SEATTLE (AP) — Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday that he is giving $2 billion to start a fund that will open preschools in low-income neighborhoods and give money to nonprofits that helps homeless families.

2. Amazon is 2nd U.S. Company to Reach $1 trillion Market Value - Wednesday, September 5, 2018

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon on Tuesday became the second publicly traded company to be worth $1 trillion, hot on the heels of iPhone maker Apple.

Launched as an online bookstore in 1995, Amazon.com has changed the way people shop for toilet paper, TVs and just about anything else. In its two decades, the company has expanded far beyond those bookseller beginnings, combining its world-spanning retail operations with less flashy but very profitable advertising and cloud computing businesses. It's now expanding into the health care industry and increasing its brick-and-mortar presence.

3. 11 of 30 Suburban Races in November Decided at Filing Deadline - Monday, August 20, 2018

Of the 30 elected positions on the Nov. 6 ballot in five suburban towns and cities in Shelby County, 11 were decided at the Thursday, Aug. 16, deadline for candidates to file their qualifying petitions.

4. 11 of 30 Suburban Races in November Decided at Filing Deadline - Friday, August 17, 2018

Of the 30 elected positions on the Nov. 6 ballot in five of the six suburban towns and cities in Shelby County, 11 were decided at the noon, Thursday, Aug. 16, deadline for candidates to file their qualifying petitions.

5. Waffle House Suspect: Erratic Behavior Years Before Shooting - Thursday, April 26, 2018

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Travis Reinking's erratic behavior began years before police say he showed up without pants at a Waffle House restaurant and killed four people with an assault-style rifle.

6. Football Can’t Arrive Soon Enough for Vols Fans - Friday, March 30, 2018

Thank goodness Tennessee spring football is here. Vol Nation needs a diversion with all that’s happened the past couple of weeks, like the men’s basketball team losing to Loyola-Chicago in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, and Loyola advancing to the Final Four.

7. Around Memphis: March 26, 2018 - Monday, March 26, 2018

The Daily News offers a weekly roundup of Memphis-related headlines from around the web, adding context and new perspectives to the original content we produce on a daily basis. Here are some recent stories worth checking out…

8. Medical Marijuana Legislation Moves Ahead - Thursday, March 1, 2018

NASHVILLE – Bolstered by House Speaker Beth Harwell’s tie-breaking vote, Rep. Jeremy Faison’s medical marijuana legislation took an important step Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the General Assembly.

9. Around Memphis: Feb. 26, 2018 - Monday, February 26, 2018

The Daily News offers a weekly roundup of Memphis-related headlines from around the web, adding context and new perspectives to the original content we produce on a daily basis. Here are some recent stories worth checking out...

10. Business Titans Face Complex System in US Health Care Push - Wednesday, January 31, 2018

The leaders of Amazon.com, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan announced the ambitious goal of improving health care coverage all of their employees. They say they are forming a new company that will be "free from profit-making incentives and constraints" and hint its results might be applied on a broader scale. But the campaign is in its early planning stages.

11. Amazon, Buffett And JPMorgan Join Forces on Health Care - Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Three of corporate America's heaviest hitters – Amazon, Warren Buffett and JPMorgan Chase – sent a shudder through the health industry Tuesday when they announced plans to jointly create a company to provide their employees with high-quality, affordable care.

12. After Disaster of 2017, New Year Looking Good for Vols - Friday, January 12, 2018

Vol Nation should celebrate. It’s a new year. It’s got to be better than 2017. Tennessee athletics had a bad year, one of the worst ever. It was rough for fans, alumni and boosters.

13. Pay for No Play: Paying Millions to Former Coaches - Friday, December 8, 2017

Tennessee’s bungled search for a football coach will come at a cost for the university. A big cost.

There are buyouts everywhere. A potential lawsuit looms. And a rift between boosters caused by the botched search may be the costliest item of all for the university long term.

14. Busiest Season for Sports Hits Big Orange Country - Friday, March 3, 2017

It’s the busiest time of the year for Tennessee athletics. There’s even some football to whet your gridiron appetite.

The Vols begin spring football practices March 21, and the DISH Orange & White Game is April 22 at Neyland Stadium. By then, much will have happened in Big Orange Nation.

15. Dobbs Makes His Stand to Join NFL Roster - Friday, February 24, 2017

Josh Dobbs has spent the last four years preparing for a future in aerospace engineering. For now, though, that career is still on the runway. First, he’s hoping to take flight in the NFL. After establishing himself as one of the most productive quarterbacks in University of Tennessee history, Dobbs isn’t ready to give up on football. It remains to be seen if football is ready to give up on him.

