The Levitt Shell’s Orion Free Music Concert Series continues its fall season this week with a lineup that includes Black Umfolosi (Thursday, Sept. 13), Snowglobe with Star & Micey (Friday, Sept. 14), Rhodes Jazz Night with Joyce Cobb (Saturday, Sept. 15) and Those Pretty Wrongs (Sunday, Sept. 16). All concerts begin at 7 p.m. at the shell, located in Overton Park, 1928 Poplar Ave. Visit levittshell.org for the complete fall lineup.

2. Events - Friday, September 14, 2018

The Levitt Shell’s Orion Free Music Concert Series continues its fall season this week with a lineup that includes Snowglobe with Star & Micey (Friday, Sept. 14), Rhodes Jazz Night with Joyce Cobb (Saturday, Sept. 15) and Those Pretty Wrongs (Sunday, Sept. 16). All concerts begin at 7 p.m. at the shell, located in Overton Park, 1928 Poplar Ave. Visit levittshell.org for the complete fall lineup.

3. Levitt Shell Marks 10th Year With Fall Lineup - Monday, July 2, 2018

The Levitt Shell’s free summer concerts in Overton Park continue through July 15, but organizers are already looking ahead to a fall lineup that runs Sept. 6 to Oct. 21.

The Orion Free Music Concert Series features a wide range of artists playing free, family-friendly outdoor shows at the shell. At least 10 of the fall shows will be part of the Regional One Memphis Music series, featuring featuring local and regional artists such as North Mississippi Allstars, Opera Memphis, Low Cut Connie, Those Pretty Wrongs, Memphis Hepcats and Rhodes Jazz Night with Joyce Cobb.

4. Last Word: Bike Second Line Protest, Loeb's Portrait and SCS Budget Notes - Wednesday, May 23, 2018

“Get on your bikes and ride.” The local bike share program begins Wednesday at 60 different Explore Bike Share stations at different points around town. The bike rental program is considered a milestone in the city’s bicycle culture. And like all milestones there has to be a ceremony. This effort to make it easier to mix bikes into your daily journeys will kick off Wednesday morning in Court Square at 9:30 a.m.

5. Last Word: Bar-B-Foo, Grizz Draft Prospects and The Hampline - Friday, May 18, 2018

Alleged sightings of Dave Grohl at the barbecue contest Thursday in Tom Lee Park and a photograph from a distance that might or might not be the head Foo Fighter. This does happen at the barbecue contest – celebrities quietly coming in with a team. Sometimes not so quietly as when Vice President Al Gore returned in the 1990s to a contest he had a booth at during his time as a U.S. Senator.

6. Events - Thursday, May 10, 2018

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.

7. Last Word: Mud Island Changes, Zoo Parking and Capitol Hill Revolt On UT Board - Friday, April 13, 2018

This could be your last chance to see the Mississippi River Museum at Mud Island River Park as it has been for about the last 30 years. The park on the southern half of Mud Island opens for the season Saturday. The museum will be open only through July 4 is what is billed as a “limited run” followed by a public engagement process for “reimagining how we tell the story of the Mississippi River in a 21st century way,” according to park general manager Trey Giuntini in a Thursday press release.

8. Riverfront Agency Names Coletta President and CEO - Saturday, March 31, 2018

The new president and CEO of the Riverfront Development Corp. will oversee changes in the organization that runs the city riverfront under a contract with the city. The changes include more of an emphasis on raising private money for the city’s riverfront plan as well as a name change to be announced later.

9. Coletta to Lead Changing Riverfront Development Corp. - Monday, March 26, 2018

The new president and CEO of the Riverfront Development Corp. will oversee changes in the organization that runs the city riverfront under a contract with the city. The changes include more of an emphasis on raising private money for the city’s riverfront plan as well as a name change to be announced later.

10. Events - Saturday, March 24, 2018

The Overton Park Conservancy will host a Park Fun Day and Science Fair Sunday, March 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Overton Park’s East Parkway Pavilion. Events include a science fair with research partners from the University of Memphis, Rhodes College and Christian Brothers University; an 11:30 a.m. mini-BioBlitz, a tour of the Old Forest with conservancy staff to record as many species as possible; the finals of the International Society of Arboriculture Southern Chapter's tree-climbing contest; and games and food trucks. Cost is free. Visit overtonpark.org.

11. Events - Friday, March 23, 2018

David Lusk Gallery-Memphis will hold an opening reception for Libby Johnson’s “Tempest” and Rob Matthews’ “Peace Like a Fever” Friday, March 23, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at DLG, 97 Tillman St. Johnson and Matthews will also give an artist talk Saturday, March 24, at 11 a.m. Visit davidluskgallery.com.

12. Last Word: SCS Plans For $15, IRIS Matinees and The Hard Hit Fund - Wednesday, March 21, 2018

“From a financial standpoint, we need our fans back and we need them back now.” University of Memphis president David Rudd breaking the university’s silence on the basketball coaching change that was made formal Tuesday with the announcement that Penny Hardaway is indeed the new coach. And Hardaway had a lot to say that Tigers fans and Memphians wanted to hear.

13. Last Word: Tiger Roller Coaster, The Promenade and "In The Streets of Memphis" - Monday, March 5, 2018

No one realistically would say the days of basketball being the city’s dominant sports are over and done with. Not with the Tigers and the Grizz together. But basketball in Memphis is certainly on a roller coaster ride for both franchises and most of it decidedly downhill in the current seasons. But it’s hard to tell what comes at the end of such journeys. Maybe the ups and downs of both teams are more noticeable because of the upward trajectory of Tigers football.

14. Last Word: The Ballot, By the River and The 'Good Ship Ineptitude' - Friday, March 2, 2018

What blooms before spring and after the rains? It is the quest. The quest that must be declared over and over again – in the confidence of homes and the parlors of supporters – across kitchen tables and behind the soundproof doors of conference rooms -- the patios where supporters have gathered and the rented spaces where campaigns are located. Usually with food. Perhaps a corner table or possibly a catered buffet. Maybe just coffee.

15. Editorial: Overton’s Claim in the 21st Century - Saturday, March 3, 2018

In relation to the piece of ground laid off and called the Promenade, said proprietors say that it was their original intention, is now, and forever will be that the same should be public ground for such use only as the word imports … and it is hereby expressly declared in conformity with such intention, that we, for ourselves, heirs and assigns, forever relinquish all claims to the same piece of ground called the Promenade for the purpose above mentioned.”

16. Heir on the Side of Caution - Saturday, March 3, 2018

The closest and best parcel of land for a second convention center hotel in Downtown Memphis is the Mud Island parking garage. It’s a block away from the Memphis Cook Convention Center and is the first site that came up when a Denver developer approached the city last year about possibly building such a hotel.

17. Last Word: Murals and IRV at City Hall, Alexander on Trump and Schools Standoff - Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Sometimes when you look at the Election Commission filings in an election season and no one has so much as pulled a petition let alone filed one, your thoughts tend to be along the lines of what is there to focus on beyond the day-to-day activity. And then you get a press release by email that really makes you remember the volatility of this whole business of running for elected office.

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

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

19. Last Word: Fred's Troubles, Indigo Comeback and Selling MCA - Tuesday, February 6, 2018

During Monday’s record Wall Street drop, Memphis-based Fred’s was among those taking it on the chin. But the retailer’s stock was already taking a beating from more turmoil since it got cut-out of a purchase of Rite Aid stores by Walgreens in 2017. Fred’s third chief financial officer in seven months is getting a $100,000 hiring bonus.

20. Last Word: Eureka Education, Confederate Monuments in Court and Dillon Brooks - Friday, January 26, 2018

Supermarkets are hard. That is the tag line in every discussion about getting a supermarket or grocery store for a given part of town that doesn’t have one. And once a new supermarket goes up somewhere else, there is inevitably word that a competitor or two is going to build nearby. The discussion always includes the mandatory recitation of the 3 to 4 percent profit margin stores operate on, which even knowledgeable critics of the decisions about where to locate and not to locate stores acknowledge is accurate.

21. November 10-16, 2017: This week in Memphis history - Saturday, November 11, 2017

1927: Watkins Overton upsets incumbent Mayor Rowlett Paine in city runoff elections. Overton is backed by former Memphis Mayor E.H. Crump, who had backed Paine’s 1923 re-election bid at the last minute. But Crump and Paine parted company after Paine endorsed Austin Peay for governor. Meanwhile, City Court Judge Cliff Davis is elected city police and fire commissioner. Davis had been a Crump foe four years earlier, running on a ticket of Ku Klux Klan candidates. “Supporters and followers of the ticket put on a wild celebration, parading Watkins Overton, Cliff Davis and E.H. Crump down Main Street on the shoulders of enthusiastic supporters,” The Daily News reported.

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

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

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. Last Word: Bonus For the Head Tiger, Brooks Downtown? and Harris Runs - Thursday, October 5, 2017

A $100,000 bonus from the University of Memphis board of trustees for U of M president David Rudd at Wednesday’s trustees meeting. The bonus is from private funds raised by the university foundation. The board also approved a paid parental leave policy – specifically the funding for that policy. And it reviewed scaled-back plans for the $30 million new rec center for students that will incorporate some of the existing rec center.

26. Last Word: GPAC's Grove, Fairgrounds Tea Leaves and Grizz Money Matters - Friday, September 22, 2017

The Germantown Performing Arts Center has plans for an open-air performance center to be called “The Grove at GPAC” – the latest consideration in what is becoming a vibrant discussion about the capacity for concerts within Shelby County. And it is also a discussion about concert venues that can do other things like festival and movies.

27. Last Word: HOT, Post Secondary Meets High School and Downtown Home Prices - Monday, September 18, 2017

Even a power outage Downtown didn’t stop the Bruno Mars show at FedExForum Sunday that capped an eventful and HOT weekend around the city. The forum was not affected by the outage.

28. Vols, Jackets Each Eager to Make Statement - Friday, September 1, 2017

Enough of the talk. Enough of the speculation. Let’s play some football.

Tennessee starts its fifth season of the Butch Jones coaching era on Monday night against Georgia Tech at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is 8 p.m. (TV: ESPN).

