Memphis City Council member JB Smiley Jr. is named in a May letter as urging the city administration to hire Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington’s niece in the city’s IT division.

To celebrate World Snake Day, Chris Baker, associate curator of reptiles at the Memphis Zoo, discusses how he and his team safely care for venomous snakes and why he thinks they’re such remarkable animals.

In federal court documents, the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General filed motions to dismiss the school district’s lawsuit and dissolve an earlier court order pausing the takeover. 

After an abruptly called special session Tuesday, July 14, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves gave more details about what changes lawmakers would make to the state youth court system.

The Memphis Fire Department has a new way to handle emergency medical services — on a bike. 

A long-vacant East Memphis restaurant is finally open, and a long-vacant Downtown hotel may soon be, too. 

The Tennessee State Board of Education is considering a policy to create alternate pathways to pass specialty area content assessments.

The General Sessions Criminal Court divisions will continue to function at just the most basic levels Wednesday, July 15, the third day of limited court operations there and a shutdown of Memphis Municipal or City courts.

Gov. Reeves has called Mississippi state legislators into a special session to discuss reforms to the state’s youth court system.

In May, the City Council’s chief administrator raised various concerns about Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington. Among them, that the councilperson was using city resources for her and her husband’s church.

Two Memphis City Council members are under investigation, and the Memphis Fire Department’s first responders get a fresh set of wheels — two wheels, that is. 

Last month, the Memphis City Council approved $5 million towards emergency repairs for AutoZone Park. But the park still needs about $35 million in deferred maintenance on top of that. 

Two Collierville residents are seeking the Republican nomination for an open position on the suburb’s school board as incumbent Wanda Chism declines to run for reelection. 

The Memphis Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services Battalion will use the new red bikes, outfitted with equipment needed in a medical emergency, in crowded places that are tougher for traditional vehicles to access.

Several divisions of General Sessions Criminal Court and all divisions of City Court will be closed a second day Tuesday as work continues on damage from a June water leak. Meanwhile, air conditioning problems in the Shelby County Jail have improved.

A new Tennessee law allows Memphis Light, Gas and Water to have two voting representatives from Memphis’ largest suburbs, one from Collierville and another from Bartlett.

It is not clear what the city’s independent counsel is investigating, but a person familiar with the matter said it could be for potential violations of state, local and federal laws.

The clash came at a weekend candidates’ forum hosted by MICAH. Also the impact of Congressional primaries on voter turnout and Blackburn fallout and calculations.

The home base of the Memphis Redbirds has been pretty much untouched for two decades. If it doesn’t get its upgrades, will the team walk? Plus, where in Memphis do you still need to use cash?

A national game association brings its annual tournament into Memphis this week.

Also happening this week: AOC hosts a get-out-the-vote rally in Memphis, and a gluten-free bakery opens a new spot.

Round, colorful Merrymobiles used to delight Mid-Southerners with frozen treats, and there’s still one you can see. 

About 700 absentee voters in Shelby County will receive a supplemental ballot that is expected to arrive by July 15.

Memphis Public Libraries’ failure to reach an agreement on a fundraising plan with the volunteer group Friends of the Library means some temporary changes.

Democratic nominee for County Mayor Mickell Lowery talked about state intervention, his vote to raise county property taxes and tax breaks as economic development incentives on “Behind The Headlines.”