16. What Lies Ahead for UT Athletics in 2017 - Friday, December 30, 2016

Hey Vols fans, Happy New Year. May your 2017 year in Tennessee sports be better than your 2016 year in Tennessee sports. Perhaps, a fresh start is what we all need. Let’s face it. The Music City Bowl wasn’t where Tennessee wanted the 2016 football season to end. The Vols were picked to win the SEC East Division in preseason and floundered to an 8-4 record in the regular season, 4-4 in the SEC. Their football season was about the norm for most UT sports in 2016: average. Here are some dates to mark in hope of better things ahead in 2017...

17. Business Leaders Offer List of Corporate Best Practices - Friday, July 22, 2016

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Billionaire Warren Buffett and several other prominent business leaders have released a group of recommendations for improving corporate governance.

The list of best practices includes recommendations to choose board members from diverse backgrounds who are independent of a company's management.

18. 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.

19. Confident Serrano Playing for Future at UT - Saturday, February 6, 2016

Tennessee baseball coach Dave Serrano wasn’t setting the bar too high when he met with the media for his 2016 preseason press conference.

Serrano made that mistake before the 2015 season with talk of reaching an NCAA regional and perhaps Omaha, Nebraska, site of the College World Series.

20. Buffett's Biggest Bet: Berkshire Hathaway Buying Precision Castparts for About $32B - Tuesday, August 11, 2015

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett is making the biggest bet of his long investment career, a $32.36 billion buyout of Precision Castparts in a deal that will continue to reshape his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate.

21. Buffett Defends How He Runs Berkshire Hathaway - Tuesday, May 6, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Warren Buffett remains confident in the long-term future of his company, and on Monday he again defended the quiet way he handled his objections to Coca-Cola's compensation plan.

22. Buffett May Face Questions About Performance - Friday, May 2, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Warren Buffett's failure to beat the stock market in four of the past five years has raised the issue of whether Berkshire Hathaway's 83-year-old CEO has lost his touch.

23. Obama 2015 Budget Focuses on Boosting Economy - Wednesday, March 5, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama sent Congress a $3.9 trillion budget Tuesday that would funnel money into road building, education and other economy-bolstering programs, handing Democrats a playbook for their election-year themes of creating jobs and narrowing the income gap between rich and poor.

24. Titans Owner Bud Adams Has Died at Age 90 - Tuesday, October 22, 2013

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Titans owner Bud Adams, who helped found the American Football League and whose battles for players helped lead to the merger with the NFL, has died. He was 90.

25. Smaller School Board Could Take Several Paths - Wednesday, September 4, 2013

There are at least two schools of thought about the path the seven-member countywide school board should take without the 16 members it has had since October 2011.

David Pickler, one of the seven members who remain, urged the board last week to take a different path than the former 23-member board at least in the way it conducts its business.

26. School Board Recognizes Labor, Gets Security Update - Thursday, August 29, 2013

Interim countywide schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson told the school board Tuesday, Aug. 27, that “jurisdiction issues” between the Memphis Police Department and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office were the primary cause of security problems at schools this month.

27. School Board Recognizes Labor Groups, Moves Toward Smaller Size - Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The last meeting of the 23-member countywide school board ended Tuesday, Aug. 27, with gift bags for the 16 school board members whose positions are abolished Friday, as the month ends.

The board becomes a seven-member body starting Sept. 1, dropping the nine legacy Memphis City Schools board positions and the seven legacy Shelby County Schools board positions that were part of the board starting in October 2011.

28. 23-Member School Board Holds Final Meeting - Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The countywide school board holds its last meeting as a 23-member body Tuesday, Aug. 27.

Effective Sept. 1, the transitional board slims down to seven members elected in 2012 from seven districts that cover all of Shelby County, including the city of Memphis.

29. Countywide School Board Plans to Meet Tuesday - Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Countywide school board members meet Tuesday, June 18, for a work session agenda that includes a review of charter school applications and lease agreements with charter school operators Promise Academy and KIPP Academy.

30. School Uniform Policies Remain Unchanged - Thursday, May 30, 2013

After setting policies on school uniforms and labor unions, next up for the countywide school board is a single policy for the two combined school systems on student access to cell phones.