29. The Week Ahead: Aug. 14-20 - Monday, August 14, 2017

Hello, Memphis! School was the big opening last week, but this week it’s the majestic Crosstown Concourse, the 1.5 million-square-foot tower on Cleveland Street at North Parkway. It is hosting a six-hour extravaganza of tours, music, food and the arts. Check out the details, plus more Elvis Week events and other need-to-know happenings in The Week Ahead...

30. Last Word: Collierville's New School, New Cops and Z-Bo's Bust - Friday, August 11, 2017

Collierville Schools superintendent John Aitken knew the crowd at the Collierville Chamber of Commerce Wednesday wanted to see how the city’s new $90 million high school was coming along a year before its scheduled opening. And he brought plenty of aerials to show the progress. But Aitken also came to talk about what is to happen in the new Collierville High School once the construction is done.

31. Flintco Files $25 Million Permit for ServiceMaster HQ - Thursday, June 1, 2017

150 Peabody Place
Memphis, TN 38103

Permit Amount: $25 million

Application Date: May 2017 

32. Events - Saturday, May 13, 2017

The Memphis Air Show will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14, at Memphis-Millington Airport, 8101 Hornet Ave. Gates will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with flying performances from noon to 4:30 p.m. Featured performances include the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and Leap Frogs, an Air Force F-16 Viper demonstration, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and CF-18 Hornet demonstration teams, the Shockwave Jet Truck and more. Visit memphisairshow.org for details and tickets.

33. Events - Thursday, May 11, 2017

Mothers of the Nile will hold its ninth annual banquet Thursday, May 11, at 5:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church Broad, 2835 Broad Ave. Those sharing their perspectives include state Rep. Raumesh Akbari, Hope Academy principal Michael Smith and essay contest participants from Hope Academy, whose students are in detention at Juvenile Court. Visit mothersofthenileinc.org for details.

34. 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.

35. Spring Lessons: Here’s Who Vols Will Start - Friday, April 28, 2017

Tennessee football coach Butch Jones isn’t big on naming starters and divulging depth charts. Not until he has to. So it comes as no surprise the Vols enter summer workouts and fall camp with junior Quinten Dormady and redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano still competing for the starting quarterback’s job.

36. Last Word: Popovich's Tip, Strickland's Budget and Haslam's Jump Start on Roads - Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Game 5 goes to the Spurs in San Antonio 116-103 over the Grizz who are back here Thursday. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is not effusive in his comments to the media, which is fun to watch, but it does make tracking down and veryifying this next story a bit difficult. A credit card receipt showed up on Redditt that appears to show Popovich left a $5,000 tip on an $815.73 bill at McEwen’s Friday night between the two Memphis-based playoff games.

37. Bohannon Joins Cumulus Media As Memphis Market Manager - Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Morgan Bohannon recently joined Cumulus Media as vice president/market manager for its four-station group in Memphis, which includes KIX 106, 98.1 The Max, 98.9 The Vibe and 103.5 WRBO. Bohannon comes to Cumulus from iHeartMedia-Memphis, where he most recently served as area president. He worked for iHeartMedia/Clear Channel Radio for more than 20 years in various capacities and markets.

38. Last Word: Season's End, 100 N. Main Delays and Voting With Popsicle Sticks - Thursday, April 13, 2017

The last Grizz game of the regular season is a loss to the Mavericks Wednesday evening at the Forum 100 – 93. Look for further word Thursday on Tony Allen's right leg injury. Here comes the “second season” starting with the Spurs. Inbetween is a trip down memory lane as the two-hour "30 for 30" documentary on John Calipari debuts Thursday on ESPN. There was a screening Monday in Kentucky that Calipari attended. The Lexington Herald-Leader has more.

39. Last Word: Veep Visit, Women and Baseball and Civil Rights Cold Cases - Friday, March 24, 2017

Game time at FedExForum for the NCAA South semifinals and Vice President Mike Pence is expected to be here to cheer on the Butler Bulldogs. The Butler mascot – a live bulldog – was already in town Thursday making the rounds. I think March Madness requires that all involved up their mascot game if they get this far. So UCLA, we expect to see a live bear roaming Beale Street. You might be able to work a deal with the zoo on this. But if there’s a cost split make sure you nail down those percentages.

40. Last Word: The Overton Park Split, Democrats Help The Gas Tax Bill and LaVar Ball - Thursday, March 23, 2017

The city's tallest building, the fenced-off, derelict, 38-story 100 N. Main Building, cited in the past by fire officials for code violations including fire alarms that don't work -- had a small fire Wednesday 34 floors up.

41. 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.

42. Council Agenda Includes Final Impasse Vote And Beale Street Management Discussion - Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Memphis City Council members take up third and final reading Tuesday, March 21, of changes to the city’s impasse process and talk more specifically about a move to do away with the Beale Street Tourism Development Authority.

43. Jackson's Birth Marked in Memphis, the City He Co-Founded - Friday, March 17, 2017

While President Donald Trump’s Nashville visit – including a tour of Andrew Jackson’s plantation The Hermitage – drew much of the national political attention Wednesday, March 15, a much smaller observance of what would have been Jackson’s 250th birthday took place in a courtroom in Memphis, the city he co-founded.

