Two races on the Nov. 6 ballot within the Shelby County legislative delegation to Nashville getting some attention as our Nashville correspondent Sam Stockard takes a look at “gun sense” ratings from the group Moms Demand Action, which has called for stricter gun laws.

2. Blackburn Names Campaign Finance Chairmen - Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s Senate campaign received an injection of old-school political support Tuesday, Sept. 4, from Pilot Corp. founder Jim Haslam II and Middle Tennessee State University board of trustees chairman Stephen Smith.

3. Strickland Open to Talks About Idea of City-Only Industrial Development Board - Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says he is open to discussing the idea of a city-only Industrial Development Board along with other ideas to be explored by a study group approved by the Memphis City Council last week.

4. Last Word: Early Voting's Strong Finish, School Moves and City Hall Crackdown - Monday, July 30, 2018

Most of the major contenders for Tennessee Governor – Democratic and Republican – were in Shelby County over the weekend in which early voting ended and the campaigns now adjust their last minute efforts to the gap between early voting and election day on Thursday.

5. Last Word: The Fuse, TnReady on SCS Literacy Efforts and Death By Amazon? - Monday, July 23, 2018

More than 32,000 of you have voted early in advance of the Aug. 2 election day through Saturday and going into the final week of early voting, which runs through July 28. That compares to 37,168 early voters through the first eight days in 2014 for this same election cycle and 41,310 in 2010 at the same point. In 2010 and 2014 there were 21 early voting sites compared to today’s 27. And the Downtown location was the only site open for the first two days of those early voting periods compared to five of the 27 sites open for the first three days of the current period. For the full 2014 early voting period, keeping in mind the differences, there were 82,403 early voters and in 2010 there were 93,700.

6. Beale Street Bucks Comeback Recommended as Lawsuit Dismissed - Thursday, May 24, 2018

Almost a year after all cover charges to get in the Beale Street Entertainment District were dropped, the cover charge program known as Beale Street Bucks could be making a comeback.

The suggestion is sure to renew a vocal debate about whether charging a cover after 10 p.m. on Saturdays during the summer is an effective security measure or selective crowd control on the street that gave birth to the blues, where Saturday night crowds are a part of its history. 

7. Not Taking Sides - Friday, May 11, 2018

Elvis Presley Enterprises’ push to get city and county officials to back its plans for a Whitehaven arena hasn’t made very much progress, judging from discussions this month by the Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission.

8. Last Word: Making Memphis Easier, Strickland on Graceland and Construction Jobs - Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Some of the BSMF reviews in from this past weekend are thumbs up for the way Memphis In May has ramped up what you might call its infrastructure around Uber, Lyft and little items like muddy boots for the increasing number of Memphians and visitors who are ready to go no matter what the weather is doing. And they may opt for some other way into Downtown beyond driving a car and finding a parking place and walking, especially when there’s a drop off at the northern end of the music festival. Even a fire hydrant water flow to take the mud off your boots. We can make Memphis easier with less effort than we think at the outset.

9. Strickland Proposes City Property Tax Rate Change After Windfall - Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is proposing a change in the city property tax rate from the current $3.27 to a $3.19 rate as part of his third budget proposal.

10. Mayor Strickland Takes Third Budget Proposal to City Council - Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland takes his third budget proposal to the Memphis City Council Tuesday, April 24, opening City Hall’s budget season with what is expected to be a budget that keeps the city property tax rate stable.

11. Last Word: TNReady Blinks Again, Gov. Debate Thoughts and Mud Island's Museum - Friday, April 20, 2018

There was a point Thursday morning during the troubled TNReady testing at some Tennessee school districts when there was a “brief” slow down in the online testing, according to the Tennessee Education commissioner’s office. By noon that had been resolved and more than 250,000 completed tests had been submitted since testing began Monday. One can only imagine what some of the thoughts were in the office during the slow down and the gap between how long the slow down seemed and how long it actually was.

