It’s getting hot in here (and out there), Memphis! Today is Tuesday, June 14 — Flag Day. To celebrate, Mighty Lights will glow red, white and blue tonight on both the Hernando de DeSoto and Harahan bridges. 

The Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen meets today, and they’re slated to accept the resignation of Alderman Emily Elliott. Also, the Center City Revenue Finance Corp. will be discussing a 20-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes request for Rise on the Ravine at their meeting today.

Starting tomorrow, The Early Word may look different for some readers. As promised a while back, The Early Word email is going subscriber-only, so if you’re not a Daily Memphian subscriber, you’ll receive a shorter version in your inbox. If you want to keep this original version (and I hope you do!), please become a subscriber.

THE NEED TO KNOW

On Monday, members of Memphis Lift and Whitehaven Empowerment Zone called for the resignation of Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray, seen here in 2021. (Brad Vest/Daily Memphian file)

‘Ray must go!’ Two community groups are calling for the resignation of Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray, and they gathered for a press conference on Monday outside the MSCS Board of Education to voice concerns over teacher working conditions and school learning methods. “Reading levels are slipping because we don’t teach site words, phonetics, we don’t teach reading orally. Children are learning a very different way in this school system, and it’s not traditional,” said Keith Williams, president of the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association.

Tulsa head coach Frank Haith instructs his players from the sidelines against the Memphis Tigers on Jan. 23 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When Memphis opens its basketball season in 2022, Haith will reportedly be in FedExForum as a new Tiger assistant. (Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press file)

‘If you can’t beat them’: Memphis Tigers basketball coach Penny Hardaway is reportedly planning to bring on one of his past rivals — former Tulsa head coach Frank Haith — as an assistant coach. Memphis and Tulsa played seven times after Hardaway took over as coach, and Tulsa was able to get four wins, including an 80-40 beatdown of the Tigers back in January of 2020. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins points out that not only would Hardaway be hiring a coach who once gave him an immense amount of trouble, he’s also recruited SMU’s Kendric Davis, who also gave the team plenty of trouble. “If you can’t beat them — get them to join you?” Calkins wrote. In other Tiger news, North Carolina transfer Kerwin Walton, one of the Memphis Tigers’ key transfer targets, is considering Memphis in his top three choices.

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins during action against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

For the long haul: The Memphis Grizzlies and head coach Taylor Jenkins have agreed to a multi-year contract extension. Jenkins came on as the Grizzlies coach in 2019, and he’s led the team to the playoffs for two straight seasons.

The budget approved Monday, June 13, by the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen likely will be Town Administrator James Lewellen’s final budget. Lewellen is scheduled to retire later this year. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Budgets and burritos: On Monday night, Collierville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the town’s $243 million budget, which includes funds for the town’s new ambulance service, extensions for the Wolf River Greenway, historic district improvements and raises for all town employees. The board also reviewed final plans for two popular chain restaurants proposed by developer Jason Crews.

MEET MEMPHIS

Roshun Austin is president and CEO of The Works Inc., a community development corporation that’s been around since 1998. She recently received the Pinnacle Award for Community Improvement. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Roshun Austin has served as president and CEO of The Works Inc. since 2012, a role in which she serves as the face of more than $80 million in workforce housing development and redevelopment in North Memphis and Frayser, the largest portfolio of its kind in the city. Most of that development is in the historic Klondike neighborhood, where Austin and her partners have quietly bought up several hundred parcels. “You can do it with gentrification and displacement. Or we come in and control enough so we can maintain the affordable housing and allow the market to participate too,” Austin said. Full disclosure, Austin is also on the board of the nonprofit that oversees The Daily Memphian.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Jaren Jackson Jr. and contemporary lifestyle brand Mauna Kea have collaborated for a new JJJxMaunaKea capsule collection that will be available in select stores and online starting in September. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Is that JJJ you’re wearing? Memphis Grizzlies forward (and social media fashion icon) Jaren Jackson Jr. has collaborated with Italy-based contemporary lifestyle brand Mauna Kea on a new JJJxMaunaKea capsule collection that will be available in select stores and online starting in September. The luxury clothing brand is known for its bright colors and abstract designs. “Clothes don’t speak, you speak through clothes,” said Jackson.

Boris Kort-Packard checks out MoSH’s first exhibits centered around LGBTQ history. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

‘Memphis Proud’: The Memphis Museum of Science and History (always the Pink Palace in my heart) has opened two new exhibitions on LGBTQ history. One of those — “Memphis Proud: The Resilience of a Southern LGBTQ+ Community” — features local photographs and artifacts that tell the story of Memphis’ LGBTQ people, including a White Station High School student who helped the high school move toward gender non-conformity. “We made it for the community and about the community,” said MoSH executive director Kevin Thompson.

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music sits on McLemore Avenue in Soulsville back in 2012. The site will be featured on Tennessee Tourism’s Civil Rights Trail podcast coming late June 2022. (The Daily Memphian file)

Listen to this: A new podcast on the civil rights movement in Tennessee will launch next week. The three-episode “Tennessee Civil Rights Trail Podcast,” from Tennessee Tourism, will explore lesser-known stories of the movement’s historical figures and sites, as told by veteran civil rights activists. You’ll want to tune in to the first episode, because that one will be all about Memphis.

Lisa Settle, superintendent of the Achievement School District (middle), helps a Georgian Hills Elementary student with a math problem on Monday, June 13, during the Accelerating TN Tour. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Summer school: Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn made visits to Memphis-area schools on Monday to observe summer learning programs. Her statewide Accelerate TN tour commemorates the Tennessee Learning Loss and Remediation and Student Acceleration Act, which requires school districts to offer additional academic support for students, such as summer learning camps, to address the impact of COVID-19 on education. “We’re seeing a lot of return especially in the youngest grades,” Schwinn said. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Want a sneak peek at the JJJxMaunaKea capsule collection? Over the past few days, Mauna Kea has been sharing images and videos of some of the new pieces, modeled by the big man himself.

Stay cool, Memphis. I hope you’ll be back tomorrow.

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