44. The Week Ahead: February 20-26 - Monday, February 20, 2017

Enjoying that spring-like weather, Memphis? It’s another week of politics and music in the Bluff City, highlighted by the anticipated announcement Wednesday of acts that will be playing the Beale Street Music Festival in May. Here are some other highlights:

45. You Gotta Have Heart: UT’s 2017 Recruiting Class - Friday, February 10, 2017

Butch Jones did it again. The Tennessee football coach gave opponents press conference fodder with another one-liner while putting his spin on the Vols’ 2017 signing class.

It happened a day after the Feb. 1 National Signing Day when UT’s class was rated No. 17 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings.

46. February 3-9, 2017: This week in Memphis history - Saturday, February 4, 2017

1997: On the front page of The Daily News, Belz Enterprises tops out the tower of its new Peabody Place office building. Scheduled to open May 1, it is first new speculative office building in Downtown since the Morgan Keegan building of the mid-1980s, more than a decade earlier. Construction on the Peabody Place mall directly south of The Peabody hotel is to begin at the end of 1997 with an opening date of 1999.

47. Last Word: Haslam To Talk Gas Tax, Rallings Talks Protesters and Beale Street - Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam talks gas tax Wednesday in Nashville. Actually, he will be rolling out his full list of legislative priorities in the capitol. But much of the attention will be on what he proposes in the way of the state’s gas tax – something he’s talked about but not committed a specific position to for the last two years.

48. Last Word: Valero Protest Arrests, Anticipating Trump's Impact & Saving Booksellers - Tuesday, January 17, 2017

A busy King holiday weekend that reflects what the week as a whole will probably be like at least politically. The weather is anyone’s guess. A group of about 40 people protested at the entrance to the Valero refinery in South Memphis Monday afternoon and a dozen were arrested by Memphis police.

49. Council Could Delay Turner Dairy Vote Again - Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Memphis City Council members are likely to delay a vote Tuesday, Jan. 17, on a parking lot for Turner Dairy Holdings LLC in Overton Square that is part of the dairy’s expansion.

50. Last Word: Opening Day in Nashville, Parking Pass or Parking Space and Ell Persons - Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Lots of formalities Tuesday in Nashville where the 2017 session of the Tennessee Legislature begins. And that’s what this first week back will be about on the floors of the state House and the state Senate. Away from the floors, the real business of speculation and vote counting and drafting language is already well underway.

51. 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.

52. Last Word: Booksellers Options, New Parking Spaces and The Memphis Open - Friday, January 6, 2017

Somewhere in the back of our minds, I think most of us knew there were probably some circumstances under which Booksellers at Laurelwood might remain open. And as it turns out there are some terms the owner is talking about just past the post-New Year’s shock of work that the store will close in February.

53. 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.

54. Events - Saturday, December 31, 2016

Beale Street will host a free concert by blues legend Bobby Rush and his Girls and newly signed Stax recording artists Southern Avenue at its annual New Year’s Eve party Saturday, Dec. 31. The concert starts at 8 p.m. at Beale and Fourth Street; the annual Hard Rock Guitar Drop and fireworks start at midnight. Visit bealestreet.com.

55. Events - Friday, December 30, 2016

The 58th annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl, featuring Georgia vs. TCU, will be held Friday, Dec. 30, at 11 a.m. at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, 335 S. Hollywood St. Halftime entertainment includes Motown legends The Commodores, high school marching bands, dancers and homecoming queens from across the country. A pregame buffet ($40) starts at 8 a.m. in the Pipkin & Creative Arts Building at the Mid-South Fairgrounds. Visit libertybowl.org or call 901-795-7700 for tickets.

56. Nonprofits Raised Value In 2016 In Many Ways - Tuesday, December 27, 2016

In any given year, charitable giving might rise or fall. But when the Chronical of Philanthropy analyzed the giving of the country’s 50 largest cities via Internal Revenue Service data, it captured a larger sample size: 2006 through 2012.

57. Last Word: Electoral College Day, North Cordova Comes Back and Roy Harrover - Monday, December 19, 2016

What was that? Someone left the door to spring ajar Saturday just to blow things around some. Put a little tropical hint in your Christmas season.

Most of us had that moment Saturday when you might have bundled up to go out and discovered you didn’t need a coat … at that point in a very windy day. Maybe you even went Christmas shopping in the spring-like weather just to watch the trappings of Christmas blowing in the wind.

58. Events - Thursday, December 1, 2016

The St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend kicks off with the Health & Fitness Expo on Thursday, Dec. 1, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 2, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, 255 N. Main St. Open to the public, the expo will feature nearly 100 exhibitors with the latest in all racing needs. Race day on Saturday, Dec. 3, will feature five races: the 5K and 10K starting at 7 a.m., the half-marathon and marathon at 8:30 a.m., and the kids marathon at 1:30 p.m. Visit stjudemarathon.org for details.

59. Events - Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Southwest Tennessee Community College and Arkansas State University Mid-South will hold a process technology career fair Tuesday, Nov. 29, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Nabors Auditorium on STCC’s Macon Cove campus, 5983 Macon Cove. Employers including Hershey, Valero, Blues City Brewery and Lucite will be on hand. Visit southwest.tn.edu.

