The Memphis City Council session involves Klondike and Sheraton tax votes, as well as a look at the Dream Hotel next to Peabody Place and the city’s animal ordinance.

A public hearing highlighted skepticism about past efforts to bring blighted areas back to life, and fears the North Memphis neighborhood’s current residents could be displaced.

A new multi-year report from the U.S. Geological Survey found the range of black carp in the Mississippi River basin now includes the entirety of the river, from New Orleans to the southeastern edge of Iowa.

When GDS Associates first evaluated the 20-odd proposals for Memphis’s power supply contract earlier this year, TVA was not the frontrunner. The initial scoring actually awarded the highest score to NextEra Energy.

Residents across Memphis react to the rate of package thefts, often moments after they’re delivered, from the front porch. Here are some tips on how to protect yourself from porch pirates this holiday season. 

A redistricting committee explores whether City Council members seeking reelection on the October 2023 Memphis ballot take a hand in redrawing their district lines.

Bailey is perhaps best known as a lawyer representing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the sanitation workers’ strike of 1968, and also took on several high-profile legal battles to desegregate Memphis schools.

According to the most recent data available Thursday, Dec. 8 at 1 p.m., 78 pedestrians have been killed so far this year. Read on for a deeper dive into the data, which the DM obtained from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. 

Even though MLGW is in some ways back where it started, the power provider RFP wasn’t all for naught, said the utility’s board chair. 

After a lawyer for the Franklin L. Haney Co. spoke during Wednesday’s MLGW board meeting, the board took a brief, unplanned recess to consult its legal team.

Related story:

MLGW rejects TVA’s long-term contract

MLGW will continue its 80-year relationship with TVA through its current contract, but Commissioner Carl Person encouraged the board to work closely with the utility to seek an agreement that best suits Memphis and its ratepayers. 

The delay to the Dec. 20 council session mirrors a delay by the Shelby County Commission. The council also delayed a vote on a settlement to the damage deposit dispute between Memphis River Parks Partnership and the Memphis in May International Festival.

The terms of the tax incentive for adding a 300-room tower to the existing Sheraton convention center hotel include keeping the value of the existing hotel at its 1998 assessment for tax purposes. Although they don’t have a vote on the incentive terms, Memphis City Council members say their concerns are linked to their vote on a hotel tourism surcharge.

The vote will determine whether MLGW signs a long-term contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority or continues with its current contract.

The council renews discussions Tuesday on a damage deposit agreement for the Memphis In May International Festival’s use of Tom Lee Park as well as a tourism surcharge for the Downtown Memphis Sheraton Hotel.

There have been 75 pedestrian deaths in Memphis to date in 2022 compared with 11 in 2012, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

Related story:

‘It’s the giraffe man!’: Longtime zookeeper Richard Meek remembered

Kathy Fay, the widow of longtime Memphis Zoo giraffe keeper Richard Meek, reflects on his life and her loss. Meek’s death was one of the 75 pedestrian deaths that have occurred in Memphis so far in 2022.

Related story:

Number of Memphis pedestrian fatalities keeps climbing

Theo Davies envisions the long-blighted green space as a food source, as well as a habitat for native plants and pollinators, but the ecosystem he’s cultivating violates city ordinances.

Davis has been a key player in the latest changes to the city’s solid waste division. His nomination goes to the Memphis City Council next week.

The new Shelby County Clerk’s office missed a second opening deadline of Dec. 1.

There are city residency questions surrounding two of the six declared contenders to succeed Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. Here’s a summary of legal opinions fueling the controversy.

Memphis Zoo CEO Matt Thompson met with representatives from the Overton Park Conservancy and City of Memphis Monday, Nov. 21,. 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a world famous Indian yoga guru, has taught his SKY meditative breathing practice to millions of devotees around the world.

“We may not have a police officer in every corner, but we may have a camera. It’s like a neighborhood watch in the 21st century. We’re very excited about it.”