Community turns raucous against xAI at public hearing
Hundreds of people packed into Fairley High’s gymnasium in Whitehaven on Friday evening largely to vent their frustration about the artificial intelligence company’s use of natural gas turbines.
Samuel Hardiman
Reporter
Samuel Hardiman is a reporter who focuses on government and politics. He began his career at the Tulsa World where he covered business and K-12 education. Hardiman came to Memphis in 2018 to join the Memphis Business Journal, covering government and economic development. He then served as the Commercial Appeal’s city hall reporter and later joined The Daily Memphian in 2023. His current work focuses on xAI, energy needs and how local governments spend money.
There are 463 articles by Samuel Hardiman :
-
April 2025
-
City of Memphis -
Public Safety MPD chief: South Memphis shooting near high school was gang-related
Both Memphis Police Department Chief C.J. Davis and Mayor Paul Young became emotional speaking about the violence in the city.
-
Premium
City of MemphisProfessor says xAI turbines don’t affect air quality if company’s claims are true
Chunrong Jia, a professor in the University of Memphis’ division of epidemiology, biostatistics and environmental health, modeled the impact of what xAI’s turbines would have on air quality in Southwest Memphis.
-
Premium
South MemphisColossus: Can Memphis stop Elon Musk?
To many, xAI is just another chapter in what residents said they think is a legacy of industrial racism and pollution. The debate centers on one central question: Is Colossus worth the cost?
-
Premium
City of MemphisCity looks for money for AutoZone Park renovations
With the Redbirds’ future at AutoZone Park potentially in question, the City of Memphis’ capital improvement budget contains at least one notable absence.
-
Premium
City of MemphisColossus: The race to build the world’s most powerful machine in Memphis
XAI’s first Memphis data center Colossus dwells in a former Electrolux plant in Southwest Memphis. It is arguably one of the most valuable machines in the world controlled by someone with unrivaled wealth and galactic ambitions.
-
Premium
City of MemphisColossus: How will TVA, MLGW keep up with xAI’s power needs?
The U.S. does not have enough electricity to continue powering the artificial intelligence boom, according to experts and studies, which raises questions on how Memphis can provide power to xAI’s supercomputers.
-
Public Safety Scammers convicted in City of Memphis phishing hoax
Two Texas men were convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering related to the $773,695.45 lost by the City of Memphis during a 2022 phishing scam.
-
Premium
City of MemphisHere’s what xAI will pay in property taxes
XAI is being taxed on $2.2 billion in investments, not the $12 billion the Greater Memphis Chamber touted throughout the past year.
-
City of Memphis Environmental groups say xAI violating federal law with turbines
The groups are urging the Health Department to issue an emergency order to stop xAI’s operation of what appear to be dozens of natural gas turbines in Southwest Memphis.
-
City of Memphis City Council votes to raise hotel-motel tax
The tax increase puts together the last public dollars for a renovation intended to keep the Memphis Grizzlies in the city for the long term.
-
Premium
City of MemphisAs city faces tight budget, consulting contracts add up
The Daily Memphian examined city consulting contracts executed in 2025, which focus on technology, improving the police department’s efficiency and more.
-
-
March 2025
-
Premium
NeighborhoodsTrump could exempt xAI from air-emissions permit
President Donald Trump could potentially exempt a large portion of heavy industry from emissions standards. Here’s what that could mean for xAI in Memphis.
-
City of Memphis Mayor faces community uproar about xAI
Environmental advocates are looking to stop Elon Musk’s xAI from receiving an air-emissions permit for the natural turbines that partially power its data center in Southwest Memphis.
-
Public Safety City wants MPD Chief protected from Nichols lawsuit
The push to exclude C.J. Davis came amid a flurry of legal filings Friday, including one that argued that Nichols’ family’s attorneys had access to federal documents that were supposed to be sealed.
-
City of Memphis Memphis City Council gives final approval to xAI land deal
The Memphis City Council voted again Tuesday to approve a land sale for Elon Musk’s xAI to build a wastewater facility in Southwest Memphis.
Related content:
City Council sets early start to budget season in return from spring break
-
City of Memphis City Council approves land sale to xAI
The company’s first effort to buy the land,which would be used for a water recycling facility, was derailed by council skepticism in early February.
-
City of Memphis Memphis City Council approves $80M in cash for arena renovations
The renovations to FedExForum and a second long-term lease for the Memphis Grizzlies inched closer to reality Tuesday.
-
Premium
Public SafetyWho pays when Memphis police work special events?
MPD spends more than a million dollars a year on overtime to staff special events. But it’s billing for only 60%, leaving taxpayers on the hook for the other 40%.
-
City of Memphis MATA employee placed on leave after questionable credit card charges
Purchases included about $5,000 in PayPal and Venmo money transfer transactions, $10,000 in Amazon purchases, $7,000 at Best Buy, more than $1,000 at Montblanc, a maker of fine pens, and money on massages.
-
Real Estate XAI building new data center in Whitehaven
It sits a few hundred yards from the Tennessee Valley Authority Southaven Combined Cycle Plant. The plant will provide a power source for the energy-intensive data center.
-
Premium
Public SafetyWith ruling, dozens of MPD second lieutenants could revert to previous ranks
A Shelby County judge ruled Thursday, March 6, that the City of Memphis violated its contract with the Memphis Police Association when it created the controversial rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
-
Premium
Public SafetyMemphians ‘too hard on themselves,’ city crime consultant says
In his first interview since he came to Memphis last year, public safety consultant Fausto Pichardo said citizens should expect a further reduction in violent crime as the the police department builds cases against gang members.
-
Premium
Public SafetyMPD consultant: ‘It’s not about throwing a net and grabbing everybody’
Looking at a city spanning 300-plus square miles, public safety consultant Fausto Pichardo has some thoughts about traffic stops, consent decrees and what needs to be done next.
-
City of Memphis If MLGW moves headquarters, utility will stay Downtown, CEO says
Memphis Light, Gas and Water’s massive operations could change in the coming years, shifting the city’s industrial geography and potentially opening up key real estate for other uses.
Related content:
-