Howdy friends, and happy Tuesday. It’s May 7, and the Memphis City Council meets today. They could take the first of three votes on a solid-waste fee hike if Memphis Mayor Paul Young gets his way. He’s requested to add the first vote to Tuesday’s agenda.

THE NEED TO KNOW

“Ms. Halbert’s monthly reports are consistently inaccurate with collected dollar amounts not added properly,” according to a petition filed Monday to remove the Shelby County Clerk (pictured) from office. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Petition filed to remove Halbert: Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert could lose her position after Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp filed a petition on Monday to remove her from office. Wamp’s office has been investigating Halbert’s office for months, and the petition claims she’s provided inaccurate financial collections for Shelby County, making it difficult for the government to function. It also noted that delays in car titles and tags from the clerk’s office has led to a loss of business for car dealerships. The petition, which seeks her immediate suspension from office, gives Halbert 20 days to answer. She’ll have the right to a trial by jury. 

And in other Halbert news … Two resolutions that would have given pay raises to Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert’s staff and new technology for her office were withdrawn from the County Commission’s agenda after a petition was filed to remove Halbert from office. And in more County Commission news, the body approved a new set of rules for large solar farms on Monday. The rule changes, which includes a special permitting process for solar arrays of more than 20 acres, came after a residential opposition to a proposed 1,500-acre, utility-scale solar farm near Millington. That farm, which is moving ahead, will generate 150 megawatts of solar power, and two-thirds of that will go to Facebook’s parent company. 

A new federal rule updates what many called the “gun show loophole” by ensuring that almost all sellers must have a federal firearms license — and therefore conduct background checks on all gun buyers. (Philip Kamrass/AP file)

Gun down? A new rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (better known as the ATF) would require firearms dealers to have a federal license and conduct background checks. Currently, gun show sellers and online dealers aren’t required to have a license, and the new rule could limit gun access. It’s set to go into effect later this month, and it has the support of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission. But a group of 21 state attorneys general, including Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti, have filed a lawsuit to overturn the rule, claiming it would limit “innocent firearms sales” between friends. 

A grand jury indicted Joel Bowman for a shooting at Margolin Hebrew Academy last summer. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Grand jury indicts Margolin suspect: Joel Bowman, the man accused in a summer 2023 shooting at Margolin Hebrew Academy in East Memphis, was indicted by a grand jury on April 25. That was four days before he posted a $100,000 bail for the shooting and a separate aggravated burglary charge. Bowman was indicted for attempted second-degree murder and several other charges in the shooting.

MEET MEMPHIS

Desmond Lewis is planning a South Memphis metals studio. (Ziggy Mack/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Metal artist Desmond Lewis splits his time between Memphis and New Haven, Connecticut, where he serves on the sculpture faculty at Yale University’s School of Art. The Nashville native began working with metal during undergrad at Tennessee State University in 2014, and Lewis became immersed in the Metal Museum after moving to Memphis for grad school. “There are not many places in the U.S. [like Memphis] where the primary constituency of folks look like you but deeply care about our culture,” Lewis said. Next up, Lewis is planning to build a metalworking studio on land he recently purchased in South Memphis.

THE NICE TO KNOW

University of Memphis forward JJ Taylor is transferring to UCF. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Tigers coming and going: Memphis Tigers basketball forward JJ Taylor is transferring to UCF, where he’ll join former Memphis signee (and former high school teammate) Mikey Williams. But the football team picked up some new players from the NCAA transfer portal. On Monday, former Old Dominion offensive lineman Chris Adams announced his commitment. He’ll join a Memphis offensive line that lost three of its starters from last year. And over the weekend, the Tigers gained Oklahoma transfer defensive lineman Reggie Grimes II, and he’s expected to fill a void on the Memphis team. Former University of Massachusetts running back Greg Desrosiers also committed, adding more depth to the Tigers’ competitive running back lineup.

Joey Treadway

Tax man still won’t collect taxes: DeSoto County is turning to its state Supreme Court to help settle an ongoing dispute with the county’s tax collector Joey Treadway. Back in March 2023, Treadway told the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors that without a substantive pay rise, he would stop collecting city taxes. The supervisors approved a raise, but it wasn’t as much as Treadway was asking for, so he said he wouldn’t collect taxes this year. A complaint was filed to attempt to force him to do his job, but both judges in the case have recused themselves. 

Trezevant resident Martha Wood (left) took a break with Maria Garcia, Comfort Keepers’ full-time care coordinator. (Submitted)

Quick favors: In March, retirement community Trezevant Manor partnered with in-home care company Comfort Keepers to provide companion services, like help getting to doctor appointments or stocking the fridge, for its residents. Previously, Trezevant’s staff took care of those caregiver-companion services, but it struggled with the volume of care requests until Comfort Keepers stepped in. This week, Comfort Keepers is launching an additional pop-in service for Trezevant residents who just need about 15 minutes of care. Think plugging in a phone at night or delivering dinner.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

With Riverbeat Music Festival behind us, our attention now turns to barbecue. In just over a week, the smell of smoked pork will permeate Downtown and Cooper-Young as dueling barbecue contests get underway.

This week, our new weekly Battle of the Barbecue newsletter previewed the 46th annual Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (planned for May 15-18), and last week, we shared what you need to know before you go to the new SmokeSlam BBQ Festival (May 16-18). Sign up here to receive more barbecue news throughout the month.

Alright, now this vegan is craving some barbecue tofu for breakfast. Too early? 

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