“Ralph’s impact on our institution and community is immeasurable, and we will forever celebrate his remarkable courage and legacy,” the University of Memphis wrote in a tweet. 

The health department is getting more monkeypox vaccine, Tuyen’s Asian Bistro is the new hotspot and Memphis-Shelby County Schools is under new, temporary leadership at the start of the school year.

Council members talk about new district lines a week after council chairwoman Jamita Swearengen was elected Circuit Court Clerk. She has 90 days, under terms of the county charter, to resign from the council.

The commission also approved Monday, Aug. 8, a resolution that urges local law enforcement make their lowest priority the enforcement of the state’s new abortion law that takes effect later this month.

The new court is expected to hold full hearings on bail requests; its creation was prompted by threats of a lawsuit over the way bail is handled in Shelby County and the success of a similar lawsuit in another jurisdiction. 

The resolution drew bipartisan support with four Democratic commissioners abstaining but none voting against the measure sponsored by two Republican commissioners.

Shelby County Health Department director Dr. Michelle Taylor kicked off Monday’s Shelby County Commission meeting with local updates on both COVID-19 and monkeypox. 

All but one charge against a man who threatened to shoot people leaving a FedExForum concert last month were dropped during a Monday appearance.

The group is scheduled to make a presentation Tuesday, Aug. 9, to the Memphis City Council for a Mud Island version of the “adventure park.”

Olive Branch is building a “wall” to monitor who is coming into the city, teacher vacancies are down at Memphis-Shelby County Schools and a South Main pioneer has a vision for Jackson Avenue. 

“This was not easy for me to run against Mr. Lamar because he has done so much good for our community,” Jonathan Dunn said of defeating Hugh Lamar for the Arlington Community Schools Position 3 board seat.

At the Monday, Aug. 8, commission meeting, the body also votes on a new bail courtroom. And it takes a final vote on a minority business contracting program as well as transferring Orgill Park and Golf Course to the city of Millington.

Olive Branch officials want to monitor who drives into the DeSoto County city, and has hired a Georgia firm to track license plates with cameras.

Today is the first day of the new school year for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, and the district still has 180 vacant teacher positions. 

In the shadow of the Renasant Convention Center, a peaceful line forms. People in shabby, sometimes off-season clothing, come for a homemade burrito, bag of chips, water, a soft drink, maybe a pair of new socks.

Alissa Fowler, a local Realtor, is challenging Wanda Chism, who has served on the Collierville Schools board of education since the district’s inception.

As part of the celebration and back-to-school prep, the district also partnered with the Shelby County Health Department to provide students in need with free immunizations.

Jennifer Collins said the pandemic forced some changes in higher education and exacerbated the need for mental health services already surfacing on college campuses.

“We train all our staff in battlefield first aid,” said one local school superintendent. “We watch some really gory videos so they can be prepared.”

The unofficial voter turnout in Shelby County for the August 2022 election was the lowest for the election cycle since partisan county primaries began.

The back-to-school initiative takes place in multiple cities across the country and has been an annual tradition of the organizations for over a decade.

Since an injunction was lifted last month, the state has been working to make taxpayer-funded private school vouchers available by the time class starts — which in Shelby County is Monday, Aug. 8.

From January to June this year, there were 483 charges against violent juvenile offenders, compared to 298 in the first half last year.