Morning is dawning, and you may be yawning. But as you pour a cup of joe and get ready to go, The Early Word will make sure you’re in the know. It’s Thursday, March 21, World Poetry Day, and that’s the best I can do. Sorry, but this is why I write morning news columns and not chapbooks. 

In other (sort of) literary news, today’s annual Methodist Mental Health Breakfast will bring Samwise Gamgee from the “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy to Memphis — or, at least the guy who played him on TV. That’s actor Sean Astin, who also played Mikey Walsh in “The Goonies.”

THE NEED TO KNOW

Protesters gathered before Kyle Rittenhouse spoke at the Maxine A. Smith University Center theater at the University of Memphis on March 20. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Rittenhouse talk ends early: Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three people and killed two during a Black Lives Matter march in 2020, ended his planned talk at the University of Memphis after only about 30 minutes. He left the stage abruptly at 7:45 p.m. — accompanied by his emotional support dog and a guard dog — after a student asked him to comment on whether language used by the founder of the talk’s organizer was hate speech. Rittenhouse responded that he wouldn’t comment on that, and the crowd roared in disapproval. His opening remarks were also shouted down, and many of his Q&A answers were barely audible above shouts and jeers.

Nate Guyton of Memphis Light Gas and Water installed a smart meter on a house in the Cooper-Young area. (The Daily Memphian file)

Smart meters, still dumb: Remember in the fall of 2022 when Memphis Light, Gas and Water’s smart meters were breaking at a rate faster than they could replace them? Well, the utility thought they had the problem fixed with the gas smart meters after replacing a faulty part, but it turns out, that part wasn’t the root problem. The water smart meters are breaking, too, and that’s due to a whole other issue. So, MLGW is once again on a mission to fix the smart meters. And that’s not even the only problem: Broken meters won’t log how much electricity a customer uses, so some people are getting those $0 utility bills again. 

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee Kevin Ritz has been nominated for a federal judgeship. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

The Ritz factor: Kevin Ritz, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, was nominated for a federal judgeship by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. Ritz’s nomination for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit role comes after the retirement of former Judge Bernice Donald and after Judge Julia S. Gibbons announced she would assume senior status on the court.

Andrew Silvernail is the new CEO at International Paper. (Courtesy International Paper)

New CEO at IP: Andrew Silvernail has been tapped as the new CEO of Memphis-based International Paper, and he’ll start on May 1. Silvernail comes from the manufacturing and technology sector and was most recently the executive advisor for global investment firm KKR & Co.

MEET MEMPHIS

Josh Greer and daughter Marley

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital employee Josh Greer will walk the equivalent of a marathon around Memphis today. He should already be going, in fact, as he had plans to start at Big River Crossing at 5:30 a.m. From there, Greer will stop at hotspots across Downtown, including the National Civil Rights Museum, FedExForum and the Peabody Memphis (just in time for the duck march). It’s something he does every year on World Down Syndrome Day (March 21) to raise funds for the Down Syndrome Association of Memphis and the Mid-South, and The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins has details on how you can join in.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Terrace at the River Inn’s new menu will feature Korean BBQ chicken wings. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Where to get wings: Terrace at the River Inn in Harbor Town is rolling out a new menu that includes lighter fare, vegetarian options and two new types of wings. But never fear, pimento cheese ball fans: Those staples and several others from Terrace’s old menu are here to stay. Next up are menu changes at The River Inn’s other eateries, Paulette’s and Tug’s.

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins gestured during the first half of the game against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, March 20, in San Francisco. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP)

The Jackson Two: The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, 137-116. But it wasn’t really a fair fight, with the Warriors boasting a fully healthy roster. The Grizzlies’ two Jacksons had a good night though: GG Jackson set new career highs with 35 points and seven made 3-pointers, and Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points. One of the game’s highlights (lowlights?) wasn’t even part of the game: Coach Taylor Jenkins got pushed to the floor after a shoving match between the Warriors’ Draymond Green and Desmond Bane. That came after officials ignored a mid-game confrontation between Green and Santi Aldama. In his Grizz column today, our own Chris Herrington gazes into the team’s future this week as he considers how they’ll fill the Steven Adams/Xavier Tillman Sr.-sized hole left behind when the two centers were traded earlier this year. (The Grizzlies can never fill the Adams/Tillman hole in my heart.)

Nigel Lewis, an attorney supervisor in the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office, died on Tuesday, March 19. (Courtesy Alexus Lewis)

Remembering Nigel Lewis: Local public defender Nigel Lewis, 49, died on Tuesday after a short cancer battle. Lewis worked in the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office for 14 years and handled clients charged with the most serious felonies. “He loved people, he loved community, he loved justice,” said Lewis’ friend Carlissa Shaw. When he wasn’t working, Lewis was a big Phish Phan.

Southaven may charge businesses $1,000 for nuisances to alleviate the strain on the Southaven Police Department. “Our police right now, on a weekend, are stretched thin,” Mayor Darren Musselwhite said. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Party poopers? Southaven businesses could soon face $1,000 fines if things get too rowdy on their properties. The suburb’s Board of Aldermen discussed expanding its “house party ordinance” to include commercial businesses, and if approved, businesses would be fined if they’re found guilty of causing a nuisance three times in a calendar year. Mayor Darren Musselwhite said the increase in restaurants has led to more problems in parking lots. “I’ve seen tailgate parties. I’ve seen illegal drug use. I’ve seen urination,” he said. Should the new rules be approved, there is one way businesses could avoid the fine. In other news, Southaven may be trying to stop parking lot parties, but they’re bringing the pickleball party with a nearly $3 million expansion of Snowden Grove Tennis Complex.

Scott Smith, CEO of Saint Francis-Memphis, offered remarks during a ribbon cutting for the hospital’s newly renovated and expanded cath lab. (Courtesy Tenet Healthcare)

For your health: Saint Francis Hospital has completed a $2.5 million renovation of its cardiac catheterization lab, which increases the hospital’s capacity for heart disease care. And in Soulsville, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is rolling out a new community health clinic that will offer health screenings, tobacco cessation and diabetes care. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Hot Girl Summer is coming. Literally. Grammy-award winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion just announced tour dates for her “Hot Girl Summer Tour" with Memphis rapper GloRilla. And they’ll be in Memphis on May 30.

Of course, we’re barely into Cool Girl Spring at this point, but save that date. And I’ll see you tomorrow.

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