LeMoyne-Owen College and Christian Brothers University will join Rhodes College in delaying spring semester in-person classes amid a spike in COVID-19 cases.

UTHSC students and the general public can receive testing without scheduling an appointment from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

COVID-19 data released Tuesday, Jan. 4, reveals more than 2,600 new cases. 

City Council members have delayed the first reading on a police residency referendum until April to see if the Tennessee General Assembly passes a law banning such residency requirements for public safety employees statewide.

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Schools are postponing in-person classes, starting new clubs amid controversy and maybe getting swapped by the state. Plus, we’re taking a Centric view on a proposed mural. 

Between the vocal debate on police residency at its last meeting in 2021 and the Tuesday, Jan. 4, session, Police Chief C.J. Davis has come out in a Daily Memphian op-ed in favor of a broader residency requirement for police. 

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The plaintiffs, known collectively as “Tom Lee Park for All,” claim the park’s $61-million redesign violated a mediation agreement with Memphis in May.

At a meeting Wednesday, Jan. 5, local artists’ colorful image for the Hyatt Centric — on a concrete wall facing the intersection of Beale and Wagner streets — will be considered. 

The City Council will once again be voting on a special use permit for a proposed gas station on Tillman Street between Sam Cooper Boulevard and Broad Avenue during Tuesday’s 10 a.m. City Council meeting. 

State Rep. Mark White confirmed he’ll file another bill in the upcoming legislative session that could determine who controls Germantown Elementary, Germantown Middle School and Germantown High. The bill could also affect Lucy Elementary in Millington.

Rhodes College is altering its plans for the spring semester after consultation with medical experts. The college will keep its Jan. 12 start date for the semester, but classes will begin remotely before transitioning to in-person classes Jan. 31. 

The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day is 1,909.

About 13.5 million 12- to 17-year-olds — just over half that age group — have received two Pfizer shots, according to the CDC.

Two suburban school districts take different approaches to masking, police chief lobbies against residency requirement and we could see more snow later this week. 

With longtime Mayor A. Keith McDonald stepping down this year, two alderman and a Bartlett police officer have announced they will seek the suburb’s top elected office.

Two days into 2022, we’ve experienced both snow and record heat. The Jan. 2 snowfall follows a New Year’s Day high of 79 — the warmest ever recorded in Memphis in January. Meanwhile, some MLGW customers remain without power.

The Shelby County Health Department reported a new record of 3,394 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, Jan. 2. The health department reports there are a total of 18,970 active cases and 3,657 active pediatric cases.

Homes measuring around 280 square feet are planned to be built in cottage courts in Raleigh, Orange Mound and other neighborhoods by Homes for Hearts and its partner organizations. 

The Shelby County Commission Scorecard tracks the votes at the final meeting of 2021 that approved pay raises for the commission, county mayor and sheriff. Also approved: Giving $6.7 million toward the redesign of Tom Lee Park.

The Anglican archbishop who died Sunday, Dec. 26, came to Memphis in 1992 to receive the National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award.

So far, 43 contenders have pulled qualifying petitions to get on the May 3 county primary ballot. Three have also filed their petitions with the Shelby County Election Commission.

The Germantown Municipal School District will require students to wear face coverings when they return to class Tuesday. 

At least a couple of venues are reacting to the COVID surge by canceling their New Year’s Eve events, but so far the Beale Street festivities are still on.

New COVID cases for Shelby County came in above 3,000. 

Daily Memphian staff photographers Patrick Lantrip and Mark Weber take a look back at their work from 2021, and picked these photos to show what the year looked like through their lenses.