12. Airport to Unveil Photos Of King’s Last Flights - Saturday, April 14, 2018

Memphis International Airport is set to unveil a photography exhibition Thursday, April 12, that commemorates the last trip taken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

13. Airport to Unveil Photos Of King’s Last Flights - Thursday, April 12, 2018

Memphis International Airport is set to unveil a photography exhibition Thursday, April 12, that commemorates the last trip taken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

14. Three Incumbents Unopposed at August Primary Ballot Deadline - Monday, April 9, 2018

Three incumbent Democratic state House members in the Shelby County delegation to the Tennessee Legislature were effectively re-elected Thursday, April 5, at the noon deadline for candidates in the Aug. 2 state and federal primaries to file their qualifying petitions.

15. Three Incumbents Unopposed at August Primary Ballot Filing Deadline - Friday, April 6, 2018

Three incumbent Democratic state House members in the Shelby County delegation to the Tennessee Legislature were effectively re-elected Thursday, April 5, at the noon deadline for candidates in the Aug. 2 state and federal primaries to file their qualifying petitions.

16. Council to Discuss City Pre-K Funding Proposal - Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Memphis City Council members have their first discussion Tuesday, March 20, on Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland ’s proposal to provide $6 million in city funding to expand prekindergarten programs by 2020.

17. Strickland Unveils Pre-K Funding Plan Without Tax Hike or Referendum - Saturday, March 17, 2018

The city has a plan to provide $6 million of the $16 million needed to fully fund prekindergarten in Memphis for 8,500 children starting when a federal grant that currently funds 1,000 of the existing 7,000 seats runs out in 2019.

18. Last Word: City Hall Fallout, 8Ball on Room 306 and Clark Tower Update - Tuesday, February 27, 2018

A group of students at Maxine Smith STEAM Academy at the Fairgrounds started the school week Monday with a gathering in a circle outside the art deco school building at Central and East Parkway in a student-led memorial for the students killed in Parkland, Florida almost two weeks ago. There was a moment of silence followed by reading the names of the 17 students who died in the massacre.

19. Progress Since Sanitation Strike Questioned 50 Years Later - Tuesday, February 27, 2018

There was no “reverse march” this past weekend. But there are signs on the Main Street Mall that trace the route of striking sanitation workers from Clayborn Temple to City Hall 50 years ago.

20. Rye Calls City To Task For Lack Of Progress 50 Years After MLK - Saturday, February 24, 2018

The keynote speaker at the city’s commemoration Saturday, Feb. 24, of the 1968 sanitation workers strike took the administration of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland to task for its treatment of today’s protesters.

21. Last Word: The Mural Takedown, Corker's Calculation and Beale Crowd Control - Monday, February 12, 2018

Cue the organ music from the old-fashioned television soap operas: As the weekend began, city public works crews had painted over – either completely or partially – a lot of the Paint Memphis program murals on the west side of Willett near Lamar. That would be the ones city council members complained about and others that no one complained about.

22. The Metrics Mayor - Saturday, February 10, 2018

At times in the last two years, political supporters of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland have been worried. They agree with what got him elected, his “brilliant at the basics” philosophy that makes basic services and fundamental play-it-safe financial strategies the priority at City Hall.

23. Last Word: Credit Hours & Tn Promise, Opioid Differences and Nikki's Hot Rebrand - Tuesday, January 30, 2018

A very busy Monday and I feel like some of this is may be fueled by some of us just now getting completely over the flu or someone close who has the flu for the first time in the New Year. Whatever the case, Monday came with a curtain call of sorts by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, a court order on the Confederate monuments, year-end stats on crime in Memphis and countywide… a PILOT here, a building permit or three there.

24. Council Reopens MLGW Rate Hike Consideration, Approves Term Limit Referendum - Thursday, January 25, 2018

Memphis City Council members decided Tuesday, Jan. 23, to take a second look at the gas and electric rate-hike proposals they rejected two weeks ago, but put off any new votes on the matter until February.

25. Last Word: The Snow Split, Amazon Post-Mortem and Intermodal Comeback - Friday, January 19, 2018

A split verdict on Snow Day 4. Some school systems and colleges and universities are out again Friday, others are not and still others are opening later in the day. Shelby County Schools, which is out, says it has 13 extra days built into its schedule for just such an event or events – that is 13 days extra beyond the 180 days the state requires as the bare minimum for a school year.

