(wikipedia.org)

1993: Memphis premiere at the Orpheum of the movie “The Firm” with director Sydney Pollack in attendance. After the premiere, Pollack acknowledges that he feels some pressure for the film, starring Tom Cruise and based on a John Grisham novel, to be a success given the box office failure of his previous film “Havana.” The movie departs from the novel in its ending with a legal resolution that keeps Cruise’s character on the right side of the law. The movie’s ending is crafted with the help of Memphis attorney, former Tennessee Attorney General and U.S. Attorney Mike Cody.

1978: Tennessee Valley Authority board chairman David Freeman is urging consumers, including those using Memphis Light Gas and Water utilities, the TVA’s largest customer, to leave air conditioner thermostats on 78 degrees for the summer. “Every one of us can help hold down these excess costs by following the 78-degree standard for air conditioning and by generally avoiding energy waste,” he says. “When a customer walks into a place of business this summer and finds it over cooled, he is going to realize that this carelessness is adding to his own electric bill through higher fuel and purchased power costs for TVA.” Other tips include cooking meals outdoors.

1976: Bankruptcy auction for Going to Market at Winchester and Ridgeway, a combination marketplace and concert venue.

On the front page of The Daily News, the Union Planters National Bank Branch on Mendenhall – Fox Meadows branch has a new way of banking. “The familiar teller line has been eliminated. Customers will have the choice of carrying out financial transactions with tellers who are at desks or with automated teller equipment.” For decades after this – even up to this year – various banks claim they are the bank of the future for implementing the same basic changes.