LOCAL BRIEFS

A fire Monday night at Blues City Cafe on Beale Street caused $8,000 worth of damage and the restaurant had to be evacuated, but no injuries were reported.

Firefirghters responded to the fire at the restaurant, located at 138 Beale Street, at 8:20 p.m. When fire crews arrived, they could see flames on the roof of the one-story building.

Fire officials said approximately 250 customers and 14 employees were evacuated before fire crews arrived. Firefighters fought the blaze for about 10 minutes before it was under control. The cause of the fire was determined to be a vent-a-hood motor that malfunctioned on the roof, above the kitchen area. ~ Yolanda Jones

Memphis may extend garbage cart curbside hours

The Memphis City Council could extend the hours garbage carts are allowed at curbs following a public outcry over plans to issue $50 fines for violations of city rules.

A council committee voted Tuesday to recommend changing the hours to between 5 p.m. the day before and 8 a.m. the day after residents’ regular collection days. Currently, residents are allowed to set carts out between 6 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on their regular day.

Council member Worth Morgan said he proposed the amendment after he received a large number of complaints about plans to create a new environmental enforcement team that would patrol the streets looking for blight-related code violations, including empty carts left at curbs in violation of city rules.

“We need to actually have time frames that make sense,” Morgan said.

Public Works Director Robert Knecht said the city receives maybe 100 complaints a year about carts left at curbs, and the intention is to crack down in “egregious” cases. ~ Ryan Poe