It’s already Friday, again! Where does the time go? Today is Aug. 26, and Memphis-Shelby County Schools will honor late rapper Young Dolph and other notable former students at its annual Alumni Hall of Fame Gala later.

Also tonight, Royal Studios royalty Boo Mitchell will narrate a musical retrospective of the legendary studio at the Halloran Centre. But if bluegrass, brews and sweeping Downtown views are more your thing, you’ll want to head to Grind City Brewing Co. for its inaugural Grind City Festival tonight and Saturday. For even more weekend ideas, check out The To-Do List.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Work continues on the Tom Lee Park renovation during the Tom Lee Day celebration at Beale Street Landing on May 6, 2022. (Brad Vest/ Special to The Daily Memphian file)

Memphis in nay? Memphis in May International Festival’s return to Tom Lee Park next spring may not be a sure thing. At the MIM annual meeting on Thursday, President and CEO Jim Holt said MIM hasn’t yet secured a lease with Memphis River Parks Partnership and that MRRP is asking for a $1.4 million deposit for use of the park. “This is 26 times the amount we’ve historically paid. We’ve been paying on average $53,000 per year,” Holt said. MIM has already had to cut a couple of beloved features of both the Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest due to the smaller footprint of the redesigned Tom Lee Park, and plans are now on hold for the festivals’ future there. To make matters worse, numbers released on Thursday show MIM in the red by $2.2 million following its 2022 festivals, which had to be relocated to Tiger Lane.

Amid an investigation into misconduct, Joris Ray resigned from his position as Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent during a special-called meeting by the MSCS school board on Tuesday, Aug. 23. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian file)

Joris Ray’s payout: In accepting (now-former) Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent Joris Ray’s resignation on Tuesday night, the board of education agreed to pay Ray nearly a half a million dollars ($480,000, to be exact) in severance, and it agreed to end the investigation into misconduct allegations. The Daily Memphian’s Aarron Fleming broke down the numbers and determined that the amount of Ray’s severance could have provided resources for 24 students. 

A group of organizations sent a letter to Shelby County officials saying the current bail system violates Tennessee law, which states bail should be a last resort option and only be imposed if less restrictive conditions are deemed insufficient. (The Daily Memphian file)

Bail reforms: Shelby County government has created two major changes to its bail system: a new bail hearing courtroom and a texting system for court date reminders. The changes came after the American Civil Liberties Union and several other organizations sent a letter to Shelby County officials demanding criminal justice reforms, pursuant to both Tennessee and U.S. law. The new bail courtroom, which should be open by mid-February, will hear bail requests on a 24-hour basis, and the court date text messaging service has already been implemented. “Shelby County has just created one of the fairest and most promising bail systems in the nation,” said Andrea Woods, ACLU staff attorney.

Memphis area suburban municipalities will consider formal support of Memphis Light Gas and Water sticking with Tennessee Valley Authority as its energy provider. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Suburbs want more power: Although they don’t have a voice on Memphis Light, Gas & Water’s board, the county’s suburbs will present a unified front next week on MLGW sticking with the Tennessee Valley Authority as its power provider. Several suburban mayors have expressed concern over potential infrastructure costs that could come with a switch to a new power provider, and one Bartlett alderman has even suggested leaving MLGW altogether. The municipalities also want representation on MLGW’s board, since more than 30% of MLGW ratepayers live outside of Memphis city limits. In an opinion piece earlier this week, Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo wrote, “There needs to be a voice and vote on the board that reflects everyone impacted by its services.”

FedEx Express moves shipments of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. While the logistics giant is working toward retiring some of its older planes, it appears interested in keeping its fleet growing at the same time. (Courtesy FedEx/The Daily Memphian file)

Fleet feat: FedEx Corp. says its multi-year fleet modernization plan is nearly complete. Through modernization, FedEx plans to be carbon neutral by 2040, and it has so far saved millions of gallons of jet fuel by replacing older planes with fuel-efficient models. The logistics giant plans to retire more older planes by next year and to buy more than 100 new planes over the next three years.

