The Memphis Area Transit Authority is getting more than $2.1 million from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for electric buses as part of a Volkswagen settlement.

Memphis River Parks Partnership and its design team, led by Studio Gang and Scape, announced a new, improved concept for a $60 million overhaul of Tom Lee Park. 

Jeanne Gang, founder of project architect Studio Gang, and Kate Orff, founding principal of landscape architect Scape, join MRPP president Carol Coletta in revealing the latest concept during today’s livestream.

"A grounding in the liberal arts encourages a multi-disciplinary approach to the foundational questions raised by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said president Majorie Hass.

The Calgary Zoo is having to return its two giant pandas to China because of pandemic-caused logistics problems in getting enough bamboo. But the Memphis Zoo has its own bamboo farm as well as bamboo donors. 

Cheryl Patterson says the utility board makes the first decision on whether MLGW stays or leaves TVA.

As Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter says, if masks are a fashion statement, people will be more likely to wear them. 

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland uses some basketball analogies and looks at the idea of a denser city post-pandemic. Meanwhile, Shelby County Health Dept. Director Alisa Haushalter pushes back on the idea of refusing to give your address if you test positive.

The director of the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery found a special way this Memorial Day to honor those who sacrificed everything.

Shelby County reported 128 new cases this week, the largest single day increase since April 9.

Shelby County Health Department director Alisa Haushalter says the jump in cases may be due to outbreaks in nursing homes or related to Mother's Day gatherings, which would be in the two-week incubation period.

"We will not return to campus life just as it was before,” Dr. Jon McCullers said. "... We will do many things differently, with the primary goal of keeping our students and faculty safe while delivering an outstanding educational experience.” 

All the numbers you never knew you needed but do, plus a possible light switch, sports fans face the future, and "new" restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Graphs show infection rates across the nine-county metropolitan area, including bordering counties in Mississippi and Arkansas.

Nordstrom Rack among the local businesses ready to reopen doors this week.

Sports are returning and, eventually, fans too. But will fears of contracting the coronavirus keep Grizzlies and Memphis Tigers fans home? That depends – on a lot of things. 

Wearing a mask or facial covering, and whether it should be mandated or suggested, is one of the ongoing debates as people emerge into the public arena as part of the COVID-19 recovery.

The call for an executive order by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is the latest, including three lawsuits pending in Nashville. Lee has said he will not issue an executive order dropping state law's present restrictions on the mail-in ballots.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals rejected the state's efforts to keep working on the Education Savings Account program while it's under appeal and set an Aug. 5 hearing for arguments, which could make it difficult for the program to get the go-ahead in time to start offering vouchers this year.

Detainees at 201 Poplar who had tested positive for COVID-19, upset they were being returned to their original housing, were pepper-sprayed Tuesday, May 19, after staging a sit-in, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

The city council approved a resolution that asks the mayor to seek specific information on what it would take for MLGW to break ties with TVA and pursue another electric power supplier. But the effort will wait at least until a first draft of a comprehensive report commissioned by MLGW is released May 29.

Alisa Haushalter, Amy Weirich, Michael Dunavant and other local officials continue to raise concerns over Shelby County's latest surge in drug overdoses.

Leigh Anne Rainey, a former Collierville High School science teacher, is returning to the district as chief academic officer.

Germantown Municipal School District 5K Stampede and Color Run will not happen in its normal format next month.

Tennessee House Education Committee Chairman Mark White agrees with federal guidelines diverting a great share of CARES Act funds to private schools, but Memphis Democrats say the decision creates a wider gap in education resources.