Hooray, you’ve made it to Friday! It’s Jan. 24, the start of a big weekend for female vocalists. A cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, which is made up solely of women, will play the Halloran Centre tonight, and Saturday brings a joint show by swamp-soul singer Marcella Simien and soul artist Talibah Safiya at Crosstown Theater.

If live music isn’t your thing, no worries: The sports will be a-sportsin’ this weekend. The Memphis Grizzlies will play the New Orleans Pelicans at home tonight. The Memphis Tigers women’s basketball team plays Tulsa in an away game on Saturday, and the Tigers men have a game against UAB on Sunday.

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is kicking off the Year of the Snake a little early with a Lunar New Year party (with dim sum!) on Saturday. Or you can sample Scottish delights (think haggis) at Bog & Barley’s celebration of Scottish poet Robert Burns. For more weekend fun, our To-Do List has your back. 

As for the weather, well, things are looking up after 86 consecutive hours of sub-freezing temperatures earlier this week. 86 hours!!!

THE NEED TO KNOW

“Again, I ask the community to trust me,” said Interim Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Roderick Richmond said during press conference on Thursday, Jan. 23. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

What’s next for MSCS? Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ new Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond is already working on a plan for his first 100 days at the top. Richmond was named the district’s interim leader on Tuesday night, after former Superintendent Marie Feagins was terminated by the board. At a presser on Thursday, Richmond revealed his three major priorities for the district, including a commitment to getting students “the materials and resources that they so much need and deserve.” As for a long-term replacement to fill the “Feagins-cy” (our new office buzzword for the superintendent vacancy), the MSCS board has yet to determine a way forward.

General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Christian Johnson will run the Shelby County Veteran’s Court, effective March 1. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

He’ll be the judge of that: General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Christian Johnson will take over the Shelby County Veterans’ Court on March 1. The court’s current judge, Bill Anderson (the only judge it’s ever had), is retiring a little earlier than planned, partly over the politics surrounding his controversial bail decisions. The court diverts criminal defendants, who have served in the military, away from the traditional justice system through rehab and vocational programs.

The City of Memphis said it would not enter into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice to reform the Memphis Police Department. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Trump, the MPD, the DOJ and MLK: President Donald Trump’s new Justice Department has put a freeze on civil rights litigation, and it’s suggested that it may reconsider police reform agreements negotiated by the Biden administration. The Department of Justice recently released a scathing report on civil-rights violations by the Memphis Police Department, but the City of Memphis said it would not enter into a consent decree with the DOJ to fix the issues. Such an agreement could have fallen into the category of reforms that may be thrown out under the Trump administration. Instead, the city has hired a former federal judge to oversee police reforms. In other news of stuff Trump has done in his first week, he’s also ordering the release of thousands of classified documents on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 

MEET MEMPHIS

T.K. Tanner

Memphis man T.K. Tanner just turned 102 years old. Born in McNair County in 1923, Tanner was one of 10 kids raised in woods “so deep they had to pipe in sunshine.” He quit school in the eighth grade but went on to serve in the U.S. Army and later earned his high-school diploma and attended Memphis State. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins dropped in on Tanner after noticing his 102nd birthday yard sign, and the centenarian shared tales (some maybe tall) of Memphis celebrity encounters, the daily habit that keeps him fit and the “secret” to living past 100. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

Shroomlicious Meals owner Daishu McGriff is moving her restaurant into a new space soon. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Spore-adic break: Vegan restaurant Shroomlicious Meals is closing. But no worries, oyster mushroom wing lovers: They’re reopening soon and just down the street from their current spot near Crosstown Concourse. And in the meantime, you can still order owner Daishu McGriff’s cook-and-eat mushroom meat online. (If you’ve never tried Shroomlicious’ oyster mushroom catfish, get over there before Jan. 31, or you’ll be waiting awhile. Tell them I sent you.) Read more on Shroomlicious’ transition, plus the closing of an East Memphis taproom, in Food Files. In this week’s $10 Deal, we’ve got a tip on a Guatemalan version of “surf and turf” that’ll feed two — maybe even three — folks for less than $20. 

“It’s just getting embarrassing right now,” said Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway, “just being so casual with the basketball.” (Nikki Boertman/AP)

‘Embarassing’ win for Tigers: The good news is the Memphis Tigers won their home game over the Wichita State Shockers, 61-53, Thursday night. The bad news is how they got there. The Tigers tallied 20 turnovers, tying their season-high when they lost to Arkansas State last month. The Shockers came into the game having lost six of their past nine games, and yet they made the Tigers fight to the finish. After the game, Coach Penny Hardaway called the sloppy play “embarrassing.” He blamed bad habits carried over from the players’ pre-Tigers days, and our own Tim Buckley said “the time to fix the follies is now” before March and the NCAA Tournament rolls around.

Barbecue team members celebrated as winners were announced at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at Liberty Park on Saturday, May 18, 2024. (Ziggy Mack/The Daily Memphian file)

Raising the steaks: The Memphis in May International Festival is adding a steak-cooking competition at this year’s World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, planned for May 14-17 at Liberty Park. The steak category will be affiliated with the Steak Cookoff Association, and that brings a chance for participants to move on to the association’s World Championship in Texas next year. Participants won’t be able to just bring over any old steak from their butcher shop though; the SCA has rules to ensure things are fair. 

Ford Motor Co. announced details of its Good Neighbor Plan, which will commit $9 million to community improvements in areas surrounding its West Tennessee megasite. (Courtesy Walbridge)

Like a ‘Good Neighbor’: Ford Motor Co. announced on Thursday that it will commit $9 million for a new community center in Mason, a preschool and playgrounds in Haywood County and housing assistance for residents living near the BlueOval City campus, among other area improvements. It’s all part of Ford’s Good Neighbor Plan, which was developed after 2,500 hours of community listening sessions.

GOT GAME?

Lettuce entertain you with this week’s Jigsaw puzzle, featuring a salad from locally owned Wild Beet Salad Co.

Wild Beet Salad Co. serves a Cashew Crunch salad. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

And if that’s not enough, you’ll surely get a kick out of this week’s Steve Mulroy-inspired Word Search. Turns out the Shelby County District Attorney loves two things: limericks and Star Trek. And you’ll find those words and many more hidden in the puzzle.

If you want a hint for this week’s 5 by 5 Crossword, be sure to read Geoff Calkins’ uplifting story of a high school jazz band that finally made it big. 

Get outside on this warmer weekend! And just a note: You’ll be waking up with Chris Herrington for Monday’s Early Word. I’ll return on Tuesday!

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