Offices close

for Memorial Day

All federal, state, county and city offices in Memphis and Shelby County will close in observance of Memorial Day Monday.

In addition, government offices will be closed in Crittenden County, Ark., and DeSoto County, Miss.

Sanitation services in the Bartlett area will be suspended Monday, but workers will run routes on Saturdays before and after the holiday to restore regular service.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water offices will be closed, as will all courts and post offices. The Memphis-Shelby County Public Library system will be closed.

The Memphis Zoo and the Pink Palace Museum will be open regular hours.

The first documented Memorial Day observance occurred in Waterloo, N.Y., May 5, 1866. Its purpose was to honor those who fought in the Civil War. It was expanded to honor those who died during each war in which the United States fought.

A law passed June 28, 1968, required that beginning in 1971, Memorial Day would be observed nationwide as a legal holiday on the last Monday each May.

CSX upgrades

Tenn. rail network

CSX Transportation Inc., one of the largest freight railroads in the East, will spend more than $47 million this year to maintain and upgrade its network in Tennessee.

CSXT owns and maintains about 1,025 route miles in Tennessee, with key facilities in Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Memphis. CSXTs customers represent some of the states largest industries, specializing in paper, coal, minerals and agricultural products. CSXT employs about 1,960 Tennessee residents.

CSXT and its 34,000 employees provide rail transportation and distribution services over a 23,000-mile network in 23 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces. It is a business unit of CSX Corp. Both are headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla.

Rapsheets.com moves

national headquarters

The company behind a Web site offering searches of more than 123 million criminal records is moving from Downtown to East Memphis.

Rapsheets.com, owned by Investigation Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of The Daily News Publishing Co., is moving its national headquarters to 2600 Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Since incorporating in 2002, the company has experienced rapid growth, outgrowing its Downtown offices, company officials said.

AAA says 500,000

to hit road for holiday

Eager to resume customary leisure travel patterns to traditional summer destinations, more than 500,000 Tennesseans will hit the road this weekend, AAA Auto Club South estimates.

Nationwide, the Memorial Day weekend is expected to launch a healthy summer travel season, AAA officials said.

AAA estimates more than 35 million Americans will travel 50 or more miles from home this weekend, up 0.1 percent from last year.

Southern food fest,

symphony end MIM

The final weekend of Memphis in May features the Great Southern Food Festival and the Sunset Symphony, set for Saturday and Sunday at Tom Lee Park.

The Memphis Horns and music from the Republic of Korea highlight this years symphony, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Complete schedules of both events can be found at www.memphisinmay.org.