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■■ NEWS
Independent autopsy of Nolan Wells finds ‘undetermined’ cause of death
By Jake Offenhartz and Laura Bargfield Associated Press
CHICAGO — An independent autopsy commissioned by the family of Nolan Xavier Wells found the 18-year-old’s cause and manner of death to be “undetermined” pending further investigation.
The civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Wells family, announced the preliminary findings Wednesday July 22 in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the annual NAACP National Convention in Chicago.
Reading from a report prepared by forensic pathologist Dr. Robert Mitchell, Crump said the report showed no evidence of fractures or bruising, but also did not rule out the possibility of foul play.
The board-certified pathologist found “red discoloration” in the soft tissue in the back of Wells’ head, Crump said.
Mitchell noted decomposition of the body made it difficult to tell whether there were bruises or abrasions on his skin.
Mitchell said he did not receive parts of Wells’ throat, leading him to say that he can’t rule out a neck injury as a contributor to Wells’ cause of death.
Without further information, the pathologist wrote he “cannot rule out if any intervening nonaccidental factors contributed to or caused the death of Nolan Wells,” according to the attorney.
The autopsy is part of an independent investigation led by Crump into the circumstances of the teenager’s disappearance, which followed a July 4 boat trip with friends to an island off the coast of Mississippi. Wells did not return to the mainland with his friends. His body was found floating off the island’s coast two days later.
The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted its own autopsy but has yet to release the results.
The second autopsy was arranged by
the family and Crump, and paid for by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick. It did not include a toxicology report.
“This is only another part of the puzzle, and even though it tells us significant information, we still have more questions than we have answers at this time,” Crump said of the results.
The still-unknown circumstances around Wells’ death have touched off rampant online speculation and prompted calls from Black leaders for transparency from local authorities. Wells, who was Black, had traveled to the island with a group of high school friends, all of whom are white.
A reward of $125,000 — jointly funded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, actor and producer Tyler Perry and former NFL
player Terrell Owens — is now being offered in exchange for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with the death.
The autopsy announcement comes two days after Wells was laid to rest in his hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
In his eulogy, Sharpton lamented the “inconsistencies and unanswered questions” that had placed a dark cloud over the grieving family.
He questioned why Wells’ friends had left him behind, taken his phone and keys and failed to report him missing. And he suggested local investigators had spoken prematurely in statements to the news media indicating no crime was suspected. — Mina Corpuz of Mississippi Today contributed to this report.
President Calvin Anderson Editor Stephanie R. Jones
Memphis City Council approves Paul Young’s new CFO, chief administrative officer
By James Coleman TSD Contributing Writer
Mayor Paul Young’s leadership team received a midterm shakeup with the approvals of a pair of new city division heads.
New chief financial officer Art Davis and chief accounting officer Chris Winton can get right to work, after the Memphis City Council members unanimously approved their appointments during the July 21 meeting.
Young called both appointees “incredible” leaders.” The shuffle follows the departure of erstwhile CFO Walter Person and CAO Antonio Adams. Both were holdovers from former mayor Jim Strickland’s administration.
Davis’ promotion follows a seven-month stint as the city’s deputy chief financial officer of the treasury. He will shepherd the city’s financial operations. His new responsibilities run from budgeting, accounting, procurement and long-term fiscal planning to overseeing his old co-workers at the financial bureau.
Before joining the city, Davis served as COO and CFO for Memphis River Parks Partnership. He helped lead the nonprofit from 2019-2025. This includes the $61 million redevelopment of Tom Lee Park, a 30-acre green space that runs parallel the Mississippi River near Downtown.
“My resume speaks for itself. It says who I am and where I’ve been. But the past isn’t really important today. What’s important today is what am I going to do moving forward,” said Davis. Following transparency, the second bullet point on the list was building up
“financial structure” of the agency he is tasked to lead. Finally, he will ensure that taxpayer dollars “entrusted to us” is “handled responsibly.”
“My goal will be to support the mayor, the council, but most importantly to support the citizens of Memphis,” said Davis.
Davis also served as director of finance for the Liberty Bowl Stadium. His work history also features leadership roles with the Memphis Redbirds and the Children’s Museum of Memphis.
