The initiative began several years ago when Crosstown Concourse was still under construction. The Moonpie Project was a brainchild of muralist Michael “Birdcap” Roy. 

As a 21-year-old housekeeper at Gould’s, Eunice Boddie got up the courage to ask her boss in 1955 if she could be a hair stylist instead. Today she’s celebrating her 68th consecutive year of working with the company. 

“I’m from the projects from a single mother — if I can open a restaurant, anybody can do it. I want to send a message to people.”

“The Tuesday soup kitchen, run by students at Rhodes, is the longest-running college student-led soup kitchen in the country. I find this jaw-droppingly impressive.”

Mahaffey Event and Tent Rentals began in 1924, making circus tents and more. Now the Memphis firm has bought Holliday Events’ furnishings and supplies, with plans for “full-service event planning.”

Three new brunch spots have Memphians’ mouths watering for everything from chicken and waffles to beignets and salmon croquettes. And the people behind one of those brunch places are already opening a sister location in East Memphis. 

The former Whitehaven High star played at Missouri and Jackson State before signing this year with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.

Dozens of Memphians got a sneak peek of the revamped Tom Lee Park with a test run of its new amenities during a photoshoot hosted by Memphis River Parks Partnership Saturday, July 1.

“There’s more light here and love and healing here that other spaces don’t have,” said the owner of Lucyja Hygge, a shop full of incense and teas, as developers plan to demolish it.

Exodus Marketplace will be open Monday-Saturday, offering wholesale prices on produce, bread, eggs, honey and jams, meats and other food items from Mid-South vendors.

Elise Dessert Co. is celebrating its grand opening in the University District. The shop features banana pudding made with owner Bria Walls’ family recipe.

Children and teens cleaned up Memphis streets including Tillman Street, Carpenter Street and Mimosa Avenue. Then, they were handed chalk.

“No children in America should be sitting in a classroom, sweltering in the summer and cold in the winter,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “Every child should have a safe and comfortable learning environment so they can soar.”

The Evergreen Street eatery will close Friday, June 30, and will reopen under new ownership.

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tighter restrictions on ethylene oxide, or EtO, which is used in a South Memphis facility. But 20 state attorneys general are urging the EPA to forgo or defer the regulations.

For a time, Doris Bradshaw walked miles around the neighborhood nearly every day, telling her neighbors about the toxins at the Defense Depot — arsenic, lead, mercury and a host of other chemicals — that seeped into their soil and water. Within the first year, Doris had organized a group of about 1,500 people. 

The council ultimately approved a new set of district lines because of the closeness of October city elections. The council also took the race for City Court Clerk off the same ballot.

Related story:

City Council drops property tax increase proposal

The change is a reversal on previous plans for the city’s police department to run the center instead. 

Philip B. Daniele III, 54, AutoZone’s executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and supply chain, will take over as president and CEO in January. 

After decades of decline, Downtown started to rebound — and perhaps nothing spurred the comeback quite like the 2000 opening of AutoZone Park at Third and Union. The whole atmosphere changed. Or as now-retired AutoZone executive Ray Pohlman remembers: “Downtown was cool ... it just flourished.”

Volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got to work cleaning, weeding and painting Westwoods’ abandoned drive-in, with sights set on a new community area. 

A majority of polled residents in the city and Shelby County say they witness speeding or reckless driving on Memphis streets and highways more than once a week. 

“The best way to know your priorities is to figure out where you put your money,” MSCS Interim Superintendent Toni Williams said. “Our students are our priorities, and I’m extremely proud of this budget.”

This is one of Joshua Carlucci’s favorite dishes in Memphis.

Memphis has not had a red panda birth since June 2015.