Mural's creator: "Life is often hard and challenging. Sometimes it feels like it’s chasing you with a bat, waiting to crack you down."

North, a 1-year-old golden retriever, wears a bright yellow cape as he makes the rounds at the Memphis Zoo where curator Courtney Janney is training him to be a Canine Companions assistance dog.

After the City Council sent the cases back, the Land Use Control Board for a second time approved two development proposals over the stiff opposition of neighbors.

Mayor Jim Strickland will consider the committee's recommendation that the Metal Museum be Rust Hall's future occupant. If he accepts it, the City Council would have final say.

Faced with stiff and diverse opposition, the developers have requested a 30-day hold on their already revised plans for a gas station/convenience store at the gateway to Broad Avenue. 

Developers of the 106-room boutique hotel have just rolled out some of the branding and concepts for the hotel that already towers over Overton Square.

Some see new investment and neighborhood improvements that can lift the area's quality of life. Others see rising rents and property values that displace neighbors who cannot afford to stay. One or both is happening at Binghampton's Woodcrest Apartments. 

The mixed-use development comprises 29 apartment units and nearly 4,000 square feet of retail space.

The venue also has become "home" to 901Wrestling, which hopes to resume live matches around mid-June when the Rec Room plans to reopen.

The historic, renovated building housing the sophisticated designer-clothes and lifestyle store has been sold to real estate investors who plan to find another business tenant.

LPI Memphis, the owner of Overton Square, plans to build a three-story, 18-unit apartment building in the entertainment and dining district.

The first 11 grants, totaling $62,500, were approved Friday, May 1, under the Economic Development Growth Engine's new program to aid small, inner-city businesses struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Rev. Robert W. Marshall is expected to assume his new responsibilities in Louisiana in July. His installation and ordination are on hold until the faithful, perhaps only a percentage of their number, can gather.

Gregory Realty has just purchased the Cooper-Young shopping center occupied by local and national tenants. 

Bendy Beast Fitness currently operates in a home studio in Downtown Memphis. 

The Memphis Tigers basketball team along with other U of M athletes gave some local children early Christmas gifts Friday afternoon. The group distributed the toys – collected at a toy drive earlier this year – at Davis Community Center, which is at 3371 Spottswood in the Messick Buntyn area. Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland also was among those handing out presents.

The Broad Avenue Arts District and Carpenter Art Garden are holding holiday shopping events during the first weekend of December. 

Momentum of Small Business Saturday continues to grow every year.

Independent, foreign and classic films will have a permanent home at the "Indie Memphis Cinema" space at Malco's Studio on the Square in Midtown.

Arrow, the nonprofit organization that supports artists in multiple ways, has decided to drop its bid for Overton Park's Rust Hall and instead build a permanent, $10 million facility in the Broad Avenue Arts District.

Friends for Life will open The Corner on Nov. 4, providing free testing for sexually transmitted infections. The community space will feature a pharmacy and offer PEP, PrEP, STI testing and education. Local art will be for sale in the space.

North Carolina-based developer requests the Board of Adjustment to review its plan for Broad Avenue Arts District apartments on Nov. 20. 

The city plans to break ground on the development in January 2020, with the sports complex and hotel opening in June 2021 and initial retail opening in November 2021. 

ServiceMaster employees locally and nationally fanned out across their communities Thursday to help various causes as part of the Memphis-based company's "We Care Day 2019."

The city seeks approval from the Land Use Control Board for a new 200,000-square-foot sports and events complex and a 700,000-square-foot mixed-use development of retail, restaurants, hotels, entertainment, commercial office space and multifamily residential.