What’s up, Memphis? Today is March 22, and if Memphis City Councilman J. Ford Canale has his way, it will officially be Christian Brothers High School Basketball Day in Memphis. 

The Memphis City Council is voting on that resolution this afternoon in its full council meeting. In committee meetings this morning, the council will meet new Memphis Light, Gas & Water board appointees and discuss the hiring of an energy consultant for the council, among other topics. 

The Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen also meets tonight, and they’ll be discussing engineering services for improvements at Stoneridge Park Lake. 

Cue the song “Memory” because “CATS” opens tonight at the Orpheum Theatre and runs through March 27.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Tommy Kha’s Instagram post, addressing his work in Memphis International Airport. (Credit: Tommy Kha Instagram)

Suspicious minds: After hearing “a lot of” negative feedback from Elvis fans, the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority removed recently installed artwork by Memphis photographer Tommy Kha from the Memphis International Airport. The image depicted Kha, who is Asian-American, dressed as Elvis. A statement from the Airport Authority said that “a small number of comments” included “language that referred to Mr. Kha’s race.” The statement went on to say that such comments were unacceptable and did not “form the basis for the Authority’s decision regarding the piece.” Kha posted a statement on Instagram that said the work was removed without his knowledge and that “I’m the only artist they have removed.”

In this Tuesday, May 17, 2016 photo, Allie Romer makes a shot from the third level of Topgolf Las Vegas. A Topgolf location appears to be headed to Memphis. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

A hole in one? Some evidence that Topgolf is for real-real coming to Memphis has emerged. A permit pending with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation shows Franklin Land Associates filed an application earlier this month for Topgolf Memphis on Callis-Cutoff Road just outside of Germantown. Topgolf officials, however, have not confirmed they’re coming. When The Daily Memphian’s Abigail Warren tweeted a link to her story last week, they would only say, “stay tuned for a future opening announcement.”

Chilling news: On Monday, the Tennessee Senate passed the “divisive concepts” bill, which gives public university students the right to sue professors if they give low grades based on politics or ideology. It’s the college student’s version of a law passed last year banning so-called “critical race theory” in K-12 schools. Critics say the bill will provide ammunition to those who want to undermine lessons on civil rights history. In other Senate education-related news, the Senate delayed action Monday afternoon on a bill impacting ownership and operation of three Memphis-Shelby County Schools inside the Germantown district boundaries.

On Monday, defendant Billy Ray Turner (in a file photo) was found guilty in the 2010 slaying of Lorenzen Wright. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian file)

Murder was the case: On Monday, a jury found Billy Ray Turner guilty of first-degree murder related to the 2010 death of NBA star Lorenzen Wright. Turner will serve a life sentence for that charge. In 2019, Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra Wright, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for facilitation of first-degree murder in her ex-husband’s death. Prosecutors alleged Sherra Wright and Turner, who knew one another from church, had a secret romantic relationship and that she’d asked Turner and her cousin, Jimmie Martin, to kill Lorenzen Wright. Martin has been given immunity for his cooperation to help solve the case.

MEET MEMPHIS

Abby Parrill-Baker (Courtesy University of Memphis)

Last week, the University of Memphis announced Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Abby Parrill-Baker will assume the position of interim provost on July 1 after current provost Thomas Nenon steps down. Parrill-Baker is a Michigan native who joined the U of M as assistant professor in the chemistry department in 1998. She has co-authored or edited five books and hundreds of publications in her field. The university has twice granted Parrill-Baker the Distinguished Research Award, and in 2007, she earned the Award for Teaching Excellence from the College of Arts & Sciences.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Grind City Brewing has collaborated with Paula Raiford and Raiford’s Disco to create two craft beers, the Hollywood Hustle pilsner and the Disco Dynamite seltzer. Grind City Brewery hosted an exclusive reveal party for the two beers on Monday, March 21, 2022. (Houston Cofield/Special To The Daily Memphian)

Ring my beer: The only drink I’ve ever had at Paula and Raiford’s Disco was a 32-ounce Bud Light (because when at Raiford’s …), but the iconic late-night spot will soon be stepping up its drink game with a new craft beer and an alcoholic seltzer created in a collaboration with Grind City Brewing Co. Disco owner Paula Raiford says “Disco Dynamite” (a seltzer) and “Hollywood Hustle (a pilsner) are an homage to her father, the late Robert Raiford. They’ll be available in 19-ounce cans, so you’ll have to drink a couple to come close to that big ole Bud Light. “Being at Raiford’s, you know you’re going to drink multiple beers. We wanted something you could enjoy throughout the night,” said Lane Stluka, Grind City Brewing Co. sales director. 

Voting on voting funds: The Shelby County Commission approved about $360,000 for the Shelby County Election Commission to send notices to every voter in Shelby County to inform them of changes with precincts and polling places. The item was passed as part of the consent agenda, with no discussion. But Commissioner Tami Sawyer had previously voiced opposition to the funding, saying the changes in precincts and even the precinct numbering system amounted to “voter suppression.” There are fewer precincts in the Election Commission’s overhaul of the precinct map than there have been in at least 20 years. In other commission meeting news, commissioners delayed a vote on funding a new juvenile detention center, which has risen in cost from $10 million to $28 million over the last four years.

A University of Memphis flag billows behind a statue of the late Larry Finch that was unveiled at the University of Memphis on Oct. 28, 2021. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian file)

Former Tigers for office: Shelby County mayoral candidate Ken Moody isn’t the first former Memphis Tigers basketball player to run for office. The Daily Memphian’s Bill Dries offers a look back at two other former Tigers with past political aspirations. Larry Finch, a pivotal figure as a player in the 1970s and then as coach of the team during Moody’s playing days, ran an unsuccessful bid for County Register in 1998. Former point guard Otis Jackson ran for several offices and ended up winning in a race for General Sessions Court Clerk. But Jackson had higher political aspirations and made a mistake that would result in eventual suspension from his clerk position and official misconduct charges.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

If you’re feeling down on this rainy morning, just take a deep breath and add this one to your gratitude list.

Stay dry, and I’ll catch you later.

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