Hola, Memphis. It’s Tuesday, June 27, and the Memphis City Council will weigh budget amendments and a proposed property-tax hike today.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board is set to vote on a contract extension for Interim Superintendent Toni Williams at its regularly scheduled board meeting today. The vote was originally planned for a special meeting last week, but it was canceled. And the Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen will consider a resolution establishing a public comment period for its meetings, which is now required by state law.

THE NEED TO KNOW

A tree fell on a house at 3038 Elmore Park Road in Bartlett on Sunday, June 25. (Michael Waddell/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Power struggle: As of 5 a.m. on Tuesday, there were still more than 62,700 Memphis Light, Gas and Water customers without power following a severe storm on Sunday evening. And MLGW said it may be several days before full power is restored. To make matters worse, the utility issued a boil water advisory for northeastern Shelby County due to low water pressure. See some of the storm damage in our photo and video gallery. It seems that widespread power outages are becoming more common after storms. But why? The Daily Memphian’s Samuel Hardiman has some answers. (He also reveals if Memphis can use stadium improvement funds to fix our power grid.)

The Shelby County Commission gave an initial approval to a $25 wheel-tax hike on Monday night. (David Zalubowski/AP file)

Wheel-tax hike gets initial approval: The Shelby County Commission approved a $25 wheel-tax hike on Monday at the end of a marathon meeting that went past 1 a.m. The hike applies to all categories of vehicles, and it still must be approved at another special-called County Commission meeting tomorrow. The $25 was a compromise that replaced a proposed $50 wheel-tax hike. But county budget director Michael Thompson estimated the $19 million in revenue from the tax would be enough to fund the county’s portion of a Regional One Health rebuild and the construction of new high schools in Frayser and Cordova.

TBI IDs driver who died in traffic stop: Jarveon Hudspeth, 21, died after a traffic stop by a Shelby County Sheriff’s deputy on Saturday. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the deputy, who has not been identified, approached Hudspeth, who was sitting in a parked car in Raleigh. The TBI says the situation escalated, and Hudspeth allegedly tried to leave the scene, dragging the deputy who was caught in the car’s door. The deputy then shot Hudspeth, who died on the way to the hospital. The deputy was also hospitalized in critical condition.

“The perception is that crime is up. But the reality is that crime is up,” said Bill Gibbons, president of the Memphis-Shelby Crime Commission. “No doubt about it.” (Ziggy Mack/Special to The Daily file)

Crime perception vs. reality: The majority of city and county respondents in a new Daily Memphian public safety poll said crime is a major problem and that it seems much worse than it was five years ago. But how does perception line up with reality? Stats for major crimes, like homicides and aggravated assaults, are up across the board, but a big driver is the 177% jump in auto thefts from 2018 to 2022. The Daily Memphian’s Julia Baker breaks down the numbers (with handy charts). In other crime news, local law enforcement announced on Monday 23 arrests for smash-and-grab burglaries of liquor stores and other retail outlets.

MEET MEMPHIS

Lakefront Wellness Clinic co-owners Allie Tinnin and Chase Papke are open for business. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Lakeland residents (and brother- and sister-in-law business partners) Dr. Annalyse “Allie” Tinnin and Chase Papke recently opened their new Lakefront Wellness clinic at The Lake District. The clinic offers hormone replacement therapy, IV hydration, Botox fillers, medical weight loss and esthetics treatments. Both Papke and Tinnin previously spent time working in more traditional medical environments, and Papke said the medical system is “just broken.” Their clinic focuses on preventative care and offers patients more time with the physician.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Sherrie Hicks listened to a colleague during a Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting on July 12, 2021. (Houston Cofield/Special To The Daily Memphian file)

Didn’t come here to party: Some Germantown residents are upset over a Saturday night party in the typically quiet Oakleigh subdivision. The party was promoted on the Instagram account of local rapper Lil Migo, and the Germantown Police Department received about 35 complaints on Saturday night. Residents also flooded Monday night’s Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting to complain about the party. One woman said the party drew buses of women “with nothing on” and that partygoers brandished guns as police broke up the event. In other Germantown BMA news, the board approved a $217 million fiscal year budget, which includes a property tax increase, on Monday night.

Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves blocked a shot by Memphis Grizzlies' Desmond Bane in the NBA playoff series on Friday, April 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Jae C. Hong/AP file)

Free agency is coming: The NBA draft may be over, but big offseason basketball news is still to come. The official start of NBA free agency is this Friday, and that means we’ll learn the fate of big star free agents, like James Harden and Kyrie Irving, as well as the future for Grizzlies free agent Dillon Brooks. Will the Grizzlies make any big moves? The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington has thoughts on that, and he predicts a contract extension for Desmond Bane could be announced as soon as Friday. In other Grizz news, it looks like Xavier Tillman Sr. will be in Memphis for at least one more season.

AutoZone CEO will step down: AutoZone Inc. president and CEO Bill Rhodes will step down in January from the position he’s held for 18 years. Under Rhodes’ leadership, the Memphis-based auto parts retailer doubled its number of stores and tripled its revenues. Philip B. Daniele III, AutoZone’s executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and supply chain, will take over in January.

Gordon Pera, left, is the staff attorney for the Memphis office of the Tennessee Innocence Project. Katie Hagan, right, is the senior legal counsel. (Courtesy Tennessee Innocence Project)

Innocence in Memphis: The Tennessee Innocence Project, which seeks exoneration for the wrongfully convicted, is expanding into Memphis with a new office in Midtown. TIP has hired two employees to staff the local office: Lifelong Memphian Gordon Pera will serve as a staff attorney, and Nashville-based Katie Hagan will serve as senior legal counsel. 

“America at The Crossroads: The Guitar and a Changing Nation” and “Grind City Picks: The Music That Made Memphis” exhibitions are on view now at MoSH. (Courtesy MoSH)

Event picks: The Museum of Science and History’s two new exhibitions are centered around the guitar. “America at The Crossroads: The Guitar and a Changing Nation” is a touring exhibition that shares the history of guitars in the U.S. And “Grind City Picks: The Music That Made Memphis” highlights Memphis guitarists, such as Amy LaVere and Eric Gales, who’ve made a cultural impact in the Bluff City. Daily Memphian intern Jada Ojii offers a preview of both shows. In other event news, the entertainment lineup for this fall’s Southern Heritage Classic is out (and Gladys Knight is coming!).

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Locals are taking to Twitter to express frustration over yet another massive power loss following a storm. 

Stay hydrated, and if your power is still out, The City of Memphis shared these suggestions on Twitter on ways to cool off. (One of those tips involves hanging out at malls, so um, bring money for Bath & Body Works.)

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