision Our Progress” campaign and the $9.4 million academic building project that was announced in March.

62. Grant Supports Optometry College’s Campaign - Monday, September 17, 2012

Southern College of Optometry has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the Plough Foundation to support a construction project that will provide the college’s 500 students with new classroom facilities and state-of-the-art instructional space at its Midtown campus.

63. The State of Green - Monday, July 30, 2012

There are many shades of green.

And the use of the term “green” to describe public policies, business practices and other decisions designed to improve or sustain natural surroundings and our connection with them touches on so many other considerations.

64. Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team Actually Innovates - Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Innovation techniques influence how companies launch new products and new lines of business; however, innovation can also have a transformative, positive impact when applied to the social sector.

We have asked Memphis’ Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team a series of questions about their innovation efforts. (See related story on Page 1.)

65. State's Venture Fund Makes First Investments - Thursday, May 31, 2012

NASHVILLE (AP) – A state-created venture capital fund that uses federal grant money to spur investments in high-growth companies has infused $4.4 million in five ventures in Tennessee.

66. Yahoo to Sell Half of its Alibaba Stake for $7.1B - Tuesday, May 22, 2012

HONG KONG (AP) – Struggling Internet company Yahoo Inc. has secured a lifeline after agreeing to sell half of its prized stake in Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba for about $7.1 billion, with most of the cash going to shareholders.

67. New York Co. Buys Into Four Lenox Park Bldgs. - Tuesday, May 8, 2012

3150 Lenox Park Blvd., 6750 Lenox Center Drive, 6745 Lenox Center Court and 6775 Lenox Center Court Memphis, TN 38115

68. Many Questions Raised Before Going Public - Monday, April 16, 2012

As Facebook prepares for its multibillion-dollar initial public offering (IPO) next month, it sheds light on how companies – including local ones – decide whether to go public or not.

Memphis-based pharmaceutical company GTx Inc. went public in 2004 and local paper producer Verso Paper Corp. held its IPO in 2008, but the overall number of publicly traded companies both locally and nationally has dropped over the past two decades.

69. FedEx Grants $50K to Community LIFT - Monday, March 26, 2012

FedEx Corp. has awarded $50,000 in grant funds to support Community LIFT’s efforts to improve Memphis neighborhoods.

70. Tennessee Solar Study Says Need to Stay Aggressive - Friday, December 9, 2011

KNOXVILLE (AP) – Tennessee's solar and related industries provide more than 6,400 jobs in a growing green economic sector, but the state needs to stay aggressive in supporting and pursuing the ventures, a report released Thursday shows.

71. NYC Judge Rejects $285M SEC-Citigroup Agreement - Tuesday, November 29, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) – A federal judge on Monday struck down a $285 million settlement that Citigroup reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying he couldn't tell whether the deal was fair and criticizing regulators for shielding the public from the details of what the firm did wrong.

72. Plotting a Course - Monday, September 19, 2011

State and federal officials are developing new programs and legislation to bolster small businesses.Many companies are facing a variety of hurdles in a lackluster economy in which millions remain jobless and the outlook for consumer confidence and companies’ confidence in hiring and investing remain bleak. But what shape those hurdles have taken depends on who you ask.

73. Business Plan Basics, Part Three - Friday, July 1, 2011

Part three of a three-part series about the role of the business plan: an interview with Dr. Jan Young In our last two columns, we’ve shared with you the wisdom of Dr. Jan Young, executive director of the Assisi Foundation of Memphis, about the development of business plans for nonprofits. Here, we asked her to provide examples of how a business plan can impact an organization’s success.

74. House to Reject Debt Limit Increase Without Cuts - Wednesday, June 1, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans lined up to reject their own proposed $2.4 trillion increase in the nation's debt limit Tuesday, a political gambit designed to reinforce a demand for spending cuts to accompany any increase in government borrowing.

75. Gov: Budget to Fund More Key Services in Tenn. - Tuesday, May 17, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Increased state revenues will provide millions in extra funding for flood and storm relief, mental health care, and other key projects and services in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday.

76. Pinnacle Awards Honor City’s Best Brokers - Monday, April 11, 2011

As emcee Dan Conaway noted in his opening address Thursday night at the 10th annual Pinnacle Awards, “OK is the new great.”

77. Pinnacle Awards Honor City's Best Brokers - Friday, April 8, 2011

As emcee Dan Conaway noted in his opening address Thursday night at the 10th annual Pinnacle Awards, “OK is the new great.”

78. Ripples From Stanford Scheme Still Felt in Memphis - Monday, February 21, 2011

The court-appointed receiver who’s unwinding the now-defunct operations of Stanford Financial Group – once fueled by money from a giant Ponzi scheme – is preparing to sell off Stanford property in Collierville.

79. Massive Budget Bill Faces Opposition in Senate - Friday, December 10, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) – The fate of House legislation to freeze the budgets of most Cabinet departments and fund the war in Afghanistan for another year is now in the hands of the Senate, where it faces uncertain prospects.

80. House Democrats' Bill Freezes Most Agency Budgets - Thursday, December 9, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats controlling the House are promising to freeze the budgets of most Cabinet departments while wrapping Congress' unfinished annual spending bills into a single catchall measure.

81. GTx Cuts Loss, Gets More Capital - Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Memphis-based GTx Inc. completed its public offering of additional stock with help from another major investment by Joseph R. “Pitt” Hyde III.

82. GTx Cuts Loss, Gets More Capital - Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Memphis-based GTx Inc. completed its public offering of additional stock with help from another major investment by Joseph R. “Pitt” Hyde III.

