The city of Memphis Division of Engineering and Powers Hill Design will host a public meeting about the proposed stormwater master plan for Harrison Creek Basin Thursday, May 10, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Gaisman Community Center, 4221 Macon Road. The basin roughly runs from Interstate 40 at Jackson Avenue south along both sides of Graham Street to Poplar Avenue. Engineers will provide information about the plan and gather input about drainage and flooding problems from area residents and businesses. Call Powers Hill at 901-543-8000 for details.

2. Events - Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Memphis Botanic Garden hosts its Food Truck Garden Party: Pirates & Princesses on Wednesday, May 9, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at MBG, 750 Cherry Road. Enjoy live music, cash bar, fun in the Play Zone and food trucks. Cover is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers (includes one drink). Buy tickets at memphisbotanicgarden.com/foodtruck or at the gate.

3. Meeting to Focus on Flooding In Harrison Creek Basin - Tuesday, May 8, 2018

The city of Memphis Division of Engineering and Powers Hill Design LLC will host a public meeting Thursday, May 10, at Gaisman Community Center, 4221 Macon Road, to discuss a proposed master plan to potential solutions for flooding and drainage issues within the Harrison Creek Basin.

4. Link Between Overton Greensward and Zoo Defines Enduring Controversy - Monday, April 16, 2018

It seemed like a good idea to the Powers-Hill Design firm as it was drawing up plans for a reconfigured Memphis Zoo parking lot to include a pedestrian walkway from the zoo plaza through the new parking lot to the Overton Park Greensward.

5. Zoo Parking Plan Draws Questions, Skepticism - Friday, February 23, 2018

The first audience for the Memphis Zoo parking plan Wednesday, Feb. 21, was tough. The crowd of more than 200 at the Memphis Pink Palace museum, many wearing green “Save The Greensward” T-shirts and some carrying banners with the slogan, expressed some skepticism that the zoo would abide by a ban on parking on the Overton Park Greensward once the new parking area is completed.

6. Last Word: Plans and More Plans, Badu and Byrne and Gun Bills In Nashville - Thursday, February 22, 2018

Plans, plans, plans. I’ve seen so many overhead views and schematics in the last 24-hours that I had to go for a walk in the rain Wednesday to avoid vertigo. I saw a lot of green Save the Greensward t-shirts Wednesday evening at the Pink Palace that looked like they hadn’t been out of the bottom drawer in a while and even a couple of banners.

7. Zoo Parking Plan Takes Additional 2.4 Acres, Keeps Lot on Zoo Side of Ridge - Thursday, February 22, 2018

The new Memphis Zoo parking lot is going to be late and will take in 2.4 more acres of land primarily on the eastern border of the Overton Park Greensward. But in the process, the expanded parking will move farther away from a first draft version of the plan that put cars right up against Veterans Plaza and the Doughboy statue in the park.

8. City ‘Mandates’ Changes To Zoo Parking Plan - Saturday, January 13, 2018

The city administration has made a few changes to a preliminary plan for expanding Memphis Zoo parking by 415 spaces, but city chief operating officer Doug McGowen said this week that those changes do not avoid moving the parking onto the western and northern borders of the Overton Park Greensward.

9. City ‘Mandates’ Changes To Zoo Parking Plan - Wednesday, January 10, 2018

The city administration has made a few changes to a preliminary plan for expanding Memphis Zoo parking by 415 spaces, but city chief operating officer Doug McGowen said this week that those changes do not avoid moving the parking onto the western and northern borders of the Overton Park Greensward.

10. Last Word: Soccer Returns, Confederate Reprisals and Megasite Politics - Tuesday, January 9, 2018

So much going on off the field and on parts of the field in Atlanta Monday evening as Alabama beat Georgia – a clothesline, a punch thrown on the field and an attempt to throw another punch on the sidelines at an Alabama coach and all of that from a single Alabama player. So a lot of speculation after the College Football Playoff National Championship about how that will be resolved. Alabama over Georgia 26-23 in overtime.

