Lichterman Nature Center breaks ground on Discovery Forest
Barry Lichterman recalls days as a child spent exploring the area that is now the Lichterman Nature Center, and a new addition to the center aims to give other children the same opportunity.
Keely Brewer
Reporter
Keely Brewer is a Report for America corps member covering environmental impacts on communities of color in Memphis. She is working in partnership with the Ag & Water Desk, a sustainable reporting network aimed at telling water and agriculture stories across the Mississippi River Basin.
There are 322 articles by Keely Brewer :
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August 2023
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East Memphis -
City of Memphis MLGW eyeing solar power, battery storage to meet energy demand
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors will vote on a proposal to replace local combustion turbines with aeroderivative turbines, which are more modern, and help integrate renewable energy into the grid.
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City of Memphis Memphis’ trash service strains under severe storm debris
Memphis’ solid waste department is blaming a delay in bulk item pick-up on the amount of storm debris left on city curbs, but some say the problems predate the recent severe weather.
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Shelby County Haven’t seen an MLGW bill in months? Don’t worry, it’s on its way.
Some MLGW customers will get multiple bills in a short period of time.
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City of Memphis Greenline’s Wolf River pedestrian bridge closed for repairs
Parts of the Shelby Farms Greenline — a more than 10-mile trail that connects Midtown to Cordova — are currently closed for about two weeks.
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City of Memphis MLGW board member defends CEO: ‘Politics don’t need to be involved’
The Memphis mayor appoints MLGW’s president and CEO. Doug McGowen was appointed last fall, but the city’s next mayor will have the power to remove him at any time.
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Germantown Still smell diesel in your water? You’re not the only one
Even after the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said Germantown’s water was safe to drink, Protect Our Aquifer’s science director Scott Schoefernacker and his family have opted not to.
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Shelby County Power to be restored by midnight Friday
Severe weather started Wednesday and continued into Thursday morning with heavy rainfall, gusts of wind up to 55 miles per hour and a brief tornado watch.
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Metro Flood advisory, weather warnings in effect for Shelby County
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for much of Shelby County Wednesday, Aug. 9, warning of winds up to 60 miles per hour.
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Metro US Attorney files environmental contamination suit against Memphis property owner
For decades, two parcels in the 3500 block of Southern Avenue were leased to successive dry-cleaning businesses, which allegedly disposed of chemicals on the property — less than a mile from a well that pumps drinking water to Shelby County.
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Metro Southwest Memphians sue facility emitting cancer-causing chemical
Anita Albury was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. Now, she’s one of seven people suing a southwest Memphis business.
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Food NewsCity’s sole compost collection company exits Memphis but another is on way
As the city’s only compost collection services company leaves the market, its forerunner — the Compost Fairy — prepares to return.
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Millington Into the Metaverse? Construction to begin on Millington solar farm
Most of the energy generated at a planned $140 million solar farm in Millington will go to power a Meta Platforms Inc. data center more than 200 miles away.
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July 2023
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MetroPower’s out. Better check on the water.
In the past, threats to the area’s water supply were rare. But, in recent years, local power problems have been the driving force behind water crises.
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City of Memphis Domino effect of power problems from Memphis hit North Mississippi
An “event” at a Memphis substation led to power outages in North Mississippi, low water pressure in parts of the Bluff City and flaring at Valero Energy Corp.’s local refinery. Now, the Shelby County Health Department is monitoring the situation for potential health impacts.
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City of Memphis Aquifer study to be released in August
Rate increases funded research, which showed MLGW’s concerns were warranted. It found there are more holes, or breaches, in the aquifer’s protective clay layer than previously thought.
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City of Memphis Valero smoke, flickering power coincide to raise alarm
A burn-off at the Valero Refinery in Southwest Memphis coincided with an unspecified substation problem, that resulted in a voltage to drop across the service area.
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City of Memphis MLGW’s recovery efforts down to last few customers
Memphis Light, Gas and Water wrapped up its week-long recovery efforts Tuesday, July 25, after restoring power to all but 17 customers, who should be restored soon.
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City of MemphisMPD investigating threat against MLGW CEO’s wife
According to the police report, the suspect — a 56-year-old woman — said: “At least you have power,” and “Your husband needs to retire.”
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City of Memphis MLGW says all repairs will be finished by midnight Tuesday
In the past year and a half, outages have impacted 800,000 customers; that number is the equivalent of every MLGW customer losing power twice.
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City of MemphisProtect Our Aquifer hires first science director
“The hope is to get the public even more involved to understand and appreciate their drinking water source,” said Scott Schoefernacker.
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Metro Overnight, afternoon storms create new power outages
On Friday afternoon around 1:30 p.m., another line of storms crossed the Mississippi River. As of 12 a.m. Saturday, MLGW was reporting more than 42,000 customers without power.
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Metro Power outages to last until Sunday for some MLGW customers
The majority of outages remaining from Tuesday’s storm are in six clusters: Raleigh, Frayser, Berclair, East Memphis, Germantown and Hickory Hill.
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City of MemphisBarrage of storms complicate long-term improvements at MLGW
Normal Station has been one of the areas hardest hit by power outages, but modernizing the community’s electric equipment has resulted in a 50% improvement in reliability.
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Food News Captain D’s solar farm could have wider implications
With power outages costing the company at least half a million dollars, the local owner of Captain D’s restaurants is planning a new solar project — and it’s got community leaders excited.
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