Here comes Trader Joe’s with a Friday opening in Germantown after lots of mystery and delays and changes for what is a pretty simple concept. For so many of us, this has been a long-hoped for goal. It’s kind of up there with smuggling in Coors beer from the west in the 70s before it became available everywhere and Coors had a brewery here.

2. Some Tennessee Lawmakers Living the Life - Thursday, September 13, 2018

Early in his U.S. Senate campaign, former governor Phil Bredesen shied away from talking about his opponent, Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, preferring to focus instead on ideas.

3. Last Word: End of Term, After The Testimony and John McCain - Monday, August 27, 2018

Shelby County commissioners meet Monday for what is the last regularly scheduled meeting of their four-year term of office. Eight of the 13 commissioners are leaving the body of 13 at the end of this month as is Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell.

4. A President Who Demands Loyalty Finds It Fleeting In DC - Monday, August 27, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — Et tu, Michael Cohen? Loyalty has long been a core value for President Donald Trump. But he's learning the hard way that in politics, it doesn't always last.

5. Last Word: Day Two in Federal Court, Cohen on Manafort and Saturation Concerns - Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings on the witness stand Tuesday in Memphis Federal Court for day two of the trial on police surveillance of protesters.

And Rallings testified that he had only a “vague” knowledge of the 1978 federal consent decree banning such surveillance prior to the lawsuit filed in 2017 by protesters put on the City Hall security list. As a supervisor at the police training academy, Rallings also testified that the rules set by the decree to prevent political surveillance of protesters were not taught to police officers to his knowledge.

6. St. Jude Awarded $800K HHS Grant - Saturday, August 4, 2018

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, announced Thursday, Aug. 2, that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital a grant totaling $792,792.

7. St. Jude Awarded $800K HHS Grant - Friday, August 3, 2018

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, announced Thursday, Aug. 2, that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital a grant totaling $792,792.

8. Election Verdict - Thursday, August 2, 2018

A week into the early voting period, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen was quizzing Democratic nominee for Shelby County mayor Lee Harris about the path of Harris’ campaign to election day. The race between Harris and Republican nominee David Lenoir was already getting dicey, with Lenoir’s attacks on Harris continuing at their debates and moving into mailers, including a controversial mailer featuring a picture of Harris that was noticeably darker than Harris is in real life.

9. Last Word: Early Voting Goes Bigger, Worst Kept Secret and Christmas on Carr - Tuesday, July 17, 2018

By 9:30 p.m. Monday, 599 people were still without power from weekend storms, according to MLGW with crews working into Tuesday. Meanwhile, 4,324 citizens had voted early through Monday at five sites with early voting expanded to all 27 sites Tuesday. There has to be some kind of connection there but at the moment it eludes me. Meanwhile, here is the grid of early voting sites and their hours from the Shelby County Election Commission… grid, get it?

10. Early Opening - Friday, July 13, 2018

Early voting in advance of the Aug. 2 Election Day opens Friday, July 13, at five locations across Shelby County. On Tuesday, 22 additional sites will be open through July 28. Between the Shelby County Election Commission and Chancery Court there were three other sets of early-voting locations and hours in a three-week period before Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins signed off Tuesday afternoon on a fourth set.

11. Last Word: The Jenkins Ruling, No More City Court Clerk and Harwell's Quest - Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Making your early voting plan for Friday’s debut of the voting period in advance of the Aug. 2 election day? Well, you might want to hold off until after Tuesday morning. That’s when the latest changes could get set in stone … or not.

12. Last Word: River Museum Review, Tigers' Blended Family and Oxford Crackdown - Friday, July 6, 2018

It’s not the Gulf. It’s Lake Pontchartrain that draws the crowds on Mud Island. The Riverwalk replica of the Gulf of Mexico’s neighbor that is. A few adjustments is all it took to return authorized wading to the area at the end of the scale model of the Mississippi River. The river park is changing as it continues to make its way through the annual season from the summer and into the fall.

