Well, it’s Monday again, friends! Today is Aug. 29, and the Shelby County Commission will hold its last meeting with the current cohort, as six of the 13 commissioners have reached the end of their terms. And they’re expected to vote on $350 million in funding for Regional One Health.

Today is the first day of classes for LeMoyne-Owen College students (and the school’s track team is back after a 24-year break, thanks to a local Olympian; read more on that below).

Also today, Memphis Light, Gas & Water will resume cutoffs for nonpayment after a two-month pause during the summer’s hottest months.

THE NEED TO KNOW

The chief administrative officer for the Shelby County Assessor’s Office contends Wanda Halbert (above) “is costing Shelby County Government some $3 million to $4 million in lost revenue per year’’ by refusing to release records needed to tax local businesses. (Bill Dries/The Daily Memphian file)

Assessor’s office reignites dispute with clerk’s office: Javier Bailey, chief administrative officer for the Shelby County Assessor’s Office, is alleging that Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert’s refusal to release records needed to tax local businesses is costing the county $3 million to $4 million a year in lost revenue. The issue dates back to 2019, when Bailey first claimed that Halbert had “cut off’’ access to a database containing details on licensed businesses in Shelby County, but the dispute was reignited on Friday when Bailey fired off an email (which you can read in full here) to Halbert’s office. That’s the same day that Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower released a statement saying the state would not be intervening in the clerk’s office, despite a Shelby County Commission request for a state takeover related to the license plate renewal backlog, and suggesting local authorities could consider ousting Halbert from office.

Ashton Riker’s (above) wife was approved to be a live liver donor, but the James D. Eason Transplant Institute at Methodist University Hospital has suspended its live donor liver transplantation program. (Ron Wood/Special to The Daily Memphian).

Local musician’s liver transplant put on hold: Local musician Ashton Riker was awaiting a life-saving liver transplant from the James D. Eason Transplant Institute at Methodist University Hospital when it suspended its live donor liver transplantation program earlier this month. Riker’s wife was approved to be his live donor, and they were planning on surgery as early as September. But Riker recently learned that his surgeon, Dr. James Eason, was no longer employed by Methodist. “They said [I may have to wait] six months at a minimum. And at any point in time, I could have another bleed out, which is the whole reason I’m in the transplant program,” said Riker. Methodist recently assured Riker that they are working to find a qualified surgeon.

Concord Academy, founded over 30 years ago for students with special needs, is one of 16 Memphis area schools approved for the state’s voucher program. (Daily Memphian file)

Local schools approved for vouchers: Sixteen local private schools have been approved to accept school vouchers so far, and three more applications are pending. The new school voucher system, which recently went into effect in Shelby and Davidson counties, allows students to take public-school funding and apply it to tuition and fees at private schools. Critics of the program, including Memphis-Shelby County Schools, say it diverts money away from the public school system. But the program has its supporters, including the Catholic Diocese of Memphis. Of the schools that have been accepted so far, eight of them fall under the Diocese. 

Critics of the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA) are concerned the funding formula and private school vouchers are designed to drain money from public schools and transfer it to charter and private schools. In this file photo, students at E.A. Harrold Elementary School in Millington get energized during a No Kid Hungry program. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian file)

Billionaires and school funding: At least 22 of the nonprofit organizations that supported Gov. Bill Lee’s school funding formula, which won a major victory in April, have received funds from either the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation or the Walton Family Foundation. Both foundations have used their immense wealth to promote charter schools, and they each have skeptics on both sides of the political aisle. The Daily Memphian’s Ian Round talked to leaders at a few of those nonprofits about their Gates and/or Walton funding and why they supported Lee’s Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act.

The redesigned Tom Lee Park will be substantially completed by the first weekend of the Beale Street Music Festival in May. The finishing touches of the $62 million project will come immediately after the festival moves out for a formal opening. (Daily Memphian file)

Memphis in maybe: Last week, Memphis in May International Festival President and CEO Jim Holt said MIM did not yet have a lease with Memphis River Parks Partnership to hold the 2023 Beale Street Music Festival and World Championship Cooking Contest in the redesigned Tom Lee Park. Holt complained that the $1.4 million damage deposit requested by MRPP was too high, and said he was unable to start booking acts for Music Fest until a deal is worked out. On Friday, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland told the two organizations to work it out, saying “constant bickering between MIM and MRPP is not acceptable.” MRPP President and CEO Carol Coletta has offered MIM a checklist of changes MIM can make to festivals, which would drop the $1.4 million deposit to $375,000.

