Owners of 70 Downtown businesses signed off on a June 26 letter to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland supporting Tom Lee Park transformation, but critics are keeping the heat on.

The University of Memphis is closing its Olympic-size outdoor pool as part of additions and renovations. Friday was the last day of use for the pool.

Former state legislator Bretran Thompson was arrested on theft and impersonation charges after a woman accused him of taking her money to draw up a contract. He was not qualified because he was disbarred from practicing law in 1996. 

Sexton has strong ties to public education. He attended schools in Knox County before graduating in 1989 from Oak Ridge High School in neighboring Anderson County. His mother was a kindergarten teacher for more than 30 years, and his grandfather was a principal.

Westwood residents offered organizers of the new CDC a list of suggestions to improve the community, from covered basketball courts and a splash pad, to career readiness programs and a full-service bank location.

Rap superstar Yo Gotti announces partnership with Shelby County Schools to outfit students at his former middle school with free uniforms. The music mogul said he hopes to expand the program to more schools in the district.

The House declined to oust embattled state Rep. David Byrd during a Friday special session but received assurances of a Judiciary investigation into allegations he committed sexual misconduct with three girls he coached in the late 1980s, pending an attorney general's opinion.

Mauricio Calvo, on the Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, said last year's council deadlock on filling a council vacancy prompted him to run on the Oct. 3 ballot. J.B. Smiley Jr. is making his bid for a different council seat after a bid last year for the Shelby County Commission.

Town of Collierville's courtroom has been named the William Craig Hall Courtroom. The town adopted a resolution Friday to rename the courtroom after the late judge.

Phillip Britt, one of three men convicted of the murder of Deborah Groseclose in 1977, has been denied parole for a fifth time. 

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly elected Republican Cameron Sexton as Speaker Friday, attempting to reverse months of upheaval caused by a racist and sexist texting scandal surrounding former Speaker Glen Casada.

The westbound curb lane on Park Avenue between Primacy Parkway and Brookfield Road will be closed for approximately seven days to allow TDOT to make roadway repairs associated with the MemFix 4 bridge replacement project starting Monday at 9 a.m.

The House Republican Caucus, one day before a special session, chose Rep. Jeremy Faison of East Tennessee as its chairman for the rest of the 111th General Assembly, marking a departure from the heavy-handed style of former Speaker Glen Casada.

The Achieve the Dream event this weekend is an opportunity for potential homebuyers to get pre-approved for low-interest loans with no down payments and no closing costs.

After confirming the death of two local dogs shortly after a visit to Shelby Farms Park, park officials say they are closing the lakes in the area where the dogs swam. Officials haven't confirmed the cause of the dogs' deaths.

University of Tennessee mascot Smokey X almost refused to look at Gov. Bill Lee, an Auburn graduate, Thursday before a bill-signing ceremony designating the bluetick coonhound as the official state dog.

Results from the latest Tennessee Educator Survey are both troubling and encouraging in a state that has fostered gains on national student tests but also is seeing a gradual decline in its number of teacher candidates.

The House Democratic Caucus is set to push legislation to expand Medicaid in Tennessee in Friday’s special session of the Legislature, saying the state has lost out on more than $5 billion by refusing to take federal funds under the Affordable Care Act.

The holding company for Mississippi-based Guaranty Bank & Trust Co., Guaranty Capital Corporation, has agreed to buy Memphis’ First Alliance Bank in an all-cash transaction.

University of Memphis and Kroger are offering $10 tickets for the Tigers Sept. 7 game against Southern University with a donation going to the Mid-South Food Bank.

The murder trial for Billy Ray Turner, accused in the fatal shooting of former NBA star Lorenzen Wright, has been delayed after prosecutors introduced new information Thursday, Aug. 22.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has a full calendar of groundbreakings and openings as an incumbent campaigning on his record. Challenger Tami Sawyer, meanwhile, is appealing to fellow millennials to resist the call of other cities as well as the momentum Strickland is claiming.

Cherisse Scott, CEO of the reproductive rights advocacy organization SisterReach, was removed from a Senate hearing in a now-viral video clip. However, she says she's energized, not discouraged by the incident.

House Speaker nominee Cameron Sexton is asking the state attorney general whether the House can oust someone for actions that took place a quarter-century before election, apparently referring to embattled state Rep. David Byrd.

The County Commission’s budget and finance committee Wednesday put off until its next meeting a vote on a resolution to award a $50,000 grant to an existing rugby program on the site of Vance Middle School.