13. Last Word: Storms and Birds, Sizing the MPD and Plans for Early Voting's Opening - Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Very dark skies Monday afternoon over parts of the city. I could be off in this but I think there is a connection to these sudden summer rain showers that we need to consider. I think they line up very closely with areas where you cannot find a Bird scooter or at least not one that is fully charged. Then again it could just be me.

14. Last Word: Almost Fixed, Early Voting Flap and New Chandler Numbers - Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Less than 500 MLGW customers still without power Tuesday evening going into Wednesday when the utility’s goal is to have all power outages from the weekend storms fixed. Right after the storm and when this recovery effort began, 35,000 customers were without power.

15. Federal Grant to Aid SCS Head Start Program - Saturday, June 23, 2018

Shelby County Schools is getting an $11.6 million grant from the federal Department of Health and Human Services for the development of the Shelby County Head Start program, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen announced.

16. Corker and Alexander Immigration Policy Reactions Differ As Trump Makes Changes - Wednesday, June 20, 2018

As President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, June 20, that he would reverse his administration's policy on separating children from parents who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally or seeking asylum, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee was among the Republican lawmakers sitting around the table with Trump.

17. Federal Grant to Aid SCS Head Start Program - Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Shelby County Schools is getting an $11.6 million grant from the federal Department of Health and Human Services for the development of the Shelby County Head Start program, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen announced.

18. Last Word: Bird Is The Word, Governors Quartet and Charlie Morris's Secret - Friday, June 15, 2018

Former Vice President Joe Biden plays the Orpheum Friday evening. Maybe that isn't the right way to put it -- unless there's a drum solo no one is talking about. Free Bird?

I'll take it as further evidence of the new American politics that is evolving and is far from settled at this point. Politicians do paid speaking gigs all the time. And at times it is controversial. But the gigs are usually some kind of speaking fee to make remarks at a corporate function -- not selling individual tickets on line. This is ostensibly to promote Biden's new book and book deals and politicians go way back. But in a lot of cases, those are free events in a book store. When Biden was last here, it was as vice president at the Norfolk Southern intermodal rail yard in Rossville.

19. Memphis Health Center Gets $4.5M Federal Grant - Monday, June 11, 2018

Memphis Health Center has been awarded a $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen announced Thursday, June 7.

20. Last Word: The Commutation, Tuition Freeze and Blackburn and Sundquist - Thursday, June 7, 2018

Alice Marie Johnson walked out of a federal prison in Alabama Wednesday after serving 21 years of a life prison sentence for dealing drugs and laundering money as part of a Memphis drug ring with Texas connections in the 1990s. Johnson’s release came the same day that President Donald Trump commuted her life sentence less than a week after he met with reality television personality Kim Kardashian West who appealed for Johnson’s release. Here is the Associated Press story.

21. $71.2M Federal Grant Awarded for Long-Sought Lamar Avenue Upgrade - Wednesday, June 6, 2018

A $71.2 million federal transportation grant announced Tuesday, June 5, in Washington, D.C., will fund long-planned and awaited infrastructure updates to the city’s major freight corridor.

Funding under the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation goes for repairs and upgrades to Lamar Avenue from Getwell Avenue to the Mississippi state line.

22. UTHSC Gets $717,765 Research Grant - Saturday, May 12, 2018

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health announced a $717,765 grant Wednesday, May 9, to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

The grant is to advance research on angiotensins and prostaglandins-adrenergic interactions. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis said the grant advances the “important work they are doing.”

23. UTHSC Gets $717,765 Research Grant - Friday, May 11, 2018

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health announced a $717,765 grant Wednesday, May 9, to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

The grant is to advance research on angiotensins and prostaglandins-adrenergic interactions. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis said the grant advances the “important work they are doing.”

24. Memphis To Be One of 10 Drone Test Sites - Wednesday, May 9, 2018

The Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority is leading a Memphis group that is part of a national pilot program to integrate drones into air traffic.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration announced the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program Wednesday, May 9, in Washington, D.C., with airport authority president and CEO Scott Brockman and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis both in attendance.

