What brought you to Memphis? We’d love to hear. For St. Jude’s Penny DeGoosh, it was something she found while going through her father’s estate in Vermont. 

In response to the phrase, “You can't tell someone what to do with their own property,” a preservationist responds, “Well, you really can, and it happens all the time.”

More than 40 years ago, as the Memphis in May International Festival was getting off the ground, the organization's first president was told that he could “tank MIM” and “nobody would care.”

Whether or not the voucher program becomes law, it’s bad law, and a self-inflicted wound to our new governor. He used his honeymoon period to shove school vouchers down the throats of just two districts already strangled for cash.

The Memphis 10 this week covers basketball, barbecue and Johnny Cash; school vouchers, pedestrian safety, and the prospect of impeachment; and a voice of Memphis already missed.

The new superintendent will surely proclaim that under their leadership, our city will provide an equally excellent education for all its children. However, this person should also appreciate that in declaring such a goal, they will be trying to do something that has not previously been done.

Aware that the clock was ticking toward the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing this July, Basil Hero decided in 2017 to turn his lifelong fascination with space travel into a book.

Biden, 76, will face plenty of left-leaning challengers as he battles for the Democratic nomination. Among those challenges is the notion that the primary campaign will not be kind to anyone with moderate political views.

"You’re wondering how I can lead at full capacity battling such a persistent mental challenge. Three things: medication, unwavering purpose and a rigorous schedule."

Angel investing is our way of helping Memphis (and ourselves) continue to prosper. It is incredibly risky, yes, but it is incredibly rewarding in ways that don’t show up on a monthly statement.

We are one of the largest communities in the United States that depends solely on groundwater for our drinking water. It’s imperative that we become better stewards of this ground and these waters on which we so depend.

If reelected, Trump will be 74 starting his second term and even his combover will be somewhere around 40. The two leading Democrats will turn 80 in their first term if elected, an age closer to terry-cloth robes and sunrooms than mantles of power and situation rooms.

After taking dozens of walks through the Old Forest or spending countless afternoons on the Greensward, we start to become familiar with the park. We begin to recognize trees along the limestone loop, and we grow familiar with the forms of wildlife that call this place home. When we know the park that well, we grow to love it.

The parole board was blown away when a woman who had spent 25 years behind bars, and who was a member of the great books group at West Tennessee State Penitentiary, quoted Herodotus in answer to a question about how she now defined success.

Instead of fueling another racial fight over the right to vote, lawmakers should be promoting better ways to help individuals and groups with the registration process. 

The students we most want to help are often the ones most intimidated by this federal form. The former president of Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis said he believes that he lost 1,500 students each semester because the complicated FAFSA discouraged students and their families from applying.

We’ve got to decide if we want Tom Lee Park to be merely a space for hosting events, or a distinctive place that inspires and unites us. The clock is ticking.

Memphis is at the forefront of efforts in Tennessee to adopt clean energy, energy efficiency, climate resiliency and solid waste solutions. Initiatives by the University of Memphis, the City of Memphis and the Memphis nonprofit community give reason for hope. 

It's a building that could become a beautiful part of what’s next, or remain the biggest ugly elephant in our biggest room.

This week the Memphis 10 takes an early look at the Memphis mayor's race, sifts through some Nashville-related nonsense, and more.

Memphis 3.0 is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and for very good reason. Communities across Memphis are unique places with their own assets that are vital to support future prosperity.

Unlike Atlanta, we live in a city with a mayor who offered police a 3% raise, and when we told him that wasn’t enough, he said that was all he had to give.

In police and prison culture, vulnerability has a bad rap. Not only are you not allowed to express your feelings (except anger), you are not allowed to even have feelings. But isn’t the capacity for tenderness what makes us human? 

Peel back the fancy ribbon-cutting ceremonies and press conferences for new jobs and all you’re left with is handouts to big, connected companies and higher taxes for the rest of us.

Companies want to locate in communities that will work with them long after the ribbon-cutting and headlines are done. We know that our local firms are constantly being courted by other communities looking to grow their economies.