26. Memphis Out of Running for Amazon's Second Headquarters - Thursday, January 18, 2018

Memphis is out of the running for Amazon’s massive second headquarters. The Seattle-based ecommerce giant released a list of 20 finalists Thursday, Jan. 18, out of the 238 proposals submitted by cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

27. Shelby County Prekindergarten Push Remains in General Terms for Now - Saturday, January 13, 2018

Nearly six years after voters defeated two ballot questions in as many years that would have provided a tax revenue steam for universal prekindergarten, the pre-K quest is back.

The return of a coordinated civic and political push for pre-K comes about five years after a combination of state and federal funding as well as a shift of county government’s early childhood Head Start contract to Shelby County Schools.

28. Council Rejects MLGW Gas, Electric Rate Hikes, Dumps Frayser Landfill - Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Memphis City Council members voted down proposed electric and gas rate hikes Tuesday, Jan. 9. But they left the door open to either reconsidering that or some shorter term rate hikes by delaying for two weeks approval of Memphis Light Gas and Water Division’s annual budget.

29. Akbari Pulls Petition To Run for State Senate - Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Democratic state Rep. Raumesh Akbari has decided to run for the District 29 state Senate seat being vacated by Lee Harris in the Shelby County legislative delegation.

30. Forrest Down - Saturday, December 23, 2017

It’s hard to know where the equestrian statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest is when there aren’t lights on it.

That was the case Wednesday, Dec. 20, as the spotlights normally illuminating the likeness of the Confederate general, slave trader and Ku Klux Klan grand wizard were doused.

31. Black Theater Museum Plan Gets Good Reviews at City Hall - Thursday, December 21, 2017

For about five months, Hattiloo Theatre founder Ekundayo Bandele had been working on the idea he proposed Tuesday, Dec. 19, to establish the National Black Theater Museum inside the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art building in Overton Park.

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

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

33. 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.

34. Last Word: Lake District Recycling, The New First and The AAC 'Glass Ceiling' - Friday, December 1, 2017

The U.S. Senate vote on a tax reform plan is now set for 10 a.m. our time Friday morning following more debate in D.C. that began Thursday as the trigger provision to raise tax rates if economic growth from the proposed tax cuts doesn't materialize was ruled out of order by the Senate parliamentarian. This was the provision on which the support of U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee hinged. And Corker is leading a group of deficit hawks whose block of votes is considered crucial in what happens to a proposal that was being reshaped as midnight approached. Here's Politico with comments from Corker as of late Thursday

35. Last Word: Changes Behind Highland Row, Lee Harris Opens and Ron Olson Moves - Friday, November 3, 2017

Shelby County Commission chairwoman Heidi Shafer says the commission, through its attorneys, is in ‘the final stages of launching litigation” against big pharma over the opioid problem locally. And in a written statement Thursday she said she believes the litigation “will result in significant recovery for hundreds of millions of dollars that Shelby County has spent trying to heal, save, nurse and otherwise deal with the opioid crisis.” Shafer specifically announced the hiring on a contingency basis of a national law firm.

36. Brooks Museum Eyes Downtown Fire Station Site - Friday, October 6, 2017

Brooks Museum officials are considering relocating to a Downtown site at Front Street and Union Avenue that is currently occupied by the Memphis Fire Department headquarters.

While officials with the city and the museum would not comment, the idea of putting a “cultural amenity” on the river side of Front Street between Union and Monroe avenues first surfaced about two months ago.

37. Brooks Museum Eyes Downtown Fire Station Site - Thursday, October 5, 2017

The city fire station at Union Avenue and Front Street and the adjacent parking garage appears to be under consideration as the new site for the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, according to a source close to the situation who did not want to be identified by The Daily News.

