Hi-de-ho, Shelby County. It’s Thursday, May 2, and the Lakeland Board of Commissioners will vote on tighter restrictions for future hotels and motels. The move comes after the suburb demolished two hotels that had become crime hotspots.

Tonight, the Malco Paradiso will screen “Ordaining Women for 50 Years: The Philadelphia Eleven,” a documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s ordination in the Episcopal Church. Memphis is one of only 11 cities (clever!) nationwide selected for a one-night-only screening.

And one last thing: May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and we’ve got a look at ways to celebrate. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert put in a late funding request for new technology and for pay raises to some employees in her office. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

‘Asinine’ request? Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert asked the County Commission on Wednesday for more than $2 million for new technology and pay raises for some of her employees. But her requests, which came on the same day of Mayor Lee Harris' budget proposal, were a little late. The county’s budget director said countywide elected leaders had until the end of March to submit funding requests, and the county’s human-resources director called Halbert’s asks “asinine.” In related news, Harris’ presented his $1.6 billion county consolidated budget, and he’s not proposing any county property-tax hike. That’s just a week after Memphis Mayor Paul Young proposed a 75-cent property-tax increase in his city budget. 

Pattie Gardner

Fired basketball coach alleges racism: After two seasons and one of the best finishes in school history this season, Collierville girls high school basketball Coach Pattie Gardner has been fired. And Gardner is alleging racism was behind the school’s decision. Gardner, who is white, claims the problems started when her Black assistant coach was fired. And then last week, Gardner learned her contract would not be renewed. In other Collierville Schools news, the district’s proposed budget includes holiday bonuses (which almost didn’t happen last year) and higher pay for teachers. And in other education budget news, Memphis-Shelby County Schools teachers will get a pay bump, too.

Gregory Livingston, right, appeared in court during his murder trial for the killing of Alvin Motley Jr. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

More from the Livingston trial: On Wednesday, jurors in the murder trial of former security guard Gregory Livingston heard from six witnesses to his alleged 2021 shooting of Alvin Motley Jr. at an East Memphis Kroger gas station. Livingston allegedly shot and killed Motley during an argument over loud music coming from Motley’s girlfriend’s car. One woman, who said she saw an argument between Livingston and Motley, said she was “shocked” by the shooting “because I didn’t think the argument was that serious.” Another witness said Livingston told him that he’d killed people before. A medical examiner also testified that Motley had drugs and alcohol in his system.

The former Commercial Appeal building at 495 Union Ave. is one of the temporary sites that Shelby County Juvenile Court is considering to hear in-person dockets. (The Daily Memphian files)

Court Appeal? The old Commercial Appeal building on Union Avenue could temporarily become the Shelby County Juvenile Court. The court is closed indefinitely while asbestos, mold and lead are abated, and there’s no timeline for when the building can reopen. Now the court is considering the old CA building or a courtroom at 201 Poplar to hear in-person dockets.

QUOTED

Jeff Crane is the interim athletic director for the University of Memphis. (Courtesy University of Memphis)

“I’m absolutely interested in the opportunity to be the athletics director here. ... But it’s not something I’m spending a lot of my time on.”

— Jeff Crane, interim University of Memphis athletic director
Crane was elevated from senior deputy athletic director to interim AD last week after former AD Laird Veatch left for a job at the University of Missouri. Crane sat down with our own Parth Upadhyaya to discuss the stadium renovations, NIL and how he’s balancing his own candidacy for the permanent AD job with the work on his plate.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Gabrielle Rose is the oldest swimmer to qualify for the U.S. Olympic trials. (Courtesy Gabrielle Rose)

From a Memphis pool to the Olympic trials: This summer, Gabrielle Rose, who at age 46 is the oldest swimmer on record to ever qualify for the U.S. Olympic trials, will compete in the Paris trials. That’s two decades after her devastating finish at the 2004 trials. And turns out a recent Memphis pool project gave her the inspiration to try again. Rose is the daughter of Mike Rose, the late Memphis businessman and University of Memphis booster, and before he died of cancer in 2017, he tapped his daughter to oversee the development of the Mike Rose Aquatics Center. Our own Geoff Calkins shares how that project helped Rose get her groove back.

Off the air: It’s a good thing the Memphis Grizzlies’ season is over, because Comcast/Xfinity customers can no longer access Bally Sports Southeast. That’s after Comcast failed to reach a new agreement with Diamond Sports Group, Bally’s parent company. Bally Sports is still available in other ways and through its app, and there’s hope that NBA games could be available on Amazon Prime next season. 

“He had amazing talent as an actor and as a human being. He combined those two things, which made everything he’s done on stage so believable,” Leonid Mazor said of Thay Floyd, a former Germantown High theater student. (Submitted)

Local Broadway star found dead: Former Germantown High School standout Thay Floyd, who went on to a career on Broadway, was found dead in New York City. Floyd graduated from GHS in 1998 and earned a degree in musical theater at New York University Tisch School of the Arts before going on to roles in “Waitress: the Musical” and others on Broadway. Frank Bluestein, founder and chairman of the GHS fine arts department, remembered Floyd as a “triple threat” who could sing, dance and act.

Jelly Roll will perform on Sunday of the Riverbeat Music Festival. (Chris Pizzello/AP file)

Riverbeat goes on: For the first time since the pandemic, there will be no Beale Street Music Festival this year. Instead, Mempho’s new Riverbeat Music Festival will take over Tom Lee Park from Friday, May 3, to Sunday, May 5. Much like Mempho’s fall music fest, Riverbeat will alternate set times at the main stages to reduce noise bleed and encourage the crowds to move between stages. But will audiences want to alternate from indie rock to EDM or from rap to country? That remains to be seen, and our own Chris Herrington has thoughts, plus a rundown of the fest’s must-see acts.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Something about that water in other cities just doesn’t taste right, y’all.

Stay hydrated, and have a great day!

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