Howdy, Memphis. Today is Tuesday, Feb. 7, and if you haven’t yet had your caffeine fix this morning, you might head to the first Tennessee franchise of Biggby Coffee, which opens today on S. Germantown Parkway.

The Memphis City Council has allotted three hours today to discuss police reforms in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death. And later, the Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Chicago Bulls, and maybe Santi Aldama’s power ’stache can save them. Something certainly needs to.

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THE NEED TO KNOW

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee looked up at audience members in the balcony of the state House chamber before delivering his annual State of the State address on Feb. 6. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian)

Lee offers funds for FedExForum, Liberty Stadium: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who delivered his State of the State address on Monday, included $350 million in funding for renovations to FedExForum and Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in his proposed budget. The funding covers the state contribution that Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland asked for last fall as part of a larger sports complex renovation plan. A $3.3 billion statewide investment in road maintenance and expansion was the centerpiece of Lee’s proposed fiscal year 2024 budget.

The new Shelby County Clerk’s office at 3785 Riverdale Road still isn’t open. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

County police reform, clerk’s office delay: On Monday, the Shelby County Commission unanimously approved two police reform resolutions in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death. One of those resolutions calls for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to use video of Nichols’ beating by Memphis Police officers for training on police use of force. The other calls for more transparency on use of force by law enforcement. (Speaking of, on Monday, the sheriff’s office announced that a deputy was relieved of duty in relation to a use of force incident last November.) County commissioners also grilled Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert on Monday about the delayed opening date for the new clerk’s office on Riverdale Road. That location was supposed to be open by Halloween of last year, but Halbert now says she doesn’t know when it will open.

Willie Herenton has announced another bid for Memphis mayor. (Greg Campbell/The Daily Memphian file)

Willie Herenton joins mayor’s race: Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton is running for mayor again. Herenton was the first Black mayor of Memphis when he won his first term in 1991, and he went on to serve for 17 years. Herenton joins a field of 10 declared contenders. “Today, it saddens me to see my hometown in a critical crisis. In fact, it is quite embarrassing,” he said.

Carlisle Development Co. filed a major modification permit to build a parking lot on the former site of the Grand Hyatt project at One Beale. (Neil Strebig/The Daily Memphian file)

Put up a parking lot: The site where the Grand Hyatt Hotel was supposed to go may become a temporary parking lot. The 359-room hotel’s development was stalled in November following financing shortfalls between the developer and the City of Memphis. Now Carlisle Development Co. has filed a major modification permit to build a parking lot on the site.

MEET MEMPHIS

Kay Ryan set up a water stop from TapRoute in her East Memphis yard. (Ziggy Mack/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Aside from gas station restrooms, it can be hard for runners and cyclists to find places to refill their water bottles. But TapRoute, started by Memphian Andrew Forsdick, is changing that by providing a directory of “taps” — or individuals, businesses and other organizations providing “water stops.” Forsdick conceptualized the idea while training for an Ironman competition in 2013. He founded TapRoute a year later and installed the first tap in his yard.

THE NICE TO KNOW

The I-40 goat (ram?). (Courtesy Tawnee Stephens)

Goat to see it to believe it: Since October, Memphis Animal Services has received 13 calls of goat (or ram?) sightings around Interstate 40 near Bellevue Baptist Church. And there are numerous reports of the loose animal on the Lost and Found Pets of the Mid-South Facebook page. “[Our officers] haven’t been able to get closer than eight feet. The goat always runs away when approached,” said Katie Pemberton at MAS. The Daily Memphian’s Jasmine McCraven is on the case.

Will he stay, or will he go? Free agency looms for Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks (24). (Rick Scuteri/AP file)

Dillon Brooks is not the GOAT: What’s with the Memphis Grizzlies’ recent losses? Is it purely coincidence that the team hit a losing streak around the same time of the Shannon Sharpe kerfuffle, the Dillion Brooks-Donavan Mitchell throwdown and the reported altercation between Ja Morant’s friends and the Indiana Pacers? While it would seem these things could be distractions, the players say it isn’t so. The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington points out that Brooks’ “inefficient offense and edgy on-court behavior have both reached a kind of crescendo (one hopes) on the eve of the trade deadline.” That deadline is this Thursday, and Brooks’ contract is set to end this summer. His days with the Grizzlies may be numbered.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, which owns the Allen Fossil Plant, closed the facility in 2018. Demolition is expected to be completed in 2025. (The Daily Memphian file)

New life for an old coal plant? If the Tennessee Valley Authority’s retired Allen Fossil Plant site is redeveloped, it could generate $1.17 billion annually. That’s according to a report from the Memphis and Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine, which analyzed the economic impact the former coal plant site could have on the Port of Memphis. Last Friday, the TVA began demolition of the Allen Fossil Plant, which was retired in 2018, with the implosion of its three trademark smokestacks. (Check out this cool video of the implosion.)

Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz (left) gave FedEx delivery driver, David Hokin, a fist bump after the Vince Lombardi Trophy was delivered. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)

SuperBowl trophy touches down: Over the weekend, Memphis-based FedEx Corp. safely delivered the iconic Vince Lombardi trophy to the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will compete for it at Super Bowl LVII this Sunday, Feb. 12. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Several Memphis artists were nominated for Grammy Awards, and while none of our local artists won on Sunday, it was fun to see what they wore on the red carpet. Here’s a look at Moneybagg Yo, Yo Gotti and GloRilla.

Rapper GloRilla and producer HitKidd were nominated for best rap performance with “F.N.F.” GloRilla also performed during the 50th anniversary of hip-hop segment. 

Hip-hop artist Marco Pavé was nominated for best contemporary classical composition for “Requiem for the Enslaved,” a collaboration between Pavé and Georgetown University professor Carlos Simon.

They’re all winners in our hearts! And so are you! Have a great day. 

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