38. Last Word: Las Vegas React, Moral Monday, Who Pays For Beale Security? - Tuesday, October 3, 2017

We open with reaction Monday to the mass shooting in Las Vegas:

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland:

39. Paying Beale Street Security Costs Raises Lease Questions - Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Memphis City Council members vote Tuesday, Oct. 2, on whether the city should start using some of the $378,000 in Beale Street cover charge funds the Downtown Memphis Commission has been holding in two bank accounts since June.

40. Raised From the Dead - Friday, September 22, 2017

GHOST AND SPIRIT. I walked through the town at mid-morning. Like any town you spend a lifetime in, you know people.

I spoke to the guy that owns the coffee shop, Jimmy Lewis, as he walked between customers over cups and conversation. He and I went to the same high school, and I see they’re building a new high school right here in town – going to be trying all kinds of new ideas in there, a public/private, secondary/higher education partnership model for the country I’m told.

41. Last Word: The No Compete, Liberty Bowl Blues and Assessing the ASD - Thursday, September 21, 2017

The calendar says fall but the weather says summer and in Arlington the flags and notices say election day. The polls at the two polling places in Arlington open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday in municipal elections – the only regularly scheduled election of 2017 in Shelby County, which in our politics is frequently regarded as an invitation for departures and vacancies in other office that cause the scheduling of special elections. We’ve already had those earlier this year for a spot on the Lakeland commission and a state House seat.

42. Boyd Drops Beale Contract, But Says It Wasn’t Conflict of Interest - Thursday, September 21, 2017

Memphis City Council chairman Berlin Boyd ended his company’s fundraising contract with the Beale Street Merchants Association Tuesday, Sept. 19. But he again insisted the contract was not a conflict of interest in his duties as a council member voting on items involving the entertainment district.

43. Boyd Drops Beale Contract, But Says It Wasn't A Conflict of Interest - Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Memphis City Council chairman Berlin Boyd ended his company’s fundraising contract with the Beale Street Merchants Association Tuesday, Sept. 19. But he again insisted the contract was not a conflict of interest in his duties as a council member voting on items involving the entertainment district.

44. Last Word: The Monument Letter, Soulsville Gateway and Gas Tax Hike Regrets - Thursday, September 14, 2017

The Redbirds take Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League Championship series Wednesday evening with a 6-4 win over El Paso at AutoZone Park. Game 2 is noon Thursday at B.B. King and Union.

45. Council Mulls Legal Options To Move Park Monuments - Thursday, August 24, 2017

Memphis City Council members are exploring new options for the Confederate monuments in city parks that include boarding up statues of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis as nuisances, to prevent them from being vandalized and maintain public order, or by citing a provision of the state’s Civil Rights Act.

46. Council Considers Other Legal Options on Confederate Monuments - Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Memphis City Council members are exploring new options for the Confederate monuments in city parks that include boarding up statues of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis as nuisances, to prevent them from being vandalized to maintain public order, or by citing a provision of the state’s Civil Rights Act.

47. Council Considers Other Legal Options on Confederate Monuments. - Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Memphis City Council members are exploring new options for the Confederate monuments in city parks that include boarding up statues of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis as nuisances, to prevent them from being vandalized, to maintain public order or by citing a provision of the state’s Civil Rights Act.

48. Ken Hause Cooks Up Strategy To Enhance L’Ecole Culinaire - Wednesday, August 16, 2017

L'Ecole Culinaire-Memphis has added Ken Hause its campus director. In his new role, Hause is responsible for overseeing operations of the Memphis campus, including ensuring a rich student experience that leads to employment in the culinary field, while enhancing the school’s reputation for educational excellence, compliance and operational performance.

49. Binghampton, Uptown Redevelopment Efforts Move Forward While Waiting for the CRA - Tuesday, August 1, 2017

If Binghampton can get a proposal for tax increment financing (TIF) approved by the end of the year, it would mean an immediate $332,000 in capital and an estimated $26 million over the 30-year life of the TIF zone to sustain and further grow commercial and residential development in the area.

50. Resolution, Dollar-Figure Miscues Raise Sanitation Workers’ Grants by $20,000 - Thursday, July 27, 2017

After all of these years, maybe what happened Tuesday, July 25, to the city’s plan to pay the 14 surviving sanitation workers from 1968 a grant of $50,000 each was part of the larger narrative of the enduring turmoil of that historic time.

