Public Safety
New polling data shows opinions on mayor, police chief
A survey of Memphis residents finds 17% don’t know who Mayor Paul Young is, and 35% have never heard of Interim Police Chief C.J. Davis.
Samuel Hardiman
Reporter
Samuel Hardiman is an enterprise reporter who focuses on government and politics. He began his career at the Tulsa World where he covered business and K-12 education. Hardiman came to Memphis in 2018 to join the Memphis Business Journal, covering government and economic development.
There are 692 articles by Samuel Hardiman :
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August 2024
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BusinessPlans accelerate for Memphis greywater plant
After xAI’s supercomputer came online, the Elon Musk-founded artificial intelligence startup revamped its plans for a greywater facility to include other large water users.
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City of MemphisHere’s the city spending that sparked bond agency worry
After the City of Memphis spent $74.5 million of its fund balance in fiscal year 2024, The Daily Memphian filed a Tennessee Public Records Act request to see how the money was spent.
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South MemphisResidents, activists voice concerns, hear details of xAI project
The meeting hosted by MLGW alongside Memphis City Council member Pearl Walker came after months of community worry about the project, which promises to add the electrical equivalent of several thousand homes to the utility’s distribution system.
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BusinessPermits not required for temporary xAI turbines
Environmental activists have raised concerns about emissions from the site as well as impact on the region’s drinking water.
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City of Memphis Liberty Park development clears Memphis City Council
Liberty Park, formerly known as the Mid-South Fairgrounds, could see a broad transformation in the coming years with $112.5 million in private development now cleared for takeoff.
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Business XAI to build greywater plant, could one day sell it to Memphis
The treated wastewater from the plant would replace demand on the region’s supply and save hundreds of millions of drinking water a year from industrial use.
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City of Memphis Environmental groups urge TVA not to serve xAI
The request comes amid the backdrop of some grassroots opposition to the project in Memphis and growing awareness nationwide of the demands supercomputers and other data centers have placed on electric grids and water supplies.
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Elections District 97’s John Gillespie faces primary challenger
The Republican primary winner is likely to face a spirited general-election challenge. State House District 97, which includes parts of East Memphis and Bartlett, is among the most competitive in the state.
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Elections Senate District 30’s Sara Kyle faces primary challenger
Longtime Tennessee Sen. Sara Kyle faces a Democratic primary challenger on the August ballot — Erika Stotts Pearson, a perennial candidate for higher office.
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Elections Here’s who’s going to Nashville from Shelby County
The incumbents in every contested Shelby County legislative primary cruised to reelection Thursday, meaning there may not be much change in the local delegation.
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Metro Tyre Nichols’ son must be represented in civil suit, judge says
A federal judge ruled Friday that Tyre Nichols’ young son must be represented by someone besides his grandmother RowVaughn Wells’ attorneys in the civil rights lawsuit against the City of Memphis.
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Public SafetyMPD officer, civilian dead after early morning crash
A Memphis police officer and a civilian died early Friday morning after a two-vehicle crash near Downtown, the Memphis Police Department said. A second officer is in critical condition at Regional One Health.
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Business MLGW says it can’t reject serving xAI with electricity
The utility company also said the supercomputer’s heavy electric load will have “no impact” on its reliability.
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City of Memphis Judge rules MPD sergeants can be part of lawsuit
The lawsuit stems from the department’s decision to create a second lieutenant position, a move that the sergeants say harms their career prospects.
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City of Memphis Young plans to make city’s CFO, COO permanent
Antonio Adams and Walter Person have served in an interim capacity since Memphis Mayor Paul Young took office Jan. 1.
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July 2024
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BusinessHere’s how xAI is training its chatbot in Memphis
The Memphis supercomputer is a “massive training center” for xAI’s chatbot Grok, a competitor of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Elon Musk said in a recent interview.
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East MemphisA day on the links: Taking the first shots at the redone Audubon
Even nongolfers can appreciate all that went into renovating the City of Memphis’ Links at Audubon. And players can learn some details about the revamped par-71 course.
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City of MemphisMemphis River Parks, contractor still fighting over 2020 wire fraud
A nearly $400,000 scam has a local construction firm and the Memphis River Parks Partnership embroiled in a yearslong legal dispute.
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City of Memphis Liberty Park $112M private development takes step forward
Further development at Liberty Park took a key step forward Tuesday: A City Council committee approved the up-to $112.5 million project that could change Midtown.
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City of Memphis MLGW could buy Tesla megapacks from xAI for grid resiliency
A megapack would provide 1.9 megawatts of power and cost about $1.1 million.
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Business Musk’s xAI could share greywater plant with TVA
A source close to xAI said it could share a greywater plant with the Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA did not dismiss the idea.
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Shelby County County approves split of hotel-motel tax dollars between Memphis Tourism, FedExForum
The Shelby County Commission approved changes to the Shelby County Private Act, which governs how Shelby County hotel-motel tax dollars are allocated.
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Business Musk says Memphis supercomputer has powered up
The billionaire was likely in Memphis this weekend.
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City of Memphis Young hires former NYPD official as public safety consultant
After Memphis Mayor Young won the election last year, he pledged a pandemic-like response to crime and that his administration would tame the chaos in the streets.
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