Special session will be continued, Southaven is closing its doors and we take a deep dive on busing 50 years later.

The Memphis in May International Festival was founded to promote foreign business investment in the city. The tradition will continue with the Greater Memphis Chamber announcing the 2024 honored country next week.

Half a century ago this month, 39,000 Memphis children — about a third of the then-Memphis City Schools system — were told to board school buses and continue their education at new schools in an effort to racially integrate them.

Related story: 

Chapter One: Before the buses

Court-ordered busing began in the Memphis City Schools system in 1973, 19 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racially segregated public schools should be integrated with “all deliberate speed.” But MCS had tried other methods at integration before busing.

The Chancery Court lawsuit seeks to stop construction on the new riverfront Brooks Museum, charging violations of the terms of the “public promenade” established when the city was founded in 1819.

In an effort to curb crime in Southaven, Mayor Darren Musselwhite is directing the police department to increase patrols on north-south access streets into Memphis.

Portions of video footage from Jarveon Hudspeth’s fatal encounter with a Shelby County Sheriff’s Office deputy were released by the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday, Aug. 24.

If estimates hold true, TVA will experience the highest demand for electricity of the summer Thursday; it would also be the highest power demand during any August in more than a decade. 

The General Assembly’s special legislative session will not end this week. The state Senate on Thursday, Aug. 24, adjourned for the weekend with the intention of returning Monday afternoon, after a meeting that lasted just a few minutes.

Senate passes four bills that do “nothing,” Lichterman breaks ground on a new play forest and Ja faces competition for his throne.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools scored a Level 5 distinction on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System for the second consecutive year. 

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors will vote on a proposal to replace local combustion turbines with aeroderivative turbines, which are more modern, and help integrate renewable energy into the grid.

The bills seek to improve background checks, create an awareness campaign about free gun locks and require a report on human trafficking; they mostly continue things the state government already does.

Herman Hollins-Brown, 41, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of abuse of a corpse and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.

Michael Oher, the lineman portrayed in “The Blind Side,” pushes Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy to disclose financial information from his 19-year conservatorship. 

The amount is a record high for the program and comes as Moore Tech plans to start a new weatherization training program in November. 

A May event that doubled as staff appreciation as well as Memphis City Council chair Martavius Jones’ birthday party cost the city $1,800. 

Jarveon Hudspeth video is coming soon, the city’s first Sichuan restaurant opens in Cordova and we’ve got an update on your missing MLGW bill. 

Joel Bowman, 32, appeared in Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Division 11 Judge Karen Massey’s courtroom Tuesday for the first time since his release from the hospital Aug. 18.

The Memphis City Council voted down a ballot question that would have required MLGW employees to live within Shelby County. It gave final approval to a referendum on restoring the city court clerk as an elected office. 

Tuesday saw the first committee hearings of the special session and the beginning of discussion on bills. More than 100 people — including parents of Covenant School shooting survivors — were removed from one of the first hearings.

Related story: 

House sets controversial rules as General Assembly begins special session

Some MLGW customers will get multiple bills in a short period of time.

Memphis’ solid waste department is blaming a delay in bulk item pick-up on the amount of storm debris left on city curbs, but some say the problems predate the recent severe weather. 

The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said it will start releasing “key portions” of video footage from fatal officer-involved shootings before the investigation and review is complete.

The city is still debating how to fund renovations to both Simmons Bank Liberty Bowl and FedExForum.