51. Overton Gateway Compromise Approved By Council - Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Memphis City Council members approved the Overton Gateway mixed residential development Tuesday, July 25 in a pair of unanimous votes – one for the plans on the north side of Sam Cooper Boulevard at East Parkway and the other for the plans on the south side of Sam Cooper at East Parkway.

52. Overton Gateway Compromise Approved By Council - Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Memphis City Council members approved the Overton Gateway mixed residential development Tuesday, July 25 in a pair of unanimous votes – one for the plans on the north side of Sam Cooper Boulevard at East Parkway and the other for the plans on the south side of Sam Cooper at East Parkway.

53. Summer in the City - Saturday, July 15, 2017

Saturday night on Beale Street is more than a catch phrase for businesses there.

It is chapters in old, out-of-print books like Lt. George W. Lee’s “Where The Blues Began” that you can only see in the Memphis-Shelby County Room of the Central Library. You can’t check the book out because of its rarity and age. But you can also find references to the lore of Saturday nights on Beale Street on plaques in the entertainment district that current patrons walk past without even noticing.

54. Additional Sanitation Workers May Get Benefits - Thursday, July 13, 2017

The city of Memphis had 1,100 sanitation workers when the historic strike began in February 1968, with close to 1,000 of them walking off the job following the grisly deaths of two of their own trapped in the grinder of a garbage truck in East Memphis.

55. Council Approves Sanitation Workers Benefits - Wednesday, July 12, 2017

There may be more than 14 city sanitation workers from 1968 who are still alive. And the city is double-checking its list as the Memphis City Council approved Tuesday, July 11, the payment of $50,000 grants to 14 of the workers it has already identified including four still working for the city.

56. Council Takes Up Sanitation Worker Benefits - Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Memphis City Council members vote Tuesday, July 11, on grants of $50,000 each for the 14 surviving city sanitation workers from the 1968 strike along with a supplemental retirement plan for sanitation workers hired after the strike.

57. Patterson Resignation Comes as Council Examines DMC’s Role - Monday, July 10, 2017

Terence Patterson exited the Downtown Memphis Commission last week as the Memphis City Council is about to discuss replacing or restructuring not only the DMC, but the Riverfront Development Corp.

58. Tennessee, Left Coast a World Apart on Immigration - Thursday, June 29, 2017

San Francisco resident Terry Karlsson relishes her hometown’s reputation for embracing “multi-cultural diversity.”

The wife of a Swedish immigrant, Karlsson says she believes San Francisco’s status as a sanctuary city, one in which it refuses to participate in the enforcement of federal immigration law, reflects a nation born of people who moved here, a land of immigrants from many countries.

59. City Council Pushes Back at Administration - Thursday, June 22, 2017

Sometimes there are seven votes. Other times there aren’t. But Memphis City Council debates increasingly point to different thoughts about the city’s course as outlined by the administration of Mayor Jim Strickland.

60. City Council Approves DROP Freeze, Delays Stormwater and Sewer Fee Votes - Wednesday, June 21, 2017

The city has its third voluntary freeze on retirements in two years with a Tuesday, June 20, vote by the Memphis City Council. But it came after lots of council debate about whether the freeze might have the opposite overall effect of stabilizing the Memphis Police force at the top for future growth in the ranks below or whether it will prompt the middle ranks to exit quicker if they can’t rise in the ranks.

61. Council to Shore Up Budget Loose Ends, Talk Beale Street, DROP and UrbanArt - Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Memphis City Council members have done most of the heavy lifting and taken votes on the major items that end the budget season at City Hall.

But they still have a few loose ends to wrap at their Tuesday, June 20, session.

62. Events - Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Memphis Botanic Garden will host the Food Truck Garden Party: Beach Party on Wednesday, June 14, 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. Adult admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers (includes one drink); children’s admission is free for members and $5 for nonmembers. Buy tickets at memphisbotanicgarden.com/foodtruck or at the gate.

