Graceland Holdings managing partner Joel Weinshanker said the tourist attraction has permanently laid off less than 20 people whose jobs couldn't be justified during lean times for tourism.

Despite a “rejection” recommendation from the Office of Planning & Development, the Land Use Control Board voted 6-4 to approve construction of a production facility, using 3-D printing, in the middle of single-family homes in Whitehaven.

Both founded in South City in the 1960s, Paradise Entertainment Center and Tom Martin's Body Shop plan to improve the exterior of their buildings.

An online petition and plans for a "peaceful vehicle protest" Wednesday mark opposition to a proposal to convert Whitehaven's old Graves Elementary into a manufacturing and vo-tech complex.

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.

A building permit application filed this week is part of a $20 million project to enlarge and upgrade St. Clair Foods, which makes potato salad and many other refrigerated or frozen side dishes and has an expanded deal with Sam's Club stores.

The City Council last year rejected a solid waste company's plan to expand operations in Whitehaven. Now the firm plans to enlarge operations in a way that does not need City Hall approval.

Memphis-based temporary structure company Mahaffey Event & Tent Rentals is helping in the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19 nationwide.

The 7.5-mile stretch of Lamar Avenue from Bellevue to Prescott encompasses 188 parcels that would be rezoned in the process.

Joel Weinshanker's Made in Memphis LLC is set to move into the old Graves Elementary building in Whitehaven. Job training will be linked to Shelby County Schools.

With COVID-19, the small trial at Rentrop Geater clinic in South Memphis could rise to 14,000-15,000, doctors say, and keep people with underlying conditions like diabetes and asthma at home.

Frayser church volunteers its property to become needed testing site in the neighborhood. 

Up to 30 people who have been tested for COVID-19 at Christ Community Health Services have seen their results delayed, including County Commissioner Tami Sawyer. 

Community development corporations in Memphis are having to adjust strategies on the fly to continue serving the communities they serve in often economically distressed areas. 

YMCA is running 62 meal-distribution sites across Shelby County from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

Pursuit of God Church and KIPP Memphis Elementary Prep held food drives Friday afternoon and served more than 350 families in North and South Memphis during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Local planners will consider applications for a new cemetery in Raleigh and a new funeral home in South Memphis next month. 

In the path of the proposed Byhalia Connection oil pipeline, residents, environmentalists and government officials are anxious about potential effects on the environment and property values.

The owner of 26 Little Caesars is buying more property in Whitehaven as commercial development there continues to grow.

Jim Herbert's beginnings can be traced back to a former dairy farm in Whitehaven. 

Work with the city of Memphis' SARP10 program, which aims to reduce sanitary sewer overflows, has helped the contracting company grow to about 50 employees.

Details are still being worked out about programming and specific uses for the arts space, but one component will be like a museum of Orange Mound's history. 

Spencer Shadrach plans to sell the home for $230,000 to $250,000, while the average home sale price in the neighborhood the last two years is $50,278.

In May 2018, iQor announced it would expand its Memphis operation, which at that time had more than 800 employees.

While the possibility of a Highland Row-style, mixed-use development is generating excitement, small businesses' growth also is contributing to more activity and optimism in Whitehaven.