Interim schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson gave school board members the preview Tuesday, May 28, of what is certain to be a coming debate at the June board meetings as they approved a much-discussed policy on uniforms and dress codes.

31. School Board Keeps Uniform Status Quo, Rejects Union Representation - Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Countywide school board members agreed Tuesday, May 28, that for the new school year to come, students will follow whatever uniform or dress code they had last school year in their respective schools.

32. School Board Approached by Suburbs - Thursday, May 2, 2013

A new round of talks about the schools merger and municipal school districts is about to begin.

And this time, the countywide school board may be at the table.

Countywide school board attorney Valerie Speakman told school board members Tuesday, April 30, that attorneys for the leaders of Shelby County’s six suburban municipalities have sent her a letter about possible talks on issues that go beyond the consent decree governing the merger.

33. Board Continues Delay on Outsourcing Decision - Monday, April 29, 2013

Not every member of the countywide school board who voted against outsourcing custodial services in February is still trying to stop the contract to carry that out.

But enough were at the Thursday, April 25, special meeting of the board that there was another delay in going through with one of the most critical decisions the 23-member body will make about the merger. And another four to six school board members were absent during the series of votes.

34. Lofty Company - Thursday, April 4, 2013

For creating the overnight package-delivery business four decades ago, and for everything his company has done since, FedEx Corp. founder Fred Smith has been placed among an elite group of chief executives by the business magazine Barron’s.

35. School Board’s Choices Intensify Merger Debate - Monday, March 4, 2013

Countywide school board members began making what are considered the toughest and most controversial decisions of the schools merger Thursday, Feb. 28.

But the series of votes on 10 merger recommendations at the four-and-a-half hour meeting didn’t do much to settle the emerging questions about what is motivating the board as the schools merger start date draws closer.

36. School Board Approves Outsourcing After Long Debate - Friday, March 1, 2013

Countywide school board members approved Thursday, Feb. 28, the first of the three most controversial schools merger recommendations they are likely to face – outsourcing custodial services across the single merged school system.

37. School Board Asks For $145 Million Extra - Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The countywide school board is asking the Shelby County Commission for $145 million in extra funding for the first fiscal year of the schools merger.

The “ask” is a preliminary number that goes to a county commission budget retreat scheduled for Feb. 23. It is extra funding beyond the $361 million county government currently provides both school systems.

38. Cash Exits At Critical Juncture In Merger - Friday, January 11, 2013

Countywide school board members approved Thursday, Jan. 10, a severance package that ends Kriner Cash’s tenure as superintendent of Memphis City Schools.

Cash will remain through the end of July as an employee in an advisory capacity. At the end of July he gets six months of regular pay and $17,000 in moving and legal expenses as well as a letter of recommendation from the school system.

39. School Board Divisions Resurface - Thursday, December 20, 2012

Countywide school board members already had a lot on their agenda Tuesday, Dec. 18, when they were surprised by an internal ethics investigation.

Near the beginning of this week’s meeting, school board member Martavius Jones offered a resolution calling on board member David Pickler to resign over money put aside by school districts under the Tennessee School Boards Association to cover the liability of other post-employment benefits (OPEB).

40. Merger, Superintendent Process Set - Thursday, November 1, 2012

Countywide school board members will begin what several described as the “dirty work” of the schools merger at a special meeting Nov. 15.

At that meeting, the board will vote on many if not all of the recommendations from the consolidation planning commission that ended its work in July.

41. School Board Majority Backs Sales Tax Hike - Friday, October 26, 2012

Twelve of the 23 countywide school board members have signed a letter urging voters to approve a half-cent countywide sales tax hike in the Nov. 6 elections.

The letter dated Thursday, Oct. 25, refers to using half of the estimated revenue from the extra half cent for an expansion of pre-kindergarten. But it mentions pre-k as one of several possible uses for the $30 million that would go to local education under state law.

42. School Board To Make Stand On Tax Hike - Thursday, October 25, 2012

When the countywide school board votes next week on a resolution to endorse a half-cent countywide sales tax hike, the vote will not be unanimous.

And the resolution that backs the tax hike on the Nov. 6 ballot will not guarantee that the $30 million from the tax hike that goes to local education will be used for pre- kindergarten access for all children.

43. Buffett Says US Economy Still Inching Ahead - Thursday, October 25, 2012

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Wednesday that the global economy is definitely slowing because of continued problems in Europe and the decline in Asia.