63. Events - Tuesday, June 13, 2017

The Memphis Juneteenth Jobs & Career Fair will be held Tuesday, June 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Andrew AME Church, 867 South Parkway E. Human resources directors and executives from more than 25 Memphis and Mid-South companies will be on hand to discuss opportunities; attendees are encouraged to bring resumes. For more information, contact Telisa Franklin at memphisjuneteenth@gmail.com or 901-281-6337.

64. Railgarten Could Be Back At Memphis City Council - Saturday, June 10, 2017

The Memphis City Council may have more questions about the Railgarten bar/restaurant in Midtown.

The council questioned the development’s addition of intermodal containers and an outside area after the council approved a special use permit earlier this year.

65. Railgarten Could Be Back At Memphis City Council - Thursday, June 8, 2017

The Memphis City Council may have more questions about the Railgarten bar/restaurant in Midtown.

The council questioned the development’s addition of intermodal containers and an outside area after the council approved a special use permit earlier this year.

66. City Council Settles Budget, But Other Issues Remain - Thursday, June 8, 2017

The budget season at City Hall is over with the Tuesday, June 6, Memphis City Council vote approving a $680 million city operating budget, an $81.3 million capital budget and a $3.27 city property tax rate.

67. City Council Completes Budget Season, Says Larger Issues of Priorities Remain - Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Memphis City Council members approved Tuesday, June 6, a $680 million city operating budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, an $81.3 million capital budget and a $3.27 city property tax rate.

68. City Council Weighs $7.3M Cut in Police Budget - Thursday, June 1, 2017

Memphis City Council members will likely be discussing possible amendments to the city budget right up to the final June 6 votes on the budget and tax rate resolutions and ordinances.

In a council budget committee wrap-up session Tuesday, May 30, that drew nine of the 13 council members, the group considered but took no action on a proposal by council member Martavius Jones to cut $7.3 million in funding for the Memphis Police Department.

69. City Council Discusses $7.3 Million Cut in Police Budget - Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Memphis City Council members will likely be discussing possible amendments to the city budget right up to the final June 6 votes on the budget and tax rate resolutions and ordinances.

In a council budget committee wrap-up session Tuesday, May 30, that drew 9 of the 13 council members, the group considered but took no action on a proposal by council member Martavius Jones to cut $7.3 million in funding for the Memphis Police Department.

70. City Council Members: Beale Bucks Evolving - Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Beale Street’s new $5 weekend night cover charge still has a few details to work out, says Memphis City Council chairman Berlin Boyd.

“We’re not putting a period there, we’re putting a comma because we are taking a pause,” Boyd said on the WKNO/Channel 10 program “Behind The Headlines.”

71. Last Word: Sessions Notes, Lakeland Elects and Golf Classic Turns 60 - Friday, May 26, 2017

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions doesn’t stick with the script he has when he makes a speech, like the one he gave Thursday at the federal building to a room full of federal prosecutors and local and state law enforcement. Some of that comes from his background as a former U.S. Attorney and Alabama’s Attorney General, not to mention his tenure as a U.S. senator.

72. Beale Street Cover Charge Cut, Larger Debate Remains - Thursday, May 25, 2017

The Saturday night summer cover charge on Beale Street is going from $10 to $5 next month. But the discussion about the Beale Street Bucks program is hardly over. And the crowd control measure is certain to raise longer-term questions about who controls the city-owned district.

73. Council Sets Stage for City Employee Pay Raises - Thursday, May 25, 2017

Memphis City Council members approved Tuesday, May 23, a 1 percent across-the-board pay raise for all city employees setting the stage for a final vote on budget matters at the June 6 council session.

74. Council Sets Stage for Raise, Keeps Railgarten and Cuts Beale Cover - Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Memphis City Council members approved Tuesday, May 23, a 1 percent across the board pay raise for all city employees setting the stage for a final vote on budget matters at the June 6 council session.

75. Last Word: Issues or Elections, City Impasse Decisions and Memphis Sk8s - Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Those active in the Republican and Democratic parties at the local, state or national level will tell you their job is to elect candidates of their party to office at all levels of government. It's even in writing in just about any party's mission statement. And the inability of the local Democratic party to do that in countywide partisan elections is one of several factors that led to the state party disbanding the local party last year.

