Cutting poverty and increasing the financial security of all Americans ought to be a political objective, if not obsession.

The 2019 numbers in the Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet showed an increase in the poverty rate for almost every group in Memphis, except for Hispanics.

To address the space deficit to meet the needs of students and faculty, the U of M submitted a proposal for state funding for a new STEM building in the next budget cycle, which will be decided upon this month.

At 25, Andrea left Venezuela and moved to Memphis, where her uncle is a mechanical engineer. She applied to work as a waitress, in retail and in day care, and each place told her she was over-qualified. Finally, in 2015, she took a job at Church Health.

The CEO of FedEx Corp., the chairman of Belz Enterprises and a former Shelby County sheriff and mayor weigh in on the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare plan to take over the two Saint Francis hospitals in the area.   

'One size does not fit all. But you, Memphis, are a testament to how parks can function as true civic spaces.'

Stax greats Booker T. and Carla Thomas on stage together. Grizz great Tony Allen back at the Grindhouse. "Bluff City Law" in limbo but keeping hope alive. Plus, seven more observations on the month in Memphis. 

You may not think you know Rob Norcross, but you do. He was the architect for the most acclaimed minor league ballpark in the country, and for the home of grit and grind.

State legislators and the Memphis and Shelby County mayors are among elected officials who have endorsed a presidential candidate and plan to campaign for their choice.

The resurrection of this practice, sometimes referred to as biased banking, will have severe ramifications for Memphis and Tennessee at large.

New rules governing the Democratic National Convention means Tennessee will have 73 delegates (1.8% of the 3,979 total delegates), and 64 will be pledged to support one candidate or another.

You can’t hack a flesh-and-blood voter marking his own ballot. 

The UTHSC College of Nursing hopes to open a midwifery program by 2021. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists reports 49% of U.S. counties do not have obstetric care providers and predicts that by 2030, there will be a 25% shortage of obstetricians/gynecologists. 

At gatherings, I only have to share one fact to get people interested: It’s music from Memphis. 

Growing up in a small, modest African American community, we had each other. I remember how so much was poured into me by the generations of women around me. ... I want to pay forward the inspiration that I have received. 

On Saturday, there will be a memorial service for Norman Blackley – “Cap” to so many – at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The place will be chock-full of stories. And gratitude.

Republicans for the Rule of Law is advertising in Tennessee to drum up support for a fair Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump. The group hopes to put pressure on Sen. Lamar Alexander to vote to have witnesses during the trial.

I own a restaurant in Downtown Memphis, and I can’t tell you the number of times employees ask to leave work at 8 p.m. because they don’t want to miss the only bus they can catch to get home at night. Some will miss out on $40 or $50 in wages because they leave work early.

You can find FiveThirtyEight.com predictions more than a month in advance of the Tennessee primary and nearly two weeks before votes are cast in the Iowa caucuses. How much faith should we have in these forecasts? Not a whole lot.

On this King Day 2020, the 91st birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we do what we do every year. Lift his voice, his ideals, his teachings, his brilliance, his strategic leadership, his love for his family and mankind that put much of what we’re going through and need to change in perspective.

'We must be a unified and united body. If we are not, we run the risks of watering down our legislative authority and allowing outside entities comprised of individuals not elected by the citizens of Memphis, essentially, to make legislative and budgetary decisions.' 

A University of Tennessee fraternity brother invited me to lunch the other day, he said, to share my experience writing a column with his son. Instead, he turned to me and opened with, “Tell him the toilet seat story.”

Monday, for the first time in 48 years, Rev. Nicholas Vieron  will not conduct his annual Adult Greek Class, a Memphis tradition. His mind and soul are willing. His body, not so much these days.

This political tempest involves the thorny issue of whether Tennessee should continue to participate in a federal refugee resettlement program.

The high rate of juveniles transferred to adult court in Shelby County is not due to differences in Shelby County youth. It’s due to differences in the operation of our juvenile justice system.