Good day, Memphis. It’s Thursday, Oct. 13, and the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority Board meets this morning. 

Also today, the Shelby County Land Use Control Board will consider a special-use permit for a new industrial metal recycling facility on President’s Island, among other cases. And tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies will play the Detroit Pistons in a preseason away game (let’s hope the Grizzlies’ shooting is better this time).

THE NEED TO KNOW

Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway will receive a contract extension with $16.5 million, plus incentives. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Penny saved is a Penny gained: Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway will be here for at least six more seasons. The University of Memphis announced Hardaway’s contract extension, which offers $16.5 million (plus incentives) through April 15, 2028. In his four seasons since taking over the Tigers program in 2018, Hardaway has an overall record of 84-43, but The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins has some big dreams for how Hardaway can improve on that record. “It’s a Hardaway era reboot,” Calkins writes. In other Tigers basketball news, fifth-year star transfer guard Kendric Davis and fifth-year forward DeAndre Williams have been named to the preseason All-AAC first team. And on the women’s side, fifth-year guard Jamirah Shutes made the preseason All-AAC second team.

A historical marker on Summer Avenue remembering the lynching of Ell Persons. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Lynching of Ell Persons: Just a little over 100 years ago, on May 22, 1917, Ell Persons was burned alive in a grisly lynching at a spot near Summer Avenue and I-240. The Black laborer was tortured into confessing to the rape and murder of a young white girl. His lynching soon followed, and it was witnessed by thousands of Memphians (including children) and treated as a social event (with vendors selling sandwiches). In an installment of its “Civil Wrongs” series, The Institute for Public Service Reporting looks at how the murder still haunts Memphis today, as well as plans to preserve the lynching site and statewide efforts to prevent coerced confessions.

Attorney Bakari Sellers speaks at a news conference on another federal Varsity Spirit lawsuit last month. Behind him is State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, and civil rights attorneys Jessica Fickling and Alexandra Benevento. (Rob Moore/The Daily Memphian file)

More Varsity Spirit lawsuits: Three new federal lawsuits, alleging sexual abuse of minors, have been filed against Memphis-based cheer and dance company Varsity Spirit. The lawsuits, which were filed on behalf of three abuse survivors, claim that coaches allegedly supplied young athletes with alcohol and drugs before sexually abusing them. Last month, Varsity Spirit was named in a separate federal lawsuit accusing multiple cheerleading coaches of a range of misconduct and illicit sexual behavior with minors.

Done deal: On Wednesday, the U.K.-based Rentokil announced it completed the acquisition of Memphis-based Terminix, a $6.7 billion merger first announced in December 2021.

MEET MEMPHIS

Memphis Tigers linebacker Cincir Evans (3) runs during an NCAA football game against the Navy Midshipmen on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in Annapolis, Maryland. (Daniel Kucin Jr./AP file photo)

When Memphis Tigers linebacker Cincir Evans first arrived at the University of Memphis, he tried to balance working a night shift at FedEx with playing football. But getting by on four hours of sleep most nights left Evans exhausted. He was able to quit his job and focus on football once he’d saved enough money. But heading into the 2021 season, he suffered a serious injury and “started to second guess everything.” This year has been different though; Evans is finally back on the field, and he tallied a career-high of seven tackles in the Tigers win over North Texas last month.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Richard DiPasquale, a member of the FedEx SameDay Bot test team, checks systems on Roxo before starting a test run at the FedExForum on Sept.4, 2019. FedEx is ending the project. (Jim Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Goodbye, robot; hello, future Fred Smiths: Roxo, the same-day delivery robot, is out of a job at FedEx. The Memphis-based shipping giant is ending its Roxo research and development program four years after its launch. Roxo was designed to deliver to a customer’s door, including climbing the curb, traveling up the sidewalk and climbing deep terrace steps. In other FedEx news, Memphis-Shelby County Schools students learned about careers in logistics and supply chain management at FedEx Logistics Academy this week. “It invoked certain feelings inside of me. I have a plan for a business of my own, similar to FedEx,” said a Cordova High School student (who may be the next Fred Smith).

Memphians line up to check out The Works' Mobile Food Grocery. The truck will make two- to three-hour stops in North and South Memphis neighborhoods at least five days per week. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Groceries on the go: Community redevelopment non-profit The Works launched a new mobile grocery truck in the Klondike neighborhood on Thursday. The truck, which is stocked with fresh produce, meat, dairy, eggs and other items, will function as a mobile grocery store in the city’s food deserts. Rick James of Castle Retail Group, the grocery supplier for the truck, said “this will change the game in neighborhoods” that don’t have brick-and-mortar grocery stores.

Shelby County residents work a sample ballot on the new voting machines at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. The November election will be the debut of the new voting machines. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

New voting machines get prepped: Early voting for the Nov. 8 election begins on Oct. 19, and the Shelby County Election Commission began moving its new voting machines to its 26 early-voting sites on Wednesday. The commission is offering demonstrations on how to use the new machines, which offer a choice of touch screen voting or a hand-marked paper ballot, up until the first day of early voting. 

The bulgogi beef lunch box special at Asiana Garden on 5992 Mt. Moriah Rd. (Joshua Carlucci/The Daily Memphian)

Deal stuck in time: Daily Memphian intern Joshua Carlucci visited Asiana Garden, a Korean restaurant on Mt. Moriah Road that’s seemingly stuck in time. That applies to its “’70’s office vibe” decor and its prices. The bento-style box, known as dosirak in Korean, comes with meat, rice, veggies, dumplings, and salad for less than $10, and Carlucci has some pro tips for how to eat it.

Bartlett’s Chief Administrative Officer Mark Brown will retire at the end of the year after more than two decades of service. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Same park, new name: Bartlett Municipal Park is now Mark S. Brown Municipal Park, named after Bartlett’s longtime Chief Administrative Officer Mark Brown. Brown is retiring at the end of the year when Mayor A. Keith McDonald steps down at the end of his current term. The city held a dedication ceremony at the park, in recognition of Brown, earlier this week. “He clearly has been my right-hand man for just so many things that I couldn’t have done by myself,” McDonald said.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

A baby aardvark was born at the Memphis Zoo, and they named it Grogu (after Baby Yoda from “The Mandalorian”). Uncanny the resemblance is (see what I did there?). Okay, maybe it’s just the ears. The nose is, um, much bigger.

A good day I hope you have!

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