But he said that the U.S. economy is still improving modestly and business will improve regardless of who wins the presidential election.

44. Sales Tax to Fund Pre-Kindergarten for County’s Students - Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Proponents of a countywide half-cent sales tax hike are promising pre-kindergarten access for all children in Shelby County if voters approve the proposed tax hike on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr., who had opposed the sales tax hike, announced Monday, Oct. 1, that he now favors the measure as long as the money goes to “universal pre-k” in Shelby County.

45. School Board to Begin Merger Votes Next Week - Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Countywide school board members should begin voting up or down the first recommendations of the schools consolidation planning commission at their Thursday, Sept. 27, meeting.

The recommendations are the blueprint for how the merged school system will operate leading up to and past the merger start date of August 2013.

46. Board Approves Formation of Transition Group - Thursday, August 2, 2012

There are recommendations to come, decisions by two school superintendents instead of one about who works on the coming schools merger and more public meetings after 75 already by the schools consolidation planning commission.

47. Committee to Disband as Board Considers Next Step - Thursday, July 26, 2012

The countywide school board’s ad hoc committee to review the schools consolidation plan is about to disband without acting on the plan sent to the board by the schools consolidation planning commission.

48. Cohen Talks About Opponents, Schools, Race and His Political Past - Monday, July 23, 2012

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen is running for a fourth term in Congress starting with the Aug. 2 primary, in which he is being challenged by countywide school board member Tomeka Hart.

49. Cohen Keeps Focus on Bigger Picture - Monday, July 9, 2012

Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, says he works well with Republicans in Congress but that most of the federal funding and help he has secured for the city comes from the Democratic-controlled White House.

50. Schools Merger Draft Receives Different Responses - Monday, July 2, 2012

The plan for a consolidated countywide public school system got overshadowed last week by the federal court motion to stop the August referendums on municipal school districts.

But the 200-page plan with 172 recommendations is now formally before the countywide school board and Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman – the two next stops in the process for approving a merger plan.

51. School Board Looks for Consensus - Tuesday, June 26, 2012

After effectively ruling out Kriner Cash last week as the leader of the consolidated Shelby County school system, school board members now turn to a decision about how to select that superintendent.

52. School Board Votes Not To Renew Cash's Contract - Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The countywide school board voted Tuesday, June 19, not to renew the contract of Memphis City Schools superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash past August 2013 when it is scheduled to run out.

The 14-8 vote came during two back-to-back school board meetings covering five hours in which the board also agreed to talk more about a process for selecting the superintendent of the consolidated school system to come at a meeting next week.

53. Market Value - Monday, May 14, 2012

Investor Warren Buffett admitted in his annual letter to shareholders recently that he was “dead wrong” in his early 2011 prediction that the housing market would have begun recovery by now.

54. Bad Economy? Farmers Have One of Best Years Ever - Tuesday, December 13, 2011

ST. LOUIS (AP) – An Illinois farmer made so much money this year he made loan payments on one tractor a year in advance and exchanged some older ones for newer models. An Iowa farmer upgraded his combine and also paid off debt, while an elderly Oregon farmer poured into retirement funds a bundle of his $2 million take from a well-timed sale of much of his turf and equipment.

55. School Board To Discuss Policy on School Sales - Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The countywide schools board is waiting on a plan for the merging of the two public school systems in Shelby County.

But there are already indications the board of 23 will take up some ideas for common policies for both school systems before a plan arrives next summer from the consolidation planning commission. That includes a policy to set terms for the possible sale of school buildings to a separate suburban school system that might arise in 2013.

56. Countywide Board Denies Charter Schools - Monday, November 28, 2011

As the Thanksgiving holiday weekend began, the countywide school board had put the two public school systems’ long-held ambivalence about charter schools on a fast track to Nashville.

The board on Tuesday, Nov. 22, denied the applications of 17 charter schools for Shelby County’s two public school systems claiming the fiscal impact of the schools would be too much of a financial hardship on each system – city and county.

57. School Board Claims Financial Hardship In Rejecting Charter Schools - Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The countywide school board Tuesday, Nov. 22, denied the applications of 17 charter schools for Shelby County’s two public school systems claiming the fiscal impact of the schools would be too much of a financial hardship on each school system – city and county.

58. School Board Takes Steps Back, Forward - Thursday, October 27, 2011

The two public school systems in Shelby County used the same team to evaluate charter school applications this week in the first joint proposal the Memphis City and Shelby County School systems have brought to the board for approval.

