“In Memphis, service isn’t something we outsource. We see our neighbors as assets, not problems to be solved. We are partners in progress.”

“Investigations and prosecutions can take far too long as forensic test results are pending. But implementing a series of key additions to local forensic capabilities can make the justice system move faster and more efficiently.”

“In a world where loneliness is an epidemic, I wondered what could possibly go into cultivating a friendship like this one.”

“Memphis has always been a place where faith and public life intertwine.”

“As organizations set goals for the new year, there’s one resolution that belongs at the top of every leadership agenda: be ready to save a life.”

“I’m not sure if Jesus would find Christmas in a juke joint off 51, but I did. And if he came back today, I like to think he would order a Bloody Mary and smile, watching the children gather unto the mic on a stand, the youth reassuring the adults that yes, Christmas was still with us.”

“I say as a retired police detective: If Memphis wants fewer repeat offenders, fewer victims, and stronger communities, we don’t need to look far for solutions. We just need to open the doors that lead to work.”

“At its best, the Clerk’s Office is where the government meets everyday life, where efficiency, fairness and accountability translate directly into better public service.”

“Being filled to the measure of the fullness of God is better than any gift card out there. It exceeds what our carefully curated lists can bring. And it beats the biggest surprise that could ever be wrapped in a box.”

“Social media provides profound community benefits: the power to spread messages, support causes and connect neighbors.”

“Whether Chanukah falls in middle or late December, this is the season when long anticipated movies are released, including the second movie installment of the iconic Broadway musical ‘Wicked.’”

“We can take ten thousand steps, but that last one — the moment when the wick claims the flame as its own — is always something of a tiny mystery.”

“Growing up, many adults in school and in church impressed upon us ‘character counts.’ Today, I wonder if the messages of character, kindness and respect resonate.”

Click Profit advertised that its business opportunity was “safe, secure, and proven to generate wealth” that would outperform traditional investments.

“Once you take a thought captive and lock it up tight, you must replace it with another thought. Very few of us are able to sit quietly with nothing at all going on up top.”

“Sometime next year, unless Congress changes course, health insurance is going to become a lot more expensive for hundreds of thousands of people in Tennessee.”

“We hear so much about the need for transparency in government; this might be a good and easy place to start. It all boils down to the people’s trust in their government.”

“How can I do this life well? What is it that you can pass on to me so that I will not have to relearn the same lessons at the expense of my own heart, mind, body and relationships?”

Gratitude is what steadies us when the ground shifts. It reminds us that even when hope feels hard to hold, love hasn’t left the room.

“Regardless of political affiliation or denomination, Christian people must speak clearly and with one voice that such treatment of the immigrant or cultural outsider in our midst is immoral and in direct opposition to the way of Jesus.”

“The internet isn’t just a separate world we visit; it is now an inseparable part of our streets, schools and homes. The ultimate safety app is awareness.”

“I am a proponent of the Shelby County’s school board’s decision to ban phones from school and wish it would have been done sooner.”

“In a world of widespread division, racial profiling, and individual, systemic, and institutional racism, Novella ignored all the social constructs that divided neighbors from one another.”

“I am frustrated on behalf of my constituents, whose flights to or from Memphis may be canceled or delayed, effecting untold numbers of business meetings, family gatherings, and vacations.”

Otis Sanford “accuses Republicans of selective fury while practicing it himself: outraged at Trump’s pardons for nonviolent individuals but mute about Biden’s pardons for violent criminals.”