25. Last Word: Veto Override Drama, Iran Reaction & Rise of the Rest Meets Soundways - Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Shelby County Commissioners have a busy committee day Wednesday with a budget presentation – county mayor Mark Luttrell’s final one as the county’s chief executive, more discussions about the Graceland plan and a veto override.

26. East Meets West as 2 Legislators Run Out of Time - Thursday, May 3, 2018

It wasn’t quite a constitutional crisis, but when Reps. Micah Van Huss and Joe Towns start teaming up, something is amiss.

27. Last Word: Parking Distrust, Early Voting Numbers and Missile Strike Reaction - Monday, April 16, 2018

There is probably no better symbol of the distrust that has been a factor in reaching a compromise in Overton Park to end greensward parking by the Memphis Zoo. It is what happened to the idea of a walkway from the zoo plaza to the greensward with the critical juncture being where the gravel driveway is now that is used by cars to park on the greensward. We examine that and other larger points from last week’s decision by City Hall to change the design and make the amended plan the final plan.

28. Corker Marks Time in Senate - Tuesday, April 10, 2018

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker is watching his time in the Senate closely as he wraps up the second of two terms there.

At the Memphis Rotary Club last week, Corker heard from at least one person who wished he wasn’t leaving the Senate and would run for re-election.

29. Herenton Acknowledges New Generation Politics, Criticism in Mayoral Bid - Monday, April 9, 2018

Eight years and counting since he resigned as mayor of Memphis, Willie Herenton says he has heard the discussions about the city’s economic stagnation when it comes to growing black prosperity and wealth. Especially the part about how that remains the case despite having “black leadership.”

30. 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.

31. South City Redevelopment Prepares to Break Ground - Saturday, April 7, 2018

Capstone Building Corp. is preparing to break ground on the first phase of the South City Choice Neighborhood Improvement project on the site of the former Foote Homes public housing development.

32. 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.

33. Herenton Says He Wants to Be Mayor Again - Thursday, April 5, 2018

Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton says he intends to run for mayor again in the 2019 city elections.

Herenton told an audience at LeMoyne-Owen College Thursday, April 5, that he wants to return to offer leadership to “a young emerging group” of leaders.

34. Last Word: MLK50s Big Day, Hotel Changes and Murica on Capitol Hill - Thursday, April 5, 2018

The peak of the MLK50 events came Wednesday with a chill but some sunshine and lots to consider. Understand -- this isn’t over. There are still a few more events to go through the weekend and even into next week. If nothing else, a lot more Memphians and visitors got a good look at most of South Main in the best way possible – on foot. And if the Beale Street District ever expands east to Danny Thomas, the intersection there makes a really good place for a party.

35. South City Redevelopment Prepares to Break Ground - Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Capstone Building Corp. is preparing to break ground on the first phase of the South City Choice Neighborhood Improvement project on the site of the former Foote Homes public housing development.

36. Last Word: Opening Day, Slowing the Flow and 30 Years of Shangri-La - Friday, March 30, 2018

There is something about opening day of the Major League Baseball season – especially when it is opening day for just about every team at the same time. Just seeing the green fields with a solitary outfielder, the low brick walls behind the symmetry of batter, catcher and umpire renews my love for the game. I don’t really pay attention to players – don’t know any of their names. And how and when did the Astros wind up in the American League and the Brewers in the National League? I just like watching the game in a sport where the team and the individual coexist as in no other sport.

37. Cohen Says He Fears Consequences of Increased Defense Spending - Friday, March 30, 2018

Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis almost voted for the Republican omnibus appropriations bill that recently passed Congress, averting a government shutdown.

38. Members of Congress Lay Wreath at Site of King Assassination - Monday, March 5, 2018

MEMPHIS – About a dozen Democrats and Republicans prayed and sang "Amazing Grace" during a solemn ceremony Friday at the site where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated nearly 50 years ago, marking the start of a three-day congressional "pilgrimage" to sites with ties to the civil rights era in the South.

39. Alexander, Corker Honor 1968 Sanitation Strikers - Saturday, February 17, 2018

U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee introduced a Senate resolution Tuesday, Feb. 13, honoring the 1,300 Memphis sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968.

