Shelby County Environmental Court Judge Patrick Dandridge heard a status update about Aretha Franklin’s birthplace on Dec. 12.

When Tonya Dyson was little, she recalls, grandmothers were the protectors of the neighborhood. They would be there when the school bus pulled up at the end of the day and would keep a watchful eye until suppertime, making sure all the little ones were safe and cared for.

Much of the conversation about improvements in South Memphis centers on building better spaces for residents to learn, work and play.

Students interested in a career as an embalmer or funeral director will no longer have to drive outside of Shelby County to pursue a degree.

One by one, each Big Jump Project advisory committee member explained the project they want to pursue in South Memphis, based on inspiration from a week spent in the Netherlands in June.

FedEx earnings rose nearly 38 percent in the June-August quarter from a year ago, but fell short of analysts’ expectations.

The Memphis and Shelby County Port Commission is working to secure state funds to create a second entrance, or exit, where the road inside the industrial park currently dead ends on the south side.

Memphis doesn’t want to miss the boat if and when container ships start plying the Mississippi River on a regular basis.