“Art has been with us for a number of years in our treasury department, but I’ve known him for years as he worked with MRPP and handled operations and finance there. Incredible leader, I’ve enjoyed working with him,” said Young.
Winton enters city government from a career in the private sector. The former corporate vice president and chief people officer began working at FedEx 25 years ago. Hired as an intern, Winton rose through the ranks in the information technology department before joining human resources.
In 2024, he was hired as senior VP of human resources for cable giant Comcast’s Central Division. His role included implementing culture-building strategies and talent recruitment infrastructure for the 13,000-employee division.
The native Memphian has also worked for electric automaker Tesla. Winton also consulted the President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden administrations on workforce development and developing road maps to success for under-resourced communities.
“He’s a great asset to our city. I’m
looking forward to working with him and seeing his leadership. Most importantly, I think he’s going to be great for our division directors …,” complimented Young.
As CAO, Winton’s responsibilities will range from department oversight, financial management and personnel staffing to the liaison between the administration and other elected bodies.
“The mayor challenged me to help deliver results and deliver more. So with your support, I am ready to do so,” said Winton. “So when I’ve had an opportunity to meet with many of you one-on-one, talk with constituents in our community, as well as meet with leaders here in city hall, the common denominator is clear: There is a deep love for this city and we can do more.”
Davis and Winton join Young’s leadership at a time when the city maintains a strong credit rating, but grapples with structural deficits and low cash reserves. In late June, the council passed a flat $900 million budget after weeks of debate over public safety and city employee compensation. The property tax rate remained also unchanged at $3.39.
Airport authority appointments
Council members also approved Young’s appointments of Belinda Anderson, Pamela Clary and Demar Roberts to the 9-member Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority.
In April, Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 2473, which dissolved the previous seven-member board. The law establishes eligibility requirements, and prohibits members from having a financial stake in an airport or concessions while serving on MSCAA.
The rest of the board is composed of appointments by Lee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton. Each lawmaker appoints two members apiece. All three are Republicans.
In addition to the Memphis International Airport, the MSCAA oversees the operations at General DeWitt Spain Airport near Downtown and Charles W. Baker Airport in Millington. Both civil airports are publicly owned.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s administration welcomed two new members of its executive leadership team after the Memphis City Council unanimously confirmed Chris Winton, above, as chief administrative officer and Art Davis as chief financial officer during its July 21 meeting. (Courtesy photos)
Memphis data center tax revenue to fund $3.28 million in community investments near xAI facilities
Mayor Paul Young’s proposal targets home repairs, cleanup, public safety and environmental programs in neighborhoods surrounding Colossus I
By James Coleman TSD Contributing Writer
Mayor Paul Young presented his proposal for use of $3.28 million in FY2026 revenues gathered from a groundbreaking property tax targeting data centers during the Tuesday, July 21 meeting.
Passed by the Memphis City Council in 2025, the Community Benefit Ordinance tax is expected to generate $100 million for the city. Twenty-five percent will be spent directly on the communities that lie within a five-mile radius of data centers.
The law requires the money to be spent on investments in public buildings, facilities, infrastructure and equipment, as well as economic development projects that fall within the zone. Livability issues are also addressed in the language and money will be available to nonprofits through grants as well.
The ordinance could also serve as a national model as communities grappling with the rise of data centers, which number over 4,000 across the nation.
“There are cities all across the country that are studying what we did to try to figure out how do we maximize the financial impact of these projects in the communities that are most adjacent,”
said Young.
SpaceXAI’s Colossus data centers are among the largest in the county. It operates a combined 550,000 Nvidia processing units. Young’s proposal covers the community near Colossus I on Paul R. Lowery Road.
A proposal including the zone near the Colossus II facility in Whitehaven will be addressed in the fall. It will include the tax dollars generated from that facility. Revenues for FY2027 begin arriving in October.
“I held off on presenting this because, as you all know, there was a committee that was established that was studying how to use the dollars from FY2027. So we wanted to make sure there was not confusion,” said Young.
A nearly yearlong study was previously conducted for the 38109 zip code. It provided 10 options to prioritize.
