The AM/DM

If this weekend has a theme, it's food competitions for a good cause. There are also Elvis Tribute Artists in town to perform and roller derby lessons, so one might be able to skate, rattle and roll.  Newsletter editor Bianca Phillips is here to tell us all about them .  Plus: The Tennesee Board of Education is preserving its two-credit world-language requirement A councilmember urges the administ...

The Memphis Area Transit Authority has struggled in recent years, with funding, misallocated resources, bad bus schedules and questionable spending. Now, the beleaguered public transportation agency is headed by an operations trustee, Rodrick Holmes, who used to MATA's general counsel.  Mary Cashiola is joined today by enterprise reporter Samuel Hardiman, who recently got an inside look at the MAT...

Last year, a U.S. District judge finalized a settlement permitting university athletic departments around the country to distribute up to $20.5 million annually in revenue to student athletes. This past week, for the first time ever, the University of Memphis disclosed it paid $11 million to student-athletes under revenue sharing. Today, the U of M Board of Trustees will hear a presentation on tha...

The Shelby County primaries are fast approaching. The official primary election day is Tuesday, May 5, but early voting starts Wednesday, April 15. Moreover, there are all kinds of seats up for grabs, including county mayor, 13 Shelby County Board of Commissioners districts, county sheriff, probate court clerk, county clerk and circuit court clerk.  Joining Mary Cashiola today is longtime politica...

This is the week when the Banana Ball Championship League (finally) comes to Memphis. The Savannah Bananas are not coming to Memphis, but two other teams from the league — the Party Animals and the Indianapolis Clowns — will be at AutoZone Park with their signature take on baseball.  And this week marks the next step in who might replace Edmund Ford Jr. on the Shelby County Board of Commissioners....

Another week is in the books, and it's time for the weekend .  There's a "Heated Rivalry"-themed dance party at Minglewood Hall, the Memphis Coin Club Show at the Landers Center and more tulips blooming in East Memphis than you'll see anywhere else outside of the Netherlands. Well, actually, don't quote on us on that last bit. But a lot of tulips. Suffice it to say, this weekend isn't for wallflow...

One of the first classes medical students take is gross anatomy. They first learn about the human body during a lecture and then it's onto the lab, where their first patient — a donor body — awaits them.  Today, reporter John Klyce is here to talk to us about how UT Health Science Center's cadaver lab works , why it's important and even how they find their bodies. Plus: FedEx sues the U.S. governm...

After more than 40 years at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and over a decade as its president and CEO, Dr. James Downing announced last week he is stepping down . So what happens now?  Today, we'll introduce you to new business reporter Steve Bohnel and we'll chat about Downing's new role, his possible replacement and even about curing cancer.  Plus: Smart Mart will soon be replaced NBA hit...

After the Memphis Safe Task Force was deployed last fall, the Collierville Police Department did something unexpected. It increased the number of officers who were on patrol and paid them overtime to work the shifts. The idea was that the task force might push would-be Memphis criminals into Collierville and the other suburbs, where those individuals would be safe, so to speak, from the full 13-ag...

This week brings us the NFL Combine and two Tigers tackles who get to attend, Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission meetings, a deadline to not run for office and the annual Guns to Gardens drive, in which guns are donated and then melted down to be made into garden tools. Today, newsletter editor Bianca Phillips joins Mary Cashiola to talk about all of that to help prepare you for the...

As the week winds to a close, newsletter editor Bianca Phillips joins Mary Cashiola to talk about the fun you can have over the next few days . There are plant sales, Bad Bunny-inspired events, Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy doing a monologue and a week's worth of Afro-Latino stories, music and dancing.  They'll discuss all that and more.  Plus: A State House bill lets privat...

As the Grizzlies head into the second half of the season, their focus seems to be locked onto next season — or beyond. In a bright spot for Memphis, NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently said team relocation is not on the table even as the league plans to expand. Today, reporter and columnist Drew Hill is here to walk us through all these developments.  Plus: Memphis' Hasan Abdul Hakim is dismisse...