11. Zoo Parking Redesign Faces Public Input - Tuesday, November 7, 2017

A team designing options for a reconfigured Memphis Zoo parking lot has presented three options that each include a circular road that would run along the eastern edge of the Overton Park greensward just north of Veterans Plaza.

12. Calling It a Beginning, Trump Signs Health Care Order - Friday, October 13, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) – Frustrated by health care failures in Congress, President Donald Trump directed his administration Thursday to rewrite some federal insurance rules as a beginning of renewed efforts to undermine "Obamacare," the program he's promised to kill.

13. City Announces 10-Member Zoo Parking Advisory Team - Saturday, October 7, 2017

A 10-member city advisory panel will be part of the process for settling on a specific design for expansion and reconfiguration of Memphis Zoo parking in Overton Park.

The city administration announced Thursday, Oct. 5, the names of 10 people to the panel, which will first offer feedback on the preliminary work of designers and then select a concept plan.

14. City Announces 10-Member Zoo Parking Advisory Team - Friday, October 6, 2017

A 10-member city advisory panel will be part of the process for settling on a specific design for expansion and reconfiguration of parking for the Memphis Zoo in Overton Park.

The city administration announced Thursday, Oct. 5, the names of 10 people to the panel, which will first offer feedback on the preliminary work of designers and then select a concept plan.

15. Charting a Course - Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Daphne Large, founder, CEO and president of Data Facts Inc., didn’t have her company certified as a woman-owned business for 25 years. “I don’t want to be chosen because I’m a woman, but because I’m the best,” Large said, voicing a sentiment that many women business owners agree with.

16. Women-Owned Businesses Chart Progress of Diversity Contracting Efforts - Saturday, August 12, 2017

Daphne Large, founder, CEO and president of Data Facts Inc., didn’t get her company certified as a woman-owned business for 25 years.

17. Overton Park Conservancy Meets $1M Goal in Parking Compromise - Tuesday, June 13, 2017

The Overton Park Conservancy raised $1 million by the June 11 deadline to move ahead with the Overton Park-Memphis Zoo parking compromise. The conservancy announced Sunday afternoon that it met the goal with hours to spare.

18. Conservancy Puts Up $250K For Zoo Parking Redesign - Saturday, March 18, 2017

The Overton Park Conservancy is turning over $250,000 to pay half of the cost for design and engineering work on the Memphis Zoo's reconfigured and expanded parking lot.

The conservancy board approved the release of the funding to the city this week and the funding goes to the Memphis City Council Tuesday, March 21, for approval.

19. Conservancy Puts Up Half of Money for Zoo Parking Redesign - Thursday, March 16, 2017

The Overton Park Conservancy is turning over $250,000 to pay half of the cost for design and engineering work on the Memphis Zoo's reconfigured and expanded parking lot.

The conservancy board approved the release of the funding to the city this week and the funding goes to the Memphis City Council Tuesday, March 21, for approval.

20. County Seeks Public Input of Possible Hacks Cross Project - Monday, February 13, 2017

Shelby County officials and representatives from civil engineering firm Powers Hill Design presented plans to widen parts of Hacks Cross Road at a public meeting Thursday, Feb. 9.

The proposed improvements to the 1.8-mile stretch of Hacks Cross between Shelby Drive and Stateline Road hope to alleviate residential and industrial traffic congestion that plague the heavily traversed thoroughfare between Tennessee and Mississippi.

21. Powers Hill Selected For Design of Zoo Parking - Thursday, February 2, 2017

Powers Hill Design LLC will come up with plans for the expansion of Memphis Zoo parking in Overton Park.

22. Zoo Parking Space Dimensions Emerge as Issue in Greensward Compromise - Monday, January 9, 2017

Some members of the city’s Overton Park Parking Committee want to talk about changing one of the key ground rules for reconfiguring and expanding the Memphis Zoo’s parking area.

And the zoo’s representative on the committee that met Thursday, Jan. 5, is adamant that the requirement for parking spaces to be 10 feet by 20 feet should remain as it is.

