Panelists made up of community leaders, law enforcement and city leaders spent Thursday interviewing seven finalists for the police director’s job. 

On “Behind the Headlines,” Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer and Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones discussed their hopes for joint sessions on economic development reform. The two meetings come with a lot of advance planning.

But members stop short of reviving the consultant’s contract for the next step in the review process and sending it back to the City Council. The council’s rejection of the contract last year stalled the process.

In addition to the Wells monument, the council approved two new sewer fees and a TIF agreement for Downtown.

Questions about opinions and litigation Tuesday in council committee turned into a rallying cry for some to join a legal fight in the name of the city’s underground water source.

The final vote Tuesday shifted dramatically after the owner of a Petland store in Wolfchase that prompted the ban ordinance complained he had been harassed by city inspectors who cited him for three violations last Friday.

Long-term plans for the cemetery would make it a tourist stop highlighting the accomplishments of the African Americans who are buried there.

The council delayed a decision on the compromise Tuesday, March 16, to see if the MLGW board should or would act first. Getting the process back on track involves questions about the city charter and the separation between city goverment and the city-owned utility.

The council could take the first of three votes Tuesday, March 16, on a ban of retail sales of dogs and cats as a national pet store chain has moved into Wolfchase. The council could also try to regulate where pipelines are located as a first step toward stopping the Byhalia pipeline project.

The Memphis Zoo’s leader says for now he will proceed as if the parking deck won’t be needed. Meanwhile, a new parking by app program begins Monday, March 15, on Front Street by the Mud Island entrance and on Monroe Avenue in the Edge District.

Former Vice President Al Gore joined with Memphis residents fighting construction of the Byhalia Connection Pipeline, which he called a “reckless, racist, rip-off.”

The social media company apologized that accounts tweeting the word “Memphis” were limited for a while on Sunday. 

Due to glitches with the state’s VRAS vaccine signup program, Shelby County has reverted to SignUpGenius to schedule appointments, Mayor Jim Strickland announced. 

New COVID-19 vaccination system does not provide option for second doses for people who got first shots early; also does not recognize some underlying conditions.

On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, council member Rhonda Logan says the police force needs more officers but also needs to change the way those officers are used with a return to community policing.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton toured several of the city’s natural hair salons and schools Friday, March 12, with state Rep. Antonio Parkinson. Deregulation of the industry has been a contentious issue in the Tennessee General Assembly in recent years.

Shelby County Health Department reported 112 new coronavirus cases and four new coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday. The positivity rate is 2.9%.

Strickland also commented on his operating philosophy for public officials with whom he disagrees during comments Thursday, March 11, at the Frayser Exchange Club.

Several MedPost locations are now called Urgent Care of Saint Francis. One is located in Olive Branch and the others are in Bartlett, Collierville, Cordova, East Memphis and Germantown according to a release by Saint Francis Healthcare.

MLGW resumed disconnecting customers for overdue bills this week. But there are so many, the utility has had to phase the cutoffs in, giving customers more time to work out payment plans over the next year. 

The four senior centers operated by the City of Memphis will reopen Monday, March 15, on a limited basis.

Those in line Saturday were receiving the Pfizer vaccine. More than 1,100 doses were available to those who made appointments.

It only took a dozen days after that March 8 news conference for Mayor Jim Strickland to invoke the first civil emergency order in Memphis in more than a generation, closing gyms, bars and indoor restaurant dining.

Related story:

Year 1 of the novel coronavirus pandemic, by the numbers

Nearly $30 million in federal pandemic assistance for the city and county governments is being pooled for what city Housing and Community Development Director Paul Young calls a “game-changer.”

City officials hope to vaccinate at least 700,000 people in Shelby County with at least one dose by Aug. 1. A total of 113,793 people have received at least one shot as of Friday, according to the Health Department.