76. Beale Street Issues Deepen and Grow - Thursday, May 11, 2017

The issue of who controls what in the Beale Street entertainment district has come to the forefront after the abolition of the Beale Street Tourism Development Authority.

The Memphis City Council abolished the authority in April and has now moved into a deepening debate about the Beale Street Bucks program used by merchants and the street’s interim manager, the Downtown Memphis Commission, as a crowd control measure.

77. Boyd’s Move for Police Overtime Cut Has Deeper Roots - Monday, May 8, 2017

Of 10 Memphis City Council members present Thursday, May 4, for the ongoing review of the city budget proposal, half favored a move to cut police overtime and half did not.

Two efforts by council chairman Berlin Boyd to cut the $22.4 million line item – first by $5 million and then by $2.7 million – failed on tie votes both times, with some council members switching sides from one vote to the next.

78. Boyd Police Overtime Cut Approved - Friday, May 5, 2017

Of 10 Memphis City Council members present Thursday, May 4, for the ongoing review of the city budget proposal, half favored a move to cut police overtime and half did not.

The two efforts by council chairman Berlin Boyd to cut the $22.4 million line item – first by $5 million and then by $2.7 million – failed on tie votes both times with some council members switching sides from one vote to the next.

79. Boyd: Memphis Public Safety Spending Out of Balance - Friday, May 5, 2017

Memphis City Council chairman Berlin Boyd says the city budget is lopsided when it comes to its priorities.

And Boyd called Wednesday, May 3, for a shift away from public safety spending – specifically city spending on police – the largest single part of the operating and capital budgets as well as the largest division in city government.

80. Council Moves to Operating Budget Examination - Thursday, May 4, 2017

Memphis City Council members open budget hearings Thursday, May 5, on Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s $680 million operating budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

81. View From the Hill: IMPROVE Act an Insight Into Testy Election Ahead - Thursday, April 27, 2017

In case anyone’s keeping stats, Senate leadership soundly defeated House leadership this session in the gas tax/tax cut battle.

Whether this is a forerunner to a Republican gubernatorial primary remains to be seen as Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris and House Speaker Beth Harwell weigh decisions. It’s not as if they’d be facing off against each other, though, since businessman Bill Lee and former Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd are definitely in the race and not hurting for money.

82. City of Memphis Budget Could Face Bumpy Road - Thursday, April 27, 2017

Memphis City Council budget hearings begin Tuesday, May 2, at City Hall starting with Mayor Jim Strickland’s $77.8 million capital budget proposal for one-time spending on construction projects and similar expenses that are normally financed with bonds.

83. Strickland Delivers $680 Million Operating Budget to Council - Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland delivered a $680 million city government operating budget proposal to the Memphis City Council Tuesday, April 25, with no property tax increase and no use of city reserves to balance it.

84. Council Brokers New Zoo Parking Compromise, Abolishes Beale Authority - Wednesday, April 12, 2017

The Memphis City Council went back into the terms for an expanded Memphis Zoo parking lot Tuesday, April 11, just nine months after brokering and approving a compromise on the project between the zoo and the Overton Park Conservancy.

85. Last Word: Spring Votes, Those Tax Bills and Tim McCarver on Baseball Changes - Friday, April 7, 2017

Look for more details on the specifics of the “Gateway” project to start to emerge now that a crucial if overlooked piece of the geographic puzzle in the north Downtown area has come into public view. The city’s largest hotel, also the city’s original convention center hotel, is about to change hands and go back to flying the Marriott flag.

86. Early Voting in District 95 Primaries Begins Friday - Friday, April 7, 2017

Early voting opens Friday, April 7, in the special primary elections for state House District 95 as other elections – including some 2018 races – already show plenty of signs of political life.