The resolution is co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Doug Jones of Alabama and Ben Cardin of Maryland.

40. Alexander, Corker Honor 1968 Strikers with Resolution - Wednesday, February 14, 2018

U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee introduced a Senate resolution Tuesday, Feb. 13, honoring the 1,300 Memphis sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968.

The resolution is co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Doug Jones of Alabama and Ben Cardin of Maryland.

41. Marchers Mark 50th Anniversary of Start of 1968 Sanitation Strike - Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The signs are now iconic. “I Am A Man” signs from the 1968 sanitation workers strike are museum pieces, even collectibles. So more than a few of those who marched Monday, Feb. 12, 50 years to the day that the historic strike began, kept the signs stapled to yard sticks, another nod to the past. Still others went for different versions – “I Am A Woman,” “I Am A Person.”

42. Marchers Mark 50th Anniversary of Start of 1968 Strike - Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Several hundred people marched from Clayborn Temple to City Hall Monday, Feb. 12, 50 years to the day that the 1968 sanitation workers strike began.

The march, coordinated by the new Poor People’s Campaign being organized by Rev. William Barber, leader of the national Moral Mondays movement, and the Fight for $15 minimum wage effort, retraced the route the striking workers in 1968 took in daily marches.

43. 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.

44. Cohen, Kustoff Vote for Budget Compromise - Monday, February 12, 2018

The two congressmen who represent Memphis voted for the federal budget compromise that reopened the government Friday, Feb. 9, following a five-hour shutdown after a continuing resolution of 17 days ran out.

45. St. Jude Awarded NIAID Grant - Monday, February 5, 2018

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded $202,039 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for allergy, immunology and transplantation research.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis announced the grant Friday, Feb. 2, saying the funds “will allow the researchers and doctors at St. Jude to continue their important work to improve the health and well-being of all children.”

46. Last Word: Wiretaps in the Wright Case, Target Layoffs and SCS Looks To Move - Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen of Memphis among those boycotting the State of the Union address Tuesday evening by President Donald Trump. “The president is unworthy of the podium, the position and the power.” Republican Congressman David Kustoff of Germantown among those not boycotting SOTU. “Just one year after president Trump took the oath of office, our economy is the strongest it has been in decades. … We passed historic tax reform and we bolstered our military and support our veterans. Last year, the president kept his promises and tonight, he told the American people that he is not done.”

47. Lee, Boyd Pushing For Technical Education - Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Bill Lee led with his master plumber’s license last week as he toured Moore Tech. “I’m running for governor, too, by the way,” the Republican primary contender from Williamson County said as he talked with those attending classes and their instructors.

48. Citing Lack of Funds, Memphis Health Care Org Closes, New Group Steps In - Saturday, January 27, 2018

Knoxville-based Cherokee Health Systems has stepped in to continue operating the clinics of Memphis’ Resurrection Health, which closed its doors on Dec. 31 in part because of funding running out.

The Memphis-based health care organization had already agreed to merge with Cherokee in 2016. The closure, and Cherokee taking over operations, was a result partly of Congress in December approving a three-month continuing resolution that included less than half of the previous financial support that was available. According to a letter Resurrection distributed to supporters, an attempt at securing more federal funds for clinical care through other partnerships also fell through.

49. Last Word: Risks by Race, ASD Changes in Frayser and Binghampton Style - Thursday, January 25, 2018

African-American children are more likely to die after surgery than white children, according to a new study by researchers at UTHSC and Le Bonheur. The researchers found that in every category that goes into determining the chance of dying, the risk for white children was overestimated and underestimated for black children. And the dynamics of the risk work differently by race. The conclusion is race-specific models on the issue work better than non race specific models.

50. Last Word: Megasite Changes, Jubilee Schools to End and The Day at City Hall - Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Back to the drawing board for the megasite in Haywood County. State officials have decided the wastewater flow they had planned from the site along Interstate 40 won’t empty into the Mississippi River near Randolph in Tipton County after all. It’s the latest attempt by the state to make the decade-old site set aside for industrial or manufacturing development shovel ready.

