Welcome to mid-week, Memphis! It’s Wednesday, May 1, and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is expected to propose a raise for county employees when he presents his budget to the County Commission today.

Not getting a raise? At least you can get lots of free stuff — sushi, sandwiches, snow cones and booze — at the Strangewaze Wednesdaze happy hour at Health Sciences Park. And over in Olive Branch, you can party like it’s 1899 at the grand opening for the Ash’s Irish Pub, a new bar that’s designed with a late-1800s aesthetic.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Gregory Livingston (right) appeared on Tuesday, April 30, in court during his trial for the death of Alvin Motley Jr. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Livingston trial reveals details of shooting: Jurors viewed surveillance footage and heard 911 audio from the scene of a 2021 shooting at an East Memphis gas station on Tuesday. Former security guard Gregory Livingston is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of Chicago man Alvin Motley Jr. The shooting allegedly occurred after the two argued over loud music coming from Motley’s girlfriend’s vehicle. Livingston told the 911 operator that Motley was “combative and aggressive” and was “coming at me.” Motley’s girlfriend, who was driving the car that day, told jurors that Motley was legally blind and unable to see Livingston.

Shelby County Juvenile Court is now closed indefinitely for “emergency maintenance.” (The Daily Memphian file)

Court is closed: The Shelby County Juvenile Court will be closed “indefinitely,” after asbestos, mold and lead were discovered in the building. Since last Thursday, the court has been closed for “emergency maintenance.” Some work and court proceedings are being handled virtually, and other proceedings have been rescheduled. Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon hasn’t provided a timeline for reopening, but one asbestos abatement expert hinted that the process can take a good while.

“What I want you to understand, this is not ... about laying hundreds of people off,” said Memphis Shelby-County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Staff change is coming at MSCS: New Memphis Shelby-County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins said in a virtual meeting last week that staffing changes and pay cuts are on the way. That’s according to an anonymous video shared with The Daily Memphian. Feagins said mass layoffs aren’t expected but that some employees' job titles and salaries may change. She also suggested some employees could apply for vacant roles or open positions.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young spoke during a One Memphis town hall meeting at Orange Mound Community Center on Tuesday, April 30. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

‘My son was on that battlefield’: Jennifer Fason, whose son was one of two people killed in the April 20 shooting at an Orange Mound block party, spoke at Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s One Memphis town hall on Tuesday. She talked of going to the scene of the shooting and learning that her son, 22-year-old Chalmar Fason, was dead, and she told the crowd that Memphis is “at a war” against crime. Interim Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis also attended the forum and said police have identified 18 “persons of interest” in the shooting that killed two and wounded seven. Young also addressed his proposed property-tax hike and hinted the increase, if approved, could eventually be reduced.

QUOTED

“I want everybody to hear me out on this,” DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle said. “Memphis is not an adversary for us.” (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

“The most violent criminals trying to get into [DeSoto] County are not coming from Memphis.”

— DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle
In a town hall meeting on Tuesday night, Tuggle addressed the narrative being pushed by some DeSoto leaders that the county is under threat from Memphis spillover crime. Tuggle blamed residents from other parts of Mississippi, as well as unsupervised minors, for much of the crime.

THE NICE TO KNOW

University of Memphis forward David Jones tried to hype up the crowd during the second half of a March 3, 2024, game. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Mr. Jones and us: Memphis Tigers star David Jones could be back next season. Jones doesn’t plan to enter the NCAA transfer portal ahead of today’s deadline, but he has declared for the NBA Draft. That said, he’s got until the end of May to remove himself from the draft process, meaning he’d be a Tiger once again. Jones isn’t listed on any NBA mock drafts, but it seems some NBA teams are interested. In other basketball news, a Tigers legend from the 1980s is joining Coach Penny Hardaway’s coaching staff.

Newly transplanted cannabis cuttings grew in pots at Sira Naturals medical marijuana cultivation facility in Milford, Massachusetts. (Steven Senne/AP file)

Put this in your pipe and smoke it: State lawmakers from Memphis have high hopes (wink, wink) about the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s plan to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Currently, weed is lumped in with heroin and ecstasy as a Schedule I drug, but the decision would knock it down to Schedule III with ketamine and testosterone. State Sen. London Lamar and state Rep. Jesse Chism both applauded the move, which could open up further pathways to marijuana legalization.

“This fight was for clean air, clean water and clean soil for everybody who lives here,” said KeShaun Pearson (middle), president of Memphis Community Against Pollution. (Keely Brewer/The Daily Memphian)

The last emission: Tuesday marked the last day of business for Sterilization Services of Tennessee in South Memphis. The facility had been emitting cancer-causing ethylene oxide, or EtO, into the air for decades. The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that EtO was more toxic than was previously realized, and Sterilization Services' sister companies in other states voluntarily lowered their emissions. The Memphis facility instead opted to close when its lease expired. On Tuesday, the community that lived around Sterilization Services gathered to celebrate the closure, and they they remembered one woman, who fought against the company until her death last weekend. 

The City of Germantown must pay Shelby County $5 million over six years to transfer ownership of Germantown Elementary and Germantown Middle to the suburb’s school district. (The Daily Memphian file)

What’s in Germantown’s budget? Germantown leaders will soon consider nearly $13 million in capital improvements as part of its budget. That includes an $833,000 payment to Shelby County as part of the agreement to transfer Germantown Elementary and Middle schools to the suburb, $50,000 for decorative street signs and nearly $3 million for park improvements that include new bathrooms for Cameron Brown Park’s pickleball courts. The Daily Memphian’s Abigail Warren has a breakdown of all the projects in the budget.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

If you (like me) are one of the unfortunate Memphis residents who live in an area with no fiber internet access, this should brighten your day. Memphis leaders marked the start of a plan to expand fiber broadband across 85% of the city during a groundbreaking at Willow Park on Thursday. Don’t get too excited for faster internet yet though: The buildout of the basic network could take five to seven years.

Here’s hoping you have a great day (with speedy internet!).

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