State and local officials gathered Thursday morning in South Memphis for the ceremonial opening of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s new Allen Combined Cycle Natural Gas Plant.

The head of Latino Memphis and the former Shelby County Probate Court clerk top a list of eight citizens who have applied to fill a vacancy on the Memphis City Council.

Tennessee Valley Authority’s leader told the Memphis City Council Tuesday that the cost of activating the Bellefonte nuclear plant in Alabama as a source of electricity for Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division would be “incomprehensible” and come with significant risks.

At his next-to-last campaign stop in his bid for the U.S. Senate Monday evening, former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen had trouble getting in the door of Jim Neely’s Interstate Barbecue in South Memphis.

Polling places at 166 Shelby County precincts are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Memphis City Council will be down two members when it meets Tuesday in an Election Day session.

Three of eight former Roman Catholic priests connected to the Catholic Diocese of Nashville accused of child sexual abuse and dismissed from the priesthood had church assignments in Memphis.

The remade Mississippi River Park with its own “River Garden” opens in a week. The River Line trail running along the east side of Wolf River Harbor to Big River Crossing will debut the same day. Mud Island River Park is closed until the spring after a season of experiment and minor tweaks.

Shelby County Republicans tabled a move Thursday evening to censure Republican county commissioner Mark Billingsley for showing support for Democratic state Senate nominee Gabby Salinas.

Early voting in advance of the Nov. 6 Election Day ended Thursday evening with Shelby County turnout expected to remain below 200,000 and below the early voter turnout for the November 2016 presidential general election.

The Tennessee Valley Authority will conduct comprehensive research on coal ash from its Allen Fossil Plant in southwest Memphis as part of a look at waste from coal plants across the TVA system.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals stayed Wednesday, Oct. 31, the effect of most of a ruling last week by Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins governing how the Shelby County Election Commission handles a backlog of voter registration forms.

The Memphis City Council can spend $30,000 to $40,000 of city funds on a “public information campaign” about the three city charter amendment referendums on the Nov. 6 ballot, a court ruled Tuesday, Oct. 30.

Following a mass shooting that killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synogogue Saturday, six Memphians are inviting the local community to not necessarily feel better, but to get better at feeling. Rabbi Micah Greenstein of Temple Israel was already scheduled to lead the October experience that uses music, stories, silence and dialogue to take attendees into “The Mystic” when he got wind of the attack.

The Memphis City Council will begin accepting applications Thursday to fill the District 1 council seat that becomes vacant that day with the resignation of council member Bill Morrison.

A group working on changes to the local approach to economic development is recommending a larger role for the Greater Memphis Chamber.

The Memphis City Council cannot spend any money publicizing the three city charter referendums on the November ballot until Chancellor Jim Kyle holds a hearing Tuesday on a lawsuit filed Friday by members of the group Save IRV, which is among those campaigning for the defeat of all three amendments.

After years of preparation, the city of Memphis on Thursday, Oct. 25, will formally open the new city maintenance yard it has been planning through two administrations.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s administration has a proposal for changing the city’s approach to economic development that is making the rounds with other organizations involved in attracting businesses.

Memphis City Council members voted Tuesday to use the council’s government affairs account to fund a “public information campaign” on the three city charter amendment referendums on the Nov. 6 ballot.

It’s not just that Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn have different views on many issues. The Democratic and Republican contenders for the U.S. Senate seat on the Nov. 6 ballot differ on what’s at stake in the statewide race.

Early voting in advance of the Nov. 6 election day continues through Nov. 1 at 27 locations across Shelby County. You can find those locations and hours at www.shelbyvote.com, the website of the Shelby County Election Commission, along with a sample ballot. Here are some other basics about early voting in Shelby County.

Plans for a hotel at Overton Square would include some acreage for stacked townhomes or apartment buildings if the Memphis City Council approves an amended version of the hotel plan on Tuesday.

After nearly six months of silence since former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton announced he would run for mayor again in 2019, his aspirations came to life Wednesday as early voting began in the Nov. 6 general election.

When the first day of early voting in advance of the Nov. 6 election day had ended Wednesday, Shelby County election commissioner Norma Lester offered her verdict on how it went with a brief Facebook post. “Don’t know any other way to say it except the first day of Early Voting was absolute HELL!” she wrote. “Hoping for a better Second day.”