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Good morning, loves. It’s Friday, Feb. 14, and if you’re partnered, you’d better make a quick run to Kroger for last-minute flowers if you don’t have anything planned for your Valentine. (You can thank me for the reminder later.) If you’re single, buy yourself some flowers and whatever else your little heart desires. Self-care is not selfish. 

Looking for date-night ideas? We’ve got a few. Check out our Valentine’s Day event guide. And if you’re staying in, might I suggest the NBA Rising Stars game on TNT? Memphis Grizzlies rookies Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells are playing in this kick-off to NBA All-Star Weekend. (If you’re watching, check out Wells’ shoes.) If you want to watch something besides basketball, our own Chris Herrington goes off-topic in his Grizzlies Mailbag with some romantic movie recs.

On Saturday, artist Jamond Bullock’s Artifacts Gallery opens a new group show with a focus on the “struggle, beauty and triumphs embedded in Black life.” And for sports fans, the Memphis Tigers women will play UTSA in an away game.

On Sunday, you can get a head start on Mardi Gras with the Tennessee Equality Project’s gumbo contest. Or you can stay in and watch the Tigers men’s basketball team play Wichita State and Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr. play in the NBA All-Star game. For more weekend fun, check out The To-Do List.

THE NEED TO KNOW

In regard to the new cuts, International Paper says it will minimize the impact on employees by using attrition, retirements and current vacancies at other locations. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Paper cuts: Memphis-based International Paper, which laid off more than 1,800 people last fall, is closing four more operations, none of which are in Memphis. That means 675 people, including 179 salaried workers, are about to be updating their LinkedIn profiles. In an interview in January, IP’s new chairman and CEO Andy Silvernail said the company was transforming to become a stronger, more sustainable packaging company by eliminating some facilities.

XAI plans to use these gas turbines for the long term. (Benjamin Naylor/The Daily Memphian file)

Power play: Elon Musk’s xAI plans to use its temporary natural-gas turbines for the long term. The company said Memphis Light, Gas and Water isn’t ready to provide all of the power needed for its supercomputer, so it applied for air-emissions permits for the fleet of turbines that it had intended to use on a short-term basis. No permit is needed if the turbines aren’t permanent, so xAI doesn’t currently have one. Environmental groups say the pollutants that come from the machines could harm nearby communities and cause more air-quality issues in Memphis.

Jared Myracle joined Memphis-Shelby County Schools in summer 2024 as the executive director of literacy, a new senior leadership role developed under former Superintendent Marie Feagins. (Courtesy Memphis-Shelby County Schools)

Feagins’ literacy hire resigns: In the first cabinet-level departure since former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins was ousted, the district’s top literacy official Jared Myracle has resigned. Myracle, who was commuting to work from Jackson, Tennessee, said he was “missing a lot of suppers and bedtimes” with his family and had planned to quit by the end of the school year anyway. But with Feagins gone, Myracle thought it was fair to go ahead and step down. He might not be completely gone though.

Tennessee House of Representatives Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, is sponsoring two resolutions to change the state Constitution. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian file)

Crime bills could change Constitution: The state General Assembly is considering two resolutions to change the Tennessee State Constitution as it relates to criminal justice. One bill would expand victims’ rights during criminal proceedings, including the right to know when a victims’ abuser will be released and the minimum length of their sentence. The bill had bipartisan support in a House subcommittee this week, but the other bill is more divisive. That one would remove a defendant’s right to bail for certain violent offenses, like terrorism, aggravated rape and certain murder charges.

QUOTED

Floyd Newsum Jr. worked on “Soul of Blue,” one of his last works, while recovering from open-heart surgery in 2023, according to the Dixon. (Estate of the artist/courtesy Dixon)

“I know how excited he was to bring the work here. ... He talked ... about that for years, about doing a big show in Memphis.”

— Mark Cervenka, colleague of the late artist Floyd Newsum Jr.
Newsum’s art exhibition, “House of Grace,” opened this month at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, six months after his death. A Memphis native, Newsum was an art professor at the University of Houston-Downtown and was preparing for his first major Memphis show when he died.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Coach Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers coasted to an 80-65 victory over the University of South Florida on Thursday, Feb. 13, in Tampa, Florida. (Jason Behnken/AP)

Tigers cruise to victory: For the first time since January, the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team made a win look easy. Though the Tigers have been steadily winning games, many have been sloppy. But Thursday’s 80-65 win over the South Florida Bulls was different. The Tigers, led by center Dain Dainja and guard PJ Haggerty, never let the Bulls get within 13 points in the final 13-plus minutes in their eighth straight victory. After picking apart most of the Tigers’ games all season, columnist John Martin had nothing but good things to say about this one. “It’s nice not to have to nitpick over a Memphis basketball win, for a night,” he wrote. In non-basketball news, two former Memphis football stars have been invited to the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.

Alexis Luttrell, a resident of The Oaks neighborhood, is suing the City of Germantown after being asked to remove skeletons from her holiday decor. (Courtesy Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)

Every day is Halloween … unless you’re in Germantown. Germantown resident Alexis Luttrell is suing the city after officials told her to remove skeletons from her holiday displays. Luttrell put the skeletons up for Halloween, as one does, but she left them up after spooky szn and decorated them for the November presidential election, Christmas and now Valentine’s. It’s a common practice around Midtown, but in Germantown, the fun police say holiday decor must be removed 30 days after the holiday. (Guess those city leaders have never seen “Nightmare Before Christmas.”)

The pastelitos de pollo at La Salvadoreña arrive as little half-moon masa pockets. (Joshua Carlucci/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Baby shower food — without the baby: Baby showers should be about the mom, right? But the food — Rotel dip, wings, those little Crock-pot meatballs in grape jelly — well, that’s the real reason to show up. Now you can have the snacks without having to watch your pregnant friend open 10 boxes of diapers. In Food Files, we learn about a new restaurant, Baby Shower Plate, that serves exactly what the name implies, plus, we get an opening date for the new Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken. And in this week’s $10 Deal, we learn about a food truck with Salvadoran comfort food to get you through these cold, dreary days.

Fifteen people have applied to fill the General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Division 7 position vacated by Bill Anderson (pictured). (Aarron Fleming/The Daily Memphian file)

Judge of that: Retiring General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Bill Anderson’s seat is evidently pretty popular. Fifteen people — mostly judicial commissioners, attorneys and retired judges — have applied for Anderson’s position. The Shelby County Commission will choose one of them on Feb. 24, and that person will serve through a special election in 2026. Anderson, who has come under fire for some of his bail decisions, announced last month that he was moving up his planned retirement due to “politics.”

GOT GAME?

If your freezer isn’t already stuffed with Thin Mints from last year’s Girl Scout cookie sale (guilty, and yes, they’re vegan), now is the time to stock up. Not convinced you need cookies? Maybe this week’s Jigsaw will help.

Girl Scout Troop 13366 member Preauna Richardson hands over boxes of Girl Scout cookies to a customer at Crosstown Concourse on Saturday, Feb. 8. (Greg Campbell/Special to The Daily Memphian)

If you’re not craving sweet treats yet, this week’s Valentine dessert-themed Word Search will certainly get you there.

And if that’s not enough Valentine’s Day, here’s another on-theme puzzle: This week’s 5 by 5 Crossword. Don’t say we never gave you anything, dear Valentine.

Hope your day is filled with love! I’ll be enjoying an extra-long Valentine’s weekend, so The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington will be waking up with you on Monday morning!

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