Among the 250 participants — 75% from the affected communities — the most pressing need was closest to home.
Repairs to homes and weatherization projects topped the list, followed by public safety and crime prevention. Road repairs and infrastructure investments were a close third. The first item in Young’s proposal reflected the survey response.
His plan offers $1.4 million for repairs to homeowners in the zone.
Eligible applicants can receive loans for as much as $30,000. Many of the 11,000 homes within the boundary were built before 1960. However, with a median family income in the zone of around $37,500, critical repairs can often be out of reach.
“It is structured as a zero-interest loan fully forgiven after five years of continued residence,” said deputy chief of staff Renee Sekander. “So they are not taking on new debt, they are actually building equity by staying in their homes.”
Community cleanup is the second priority. Half a million dollars is dedicated to litter removal, beautification, maintenance of public spaces and mitigation of illegal dumping. Unlike the waste, most of the money will remain in the community. The plan calls for 85% to be used on labor within the zip code.
“The rest is going towards program management and administration. This is dignity and it is income that is put directly in the hands of people,” said Sekander
Public safety will be addressed through $400,000 in grants that will address crime prevention youth mentoring, after school programs, workforce development, mental health services support and food assistance.
Instead of “reinventing the wheel,” the “location specific pool” will be
“There is a very rigorous and established vetting process that each organization that applies for funding will need to go through to make sure that we are accountable to those funds and they have the most tangible impact within the zone. — Renee Sekander
taken from the existing Safer Communities program, Sekander said. It will be expanded to include community initiatives. Operations will be housed in the Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.
“There is a very rigorous and established vetting process that each organization that applies for funding will need to go through to make sure that we are accountable to those funds and they have the most tangible impact within the zone,” said Sekander. Other investments include:
• $330,000 to board up or demolish vacant properties.
• $334,000 for illegal dumping cleanup
• $100,000 to environmental education
• $75,000 for Memphis City Beautiful cleanup
• $100,000 for environmental testing and reporting
• $20,000 for cooling device distribution.
The administration’s proposal also exceeds the amount required by city law to invest in environmental education.
“You all know there is an ordinance that requires a minimum of 1% go towards environmental education,” said Sekander. “We are recommending roughly three times that based on what we are hearing from the community.”
NEWS
Behind closed doors, Memphis’ crime decline hits a stubborn wall
New domestic violence strategy targets repeat offenders, firearms and a fragmented support system
By Lee Eric Smith TSD Contributing Writer
Memphis has found ways to make its streets safer. What happens behind closed doors is another story.
“Domestic violence is the hidden part of our violent crime problem because it usually occurs behind closed doors, not in the open,” said Bill Gibbons, president of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission and executive director of the University of Memphis Public Safety Institute.
Preliminary Tennessee Bureau of Investigation data show that Memphis’ major violent crime rate fell 31.5% during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year. Reported domestic violence cases declined only 5.7%.
“The major progress we’ve made on violent crime has not really translated into really major progress on domestic violence,” Gibbons said.
That stubborn gap is the backdrop for a new eight-part Domestic Violence Strategic Plan unveiled July 17 by the Public Safety Institute, which has spent the past year convening law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, health care providers, advocacy groups and nonprofit service organizations.
The plan calls for a renewed rapid-response team for high-risk cases, an electronic system for identifying victims in lethal danger, expanded shelter and housing assistance, greater transparency about what happens to
cases, more legal support for victims seeking protection orders and prevention education aimed at children and other at-risk groups.
It also calls for something Memphis once had but lost — a central place where survivors can go for help.
But like the problem it seeks to address, the plan still faces hurdles. Three of its eight strategies still lack organizations willing to take the lead. Several of its most ambitious goals have no identified funding. Timelines and measurements of success are still being developed.
A crime decline that stops at the front door
The plan arrives during one of the sharpest overall crime declines Memphis has experienced in years.
During the first half of 2026, the city’s major violent crime rate — murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults — fell 31.5% from the same period in 2025. Major property crime fell 40.6%, while the broader rate covering 54 categories tracked by the TBI declined 23.8%.
