Good morning, Early Worders, and welcome to Tuesday, Nov. 17. The Memphis City Council is in session today and will be discussing an anti-violent-crime task force, the possible 100-year lease of Overton Park’s Rust Hall to the Metal Museum (more on that in a minute) and MLGW’s budget.

And, the TVA is hosting a virtual open house and live Q&A tonight about next steps for the safe removal and long-term storage of coal ash from the former Allen Fossil Plant.

THE NEED TO KNOW

The Renasant Convention Center’s new main exhibition hall extends west over Front Street. (Courtesy of Memphis Tourism)

Downtown gets brighter: The Renasant Convention Center has a shiny new look — and it’s one you can see for yourself later today when officials mark the center’s completion by flipping a switch on part of the exterior signage and lighting. All in all, the city expects to obtain its certificate of occupancy for the updated convention center on Dec. 15, but they don’t know when the grand opening will be, given the coronavirus pandemic, or what 2021 bookings may look like.

March sadness: Yesterday was a rough day for local college basketball fans. Next year’s March Madness tournament regional won’t take a turn at the FedExForum; the NCAA has decided to move all preliminary rounds of the men’s tourney to a single site, and it’s looking like Indianapolis. The Tigers-Vols basketball rivalry is probably not going away, but it is on hiatus for a year. Memphis will take on Tennessee, at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, in December 2021. This game will be the final installment of a three-game series between the two programs and the first two were both sellouts … which is part of the reason to postpone the third until next year.

Two pedestrians play with their dogs near Rust Hall in 2019. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)

In the Rust: Before any lease begins at Rust Hall, the Metal Museum will have two years to raise an additional $13 million for renovations of the 62-year-old building. The organization is already about halfway to the $25 million it needs to have in hand, according to the lease terms proposed by the City of Memphis, before getting the keys to its new place. It would then have two more years to complete the renovation and move into the building. 

A vacation to remember: When it comes to sharing personal anecdotes or experiences, generally speaking, what’s bad for you is good for the story. And Andy Shepherd has a really good story. Jane Roberts tells us today about Shepherd’s recent family getaway to a cabin in Branson and his subsequent COVID-19 diagnosis, which led to him being the first person in the region to receive a new synthetic antibody called bamlanivimab.

MEET MEMPHIS

Post-doctorate student Ryan Hughes works for Patents2Products, created by the University of Memphis FIT and Epicenter. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Ryan Hughes was a post-doc in biomedical research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital when he decided he would rather try to bring his biologic — a topical therapy for skin conditions — to market. Hughes is now the CEO and founder of Nuvelus Inc. and one of the first to be part of Patents2Products, a program from the University of Memphis FedEx Institute of Technology and Epicenter. Nuvelus is still in the prototyping phase, with Hughes working alongside five other entrepreneurs and their startups.

THE NICE TO KNOW

This new Harbor Town “zero energy/zero carbon” home was one of the projects honored. (Credit: archimania)

A win for the home team: Here’s one for architecture buffs. Memphis firms, led by archimania, dominated this year’s annual design awards from the Tennessee Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. And there are tons of pictures of the award-winning buildings and homes.

Bold flavors: After recently telling us about La Unica, Jennifer Biggs is back near Summer Avenue trying the new location of Cocina Mexicana for the latest $10 deal. The secret here, in addition to the white cheese sauce, may be the guacamole Cesar with its “bold flavors nestled in chopped bits of creamy avocado: Finely diced onion, tomato, cilantro, a spritz of lime juice.” 

Former Memphis center James Wiseman (left) with teammate Isaiah Stokes (right) at the FedExForum in November 2019. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian file)

A Wiseman once said: Former Memphis Tiger and potential No. 1 pick James Wiseman is preparing for tomorrow’s NBA draft and says he “wouldn’t change anything at all” about his time in Memphis. Not anything? Nothing? Not even the ... ? Hmm. At any rate, Wiseman has moved on and is in high demand among NBA teams in need of a mobile big man. And Geoff Calkins is choosing to remember all the really great things about Wiseman, and there are many, and it’s why he’ll “be happy for the guy when he is selected in the first few picks of Wednesday’s NBA draft.” 

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

The number of new coronavirus cases reported locally yesterday was 686. Which is fairly alarming. 

We’ll probably hear more context and info about that in today’s regular Tuesday COVID-19 task force meeting.

Stay tuned, and we’ll be back tomorrow bright and early. 

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