The Memphis City Council is considering dropping the city residency requirement for business owners seeking COVID-related grants who live outside Memphis but have businesses inside the city.

Developers of a $180 million commercial mixed-use tower of hotel rooms and condos on the western edge of the Pinch District encountered some skepticism as they pitched the project to the Memphis City Council.

The violent crime task force is forming as Police Director Michael Rallings told City Council members Tuesday that more officers means less crime. The city has already this year set a record for the number of annual homicides.

The Tuesday city council session will also include a call for more information about the percentage of city contracts that minority-owned businesses get.

The Raleigh Springs Civic Center “unofficially” opened this spring when construction signs were removed following completion of the $45 million development’s initial phase. That included the 11-acre walking trail and lake, and a new skate park. 

An investigation by The Daily Memphian leads District Attorney Amy Weirich to ask MPD to systematically refer findings of excessive force to her office for criminal review.

Memphis City Council member Jeff Warren on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast says there could still be an agreement on the next step in the MLGW-TVA issue. He also warns that the Tennessee Legislature could close the door on a possible MLGW exit from TVA if there isn’t a shorter timeline.

Like at other city parks, Overton Park Conservancy is reopening its playgrounds on Friday, Oct. 9. The conservancy is also launching a weeklong campaign to raise donations that will be double-matched by International Paper.

Germantown Municipal Schools District Superintendent Jason Manuel and Bartlett City Schools Superintendent David Stephens talked on “Behind The Headlines” about changing local health department requirements that require students in schools to wear masks and be 6 feet apart at all times.

Here is how the city council voted Tuesday on the GDS contract — a critical juncture in considering whether MLGW should leave TVA. And a few possible next moves including MLGW doing the consulting work in house or a move to reconsider at the council in two weeks.

Attorneys for the utility board warned against a joint meeting with City Council members the day after the council rejected a contract to move ahead with a look at replacing TVA as MLGW’s electric power supplier.

The resolution approved Tuesday by the Memphis City Council for two areas along Summer is designed to make it more difficult to demolish a set of four churches for other kinds of development. It’s similar to a recent rezoning of part of Lamar Avenue but with a slightly different motivation.

Memphis City Council members have rejected a Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division contract with a power industry consultant to explore what it would take for the utility to leave the Tennessee Valley Authority. The vote stops the two-year old process, at least for now. The MLGW board could have a response Wednesday morning at its regular meeting.

The council discussion of the record number of homicides so far this year could venture into past discussions of police reform. The City Council also discusses a rezoning of Summer Avenue to preserve four churches along the busy thoroughfare after one was about to be demolished.

Business leader and developer J.W. Gibson talks about the South Memphis TIF taking in Soulsville, LeMoyne-Owen College and the old Metro Plaza on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast.

MPD officers are suspended in connection with Black man’s rape allegations, posing fresh questions about controversial stop-and-frisk practices.

The city’s mix of housing has flipped in recent years, with renters now making up the majority as investors continue to buy single-family homes.

MLGW votes to hire Georgia consulting firm to get proposals on companies seeking to replace TVA as the energy source for the utility. 

Jonathan Pennington will succeed the retiring Vince DeGutis as Memphis marketplace leader for Deloitte, the global professional services firm.

But the reforms amount to a hollow ruse, says activist who complained about an officer who shot and killed a Black man in 2013.

Tentative plans for a 2-mile stretch between Front and Cleveland include better pedestrian crossings, protected bike lanes and landscaping. A public meeting Thursday resumes a process that was paused in March for the pandemic. 

GDS Associates, a Georgia company whose report in February 2019 kicked off MLGW’s examination of cutting ties to the Tennessee Valley Authority, is recommended for the $520,000 contract. 

MLGW declared a moratorium on utility cutoffs in mid-March as the worldwide pandemic was declared. This month, when the moratorium was lifted, the utility received an overwhelming number of calls to work out payment plans and avoid cutoffs.

The payday loan resolution is not binding on the Tennessee Legislature and is the latest discussion by a local elected body about the impact such businesses have on citizens’ financial health.