Memphis ends 2020 with 332 homicides, a record number. Police say the pandemic played a part, but there is no easy answer to why the increase occurred. 

Each time the Shelby County Health Department announces more locations for vaccination distribution, suburban spots are excluded.

A fraught relationship between African Americans and the medical community has meant an uphill battle in building trust for the COVID-19 vaccine, but there are those in the community working to bridge that gap. 

The EDGE board approves more grant money for restaurants and grocers that are affected by the pandemic and the latest restrictions.

The protest of several dozen along the Poplar Corridor came before the aborted attempt in Washington D.C. to certify the Electoral College results that ended in violence.

The Shelby County Health Department says more than 24,000 COVID-19 shots have been given in Shelby County so far.

Here is the latest from the city’s representatives in the U.S. House and Senate.

The bill follows a City Council decision late last year to remove a referendum question that would have allowed Memphis police and firefighters to live outside Shelby County.

The Shelby County Health Department is vaccinating residents and staff of assisted living and other congregate facilities this week. No drive-thru vaccination sites are operating.

Harris took the proposal for grants of $1,000 per qualified worker to commission committee sessions Wednesday, Jan. 6.

We’ve also got a new food truck policy in Collierville, a planned cigar bar and a mystery at Mud Island. 

Democrat Raphael Warnock won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs Wednesday. The focus now shifts to the second race between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff, which will determine which party has the majority in the Senate.

With a virtual groundbreaking ceremony before Christmas, actual construction work began Tuesday, Jan. 5, on the Tom Lee Park project.

By a narrow 7-6 vote, the Memphis City Council has changed the default speed limit on city streets without speed limit signs from 30 miles an hour to 25 miles an hour.

Grants for distressed businesses also got a share of the funding after a council debate. And the council mediated a call by a restaurant owner to MLGW to work out payment plans with the industry.

The coronavirus is spreading faster in Tennessee than just about anywhere, but the state is also vaccinating residents faster than the national average. Locally, however, officials are awaiting smoother and more consistent distribution from the state to improve the situation. 

In the discussion with Memphis City Council members Tuesday, Jan. 5, the police director said he can’t carry out plans of a city task force to reopen several community policing centers given the pandemic. He got immediate pushback from several council members.

As Operation LeGend ends, the federal violent crime initiative resulted in 266 arrests locally and seizure of 210 guns even as homicides in the city set a new record. 

Former state House candidate Jerri Green has been named interim executive director of The Community Legal Center. 

Many of Dickey’s books made it to The New York Times bestsellers list.

COVID-19 is now the third-leading cause of death in Shelby County and has killed five times more people than the 173 who succumbed to complications from influenza in 2019.

Suburban leaders want to make sure the vaccine is accessible to residents when it’s their turn.

The Health Department reported 390 new coronavirus cases and 20 new coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, Jan. 5.