51. Cohen Skeptical End of Shutdown Will Resolve DACA Standoff - Wednesday, January 24, 2018

A deal in Washington to end a federal government shutdown Monday, Jan. 22, after three days extends federal funding of government operations through Feb. 8.

The U.S. Senate and House votes approving the continuing resolution drew responses from state and local representatives in Congress that fell along partisan lines, but in some cases left out any reference to which party is to blame.

52. Last Word: Shutdown Over?, Glen Farms Plans and Billy Richmond - Wing Guru - Tuesday, January 23, 2018

The federal government shutdown for many of us outside the Beltway amounted to a message on a website saying the agency we were looking up was closed Monday. And Monday was the third and final day of the most recent shutdown. But the immigration policy known as DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – is the issue to be explored by Congress in the three weeks that the continuing resolution covers. It’s an issue that there has been plenty of local discussion about

53. Local Reps. In D.C. Vote For 3-Week Measure Ending Government Shutdown - Tuesday, January 23, 2018

A deal in Washington to end a federal government shutdown Monday, Jan. 22, after three days extends federal funding of government operations through Feb. 8. The U.S. Senate and House vote approving the continuing resolution drew responses from state and local representatives in Congress that fell along partisan lines but in some cases left out any reference to which party is to blame.

54. Tennessee and Local Reps. In DC View Shutdown Across Partisan Divide - Monday, January 22, 2018

Among Tennessee’s two U.S. Senators and the two Congressmen who represent Shelby County in Washington, the partisan differences over the federal government shutdown that began Saturday are right at the top of their prepared statements on the shutdown released over the weekend.

55. Local Reps in D.C. React to Shutdown Along Party Lines - Saturday, January 20, 2018

Reaction among Tennessee’s two U.S. Senators and the two Congressmen whose districts cover Shelby County to the federal government shutdown that began at midnight Saturday, Jan. 20, Washington D.C. time was divided along party lines.

56. Around Memphis | January 22, 2018 - Monday, January 22, 2018

Here’s a look at recent Memphis-related news from around the web…

Doubting MLK During a Strike in Memphis
Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic

57. 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.

58. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen Introduces Safer Streets Act - Saturday, January 20, 2018

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has introduced the Safer Streets Act, which would create a new grant program that focuses on violent crimes in local communities.

Local governments with crime rates four times the national average would be eligible for half of the funds; those with three times the national rate would be eligible for 20 percent of the funds; and those with twice that national rate would be eligible for the remaining 10 percent of funds.

59. Hass Wants Rhodes to Embrace Change - Thursday, January 18, 2018

After six months as president of Rhodes College, Marjorie Hass says small liberal arts colleges like Rhodes are “on the defensive.”

But as she was installed Saturday, Jan. 13, as the 20th president of Rhodes, Hass defended the need for such an education in an age of technological advances and vowed to create an institution that is not fragile to the “shock and disruption” of inevitable changes already underway.

60. Last Word: Second Snow Day, The Post-King Generation and Cohen's Cadillac - Wednesday, January 17, 2018

A second snow day awaits Wednesday on this short week for many but not all of us. And there is some grumbling about the approach to treating roads off the main thoroughfares that may, in this city where a cut-through detour is a real thing and the reason for speed humps, still see a lot of traffic.

61. Cohen Introduces Safer Streets Act - Monday, January 15, 2018

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has introduced the Safer Streets Act, which would create a new grant program that focuses on violent crimes in local communities. “The Safer Streets Act is intended to provide additional funding to address violent crime in places where the rate is significantly above the national average,” Cohen said in announcing the legislation.

62. Last Word: Tax Reform Pay Raises, Minority Business Kinks and Elvis at 83 - Monday, January 8, 2018

A busy but ultimately slow weekend on the Confederate monuments front as a total of fewer than 100 opponents of the removal of the city’s two most visible monuments actively protested Saturday either on the interstate loop or in the “protest area” by Health Sciences Park.