The first-half violent crime rate was 5.2% below the same period in 2011, previously the recent low point, and 45% below the 2023 peak. Every major violent crime category declined from 2025, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
That distinction matters amid ongoing debate over who deserves credit.
The decline began in 2024 under
Mayor Paul Young and Memphis Police
Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, before the federal-state Memphis Safe Task Force arrived in fall 2025. Young also has credited community interventionists and nonprofit organizations that work to mediate conflicts, prevent retaliatory shootings and reach people before violence occurs.
The task force added federal agents, Tennessee National Guard personnel and an enlarged Tennessee Highway Patrol presence to work already underway.
But saturation patrols, fugitive arrests and a visible police presence are built primarily to address violence that happens in public, Gibbons said.
Domestic violence requires a different set of tools: a safe place for victims to sleep, a lawyer in a protection-order hearing, an advocate answering the telephone at 2 a.m. Victims need a judge who knows whether an accused
abuser has appeared in court before, or someone willing to help a frightened victim remain involved long enough for a case to be prosecuted.
The latest figures show the scale of the challenge.
During the first half of 2026, Shelby County recorded 7,828 reported domestic violence offenses, including 6,913 in Memphis. The countywide rate fell 5.9%, close to the city’s 5.7% decline.
Shelby County recorded more than 16,000 domestic violence offenses during 2025, including more than 14,000 within Memphis.
The statistical categories are not entirely separate — some domestic violence incidents also are counted among murder, rape and aggravated assault figures — but the trend lines remain strikingly different.
Reported offenses involving firearms fell 35.1% in Memphis during the first
■■ NEWS
half of 2026. Yet firearms continue to be involved in more than half of reported domestic violence aggravated assaults.
During the first three months of 2026, Memphis recorded 205 domestic violence aggravated assaults involving a gun — 51.5% of the total. Firearms were involved in 54.8% of those assaults in 2025 and 50.8% in both 2023 and 2024.
Even those numbers do not capture the whole problem.
“A lot of domestic violence goes unreported,” Gibbons said. “So the reported offenses kind of understate the problem.”
He said underreporting may be especially pronounced among undocumented immigrants who fear that calling police could expose them or their family members to immigra-
“A lot of domestic violence goes unreported. So the reported offenses kind of understate the problem.”
— Bill Gibbons
tion authorities, particularly amid the heightened law enforcement presence in Memphis.
An incomplete scorecard
The new plan also arrives near the end of an earlier promise.
The Memphis Shelby Crime Commission’s 2022-26 Safe Community Action Plan called for creation of a domestic violence task force, development and implementation of a strategic plan and measurable reductions in abuse.
Its targets included a 20% reduction in reported domestic violence and a 30% reduction in domestic violence aggravated assaults involving firearms.
A final score will have to wait until complete 2026 figures are available. But an apples-to-apples comparison of the first six months of 2022 and 2026 offers a revealing snapshot.
During that period, Memphis’ major violent crime rate fell about 40.5%, major property crime fell 46.9% and overall reported crime fell about 30.5% — meeting or exceeding the broader goals established in the five-year plan. Reported domestic violence fell only about 1.4%.
The domestic violence rate climbed after 2022, remained elevated through 2025 and then declined during the first half of 2026, essentially returning to where it stood four years earlier.
The strategic plan promised in 2022 has now been produced. But the broader five-year Safe Community Action Plan is nearing its end without the 20% reduction in reported domestic violence it envisioned.
Gibbons said the concentrated planning process began about a year ago under an agreement between the Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs and the Public Safety Institute.
Representatives from approximately 20 to 25 entities met monthly as part of a Coordinated Community Response, he said.
Dr. Amaia Iratzoqui, research
director of the Public Safety Institute, said in a statement that the institute’s role has been to create and sustain the partnerships needed to respond more effectively.
“We hope this strategic plan will guide domestic violence responses to better serve victims and handle their abusers appropriately,” Iratzoqui said.
What falls between the cracks
The final document is notable for how candidly it describes weaknesses in the existing response.
The Lethality Assessment Protocol — a screening tool police use to determine whether a victim faces a high risk of serious injury or death — was not being used consistently across Shelby County. An incorrect version of the form had circulated before being corrected, according to the plan.
