Memphis

MEMPHIS — The Shelby County Commission is scheduled Monday to vote again on a data center moratorium covering only unincorporated parts of the county. The Daily Memphian reports the item sits alongside the commission's vote on leaving the schools-takeover lawsuit. Commissioners Henri Brooks and Erika Sugarmon sponsor the measure, which would pause development for up to 12 months. On Oct. 12 it passed first reading 5-4, with four commissioners abstaining. Like any ordinance, it needs three readings. Opponents note the county has no data centers or permits for one. Commissioner Derek Mills said a pause on something that does not exist makes little sense. Commissioner Amber Huett-Garcia has questioned the county's legal authority and offered a regulation-focused alternative. The Greater Memphis Chamber opposes a moratorium. The City Council deadlocked 6-6 on a 12-month pause on Oct. 20 and instead passed a 135-day pause tied to new rules.

MEMPHIS — The Memphis Shelby Crime Commission's latest data show the city's major violent-crime rate has kept falling this year, led by a drop in robbery, the Daily Memphian reports. The U.S. Marshals Service says the Memphis Safe Task Force had made 13,795 arrests as of Oct. 21, with 2,317 firearms seized and 198 missing children located. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche has credited the task force with a 25-year low in crime. Local officials, as the Tennessee Lookout reported, note the decline began the year before it arrived. In an MLK50 investigation, District Attorney Steve Mulroy said most arrests were for minor offenses and about 20 percent involved immigration status. He also said the courts, jail and prosecutors received little extra federal help. Mayor Paul Young is promoting violence intervention that does not rely on the task force.

MEMPHIS — The consulting group advising the state-appointed board overseeing the Memphis-Shelby County Schools takeover has worked on similar efforts elsewhere. According to the Daily Memphian's Bri Hatch, those include a Colorado takeover that ended in a lawsuit. The firm has also been the subject of federal and state investigations in Florida. The report appeared as control of the district remains unsettled. A Shelby County chancery judge blocked the takeover Monday, Oct. 19, minutes before the oversight board was to meet. That returned full authority to the elected local board days after a federal judge had restored the state board's power, Chalkbeat reported. District leaders also amended their state-court complaint to drop claims that the takeover law violates the Tennessee Constitution. They now argue the state ordered the takeover without evidence the district qualified for it.

MEMPHIS — The 28th Indie Memphis Film Festival opens Thursday, Nov. 5, just beyond the coming week, so tickets are worth lining up now. The festival skipped 2025 after cuts in federal and state arts funding and the departure of its staff. It returns under co-executive directors Alicia George and Joseph Carr, with Brandon Harris as artistic director. It has left its traditional Midtown base for the South Main Arts District. Screenings run Nov. 5-8 at the Orpheum's Halloran Centre and Malco Powerhouse. Encores follow Nov. 9-10 at Malco Studio on the Square. Memphis Travel lists single tickets at $15 and a festival pass at $140. IndieWire's lineup report names Once Upon a Time in Harlem and The Man I Love among the features.

MEMPHIS — The Dixon Gallery and Gardens is closing out its 50th-anniversary year with two exhibitions on view daily through Jan. 10, 2027. The first, An Investment in Pleasure: Fifty Years of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens Collection, traces how a small group of European and American paintings from Margaret and Hugo Dixon grew into a collection of about 2,000 objects. The second, Jeff Koons: One Ball Total Equilibrium, appears on the Choose901 calendar every day this week. A mini exhibition titled Garden Politics is listed from Oct. 30. One local guide lists the anniversary shows as free. Confirm admission and hours with the museum before going. The Dixon's Hot Off the Wall art sale and its Art on Fire fundraiser ended over the weekend.

MEMPHIS — Hattiloo Theatre's Bridging Worlds: An International Black Theatre Festival runs through Nov. 8. It opened Oct. 2 and is billed as the start of the theatre's next 20 years, following its 20th-anniversary celebration at the Overton Park Shell in September. A local events guide describes it as a way of bringing the global Black stage to Memphis. Specific performances and ticket prices should be confirmed with the theatre. Hattiloo's Culture Box lounge in Overton Square also runs events Tuesday through Saturday nights. Tuesdays bring Toy Box, a pay-what-you-want karaoke and game night for ages 21 and up. The weekly Laugh Box comedy showcase is listed through Oct. 30. A Halloween R&B karaoke night is also on the Choose901 calendar for Oct. 31.