MEET MEMPHIS

Zoe Kahr is the new executive director at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. (Ziggy Mack/Special to the Daily Memphian)

It’s a time of big change for the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The museum is planning to leave its longtime Midtown home for a new $150 million facility Downtown, to be built where Fire Station No. 5 sat for more than 50 years (demolition began on Monday). The museum will be making that move under the leadership of its new executive director, Zoe Kahr. Kahr was most recently the deputy director for curatorial and planning at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where she spent 12 years producing more than 300 exhibitions and overseeing design for the museum’s new 350,000-square-foot galleries.

THE NICE TO KNOW

A chicken, egg and cheese biscuit from the Kinfolk at Comeback Coffee. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

Kinfolk makes a Comeback: Chef Cole Jeanes first launched his Kinfolk concept at the now-closed Puck Food Hall, but it’s back for brunch at Comeback Coffee. Jeanes is perhaps best-known for his Mississippi Delta-style cathead biscuits, which are served as sandwiches, in sweet treatments (think biscuit s’mores and short cakes) or with gravy at the popular Saturday and Sunday brunch. Not up that early on weekends? Jeanes has a night time pizza pop-up concept in the works.

Memphis senior guard Alex Lomax hugs coach Penny Hardaway before a game against Houston on March 6, 2022. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

‘Enough balls for everybody’: Alex Lomax will be a Memphis Tiger again for a fifth year. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins reports that the big news came Thursday at a 901 Fund-sponsored bowling party where Tigers basketball players tried their hand at playing with much heavier balls. Lomax’s future with the team was uncertain, especially after coach Penny Hardaway brought on transfer Kendric Davis. But Davis said on Thursday that he personally reached out to Lomax about coming back. “There’s enough balls for everybody,” Davis said. 

Goodbye, CK’s; hello, Scooter’s Coffee: On Thursday, the Memphis Landmarks Commission approved the demolition of the old CK’s Coffee Shop at 1698 Poplar (man, I’ve got a lot of good memories from that place) and the construction of a new 678-square-foot Scooter’s Coffee drive-thru. Despite a modification to make Scooter’s right-of-way more pedestrian-friendly, some Midtowners are opposing the “automobile-centric project.”

The updated Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium will boast many new changes and will undergo a pressure washing of all stadium spaces. (Courtesy University of Memphis)

Game plan: At the Memphis Tigers football home opener against Arkansas State (my alma mater) on Sept. 17, fans will notice quite a few upgrades at the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The City of Memphis announced an investment of $2 million in capital improvements for the 2022 season on Thursday, and some of those are already complete. New Astroturf was installed this summer, and there’s fresh paint throughout the stadium. Several other planned upgrades are coming (including one that will make parking a more pleasant experience).

A Pizzeria Trasimeno employee pulls a pizza out of a wood fire oven in June 2021. Lunch specials are available Tuesday-Thursday, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Fancy pizza for a low price: After a couple months without working pizza ovens (due to a fire), Pizzeria Trasimeno in Crosstown Concourse is back in the pizza business. And if you stop by during lunch Tuesday through Thursday, you can get a full Neapolitan-style margherita or pepperoni pizza and a drink for just $9.99. Food writers Chris Herrington and Jennifer Biggs both rank Pizzeria Trasimeno No. 2 on their personal top ten lists of pizzas in Memphis (and I would put Trasimeno high up on my list, too).

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Yesterday, we told you about a Doritos takeover of the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid, which could generate some interest amongst out-of-towners. But it seems they’ll have to find an updated map because this old diagram of the ancient pyramid of Giza is no help for navigating our tomb-shaped tackle shop.

Y’all have a great weekend! And I’ll be right here waiting for you on Monday (which I realize maybe sounds creepy).  

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