Memphis

MEMPHIS — The Tennessee Comptroller has approved Shelby County's fiscal 2027 budget, according to an Oct. 21 letter reported Tuesday. The letter says the county resolved earlier concerns and improved its reporting and transparency. It also says the county is rebuilding General Fund reserves toward a 20% to 30% target. The approval follows a rough stretch. The comptroller rejected the 2026 budget for a fifth consecutive year in October 2025. A month later the county faced a $43 million shortfall and a negative cash position, and it borrowed from its debt service fund. In June commissioners voted 8-5 for a $1.6 billion budget and a nearly two-cent property tax increase, to $2.702382 per $100 of assessed value. In July the county borrowed $125 million, mainly for payroll for about 4,600 employees. Chief Administrative Officer Maura Black Sullivan called the approval a milestone. Commission Chairwoman Shante Avant said sustained oversight is still needed.

MEMPHIS — The Memphis Light, Gas and Water board approved rate increases for two of its services last Wednesday. Gas rates will rise 11% and water rates 12%, phased in over the next three years. MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen said the increases were planned before data center operations began in Memphis, according to Action News 5. The vote came the same day Shelby County commissioners took up their own data center proposals in committee. One is a conservation and reporting ordinance sponsored by Commissioner Amber Huett-Garcia. The other is a moratorium of up to 12 months sponsored by Commissioners Henri Brooks and Erika Sugarmon. Mayor Paul Young told reporters the City Council can extend its 135-day data center moratorium if needed. His executive order gives a working group 90 days to draft regulations.

MEMPHIS — Shelby County Sheriff Anthony Buckner introduced his new command staff at a promotions ceremony at Oak Grove Church on Oct. 22. He said the team's priorities are severe staffing shortages, jail conditions and crime reduction. He said the leaders will help him make the jail more humane and among the safest in the country. Buckner, a Democrat, won the Aug. 6 election and was sworn in as the 48th sheriff on Aug. 31. He succeeded the term-limited Floyd Bonner Jr., having served as his chief deputy. The sheriff's office has announced Chuck Mays as chief deputy, David Boddie as assistant chief deputy and several chief inspectors. It is also running a national search for a new chief jailer, with Terry Miller serving as interim. During the campaign Buckner promised a jail feasibility study in his first year and said he would move state inmates into state facilities.

MEMPHIS — Several paid family and thrill-seeker options close out Halloween weekend. Zoo Boo at the Memphis Zoo runs select nights through Sunday, Nov. 1, from 6 to 9:30 p.m., with last entry at 9. Tickets cost $23, or $20 for members, and are sold only online. HauntedWeb Scream Park, at 2665 S. Perkins Road, has four haunted houses and mini escape rooms. It also runs select nights through Sunday, with the box office opening at 7 p.m. and free parking. Full-access passes run $24.99 to $34.99. For younger children, The Amuse Spooktacular at Chickasaw Oaks Mall offers 90-minute puzzle sessions at 6 and 7:30 p.m. for $14.99. Rolling Out's guide notes that downtown will be crowded on Halloween night because of a riverfront parade, and that Minglewood Hall does not accept cash.

MEMPHIS — The Memphis Youth Symphony Program lists fall concerts on Sunday, Nov. 1, running from 2 to 8 p.m. under the MYSP banner. The program's 60th anniversary gala follows Nov. 14 at the Children's Museum of Memphis. The Memphis Symphony Orchestra has a smaller-scale series on the calendar as well. Its Tunes & Tales storytime programs pair picture books with live orchestral music and take place at schools and public libraries across Shelby County. Listed sessions run Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Macon-Hall and Cromwell elementary schools and Compass Community School's Frayser campus, then Thursday, Nov. 5, at Libertas School, Macon-Hall and Grahamwood Elementary. The orchestra's next full-hall date is Home Alone in Concert at the Orpheum on Nov. 28, with 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. shows. The Orchestra Unplugged: The Planets evening is Friday at the Halloran Centre.

MEMPHIS — Two exhibitions that opened this month stay up through November. Artist Narratives: New Works by Rivertown Artists, hosted by ANF Architects, features nine women artists who work as a collective. Memphis Travel lists it as a free arts event running Oct. 21 through Nov. 30. At the Memphis Botanic Garden, the Pat Patterson and Randy Parker Art Exhibition is on view in the Grand Hallway from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30; its opening reception was Oct. 18. Admission for the Botanic Garden show was not listed on the calendar entry, so visitors should check the garden's regular admission. Both listings sit alongside the Dixon Gallery and Gardens' 50th-anniversary collection show, which runs through Nov. 10 on the I Love Memphis calendar.