63. Candidates in August State and Federal Primaries Start Pulling Petitions Friday - Thursday, January 4, 2018

Contenders for the May Shelby County primaries are still coming out of the political woodwork. And starting Friday, Jan. 5, candidates in the August state and federal primaries can begin pulling qualifying petitions for the second of three elections in 2018.

64. Heritage Trail Historic Effort Get $45K Federal Grant - Monday, January 1, 2018

The National Park Service has approved a $45,000 federal grant to the city of Memphis for the continued development of the Memphis Heritage Trail area.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis announced the grant Thursday, Dec. 28.

65. Last Word: Moving the Mountaintop, Brooks Idea and No Voucher Bill in 2018 - Wednesday, December 20, 2017

The Mountaintop is moving – the circa 1977 sculpture that for many years was the only public memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- other than the pre-National Civil Rights Museum at what was then the Lorraine Motel. It’s had a few locations over the last 40 years and it's been in the Memphis elements constantly.

66. Last Word: Early Statewide Poll, New Chandler Numbers and Lyfe in East Memphis - Friday, December 15, 2017

Vanderbilt has a new statewide fall poll out that shows a few things – most of them very preliminary other than this is still early for voters who don’t live and breathe politics. Diane Black and Randy Boyd are tops in terms of name recognition in the Republican six-pack running for Governor. And the Marsha Blackburn-Phil Bredesen November general election matchup for the U.S. Senate is rapidly becoming a lock before Christmas 2017.

67. Last Word: Haslam and Cohen on Tax Reform, More than Food and Charles McNutt - Monday, December 11, 2017

For some of you this is not the week before the week before Christmas. It is Star Wars week, as the latest sequel in the sci-fi series begins its run in theaters across the country. Along those lines, there is a social media slide show of 1970s images of George Lucas telling the story of what an uphill climb the original Star Wars was – the making and the distribution. And around Planet Memphis, the premiere certainly wasn’t that big a deal. There was an advance screening at the old Memphian theater – now the Circuit Playhouse – that didn’t draw a whole lot of attention.

68. Cohen: Tax Bill Really a Bad Health Care Bill - Monday, December 11, 2017

The Republican tax bill is advertised as a tax cut for the middle class, yet is anything but. In actuality, this bill is a scam to benefit the ultra-wealthy and corporate interests. Worse yet, it is a health care bill disguised as a tax bill, and a not very well thought-out one at that. If passed, this bill would repeal the individual mandate, a critical component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is outrageous.

69. Diaz Makes Second Bid for County Commission Seat - Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Geoff Diaz came to Memphis in 2010 with a lot of political experience and inside knowledge of how the legislative process works.

He moved to Memphis with his wife for her job at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and arrived just after the 2010 midterm congressional primaries. With Charlotte Bergmann as the Republican nominee for the 9th Congressional District seat held by Democratic incumbent Steve Cohen, he immediately signed on as her campaign manager.

70. Memphis Professionals React to CVS-Aetna Deal - Tuesday, December 5, 2017

News coverage in the immediate aftermath of the announcement that drugstore giant CVS Health plans to buy health insurer Aetna for $69 billion focused on how it will change the country’s health care industry in a significant way. But much is still unclear.

71. Corker, Alexander Split in Senate Tax Reform Vote - Saturday, December 2, 2017

Tennessee’s two Republican U.S. Senators split in the Friday, Dec. 1, 51-49 Senate vote approving tax reform legislation.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker has been leading a group of self-described “deficit hawks” in the Senate who held out for triggers in the tax cuts included in the bill that would have raised tax rates in later years if the tax cuts weren’t living up to projections of economic growth.

72. Last Word: Veto Override, Vince Carter on Fizdale and Corker on Tax Reform - Thursday, November 30, 2017

Signs of life at the old Kroger store on Exeter in Germantown. The new developers for a project that was supposed to be a Trader Joe’s have pulled a $90,000 building permit to remove the façade of the building. But no word on who the new tenant may be and some interesting remarks about recruiting tenants in general who won’t have as many trucks making deliveries in a retail center that borders a residential area.