23. Zoo Parking Space Dimensions Emerge as Issue In Greensward Compromise - Friday, January 6, 2017

Some members of the city’s Overton Park Parking Committee want to at least talk about changing one of the key ground rules for the rearrangement and expansion of the Memphis Zoo’s parking area.

And the zoo’s representative on the committee that met Thursday, Jan. 5, is just as adamant that the requirement for parking spaces to be 10 feet by 20 feet should remain as it is.

24. Commission OKs Contract For Greenline Extension - Saturday, February 13, 2016

Shelby County Commissioners approved a $163,400 contract Monday, Feb. 8, for the design of a part of the Shelby Farms Greenline extension.

25. Commission OKs Contract For Greenline Extension Design - Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Shelby County Commissioners approved a $163,400 contract Monday, Feb. 8, for the design of a part of the Shelby Farms Greenline extension.

26. Roland Passes on 8th Congressional District Run, Sticks With Mayor in 2018 - Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Shelby County Commission chairman Terry Roland will not be running in the Republican primary for the 8th Congressional District in August.

27. Trust Fund Mentioned as Possible $1.1B Solution on School Benefits Liability - Monday, February 8, 2016

A trust fund is one possibility that has surfaced early in the formal discussions of the Shelby County School system’s $1.1 billion benefits liability.

The first meeting of the ad hoc committee on the matter last week drew nine of the 13 Shelby County Commissioners, the administration of Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and two of nine Shelby County Schools board members.

28. County Commission Approves Hacks Cross Contract, New Health Director - Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Shelby County Commissioners approved Monday, Jan. 11, a $223,600 contract for engineering and environmental work on the Hacks Cross Road widening.

The contract with Powers Hill Design LLC is to make Hacks Cross a seven-lane road from Shelby Drive south to Stateline Road, a span of 1.8 miles.

29. Local Firms Benefiting from Cycling, Walking Paths - Saturday, June 21, 2014

For years Memphis was labeled as a backwater when it came to walking trails and bike lanes, showing up on list after list highlighting the worst cities for pedestrians and cyclists.

That has changed dramatically over the last several years and there are now 150 more miles of new trails and bike lanes planned over the next three years.

30. Woman-Owned Engineering Firm Finds Right Design for Success - Monday, October 8, 2012

Entrepreneurship was never in Nisha Powers’ plans.

Armed with a degree in civil engineering, Powers moved to Memphis in 1997 and followed a traditional post-college path: She sought and landed a job at one of the state’s top firms in her field. But after eight years in one small office, she was ready to explore new territory.

31. Women's Foundation Names Board Members - Thursday, December 29, 2011

The Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis has named new members to its 2011-2012 board of directors.

They are Meri Armour, president and CEO, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital; Toni L. Boland, sustainable business and innovation specialist, Nike Inc.; Carolyn Hardy, president and CEO, Chism Hardy Enterprises LLC; Gretchen W. McLennon, program officer, Hyde Family Foundations; Nisha Powers, majority owner and president, Powers Hill Design LLC; and Stacie Waddell, philanthropist.

32. Advocates Push Overton-Greenline Link - Tuesday, July 12, 2011

When the group of architects and planners working on a bicycle-pedestrian path connecting the Shelby Farms Greenline with Overton Park went beyond the end of the Greenline onto Tillman Street recently, they had a Memphis Police bicycle escort.

33. Thompson & Co. to Fill Vacant Smooth Moves Space - Thursday, April 22, 2010

A Center City Commission-affiliated board on Wednesday approved almost $270,000 in financial incentives to support developing new businesses, jobs and service providers Downtown.

That money will finance a wide range of activity, from South Main Street to the Downtown core. The new business activity includes the renovation of a long-vacant storefront at the intersection of Main Street and Union Avenue as well as the move of a new tenant into that space.

34. Thompson & Co. Plans to Fill Vacant Smooth Moves Space - Wednesday, April 21, 2010

A Center City Commission-affiliated board on Wednesday approved almost $270,000 in financial incentives to support developing new businesses, jobs and service providers Downtown.