The new strategy would move that assessment into an electronic system and make it more readily available to agencies and courts. The goal is to ensure that MPD, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Bartlett, Germantown, Collierville and Millington use the same form and follow the same process.
The plan also acknowledges problems with the previous Domestic Violence Rapid Response Team. Not every relevant agency participated. The team was centered more on Memphis than the entire county. Members were unclear about how cases were selected, and there was limited public reporting about outcomes.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has agreed to lead the restructured team.
Gibbons said the federal office has committed to taking cases involving repeat domestic violence offenders found possessing firearms or ammunition and working with local law enforcement to put those cases on a faster track.
From Page 7
“Those are some of your more egregious domestic violence cases,” Gibbons said. “They’ve agreed to just take them all automatically and to rapidly try to move those cases through the system.”
That approach targets a glaring pattern in the court data.
During the first quarter of 2026, Shelby County General Sessions Domestic Violence Court received 1,538 intimate-partner violence cases. Of those, 676 — about 44% — involved defendants who had been arrested previously for domestic violence but had not been convicted. Only 21 involved defendants with both a prior domestic violence arrest and conviction.
The Criminal Court received 251 indicted intimate-partner cases during the quarter. Of those defendants, 32 had a prior domestic violence indictment without a conviction; 10 had both a prior indictment and conviction.
The plan says many cases are dismissed, but local agencies do not yet publicly provide a breakdown explaining why.
Gibbons attributed many dismissals to fear and intimidation. “The dismissal rate in domestic violence cases is very high,” he said. “A lot of that is because the victims end up getting intimidated. They are afraid to move forward and don’t cooperate with the prosecution due to that fear and intimidation.”
Better support, he said, could make victims less vulnerable to pressure and more willing to participate in prosecution.
Another strategy would ask Tennessee lawmakers to allow judges to delay expungement of a dismissed domestic violence charge on a case-by-case basis, possibly for as long as one year. The Crime Commission will lead that effort.
Supporters argue that immediate expungement can erase information
■■ NEWS
“The dismissal rate in domestic violence cases is very high. A lot of that is because the victims end up getting intimidated. They are afraid to move forward and don’t cooperate with the prosecution due to that fear and intimidation.”
— Bill Gibbons
that might reveal a pattern of repeat allegations when courts consider bail, protection orders or future cases.
The proposal also raises a due-process concern officials will have to navigate: A dismissed charge is not a conviction, and preserving it may carry consequences for someone who was not found guilty.
Restoring the missing front door
For victims, perhaps the most consequential proposal is creation of a new Family Justice Center offering a central point of access to multiple services, ideally around the clock.
The previous Family Safety Center closed in March 2025, after what Gibbons described as problems with its operation. “It was not operating as well as it should,” he said.
The new version could connect survivors with emergency shelter, longer-term housing, help obtaining orders of protection, legal services, safety planning and even security cameras for their homes.
“Whatever they may need, they could go to this central location and get the help that they need,” Gibbons said.
The new plan says the YWCA plans to operate its lethality-assessment hotline 24 hours a day. The Crime Victims & Rape Crisis Center already maintains a 24-hour rape crisis line. But the larger Family Justice Center remains a proposal without a confirmed lead organization.
Housing is similarly urgent — and similarly unsettled.
The plan calls for money to place survivors in hotels or other temporary accommodations for as long as 10 days, expand transitional housing, help immigrant survivors and repair homes made unsafe by abusers.
It also describes a proposed $750,000 expansion of the YWCA shelter. Renovating its upper level and installing a freight elevator could add six to eight rooms and as many as 24 beds.
No organization has yet agreed to lead the broader housing strategy. The other unassigned strategy would address an imbalance in order-of-protection hearings, where accused offenders may appear with lawyers while victims often represent themselves. Possible remedies include adding victim advocates and allowing more virtual court appearances.
From plan to accountability
While lead organizations have accepted lead roles in five areas, more are needed.
“We have three to go,” Gibbons said. “We’re working on that to try to make sure that we have that lead entity who’s willing to step up and say, ‘I’ll be
accountable for getting this strategy implemented.’”
Each lead will need a team. Each strategy will need funding, deadlines and data points capable of showing whether it worked.
