Rise and shine, Memphis. It’s Wednesday, Dec. 13, and the EDGE board will vote today on a proposal to buy and refurbish the Sterick Building’s original garage as part of the historic building’s redevelopment.

And tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies play the Houston Rockets (and old friend-turned-foe Dillon Brooks) in the first of two back-to-back matches with the team. This one is an away game in Houston, and the next — on Friday — will be at FedExForum.

THE NEED TO KNOW

University of Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch (left) said on Tuesday, Dec. 12, that the U of M had sent stadium lease extensions to the United States Football League, Southern Heritage Classic and AutoZone Liberty Bowl. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

One step closer to the Big 12? The chair of the University of Memphis Board of Trustees said on Tuesday that planned renovations to the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium are already being noticed by the Big 12 Conference. And that’s exactly what the U of M wants in time for the next round of collegiate sports conference realignment. Next week, the Memphis City Council is set to vote on transferring ownership of the stadium to a U of M foundation as part of a deal that includes a $50 million gift toward renovations from FedEx founder Fred Smith. In other U of M news, the cost of housing is going up (much like everything these days, right?). Student housing will increase 3.5% for each of the next four years; the increase is intended to cover dorm maintenance and security.

Teniya Morant pointed to a map during her testimony at a hearing in Judge Carol Chumney’s civil court on Dec. 12. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Ja-suit, round two: On Tuesday, Ja Morant’s father (Tee Morant), sister (Teniya Morant) and friend (Davonte Pack) took the stand in the ongoing hearings over a civil lawsuit between Joshua Holloway, who currently plays basketball for Samford University, and the Memphis Grizzlies star. The lawsuit stems from an altercation between Ja Morant and Holloway at a pickup basketball game at Tee Morant’s home in summer 2022. During Tuesday’s hearings, which Ja Morant did not attend, Tee Morant said he didn’t witness the fight, but he said he tried to calm Holloway after it happened. Teniya Morant, however, described the fight in detail. She said she was the one who invited Holloway over, and she called his actions a “betrayal.” Pack, who is also being sued by Holloway for hitting him during the fight, said he didn’t see Ja Morant initially get hit, but he acted out what happened next for the court. Reporters Aarron Fleming and Drew Hill were on the scene Tuesday; follow their tweets from the day here. And you can catch up on Ja Morant’s testimony from Monday’s hearing here.

Lawyers for Michael Oher want author Michael Lewis to produce documents associated with Micheal Lewis’ book that inspired the film. They filed a subpoena Tuesday, Dec. 12, in Shelby County Probate Court. (Jason DeCrow/AP file)

‘Blind Side’ author pulled into fight: Author Michael Lewis, who wrote the 2006 book “The Blind Side,” has been subpoenaed by Michael Oher in the ongoing fight between himself and the Tuohy family. Lewis’ book inspired the 2009 film about the life of former Briarcrest football player Oher and his relationship with Memphis family Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy. Oher’s attorneys want Lewis to produce documents associated with his reporting of the story. Back in October, Lewis defended his book in a New York Times story, saying “I don’t think there’s a word in that book I would change.” Oher filed to dissolve a conservatorship controlled by the Tuohys in August and sought more money from the film.

Title X is back again: Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi has resumed Title X family planning services, such as free or low-cost birth control, STI testing and breast and cervical cancer screenings. That’s thanks to a $7 million grant made possible through a partnership between the local Planned Parenthood and a Virginia branch. Title X is the nation’s only federal program providing affordable birth control and other reproductive health care to low-income patients. But Tennessee was removed from the program earlier this year for noncompliance around pregnancy options counseling in the state, where abortion has been banned.

QUOTED

Tim Barker opened Edge Alley in 2017. Its final day was Sunday, Dec. 10. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

“There’s only so much I can charge for an avocado toast before somebody says, ‘You know, I can’t go there twice a week anymore.’”

— Edge Alley chef/owner Tim Barker
Barker closed his Edge District eatery last weekend on a high note after seven years in business. Barker said rising food and labor costs would have meant major changes in the restaurant had he opted to remain open. Instead, he’s working with others in the restaurant industry to find new jobs for his former staff of 17 workers.