59. New School Board Has Changes on Mind - Wednesday, October 12, 2011

At four hours, the first meeting of the countywide school board Monday, Oct. 10, was a bit shorter than the average Memphis City Schools board meeting. It was twice as long as the longest Shelby County Schools board meeting.

60. Orgel Heads New Consolidated School Board - Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The new chairman of the countywide school board will go to work in about two weeks when the board meets again after its first organizational session Monday evening.

Businessman Billy Orgel was elected chairman by the 23 member body and Dr. Jeff Warren was elected vice chairman.

61. 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.

62. Schools Get Fresh Start With New Board - Monday, October 3, 2011

The separate Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools boards are no more when the end of September rolls over into October.

And the 23 members of the countywide Shelby County Schools board take the oath of office Monday, Oct. 3 at the MCS auditorium.

63. First Schools Consolidation Session Sets Calendar For Merger Groups - Thursday, September 22, 2011

The first meeting Wednesday, Sept. 21, of the schools consolidation transition planning commission and the new countywide school board took less than an hour.

But the joint meeting of the two groups included a tight time frame of a year to come up with a blueprint for a schools merger and an already busy schedule of more meetings for each body starting next week with the planning commission.

64. Schools Consolidation Saga Turns Corner - Monday, August 29, 2011

Where does a 23-member countywide school board meet? “FedExForum is open,” replied Shelby County Schools board chairman David Pickler last week to the question from fellow board member David Reaves.

65. Summit Touts Return of Demand - Friday, August 26, 2011

“Demand is back” was the theme at the ninth annual Southern Lodging Summit held Downtown this week at The Peabody hotel and the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

Hoteliers and industry execs gathered for the 2011 Summit, which was organized by the Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association and hotel consulting firm Pinkowski & Co.

66. Car Dealers Fear Economy Could Scare Off Buyers - Friday, August 19, 2011

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) – Jeff Swanson was in the market for a new car just a few weeks ago. Then the stock market went crazy.

So Swanson, 25, decided to keep his 10-year-old Pontiac Grand Prix for at least another year. Gyrations in stocks and talk of a weakening economy rattled Swanson's confidence about taking on another payment, even though his new job running a home for mentally disabled people seems to be secure.

67. Schools Funding Compromise Must Overcome Distrust - Monday, July 25, 2011

The city of Memphis and the Memphis City Schools system have some time – but not a lot – to see if a very tentative school funding compromise can grow roots.

But downtime has never been the friend of either side in the three-year dispute that began when the then-newly elected council cut funding to MCS in April 2008.

68. 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.

69. Divisions Remain As Schools Talks Continue - Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Memphis City Schools board members continue a series of town hall meetings on the schools consolidation referendum with different opinions about what the ballot question means.

And city schools attorney Dorsey Hopson added a caution about expressing their political opinions at the sessions paid for with public money.

70. Cash Says Ballot Question Short On Answers For Voters - Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Memphis City Schools superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash said Monday it’s not clear what voters in the March 8 referendum are deciding.

Cash challenged MCS board members to fill in the blank with sentences beginning with “A yes vote is a vote for –“ and “A no vote is a vote for – “.

71. School Compromise Goes to MCS Board Next Month - Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Memphis City Schools board has another compromise plan for breaking a consolidated school system into districts.

And the compromise from MCS board member Jeff Warren is scheduled for a vote Feb. 28, a dozen days after early voting begins on the referendum to surrender the MCS charter and consolidate it with the Shelby County Schools system.

72. Warren Rolls Out More Detailed Compromise For Feb. 28 Board Vote - Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Memphis City Schools board has another compromise plan for breaking a consolidated school system into several districts.

And the compromise from MCS board member Jeff Warren is scheduled for a vote Feb. 28, a dozen days after early voting begins on the referendum to surrender the MCS charter and consolidate it with the Shelby County schools system.

73. Many Reasons for Compromise Failure - Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Shelby County school system’s compromise offer to the Memphis City Schools board failed this week for a number of reasons.

Those reasons suggest different motives on the MCS board for supporting a charter surrender and turning over the larger school system to the much smaller county school system.

74. MCS Board Votes Down Schools Standoff Compromise - Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The Memphis City Schools (MCS) board voted down a compromise proposal Tuesday from Shelby County School officials.

The 2-7 vote against the compromise sets the stage for the Shelby County Election Commission to meet Wed. and set a date for a March referendum on the MCS charter surrender approved by the board in December.

