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As the U.S. economy slowly recovers from the pandemic, one major industry still faces an uncertain future: the live events industry. More than 12 million people contribute to live productions and conference events, including planners, caterers, florists and rental companies. 

On Tuesday, a national organization called the Live Events Coalition staged what it calls an "Empty Event" in Tom Lee Park to raise awareness of the job losses. Memphis-based LEO Events partnered with the group to set up 48 empty tables surrounded by chairs, a couple of bars and a vacant stage. 

After initially giving people several more weeks to pay overdue utility bills, Memphis Light, Gas and Water resumed cutoffs this week, leaving—as of Monday morning—at least 18,000 customers facing a suspension of services.

By the end of the day, that number had shrunk, said Gale Jones Carson, vice president of community and external affairs at MLGW. "Thousands” of people called to negotiate deals to keep their lights on.

For the past six years, Daniel Warner has been teaching 11th grade history at East High School in Memphis. According to the Tennessee Department of Education, his students are some of the state’s top achievers.

So is Warner.

He was recently named West Tennessee’s Teacher of the Year after nine months of winning various qualifiers, such as Shelby County Schools’ Teacher of the Year. 

One of the positive side effects of our quarantine has the been the burst of creativity by chefs as they have found unique and non-traditional ways to keep their businesses afloat during this world-wide pandemic.

Across the country, local governments are considering new reforms within police departments. The Shelby County Commission began debating several proposals this week which would apply to the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. Among the proposals: maintaining a database of those who have been fired due to excessive force and banning the use of certain chemical agents such as tear gas. 

Political analyst Otis Sanford weighs in on the discussion.