That money will finance a wide range of activity, from South Main Street to the Downtown core. The new business activity includes the renovation of a long-vacant storefront at the intersection of Main Street and Union Avenue as well as the move of a new tenant into that space.

35. CCDC to Consider Loan, Grant Applications - Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The board of directors for the Center City Development Corp. at its meeting Wednesday will discuss a development loan application for a corner location at 77 S. Main St. and 85 Union Ave. and a second one for the Memphis College Preparatory Elementary School at 278 Greenlaw Ave.

36. City Mayoral Transition Yields Crowded To-Do List - Tuesday, October 20, 2009
 

Memphis Mayor-elect A C Wharton Jr. will be appointing a new city attorney once he takes office next week.

Elbert Jefferson, the city attorney Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery tried to fire just minutes after taking the oath of office on July 31, Friday sent a second resignation letter to Lowery. The two met for an hour Sunday evening at City Hall and Lowery accepted Jefferson’s resignation.

Jefferson’s attorney, Ted Hansom, and city Chief Administrative Officer Jack Sammons were also present. Jefferson turned in his key card, the keys to his city car and his laptop.

“The drama is over,” Lowery said Monday. “For my part, I wish it had never happened.”

Dramatis personae

In a resignation letter last week to Wharton, Jefferson had expressed hope that he would be hired for some position in the new administration. Over the weekend, he used the same text in the new letter but addressed it to Lowery instead. He requested the city pay his legal fees as well.

The resignation letter to Lowery made moot an ouster suit filed by Shelby County District Attorney General Bill Gibbons. Criminal Court Judge James Lammey, who was to hear the case, reset a final report to Oct. 27, citing Jefferson’s departure.

“A hearing on the issue of suspension would be an inefficient use of judicial resources, of the state of Tennessee and of the resources of the city of Memphis, and considering (Jefferson’s) current health status, would be an unnecessary tax on (Jefferson’s) well-being and a possible threat to his health,” Lammey wrote in the court order.

Jefferson was scheduled to return to City Hall from sick leave Monday. He apparently believed the new mayor would be in office by the time he returned.

An audit of city financial affairs is standard procedure in a change of administrations. Wharton is naming team members to review the offices of the city attorney, human resources and finance and administration. He was also to name members of his transition team Monday.

Time-, battle-tested

Shelby County Commissioner Mike Carpenter and Methodist Healthcare executive Cato Johnson will head the team.

The other members are:

- Herman Morris, attorney and 2007 candidate for Memphis Mayor.

- Tomeka Hart, Memphis Urban League CEO and Memphis school board member.

- Jim Strickland, attorney and Memphis City Council member.

- Rev. Dwight Montgomery, Southern Christian Leadership Conference Memphis chapter President.

- Jose Velasquez, Latino Memphis former executive director.

- Nisha Powers, Powers Hill Design Inc. President.

- Paul Morris, attorney and former chairman Center City Commission.

- Douglas Scarboro, The Leadership Academy vice president.

- Steve Reynolds, Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. CEO.

- Diane Rudner, Plough Foundation chairman.

- Darrell Cobbins, Universal Commercial CEO.

Johnson has more experience serving on such task forces and ad hoc committees than any other leader in the city’s corporate community. Most recently, Johnson was one of two business leaders on the ad hoc committee exploring single-source local funding for education. He also served as a leader of the Mid-South Fairgrounds renovation committee and has been involved in similar capacities with every major construction project for a civic use in the past 15 years.

Carpenter’s appointment is certain to fuel speculation that he might be tapped for some role in the new administration. However, Carpenter has already been holding fundraisers in anticipation of a bid for re-election to his commission seat in the 2010 county elections.

Wharton is tentatively scheduled to take the oath of office Oct. 26.

The Shelby County Commission also meets that same day and could receive Wharton’s resignation and declare a vacancy in the county mayor’s office with a vote to appoint Wharton’s successor-to-come in November. Until that vote, County Commission Chairwoman Joyce Avery will serve as interim mayor.