MEET MEMPHIS

USA’s 4 x 400-meter relay team celebrated their second place finish at the XXV Summer Olympics in Barcelona on August 8, 1992. Gwen Torrence, left, of Decatur, Georgia, Rochelle Stevens of Memphis, Natasha Kaiser of Des Moines, Iowa, and Jearl Miles, right of Gainesville, Florida, are shown after receiving their silver medals. (Eric Risberg/AP file photo)

School is back in session at LeMoyne-Owen College, and so is the school’s track team — after a 24-year break. Two-time Olympic medalist Rochelle Stevens, who won silver in 1992 and gold in 1996, is leading the team as its new track coach. She said she’s using the lessons she learned from training to win Olympic gold with the 28 athletes she’s recruited for the team. “That would be really selfish of me to know what it takes to be the best in the world and not share my secrets with the up-and-coming athletes who have the same goals and dreams that I had when I was a young girl,” Stevens said. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

“Young Rock” is the story of former pro wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The first two seasons of the show were filmed in Australia. Its third season will be filmed in Memphis. (Courtesy Frank Masi/NBC)

How Memphis landed ‘Young Rock’: “Young Rock,” an NBC comedy series inspired by the life of former pro wrestler and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, will be shot in Memphis this fall, and there are a couple of reasons why. For one, NBCUniversal executive Richard Ross lives here. But it also helps that new statewide film incentives, which launched in April, have made shooting in Tennessee more advantageous for filmmakers. In this case, Comcast, NBC’s parent company, will receive a 40% tax credit on production costs.

Sara Walker (with her son, Tristan Cook, and cat, Mitch) owes $30,000 in student loans for a degree she hasn’t completed. But her debt could soon be reduced to $10,000. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

You are not a loan: Last week, hundreds of Memphians saw a big chunk of their student debt disappear, thanks to President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. The program forgives between $10,000 and $20,000 worth of debt, and anyone with a PELL grant gets an additional $10,000 reduction. Students at Southwest Tennessee Community College account for the largest single percentage of PELL grants given in the county. “So for 44 million people and a very, very large number of Memphians, they’re going to see a dramatic reduction in their debt load,” said John Gnuschke, retired director of the Sparks Bureau of Business. But some critics of the loan forgiveness program worry what effect a sudden windfall could have on already-high inflation.

University of Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan (14) throws a short pass during last year’s win over Mississippi State. Henigan will lead the Tigers into Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs with the confidence of his coaches and teammates. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian file)

Monday morning quarterback news: The Memphis Tigers football team is already starting the season on a better foot than last year. Last season, they started with a freshman quarterback, Seth Henigan, who hadn’t played any college football. But this season, Henigan is starting the season after earning Freshman All-America honors while setting a new freshman school record of 3,322 passing yards. “I think he’s matured as a leader,” offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey said.

The 2025 construction pipeline would bring more than 2,000 rooms to Downtown, including the last stage of the One Beale development. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

Back to the hotel: Post-pandemic recovery for the hotel and lodging industry seems to be on track, according to hospitality professionals gathered at the 20th annual Memphis Southern Lodging Summit last week. But the Downtown core and airport market hotels still remain below pre-pandemic levels, which can be partly attributed to a decrease in business travel in the age of Zoom meetings. “I think going forward leisure will dominate,” Mark Lommano of Kalibri Labs said.

Karen Carrier of the Beauty Shop gets a visit from “Jewish Foodie” web series host Ori Laizerouvich. (Screenshot, used with permission)

Jewish food in Memphis: The latest episodes from the “Jewish Foodie” web series were filmed in Memphis, where, according to the show, 10,000 of the 22,000 Jews who live in Tennessee reside (that’s a fun fact!). The first stop was at the Beauty Shop, where owner Karen Carrier served series host Ori Laizerouvich dishes from her now-defunct Hazel’s Lucky Dice Delicatessen menu. Next up was Ricki’s Cookie Corner in Eastgate Shopping Center to bake hamentashen with Ricki Krupps, followed by several other local stops.

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

The beginning of this week will feel like August with high heat and humidity (but at least there’s possible rain). And as if on cue, the humidity drops as we head into September mid-week. But hey, if you thought this summer has been hot, wait until 2053. By then, Memphis will be part of a 125-degree “extreme heat belt” that will stretch across a quarter of the country, according to a new climate study.

I hope your day is swell! Now I’m off to catch up on the first two seasons of “Young Rock.”

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