“By reducing the number of aggravated assaults, we can make a real dent in the number of victims of violent crime and reduce our violent crime rate even more.”

Opinion: The need for access to health care services is clearly expanding and layers of red tape preventing facilities from opening only harm the state’s ability to meet that need.

“These people have no idea I’m writing about them. But they are using what they have in time, money, energy and ideas to bless the rest of us.”

“Science is essential to understanding how things work, but science will never explain why things matter to the human heart.”

“There will be much to unsettle us in the days to come. Clandestine raids on small businesses in our community. Vulnerable neighbors who become prisoners in their own home.”

“Holding God’s transcendence and his immanence in view at the same time will not make me perfect, but it will change how I handle my own wrongdoing, as well as how I love God and others...”

“I have come to conclude is that school voucher programs nationwide are not necessary and create far more problems than they solve.”

Even as national trends indicate a decline in volunteerism, Memphis continues to foster a strong culture of civic engagement.

“One viable option is to merge the proposed Regional One Medical Center with Methodist University Hospital, to form a single, well-resourced University Medical Center.”

“It’s the responsibility of administrators, teachers, parents and elected officials like myself to ensure children in Shelby County are receiving the high-quality education they deserve.”

“My underlying hope is that when I do A and B, the promised C will result. But you only have to live a little while to learn that’s not the way life works.”

“These days I spend a lot of time thinking about President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport between 11 million and 20 million people.”

“There is an urgent need to address the aging housing stock and fund new development across the city that can accommodate people where they live and work.” 

“We sometimes forget how the unique perspective of children, particularly babies and toddlers, can foster our own faith.”

“Whether its nature or people that speak to us most clearly when we travel, taking in a new place with fresh gusto and does our hearts’ good. “

The MSCS board chair says, “I believe that allowing Feagins to continue as superintendent will cause lasting damage to Memphis-Shelby County Schools.” 

“It would be rewarding to receive badges for things like getting a kid to sleep through the night or helping a child master multiplication facts.”

“Let’s also acknowledge that one leader can’t solve every problem. This is a community issue that requires a community response.”

The consequences of dismissing Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Feagins may have unintended consequences that won’t serve the district’s 110,000 students, board member Amber Huett-Garcia says.

“Terrorism seeks to sow fear, to disrupt our lives, and to make us question our trust in one another. That fear tempts us to retreat, to isolate, to live smaller lives. But that can’t be what we do.”

A public school teacher on vouchers: “Let’s be honest, today we’re far more interested in satisfying our own personal interests and we expect the taxpayer to foot the bill. We are entitled.”

I will remember President Carter as a person of faith who cared deeply about matters of justice and equality.

“Whether too much or not enough or just the right amount, time is the thread running through every last tidbit of our human existence. ... And time is what this season of Advent is all about.”

“I have often marveled how ‘L’chayim’ and Jewish prayers in general were written when my ancestors were persecuted. ... They still contended that life has infinite meaning and light can and must pierce the darkness. ”

“Rather than demonizing judges when they make a bad call, we need to provide judges with better information, so they can make better calls. And that’s what the DA’s office has done,” writes District Attorney General Steve Mulroy.