60. Last Word: Big River Weekend, Buying Local and The Rehabilitation of Lane Kiffin - Friday, October 21, 2016

The city’s riverfront will be a very busy place Saturday with several events – the one getting the most attention is the opening of the Big River Crossing – the bicycle and pedestrian boardwalk across the Mississippi River on the north side of the Harahan Bridge.

61. Impact of Three-Day RiverArtsFest Felt Year-Round - Friday, October 21, 2016

RiverArtsFest is gearing up for its 10th annual fine arts festival this weekend Downtown in the South Main Arts District, where more than 20,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event.

Launched in 1989 as Arts in the Park in Overton Park before relocating to the Memphis Botanic Garden in 1992, the fest was revitalized in 2007 as RiverArtsFest and moved to its present location.

62. Vols Get Midterm B Despite Back-to-Back Losses - Friday, October 21, 2016

Tennessee’s football team is spending this week’s open date trying to get healthy after a rugged four-game stretch of SEC football in which they defeated Florida and Georgia and lost to Texas A&M and Alabama.

63. Last Word: Mud Island Round 3, Newsmakers Notes and North Midtown - Thursday, October 13, 2016

Cue the organ. You know, the one from those old soap operas or radio dramas. And prepare for the latest episode of Island of Mud. When last we looked in on Mud Island River Park, the city had two finalists to redevelop all or a part of the southern half of the island that is really a peninsula.

64. Green Spaces Valuable Assets for Memphis, Citizens - Thursday, October 13, 2016

Shelby Farms Park’s biggest project – Heart of the Park – is open. The Wolf River Greenway is on track for completion no later than 2020. Overton Park has come through the greensward controversy and is moving ahead with park enhancements.

65. Last Word: In Defense of The Cossitt, Joe Royer and 3 Months Since The Bridge - Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Citizens of Memphis, I rise in defense of the city’s first public library. Not in its original much-loved state but in defense of its much-ridiculed modernization.

No, I will not follow that with a defense of John Calipari or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s location in Cleveland instead of Memphis or the late Mo’ Money Taxes and the company’s commercials. But I reserve the right to, at some future date, defend the big silver sculpture thing on the northeast corner of Front and Poplar at the Cannon Center.

66. Green Renaissance - Saturday, October 8, 2016

As director of Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, Jen Andrews has been on the front lines of what can fairly be called a green revival in Memphis. And she is amazed at how much change has occurred over the last decade, a rebirth that spans not just across the miles but now seems embedded in the city’s psyche.

67. A Greener Memphis Requires More Connectivity - Wednesday, October 5, 2016

It sounds simple enough, the idea that, as Wolf River Conservancy executive director Keith Cole puts it, “One of the basic premises of connectivity is you never want to build a bridge to nowhere.”

68. Events - Friday, September 23, 2016

160th annual Mid-South Fair & Rodeo will be held Friday, Sept. 23, through Oct. 2 at the Landers Center, 4560 Venture Drive in Southaven. Enjoy midway rides and games, fair food, demonstrations, concerts on two stages, and special fair days with discounted admission and other deals. Visit midsouthfair.com for ticket packets and event schedule.

69. September 16-22: This week in Memphis history - Saturday, September 17, 2016

1976: Solomon Alfred, described in The Daily News “Dining Out” column as a “restaurant, club and pinball emporium” has been open since May on the northeast corner of Madison and Cooper in Overton Square. It is owned by The Grove Inc., a Little Rock-based corporation.

70. Last Word: Graceland's Important Day, MAA's $4 Billion Buy and Hotel Napoleon - Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Before the rain did its thing Monday night at Graceland, the latest Black Lives Matter movement protest was a fact at Graceland’s annual candlelight vigil.

Some tension and lots of noise on the line at Elvis Presley and Craft where police stopped those whom they identified as protesters. And more than a few allegations of racial profiling by police.

71. Rhodes Junior Builds High-Ranking iOS App - Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Rhodes College junior Will Cobb, a computer science major, still can’t believe it.

He’s a budding app developer and the creator of Go Radar, an iOS-only smartphone app that’s a companion to the Pokemon Go augmented reality mobile game that’s become a smash around the world. Cobb’s app works in tandem with that game by helping players find Pokemon creatures – and as a measure of how popular the game itself is, the halo from it has sent Cobb’s app likewise shooting up the iOS top app rankings.

72. Wiseacre’s Coliseum Plan Fueled By Growth - Thursday, August 11, 2016

Council chairman Kemp Conrad noted the timing is “hot off Overton Park and the Greensward” – the protracted controversy the council was heavily involved in. “I do think it’s going to move fast one way or another,” Conrad said Tuesday, Aug. 9, of the concept of a new Wiseacre brewery in the Coliseum.

73. Last Word: The Evolution of Michael Rallings, Mediation Confidential and Council Day - Tuesday, August 9, 2016

The appointment of Michael Rallings as the permanent Memphis Police Director goes to the Memphis City Council Tuesday for what is expected to be a unanimous vote.

