Good morning to all of us in the Mid-South. Today is Thursday, Jan. 6, and it’s been one year since the Capitol Insurrection in Washington, D.C., though we are still trying to decipher the national response to that event. 

Closer to home, the celebration for what would have been Elvis Presley’s 87th birthday begins today with the Elvis Birthday Bash and Evening Christmas Tour. Former University of Memphis basketball player and assistant to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland Ken Moody is expected to formally kick off his Shelby County mayoral campaign. And the Collierville Planning Commission is reviewing a 150-acre mixed-use proposal near Houston Levee and Tenn. 385.

Plus, your Memphis Grizzlies, who are on a hot streak right now, are back in town to take on the Pistons.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Addie Ray rides a sled down the Mississippi River Bluffs in Downtown Memphis last February. Will we get enough snow today to sled? Seems doubtful. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian file)

Snow day? The National Weather Service assures us snow, sleet and freezing rain are likely this morning, and we may even see more snow this afternoon. With today’s forecast, which predicts up to an inch of accumulation, Shelby County Schools and all six suburban school districts went ahead and called it, closing schools for today.

Justin Johnson

Young Dolph suspect identified: Law enforcement has identified a man wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of Memphis rapper Young Dolph, and they are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to his capture. The U.S. Marshals Office, the Memphis Police Department, Crime Stoppers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced yesterday they have issued a warrant for 23-year-old Justin Johnson. Johnson has also been added to TBI’s “Most Wanted List.”

Monitoring the surge: In light of our recent COVID-19 surge, members of the Shelby County Commission have written to Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee to ask him to allow the Shelby County Health Department to renew some of its previous virus mitigation strategies. (Think mask mandate.) The Health Department’s Dr. Michelle Taylor briefed the commission yesterday, saying that Omicron’s more numerous, but less severe, infections could still “pack out” hospitals that took a hit during the Delta surge. She also said the state has said it will act if hospital capacity reaches “a breaking point.” In related news, COVID is also impacting the area’s criminal justice system. Shelby County’s Criminal Court judges have suspended jury trials until the end of this month due to the “huge increase in Omicron variety COVID infections” and the “small size of Criminal Court courtrooms.”

QUOTED

Pearl Eva Walker is one of the plaintiffs in the Chancery Court lawsuit over the ongoing $61 million redesign of Tom Lee Park. (Bill Dries/Daily Memphian)

“I love Tom Lee Park and I love what they have planned. But this parking issue needs to be readdressed and dealt with in a fair and timely fashion.”

— Pearl Eva Walker
Walker is one of six plaintiffs suing the City of Memphis and the Memphis River Parks Partnership over access and parking at the redesigned Tom Lee Park. The plaintiffs gathered yesterday on the bluff to question whether current parking plans will be adequate, and other community members also echoed their concerns.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Parents of Collierville High School students were dismayed to learn that several class periods were left unattended due to teacher absences. (Daily Memphian file)

School staffing problems: Two days after the Collierville Schools superintendent expressed concerns about the number of faculty missing due to COVID-19, three high school class periods found themselves without a teacher. Or a substitute. On Tuesday of this week, 20 teachers from Collierville High School were out, 16 of those due to the coronavirus, and seven of those positions could not be filled by substitutes. Staff members and other subs were then asked to cover teacher-less classes during their planning periods, but it didn’t go exactly as planned. 

Grizz have our attention: The Memphis Grizzlies consider themselves “a team full of underdogs,” and it’s a culture that seems to be contributing to wins. As we look to tonight’s game at the FedExForum, Drew Hill writes, “In the past month or so, Memphis has captured the attention of the basketball world one storyline at a time. First it was its 10-2 stretch without Ja Morant, then the emergence of Desmond Bane, and now an unfathomable run by Morant in his return.” Today it might be the return of De’Anthony Melton and Dillon Brooks as they come out of NBA health and safety protocols. Also today, Chris Herrington is answering some of your Grizzlies questions (though he’s saving trade-related inquiries until next week). 

Gary Whitby got his hot air balloon ready during the first day of the Bluff City Balloon Jamboree in Collierville last year. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian file)

Good air day? The Bluff City Balloon Jamboree is once again scheduled for Father’s Day weekend, but this year, the event will be lighting up Shelby Farms Park. The former dairy farm in Collierville that was home to last year’s inaugural festival is now slated for a mixed-use development (though nearby residents aren’t exactly thrilled by that). 

Warehouse record: While nonresidential new construction locally remains below pre-pandemic levels, industrial projects have continued full steam ahead. Memphis’ industrial market saw another record-breaking year in 2021, doubling the previous record set two years ago. The boom in the market has been attributed to e-commerce, something that pandemic trends have only intensified.

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

How many people have contracted COVID in the past two weeks or so. And not in a out-there sort of way, but in a friends and family sort of way. 

I was surprised yesterday to realize that, with the number of new cases identified each day, we’re up to more than 22,500 active cases in Shelby County right now. 

I hope y’all enjoy your snow day, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow. 

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