St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was the first to make vaccination mandatory. It has not released the percentage of staff that complied.

The percentage is a calculation that excludes the city’s spend in areas where it is determined there are no local minority businesses.

The Memphis Grizzlies gave us a mixtape, an AutoZone employee has raced 262 miles (and run countless more) for St. Jude and local deer are feeling amorous. 

Democrats voted for it and Republicans voted against it. But the party line was not enough to make it the final vote on the redistricting plan that creates a new commission district built around Cordova, where most of the growth was in the 2020 Census. 

The 330-acre park will add soccer fields, security lights and additional parking, and it will connect nearby neighborhoods to the Wolf River Greenway as part of a revamped plan. 

Shelby County Commissioners also reacted Monday to the pandemic legislation that came out of a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly. 

The third candidate’s information will be distributed Tuesday, Nov. 2, for the Nov. 4 open sessions.

State Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) surrendered his passport and pleaded not guilty to five counts of campaign violations and fraud in federal District Court in Nashville.

The council has final votes scheduled Tuesday, Nov. 2, on two pipeline-related ordinances. Also on the agenda are a contract to manage a North Memphis community center and a second look at a minimum wage for EDGE tax breaks.

In 2002, an AutoZone employee new to Memphis began running for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital — and he’s never stopped. 

Two Tigers are banding together — as are actual marching bands from across the Mid-South. And it’s Pantà-monium in Midtown with a new restaurant. 

As more candidates open their campaigns for next year’s ballot, they’re discussing issues such as criminal justice reform and why some areas of the city are seeing an economic boom while others are not.

It might be a long day at the county building Monday, Nov. 1, when Shelby County commissioners are scheduled for the final vote on the once-a-decade process of drawing new district lines.

Tennessee Republicans are firmly anti-mandate today. But in 2013, they supported a requirement that college students get vaccinated against meningitis.

Even persons of faith can struggle with being unable to be physically present and say goodbye to loved ones.

Tuesday, Nov. 2, is All Souls Day. Beginning in the ninth century, Christians have held a day of prayer on the day after All Saints Day to remember the souls of all who had died.

About 1,000 trick-or-treaters strolled through Memphis Botanic Garden Saturday. As children gathered candy, they met costumed volunteers like “Professor Fang” and “Indiana Bones,” who taught them about nature. 

On the WKNO program “Behind The Headlines,” Natalie McKinney and Terence Patterson also called for a move away from the idea that school choice for parents involves getting students to schools in other parts of the city.

Legislators voted to allow, but not require, partisan school board elections. The legislature also reviewed a number of bills related COVID-19 measures.

Related story:

Legislators approve bill limiting Health Department autonomy

Tennessee has been under a governor-issued emergency declaration since pandemic began.

Shelby County Schools reported 68 new COVID-19 cases among students and 20 new cases among staff at its public and charter schools this week. 

“Celebrating first holidays when your baby is in the hospital is difficult, and we want to provide some normalcy to families by having a little fun with these costumes,” said a Regional One spokesperson.

Cammy Abernathy, dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida, is one of three finalists for the University of Memphis presidency, according to a statement posted to the university’s website. She will visit the campus Tuesday, Nov. 2.

The Maxine A. Smith University Center commemorates the civil rights activist’s efforts to desegregate schools and universities in Memphis. 

The similarly made Moderna vaccine also is being studied in young children, and both Pfizer and Moderna also are testing shots for babies and preschoolers.