Memphis singer/songwriter-turned-pastor John Kilzer has died. He was 62.

Covington business owner Paul Rose claimed the district seat on both sides of the Tipton-Shelby county line with nearly 90 percent of the district-wide vote.

• Chelsea Clinton to visit Memphis Zoo in support of new children's book
• Women’s Foundation announces 2019 Legends Award honorees
• Memphian to make difference in city through art, business, and music 

State Sen. Brian Kelsey is downplaying a National Rifle Association graphic criticizing him for posing with members of Moms Demand Action, a group advocating for gun law reforms.

The city of Memphis is suing 21 opioid manufacturers and distributors in a federal lawsuit claiming “opioid addiction is ravaging Memphis.”

Kirby Middle's principal, Marian Williams, credits the reflection room and an incentives program for students’ good behavior as aids to a more empathetic approach to discipline this year.

Two Shelby County lawmakers are sponsoring legislation creating a state commission with authority to approve charter schools without the operators going through a local school board.

The race for Memphis Mayor has three front-line contenders on the way to the spring and summer heart of the 2019 campaign. And the trio of Sawyer, Herenton and Strickland shows some differences that reflect divergent views of the city's future beyond who wins and who loses.

• Memphian to make difference in city through art, business, and music 
• Shelby County Opioid Summit comes to Memphis Thursday 
• Former U of M professor returns to Memphis to debut first novel

Shelby County plans to use pretrial risk assessment tools to help local judges decide on bail for nonviolent defendants. 

Monday was “311 Day” at City Hall, and the city’s 311 operation and call center was open to the media to draw awareness to the call and app service that began in 2013.

Voters in eastern Shelby County and Tipton County go to the polls Tuesday to decide who will take the state Senate District 32 seat formerly held by Mark Norris.

Legislation by state Sen. Brian Kelsey that could dramatically increase Senate candidate fundraising could be heard in a committee this week.

• Shelby County Opioid Summit comes to Memphis Thursday 
• Former U of M professor returns to Memphis to debut first novel
• Steve Mulroy to hold book signing at Novel

Constitutional questions and the likelihood of expensive litigation will likely cause the state Senate to slow-walk a fetal heartbeat bill passed by the House this week.

Almost half the signatures processed so far to put a city sales tax hike on the ballot this year have been judged invalid, according to the Shelby County Election Commission.

Gov. Bill Lee says this is the year to pass his “school choice” plan, putting $25.4 million in his budget plan to pay local systems if they lose students.

Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer appeared on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast to discuss her announcement seeking the Memphis mayor's office in October. 

With the support of a network of 49 organizations, United Way of the Mid-South is celebrating the first year of its collaborative attack on local poverty with a visit from the woman who inspired the agency's initiative.

• Text-to-911 service launching soon in Memphis
• Portion of Pleasant Ridge Road to close for about a month
• American Home Shield holding jobs fair

Local law enforcement applauds Gov. Bill Lee’s plan to shore up school safety with $30 million in grant funding.

Gov. Bill Lee said his proposed education savings accounts would not siphon money from public schools: “For every dollar that goes with a child that leaves a school or a district, that district will receive a fill-in-the-gap amount of equal amount.”

The Memphis mayor’s authority over public schools is limited, since the city school board voted in 2010 to dissolve the city district, which led to a merger of the city and county school systems. But the city mayor isn’t without power to steer conversation and dictate spending. 

An AmeriCorps team of eight is at Overton Park and Shelby Forest for a month to go after invasive plants just before spring arrives. Meanwhile, the Overton Park Conservancy has drawn some attention for some seasonal changes in the Old Forest after the recent rains.

• Text-to-911 service launching soon in Memphis
• Portion of Pleasant Ridge Road to close for about a month
• American Home Shield holding jobs fair