Happy hump day, Memphis. It’s March 29, and Shelby County Commissioners will get their chance to grill Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert during a committee meeting today (more on that below).

Also among the Commission’s agenda items: a resolution requesting that the Shelby County District Attorney and county courts create and maintain a data dashboard. If you’ll recall, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland recently called on both offices to make bond and judicial sentencing decisions easier for the public to access.

And tonight, Luke Kennard’s old team, the Los Angeles Clippers, will play the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedExForum. Is it mean of me to hope they regret letting him go? He’s ours now, Clippers! Fingers crossed for another home win.

THE NEED TO KNOW

An email chain indicates representatives of Poplar Plaza have been in communication with Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert about an office space in the shopping center since at least September 2022. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Halbert has put off move for at least six months: Representatives from Poplar Plaza have been asking Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert to relocate her office space there since at least September 2022, according to emails obtained by The Daily Memphian. The lease on the clerk’s office space in Poplar Plaza is ending, and Finard Properties real estate director Rick Smith has been trying to offer Halbert other available spaces. If you’re caught up but still confused, Bill Dries has answers to your lingering questions. You may remember that last week, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris told Halbert to choose a space or he’d make the argument that she’s derelict in her duties, to which Halbert responded by essentially saying Harris isn’t the boss of her. Halbert said she wants to move the centrally located office to an old Regions Bank branch on Quince Road. Confused? We have a map. Today, Halbert will have to answer questions from Shelby County Commissioners over that situation and other clerk’s office issues. 

“Just because we cannot find evidence of increased rates of cancer that are associated with EtO does not mean there’s not an increased risk,” said Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Michelle Taylor. “There are limitations to this kind of analysis.” (Greg Campbell/Special to The Daily Memphian)

No cancer clusters in South Memphis study: There is no evidence of cancer clusters near Sterilization Services of Tennessee in South Memphis, according to a new Shelby County Health Department study. The facility has been emitting cancer-causing ethylene oxide since the late 1970s, and last year, the Environmental Protection Agency warned residents in the Mallory Heights area of the chemical’s dangers. Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Michelle Taylor said the study doesn’t mean residents who live near the facility aren’t at an increased risk for cancer because “there are limitations to this kind of analysis.”

Memphis-based International Paper Co. released its annual proxy statement ahead of the company’s 2023 meeting of shareholders. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

How much money IP’s top execs make: International Paper Co. released its annual proxy statement on Tuesday, and that may not sound super interesting unless you’re really into business news. But get this: The filing also disclosed compensation earned by certain executives in 2022, including CEO Mark Sutton, who brought in more than $13 million last year. See how much other top IP executives made.

Albert Throckmorton, (left) head of school at St. Mary’s Episcopal School, talked with Tracey Mendenhall (right) and Brink Fidler (center) of Defend Systems about dealing with active shooter situations. (Julia Baker/The Daily Memphian)

Free active shooter training: Following Monday’s tragic school shooting in Nashville that claimed the lives of three children and three adults, people are no doubt thinking about how to better prepare themselves for these kinds of events. Defend Systems, a Nashville-based life safety and security consulting firm, is partnering with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on two free, active-shooter training sessions for the Memphis community on April 19 and 20. But spaces are limited, so you might want to secure your spot.

MEET MEMPHIS

Collierville municipal judge Lee Ann Pafford Dobson had a rare form of cancer that required one of the fingers on her right hand to be amputated. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Collierville’s municipal judge Lee Ann Pafford Dobson recently lost the middle finger on her right hand to a rare form of cancer that only affects about 60 Americans per year. Last April, Dodson noticed strange swelling in her finger, and she was eventually diagnosed with a form of sarcoma. Fortunately for Dodson, she was able to have her finger amputated before the cancer spread to other parts of her body. Now she’s adapting to life with nine fingers, but it’s been a process. (And in case you’re wondering, yes, she did ask for a 10% discount on her manicure.)

THE NICE TO KNOW

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (middle) drove the lane against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, March 28. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

All they do is win (at home, anyway): Maybe it’s the excitement of the home crowd. Maybe the magic of the Pyramid’s crystal skull followed the Memphis Grizzlies to the FedExForum. Or maybe the Grizzlies are just that good, but the team set a new franchise record for single-season home victories in last night’s win, 113-108, over the Orlando Magic. It was the Jaren Jackson Jr. and Luke Kennard show for most of the night with Jackson stacking up points, rebounds and blocks and Kennard nailing those 3-pointers once again. And when the Grizzlies went cold late in the game, Desmond Bane saved the day by scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins has a theory on how the Grizzlies have accomplished this winning streak, and it will leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

Memphis forward Malcolm Dandridge fought for a layup during a March 10 game against UCF. Dandridge is among the Tigers players who has a decision to make about his future with the team. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Future Tigers: As the Memphis Tigers continue to ramp up their efforts in the transfer portal, some fans are wondering how the team will have room for many more players. Some Tiger pledges are speculated to be on the chopping block, so The Daily Memphian’s Parth Upadhyaya reached out to a couple of them for the latest; their answers may surprise you. In their Tiger Talk column, Upadhyaya and The Daily Memphian’s John Martin dive further into the Tigers’ off-season roster moves and what the revamped American Athletic Conference could mean for Tigers’ chances next season. And finally, here’s something else that may surprise you: Many of you are outscoring our sports writers in The Daily Memphian Bracket Challenge right now.

Joey Treadway

Tax man could get more money: Some DeSoto County mayors are hoping to reach an agreement with county tax collector Joey Treadway over a substantive pay increase that Treadway demanded last week. Treadway issued a warning that he would not collect city taxes for Hernando, Horn Lake, Olive Branch, Southaven and Walls without an increase in pay for himself and tax assessor Jeff Fitch. Olive Branch Mayor Ken Adams said he does believe a “reasonable increase is justified based on the growth of Olive Branch” but that the city hasn’t agreed to the substantially larger amount that Treadway has asked for.

William Schrader of Residential Energy Rating performed a blower door test, which helps determine unwanted air leakage. The lower the air leakage, the more energy efficient a house will be. (The Daily Memphian file)

Power failures: The Southeast region lags behind other areas of the U.S. in energy efficiency, and that’s only gotten worse since the start of the pandemic. In Tennessee, residents consume about 30% more electricity than the average U.S. customer. A new report from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy says it’s time for the region to invest more in energy efficiency, especially since new federal programs provide “a unique chance for the Southeast to make up for lost time,” according to the report. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

The Memphis Showboats unveiled their uniforms on Tuesday.

The response from Twitter was a resounding “meh.”

I hope your day is way better than meh! See you later.

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