Who’s ready for March Madness? It’s Friday, March 22, and there are four NCAA Tournament first-round games at FedExForum today. (Of course, none of those games involve the Memphis Tigers after their season ended too soon.) If you’re heading Downtown to watch the games in person, our guide on what to do and where to eat may come in handy.

If NBA basketball is more your speed (I’m with you), stay home and watch the Memphis Grizzlies play the San Antonio Spurs on TV tonight. Or you can skip the sports altogether and catch the opening of “Project Runway” winner/tuxedo dress creator Christian Siriano’s new fashion exhibition at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

On Saturday, try to beat Tony Allen and other former Grizz stars in a 3-point contest on Beale. Or take in the spring blooms at the Memphis Botanic Garden’s Cherry Blossom Picnic. Later that night, you can see classic rock gods ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Landers Center. (Finally an appropriate chance to scream “Play some Skynyrd!” in a concert.) And on Sunday, the NCAA tourney is back on at FedExForum with to-be-determined second-round match-ups.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Developer Tom Intrator’s Pinch District development, shown here in a rendering, is probably not happening. (Courtesy designshop/LRK Inc.)

Tom Intrator tea: Developer Tom Intrator, who once promised to build skyscrapers in the Pinch District, has listed his Pinch properties for sale. That’s after almost no action in five years toward his planned $1 billion revitalization project in the Pinch. The plan, which received a 30-year tax incentive in 2019, was supposed to include two hotels, apartments, office space and more. There’s no word on what this means for Intrator’s other Downtown plans, including his proposed Dream Hotel in the old Royal Furniture building.

Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower’s office released a nine-page report revealing Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert’s office “lacks an understanding of its software system.” (Mark Humphrey/AP file)

Halbert may need an IT training sesh: The Shelby County Clerk’s office doesn’t understand how to use its software for reporting revenue, according to the Tennessee comptroller’s audit team. The team spent time in Clerk Wanda Halbert’s office in early March, helping her reconcile incorrect revenue reports that didn’t accurately reflect the county’s new $25 wheel-tax hike. Though Halbert had blamed the software for being out of date, the audit team found nothing wrong with the it and suggested her office “reach out to the vendor” to learn how to use the software. The team also discovered that Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris wasn’t wrong when he claimed Halbert wasn’t signing her own paperwork.

Memphis International Airport is upgrading technology in its parking spaces. (Jim Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Dude, where’s your car? If you’ve parked at Memphis International Airport lately, you’ve no doubt noticed an increase in fees. That money — which comes to about $300,000 a month in total — is going toward improvements in the parking areas, including new LED signage that will let visitors know exactly how many parking spots are open and where they are. The upgrades will also include technology that may help you find your car when, after a long vacay followed by a delayed flight, you’re barely able to make the trek from baggage claim to the garage, much less locate your vehicle. (I’m speaking from experience here, and it seems the lost-car-in-the-airport-garage problem is far more common than you might think.)

Country music star Luke Bryan spoke during a bill-signing ceremony with Gov. Bill Lee, right, on Thursday, March 21, in Nashville. The legislation is designed to protect music industry professionals against AI. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

Score one against the AI overlords: Tennessee is taking some first steps in preventing AI from taking over the human race — or, well, at least from taking over real music. On Thursday, Tennessee became the first state to sign off on protections for songwriters, performers and other music industry professionals against AI. The bill, which goes into effect on July 1, should ensure that AI tools can’t replicate an artist’s voice without their consent. 

QUOTED

“No one expected much [from FedEx] this quarter. And they came through, showing signs of traction with their cost-saving program.”

— Mark Cronin, HighlandCapital Management
Cronin commented on FedEx’s third-quarter earnings, released on Thursday, which were slightly improved over the shipping giant’s last quarter. That’s due to severe cost-cutting measures designed to take $4 billion in expenses out of the network by next May. Speaking of cuts, FedEx laid off an undisclosed number of workers around the world.

THE NICE TO KNOW

The Kinfolk menu is breakfast-oriented, expanding off the pop-up’s centerpieces, big biscuit sandwiches and breakfast platters. (Jordan Finney/Courtesy Kinfolk)

‘Refined Waffle House’: Kinfolk, the popular breakfast pop-up from Chef Cole Jeanes best known for its cathead-style biscuits, is finally opening its long-awaited brick-and-mortar in Harbor Town. Jeanes describes it as a “refined Waffle House,” so you’ll find playful takes on fast-food breakfast items, like the Waffle House “MVP” or McDonald’s “Big Breakfast.” And if you detect a hint of Japanese influence on the menu, there’s a reason for that.

Christopher Beavers is the executive chef for Courtside Grill. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

Here’s the nitty-gritty: Not only did Coach Penny Hardaway end the Memphis Tigers season on a low note, his name is also coming off a Downtown restaurant. Penny’s Nitty Gritty inside the Westin hotel Downtown is rebranding as Courtside Grill and rolling out a new menu. But before you go thinking the Tigers’ bad luck and the rebrand are related, know that the real issue seems to be a problem with the restaurant group behind Penny’s namesake eatery. And in this week’s $10 Deal, food writer Joshua Carlucci tells us where to find fresh and consistent sushi on a budget.

The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to appeal a Tennessee Court of Appeals ruling in a zoning dispute with property owned by Trip Trezevant (pictured). (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Bringin’ up old stuff: The City of Germantown wants the Tennessee Court of Appeals to reconsider a ruling in a 2005 lawsuit. Trezevant Enterprises, the company behind Trip’s Nurseries on Poplar Avenue, sued the city in a 2005 zoning dispute after city officials told nursery owner Trip Trezevant that he couldn’t build new offices on the land where his existing business office was. Germantown lost that fight last month, nearly two decades later, and now the Board of Mayor and Aldermen has voted to appeal the decision.

“I think this was needed for a very long time,” student Marian Jamora (not pictured) said. “To finally have a building that represents what we stand for is just amazing.” (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Art kids finally get their due: It’s a good time to be an art kid in Arlington. That’s because Arlington High School unveiled a new $8.5 million fine-arts wing this week. The new band room is double the size of the old one, and there’s new screen-printing equipment, a kiln room and a new stage for the theater students, among other updates. “Nothing in our past had ever been done with fine arts,” said AHS Superintendent Jeff Mayo.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

With the NCAA Tournament in town this weekend, expect things to get a little weird. Case in point: the Chuck Blimp, a massive flying object emblazoned with an image of basketball star Charles Barkley.

Go sports! And have a great weekend!

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