73. Last Word: 2018 Head Start, Tax Reform Bill Votes and Tigers Basketball in Decline - Friday, November 17, 2017

Can you smell the paper? Friday is the first day that candidates in the 2018 elections can start picking up qualifying petitions for their place on the ballot – in this case the May county primary elections in Shelby County. Here is the scene setter.

74. Last Word: The Year of Tyreke Evans, Opioid Ruling and Installing a Jumper - Wednesday, November 15, 2017

The Tigers basketball home opener is a come from behind win Tuesday at the Forum over Little Rock 70-62. Still not enough to determine where this new team in so many ways is bound. But that won’t stop the early speculation … or the later speculation starting with the New Orleans game at the Forum in another week. The Grizz take their turn Wednesday with the Pacers kicking off a Grizz home stand followed by the Rockets Saturday for the third time in this young season, Trail Blazers Monday and Mavericks Wednesday. But let’s not get too far ahead here.

75. Last Word: Cohen on Manafort, Collierville's Growth and The Quiet Jackson - Tuesday, October 31, 2017

A close one for the best team in the NBA Monday evening at the Forum but the Grizz lose only their second game of the young season to the Hornets 104 – 99. Some of you went. Some of you watched. Still others opted for the Edgar Allen Poe biography on “American Masters” while getting your costume together and then made a late run for candy. You know who you are.

76. Cohen Seeks Amendment To Limit Presidential Pardons - Tuesday, October 31, 2017

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen said Monday, Oct. 30, he will introduce a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution limiting the power of a president to make pardons.

77. Health: Our Local - and Global - Concern - Friday, October 27, 2017

The United Nations Foundation’s theme this year is “Global Goals, Local Leaders” as it aims to engage our local elected officials in global health issues, especially health care.

Should Memphians be concerned about local health care? And, is there a way to create a conversation regarding health care that is non-partisan and, rather, more compassionate and humane? Now is the time our community must come together and respect each other regardless of race, gender, religion or political affiliation to make discussions about health care run smoothly.

78. Harris To Run For County Mayor, Leave State Senate - Friday, October 6, 2017

State Sen. Lee Harris is running for Shelby County mayor starting with the May Democratic primary and will not seek re-election to the Senate.

79. Harris In Race For County Mayor, Exiting State Senate - Thursday, October 5, 2017

State Senator Lee Harris is running for Shelby County Mayor starting with the May Democratic primary and he will not seek re-election to the Senate.

80. Harris In Race For County Mayor, Exiting State Senate - Thursday, October 5, 2017

State Senator Lee Harris is running for Shelby County Mayor starting with the May Democratic primary and he will not seek re-election to the Senate.

81. 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:

82. Memphis to Receive $1.1M To Process Rape Kit Backlog - Tuesday, October 3, 2017

The city of Memphis is set to receive nearly $1.1 million in grant money from the U.S. Department of Justice to help process untested rape kits.

The funding, announced by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen on Friday, Sept. 29, comes from the Justice Department’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which provides grants to address unsubmitted sexual assault kits in law enforcement custody.

83. Public Shaming Likely but GOP Wary of New Laws After Equifax - Monday, September 25, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) – Prospects are good for a public shaming in the Equifax data breach, but it's unlikely Congress will institute sweeping new regulations after hackers accessed the personal information of an estimated 143 million Americans.

84. Last Word: Doubling Down at City Hall, Karl Dean in Collierville & Your Credit Report - Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Memphis City Council chairman Berlin Boyd doubling down right at the start of a Monday morning meeting of the Beale Street Task Force on that conflict of interest issue involving his company’s contract with the Beale Street Merchants Association. Meanwhile, it is council day at City Hall Tuesday and lots to discuss on several fronts including the Bicentennial Gateway and Convention Center projects and the move of Golden India just off Overton Square.

85. House Adds $4M in Funds For Rape Kit Backlog - Saturday, September 16, 2017

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment Tuesday, Sept. 12, offered by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat representing Memphis, and U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-New York, to include an additional $4 million in the fiscal 2018 House appropriations package for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI).

