Investigative reporter
David Waters is Distinguished Journalist in Residence and assistant director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis.
There are 125 articles by David Waters :
Senate and House finance committees are expected to take up the proposed Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) funding formula this week. A final vote in both legislative bodies could come soon.
Sectarian prayers at a government meeting notwithstanding, the General Assembly’s daunting task this session to allocate an additional $1 billion to education is more than a math problem.
“I know it’s crazy. I understand that. But these kids can’t wait for the war to end,” said Dr. William Novick.
Wanda and Chip Washington are back at work four months after their paired kidney exchange.
The BRAIN Center’s program at Le Bonheur now provides free mental health services to children treated for gunshot wounds, burns, car accidents and other traumatic injuries — and it could create a new standard of care for hospitals around the country.
The former development director for the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Sanford served as president and CEO of the Mid-South Food Bank for nearly two decades.
Bipolar ionization devices, manufacturers say, attack and deactivate certain bacteria, pathogens, airborne particles, and volatile organic compounds. But the CDC, EPA, an industry standards association, and even a medical journal beg to differ.
Studies show that poor indoor air quality hurts the health, academic performance, behavior and morale of students and teachers. And yet, there are no federal laws or regulations that govern indoor air quality in schools, not even in a pandemic.
“I built those houses,” said Henry Turley. “There’s nothing wrong with those houses that should cause the residents to have to move out.”
For the second time in a generation, residents are on the move as MHA “converts” public housing to privately managed properties.
Minda Cox was born in a village in India 33 years ago and adopted 22 months later by a nurse from America. She was born without legs and arms, an extremely rare birth defect known as congenital amputation.
Team of teens from Memphis neighborhoods counter “pay-to-play” youth sports machine with Play Where You Stay.
Chip Washington wanted to give his kidney to his ailing wife, but he wasn’t a match. “What else can I do?” he asked doctors.
On March 26, 2020, 20 days after his retirement party, Kenneth Bradshaw died. He was 64. Now a summer camp scholarship will honor his memory.
Rev. Kathryn Kimmel will lead the Midtown Memphis congregation, which first met in 1839 in a log cabin near the Mississippi River.
Father Nicholas Vieron taught his Adult Greek Class every spring from 1972 to 2019. The poster, made by his former student Barbara Austin, shows the Lord’s Prayer, handwritten in Greek.
“This is where the poor are. This is where the Prophet would be. So this is where we need to be.”
When an ailing Black Episcopal priest needed a kidney, his friend, a white businessman, didn’t hesitate.
Failed contract negotiations add to Head Start’s troubled local history, but advocates say that shouldn’t overshadow impressive pre-K advances. Related story: How child care centers reveal pre-K’s future in Shelby County
Early childhood education advocates say access to high-quality child care is the next goal for more than 40,000 children under age 4. Related story: What the SCS/Porter-Leath split means for the future of pre-K in Memphis
Here’s how a handful of white legislators changed how Black history is taught in Tennessee. Teachers at Grizz Prep, surrounded by history, pledge to ‘teach truth' about race Related story:
Social studies teachers question, challenge new state law that restricts instruction on race, racism.Related story:
Most educators agree reading instruction in the earliest grades should include phonics, but that’s where the disagreements begin.
City releases bodycam footage, requires MPD to refer all excessive force cases to district attorney.
Members of the Indian immigrant community send planeload of oxygen concentrators, other aid to help pandemic-plagued nation.