Rallings and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland talked about the appointment – the only major appointment in Strickland’s inner circle left seven months into his term as mayor – during a press conference Monday morning in the Hall of Mayors.

74. 2nd Bona Fide Blues Festival Keeps Lineup Local - Friday, July 22, 2016

John Gemmill, the president of the Memphis Blues Society, says there is a standard look to blues festivals – a poster with a guitar player and “fill-in-the-name-of-the-city blues festival,” and a lineup that includes performers from all over the place.

75. Last Word: Chips Moman, ServiceMaster Incentives and Crosstown High - Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Chips Moman has died. Word of his death Monday at a hospice in Georgia came two years after Moman was honored for his contributions to Memphis music and the city's history.

Those contributions were substantial and for quite a while they were overlooked – even while he was running the definition of a hit factory at American Sound Studios, a non-descript recording studio on Danny Thomas Boulevard at Chelsea Avenue in North Memphis.

76. The Week Ahead: May 23-29 - Monday, May 23, 2016

Alright, Memphis, it’s time to get this week started with our roundup of happenings you need to know about. 

The 2016 Memphis In May International Festival closes out Saturday with a pair of new additions to the monthlong lineup.
The Saturday by the river begins with the Great American River Run – a half-marathon and a 5K run with a riverside and Downtown route. There is, of course, a post-race party, which then segues into 901Fest – four stages in Tom Lee Park featuring local music and arts, from Al Kapone and Frayser Boy to the North Mississippi Allstars to Opera Memphis and the New Ballet Ensemble & School.
The idea here, and it may be an evolving concept, seems to be local and diverse and not as much of an emphasis on the stages and what happens there at the expense of those who stay after the run and those who come for the music and the arts.
To dot the I on that point, 901Fest also includes an air show.

77. May 20-26: This Week in Memphis History - Saturday, May 21, 2016

2006: Shelby County’s reliance on manufacturing jobs is dropping, according to state labor figures, which show that 14 manufacturing companies have closed or cut back their workforces in Shelby County since January 2003. The closings and cutbacks account for the loss of 1,240 jobs.
The losses include 98 jobs at Coors Brewing Co., 5151 East Raines Road; 112 workers at Memphis Hardwood Flooring Co., 1551 Thomas St.; and 327 employees at Great Dane LP at 1095 Harbor Ave.

78. Station to Station - Saturday, May 14, 2016

Even now, Explore Bike Share founder Doug Carpenter does not try to pretend that the initiative will cure all that ails Memphis. 

It won’t wipe out poverty. It can’t cure cancer. It won’t eliminate diabetes and obesity, solve all of the city’s transportation problems or totally bridge cultural and racial gaps that predate the bicycle’s invention.

79. Last Word: The Draft, The Greensward-Council Footnote and The Zoo Beatles - Friday, April 29, 2016

I’ve never watched an NFL draft before Thursday evening’s in which Paxton Lynch, quarterback for the University of Memphis, was drafted by the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos as the 26th pick of the first round.

80. Memphis Zoo's New Attraction Takes High-Tech Dive Into Zambezi - Friday, April 29, 2016

On the African continent, the Zambezi River Valley is south of the savanna. At the Memphis Zoo, it is west of the savanna-like grassland environments where elephants, zebras and giraffes can be seen.

81. Last Word: Tubby Time, Haslam's Veto and Africa in April's 30th Year - Friday, April 15, 2016

It was just four weeks ago that all of this talk about change at the top of the Tiger basketball chart was put to rest. Coach Josh Pastner’s performance was reviewed by the University of Memphis administration and he was staying at least for another season. Four weeks to the day of that announcement, Pastner is the new coach at Georgia Tech and we are in the first day of the Tubby Smith era at the U of M.

82. Memphis College of Art Making Moves to Consolidate Campuses - Friday, April 15, 2016

Memphis College of Art has confirmed the consolidation of its Downtown campus with its Overton Park campus and will begin relevant construction over the summer.

That construction includes converting five MCA-owned apartment buildings around the Overton Park campus into studios for use in the graduate program.

83. Last Word: Pastner's Georgia Tech Post-Season, Who Filed and Greensward Invitations - Friday, April 8, 2016

Not so fast with the off-season. There is a Memphis post-season after all.

And the Grizz found it Thursday like a light at the end of a long-tunnel where a lot of people slipped and fell and can’t get up.
The light was Houston flaming out at home to Phoenix without the Grizzlies having to make a basket.
It’s all about the math. Stay in school, young people.

84. Last Word: The Curtain Falls in Nashville, Political Cuneiform and Ramsey Talks - Thursday, March 31, 2016

And in less than a half hour Wednesday, the de-annexation drama that should qualify as the political equivalent of a Netflix binge-watchable television series made just for Memphis was done.