Jennifer Brinkman, director of the Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs, said in a release that the document’s success ultimately will depend on the relationships and trust among the people charged with carrying it forward.
“Every organization has a role to play, but our shared responsibility is much bigger than any one agency,” Brinkman said. “Our goal is simple: all survivors should experience one community working together on their behalf.”
■■ ENTERTAINMENT
Princeton James Project anniversary weekend filled with talent
By Joy Doss TSD Contributing Writer
The Princeton James Project celebrated 10 years of service and dedication to our fair city and the Kooler Kids Performing Arts Program the weekend of July 17-19.
The film and theater industry turned out in support of actor/writer/producer James, and the Kooler Kids. Special guests included legendary actor Jimmy Smits, Memphis rap legend Al Kapone, Memphis and Shelby County Film Commission’s Linn Sitler, Deance Wyatt from Tyler Perry Studios, writer/director/producer Christine Swanson (“Clark Sisters” and “All American” movies), Emmy Award winning choreographer Zabretta Johnson and others.
The weekend included the Kooler Kids Performing Art Enrichment Camp participants’ finale show at Minglewood Hall on Friday. A pivotal strategy session with Memphis Mayor Paul Young on Saturday was followed by a fundraising gala at Crosstown Theater. The celebration closed out with a block party at the Coronet. There was sangin’ (singing is too mild), dancing and talent on talent on talent! The house was packed every day, a testament to Princeton’s work and community impact.
Kooler Kids began as a labor of love for Princeton. It was designed to provide an outlet for creative-leaning
children. Participants receive training in acting, musical theatre, dance, film and television, creative writing, public speaking, leadership development, entrepreneurship, workforce readiness, and social and emotional learning.
This year’s Kooler Kids camp drew 70 children. Since its inception a decade ago, more than 20,000 youths have participated in summer and after school programs.
Princeton says, “I’m just a kid from Coldwater, Mississippi. I followed the ‘proper’ or expected path initially and became an accountant. It’s just what you do. It’s practical. It’s pragmatic. There isn’t much room for creativity or for dreamers.”
But dream, he did. He stepped out on faith and picked passion over pragmatism, which has served him, and the city of Memphis’ theater and film land-
scape, well. Aside from “Queen Rising,” Princeton is the creative mind behind the “Soul Murder Mystery” plays, which have consistently sold out in Memphis and other cities. He has also made appearances in the YouTube legal drama series “Bluff City Law,” starring Smits, and the movie ”Uncorked.” He is currently a part of the filmmaking team for the faith-based drama “Elijah Peel,” scheduled for release nationally in late summer.
Of his commitment to young people he says, “This is a ‘water is wet’ statement, but Memphis is truly full of talent. Our young people are something! All they need is attention, nurturing and access. I want to be a part of the solution. I want our kids to have the training and development that I never had as a kid.”
The door is open to any and all kids interested in acting and theater. He has made it his priority to ensure the camps are affordable and accessible. In fact, 80% of the students are on scholarship.
For information on Kooler Kids, visit: https://www.thisisthecooler.com/ koolerkids.
Christine Swanson, writer/director/ producer, left, and Emmy award-winning choreographer Zebretta Johnson were among special guests at the Princeton James Project’s 10th anniversary celebration July 17-19. (Demarcus Baptist)
Kooler Kids member Cohen Cooper, left, moderates a conversation with Princeton James, center, and actor Jimmy Smits about their experiences in the film industry at the Princeton James Project’s 10th anniversary celebration July 17-19. (Demarcus Baptist)
Continuum wants to help small businesses
‘Power Forward’
By Lee Eric Smith TSD Contributing Writer
If you’ve ever attended the Economic Development Forum before, it’s possible to walk out with a business contact or contract that changes the trajectory of your business — and your life. It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened, said Jozelle Luster Booker, president and CEO of the Mid-South Business Continuum, organizer of the forum.
“At its core, the EDF is about networking. It is the ultimate convening,” Booker said. The key for attendees, she added, is to approach the event strategically and “design your experience based on where you are right now, where you want to go and where you want your business to grow.”
