Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Samuel Hardiman

SpaceXAI sues contractor, alleges overbilling and fraud

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Fri, 7 Aug 2026 17:46:45 -0500

SpaceXAI alleges that Darana Hybrid and its CEO engaged in a practice of overbilling to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Molder to face Hatcher in 5th District

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Fri, 7 Aug 2026 06:04:19 -0500

Also, two Memphians — Heidi Kuhn and Marquita Bradshaw — quickly secured Democratic nominations Thursday, Aug. 6.

Brent Taylor wins Republican nomination for 9th District, will face Pearson

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Thu, 6 Aug 2026 23:19:47 -0500

State Sen. Brent Taylor continued his political ascendance Thursday night, winning the 9th Congressional District Republican nomination.

SpaceXAI could have a lot more data centers this time next year, Musk says

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 4 Aug 2026 17:15:52 -0500

The company operates four data centers in the Mid-South. Three of those data centers are powered, in part, by a controversial power plant the company built in Southaven.

City of Memphis looks to save money on interest

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 4 Aug 2026 16:33:31 -0500

The City of Memphis is looking to refinance about $150 million in debt.

SpaceXAI made a lot of news last week. Here's a breakdown.

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Mon, 3 Aug 2026 16:55:18 -0500

Two days last week brought a dizzying array of headlines about SpaceXAI’s operations in the Mid-South. So let’s catch up and break down why it all matters and how it fits into the bigger picture.

Something big could become Colossus' neighbor

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Sat, 1 Aug 2026 15:37:31 -0500

A real estate company is looking into building something big on undeveloped land near SpaceXAI’s Colossus data center.

SpaceXAI contractor said company owes it $570M

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:15:49 -0500

The CEO of an Ohio-based industrial contractor said SpaceXAI still owes his company about 40% of its roughly $1.5 billion total bill.

SpaceXAI agrees to emissions monitoring for MS power plant

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 08:49:56 -0500

SpaceXAI now has a clear regulatory roadmap for retiring the 69 natural gas turbines it operates without air emissions permits in Southaven.

SpaceXAI agrees to remove Mississippi turbines

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 21:31:22 -0500

SpaceXAI said Thursday, July 30, that it and the State of Mississippi had entered an agreement for winding down some of the company’s sprawling power plant operations in Southaven.

SpaceXAI buys 10 acres in Southaven

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:19:51 -0500

The company’s sprawling campus stretches across the Tennessee-Mississippi state line and includes three data centers.

SpaceXAI has built another Memphis data center

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:11:47 -0500

Elon Musk appeared to acknowledge that the company had built a new data center, known as “Minihard.”

FedEx founder's family sets up office to manage fortune, donations

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:56:28 -0500

A little more than a year after the death of FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith, his family is becoming more strategic with their investments and philanthropy, said Richard Smith, FedEx executive, director and son of the late magnate.

With latest $50M gift, Smith family goes big

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 04:00:09 -0500

“... To receive a single $50-million-dollar commitment from a single family is just unheard of. Not just in Memphis, but anywhere.”

City could ditch project manager at Liberty Park

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:08:25 -0500

Private development at Liberty Park has stalled, and the City of Memphis is looking to end its contract with the joint venture managing the project.

How will Memphis spend $3.3M in tax money collected from SpaceXAI?

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:03:16 -0500

Mayor Paul Young’s administration pitched how it plans to spend about $3.3 million on the 5-mile area around SpaceXAI’s Colossus I data center.

Council member said he's not subject of ethics investigation

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:00:05 -0500

Memphis City Council member JB Smiley Jr. is named in a May letter as urging the city administration to hire Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington’s niece in the city’s IT division.

Council chair allegedly pushed staff for donations

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:09:05 -0500

In May, the City Council’s chief administrator raised various concerns about Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington. Among them, that the councilperson was using city resources for her and her husband’s church.

City of Memphis investigating potential ethics violations

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:43:12 -0500

It is not clear what the city’s independent counsel is investigating, but a person familiar with the matter said it could be for potential violations of state, local and federal laws.

Could Memphis ban data centers? Maybe.

hardiman@dailymemphian.com (Samuel Hardiman) — Tue, 7 Jul 2026 21:16:59 -0500

On Tuesday, the Memphis City Council discussed potential zoning changes that would impact data centers.