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Good morning, Memphis! Anyone else stay up too late watching Weezer and the Counting Crows last night at Beale Street Music Festival? Even with headliner Lil Wayne a no-show, the festival ended well past my bedtime for sure. Let’s pour some extra coffee and power through. We’re all in this together.
It’s Monday, May 2, and the Arlington Board of Mayor and Aldermen meets tonight when they’ll introduce an ordinance to adopt their annual budget, among other items.
THE NEED TO KNOW
 Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant drives to the basket against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, May 1, 2022. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Grizzly loss: Sunday’s game-one playoff between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors was so close, but in the end, the Warriors dominated 117-116. Golden State center Draymond Green was tossed out of the game early on for a flagrant foul. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. combined for 67 points during the game, and the Grizzlies outshot the Warriors on 3-pointers with 16 long-range shots to their 14. It was a win that seemed to be there for the taking until it wasn’t. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins called a failed last-second layup by Morant a “missed opportunity” that he “will look back on with regret” if they lose this playoff series. On to the next one: our own Chris Herrington says “if Game 1 is any indication, then Grizzlies-Warriors will be a sensational playoff series.”
When a bill becomes a law: We’ve covered a lot of bills over the course of the Tennessee General Assembly’s last legislative session, and we know it’s a little hard to keep track of where each one stands. The Daily Memphian’s Ian Round compiled this handy guide to the fates of all the bills we covered, organized by subject. He also took a look at all the bills that specifically preempt Memphis in areas such as residency requirements and ranked-choice voting.
 Collierville High Schools English teacher Kasey Kennedy received a COVID-19 test during the Omicron surge. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
COVID on the rise: COVID case numbers were trending up late last week. The Shelby County Health Department reported 48 new COVID cases last Wednesday, and by Thursday, that number had more than doubled to 101 new cases and one death. There were 64 new cases on Friday. “Thankfully, that increased caseload is not translating, at this point, into any significant increase in hospitalizations,” said Dr. Stephen Threlkeld, co-director of Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis’ infectious disease prevention program.
 Alex and Turrell Harmon hold onto one of their three chickens that they keep outside their Memphis home. The virus that causes the avian flu has infected larger numbers of wild birds this year, causing concern for backyard chicken-keepers like the Harmons. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Bird flu is back: Speaking of pathogenic viruses, the avian influenza is affecting large numbers of wild birds this year, and some Memphis chicken keepers are concerned. “I have a map I check every so often,” says Alex Harmon, who raises backyard hens in Memphis. “If the outbreaks start getting closer, we will restrict [our chickens] more.” The human health risk is low, but experts say more cases in birds will heighten the chance the virus will mutate and jump into humans (yikes!).
 FedEx announced March 2021 plans to make operations carbon neutral by 2040. Founder and CEO Fred Smith reiterated that sentiment in a letter attached to the ESG report. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian file)
Going carbon neutral: FedEx has a goal to reach carbon neutral operations by 2040, and to get there, they are modernizing nearly 700 planes. The process started a couple years ago, but the pandemic and related shipping demands pushed back the timeline. They’re also partnering with BrightDrop, a subsidiary of General Motors, to transition their pickup, delivery and last-mile fleets to electric vehicles.
MEET MEMPHIS
 Krista Sheneman
Bartlett native Krista Sheneman, 27, went to the doctor for a shoulder injury in 2016 and left with a diabetes diagnosis. “It’s scary to go from not requiring anything to now testing your blood sugar with finger pricks every two-to-four hours and taking multiple medications. It was a really tough diagnosis,” Sheneman said. In early April, the artist and sculptor set off on a 470-mile walk from Cincinnati, where she moved to study art, to Bartlett to raise awareness for Type 2 diabetes.
THE NICE TO KNOW
 Kyle Anderson’s years playing in youth basketball tournaments were tough, but the difficulty toughened him in a way that would serve him well in the NBA, Suzanne Anderson said. (Photo courtesy of Suzanne Anderson)
Mama Bear Anderson: In honor of Mother’s Day, we’re featuring the stories of a few Memphis Grizzlies moms. Today, we meet Suzanne Anderson, the mother of forward/guard Kyle Anderson. Suzanne raised Kyle and his four siblings in New Jersey while working full-time with an investment banking firm in New York City, but she still found the time to support Kyle’s basketball dreams. “I think parents should work hard to stay interested in their children and in what they do. Go to games. Go to practices,” Anderson said.
 Members of the Jackson State band perform at the halftime of the Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis, Tennessee Sept. 11, 2021. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian file)
It’s a Classic: Jackson State plans on playing in the Southern Heritage Classic this fall, but said in February that it doesn’t intend on participating beyond that despite a contract that runs through 2024. The Daily Memphian’s Frank Bonner II looks at the Classic’s economic impact and how it serves as much more than just a football game.
 Former Parkview resident Edna Hudson, 86, talks about recently being displaced by the Parkview independent senior living facility from her new apartment at The Glenmary At Evergreen. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Parkview residents speak out: In early April, California-based Forge Partners submitted plans to convert the historic Parkview Apartments from senior-living residences to market-rate apartments. This past January, notices were slipped under the doors of senior residents to let them know they’d have to move by April 30. The Daily Memphian’s Julia Baker talked to a couple of those seniors whose lives were upended by the news. “It couldn’t be worse the way they handled it. … Uncivilized, like we were in a jail or something,” said former resident Edna Hudson.
 A team of friends and volunteers worked at the site of the former Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home for more than two weeks dropping timber and rafter assemblies weighing thousands of pounds. (Robert Dye/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Wood-be healing center: The 74-acre Bartlett property that once housed the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home has been approved for the mixed-use Union Depot development, but before construction can begin, four barns on the property needed to be demolished. So Downtown resident and climbing enthusiast Drew Taylor organized a project to raze the barns and repurpose the wood. Taylor teamed up on the adaptive reuse reclamation project with the Memphis Rox nonprofit climbing facility, which will store the wood until it can be shipped to New Mexico to be used to build a healing center for women.
 Zoning documents filed suggest Hard Rock Hotels is eyeing a lot which includes Jerry Lee Lewis’ Cafe along with Coyote Ugly Saloon, WC Handy House Museum, New Daisy Theatre and other locations. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)
Ready to rock: Hard Rock Hotel is eyeing a spot on Beale Street, according to zoning documents. The zoning letter filed with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development names 326 Beale St. as the possible location.
THIS WEEK’S WEATHER
We’re in for a wet week as a cold front moves in, bringing humidity and storms. But the clouds will part as we move into the weekend with sunny skies and highs in the mid-70s.
Hang in there, Memphis! It’s going to be a great week.
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