The 19th annual forum, set for Aug. 25-27 at the Renasant Convention Center, carries the theme “Power Forward: Built for Momentum. Designed for Movement.” Along with expanded matchmaking, the event will explore how Memphis can turn its growing artificial intelligence, robotics and data-center presence into local jobs, stronger businesses and new industries.
Three presenters will approach that question from different angles: Kevin Russell, a senior fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute; AI strategist Bethanie Nonami; and Calvin Zhou, a White Station High School graduate and co-founder of Silicon Valley-based Magnus Labs, which develops human-
■■ BUSINESS
Economic Development Forum expands matchmaking to turn conversations into contracts
oid robotics.
The forum will be packed with opportunities, Booker said, and the ones who win will go in with a certain mindset.
“How do you power forward as an individual?” Booker asked. “How do you power forward as a corporate leader? How do you power forward as a small-business owner? “How do we power forward collectively as a community and within industries?”
Matchmaking by design
The forum has long brought entrepreneurs, corporate buyers, lenders, government officials and business-development organizations into the same space. This year, Booker said, the Continuum is placing more structure around connections that previously might have happened informally or by chance.
“What we have done this year is design the event around specific matchmaking streams,” Booker said. “That allows us to facilitate those connections and encourage those conversations — and, from an economic perspective, widen the outcome. It’s almost like a ripple effect.”
Organizers have created the matchmaking streams around corporate procurement, employment and human resources, banking, capital and investment.
A small-business owner might approach a corporate booth looking for a buyer. Another attendee may want to ask about jobs. Someone visiting a bank’s booth may need financing, while another wants to become one of the bank’s vendors.
By identifying those conversations as
distinct streams, Booker said, organizers can more easily guide attendees toward the right people.
Building the pipeline
The approach also reflects information the Continuum has gathered from entrepreneurs across Memphis. Booker said the organization surveys businesses and works in communities throughout the city to understand the barriers companies encounter while forming, finding capital, onboarding with buyers and growing.
“If we’re going to truly convene the community and the marketplace, it can’t just be large public and private corporations and the larger small businesses,” she said. “It’s about nurturing and supporting the pipeline.”
That means creating room for companies at different stages — including entrepreneurs who may not yet be ready to pursue a major corporate contract but need the financing, knowledge or relationships that could help them down the line.
Booker said repeat attendees often become the forum’s strongest advocates. At a recent Continuum session, nearly half the people in the room raised their hands when asked whether they attended last year’s EDF.
From computing power to community power
The “Power Forward” theme takes on added meaning as Memphis and the surrounding region attract major investments in data centers and advanced technology.
“The computing power is here,” Booker said. “But what do we do, sitting here in Memphis?” She added
the forum will explore ways to educate the community on how to best use and benefit from the new technology to strengthen Memphis economically.
Russell will open with the widest lens, examining global economic trends, AI-powered markets and industries expected to drive growth.
Booker said his intent is to help policymakers, corporate leaders, business owners, educators and parents understand how trend shifts could affect the Mid-South.
Nonami will discuss practical application during a Wednesday Lunch and Learn session on the exhibit hall floor. Booker said Nonami will show individuals, professionals and business owners how AI can support brainstorming, research, project design, efficiency and competitiveness.
“You look at the efficiency and the speed with which people can learn and the access to information,” Booker said. “Now, in this time of AI, with all these apps, it’s on steroids.”
During a free noon session, Booker said, participants will scan a QR code, answer questions and leave with a complimentary AI certification provided through Nonami’s organization.
Zhou will offer the most futuristic — and most homegrown — perspective. A 2004 graduate of White Station High School, he will discuss humanoid robotics and its possible applications in education, business and industry. Booker said Magnus, Zhou’s company’s humanoid robot, is expected to appear. Robots must be programmed, trained, maintained and adapted to specific industries, she said, creating possibilities for new educational pathways, jobs, suppliers and business
■■ BUSINESS PUBLIC NOTICES / CLASSIFIEDS
sectors.
“That’s education. That’s training. That’s opportunities,” Booker said. “That’s growth, with new industry sectors coming to the community.”
Her larger concern is whether Memphis will simply host the infrastructure driving the next economy or prepare local residents and businesses to benefit from it.
