Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | News Happening in the City of Memphis | City of Memphis News

New MSCS board leaders say they won’t let the state takeover overshadow student needs

bhatch@chalkbeat.org (Bri Hatch) — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 04:00:04 -0500

Tamarques Porter and Sable Otey, two MSCS board members recently elected as this year’s chair and vice chair respectively, say they’re confident they can weather the storm.

Young orders 90-day data center review

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Fri, 9 Oct 2026 12:51:57 -0500

Memphis Mayor Paul Young issued an executive order Friday, Oct. 9, calling for a 90-day working group to develop guidelines for data centers in the city.

Donor-funded consultant helped ready Memphis school takeover board during pause

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Fri, 9 Oct 2026 12:05:39 -0500

A consulting firm that worked with Houston’s school system during its takeover has quietly played a key role in readying the state-appointed board to resume control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

City Council passes tentative zoning for data centers

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Fri, 9 Oct 2026 19:07:35 -0500

Council members are still debating whether there should be a moratorium on new data centers to get public buy-in or at least an understanding of what the rules will do and what they won’t do.

MLGW proposes gas and water rate hikes for 2027 and beyond

blagrone@dailymemphian.com (Brandon LaGrone II) — Thu, 8 Oct 2026 10:58:13 -0500

Memphis Light, Gas and Water CEO Doug McGowen said none of the proposed utility increases “have anything to do with the increased costs of operation because of data centers.”

Memphis City Council will meet to resume session that ended in protest

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Wed, 7 Oct 2026 19:16:54 -0500

The second council meeting of the week was called after Tuesday’s session ended with police clearing the council chamber, leaving several items awaiting discussion and a vote.

City Council business paused after data center discord

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 20:32:33 -0500

The Memphis City Council abruptly stopped business during its regular meeting after the hundreds gathered at Memphis City Hall erupted in displeasure.

Anger erupts at City Hall as data center pause vote pushed yet again

nmclane@dailymemphian.com (Noah McLane) — Wed, 7 Oct 2026 05:53:06 -0500

It was the first item on the agenda of more than 30, but the rest of the meeting was canceled after police and City Hall security cleared the Memphis City Council chamber, those on the scene said.

100 N. Main has $13M to $14M money gap, developer says

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 20:11:36 -0500

The businessman painted a stark, dire picture of Downtown.

Memphis City Council advances call to remove federal agencies from Task Force

mevans@dailymemphian.com (Mary Evans) — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 20:36:05 -0500

The Memphis City Council will vote on a nonbinding resolution calling for the removal of ICE and National Guard personnel from the Memphis Safe Task Force.

Pickleball at Pipkin could save taxpayers more than $3K a month

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Wed, 7 Oct 2026 16:36:39 -0500

If Bluff City Pickleball moves into Liberty Park, it could save the city up to $40,000 a year in operating costs.

Why was your September MLGW bill so high?

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 12:01:28 -0500

The jump in electric bills is directly tied to customers using much more electricity during the September “heat dome” that hovered over Memphis and Shelby County for days.

'There's plenty of room' — MLGW says Memphis is ready for growth

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 10:12:16 -0500

MLGW CEO Doug McGowen told the Memphis City Council that the utility’s electric distribution system has enough capacity to accommodate nearly double the residential customers.

Mayor said 'broad overhaul' of land bank to follow dismissal of CEO

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 15:42:51 -0500

Mayor Paul Young also talked about the return of trolleys, work toward a new Memphis Grizzlies lease at FedExForum as well as the status of the convention center hotel the city bought and other topics.

City Council faces 6 proposals for regulating data centers

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 6 Oct 2026 05:52:38 -0500

There are now six proposals compared to the three plans — including a one-year moratorium on new data centers — on the table three weeks ago.

Broadband internet access expands in Orange Mound

blagrone@dailymemphian.com (Brandon LaGrone II) — Fri, 2 Oct 2026 18:10:09 -0500

The Orange Mound location is the first of 116 planned anchor sites across the city that will provide free, public, high-speed Wi-Fi.

‘What an honor’: Loren Roberts emotional as work starts on clubhouse named for him

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 06:09:52 -0500

Gifts from the Martin and Rhodes families, along with $1 million from First Horizon, are helping fund the clubhouse and a new six-hole short course.

SpaceXAI subsidiary failed to pay $4.2M, contractor alleges

nmclane@dailymemphian.com (Noah McLane) — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 12:46:08 -0500

Ferguson Enterprises says MZX Tech failed to pay for materials used at the Macrohard data center, adding to the AI company’s growing construction disputes.

Task Force has targeted citizens, ACLU alleges

blagrone@dailymemphian.com (Brandon LaGrone II) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 04:00:08 -0500

Attorneys seek a preliminary injunction to stop Task Force members from retaliating against residents who film their operations.

Task Force's 1-year mark comes with questions

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 23:12:53 -0500

A year since the presidential executive order that created the Memphis Safe Task Force was announced in the Oval Office, its impact and future are still being debated, touted and condemned.