86. US House Adds $4M in Funds For Rape Kit Backlog - Thursday, September 14, 2017

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment Tuesday, Sept. 12, offered by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat representing Memphis, and U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-New York, to include an additional $4 million in the fiscal 2018 House appropriations package for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI).

87. Big River Crossing Wins International Design Honor - Saturday, September 9, 2017

Big River Crossing has won the top honor among projects receiving 2017 Excellence in Design Awards from the Waterfront Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that helps communities worldwide make wise long-term uses of waterfront resources.

88. Cohen Criticizes, Kustoff Commends 6-Month DACA Wind-Down - Wednesday, September 6, 2017

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis termed President Donald Trump’s decision Tuesday, Sept. 5, to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program over the next six months “heartless, illogical and un-American.”

89. Big River Crossing Wins International Design Honor - Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Big River Crossing has won the top honor among projects receiving 2017 Excellence in Design Awards from the Waterfront Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that helps communities worldwide make wise long-term uses of waterfront resources.

90. TVA Efforts Related To Contamination Continue - Saturday, August 26, 2017

The Tennessee Valley Authority has installed new monitoring wells near shallow coal ash groundwater monitoring wells at its Allen Fossil Plant that recently showed high levels of arsenic, lead and other contaminants.

91. TVA Continues Remediation To Source Contamination - Friday, August 25, 2017

The Tennessee Valley Authority has installed new monitoring wells near shallow coal ash groundwater monitoring wells at its Allen Fossil Plant that recently showed high levels of arsenic, lead and other contaminants.

92. Last Word: Crosstown & Forrest, Eclipse Day and The Problem With Day Care - Monday, August 21, 2017

As an organizer of Saturday’s “Take Them Down” rally at Health Sciences Park walked toward Union Avenue where Memphis Police had taken one of the protesters arrested there, he looked at another organizer and said, “It’s time to make the call.” The call was bail money for the five, soon to be six people arrested. These were the first arrests of the last week of new momentum for an issue that has risen and subsided for decades now in our city.

93. Rep. Cohen to Introduce Impeachment Articles - Saturday, August 19, 2017

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis said Thursday, Aug. 17, he intends to introduce articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, based on Trump’s comments about recent violence and marches by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia.

94. Last Word: Ouster History, Lake District in Foreclosure and Crosstown - Friday, August 18, 2017

Five of the seven flags that fly on the southern tip of Mud Island River Park are folded and stored as of Thursday. The Riverfront Development Corporation took down the five flags that have flown over the turf we now call Memphis – before and since it became a city – including a version of the Confederate flag – leaving only the U.S. flag and the Tennessee flag. This was a reaction to the week-long and counting aftermath from the violence in Charlottesville.

95. U.S. Rep. Cohen to Introduce Impeachment Articles - Friday, August 18, 2017

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis said Thursday, Aug. 17, he intends to introduce articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, based on Trump’s comments about recent violence and marches by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia.

96. Last Word: Night in the Park, Hattiloo Goes Bigger & Cohen on the Republican Soul - Tuesday, August 15, 2017

A gathering in Health Science Park a little before 11:30 Monday evening by a group of protesters who Facebooked that their intent was to take down the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Memphis Police showed up quickly and the police supervisor told those around the statue that the park is a private park and that no one can be in the park after 8 p.m. No arrests but the police did ask for identification from those in the park.

97. Local Leaders React To Charlottesville Violence - Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend drew more than 100 people to Health Sciences Park Saturday, where they gathered around the statue of Confederate general, slave trader and Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest.

98. Cohen Defines Gap Between Trump and Republicans - Tuesday, August 15, 2017

There is a distinction to be made between the Republican majorities in the U.S. House and Senate and President Donald Trump, says U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, one of Trump’s most vocal and virulent critics.

99. Forrest Statue Marks Rally Point Against Charlottesville Violence - Saturday, August 12, 2017

More than 100 people gathered Saturday, Aug. 12, in Health Science Park around the statue there of Confederate general, slave trader and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest.

100. 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.