87. Political Past, Present Meet as Wharton’s Portrait Joins Hall of Mayors - Friday, March 24, 2017

When A C Wharton Jr. was Memphis mayor, his relationship with the Memphis City Council wasn’t always good. And it would usually get worse whenever he’d call a press conference in the Hall of Mayors on a Tuesday the council was meeting. Some council members thought it was to draw attention from them.

88. Last Word: No More Lottery Balls, The Voucher Bill Advances and UCLA - Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Spring is in the air, which can only mean one thing – the Overton Park Greensward controversy is back on. Just this past weekend, I was in the park noting the metal barrier that separates Greensward pedestrians from Zoo parkers and that the barrier was not “decorated” with save the greensward paraphernalia as much as it has been the previous three springs.

89. Impasse Compromise Wins Council Approval, Union Acceptance - Wednesday, March 22, 2017

No more lottery balls for the Memphis City Council in the spring. The council approved Tuesday, March 21, an overhaul of the city’s impasse procedures – the rules for the council settling stalled contract talks between the city’s municipal unions and the city administration.

90. Beale Street Authority’s Days May Be Numbered - Wednesday, March 22, 2017

The Beale Street Tourism Development Authority would be out of business by May 21 and the city would be charged with hiring a day-to-day manager for the Beale Street entertainment district under a proposal by council member Martavius Jones.

91. Council Receptive To Restoring City Control of Beale - Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The Beale Street Tourism Development Authority would be out of business by May 21 and the city administration would be charged with hiring a day to day manager for the Beale Street entertainment district under a proposal by council member Martavius Jones.

92. Last Word: Lakeland Date Set, Silos in South Main and Trespassing in Apartments - Thursday, March 16, 2017

Here comes the Governor’s race with Randy Boyd doing the honors here in Memphis Wednesday at the top of the second day of his fly-around. Boyd’s opening sounds very much like he is running as the heir apparent to Gov. Bill Haslam – although there are no heirs in politics, at least not without an election. He talked a lot about hitting workforce development and job goals of the Haslam administration if he is elected Governor in 2018.

93. Last Word: Milhaus Sells, Voucher Debate Gets Heated and Boyd's Fly Around - Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Highland Row isn’t fully open yet and it is already up for sale as part of a real estate portfolio. The owner, Milhaus, based in Indianapolis, is a development, construction and property management company that works in mixed use development. And the portfolio being on the market could turn into a recapitalization.

94. Memphis in May Delegation Returns From Colombia - Saturday, March 11, 2017

A delegation of 48 Memphians representing the Memphis In May International Festival returned to the city from Colombia Tuesday, March 7.

Colombia is the honored country for this year’s Memphis in May series of events.

95. Memphis in May Delegation Returns From Colombia - Thursday, March 9, 2017

Some members of a delegation of 48 Memphians representing the Memphis In May International Festival returned to the city from Colombia Tuesday, March 7. And others remained in Cartagena through week's end.

96. Councilmen Draw Lines On Safety, Deannexation - Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Attorneys for the city of Memphis have filed a motion to combine two federal court lawsuits over a City Hall surveillance list and have them brought before the same federal judge.

And U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla has granted the motion of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee to intervene in the lawsuit on the plaintiff’s side.

97. Rallings: Escort List Has Mistakes But Name Selection Isn’t Political - Thursday, February 23, 2017

Mistakes were made in putting together the list of 81 citizens who require a police escort at City Hall, Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings said this week.

“We’ll continue to review the list. It’s a work in progress,” Rallings said after a committee session with Memphis City Council members Tuesday, Feb. 21. “We admit there are some errors on the list.”

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

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

99. Grant Begins New North Memphis Rebuilding Effort - Monday, February 20, 2017

North Memphis was once a place where heavy manufacturing was across the street from residential development and mom-and-pop retail was just down the street.

It was a thriving, blue-collar area of Memphis with block clubs, union halls, grassroots politics, lumber yards and nightclubs.

100. Memphis Mayor Creates Riverfront Task Force to Build Cohesion - Thursday, January 26, 2017

The city’s latest push for riverfront development is putting an emphasis on linking up recent changes on the riverfront like Beale Street Landing to Downtown’s core and filling in gaps between those attractions.