It's 7/7/2020, and we've got the City Council looking at cutting police from Civil Service, changes to both Poplar Plaza and High Point Grocery and who got PPP money. 

Pool testing has been used for other diseases for decades; Memphis among first cities to apply for FDA emergency-use approval.

The deadline is the end of the business day Tuesday for those not already registered. But 83% of the county's voting age population is already on the voting rolls. Meanwhile, about 7,500 Shelby Countians already registered to vote have requested absentee ballots — far above the usual number of requests for the mail-in ballots.

The Sierra Club’s Scott Banbury raises questions about the governor's move to extend electronic meetings for local governments, while the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government says it creates a "convenient" loophole for councils and commissions to avoid public comment.

While critical of the first draft of the IRP by Siemens consulting, the environmental group says it still makes a case for more renewable energy to generate electric power. The Sierra Club response also stops short of recommending cutting ties to TVA, saying the cost of transmission lines to rival MISO should be fully explored.

Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loan applications resume with Aug. 8 deadline and nearly $130 billion still left in the program till.

The Shelby County district attorney general said she believed in free speech, but “free speech does not give anyone the right to steal my flags and burn them on my property or to harass and intimidate my husband, children and neighbors.”

Memphis City Council members to discuss removing police from the city’s civil service system.

Monday's numbers also bring the area's reported coronavirus-related deaths to 200. 

The Memphis Zoo cites the pandemic's effects on the local restaurant industry as a factor in cancelling this year's Zoo Rendezvous event.

It's Monday, July 6, and we're talking about probable new restrictions due to rising coronavirus case numbers, a "best trick" contest and the future of Tom Lee Park. 

The Cordova headquarters opening spotlighted the only countywide race on the August ballot – the race for General Sessions Court Clerk between Democrat Joe Brown and Republican Paul Boyd.

The Corps of Engineers took a wait-and-see attitude on some questions about how much Tom Lee Park can be changed by new park design, suggesting ongoing dialog ahead.

There's no doubt costs of maintaining and operating Tom Lee Park will increase after a planned $60 million overhaul of the riverfront park. How much is an open question.

Shelby County Health Department confirmed 405 new coronavirus cases Sunday, July 5, 2020, out of 2,400 people tested. Seventeen COVID-related deaths occurred in Shelby County in the last week, bringing the total to 198.

The Masons are worried state funding will be cut for the Family Support Program, hurting their ability to pay for speech therapy for their autistic son.

The Memphis Zoo’s bat-eared foxes, Raj and Helen, are first-time parents. Helen gave birth May 25 inside Cat Country at the zoo in what is a significant birth because it’s part of a new Species Survival Plan.

In Shelby County, more than 28% of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are Latino. The percentage of positive tests is rising.

The public comment period on the first draft of the study that plays a crucial role in whether the city-owned utility stays with the federal agency ends Monday.

The Health Department announced Friday that it will mandate masks in public for those over age 2.

According to a written COVID task force update, the daily positivity rate continues to climb.

The Lee Administration is paying an accounting firm $250,000 to help it properly spend more than $7 billion in federal funds by Dec. 30, the deadline for using CARES Act money connected to COVID-19 expenses.

The ordinance to be discussed is aimed at cases in which police leadership have moved to fire officers they found had used excessive force or deadly force improperly only to have those officers reinstated on appeal. The appeal is part of the city's civil service system.

The manual search through Memphis Police Department's excessive-force investigations is a slow and tedious process. But a recent search uncovered a file on the 2015 police beating of a suspect that reportedly wasn't referred to the Shelby County District Attorney's Office for review of the officers' conduct.

Gov. Bill Lee announced Thursday, July 2, plans for a partnership with various agencies to enhance officer training and increase police training.