85. Last Word: Putt and 1969, Fred Smith on Amazon and Ramsey's Departure - Thursday, March 17, 2016

George Howard Putt died in prison sometime last year state prison officials disclosed Wednesday -- far from the brief time he spent in Memphis but never far from the carnage he left behind in the Memphis of 1969.
The bodies of the first two of the five people killed by Putt between Aug. 14 and Sept. 11, 1969 were discovered just days after the murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others in Los Angeles by the Manson family dominated national news coverage. Less than a year earlier the Boston Strangler movie was in theaters, creating a sensation about the murders committed by serial killer Albert DeSalvo in Boston just a few years earlier.
Bernalyn and Roy Dumas were strangled by Putt in their home in Cooper-Young and Putt mutilated her body in a way that police homicide detectives still wouldn’t talk about decades later. The bodies were found in separate rooms.
Even with no details other than the names of the victims, the city was quickly spooked by the double murder. So when the body of Leila Jackson was found short of two weeks later, the city’s reaction was a palpable fear in which anyone unknown was to be avoided. Memphians didn’t tarry after work. They went home and bolted the doors.
It got worse as more victims turned up with little in common other than four of the five were women. They were of varying ages. Some were strangled and some were stabbed.
Just about any magazine rack of the day include true crime magazines that by the late 1960s were beginning to look very dated in their lurid noir-like covers teasing the most sensational crime narratives of the day.
They were an intentional contrast to the cover images of youth in bright colors in natural settings in other magazines heralding a new future and youth culture.
The murders in a Southern city, whose 1969 conservatism is hard to describe nearly 50 years later, quickly grabbed the covers of the true crime magazines. And the images they offered spoke to the scenic reality where Putt roamed even as the murders continued.
Apartment buildings and boarding houses were the settings for some of the murders but not all.
Glenda Sue Harden was last seen walking to her car parked on the Cobblestones from the insurance office she worked at nearby. Her body was found in Martin Luther King/Riverside Park hidden under a piece of plywood.
At one of the murder scenes, police found an ice pick stuck in the side of the building with a stocking tied around it.
Putt’s last victim, in an apartment building on Bellevue, screamed as she was stabbed repeatedly and others in the building gave chase with police close behind, arresting Putt near the new and unopened section of the interstate that runs west of Bellevue.
Putt tried to force his way into another apartment nearby but the women inside kept him on the other side of the door.
The killer that panicked an entire city was a skinny utterly forgettable guy in his 20s with sideburns and glasses who appeared to have rarely roamed beyond a community of neighborhood bars, boarding houses and old apartment buildings in the Midtown and Medical Center areas.
It turns out he came to Memphis after walking away from a prison farm in Mississippi and into a Memphis that was slowly but surely changing. And the world that Putt encountered would soon vanish in large part.
Overton Square’s incarnation was about a year away. A new bridge was about to be built across the Mississippi River as part of Interstate 40 which was to go through Overton Park just south of the north-south leg of the interstate where Putt was captured.
Originally sentenced to death, Putt’s sentence was commuted when the U.S. Supreme Court banned the death penalty in the early 1970s.
He was serving a 497-year sentence when he died at the Turney Center Wednesday in Only, Tennessee.
Putt never sought parole and never gave any explanation for why he killed five people in less than a month and his apparently random selection of victims.

86. Last Word: Mudslide, The Deannexation Storm and Kilzer at Calvary - Friday, March 11, 2016

Lots of news on a very rainy day including the flooding from the constant rain that closed some schools and cancelled a lot of other events. And then there was a mudslide on Riverside Drive from the bluff overlooking Tom Lee Park and the Mississippi River. The rain has also pushed the Wolf River to the point that it is now over some parts of the greenway in Germantown.

87. Last Word: Rain & Votes, Setting Madison's Boundaries and The Rise of Renters - Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Here comes the rain. Not a Beatles tune but close enough with the word late Tuesday that George Martin – to my mind at least, the closest thing to a fifth Beatle – has died.
Rolling Stone’s story and many links within to their coverage of Martin over the decades.

88. The Week Ahead: March 7-13 - Monday, March 7, 2016

How was your weekend, Memphis? In a few short days it’ll be time to “spring forward” – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, check out our weekly roundup of area happenings, from a discussion with local changemakers to the inaugural Memphis Black Restaurant Week…

89. Last Word: Election Day, Luttrell Makes It Six, And About "Executive Sessions" - Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Can You Feel It? Tuesday is election day in Memphis and across the state in this presidential election year. And all indications are the turnout locally should be above the 24 percent mark we’ve been at in the last two presidential election years.

90. Last Word: The Moving Election Comes to Town and Missing Early Voters Are Found - Monday, February 29, 2016

We probably haven’t had this much action with so many presidential candidates in the Memphis area since the 1984 Democratic presidential primary campaign.

Four of the contenders – three Republicans and one Democrat – in Memphis over the weekend looking for votes in advance of Tuesday’s Tennessee primary elections.

91. Last Word: The Road To Memphis, Medical District Plans and A Greensward Update - Tuesday, February 23, 2016

The Republican presidential field is coming this way in the gap between early voting, which ends Tuesday evening, and the March 1 election day
Donald Trump, John Kasich and Ben Carson are booked for this coming weekend.

92. Claim Adds to Greensward Controversy - Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Legal counter claims, parking study options and lots of old maps with even more long-filed plans have become the complex face of the Overton Park Greensward controversy.

As spring-like temperatures over the weekend mixed with cloudy skies, all fronts of the controversy were moving. The official arrival of spring to come in less than a month is the park’s busiest season.