75. MCS Board To Look At Compromise - Friday, January 14, 2011

On the day that the Tennessee Election Coordinator caved and told the Shelby County Election Commission to put a Memphis City Schools (MCS) charter surrender on the ballot, the MCS board voted to hold a meeting at some date in the near future to consider a compromise.

76. Election Next For Charter Surrender - Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Next comes the delivery of the paperwork. And that is the sound of law books you hear opening not too far behind.

In the wake of Monday’s late-night vote by the Memphis City Schools board to go for a school system charter surrender, the resolution must next be delivered to the Shelby County Election Commission to put the question to Memphis voters 45 to 60 days from delivery of the paperwork.

77. MCS Board Votes To Surrender Charter - Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Memphis City Schools (MCS) board has approved surrendering the school system’s charter subject to a referendum by Memphis voters early in the new year.

The resolution was approved on a 5-4 vote by the MCS board after hours of often emotional debate in which even Supt. Dr. Kriner Cash took a stand.

78. MCS to Consider Charter Surrender Resolution - Monday, December 20, 2010

Memphis City Schools board members may make the most important decision of their tenures Monday night with a resolution to surrender the school system’s charter.

If the resolution passes and is then sent to the Shelby County Election Commission, the charter would go to Memphis voters for a referendum sometime in March.

79. MCS Officials Discuss Charter Surrender Options - Monday, November 22, 2010

County government’s IT discussion isn’t the only evidence of an afterlife for other forms of consolidation in the wake of the Nov. 2 consolidation referendum.

Memphis City Schools board member Tomeka Hart advocated a surrender of the MCS charter Thursday as school system leaders discussed a response to coming state legislation that would permit the county school system to get special school district status.

80. MCS Leaders Talk Over Charter Surrender Options - Friday, November 19, 2010

Memphis City Schools officials seem to be of one mind that another try by Shelby County schools officials for special school district status would not be in the best interest of the city school system or city taxpayers.

81. Obama Overtures to Business Fall Flat - Tuesday, August 10, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) – Labeled antibusiness by Republicans and some corporate chiefs, President Barack Obama mounted a campaign to show he wasn't. But his charm offensive has hit a rocky patch.

Business leaders gripe about burdensome new financial and health care regulations, what they see as unfriendly tax policies and vast government spending. They were put off by Obama's harsh depiction of "fat cat bankers" and "reckless practices," a label he applied both to Wall Street and to oil-spill giant BP.

82. Special Elections Held in Miss. - Thursday, November 5, 2009

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Ron C. Cooke and Chris Hemphill will compete in the Nov. 24 runoff for justice court judge in Lowndes County.

83. Dishmon Joins UT Medical Group - Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Dr. Dwight “Dan” Dishmon has joined the Department of Medicine at UT Medical Group.
Dishmon is an interventional cardiologist and cares for adults with ischemic heart disease and peripheral arterial disease.
He earned his medical degree and completed his internal medicine residency and general cardiology fellowship training at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He later completed additional fellowship training at Michigan State University’s Borgess Medical Center. 

84. ‘I’m Not Some Idiot,’ Says Whalum Jr. - Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The Rev. Kenneth Whalum Jr. is aware that some people regard him as a vocal lightweight with zero political skills and no chance of winning the Oct. 15 special election for Memphis mayor.

“I’m not some idiot,” Whalum told a group of more than 100 supporters this week at the Hickory Hill opening of his campaign. Whalum, the pastor of New Olivet Baptist Church, has a law degree and is a graduate of Memphis Theological Seminary. “I’m not some fly-by-night, jack-legged preacher. I am well prepared. … They’re scared of this kind of candidate because I don’t owe anybody anything at all.”

85. Compromise 101: Who’s going to fund the schools? - Monday, August 3, 2009

In the year he’s been head of the Memphis school system, Superintendent Kriner Cash has been virtually unflappable.

Since the Memphis school board hired him in July 2008, Cash has doggedly pitched a detailed plan for the school system’s renewal with dozens of specific goals in a well-traveled PowerPoint presentation.

86. 10 Months Later, Cash Still Grapples With School District’s Scope - Monday, June 1, 2009

The Memphis school system owns nearly 200 buildings with more than 20 million square feet of space on almost 3,000 acres.

But the school system doesn’t own all of the land, according to a new inventory of city school property. And in schools that house other agencies, there sometimes isn’t a formal lease or written agreement.

