Also happening this week: Hanukkah begins on Christmas Day for the first time since 2005.

The MSCS board has a history of lots of citizens showing up at its meetings in a bad mood. The political roundup also tracks how the city’s D.C. representatives voted on the plan to keep the federal government open. Meanwhile, the city council will meet at 4 p.m. in the new year instead of 3:30 p.m.

The proposed gates have been met with opposition, with an attorney for those in surrounding neighborhoods saying it gives “at least the appearance of being elitist and exclusionary.”

The Memphis Area Transit Authority Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday, Dec. 17, to install three consultants at the top of the troubled bus system — at some future point.

Seeding Success leadership has spent months pitching the Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission on the antipoverty plan. 

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City Council takes final vote on ‘More for Memphis’ startup

The new Memphis Area Transit Authority board heard a proposal to replace interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin temporarily with John Lewis of Transpro, the consultant who wrote a scathing report about the bus system just weeks ago.

The last City Council meeting of 2024 also includes the return of a pair of Chickasaw Gardens street closings to the agenda and the appointment of a new city public works director.

A man wrongfully convicted of a 2002 Beale Street robbery is eligible for compensation of up to $1 million from the state, but has to be exonerated by Tennessee’s governor before he can receive the money. 

Also happening this week: The Shelby County Commission takes up a funding proposal for a new Frayser high school.

Last week, xAI, the startup founded by Elon Musk, announced plans to expand its supercomputer. Now, environmental groups want to know what it will cost Memphis. 

A Department of Justice investigation found the police department uses excessive force and discriminates against certain residents. Here’s what to know about the report and the city’s response.

After the firing of Memphis Animal Services Director Ty Coleman, Memphians in the local animal community have differing thoughts on what attributes the next director should have.

XAI’s planned expansion comes with a pressing question: Where would the project get its power? 

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Elon Musk’s xAI poised to invest billions of dollars in Memphis supercomputer

The U.S. Department of Justice alleges the Memphis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution.

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‘A rush to judgment’: Memphis won’t enter agreement with DOJ

The City of Memphis does not plan on entering an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice following the department’s civil rights investigation into the Memphis Police Department, City Attorney Tannera Gibson said in a letter to the DOJ this week. 

Tech giants Nvidia, Super Micro Computer and Dell are also eyeing Memphis for new manufacturing space.

The Memphis City Council addressed changing fiscal needs, and approved funding shifts for a Downtown Police Command Center and annual property-tax payments by MLGW. 

MAS Director Ty Coleman is out, city officials say, bringing an end to his tumultuous 14-month tenure as head of the city’s animal shelter.

An estimated 22,500 runners are set to take to the streets of Downtown and Midtown on Saturday for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water has released more information on what may have led to about 21,000 customers losing power on Monday evening. 

The lawsuit would claim that “defects in the vehicles” have contributed to a “dramatic increase in car thefts locally” that have cost the city by way of increased law enforcement.

Some residents have long battled annexation. De-annexation attempts continue today, citing slow police response times, litter, inconsistent trash services and rising crime.

Mayors along the Mississippi River have watched as intensifying rain storms and floods wreak havoc. This fall, the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative announced a new pilot program to help river towns better recover.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has effectively dismissed the decade-long rape-kit backlog lawsuit against the City of Memphis.

In the wake of a Wednesday night cold front, an air mass of Canadian origin surges into the Mid-South. And the cold air mass looks to have staying power.