93. Last Word: Tiger Turmoil, Choosing Hotels and Grasshopper In The Committee Room - Wednesday, February 17, 2016

When there is turmoil in the world of University of Memphis sports, it is almost impossible to hide and the turmoil inevitably surfaces toward a much faster end game than the city’s mercurial and lively politics. And then there is the period of mourning and regret -- unless the coach's name is John Calipari.
So consider these events all in the space of an overcast Tuesday afternoon.
University of Memphis cheerleaders in Overton Square and on Highland Avenue, near the campus, waving pompoms and signs urging Memphians on the drive home to support Tigers basketball.
Just before the rush hour, the university’s athletic department put out a statement that may have been intended to quell speculation about the future of Tigers basketball coach Josh Pastner but which was so enigmatic that it probably did just the opposite.
You be the judge:
“We continue to receive inquiries concerning the future of Tiger basketball.
Tom Bowen, UofM Athletic Director, the athletic senior leadership team and the Office of the President will conduct a post-season review of the men’s basketball program, as is customary with all UofM sports teams.
We urge Tiger Nation to support this team through the end of the basketball season with special attention given to the final three home games at FedExForum.”
And late Tuesday evening, the Memphis Rebounders sent an email appeal urging a strong turnout for the Wednesday UCF game at FedExForum which is also on ESPN.
“If business or family obligations prevent you from attending, please give the tickets to family, friends or me,” wrote Harold Byrd of the Rebounders, “as we have multiple requests from many who can’t afford season tickets.”

94. Last Word: The Big Fizzle, John Jay Hooker's Exit And "A Great Sports Town" - Monday, January 25, 2016

Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it – isn’t that how the saying goes?
In our case, it might be better to say everybody talks about the television weather coverage but nobody does anything about it.
As we all know now, Memphis dodged the “blizzard” warning artfully and passive-aggressively teased by several television stations who shall go un-named here because they know who they are and you do too.
That’s because they spent much of the day of "the blizzard that wasn’t" whining about the reaction from viewers who complained about the hype and then the promos the stations ran the day of the big fizzle.
We didn’t get much in the way of snow in Memphis, but we got a couple of feet of hype.

95. Last Word: Secrets In A Small Town, Bullard Bounce and Beale & Mud Island - Friday, January 15, 2016

Munford! A winning Powerball ticket for the largest jackpot ever was sold in Munford and that warrants a rare exclamation mark.
Possibly two when you consider that small towns are supposed to be places where it is nearly impossible to keep a secret – at least from the other folks in the town.
The fact that it was sold at Naifeh’s, a long-standing Tipton County business institution adds to the story.
The person who bought the ticket in Munford holds one of three winning tickets which comes out to about $582 million for that ticket.
That is roughly the size of the city of Memphis operating budget.
There was a similar mystery underway Thursday in Dyersburg where someone bought a Powerball ticket worth a paltry $2 million. Probably worth an exclamation mark if I wasn’t over the limit and already feeling the unspoken disdain of my reporting brethren who are judging me harshly as you read this.

96. Last Word: Overton Park's Restless Winter, Across The Harahan and Higher Ed - Thursday, January 14, 2016

It may be chilly outside, but it might as well be July on the Overton Park greensward with all of the political heat that is building.
The thermometer spiked when more than two dozen trees donated to the Overton Park Conservancy in 2012 were removed this week by the Memphis Zoo which is preparing for large crowds in March.
That’s when its new Zambezi Hippo River Camp exhibit opens to much anticipation and much fanfare.
That and the New Year’s Eve legal opinion favoring the zoo’s position on its use of the greensward for overflow parking set the stage for a dispute the administration of Mayor Jim Strickland has had to mediate at less than two weeks in office.

97. The Week Ahead: Nov. 30, 2015 - Monday, November 30, 2015

How was your weekend, Memphis? Here’s our weekly rundown of local happenings you need to know about, from snow and sledding at the Levitt Shell to orientation for members of the new Memphis City Council...

98. Billy Joel to Play FedExForum in March - Saturday, November 14, 2015

The Piano Man is coming back to Memphis.

Billy Joel is set to play FedExForum Friday, March 25, a date that brings him back to a city with plenty of connections to his past.

The 66-year-old singer songwriter was still an up-and-coming act when he sang and tickled the ivories during appearances at the previous incarnation of Lafayette's Music Room in the 1970s.

99. Billy Joel to Play FedExForum in March - Thursday, November 12, 2015

The Piano Man is coming back to Memphis.

Billy Joel is set to play FedExForum Friday, March 25, a date that brings him back to a city with plenty of connections to his past.

The 66-year-old singer songwriter was still an up-and-coming act when he sang and tickled the ivories during appearances at the previous incarnation of Lafayette's Music Room in the 1970s.

100. City Council Approves Hotel-Retail Development Near Shelby Show Place Arena - Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Memphis City Council members approved Tuesday, Oct. 20, plans to develop one of the few open parcels of land along Germantown Parkway as either a hotel with retail or two retail strips.

The Germantown Market planned development by the Debra Loskovitz Spousal Trust is on the east side of Germantown Parkway, south of Timber Creek Drive next to the Shelby Show Place Arena.