Environmental advocates are looking to stop Elon Musk’s xAI from receiving an air-emissions permit for the natural turbines that partially power its data center in Southwest Memphis.

Leaders of Girls Inc. and city officials cut the ribbon Friday, March 21, on a new greenhouse to go with the 20,000-square-foot building opened in 2023. It is part of a storied Frayser landscape.

The Flyway, a boardwalk and observation deck off the river, continued Tuesday, March 18, when work crews dug two 50-foot holes and filled them with reinforced concrete. 

The council also voted on a slate of ordinances, including a $300 fee to go with the tax bill of owners of blighted properties the city has to clean up.

Memphis Animal Services staff have euthanized more than 200 dogs so far this year in attempts to control a distemper outbreak that has plagued the shelter since January.

The renovations to FedExForum and a second long-term lease for the Memphis Grizzlies inched closer to reality Tuesday. 

The Memphis City Council voted again Tuesday to approve a land sale for Elon Musk’s xAI to build a wastewater facility in Southwest Memphis.

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At its Tuesday, March 18, session, the City Council also takes first votes on the Cleveland Street redevelopment plan and a $300 a year blight fee on owners of abandoned and vacant properties.

For the second time in less than two months, Memphis Animal Services is shutting down its shelter after a distemper outbreak this week has led to the euthanasia of several more dogs.

The Mud Island monorail was thought to be a sleek and futuristic attraction when it was first considered and opened in 1982, but it proved to be trouble for those responsible for its maintenance.

Also happening this week: Germantown aldermen consider eliminating holiday-decor rules, and Tony Allen’s jersey is retired.

In all, nearly one-third of MATA buses weren’t showing up where or when they were scheduled to.

While most Memphians were still oblivious to a virus spreading overseas, those charged with keeping the Bluff City safe were already alarmed in January 2020.

Baptist employee Marilyn Davis was the area’s first-known COVID-19 patient, collapsing at work on her way to the ER: “I was so sick, and I really thought I was going to die.”

Purchases included about $5,000 in PayPal and Venmo money transfer transactions, $10,000 in Amazon purchases, $7,000 at Best Buy, more than $1,000 at Montblanc, a maker of fine pens, and money on massages. 

It sits a few hundred yards from the Tennessee Valley Authority Southaven Combined Cycle Plant. The plant will provide a power source for the energy-intensive data center.

A Shelby County judge ruled Thursday, March 6, that the City of Memphis violated its contract with the Memphis Police Association when it created the controversial rank of 2nd Lieutenant. 

A gathering at Minglewood Hall drew more than 100 people in the first session to gauge reaction to a new report on the Memphis music ecosystem.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water could generate electricity for the first time in decades. 

Memphis Light, Gas and Water’s massive operations could change in the coming years, shifting the city’s industrial geography and potentially opening up key real estate for other uses. 

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The Shelby County commissioner has pleaded not guilty to charges of alleged bribery and attempted tax evasion, and he faces a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. Though, if convicted, he likely would not see that much time behind bars.

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Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., who was indicted last week, has been placed on leave without pay from his city job, the City of Memphis said Tuesday, March 4. 

Despite what many Memphians believe, the city does in fact recycle. But better efforts from Memphians could help successful recycling, officials said.

Also happening this week: Shelby County marks the fifth anniversary of the first local COVID-19 case, and Daylight Saving Time begins.

Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson dismissed most of the claims in the Friends for Our Riverfront lawsuit seeking to stop construction of the new museum. But she kept the central question in the case.