87. Tax Questions Arise During School Funding Talks - Monday, March 9, 2009

Making Shelby County government the single source of funding for the city and county public school systems could mean a 53-cent increase in the county property tax rate over several fiscal years. It would also reduce the city property tax rate by 82 cents.

88. School Systems Still Struggle To Reach Compromise - Thursday, March 5, 2009

By now Shelby County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Deidre Malone had hoped to be holding public hearings on two options for changing the way the Memphis and Shelby County public school systems are funded.

89. Funding Remains Major Issue At Year’s End - Friday, December 19, 2008

The year’s most critical political moment came near the end of the budget season at City Hall. In June, the Memphis City Council voted to cut the city’s $93 million share of funding to the Memphis school system in fiscal year 2009 that began just weeks later. With the vote, the council members – nine of whom began their first term of office six months earlier – confirmed their status as agents of change.

90. Gatewood’s Ballot Fate May Be Decided Today - Tuesday, September 2, 2008

What if there was an election and no one was on the ballot?

That is the prospect the Shelby County Election Commission will address at a special meeting this afternoon.

Local election officials disqualified Memphis City Schools board member Stephanie Gatewood from running for re-election on the Nov. 4 ballot because she failed to file a campaign finance report by the Aug. 21 qualifying deadline for school board candidates. Gatewood had no challengers.

91. Memphis School Board Race In Limbo - Friday, August 29, 2008

It looked like Memphis school board member Stephanie Gatewood was on her way to re-election without opposition on the Nov. 4 ballot.

That was until Wednesday (Aug. 27) – the day before the Shelby County Election Commission certified the local portion of the ballot.

92. Memphis School Board Race In Limbo - Thursday, August 28, 2008

It looked like Memphis school board member Stephanie Gatewood was on her way to re-election without opposition on the Nov. 4 ballot.

That was until Wednesday (Aug. 27) – the day before the Shelby County Election Commission certified the local portion of the ballot.

93. Council, School Board Withdrawal Deadline Today - Thursday, August 28, 2008

The deadline for Memphis City Council and Memphis City Schools board candidates to withdraw from the Nov. 4 ballot is noon today.

The field in the special election for City Council Super District 9 Position 1 dropped to 10 contenders after the withdrawal this week of attorney Regina Morrison Newman.

94. Eleven File For Council Seat - Friday, August 22, 2008

A field of 11 candidates had filed by Thursday’s noon deadline for an open seat on the Memphis City Council on the Nov. 4 ballot. Four of the contenders ran for the council just a year ago. Also at the deadline, three Memphis school board members were effectively re-elected when they failed to draw any opposition.

95. Eleven File For Council Seat - Thursday, August 21, 2008

A field of 11 candidates had filed by today's noon deadline for an open seat on the Memphis City Council on the Nov. 4 ballot. Four of the contenders ran for the council just a year ago. Also at the deadline, three Memphis school board members were effectively re-elected when they failed to draw any opposition.

96. Special Election Filing Deadline Approaches - Monday, August 18, 2008

The Nov. 4 ballot will move a step closer to completion this week with Thursday’s noon filing deadline for candidates in the special Memphis City Council election and the races for five of the nine Memphis school board positions.

97. MCS-Funding Lawsuit May Be The Only Answer - Friday, June 20, 2008

By ANDY MEEK and BILL DRIES

In the space of about four hours this week, members of the Memphis City Council and the Memphis City Schools board went from expressions of hope to expressions of anger.

98. South Main Classic Car Gallery Seeks LUCB Approval - Friday, November 2, 2007

Plans for a new art gallery have been proposed for the South Main Arts District, which already is home to a bohemian mix of galleries, boutique shops and restaurants.

But what's different about this gallery that will be housed in a two-story brick garage building at 477 S. Front St. is it also includes something new for the area: a vintage automobile storage facility.

99. Johnson Leaves City SchoolsFor Boston Super Post - Tuesday, June 19, 2007
     City officials in Boston are expected to announce today they have tapped Memphis City Schools superintendent Dr. Carol Johnson to fill the same job in Boston, said Mayor Thomas Menino. Johnson is expected to attend the n

100. Marketing Push Shows Businesses That Downtown Works - Monday, April 23, 2007

The announcement in February that SunTrust Banks Inc. is clearing out of its 170,000-square-foot space in Downtown's One Commerce Square building - the second-tallest in the city - could be regarded as a setback for Downtown stakeholders.