How are you today, friends? It’s Wednesday, Nov. 1, the start of the two-day celebration of Dia de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead), a joyful remembrance of our deceased loved ones. 

It’s also the day that Downtown’s Design Review Board will consider whether the owner of the old Hotel Chisca can bring a Chisca sign back to the skyline. Currently, the South Main building is topped with a LYFE Kitchen sign, though the restaurant has been closed since 2018.

And tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies play the Utah Jazz in an away game. Will they finally get a win? I only have 10 fingers and ten toes, but if I had more, I’d cross those, too. The Grizzlies are 0-4 for the first time since 2004. Insert grimace face emoji.

THE NEED TO KNOW

If growth in sales tax revenue is going to happen at Liberty Park and within the TDZ, the planned $200-plus million renovation of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium could be a big factor.  (Courtesy Memphis Brewfest)

How do we pay for Liberty Park? The City of Memphis owes about $103 million in principal and interest on Liberty Park, according to documents obtained through a public records request. The debt was issued as part of the Liberty Park Tourism Development Zone (better known as a TDZ), a special taxing district that captures sales tax growth and uses that growth to pay for development. The problem? The city isn’t generating enough revenue and is about $1.7 million short on its next payment. That means the city will have to find another way to cover the shortfall. Future development at the site could help, but our own Samuel Hardiman reports that several planned developments at Liberty Park are in question.

A. Melissa Boyd

Judge could face disciplinary action: Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd received a public reprimand on Tuesday for failing to abide by the terms of her suspension order from the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct. It’s her second reprimand since taking office in September 2022, and the judicial board is now referring her to the state legislature for disciplinary action, including potential removal from the bench. Boyd was suspended in May following a complaint from her former campaign manager alleging threatening behavior and alcohol abuse. In other court-related news, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating “internal failures” that led to a man’s death last week in a stabbing behind Judge Paula Skahan’s courtroom.

Tha Table’s owner Alfonzo Turner was shot on Sunday, Oct. 29, in the parking lot of his business. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Man charged in Whitehaven restaurant shooting: Darion Banks, 20, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, among other charges, in the Sunday shooting of Whitehaven restaurant owner Alfonzo Turner and Tedarius Day. Banks told police he and another man were trying to break into a car in the Tha Table’s lot before the shooting. The death of Turner — an entrepreneur, musician and father — stunned the Whitehaven community, and several community leaders say they’re looking for solutions to curb violence. A former classmate of Turner’s remembered him as a “goofy” and “up-tempo” guy.

Overton Park Conservancy Director Tina Sullivan said federal funding for the Memphis Zoo parking plan will have an impact on a new walking trail in the park. Seated behind her are Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, left, and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen. (Bill Dries/The Daily Memphian)

Still saving the greensward: There’s good news in the seemingly neverending Overton Park zoo parking controversy. On Tuesday, leaders of the Overton Park Conservancy and the Memphis Zoo gathered with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen to announce a new walking trail that will replace a planned berm separating the park’s greensward — which has been used for zoo overflow parking for years — and the zoo’s current parking lot. That trail will connect to the one around Rainbow Lake, and a new pavilion is coming near the park’s playground. Cohen secured a $3 million federal grant to pay for the zoo’s new parking lot, so private donations that were originally raised for the lot project are now being used for the above-mentioned park improvements.

MEET MEMPHIS

East Memphis’ Martha McAnespie just turned 107. (Courtesy the McAnespie family)

Martha McAnespie of East Memphis just celebrated her 107th birthday. To put that in perspective, McAnespie is older than the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. She was born in 1916, the same year Clarence Saunders opened his first Piggly Wiggly in Memphis. And according to our own Geoff Calkins, who recently attended her birthday party, “to say she is as sharp as a tack is disrespectful to tacks.” She remembers every presidential candidate she’s voted for, loves oysters and bloody marys at the Half Shell and sends texts from an iPhone. Calkins shares the simple secret to her longevity.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Emily LaForce painted a mural in honor of Jennifer Biggs at Elwood’s Shack on Park Avenue. (Chris Herrington/The Daily Memphian file)

Honoring Biggs: This is a fitting story for Dia de los Muertos. Megan Biggs, the daughter of The Daily Memphian’s beloved late dining editor Jennifer Biggs, is partnering with Memphis-based nonprofit The Kindness Revolution on a fundraiser in her honor for the West Cancer Foundation. Jennifer Biggs died on Aug. 16 from complications of stage 4 colon cancer, and the West Cancer Center provided her treatment for two months prior to her death. “They were phenomenal to work with, even when it was just absolutely terrible,” said Megan Biggs. Those who donate more than $35 before Nov. 3 will receive a T-shirt featuring artwork by Memphis artist and chef Emily LaForce, the artist who painted a mural in honor of Jennifer Biggs on the side of the new Elwood’s Shack.

Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley, left, and Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley in a scene from “Priscilla.” (Philippe Le Sourd/A24 via AP file)

Priscilla’s moment: This weekend, writer-director Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” opens in theaters, just over a year since Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” debut. The film is based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me,” and it’s already garnered accolades from its Venice Film Festival debut. Elvis has been the topic of plenty of TV shows and movies, but this is the first Priscilla film. “We were surprised by how little we knew about her as half of such a famous couple. … This is a moment in our culture where people are open to women’s stories a little bit more,” said Coppola. Our own movie buff Chris Herrington talks to Coppola about how the film came to be, Priscilla’s role in its creation and how it addresses the more problematic parts of Elvis’ past.

Anita Baker will perform at FedExForum in November. (Erik Kabik Photography/ MediaPunch /IPX/ AP file)

Must-see music: November brings big names and emerging stars to the stage, and our own Elle Perry has narrowed down her top five must-see shows for the month. Among them is a solo show from Brittany Howard of Grammy-winning, blues-rock band Alabama Shakes at Minglewood Hall. And great news for Bally Sports subscribers: That Anita Baker concert we’ve been hearing about since last winter is finally happening. If you know, you know. 

Memphis Tigers’ Anne-Valerie Seto during an August game versus Ohio State. The top-seeded women’s soccer team won their 13th consecutive match and will advance to play in the AAC semifinal on Thursday. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian file)

Lucky No. 13: The Memphis Tigers women’s soccer team, which has been steadily winning games through its regular season, came from behind on Tuesday to win, 2-1, against UAB in the AAC quarterfinal match. That makes the 13th game in a row that the Tigers have won. But this one didn’t come easy, as the Tiger trailed behind until the game’s 61st minute. In news about the other kind of football, our own Frank Bonner II examines how the Tigers team has managed its best road record since Ryan Silverfield took the head coaching job and what issues they still need to fix.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Got milk? Injured Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams does. He’s starring in a new commercial for New Zealand dairy company Meadow Fresh, during which he swats basketball shots away from children. Watch it here for a laugh.

Steven Adams stars in a new milk commercial for New Zealand’s Meadow Fresh. (Screenshot)

Our own Drew Hill talked to Adams’ teammates, none of whom had seen the commercial yet. But Ziaire Williams wasn’t surprised: “Bro, he has cows ... I know for a fact he milks cows during the summer though, for sure.”

Forget Aquamane. Just call him the Milk Mane. And I’ll leave y’all with that.

.....