Candice Ludlow

On hot summer days, like today, people line up at Wells Station and Reed in East Memphis to get a cool tasty treat.  Lines are often to the street outside the bright pink and turquoise building that used to be a Sinclair Gas Station.  You can still see remnants of the car wash here, but that’s from a long time ago because Jerry’s Sno Cone is in its forty-sixth year.

A Jerry’s Sno Cone is not your typical snow cone in a cone-shaped cup with a rounded scoop of ice one top.  No.  It’s served in a Styrofoam cup with a spoon. 

Tensions are mounting yet again in regard to school consolidation.  The Shelby County Commission filed suit to stop referendums on municipal schools, alleging that part of the intent is to create racially segregated schools.  All parties will appear before federal Judge Hardy Mays on Monday.

The Memphis City Council will vote on a budget for 2013 on Tuesday.  Mayor AC Wharton’s proposal includes a one-time property tax hike and cuts to city services, but council members have other ideas.  Some council members want to cut taxes and dip into city reserves. 

Solar energy only accounts for 2 percent of Tennessee Valley Authority’s energy portfolio.  That doesn’t sound like much, but in 2008, the amount of solar produced in the state wasn’t enough to power one house.  By the end of this year, the Tennessee Solar Institute predicts a production increase of 21 megawatts.  That’s enough to power 2,100 homes.  A lot of the solar construction you see around West Tennessee was indirectly funded with stimulus money.