Good morning, Memphis. It’s Wednesday, May 8, and today marks the 99th anniversary of Tom Lee’s rescue of 32 people on the Mississippi River south of Memphis after their boat capsized. And for the first time in many years, parts of Tom Lee Park will actually be open on the anniversary.

Also happening today: Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital will finally unveil the $95 million expansion it began three years ago. And tonight, the Memphis-based Blues Foundation will induct the 44th Blues Hall of Fame class at the Cannon Center.

THE NEED TO KNOW

A Black track official alleged racial attacks at a middle-school track meet hosted by Collierville High School. (The Daily Memphian file)

More racism in Collierville sports? Ron King, who officiates high-school track-and-field meets around the area, said he and others were subjected to racial abuse from Collierville High School parents during a middle-school meet last weekend. King, who is Black, said parents used racial slurs after a track meet ran long, jeopardizing the start time for a 6 p.m. lacrosse match. The alleged incident comes less than a week after Collierville girls basketball Coach Pattie Gardner alleged she was fired due to the “white privilege” of some parents.

“Our No. 1 resource is public trust. We break all public trust when we are not transparent on how we are spending the dollars,” said Memphis City Council member Jerri Green on the fee hikes in Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s budget. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Trash and guns: The Memphis City Council approved, on the first of three votes, a $6.89 increase in the city’s solid-waste fee on Tuesday. And if the fee makes it through the council’s final vote process down the road, it could continue to rise over the next three years. In other news, the council gave final approval to a new set of rules for large solar farms, and members got an update on arrests in the recent Orange Mound block party shooting that left two people dead and several injured. In more City Council/crime news, a community center shooting in North Memphis that killed one teen led to a council discussion on better security for the city-run centers. And while we’re on guns, the council learned on Tuesday that 901 Bloc Squad, a city partner working on gun-violence intervention, has furloughed all of its staff through June.

Locks are broken in several housing units across multiple floors in the jail, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Joseph Fox said on Tuesday, May 7. (The Daily Memphian file)

Jail break? This sounds like a scene straight out of the prison-break film genre. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says more than 100 locks are broken on cell doors across multiple floors at 201 Poplar, and now staff are working overtime to guard inmates. Some of the required parts to replace the locks are no longer made, and an SCSO spokesperson cited that as another reason for a new county jail. Last weekend, inmates set a fire in a housing unit and knocked several doors off their tracks.

Cordero Ragland, second from left, was escorted outside of Judge Lee Coffee’s courtroom by his attorney Michael Campbell on May 7. (Jody Callahan/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Another delay in drag-racing case: Cordero Ragland, the man accused in a 2017 drag-racing incident that resulted in the death of a Memphis woman, will need another evaluation before a decision can be made about his mental competency to stand trial. Judge Lee Coffee said on Tuesday that the additional evaluation will also determine if Ragland, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after a jail beating in 2021, is a danger to himself or others. That could lead to dropped charges. In February 2017, Ragland was allegedly racing down Poplar Avenue in Midtown when he plowed into Lisa Sloan’s car, leaving her with a traumatic brain injury that eventually resulted in her death.

QUOTED

New Memphis in May President and CEO Mack Weaver spoke at the Rotary Club of Memphis at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art on May 7. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

“How many are going to watch a junior-league football game when the Super Bowl is going on?”

— Mack Weaver, president & CEO of Memphis in May
Weaver had jokes when asked what kind of incentives MIM was offering to bring people to Liberty Park for its 46th World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. It starts next Wednesday, just one day before the new SmokeSlam BBQ Festival from Mempho Presents. Weaver spoke at the Downtown Rotary Club on Tuesday, where he also revealed that MIM could be getting back into the music fest game.

THE NICE TO KNOW

UConn’s Stephon Castle is among our own Drew Hill’s NBA Draft night players to watch. (Michael Dwyer/AP file)

Who to watch in the NBA Draft: This summer, the Memphis Grizzlies’ pick will land in the NBA Draft lottery for the first time since 2019. And that’s got the basketball draft nerds wondering what the franchise will do. Do they draft a big to replace the missing Steven Adams? Do they trade for a new wing? The Daily Memphian’s Drew Hill speculates on four players to watch. One thing to note: The Grizzlies’ usual draft night good-luck charm — Memphis-based former NBA star and art collector Elliot Perry will be unavailable this year — so they’re calling on one of the minds behind the team’s current roster to rep the franchise.

International Paper’s headquarters in East Memphis. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Paper pusher: Brazil-based pulp and paper company Suzano has reportedly approached Memphis-based International Paper about potentially purchasing the company for nearly $15 billion. If that deal goes through, it could disrupt IP’s plans to buy British packaging firm DS Smith.

Memphis native Renee Parker Sekander is the city’s new LGBTQ+ liaison. (Courtesy City of Memphis)

New LGBTQ+ liaison: Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s executive assistant Renee Parker Sekander will also serve as the administration’s LGBTQ+ liaison. “Growing up as a gay girl in the South certainly came with its challenges, and it is my goal to ensure that our city is inclusive, welcoming and supportive to the LGBTQ+ community,” said Sekander.

A line of traffic waited under the interstate overpass on Commerce Street in Hernando to turn north onto I-55. (Toni Lepeska/The Daily Memphian file)

They can widen I-55: If you’ve ever complained about the busy stretch of I-55 in DeSoto County from Goodman Road to Church Road, you’re in luck. The Mississippi Legislature allocated $90 million for the widening of that part of the highway as part of its overall $7 billion state budget. But that’s still not enough funding to widen I-55 all the way to Hernando, the ultimate goal of county officials. In other DeSoto news, the Hernando Board of Aldermen appointed Adam Emerson and former local prosecutor Robert Morris as judges for the city’s municipal court on Tuesday. And one of those appointments is drawing criticism from DeSoto District Attorney Matthew Barton.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Memphis Mayor Paul Young talked to Forbes about how arts and culture can be the formula for economic development in our city. 

Hopefully, Tom Lee Park won’t be too muddy to enjoy today.

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