Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Opinion

Echols: Seeing more stars than our eyes could take in

candaceecholswrites@gmail.com (Candace Echols) — Sun, 9 Aug 2026 04:00:04 -0500

“Awe is evident when your mind has been blown and you are forced to re-think what you knew before.”

Opinion: I wish the rest of America understood what I know about Memphis

morriss@churchhealth.org (G. Scott Morris) — Fri, 7 Aug 2026 14:23:39 -0500

“It takes living here to know the people. That’s what so many who dismiss Memphis never experience. They see headlines but never hospitality. They hear about violence but never generosity. They know the statistics but not our stories.”

Calkins: Attorney Ted Jones wrote some of the best obits in Memphis. He deserves one of his own.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Tue, 4 Aug 2026 06:31:10 -0500

Ted Jones took it upon himself to write miniature, elegant obituaries on Facebook, celebrating the lives of attorneys and judges and anyone else he knew in the legal profession who had died. Jones, 67, died July 29.

Opinion: Local government matters, and every vote counts

morriss@churchhealth.org (G. Scott Morris) — Sun, 2 Aug 2026 07:58:09 -0500

The men and women elected on Thursday will face some of the most consequential decisions Shelby County has confronted in years.

Echols: Punctuation is a short-term superpower

candaceecholswrites@gmail.com (Candace Echols) — Sun, 2 Aug 2026 15:47:28 -0500

“I typically write about God in this space, and you may think there’s no way on earth to weave God into a conversation about punctuation – but on that matter, Dear Reader, you would be wrong.”

Maxey: Despite the heat, in summer everything in nature is alive and at its peak.

rmaxey@dailymemphian.com (Ron Maxey) — Sun, 2 Aug 2026 04:00:14 -0500

“I’ll take every season life sees fit to give me, but I know which way I’ll bend if I have to choose favorites. Give me the season with long days and short pants, warm evenings but cool memories.”

Opinion: The lesson from the World Cup is that Memphis needs to promote more local musicians

editor@dailymemphian.com (Andrew Tawfik) — Sun, 2 Aug 2026 04:00:14 -0500

“Memphis could be at the epicenter of the next music revival, much like Nashville and country music has enjoyed over the last 15 years. Yet so many of the discussions here today focus on promoting the music infrastructure, with very little about musicians themselves.”

Opinion: Adults can debate — but children can’t wait

editor@dailymemphian.com (Allison N. Oliver) — Sat, 1 Aug 2026 04:00:01 -0500

“Here is my challenge to Memphis as a new school year begins: Move Memphis, mane! Move beyond the debates long enough to remember the reason we have them in the first place: our children.”

Letter to the Editor: The Task Force’s actions are moral indictment of Memphis

letters@dailymemphian.com (Letters to the Editor) — Sat, 1 Aug 2026 04:00:01 -0500

“The deaths of four Memphis residents at the hands of the Memphis (un)Safe Task Force are a moral indictment of a city that continues to confuse force with public safety and to mistake control through violence for peace.”

Opinion: John Fry’s legacy deserves more than the final headlines

editor@dailymemphian.com (Elizabeth Montgomery Brown) — Sat, 1 Aug 2026 04:00:01 -0500

“As Memphis discusses the future of Ardent Studios, I hope we will spend just as much time remembering why Ardent mattered and honoring John Fry, the man who devoted his life to making sure the music, the people and the history of this city would never be forgotten.”

Echols: At the beach, why do we let Phil Collins drown out the sound of the waves?

candaceecholswrites@gmail.com (Candace Echols) — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:27:08 -0500

“In a time of pervasive anxiety and loneliness, we pay a hearty chunk of change for a music box named after a Turtle in order to drown out the God-given sounds that Creation offers to soothe us.”

Calkins: Jordan Devey's family wants you to know he took his own life — and that he is making it possible for many others to live.

gcalkins@dailymemphian.com (Geoff Calkins) — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 14:59:32 -0500

Former Memphis Tiger Jordan Devey took his own life last week. Sunday, a surgical team will transplant his organs so others can live.

Opinion: Memphis’ city planning failed us — Memphis 3.0 is the vision we need

editor@dailymemphian.com (Kelsey Huse) — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 04:00:08 -0500

“Those of us who don’t stand to profit off zoning decisions must speak up and support a vision for a more walkable Memphis. Not only will this support small local businesses, but it will save lives on our roads.”

Maxey: Selective recollections shouldn't become a reality that never was

rmaxey@dailymemphian.com (Ron Maxey) — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:00:14 -0500

“As I linger on the sweet and innocent memories, I try to never let them become my lone takeaway from that time in life when things felt better even if they weren’t. I don’t want my selective recollections of the past to become an encompassing reality that never was.”

Opinion: District Attorney Steve Mulroy makes ‘Force Science’ a straw man

john.covington@memphispoliceassociation.org (John Covington) — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 10:18:56 -0500

“Police officers routinely face circumstances few citizens will ever experience. They must distinguish victims from suspects, assess deadly threats, and make irreversible decisions in fractions of a second.”

Opinion: Before you condemn DA Mulroy, read what he said for yourself

erica.a.middleton@gmail.com (Erica May) — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:09 -0500

“There is a difference between criticizing law enforcement as a profession and criticizing how law enforcement officers are trained. Examining professional failures does not demean a profession. It strengthens it.”

Opinion: Risks of SpaceXAI data center outweigh benefits

editor@dailymemphian.com (Bill Bullock) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:00:14 -0500

“If you plant the right trees in the right places, embrace and care for our native ecosystem, and hold industry and government accountable for their impacts on our environment, we may just succeed.”

Opinion: Memphis breweries ask SpaceXAI to keep its water promise

editor@dailymemphian.com (Rheannan Watson) — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:32:17 -0500

Opinion: “Memphis does not have to choose between innovation and stewardship. ... SpaceXAI must complete the water recycling facility, pursue water-saving technologies, and be the community partner Memphis was promised.”

Opinion: Why does my electricity go on vacation more than I do?

rmaxey@dailymemphian.com (Ron Maxey) — Sun, 5 Jul 2026 13:09:27 -0500

“The real problem here — the sweaty elephant in the room — is infrastructure sorely in need of an upgrade. But as an average user who just expects the lights to come on when I flip the switch, I can’t accept that power in an urban area should go out so easily, so often and for so long.”

Opinion: On xAI, Mayor Young is gaslighting Memphis

editor@dailymemphian.com (Joseph Ryan Kelly) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 04:00:13 -0500

Opinion by Joseph Ryan Kelly: “If Mayor Young truly believes Anthropic’s partnership with xAI is unequivocally good news for Memphis, then he is badly misreading the moment.”