THE NICE TO KNOW

The audience sang along to Moon Taxi’s performance at the Mempho Music Festival at the Memphis Botanic Gardens’ Radians Amphitheatre on Oct. 2, 2021. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Fresh beats: The new May music festival in Tom Lee Park from Mempho Presents will be called the Riverbeat Music Festival. (Not Mempho in May, as I’ve been calling it.) The name was announced on Mempho’s social media on Tuesday, along with a promise of a line-up reveal by early next year. The fest, scheduled for May 3-5, 2024, will feature a different kind of musical lineup from the fall’s scheduled Mempho Music Festival.

A Collierville Christmas carol: It seems someone at Collierville Schools had a little visit from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. After news broke last week that staff would not be getting Christmas bonuses this year, the school board reversed course last night at its board meeting, voting to give staff bonuses of up to $1,000 — twice the amount given last year. In other suburban school news, the Lakeland School System’s board voted this week to delay construction on its new central office by at least one year due to a few “financial unknowns,” in the words of Superintendent Ted Horrell. The board also approved a resolution urging the state to reject Gov. Bill Lee’s plan to expand private school vouchers statewide. 

These renderings show plans for Lester Community Center. (Submitted)

New in the Hamp: The City of Memphis broke ground on Tuesday on the new $19 million Lester Community Center in Binghampton. The old Lester center, now 43 years old, is among the most-used community and senior centers, and the city plans to keep it open as the new facility is under construction. Once complete, the new center will have a full gym with bleachers, multi-use rooms, a fitness area, a tech lab and an indoor walking track. There’s also potential for a new indoor aquatic center at Lester to replace the outdoor pool, but that project would fall under Memphis Mayor-elect Paul Young’s tenure if it happens. Meanwhile in Germantown, the suburb’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen accepted a six-acre gift of land on Monday that could be used for a potential future sportsplex.

“The data systems and different agencies need to be able to talk to each other,” said Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy. “They need to ... be able to pull data and come up with consistent, agreed-upon uniform ways of measuring things so we’re comparing apples to apples.” (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Dashboard confessional: The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office is developing a new public-facing data dashboard that will include information on the time it takes for cases to resolve, racial disparities in the criminal justice system and other metrics. The dashboard, which the DA’s office has been working on with the nonprofit Justice Innovation Lab, is expected to launch next spring. But at least one elected official is skeptical of JIL’s intentions. In other DA’s office news, Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy announced 12 more indictments in Operation Broken Bottles, a law enforcement effort targeting retail smash-and-grab burglaries.

With Ja Morant’s absence compounded by backcourt absences of Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard, Desmond Bane (center) has logged more than 34 minutes a night without missing a game. (Brandon Dill/AP file)

Bane, Bane! He’s our man! Win or (mostly) lose, Memphis Grizzlies center Desmond Bane has been the one consistent force on the team all season. He shows up with quiet confidence every game night, scoring more self-created baskets — rather than assisted — than ever before in his career. He’s logged more than 34 minutes a night without missing a game, taking nearly 20 shots a game. So, how does he do it? Those swole arms probably don’t hurt, but over the summer, Bane focused on his cardio. No matter how great Bane is playing though, the team is still losing more games than they’re winning, and Coach Taylor Jenkins says the “fans deserve better.”

Slice Midtown, formerly Little Italy Pizza, is the only remaining tenant in Kimbrough Center. (Courtesy Stonecrest Investments)

Kimbrough refresh: Midtown’s Kimbrough Center on Union Avenue is under renovation. The two-story, multi-tenant building was built in 1950 and is currently home to just one tenant: Slice Midtown (formerly Little Italy). The first floor has already been demolished to give the space a “clean slate,” according to Jason Polley, leasing agent with Stonecrest Investments. (By the way, this doesn’t include Kimbrough Liquors or the apartments above it; that’s a separate building.) In Inked, The Daily Memphian’s Sophia Surrett has more on Kimbrough’s re-do, as well as the scoop on a new retail store geared toward teachers.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

The Memphis Tigers are getting a mid-season boost from Nae’Qwan Tomlin. The former Kansas State forward committed to the Tigers on Tuesday morning and will join the program as a mid-season transfer. Now there’s speculation that Tomlin could take center Jordan Brown’s spot.

Have a happy hump day, and I’ll see you on the other side.

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