School Closure Plan Prompts Community Outcry

Community speaks out against possible closure of 13 Shelby County schools
People get riled up when you start talking about closing neighborhood schools.  It's a process some suggest should include more than 13 schools.  But that's the number currently being considered.  This story is from the first ever district-wide meeting dealing with proposed closures.  I expected a crowd.. But I was surprised so many showed up to speak out.

Pizza Hut Employees, Customers Robbed During Dinner

Customer runs from Pizza Hut robbery, calls police
This was one of those stories that start with a blurb in the newspaper.  We saw that three guys were arrested for holding up a Pizza Hut during dinner.  Not only was the alleged gunman charged with robbing employees.. But customers as well.  I didn't think the story would amount to much without getting one of the victims.  I was able to track more than one of them down using information from a police report I picked up at 201 Poplar.  Fortunately, one of the victims was willing to talk on camera.

2 Wrongful Death Lawsuits Target MPD

$3 million in wrongful death lawsuits filed in killings involving officers
My colleague Nick Kenney knew these lawsuits were going to be filed Wednesday afternoon.  They came in just before the 5:00 news.  Nick was able to detail what they allege.  I picked up the story after turning a separate piece for an early newscast.  I was actually on the scene of one of these police-involved shootings.  Both came soon after an MPD officer was shot and killed.  The suits claim the "heightened alert" officers were on made them trigger happy.

Fullilove Considers Running for County Clerk

Fullilove considers running for county clerk
Memphis City Councilwoman Janis Fullilove has a habit of making headlines.  This story prompted a lot of reaction among our viewers.  I found out Fullilove pulled a petition to run for Shelby County Clerk.  She told me by phone that she is considering it.  Unlike her city council seat.. This would require winning votes county-wide.  Fullilove is always frank with me and she said there are people in the community pushing her to seek other offices.

Man Found in Blood-Covered Basement

Man found in blood-covered basement
This is a story I did the day after Christmas.  We heard the victim had been shot.. But Memphis Police would not confirm that before news time.  Fortunately, I encountered a longtime gang member mentor in the neighborhood who provided some perspective.  This is a neighborhood that rarely makes the news.  We later found out the victim had indeed been murdered.  Three suspects were behind bars by the end of the week.  This story remained the most popular on our website.

Big Changes For Beale Street

City to take over Beale Street starting January 2014
We've known about the city's pending takeover of Beale Street for a while.. But finally got around to doing more on it once we found out that Mayor A C Wharton requested the Downtown Memphis Commission manage the street for an interim period.  It was a nice night to get video and interviews along what was recently voted "America's most iconic street."

Cabbie Murder

Family mourns after driver found beaten, killed next to taxi
A Memphis taxi cab driver was murdered amid a winter storm.  Storm coverage may have overshadowed the crime.  An increased reward one week later provided a new "peg" to jump on the story.  I managed to locate the family.. Made up mostly of Ethiopian immigrants.  The victim had come to America for a better life.  But it ended in tragedy.