BackinMemphis

WREG, Memphis - The long-awaited Elvis Presley Boulevard Improvements Project in Whitehaven is now a step closer to reality. The city says it's in final negotiations to buy property before starting the first phase of construction. However, WREG has learned at least one roadblock means the timeline has been pushed back yet again. A pothole-filled bumpy ride is what you'll get driving along much of Elvis Presley Boulevard. However, the major thoroughfare is set to get a $35 million makeover. The Elvis Presley Boulevard Improvements Project includes new sidewalks, curbs and bike lanes, covering three miles from Brooks Road to Shelby Drive. City of Memphis Public Works Director Robert Knecht says the city is much closer to construction, having bought some of the necessary land to get started. "We're at 24 of the 26 needed right-of-way acquisitions are completed and the final two are wrapping up." Once that's complete, Knecht says the city will file...

For Texas troubadour Dale Watson, Memphis has long been something of a second home — he’s recorded frequently at the historic Sun Studios, been a regular performer at Beale Street clubs, and drawn much inspiration from the city’s rich roots music history. “Memphis has always been a dear part of my life since I started coming in the '80s,” says Watson. “The place just rejuvenates me.” In the meantime, he’ll continue to split time between the Bluff City and his longtime Austin residence. “I’ve got a place in Austin, with a recording studio built up in the back. It’s a good property and it's home,” says Watson. “But Austin is changing quite a bit — it’s almost turning into a little San Francisco. It’s losing a lot of the roots that I loved. They’re tearing down all the cool places I used to play at and go to, so they can build condos. Breaks my heart to see it.” “I see a lot of growth in Memphis but they won’t necessarily tear down a building — usually they’ll (repurp...

Time to Turn Page to a Better Year 2011 was another year where what had once glittered wasn’t always what was of value. Recessions have a way of ripping away veneers that look more substantial and less tentative than we hope they are. What is clear for the year ahead is that it is up to us collectively to make our destiny. Perhaps what we do deliberately will be tempered considerably by the weight of other factors beyond our control. But not all of the elements that determine success or failure and the ground between them are out of our reach. 2012 will be the year a specific plan to consolidate Shelby County’s two public school systems takes shape. Our civic disposition to look at what others have done has been satisfied. With that, we hope the consolidation planning commission will fashion a school system that has as its goal a single public school system that strives to be better for the parents of all children in what are now two school systems. By better we mean in mea...