Nearly a decade after they first met, Zainora Polk and Stanita Burton now share a stronger bond than ever after Burton gave Polk a kidney.

Seven Tennessee Board of Education members have unanimously upheld the Shelby County Schools board’s decision to close Gateway University Charter School at the end of this academic year, meaning 150 students will need to find a new high school for this fall.

Shelby County's suburban school superintendents worry about the potential effects of vouchers on public education. While Gov. Bill Lee's proposal affects Shelby County Schools locally, suburban superintendents worry it could expand to affect them as well.

The City Council is scheduled Tuesday to take the first of three votes on the Memphis 3.0 plan and to vote on the agreement between the city administration and Graceland for further expansion of Graceland’s Whitehaven campus.

The $5 million Cossitt Library renovation could get started later this spring, with an emphasis on spaces for gathering and creativity within the walls of the city's first library.

Tennessee Black Voter Project and other groups could face fines for turning in hundreds of incomplete voter registration forms.

• Indigo Agriculture files permit for renovation of new Downtown headquarters 
• Shelby County Schools files $2.8M permit for office renovation
• Public open house set before LDS temple rededication

The Memphis City Council also delayed votes once again Tuesday on the first reading of the Memphis 3.0 plan and an agreement between the city and Graceland on Graceland expansion plans.

Lawmakers hoping to pass medical marijuana legislation are teaming up to bring an amendment before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee Wednesday.

Black Lives Matter activist Pamela Moses has won a defamation lawsuit against former Shelby County Commissioner Terry Roland, but the $500 award for court costs and fees was far short of the $1 million the suit sought.

Gov. Bill Lee defended the legality of his education savings account bill Tuesday but acknowledged for the first time it is set up to provide funds to “legal residents,” a matter being challenged by opponents of the legislation.

Shelby County has added a third grand jury in hopes of reducing the length of time defendants wait in jail while also whittling down the case backlog.

Construction has begun on a new $25 million Shelby County Health Department headquarters. 

• LeMoyne-Owen announces partnership with WGU Tennessee
• Text-to-911 service launching April 9 in Memphis
• Ballet Memphis awarded for showing its metal

State Rep. G.A. Hardaway said Monday he will request a state attorney general’s opinion on the constitutionality of voucher legislation requiring parents to show identification proving U.S. citizenship.

The Tennessee Board of Education staff found that Gateway hired an educator who did not pass a background check, gave grades to students in a geometry class that did not exist, and relied on uncertified teachers in classes.

With key votes looming this week on Gov. Bill Lee’s charter and voucher bills, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited Nashville to “cheer” his proposals.

Explore Bike Share changes, effective Monday, are aimed at drawing more riders and making access to the bike system available to more citizens.

The trial begins this week for a man charged with killing a Booker T. Washington High School student days before she was set to graduate in 2016. 

Tennessee Federation for Children's Arizona counterpart urged Spanish-speaking parents to take advantage of education savings accounts without worrying about immigration status.

• Ballet Memphis awarded for showing its metal
• Duncan-Williams Inc. marks 50th anniversary 
• Briarcrest seeks permit for addition to elementary

In the past, critics of vouchers have had more time to mount spirited public opposition, often in the form of rallies in Nashville and Memphis, the city that would likely be most affected.

Shelby County Democratic Party chairman Corey Strong says local Democrats made a good start in the 2018 county elections, sweeping every countywide office on the ballot and improving the Democratic majority on the Shelby County Commission to eight seats.

Fourth- and fifth-graders from several area schools got a look at college life Friday during "Visit Day" at the University of Memphis, sponsored by the university and Shelby County Schools.

Dr. Carnita Atwater of the New Chicago Community Development Corporation calls the North Memphis community to action while taking aim at the Memphis 3.0 land use and development plan.