“It will be a day in which I come to work at one place and leave work from another place,” Wharton told The Daily News.

But the Shelby County Election Commission will meet earlier than expected -- Thursday afternoon -- to certify the Oct. 15 election results. Once the results are certified, Wharton is free to resign as Shelby County mayor and take the oath as Memphis mayor.

Cooperative efforts

Meanwhile, Wharton has asked City Council Chairman Harold Collins to consider delaying a council vote today on the five appointees the city mayor is to make to a metro charter commission. The council set today’s vote with the intention of having whomever won the Oct. 15 special election appoint members of the panel.

“I won’t be there on the 20th. … I’m seeing if they are in a position to put it off until I’m actually over there,” Wharton told The Daily News, as he has had attorneys researching if a council vote in November would meet timelines for such an effort set out in state law.

“I believe that they may be able to meet on Nov. 3,” Wharton said.

Wharton has already named the 10 appointees to be made by the Shelby County mayor to the panel. The County Commission approved all 10 earlier this month.

While it appears he will make the other five, Wharton said he will ask the council, through Collins, to effectively pick the five nominees, whom Wharton would then send to the council as his appointees.

“I chose all 10 over here, which I had to do by law. If I could find some way around it that passed legal muster, then I would do that,” he said. “But we’ve researched it and I know of no way in which the city mayor can say … ‘I’m not going to do that.’ You can’t transfer it.”

Wharton and Lowery were to discuss the matter at a meeting Monday afternoon. Lowery told The Daily News he had received no suggested appointees from council members, but would be willing to submit names the council wants on the charter commission.

37. Update: Wharton Names Transition Team - Monday, October 19, 2009
 

Memphis Mayor-elect A C Wharton Jr. has named eleven more people to his transition team.

Shelby County Commissioner Mike Carpenter and Methodist Healthcare executive Cato Johnson will chair the group. The others include:

- Herman Morris, attorney, former president of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division and 2007 Memphis mayoral candidate;

- The Rev. Dwight Montgomery, president of the Memphis chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference;

- Nisha Powers, president of Powers Hill Design Inc.;

- Tomeka Hart, Memphis school board member and Memphis Urban League president and CEO;

- Darrell Cobbins, Universal Commercial President and CEO;

- Jim Strickland, attorney and Memphis City Councilmember;

- Jose Velasquez, Latino Memphis’ former executive director.

- Paul Morris, attorney and former chairman Center City Commission.

- Diane Rudner, Poplar Foundation chairman.

- Steve Reynolds, Baptist Memorial Health Care President & CEO.

- Douglas Scarboro, The Leadership Academy vice president.

In other transition developments, the Shelby County Election Commission will meet Thursday afternoon to certify the results of the Oct. 15 special mayoral election.

The meeting is earlier than Wharton had expected. Once the results are certified, Wharton can resign his post as Shelby County mayor at any point and take the oath of office at City Hall. The Shelby County Commission will then declare a vacancy in the county mayor’s office and commission chairwoman Joyce Avery will become acting mayor until the commission appoints someone to serve the year remaining in Wharton’s county term of office.

38. Bush, Bernanke Open to New Stimulus Package - Tuesday, October 21, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) – Momentum increased Monday for a new economic stimulus package as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke endorsed extra help for the ailing economy, while the White House was open to the idea.

39. Events - Monday, June 25, 2007

The Engineers' Club of Memphis hosts its weekly meeting and lunch today at noon at the Holiday Inn-University of Memphis, 3700 Central Ave. Nisha Powers of Powers Hill Design LLC is the guest speaker. The event is $12 and no reservations are required.

40. Archived Article: Real Fcs (annex) Lj - Tuesday, July 15, 1997
By LAURIE JOHNSON Uncertain times The home-building community ponders the possible ramifications of the annexation issue By LAURIE JOHNSON The Daily News During the past two weeks, four areas of Shelby County have announced their intentions to incor...