Still stuffed from the big barbecue festapalooza, Memphis? It’s Monday, May 20, and we’ve got plenty of weekend coverage — including a look at the winners — from both Memphis in May and Mempho’s fests below. 

Today, Quandarius Richardson, the second defendant in the murder of Greater Memphis Chamber CEO Phil Trenary, will be sentenced. And the Shelby County Commission will meet in a closed session with attorneys to discuss Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr.’s threat to sue the commission over potential cuts to vacant positions. 

If you’ve ever wanted your picture in front of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, today’s your lucky day. It’ll be parked outside a Kroger in Southaven. Tonight, the first two installments of “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.,” a four-part documentary series about the Memphis soul label, will premiere on HBO. For more, check out This Week in Memphis.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Cleotha Abston appeared in court for his trial in Judge Lee Coffee’s courtroom on April 9. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Cleotha Abston sentenced for rape: Cleotha Abston will serve 80 years in prison for the rape of Alicia Franklin in September 2021. Abston waived his right to a sentencing hearing and agreed to the maximum sentence on Friday. He’ll serve at the Tennessee Department of Corrections once his separate first-degree murder case in Eliza Fletcher’s death concludes.

Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo said, “We have participation [on MLGW’s board], but not from an equitable voting-rights standpoint.” (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Balance of power: This fall, voters could be asked whether Shelby County’s suburbs should have a say in Memphis Light, Gas and Water rates and other matters. Currently, the two suburban members of MLGW’s board aren’t allowed to vote, yet the suburbs are responsible for 30% to 35% of MLGW’s electric load and revenue. “Back in the old days, they called that taxation without representation,” said Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner. The Memphis City Council could soon consider a ballot measure that would give those two positions voting rights. Suburban mayors are all on board, and at least one MLGW leader is, too.

A new Alliance Healthcare Services crisis center will open in Binghampton early next year, giving Crisis Intervention Team officers a place to take people struggling with mental health crises. (Courtesy Alliance Healthcare)

Mental health treatment > jail: Three new mental-health facilities designed to divert people from jail are under development in Shelby County. The Mental Health Safety and Justice Center will accept some jail inmates — those with misdemeanor charges — who are struggling with mental-health issues. Their cases could be dismissed after treatment. A new Alliance Healthcare Services crisis center opening in Binghampton will offer a place for people who come into contact with Crisis Intervention Team officers. And funding was recently approved for a new juvenile crisis center. This week’s Behind the Headlines podcast offers a look at all three facilities and the role they’ll play in moving mental-health treatment out of 201 Poplar.

MEET MEMPHIS

Fabiola Francis played with Heaven. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

When Fabiola Francis, owner of Simply Fabulous Catering, isn’t cooking, she’s helping homeless dogs. Francis runs the nonprofit Unity for Animals, which helps save dogs on Memphis Animal Services’ kill list. Unity for Animals sponsors a rescue shelter, where those dogs learn to socialize with other dogs and humans until they’re adopted. And it’s not just dogs who benefit from the shelter. Caretaker Steve Barnes, who lives on-site and cares for the dogs day-to-day, says the operation saved him from homelessness.

THE NICE TO KNOW

“Long term, everything I have been studying tells me that we are definitely going to be, within my lifetime certainly, back in a place that chocolate is something you will have for a very special occasion,” Muddy’s Bake Shop owner Kat Gordon said. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Choc-o-lotta-money: Chocolate bars might as well be gold bars. Prices have been steadily rising over the past few years, due to everything from cacao crop problems to climate change. And now local sweet treat businesses are feeling the pinch. Phillip Rix, owner of Phillip Ashley Chocolates, has to do a lot of legwork to connect with chocolate suppliers these days, and he says you’ll soon be paying more for his chocolate. And Kat Gordon of Muddy’s Bake Shop expects she will have to replace some chocolate items on her menu. (Fingers crossed that this doesn’t mean an end to the Prozac cupcakes.)

SmokeSlam BBQ Festival contest grand champions, SmokeMasters BBQ, celebrated Saturday at Tom Lee Park. Pitmaster Will Hair said the team formed in 2007 and has been competing ever since. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Kings and queens of ’cue: The barbecue wars are over — for now. And winners at both SmokeSlam and the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest were crowned on Saturday. SmokeMasters BBQ were the first-ever team to win a SmokeSlam grand prize. (See all the SmokeSlam winners here.) And Mississippi-based team The Shed took home the grand prize at the MIM fest. (See all the WCBCC winners here.) You can re-live the weekend in pictures here. If you’re among the people who have complained about the two barbecue fests scheduled on the same weekend, you might as well get used to it because we’ll be doing this again next year. And hey, maybe more teams will be like Hank’s BBQ and The Pork University, the only two teams with tents in both barbecue contests. (If you can’t beat ’em, join both of them, right?)

Chloe Sexton runs Chloe’s Giant Cookie business out of a commercial kitchen in Memphis. She has 2.2 million followers on TikTok, which is where she conducts her cookie business. (Courtesy BluffCakes)

TikTok on the government clock: Chloe Sexton, the local baker who — until very recently — ran the BluffCakes bakery in Germantown, has joined seven other TikTok users in a federal lawsuit to try and overturn a law to ban the app or force its sale. The new law passed in April gives ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, up to a year to sell TikTok, or it will be banned in the U.S. Officials fear that the app could be a national security threat due to its Chinese ownership, but the plaintiffs claim the law is violation of the First Amendment. Sexton said her online business, now called Chloe’s Giant Cookies, depends on TikTok to connect with followers.

Daunte Stuart (in a file photo) and fellow senior Tyler Heckert both hit home runs during Saturday’s Memphis Tigers baseball win. (Matt Smith/Memphis Athletics)

Weekend sports: The Memphis Tigers baseball team closed out a disappointing season with a 11-10 win on Saturday over Wichita State. That win came with two home runs from seniors Daunte Stuart and Tyler Heckert. But it followed a Friday night loss to Wichita State in the longest game in University of Memphis baseball history. Despite the season-ending win, the Tigers still didn’t qualify for the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Luck wasn’t on the Memphis Showboats’ side either this weekend; they lost their seventh straight game on Saturday to the Michigan Panthers. 

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

Summer solstice may be a month away, but the summer weather is here with 90-degree temps today and tomorrow. Later this week, you’ll need an umbrella.

Have a great Monday, and go get your picture with the Wienermobile. 

Editor’s note: Kevin McEniry — a member of the board of Memphis Fourth Estate, the nonprofit that owns and operates The Daily Memphian — is founder and master producer of the Mempho Festival and Mempho Presents, the organization behind SmokeSlam.

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