The doctor called me personally to tell me the news. 

Bacon, sausage and beef jerky are just a few of the items that will be taking center stage at the 8th annual Meat Me in Memphis gala which will be held on Oct. 24 at The Columns at One Commerce Square.

“Spotlight on Lifelong Learning” is a weekly look at some of the exciting public conversations upcoming around Memphis. Host Jonathan Judaken is the Spence L. Wilson Chair in the Humanities at Rhodes College.

It surprised more than a few people in the Public Relations industry when Harold Burson, a founder of the legendary PR firm Burson-Marsteller (now Burson, Cohn & Wolfe), relocated from New York to Memphis last year and set up an office for himself in the multinational company's East Memphis location. 

"A lot of people think I'm daffy for doing this," he says during a break between emails, organizing photos, scheduling lunches and reminiscing about 7 decades in the business.

Six years ago, the bottom 5% of academically ranked schools in the state were taken over by the Achievement School District. Among them were Frayser and Corning Elementary School, Georgian Hills, and Whitney Elementary School.

It’s not easy ducking beneath the cockpit and crawling toward the nose of this Boeing B-17 dubbed “Ye Old Pub.” The historic World War II bomber is designed for combat; it’s narrow and austere passageways require finesse to negotiate.  

And that’s the idea, says pilot John Hess⁠—to experience the vintage aircraft as WWII aviators did, claustrophobic spaces and all.

“This is very accurate, the way it was,” Hess says, who’s been volunteering with the nonprofit Liberty Foundation for 14 years. 

The group flies historic airplanes around the country to honor both the machinery and the pilots that flew them.  

Dozens of Memphis-area residents spurned Tennessee's planned "experiment" with a new funding model for its low-income healthcare program, TennCare.

At a public forum Tuesday hosted by TennCare officials, opponents scrutinized Gov. Bill Lee's proposal to pay for healthcare through a so-called block grant, rather than through federal reimbursements.

Everyone loves a clean mouth, right?

The third annual Mempho Music Festival  is this Saturday and Sunday at Shelby Farms Park.