83. GTx Receives Government Grants - Thursday, November 4, 2010

GTx Inc. has been awarded $1.2 million in federal grants from the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program.

The $1 billion program was established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health care reform law.

84. Builders Hoping for Market Turnaround - Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Local homebuilders matched the number of new-home permits for the third quarter compared to last year, but the recent data indicates the market is facing a doubled-edged sword.

Homebuilders filed 151 permits in Shelby County during Q3 (July 1 to Sept. 30), just one permit shy from 152 permits the same quarter last year, according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com. New homes during Q3 averaged 3,010 square feet and $207,216 in value.

85. Homebuilding Shows Slight Improvement - Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Memphis area homebuilders agree that business is looking up, but they also agree that a complete recovery will be slow in coming.

Local builders filed 725 permits between September 2009 and August 2010, according to the latest data from real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

86. Tenn. Pre-K Program Now in All 95 Counties - Wednesday, August 4, 2010

NASHVILLE (AP) – Tennessee's pre-kindergarten program is now in all 95 counties.

Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen and state Education Commissioner Tim Webb said Tuesday that the expansion marks the first pre-K classrooms for schools in Sumner and Washington counties.

87. Trestle Capital Gets CCC Grant To Renovate Washburn Office - Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Center City Development Corp. awarded a $7,500 office grant Wednesday to Trestle Capital Partners to renovate the Downtown space it's moving into and signing a five-year lease for inside The Washburn building at 60 S. Main St.

88. Trestle Capital Steps Into Downtown - Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A new investment management and consulting firm is preparing to set up shop Downtown after considering spaces in Midtown and in East Memphis’ Ridgeway Center.

Trestle Capital Partners, which will specialize in marketing hedge fund investments to high net-worth investors, has signed a letter of intent to enter into a five-year lease for 890 square feet of commercial space in The Washburn, a mixed-use building at 60 S. Main St.

89. HUD Official Talks About Transition From Housing - Monday, June 7, 2010

With $22 million in federal funding, the city of Memphis has its sixth HOPE VI grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Wharton administration also has the first installment of money for the ambitious Triangle Noir plan – a 10-year $1 billion plan to use public money to leverage private investment in the area south of FedExForum and into South Memphis.

90. Community Foundation Proposes Increase in Giving - Tuesday, May 11, 2010

One of the city’s largest charitable foundations is in a better position to give because its investments beat market indexes.

The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis ended its fiscal year on April 30 with $290 million – up from $247 million the prior year. The increase in assets is due to yearly returns of 33.8 percent on its balanced fund and 49.9 percent on its equity fund.

91. IDB Approves Lucite Retention PILOT - Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The city-county Industrial Development Board on Wednesday approved a 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) retention program for Lucite International to invest $90 million in its Memphis-area operation and keep 200 jobs intact.

92. Poor January Home Starts Blamed on Inclement Weather - Tuesday, February 16, 2010

January’s foul weather wreaked havoc on homebuilders, as the barrage of snow, ice and cold temperatures severely limited the ability to start homes.

Shelby County builders filed just 36 new home permits last month, half of December’s 72, but a slight increase from the January 2009 total of 31, according to the latest data from real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

93. ’09 Building Permits Tell Scary Tale - Wednesday, January 13, 2010

For anyone who thought the homebuilding numbers couldn’t get worse than they did in 2008, that year looks like a housing boom compared to 2009.

Shelby County builders filed just 529 new home permits last year, a 43.7 percent decline from 940 permits in 2008 and a staggering 80 percent decline from 2,643 permits in 2007, according to the latest data from real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

94. New MAHBA Leader Has Deep Roots In Local Industry - Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Tommy Byrnes has been building homes longer than he’s been driving. From his preteen days to high school and even through college, Byrnes spent his summers working for the homebuilding business his father, Ronnie, ran with Max Ostner.

95. Byrnes to Take MAHBA Reins - Thursday, December 24, 2009

Tommy Byrnes of Byrnes Ostner Investments Inc. will serve as 2010 president of the Memphis Area Home Builders Association, the group’s executive director, Don Glays, said this week.

96. Charities Still Stung by Madoff Scandal Year Later - Monday, December 14, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) - Nancy Falchuk will never forget the phone call. She was in Boston, it was raining and the news was bad. Hadassah, the century-old Jewish charity she had been elected to lead a year earlier, had just lost a big chunk of its endowment in a Ponzi scheme – maybe as much as $90 million (euro61 million).

97. Housing Divided - Monday, November 23, 2009

A couple of years ago, when Clay Thompson of Memphis decided it was time to stop renting, he set his sights on the Downtown condominium market. He was especially interested in the old warehouses in the South Main Historic Arts District that had been converted to condos.

98. Council to Consider Econ Development Plan - Tuesday, November 17, 2009

To promote new business investment in Shelby County, local economic development officials are working from a limited playbook. But it might not stay that way for long.

As the hunt to bring new jobs and dollars into the county intensifies in the aftermath of the recession, economic development officials for the city and county soon may have a new business recruitment tool at their disposal.

99. MLGW Gets Big Chunk of Smart Grid Funds - Thursday, October 29, 2009

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - The Chattanooga-based Electric Power Board is getting a big chunk of federal stimulus money, $111 million of which will pay for expanding a smart electric grid in its service area.

100. GOP Uses ACORN to Fight Bank Redlining Law - Tuesday, October 13, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Conservative Republicans are capitalizing on the troubles of community activist group ACORN – ranging from charges of voter registration fraud to embarrassing videos of its employees – to revive their long-standing fight against a federal law that grades banks on their investments in poor and minority neighborhoods.