Happy Tuesday, Memphis. It’s April 23, and Memphis Mayor Paul Young is expected to propose that property-tax increase we’ve been hearing so much about at today’s Memphis City Council meeting. That’ll come as Young presents his first city budget as mayor.

A bill that would allow voters to amend the state constitution and give judges the authority to deny bail to defendants accused of a host of crimes is scheduled for a final reading in the state House today.

And at the Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, members will vote on the by-laws for the YMCA Advisory Board, the new oversight committee created after the YMCA took over operations at the city-run Bartlett rec center.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Shelby County Circuit Judge Carol Chumney granted Ja Morant temporary immunity from a lawsuit against him over a fight at a basketball game. (Brandon Dill/AP file)

Ja-suit delayed: The lawsuit between Memphis Grizzlies star and former high-school basketball player Joshua Holloway has been delayed indefinitely. Holloway was suing Morant for punching him during a pickup basketball game in July 2022, but the scheduled trial was canceled on Monday just 15 minutes before it was supposed to start. Holloway’s attorneys have filed a joint motion to withdraw as counsel. Earlier this month, Shelby County Circuit Judge Carol Chumney ruled that Morant had “fairly raised” the issue of self defense.

University of Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch announced on Tuesday, April 22, he will be leaving Memphis to go work for the University of Missouri. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Veatch out: University of Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch is leaving the Tigers for an AD position at the University of Missouri. Veatch has been Memphis athletic director since the fall of 2019, but he spent a number of years working at the Missouri school before his time here. The Daily Memphian’s Tim Buckley offers a list of Veatch’s possible successors. In other Tigers news, the men’s basketball team landed some new players on Monday: former Texas point guard Tyrese Hunter and former George Mason point guard Baraka Okojie. In women’s basketball news, Coach Alex Simmons had high praise for FedEx on Monday after the Memphis-based shipping giant committed $25 million to the U of M’s name, image and likeness (NIL) funds.

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert is being asked to come up with a plan to correct problems with her office. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Woman with a plan? The Shelby County Commission passed a resolution on Monday asking Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert to develop a plan to remedy the problems found during a Tennessee Comptroller’s audit of her office. The audit came after Halbert posted inaccurate and late revenue reports. But the resolution that passed Monday is non-binding, and one commissioner suspects Halbert won’t follow it. In other commission news, members approved changes to the county’s rules on where large solar farms can be built.

Gov. Bill Lee campaigned on the voucher concept in 2018 and 2022. (George Walker IV/AP file)

Voucher plan is dead, FedExForum funding is alive: Gov. Bill Lee’s plan to expand school vouchers statewide has failed and won’t return before the end of the legislative session. The voucher program, which allows families to pay for private schools with public money, already exists in Shelby, Davidson and Hamilton counties. And if passed, Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act would have granted vouchers to 20,000 students across the state for the 2024-25 academic year, and that would have been expanded to universal eligibility in 2025-26. Though the plan is dead for now, there’s a chance we could be hearing about this again in 2025. In other General Assembly news, a bill that would reallocate local hotel-motel tax to fund FedExForum renovations is headed to Lee’s desk for a signature. Now, it’s up to city and county governments to make the next move.

QUOTED

“Freedom to open carry ... don’t mean go to block parties and open fire and let out 400 rounds.”

— Keith Leachman, founder of Stop the Killing Cut the Beef Community Development
Leachman addressed last Saturday’s Orange Mound Park block party shooting, which killed two people and injured seven others. Leachman knew one of the two killed, 17-year-old Antonio Humphrey. And he blamed Tennessee’s relaxed gun laws for some of the violence that happens in the city. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

Cole Jeanes, left, Harrison Downing, center, and Schuyler O’Brien, right, are affectionately known around Memphis as the “Patty Daddys,” or the masterminds behind the local burger pop-up, Secret Smash Society. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Good times to come at Hard Times: The trio of local chefs behind burger pop-up Secret Smash Society are preparing to open a new blue-collar-inspired cafe, called the Hard Times Deli, in the Edge District. The eatery is the brainchild of Harrison Downing, Schuyler O’Brien and Cole Jeanes (who just separately opened Kinfolk in Harbor Town), and it’ll feature stepped-up versions of the kind of trashy food you might crave at 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Think McDonald’s cheeseburgers but made with locally grown beef and prepared by a real chef. 

Members of the Memphis Police Department carried the casket of officer Joseph McKinney during his funeral on Monday, April 22, at Hope Presbyterian Church. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Remembering Rusty McKinney: Memphis police officer Joseph “Rusty” McKinney, who was killed in a shootout on April 12, was laid to rest on Monday. Longtime friend Caleb Edmondson recalled a lunch at Huey’s when McKinney told him he was dropping out of college to go work for the Memphis Police Department to support his fiancee and new daughter. During the service, family and friends remembered McKinney’s smile and his leadership. “He wasn’t just a good police officer. He was a good partner,” said Lt. Vonzell Bibbs, McKinney’s supervisor.

Cutting class: Chronic absenteeism from school is up across the U.S. when compared with the last pre-pandemic school year, 2018-19. Though Memphis-Shelby County Schools and DeSoto County Schools are seeing the largest number of absences, the problem extends to Shelby County’s suburban districts, too. In a four-part series, The Daily Memphian is diving into the causes of chronic absenteeism and what schools are doing about it. Today, our own Abigail Warren talks to suburban school leaders, who are trying everything from social workers to straight-up bribery (think free ice cream) to get kids to class. In other school related news, DeSoto County Schools has a new dress code. And sorry kids, you’ll need to leave your tiaras and balaclava helmets at home. 

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant celebrated after his slam dunk in the final seconds of overtime during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans on Dec. 26, 2023. (Gerald Herbert/AP file)

Grizzlies’ MVPs: On Monday, The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington published part one of a two-part column ranking the Memphis Grizzlies based on which players would be prioritized in a fictional NBA expansion draft. In that part, he listed the least valuable players from John Konchar (who he thinks the Grizzlies would love to move this summer if given the chance; sorry, Jitty) to Luke Kennard (whose salary could conflict with a future veteran big). In part two today, Herrington tells us which eight players are the most valuable and, thus, least likely to be traded.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

The term “malt liquor” probably brings you right back to college parties where the bathtub doubled as a beer cooler. But some breweries, including Memphis-based Grind City Brewing Co., are classing up the reputation of this typically cheap, high-alcohol beer. And a major publication — Men’s Journal — is taking notice.

To that I’ll raise you a Tiger Tail and say cheers. Later though; it’s too early for malt liquor on a week day.

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