Hello, it’s time to rise and shine. Today is Wednesday, Dec. 8, and the University of Memphis Board of Trustees will be in Jackson, on the school’s Lambuth Campus, today for their committee and full board meetings.

The Memphis Grizzlies play the Dallas Mavericks tonight, at home. And we’re still in Zach Randolph jersey retirement week, with the release of the film behind the film (“Making of #50ForDaCity” and “#50ForDaCity” respectively) today.

THE NEED TO KNOW

New chairman Doug Browne (left) receives a gavel from outgoing chairman Willie Gregory (right) during The Greater Memphis Chamber's Annual Chairman's Luncheon on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, at The Peabody. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Chamber concert: The Greater Memphis Chamber held its annual Chairman’s Luncheon yesterday at The Peabody, and the event was definitely in the right place. The group announced that Peabody Hotels & Resorts president Doug Browne would be its next chairman, succeeding Nike’s Willie Gregory. Leaders at the event, which was held in person for the first time in two years, also talked about George Floyd’s murder and the civil unrest that followed as well as Ford Motor Co.'s new Haywood County EV facility and the business challenges sparked by the pandemic.

On the streets: Though some on the Memphis City Council had “mixed feelings” about rapper Young Dolph — especially his lyrics regarding women — the body ultimately approved a street renaming in his honor. During its other meetings yesterday, the council delayed a vote that would appoint a deputy clerk in the city court clerk’s office; Calvin Williams was convicted on federal bribery and extortion charges in 2007 stemming from his time as chief administrator of the Shelby County Commission. Williams began working with the court clerk’s office under Kay Robilio, after his release from prison.

Family members and classmates of 15-year-old Lexus Buchanan released balloons in her honor after she was fatally shot at a Whitehaven gas station Friday. (Yolanda Jones/Daily Memphian)

Gas station shooting: On Monday evening, friends and family remembered two teenage girls who were killed at a Whitehaven gas station late last week. The girls were killed during a shooting that also injured another teenager and her 9-month-old son, and it happened at the same location where a Whitehaven High School football player was slain in September 2020. So far this year, Memphis’ more than 300 total homicides include 29 children. 

Environmental justice initiative: The Daily Memphian is one of 10 newsrooms that will partner with the University of Missouri School of Journalism and Report for America on upcoming environmental coverage, and our specific focus will be environmental impacts on local communities of color. Report for America is a national service program that deploys journalists into local newsrooms to cover under-reported issues and communities.

MEET MEMPHIS

Don and Jan Willadsen pose for a portrait at the Barrettville General Store Nov. 20, 2021. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

The Barretville General Store was just that for 125 years, until Don Willadsen opened a restaurant there in 2019. He didn’t want to change much of the historic building at the time — not the floors, not the cabinetry — so the kitchen consists of an old school bus that was converted to a food truck and then pulled up to the back of the building. However, with the restaurant’s success over the past two years, Willadsen is now preparing an expansion that will include a proper commercial kitchen and a covered pavilion for events.

THE NICE TO KNOW

After closing an earlier incarnation of The Farmer, Mac Edwards became the executive director of the non-profit restaurant Caritas Village in Binghampton. (Houston Cofield/Daily Memphian file)

The Farmer and the Rail: Mac Edwards’ new/old restaurant is slated to open Dec. 15, and Jennifer Biggs says all “the food we loved and missed is back on the menu.” The Farmer will open inside the diner space in Midtown’s Railgarten, but the concept dates back to 2011 and a space on Highland Street before it moved to Chickasaw Oaks Village for a bit.

UTHSC selects new chancellor: A native of Ireland will become the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s new chancellor, succeeding Dr. Steve J. Schwab. Dr. Peter F. Buckley is currently dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine; he is also a trained psychiatrist and an expert in schizophrenia.

Spence Ray, vice president of McNeill Commercial Real Estate, poses on the former site of the Germantown County Club Dec. 7, 2021. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

Ray’s new play: Two decades ago, Spence Ray played golf at the Germantown Country Club. And when the club — and course — closed in early 2019, he considered buying the property but didn’t think the timing was right. Two years later, it’s a different story. The developer is now poised to move forward on a secured residential community called Glasgow with the Germantown Planning Commission’s official recommendation of the project.

Longtime political figure passes on: Former Shelby County Commissioner Charlie Perkins died this past weekend at the age of 85. But the attorney even predated the County Commission, having served on its predecessor, the Shelby County Quarterly Court, from 1972 to 1994. Described by one leader as “one of the most notable figures in Shelby County politics,” Perkins both helped establish the county’s growth plan and advised local municipalities on annexation. 

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Yes, today we have another fashion-related post. 

The Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. and Dillon Brooks are well-known for their fits, which have included preppy mustard-colored sweaters with holes, a gigantic fur coat and all-black sweatsuits. 

But the outfit that recently set the internet aflame was this one, worn courtside by Kyle Anderson: 

And, yeah, those could be sick burns. But I like to think that this shirt is just showing that the Memphis Grizzlies are kind of on fire. 

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday, and we’ll be back tomorrow to help you wake up with the news. Hope to see you then!

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