Howdy, Greater Memphis metro. It’s Tuesday, April 30, which is apparently an ideal day for civic engagement. Both the City of Memphis and DeSoto County have town hall meetings scheduled this evening.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young is hosting a “One Memphis” meeting at the Orange Mound Community Center (details at the end of this article), and DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle will hold a town hall at Compel Church in Southaven.

THE NEED TO KNOW

The Memphis Police Department responded to an officer-involved shooting on Poplar Avenue on Feb. 2, 2023. The police union and the City of Memphis are fighting over a new police rank. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

MPD sergeants want to join suit: More than 70 Memphis Police Department sergeants who would be eligible to move up to the lieutenant rank are asking to join a Memphis Police Association lawsuit against the City of Memphis. The police union sued the city last week over the MPD’s new second-lieutenant rank, which the MPA’s filing says negatively impacts other officers’ promotional rights. An arbitrator ruled in March that the city had violated an agreement with the police union when it created the new rank, and it ordered the city to restore all newly promoted second lieutenants to their previous ranks. But the city then filed a lawsuit to vacate the arbitrator’s ruling. 

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office was on the scene of an officer-involved shooting that occurred Friday in the 3100 block of Barron Avenue near Orange Mound on April 26. (Julia Baker/The Daily Memphian)

Charges in connection with SCSO shooting: Three men — Willie Hampton, 38; Quentavious Johnson, 26; and Christian Mull, 30 — are facing multiple felony drug and gun charges in connection with an Orange Mound narcotics search on Friday that left 30-year-old James Q. Hampton dead. According to the SCSO, deputies shot Hampton as he sped toward them in a vehicle. The others who were charged posted bond and were released from jail over the weekend. 

Defendant Gregory Livingston (left) stood during a preliminary hearing in Judge Louis Montesi’s courtroom on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Jury duty: Fourteen possible jurors were selected to serve for Gregory Livingston’s first-degree murder trial on Monday. Livingston is a former security guard who is charged with killing Chicago resident Alvin Motley Jr. at an East Memphis Kroger gas station in 2021. The shooting allegedly occurred after the two argued over loud music coming from Motley’s girlfriend’s vehicle. Opening statements are scheduled for today.

Yehuda Netanel’s efforts to save The Lake District project from bankruptcy have failed, according to Lakeland’s mayor. (Jim Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

The Lake District foreclosure back on: It looks like the troubled Lake District mixed-use project in Lakeland will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on May 13. A foreclosure sale was scheduled for today, but last week, a judge gave developer Yehuda Netanel one last chance to acquire funding and settle with lender TIG Romspen. That effort fell short, according to Lakeland Mayor Josh Roman, who says Netanel is now blaming him for his inability to get funding. Netanel, by the way, claims there will be no foreclosure sale.

A solar farm planned near Millington is moving forward despite a Shelby County Commission vote against it. (The Daily Memphian file)

Sun not setting on solar farm: A controversial solar farm near Millington is moving forward, thanks to an out-of-court settlement. The Shelby County Commission previously voted against Graceland Solar’s application, and the project spurred a moratorium on large-scale solar projects. During the moratorium, the county is working to update its zoning regulations for solar farms. The farm will generate enough energy to power 24,000 homes, and Facebook’s parent company plans to buy part of the land to power its data center in Gallatin, Tennessee. 

QUOTED

“This legislative session was yet another where we continued to lose freedoms with regard to ... our reproductive rights.”

— Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi
Leaders at the local Planned Parenthood are considering a legal challenge against the recently passed “abortion trafficking” bill, which makes it a crime for an adult to help a minor get an abortion without parental consent. The bill is awaiting Gov. Bill Lee’s signature.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Vice & Virtue will close its shop in Arrive Hotel today. (The Daily Memphian file)

Arrivals and departures: Vice & Virtue Coffee, the micro-batch coffee roaster that runs a shop in Downtown’s Arrive Hotel, will end operations of the shop today and its North Hollywood Street roastery on Friday. The owners cited a challenging economy, post-COVID-19, for the closure. Arrive will incorporate the coffee shop under its Hustle and Dough bakery on Wednesday. But when one coffee pot empties, another fills: Food writer Joshua Carlucci introduces us to the new-ish Aldar Cafe, Memphis’ first Yemeni coffee shop and bakery, which serves different types of traditional coffee drinks for morning, noon and night.

From Jackson to Memphis: West Tennessee Legal Services, which is based out of Jackson, Tennessee, is looking for Memphis office space and attorneys as it prepares to become the local federally funded agency providing legal care for people living below the poverty rate. Memphis Area Legal Services, which has served that role here since the late 1960s, is losing its federal funding on June 30 after a drop in cases and other inefficiencies. The MALS board has said it will continue to serve clients without federal funds, but WTLS is planning to open an office here by July 1.

SmokeSlam will take place at Tom Lee Park from May 16-18. (Ziggy Mack/The Daily Memphian file)

Know before you go to SmokeSlam: The biggest Memphis barbecue weekend that ever barbecued is coming very soon. The new SmokeSlam BBQ Festival in Tom Lee Park is scheduled for May 16-18, and the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest in Liberty Park is May 15-18. Our new Battle of the Barbecue newsletter series previews both fests and includes recipes, interviews with barbecue judges and more, and the first edition — a SmokeSlam preview — dropped on Monday. Read on to learn how to eat ’cue the new fest, even if you don’t know someone on a team. 

East forward Jayden Quaintance drove past West center Flory Bidunga on his way to score during the fourth quarter of the McDonald’s All-American boys' basketball game on April 2, in Houston. (Kevin M. Cox/AP file)

Quaintance ain’t us: High school basketball recruit Jayden Quaintance will not be a Memphis Tiger. The 16-year-old Class of 2024 five-star center was considering Memphis and Louisville, but he ultimately committed to Arizona State on Monday. Quaintance was scheduled to visit the University of Memphis campus last weekend, but the Tigers opted to postpone his trip.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Got burning questions about potholes or Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s proposed property-tax hike? Here are the deets for tonight’s “One Memphis” town hall meeting with Memphis Mayor Paul Young. (And scratch out the “tomorrow”; this post was shared by the city on Monday.)

Enjoy the sunshine today! And hey, tomorrow, it’s gonna be May.

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