Designing the experience
The forum will also include banking and media sessions, the returning “Booked for Business” author component, a fireside chat with a leader involved in construction of the Obama Presidential Center and the Robert R. Church Sr. Achievement Awards.
This will be the first EDF since the organization repositioned itself from the Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum to the Mid-South
Business Continuum. Booker has described the change as reflecting a broader business-development model while maintaining its commitment to minority-owned companies.
The exhibit hall will be open without charge, although registration is requested, and the free experience includes Nonami’s Wednesday AI session.
“There’s no reason why anyone in this community does not take advantage of what is available,” Booker said.
Her advice is to review the program in advance and decide what would make the event worthwhile — meeting a buyer, finding capital, promoting a business, exploring employment, learning about AI or building relationships for the future.
“Everyone who can should find a way to engage and participate based on where they are,” she said.
NOTICE TO BIDDER(S)
Sealed bids will be received by the Shelby County Government in the Department of Housing online until 9:30 a.m. on Friday, August 14, 2026, as shown below: MULTIPLE AND ENTIRELY DIFFERENT LEAD HAZARD REDUCTION AND REHABILITATION JOBS ARE CONTAINED IN THIS BID NOTICE. BIDDER(S) MAY ELECT TO BID ON ANY OR ALL OF THE JOBS IN THE NOTICE. SEALED BID DUE ONLINE AT 9:30 a.m. Friday, August 14, 2026
1. Rehabilitation of Owner-Occupied Housing Units throughout Shelby County some of which may require the use of lead-safe work practices and techniques, and
2. Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Jobs.
Detailed specifications for the items above may be obtained through the Neighborly Portal beginning Friday, July 31, 2026. All bids will be opened and publicly read by the Shelby County Government at the time mentioned above at the Department of Housing, 6465 Mullins Station Road Memphis, TN 38134, (901) 222-7600; TTY Number (901) 222-2301; or for information in Spanish 901-222-7601. Award recommendations will be posted at the following website https://www.develop901. com/housing upon review of the bid opening results.
As a condition precedent to bidding, each bidder must apply and qualify for a Vendor Number and Business Registration Number (BRN) prior to submitting your response. We have now transitioned to conducting bids online through Neighborly. If you have not already signed up, you can do so at https://portal. neighborlysoftware.com/SHELBYCOUNTYTN/ contractor. All documents submitted must be current and uploaded into your Neighborly account. Bids submitted without all required documentation will be unacceptable. Paisley Pogue (Paisley.Pogue@shelbycountytn.gov
TSD CLASSIFIEDS
1509 Madison Ave. Memphis, TN 38104
PH (901) 523-1818
HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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or 901-222-7611) will be assisting with any questions you may have regarding uploading the documents.
All new contractors will need to register with the Neighborly portal in order for their bids to be accepted on projects. Interested contractors not currently on the contractor list should contact the Department of Housing in order to schedule a meeting with the Housing Site Inspector.
Paper copies of bids are no longer available. The Department of Housing encourages participation from WBE, MBE, LOSB, and Section 3 Contractors under these rehabilitation programs.
The Shelby County Government reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any informalities therein.
By order of LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT
Scott Walkup, Administrator
‘When Memory Fades’ offers a compassionate guide to Alzheimer’s, dementia and caregiving
Book review
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Mom calls you in a panic the other day.
She has lost her keys and by the time you arrive to help, she has found them. In the refrigerator.
These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.
You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week driving to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age. Chin says that’s not true — although the answer may not be a worstcase scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration or lack of sleep — or is it time to see a doctor?
Chin says maybe, yes.
He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisconsin, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life. Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers,
but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.
Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.
Knowing how to talk the talk, helps you have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics — African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites — and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.
Says Chin: “The best action you can take is to educate yourself … The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”
Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.
Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does. Its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-tograsp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Chin writes using storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue. His words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor,
2026, St.
Essentials $30.00 422 pages
and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.
Read those last seven words, and find
“When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.
“When Memory Fades: What to Expect at Every Stage, from Early Signs to Full Support for Alzheimer’s and Dementia” by Nathaniel Chin, MD
