Memphis animal control officer Lawrence Higginbottom has won a national award for his daily efforts in the field to reunite pets with their owners. 

The council also takes preliminary votes Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a plan and financing arrangements for an ambitious remake of the Klondike community in North Memphis.

The Monday, Oct. 31, commission meeting sees a final vote on a change to how a county ethics officers is chosen. So far, there has been little public discussion by the body of the measure.

As it begins to search for a permanent head of the district, Memphis-Shelby County Schools is looking at policy revisions before moving forward. “I cannot put a timeline on this process,” board chair Althea Greene said.

There’s hip-hop Halloween at Orange Mound Tower, the Memphis Grizzlies have a chance at some road revenge and it’s the end of the road (this season, at least) for 901 FC.

The East Memphis district is one of only a handful where Tennessee Democrats think they have a chance to gain ground in the Republican-dominated General Assembly.

Nearly two years after Tommy Pacello died of pancreatic cancer, his friends and colleagues are celebrating the visionary city planner’s birthday by unveiling a fellowship that will support his work. 

The U.S. government issued $800 billion in PPP loans, but studies show that up to 15% — or $76 billion — in loans may have been awarded improperly, making it likely one of the widest abused federal programs in the modern era. 

Topgolf could start construction on its future Memphis home this week. The sale of the site was finalized late Friday.

‘You understand how everything can change in the power of politics. You’re just human. You want to live your life,’ said Kostya Domaratskyy, who left his country to earn an MBA at CBU, and now is stranded in Memphis. 

The new hybrid voting system allows hand-marked paper ballots or voting on a touch-screen machine. Mulroy expressed concern that the Shelby County Election Commission was not following through on its compromise to use both voting systems. 

Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and a pioneering female judge in Tennessee, received the Edward J. Devitt Award Friday, Oct. 28, for distinguished, lifetime service to the judiciary.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said the grant from the county’s reserve fund is likely the first of several for a full restoration of the 137-year old church.

As Bodine celebrates its 50th anniversary, the school is looking beyond its Germantown campus into ways it can help the greater Memphis community.

Memphis Public Libraries book sales help raise funds for the library while also offering great deals on used books to eager shoppers. 

Mayor Jim Strickland is proposing the city create a $500,000 “park restoration fund” from Mud Island renovation money to cover potential damages to Tom Lee Park during Memphis in May events. 

A one-story building behind the apartments will be razed to make way for a parking lot with a brick wall barrier.

Collierville Schools adopted a policy giving it the discretion over naming facilities after some board members disagreed on whose names should be chosen.

“Grills, five or six pairs of Ray Bans, a couple of rings, a couple of iPhones — you find just about anything,” said Joe Weiss, general manager of Mud Island Marina in Downtown Memphis.

Mayor Jim Strickland takes his sports venue plan to lawmakers, inmates open up about crime and the Grizzlies beat the Kings (again).

Shelby County elections administrator Linda Phillips and Ian Randolph of the Shelby County Voter Alliance talked about the low turnout on The Daily Memphian’s “On The Record” podcast. 

Interim Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Toni Williams announced efforts to improve compensation for teachers and address maintenance, among other initiatives. 

Related stories:

Memphis-Shelby schools exec leaving in December

MSCS manager fired for personal gains made on school construction contracts

After the General Assembly gave the Tennessee Titans $500 million earlier this year to build a new stadium, local lawmakers are optimistic that the state will be as generous to Memphis in the interest of fairness.

At a Shelby County Young Democrats forum, Joe Brown, Van Turner and Paul Young talked about name recognition, experience, crime, Black business ownership and, in one case, how women have no place in the mayor’s race. 

“There were so many of my friends that didn’t have their fathers in their lives, at least not in the way they wanted them to be. He filled that role for so many people,” said Paul Young, president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission.