I currently work as a general and breaking news reporter at the Commercial Appeal and all of that work can be found here. My work has also appeared in The Commercial Appeal, The Daily Helmsman, and USA Today.
Memphis Zoo President Jim Dean says a future parking garage not off the table but lot expansion imminent
The Memphis Zoo announced in early October it was moving forward on plans to scrap a parking structure, opting instead to expand a ground-level lot. The announcement reignited years of debate about the adjoining Greensward and whether the zoo has the right to use the grassy space for parking.
Amid criticism about the reversal, Jim Dean, president of the Memphis Zoo, argues the change in plans will likely benefit the Greensward supporters and the zoo.
What we know about the deaths of former Mississippi Rep. Ashley Henley and her sister-in-law
YALOBUSHA COUNTY, Miss. — Officials here say an arrest was made Friday afternoon in connection to a suspected December arson at a trailer home near where former Mississippi state Rep. Ashley Henley was found dead June 13.
Assistant District Attorney Steve Jubera said more details regarding the case should be publicly available soon but that "the case is moving very fast."
The arrest came a week after the Yalobusha County coroner confirmed the death of former Mississippi state Rep. Ashley Henley is being investigated as a homicide. He said she had a gunshot wound but would not describe the circumstances surrounding her death.
UofM enrollment higher despite pandemic
Amid an uncertain start to the semester, the University of Memphis has found a golden egg of data to continue pushing forward.
While the national trend is for colleges and universities to post lower enrollment figures during the economic downturn and health crisis, UofM enrollment is up 1.7 % year-over-year with a total headcount enrollment of 22,385 students and total credit hours up .9 %.
This news comes in spite of a global pandemic and a shrinking population of high school graduates who are looking for a higher education. Dr. Thomas Nenon, the provost at the UofM, said this enrollment increase is reassuring given the uncertainties of our current reality.
Memphis City Council reaches decision on spending of federal stimulus money
After just over an hour of deliberation, the Memphis City Council was able to come to a resolution on how to allocate the city's one-time windfall of federal stimulus dollars.
The fund, provided by the American Rescue Plan Act, currently has approximately $140 million after spending $16 million on bonus pay for city employees, $1 million to the Collins Chapel Connection Hospital and $3 million to Regional One Hospital.
Discussions over how to allocate the funding dominated hours of the council's Sept. 7 meeting, first in committee and then in regular session.
U of M student alleges sexual misconduct office protects tenured faculty over students
When any form of sexual harassment or assault is alleged to have taken place on campus, the Office for Institutional Equity (OIE) investigates. Their sole purpose during that process, according to the website’s mission statement, is to provide a fair and unbiased process to resolve allegations such as these.
One University of Memphis student is alleging OIE cannot be impartial in these situations. He wonders if a branch of a university can be unbiased in these situations and what happens when those meant to protect victims, instead protect the perpetrator of sexual harassment.