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Good morning, friends. Today is Thursday, Oct. 22, and there is another public meeting tonight to discuss the newest plans for Tom Lee Park (and to mourn the loss of the beach feature, if you were into that).
Tonight is also Twilight Thursday at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The venue is open until 8 p.m., food trucks will be on site and furry friends are welcome. (That gives you time to tune into the last presidential debate, being held about 212 miles down the road.)
Repair Days 2020 starts today at the Metal Museum and runs until Oct. 25. You just need to schedule a time this year to drop off your repair.
And, lastly, I’m having technical difficulties this morning, so this is kind of a WYSIWYG situation. My apologies.
THE NEED TO KNOW
 A Peabody Hotel worker sanitizes some of the common areas of the hotel in April. (Daily Memphian file)
The path less traveled: Itching to see the world again? Hotels want that for you, too. The COVID-19 pandemic erased 10 years of hotel gains in less than 12 months, and industry experts said this week they believe it will take the industry until 2024 to rebound to 2019 levels. Memphis has fared slightly better than the nation in terms of occupancy — due to regional leisure travelers — but Downtown Memphis’ hotels have been particularly hard hit, with only a third of their rooms occupied over the summer months.
 A protester holds a sign outside Ridgeway Station Oct. 21, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Barr is back: The U.S. Attorney General returned to Memphis yesterday, highlighting 66 local arrests made as part of Operation LeGend, an initiative that brought 40 federal agents to Memphis to help fight violent crime. (Sixty-six seems like a low number for 40 agents, does it not? Nationwide, the initiative resulted in 5,500 arrests.) Protesters also gathered outside the Memphis Police Department’s Ridgeway Station, where William Barr spoke, and that led to at least two people being detained yesterday.
Here’s a secret: Want to know what your neighbors or multinational corporations are doing with their property? Building permits often have the answer, even if it’s just an addition out back. And, for however long, building permits had to be applied for in person. Now, the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development has launched an online portal for all things permit-related and, as one construction company principal says, “this is a big deal for us.” (Us, too.)
MEET MEMPHIS
 Laurynas "LP" Petrauskas sits in the living room of a modern three-unit townhome he developed at 2115 Jefferson Ave. on Sept. 29, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Residential builder Laurynas “LP” Petrauskas and his partner Raymond Sharkus have found a formula for success that goes against the conventional wisdom. Both immigrants from Lithuania, they’ve built new homes next to rental duplexes with boarded-up front windows or blighted apartment buildings — and they’re actually selling them “about as fast as their architect, Jason Jackson of brg3s, can design them and their agent, Virginia Sharp, can list them.” Now, the builders are working in the University District, Cooper-Young and Crosstown — and some people are even calling them unicorns.
THE NICE TO KNOW
 Since he was drafted in 2018, Jaren Jackson has been the Grizzlies’ biggest advocate for encouraging voter turnout. (Drew Hill/The Daily Memphian)
Jackson rocks the vote and his rehab, too: Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. was out yesterday, encouraging people like 93-year-old Beverly Nash to vote. Not that it took much convincing. Jackson has been helping out at voting stations since he was a kid and even promoted the act of voting the night he was drafted by the Grizzlies. So, it’s kind of his thing. In more sports-type news, the NBA doesn’t have an announced start date for the 2021 season, but that’s not stopping Jackson from preparing for it. He and fellow team member Justise Winslow have been working out together regularly as they come back from last season’s injuries, and “it’s safe to say that Jackson’s rehab is going well.”
 The Orange Mound Millennials, in collaboration with Juice Orange Mound, erected a billboard at Park Avenue and Airways Boulevard. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Orange Mound on the up: A local organization is urging residents not to sell their property in Orange Mound — and they’re doing it, in part, with a big billboard. The area is just south of the Fairgrounds redevelopment project, and community leaders believe that will help increase Orange Mound’s property values. “I don’t want all the outsiders to come in and benefit from the growth. I want the people who have actually been here to benefit as well,” said an organizer with Orange Mound Millennials.
Play makers: Shelby County Schools and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl are teaming up to help out student athletes. In November, they will host a High School Football Showcase for those athletes from 35 schools who weren’t able to play ball this fall. Which, given all that’s happened, seems like good news.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
Generally speaking, I cannot embed a video into an email. Not with consistent results. (It’s not me; it’s your email providers.) So I usually just show you a picture of the post and send you to the link.
But, seriously, with this one — the “Opera Mayer Weiner” — you should click the link.
And, that’s Thursday! Hope you have a great one!
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