Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says his bid for a second term as mayor seeks to go beyond the "brilliant at the basics" mantra of his 2015 campaign to get into the stubborn issues of crime and poverty.

Ernest Withers aimed his camera through a bramble of twisting oak limbs, sharpening his focus on a home atop a small hill.

Four Republican candidates vying for the vacated Tennessee State Senate District 32 seat participated in a forum Monday evening, giving views on topics including infrastructure, education, health care and the opioid epidemic.

The Shelby County Commission delayed a vote Monday on allocating $1.3 million for a new Shelby County Juvenile Detention Center after several commissioners raised concerns they were moving too fast on the project.

Memphis police and fire unions are again seeking to increase the sales tax rate by half a cent to restore their benefits and pensions, but also to help pay for road repairs and pre-K programs. 

The University of Memphis has named Dr. Damon M. Fleming the new dean of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics. Fleming will be replacing former dean Rajiv Grover, who announced he was stepping down in May 2018 to devote more time to research.

Shelby County commissioners Tami Sawyer and Mark Billingsley talk about juvenile justice reform with county beat reporter Omer Yusuf, and city government reporter Bill Dries recaps the three new Memphis City Council members and the rocky transition in the Criminal Court clerk’s office.

The state Legislature could take action in 2019 to penalize pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies for failing to comply with Tennessee's new "partial-fill" law designed to cut opioid abuse.

Even mentors in the Peer Power program are better defining their futures, discovering their passion for helping younger students could turn into a career.

Alan Curtis, president of the Eisenhower Foundation, was in Memphis last week to talk about  an update of the landmark Kerner Commission report on 1968 riots.

The three newest Memphis City Council members may be a good indication of a change in who runs for the council in the 2019 city elections.

A new Juvenile Detention Center is a top priority for Mayor Lee Harris in 2019.

Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery addressed members of the community in the first of three town halls to be held in District 8.

State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris became federal judge Mark Norris at a formal ceremony Friday Downtown -- part of a larger season of transition in politics.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander wants to ditch border wall talks between the president and Democratic leaders and instead start moving toward a Senate vote with amendments. That's provided President Donald Trump agrees to reopen the federal government for three weeks while such a bill would be amended and discussed.

Germantown Municipal School District is further revising its transfer policy for nonresidents. The new policy would enforce tuition for students who wish to attend GMSD and live outside Germantown.

Republican state Rep. Mark White of Memphis will serve as House Education Committee chairman during the 111th General Assembly, and two other members of the Shelby County delegation, Reps. Jim Coley and Kevin Vaughan, will chair subcommittees.

The city has plans to add a median strip, bike lanes and landscaping on the block of Union Avenue between Marshall and Manassas streets. The changes will connect with a longer stretch of road on Manassas that is something of a proving ground for lots of similar features.

House Minority Leader Karen Camper's former assistant stole $12,500 from the House Democratic Caucus over three years, according to a forensic audit.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander talks to The Daily Memphian about his plan to end the government shutdown and get a compromise on President Donald Trump’s border wall and other topics.

The family of Darrius Stewart filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Memphis, the officer who killed the 19-year-old and the former head of the Memphis Police Department. The trial is set to start next month in federal court. 

Aspire is spinning off its four Memphis schools into a new, independent charter school organization. The 1,600 students would officially transition at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year if the plan comes to fruition.

Shelby County Commissioners Tami Sawyer and Mark Billingsley appeared on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast to talk about juvenile justice reform. 

Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn is reviewing the idea of an expungement court docket to speed the process of wiping clean the criminal records of offenders who have stayed out of trouble for five years. 

Research has shown that when students have more “familiar faces” around them in class, they’re less likely to be chronically absent, so nonprofits like Communities in Schools are sending staff members into local schools to combat absenteeism.