Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Samuel Hardiman

Memphis gets another $50M for Downtown Memphis safety

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:08:47 -0500

The Tennessee General Assembly included a $50 million grant for Downtown Memphis Public Safety in the state budget passed this week.

Five former MPD officers dismissed from Tyré Nichols civil suit

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 20:08:22 -0500

The plaintiffs filed to dismiss them so that the planned November 2026 trial could continue as scheduled.

Fundraising picture for May county primary election remains unclear

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:22:48 -0500

The lack of financial forms makes it difficult to see how key candidates have fared with donors in the past three months.

Memphis Art Museum tour ends with $6 million

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:03:34 -0500

Memphis City Council members got a peek inside what will be the new Memphis Art Museum before voting to repurpose city funds for public infrastructure outside the Front Street museum.

XAI sued because of alleged Clean Air Act violations

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:02:57 -0500

The NAACP, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI.

A week before MPD officers beat Tyré Nichols, MPD shot a 17-year-old. The incident is part of reams of new evidence to be introduced in Nichols' civil case.

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:52:31 -0500

New documents and witnesses announced in Nichols' civil trial will aim to show use-of-force culture in MPD.

One Shelby County candidate has more cash than all his opponents combined

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:34:53 -0500

Newly filed campaign finance forms show two Shelby County Democratic mayoral candidates with far more financial resources than the rest of the crowded primary.

What should be done about 201 Poplar? Democratic county mayor candidates share their ideas.

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:27:25 -0500

For most of an hour at Springdale Baptist Church in North Memphis, six of the Democratic candidates for Shelby County mayor displayed few differences. Then, the prospect of a new jail to replace the dilapidated and struggling 201 Poplar brought them to life.

XAI Mississippi air permit appealed by SELC

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Thu, 9 Apr 2026 16:56:17 -0500

Last month, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board approved an xAI subsidiary’s application to erect 41 natural gas turbines.

Elon Musk gives timeline on water recycling plant

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Thu, 9 Apr 2026 13:57:44 -0500

The Daily Memphian reported the water recycling facility, a key promise the company made to local leaders and residents, was “on an indefinite pause.” Without it, xAI uses fresh drinking water to cool its Colossus data center.

XAI promised it would save billions of gallons of fresh drinking water every year by recycling wastewater. Now, that's in doubt.

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Thu, 9 Apr 2026 09:03:42 -0500

Ahead of SpaceX’s IPO, it would stand to reason the cost of a water-recycling plant may be essential to the long-term health of the Memphis Sand Aquifer, but it might not be essential to a company whose books could soon come under broader public scrutiny.

XAI water recycling plant on indefinite pause

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Thu, 9 Apr 2026 09:03:37 -0500

Without the plant’s completion, xAI and TVA could continue drawing billions of gallons of freshwater from the aquifer, which also supplies the region’s drinking water.

Can a new approach convince people to put the guns down?

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 7 Apr 2026 06:34:22 -0500

The city has quietly reorganized its gun violence intervention program, part of a longer-term effort to prevent shootings before they happen.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young responds to LeBron James comments

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Fri, 3 Apr 2026 15:57:52 -0500

The mayor reacts to the NBA superstar’s suggestion that the Memphis Grizzlies relocate to Nashville.

How a tweak to Tennessee law signals Grizz lease momentum

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:00:50 -0500

A Shelby County Board of Commissioners vote signaled the subtle progress local governments are making toward a long-term lease with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Officers who beat Tyré Nichols could be excused from civil suit

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 13:29:43 -0500

Attorneys for RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother, filed a motion to dismiss the five officers from the nearly 3-year-old civil rights lawsuit.

XAI properties appraised at $3.5 billion, documents show

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:20:10 -0500

The appraisals for the two data centers help to determine how much Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company will pay in property taxes.

After Downtown shootings, Memphis police chief is looking at youth curfew

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:56:46 -0500

The city is still searching for a space where teenagers, once picked up by MPD, would spend time waiting for their parents.

‘We still have work to do,' Young says as Trump claims credit for Memphis crime

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:48:12 -0500

Memphis Mayor Paul Young says the city is moving in the right direction on crime, but didn’t credit President Donald Trump or the Memphis Safe Task Force for that.

Trump visits Memphis to talk Task Force

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:40:47 -0500

During his visit to Memphis, President Donald Trump said that Memphis is a different place because of his Memphis Safe Task Force, praising the city’s leadership along with the Task Force while noting the declining homicide rate.