Are you ready for a new week, Shelby County? It’s Monday, June 12, and the Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen will be discussing the city’s fiscal year budget and property taxes. On the agenda for the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen is a plan to build new townhome-style apartments just north of the suburb’s Walmart.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Chief public defender Phyllis Aluko (left) spoke about the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office’s internship program. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Help wanted: Much like other public defender’s offices around the country, the Shelby County office is facing a recruitment shortage. Hiring challenges in the field aren’t new, and low pay tends to be part of the problem. But to add to that, the pandemic caused a backlog of cases that still haven’t been resolved. “Public defenders have at least three times as much work as they can handle competently,” said Stephen Hanlon, an attorney who has led workload studies for the American Bar Association. So what to do about the hiring shortage? The Shelby County public defender’s office is hoping its unpaid internship program will help build a talent pipeline.

From left to right, Frank Bonner Jr., Karen Camper, Frank Colvett, Willie Herenton, Michelle McKissack, Van Turner and Paul Young. (The Daily Memphian file)

Read their lips: The Memphis City Council is considering a property tax increase to provide funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority and pay for city programs aimed at lessening poverty. The future mayor of Memphis wouldn’t get a say in the decision, but many of the 2023 mayoral candidates have opinions. The Daily Memphian’s Samuel Hardiman spoke with several candidates to see who supports a tax increase and who doesn’t.

County Commissioners Miska Clay-Bibbs and David Bradford listened to chair Mickell Lowery during a Sunday, June 11, meeting on the county budget. (Bill Dries/The Daily Memphian)

Speaking of taxes ... Four Shelby County commissioners and County Mayor Lee Harris met in a rare Sunday meeting to discuss how to move forward with a possible county wheel tax increase and county budget cuts. The wheel tax increase, which is intended to fund a Regional One Health rebuild and the construction of two high schools, was voted down — twice — by the full commission last week. The group that met on Sunday laid out alternative options, such as only increasing the wheel tax for business-owned vehicles and adding an expiration date. They also discussed Harris’ overall budget proposal, a possible property tax hike and Commissioner Mick Wright’s proposed investigation into whether County Clerk Wanda Halbert is performing her duties.

Jermarcus Johnson (left), 26, pleaded guilty on Friday, June 9, to three counts of accessory after the fact in the killing of Memphis rapper Young Dolph. (The Daily Memphian)

Suspect in Young Dolph case pleads guilty: On Friday, Jermarcus Johnson, 26, pleaded guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact in the November 2021 killing of Memphis rapper Young Dolph. Johnson is the half-brother of Justin Johnson, one of the accused shooters, and the three counts of accessory are related to Jermarcus Johnson taking possession of Justin Johnson’s car and phone and using that phone to trick a probation officer and to facilitate payments.

President Vernell Bennett-Fairs has resigned from LeMoyne-Owen College. (Ziggy Mack/Special to The Daily Memphian file)

LeMoyne-Owen College president resigns: Vernell Bennett-Fairs has resigned from her role as president of LeMoyne-Owen College, a position she’s held since January 2021. The college’s board of trustees has appointed the board’s past chair, St. Paul Baptist Church senior pastor Christopher Davis, as interim president.

MEET MEMPHIS

Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Derrick Dillon walked off the field at the end of an NFL preseason football game in Aug. 2022. Dillon now plays for the Memphis Showboats. (Gary McCullough/AP file)

When Memphis Showboats receiver Derrick Dillon was a kid, he spent his free time working out. “It could be 120 degrees outside in Louisiana; he’s outside practicing pulling tires,” said Dillon’s brother, Broddrick. That hard work paid off and Dillon became the first athlete to receive an NCAA Division I scholarship at Pine High in Franklinton, Louisiana. He went on to play for the 2019 championship team at Louisiana State University before being drafted by the New York Giants. Injury led to his release from the majors. But he’s already making waves with the Showboats. Speaking of the Showboats, the team’s five-game win streak was broken on Saturday after a 31-3 loss to the New Orleans Breakers. But Memphis still has a shot at the playoffs.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Comeback Coffee co-owners Amy and Hayes McPherson (seated) along with chief operations officer Ethan McGaughy, sit in their new Comeback Beverage Co. space. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Yes, they can: Comeback Coffee is growing but not in a way you might expect. The Downtown coffee hotspot isn’t opening a new shop; they’re expanding with a new cannery and roastery adjacent to the coffee shop. In the new two-story building, Comeback Beverage Co. will can their popular coffee sodas, which they plan to sell in stores throughout the region, and roast beans for both the sodas and the coffee shop. “We’ve modeled ourselves after the brewery industry, almost to a tee,” said co-owner Amy McPherson. And the McPherson have plans to open their adjoining specialty plant business, Golden Hour, to the general public soon, too.

Larkin Grisanti opened the new Go Grisanti to-go restaurant in Germantown. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Grisanti to go, Thai Basil to go: Larkin Grisanti, the son of Memphis Italian restaurateur Frank Grisanti, noticed that a big chunk of business at his father’s restaurant in the Hilton hotel was to-go orders. So he decided to open a new Grisanti venture that focuses on just that. Go Grisanti opened in late May in Germantown, offering Grisanti family classics, like the Elfo’s Special and Miss Mary’s salad, to go. But as one restaurant opens, another is closing. Bartlett’s Thai Basil is expected to close by the end of June after a 10-year run.

Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Darko Rajakovic (right, with head coach Taylor Jenkins) has worked in Memphis since 2020. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

A goodbye, a good job and a denial: In weekend sports news, we learned that Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Darko Rajakovic is leaving. Rajakovic, who has been with the Grizzlies since 2020, has been hired as the head coach for the Toronto Raptors. In other news, The Daily Memphian’s own Geoff Calkins has been named the state’s Sports Writer of the Year for his work in 2022. He won the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Gary Lundy award. (Congrats, Geoff!) And finally, remember that story from last week about a rumored Big 12 visit to Memphis? Well, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said on Friday that he “never met with anyone at Memphis about adding them to the Big 12, nor have I been on campus.” (But one of our commenters point out that Yormark’s statement can be interpreted a number of ways. Hmmm.)

After three seasons, NBC has canceled “Young Rock,” a sitcom based on the life of professional wrestler and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. (Courtesy Mark Taylor/NBC)

Rock, out: NBC’s “Young Rock,” a sitcom on the life of a young Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has been canceled. The series’ third season was filmed in Memphis and included the city in its storyline. Comcast was awarded a four-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) deal last October that was structured to cover last season’s 13 episodes and three more seasons.

Is Tennessee health care the worst? A new national poll found that a majority of Tennesseans are dissatisfied with the health care system and that affordability is a big barrier to access. According to the Harris Poll results, 65% of adults nationally and 62% in Tennessee said managing health care was overwhelming and time-consuming. The poll found that Tennesseans are more likely than other Americans to give the health care system a failing grade.

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

Things are looking great today, but wet weather and warmer temps are on the way.

Enjoy this sunny Monday while you can! 

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