Happy Tuesday, early birds. Today is Oct. 10, and at the first Memphis City Council meeting post-election, council members will discuss potential changes to the ways city leaders are elected. They’re expected to cast the first of three votes on 2024 ballot referendums for partisan primaries and runoffs.

David Grisanti’s on Main will open inside the old P.O. Press space in Collierville today, and this evening, some of the area’s top athletes, coaches and other sports figures will be inducted into the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame at AutoZone Park.

More than 1,700 miles away in the San Diego area, four-star Memphis Tigers signee Mikey Williams is scheduled for a preliminary hearing over the six felony gun charges he’s facing from a March 27 shooting outside his home. Williams won’t have access to team-related facilities or activities until his legal process is complete.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Father Dexter Noblefranca (left), pastor at Downtown’s St. Patrick Catholic Church, and Sharon Masterson were in Israel when the conflict began. (Submitted)

Israel-Gaza conflict hits home: A group of more than 40 Memphis tourists, including Father Dexter Noblefranca of Downtown’s St. Patrick Catholic Church, is currently stuck in Israel. The group arrived Monday, Oct. 2, and began touring Biblical sites, but on Saturday, Oct. 7, Hamas attacked Israel as the group was touring the Tomb of Lazarus. “It has been surreal. But it’s getting more real,” said Sharon Masterson with the group. Since Saturday, the conflict has left 900 dead in Israel and more than 600 dead in Gaza. Rabbi Micah Greenstein of Temple Israel was supposed to leave for a trip to Israel last Sunday, but he was unable to go. He and Sarit Horwitz, rabbi at Beth Sholom, reflect on what it’s like to watch the conflict roughly 6,600 miles away. In related news, FedEx has temporarily suspended operations in Israel.

Attorney Martin Zummach (left) pointed to his client, former Memphis Police officer Justin Smith (tan suit), during an appearance in Judge James Jones’ courtroom on Sept. 15. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Attorneys allege Nichols had ’shrooms, stolen cards: Attorneys for two of the five former Memphis police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols are claiming Nichols had psychedelic mushrooms and stolen credit cards in his car the night he was beaten. In a court filing, attorney Martin Zummach, who represents former Memphis Police officer Justin Smith, said the items were found in an inventory of Nichols’ car and that they were important when “examining the state of mind of Nichols when he ran from the police.” The attorneys are also pushing for the release of Nichols’ phone records.

Preliminary data shows the Mississippi River’s level at Memphis likely hit an all-time low in mid-September, falling about two inches past the record set last year. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Lower than low: Preliminary data shows the Mississippi River likely surpassed last year’s record low in mid-September. The Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District clocked the river at a level that’s six feet lower than “low,” as defined by the National Weather Service at Memphis. The river level is negatively impacting farmers and shipping companies, who can’t get goods downriver, and consumers will end up paying higher prices to offset more expensive shipping methods. 

Judge Lee Coffee (left) listened to arguments by defense attorney Juni Ganguli (right) during a hearing in his court on May 30, 2019. (The Daily Memphian file)

Time for a pay day? Tennessee’s reimbursement rate for court-appointed, private attorneys is the lowest in the country. While many indigent defendants are appointed public defenders, certain situations and conflicts of interest require the court to appoint a private attorney instead. One such recent conflict involved Cleotha Henderson, who is charged in the abduction and killing of Eliza Fletcher. The current pay rate for those private attorneys — $50 an hour — hasn’t changed since 1997. On Tuesday, the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts announced that it will ask for a budget increase that would support a pay bump for court-appointed attorneys in the state.

QUOTED

Tim Shelton, 53, was a minister at Bellevue Baptist Church for more than 20 years. He also was a volunteer lacrosse coach at Evangelical Christian School. (Courtesy Bellevue Baptist Church)

“Tim was everybody’s friend. The moment he met you ... you became someone he knew.”

— Paula Cowart, friend of Tim Shelton
Triathlete Tim Shelton, a minister at Bellevue Baptist Church for more than 20 years, died on Sunday after suffering cardiac arrest during the swim portion of the St. Jude Ironman 70.3 Saturday at Shelby Farms Park. The Daily Memphian’s Jane Roberts talked to friends of Shelton, a volunteer coach and father of five who Cowart said gave 110% in all his endeavors.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Tacos from Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos (Holly Whitfield/The Daily Memphian file)

Eat more tacos: What better day than Taco Tuesday to deliver the news that Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos is planning a third location on Summer Avenue (in the space where Jun Lee Trading Co. was for years). And this new Maciel’s is doubling down on tacos. “We want to focus more on the taqueria style and do more tacos than we have right now,” said owner Manuel Martinez. They’re also adding a brunch menu with pozole, menudo, huevos rancheros and, of course, breakfast tacos. You may be thinking, “Aren’t there enough tacos on Summer Avenue?” But can there really be such a thing as too many tacos?

University of Memphis center Malcolm Dandridge (middle left) blocked a shot by Florida Atlantic University guard Bryan Greenlee (middle right) during an NCAA tournament game on Friday, March 17, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Tigers rivalry is brewing: The Memphis Tigers rivalry with the Florida Atlantic Owls is expected to intensify this season now that the two teams are AAC conference-mates; the Owls are one of six new additions to the AAC this year. To refresh your memory, it was the Owls that took down the Tigers in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament last year. And at AAC media day on Monday, the preseason coaches’ poll predicted that the Tigers would finish second in the conference, behind Florida Atlantic. Fifth-year Tiger Malcolm Dandridge says he’s ready to face the “old foe,” which the team will play twice on national TV in less than a two-week span late in the season. In other AAC media day news, the women’s basketball team was picked to finish fifth, and fifth-year guard Madison Griggs was named to the preseason All-AAC first team. 

Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams grabbed a rebound over Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden during a game Jan. 3, 2022, in New York. (Adam Hunger/AP file)

Return of Grizzly Adams: The Memphis Grizzlies frontcourt for the first games without Ja Morant will likely consist of Jaren Jackson Jr., Steven Adams, Santi Aldama and Xavier Tillman Sr. with Adams playing a crucial role. Now that his knee has healed enough to ramp up into consistent time on the court, we’ll see if Adams is as good as he was last season, pre-injury. (As Steve-O’s No. 1 fan, I’m pulling for him.) Our own Chris Herrington says “Adams’ combination of screening, passing and rebounding has been an essential lubricant for the team’s often-struggling halfcourt offense.” If you want to really nerd out on frontcourt scoring combos, Herrington has all the numbers and more musings here.

Put up a parking lot: More parking is coming to Collierville’s Town Square. On Monday, the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the demolition of the Collierville Community Services Center to make way for a new parking lot. The center, which was most recently home to the Shelby County Health Department, Collierville Food Pantry and Shelby Literacy Center, was built in 1979 and needed major updates.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

What appears to be a bald eagle was spotted flying above Overton Park recently. In the conversation about the video on the Memphis Subreddit, commenter Manephian (speaking as the eagle) wrote: “I seemed to have gotten lost en route to Reelfoot Lake.”

Here’s hoping you have a great Tuesday!

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