Memphis Light, Gas and Water CEO Doug McGowen said none of the proposed utility increases “have anything to do with the increased costs of operation because of data centers.”

The second council meeting of the week was called after Tuesday’s session ended with police clearing the council chamber, leaving several items awaiting discussion and a vote.

Memphis City Council member Chase Carlisle warned his colleagues: “It’s going to get pretty hot down there,” he said. That was before the council voted to postpone the data center moratorium. And then chaos broke out.

The Memphis City Council abruptly stopped business during its regular meeting after the hundreds gathered at Memphis City Hall erupted in displeasure.

It was the first item on the agenda of more than 30, but the rest of the meeting was canceled after police and City Hall security cleared the Memphis City Council chamber, those on the scene said.

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City Council business paused after data center discord

The businessman painted a stark, dire picture of Downtown.

The Memphis City Council will vote on a nonbinding resolution calling for the removal of ICE and National Guard personnel from the Memphis Safe Task Force.

State Rep. and Congressional candidate Justin J. Pearson held a press conference endorsing a data center moratorium ahead of a possible City Council vote.

If Bluff City Pickleball moves into Liberty Park, it could save the city up to $40,000 a year in operating costs. 

The jump in electric bills is directly tied to customers using much more electricity during the September “heat dome” that hovered over Memphis and Shelby County for days. 

MLGW CEO Doug McGowen told the Memphis City Council that the utility’s electric distribution system has enough capacity to accommodate nearly double the residential customers.

Mayor Paul Young also talked about the return of trolleys, work toward a new Memphis Grizzlies lease at FedExForum as well as the status of the convention center hotel the city bought and other topics.

There are now six proposals compared to the three plans — including a one-year moratorium on new data centers — on the table three weeks ago.

At least two people have died in pursuits since the MSTF arrived. Advocates are calling for clearer policies and required reporting.

Also in the political roundup, Blackburn talks about affordability, Hagerty’s letter as Jack Smith testifies in the insurrection case, and the difficult mechanics of write-in voting.

Memphians wanted extra cops. Memphis wanted help with crime. Memphis didn’t want to be a prop in a national sideshow. That’s why we are where we are.

The Orange Mound location is the first of 116 planned anchor sites across the city that will provide free, public, high-speed Wi-Fi.

Jonah Neal was shot and killed by a member of the Memphis Safe Task Force, who arrived after Neal’s mother called 911 saying her son was threatening to commit suicide with a handgun. For those who were close to Neal, none of it makes sense.

Gifts from the Martin and Rhodes families, along with $1 million from First Horizon, are helping fund the clubhouse and a new six-hole short course.

The City of Memphis-funded nonprofit fired its head after he allegedly used the corporation’s credit card for personal expenses. 

Two women are teaming up on an affordable-housing development in North Memphis, another move in the momentum to bring more new homes to the city.

Ferguson Enterprises says MZX Tech failed to pay for materials used at the Macrohard data center, adding to the AI company’s growing construction disputes.

A University of Memphis professor has spent years studying public transportation systems in cities nationwide. Now, Memphis has been added to that list.

Attorneys seek a preliminary injunction to stop Task Force members from retaliating against residents who film their operations.

Build-out and activity is bustling at SpaceXAI’s DeSoto County operation, less than a mile from Memphis and unperturbed by the political winds blowing to the north.