Good morning, everybody. Today is Tuesday, Jan. 4, and both the Germantown Municipal School District and Collierville Schools are resuming classes, with Germantown requiring masks but Collierville not. The Memphis City Council is also back in session today, talking about a controversial gas station and with police residency requirements on its agenda. 

The Memphis Tigers will play the Tulsa Golden Hurricane tonight at FedExForum while the Grizzlies, fresh off a big win against the Brooklyn Nets (despite COVID) and Ja Morant being named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week, are in Ohio to play the Cavs. 

Lastly a major with the Memphis Police Department plans to announce his candidacy today for Juvenile Court Clerk.

THE NEED TO KNOW

The existing statue of Tom Lee was surrounded by construction in October 2021 as part of the redesign of the park. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

New Tom Lee lawsuit: A group that includes both a candidate for Shelby County Commission and a local activist for economic development reform is suing the City of Memphis and the Memphis River Parks Partnership over changes to the redesign of Tom Lee Park. The lawsuit, from “Tom Lee Park for All,” claims the park redesign violates a mediation agreement between the city, MRPP and the Memphis in May International Festival. But the crux of the matter, at least right now, seems to be a change in how much parking is planned for Tom Lee and if the community was ever asked about the change.

Back to school ... sort of: When Rhodes College begins its spring semester later this month, it won’t be in-person as originally expected. Instead, the college plans to begin remotely due to the spike in COVID-19 cases; if the local case count subsides, as expected, students could be in-person as soon as Jan. 31. “While student health and well-being was paramount in our decision, we also took into account the very real impact post-holiday breakthrough infections are already having on our staff,” an announcement from the school said.

Germantown Middle School could be transferred back to the Germantown school district if a renewed state proposal is approved. (Abigail Warren/Daily Memphian file)

Potential school swap: The G3s — Germantown Elementary, Middle and High schools — are the target of renewed legislation during the state’s upcoming session. Tenn. state Rep. Mark White plans to file another bill that would transfer the three schools from the Shelby County Schools district (where they’ve been since what I’ll call “The Great Schools Split”) to the Germantown Municipal Schools (in whose borders they reside). You may remember that similar legislation was proposed last year but it was dropped to give both parties time to negotiate a deal (though it doesn’t seem that everyone is quite on equal footing). In the past, Germantown has offered to buy the schools for $25 million.

MEET MEMPHIS

Mark Carter is Collierville’s first EMS chief. (Courtesy of Town of Collierville)

When Collierville’s contract with Rural Metro ambulances expires this summer, the suburb’s new paramedics service is expected to be ready to roll. And the man in charge of making sure that happens is Mark Carter, former EMS chief for Germantown and now Collierville’s first EMS chief. Carter, also a former firefighter, paramedic and EMT instructor at Southwest Tennessee Community College, joined Collierville in December to run what is being called “a mission critical service for the town.” 

THE NICE TO KNOW

The proposed mural by artists Ivy-Jade Edwards and Paige Ellens would be located at the corner of Beale and Wagner streets. (Courtesy Banana Plastik) 

Centric view: A new mural could soon grace Beale Street’s Hyatt Centric. Designed by local artists Paige Ellens and Ivy-Jade Edwards, the mural would cover more than 350 square feet of a concrete wall and, based on the renderings, would be very pink. I’m here for it; officially, the staff report says the artwork “will feature colorful representations of Memphis symbols and landmarks.” 

Another hotel/apartment project: A Travelodge in Whitehaven is hoping for some longer-term guests, if it can get a variance from the Board of Adjustment. The owners of the Travelodge by Wyndham on Brooks Road plan to convert some of the hotel’s rooms to studio apartments for people who work in the area. The number of converted apartments is still TBD, but the plan is for the apartments to be market-rate.

Former Shelby County Mayor Jim Rout spoke during the funeral service of his longtime friend Roy "Skip" Nixon in Collierville in 2019. (Greg Campbell/Special for The Daily Memphian file)

Rout retires: Former Shelby County Mayor Jim Rout has retired from his position at BankTennessee. Rout was the president and CEO of the bank for 11 years; BankTennessee’s new top executive is lifelong Collierville resident, Collierville Schools board member and banking industry veteran Wright Cox.

Allies stand up: Last month, a number of parents spoke out at the Lakeland School System’s board meeting against a Gay-Straight Alliance being proposed for an area middle school. The discussion drove the school system to ask for two legal opinions regarding student-led clubs, both still to come, but it also prompted students to start a new club called Allies of Diversity, which encourages students to stand up for those “who are most at risk of being bullied and judged negatively.” 

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

How it felt back at work yesterday ... 

Maybe it wasn’t that bad? Those emails, tho. 

Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you later! Or earlier, but still in the future. 

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