Hidey-ho, Memphis. It’s Tuesday, Feb. 25, and Memphis City Council member Michalyn Easter-Thomas will host a public meeting about the proposed Chelsea Avenue Greenline, which will transform a 2.4-mile section of the Union Pacific railway into a bicycle and pedestrian path.

Over in Bartlett, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen will discuss possible city charter changes around term limits for aldermen and the suburb’s animal-control program. And tonight, you can pick your in-person basketball poison: Either head to the Elma Roane Fieldhouse to watch the Memphis Tigers women’s basketball team play Temple, or go to FedExForum to see the Memphis Grizzlies play the Phoenix Suns. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

David Yancy III (left) led a introductory graffiti arts class on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (Ziggy Mack/The Daily Memphian file)

Paint Memphis appeals over pay: If you haven’t heard the name Paint Memphis, you’ve no doubt seen murals created during its annual mural fest, which draws well-known and up-and-coming artists from Memphis and beyond. Now, the nonprofit has come under fire for questionable payments to staff and the artists it’s worked with. Earlier this month, a General Sessions judge ordered Paint Memphis to pay former employees David Yancy and Kirsten Sandlin for their work as co-directors of the organization. Paint Memphis is now appealing that ruling. In addition, some artists have said they only received partial payments for their work. 

General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Bill Anderson will retire on March 1. (Aarron Fleming/The Daily Memphian file)

New judge on the bench: Taylor Bachelor, an assistant district attorney general and former Juvenile Court magistrate, will take Judge Bill Anderson’s place as the new General Sessions Criminal Court judge for Division 7. Bachelor was chosen by the Shelby County Commission on Monday out of 13 applicants for the retiring judge’s spot. The commission also advanced a pay raise for the next Shelby County sheriff elected in 2026, but a pay raise for county commissioners was withdrawn. In more commission news, members voted to purchase one more piece of property near the old Commercial Appeal site for a new Regional One Health campus, even though the price went up by $240,000 in the past two weeks.

Kendra Lawler is back to work after being fired from the VA hospital as part of a large-scale reduction in the federal workforce. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Fired federal worker is back to work: Kendra Lawler, communications and public relations official for the Veterans Administration hospital in Memphis, is back at work after being fired as part of President Donald Trump’s job cuts. Lawler was terminated when her job was mistakenly coded as probationary, and that error has since been fixed. One other employee at the VA was also mistakenly fired and rehired.

“I’d rather just go ahead and get them out of here, send them back to their country of origin, and they can break the law there — after we get our pound of flesh in Mississippi,” said DeSoto District Attorney Matthew Barton in reference to undocumented immigrants. (Rob Moore/The Daily Memphian file)

Cat and mouse game? DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton and state Sen. Michael McLendon, R-Hernando, are pushing a new Mississippi anti-immigration bill dubbed the MICE Act. The acronym stands for Mississippi Immigration Consummate Enforcement, and it would put $500,000 toward a new Immigration Enforcement Division to deport undocumented immigrants. The legislation comes amid President Donald Trump’s heightened deportation efforts. At a presser on Monday, McLendon tried to make a cat joke in reference to the bill’s MICE name.

QUOTED

“I believe Memphis is the best place to not just be a participant in AI but actually to lead the innovation, lead the research and development,” said Greater Memphis Chamber president and CEO Ted Townsend said. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

“Memphis is ... not just stable and getting by; we’re actually in high-growth mode.”

—Ted Townsend, Greater Memphis Chamber president and CEO
Memphis recorded nearly $103 billion in annual gross regional product in 2024, an increase of more than 6% over last year. And the city’s unemployment rate last year was the closest it has been to the national average in years. Those figures were touted by Townsend at the Chamber’s “State of the Economy” on Monday, where he also gushed over Memphis’ potential as a high-tech manufacturing hub for AI. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

Barnes & Noble has signed a lease for a space on Exeter Road inside Germantown Collection near Trader Joe’s. (Abigail Warren/The Daily Memphian)

Bookstores aren’t dead: In the age of e-readers, it’s not every day that you hear about a brick-and-mortar bookstore opening. But a new Barnes and Noble is slated for the Germantown shopping center that’s also home to Trader Joe’s. So, soon you can plan the ultimate cozy afternoon: a TJ’s trip for Speculoos Cookie Butter and Well Rested Tea, followed by a trip to the book shop. 

This Dec. 22, 2008, photo shows the aftermath of a retention-pond wall collapse at the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant in Harriman, Tennessee. (Wade Payne/AP file)

TVA and the coal ash spill: Back in 2008, an embankment at a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant in Kingston, Tennessee, broke, unleashing a lethal wave of coal sludge that covered three hundred acres. Nashville-based journalist Jared Sullivan has a new book, “Valley So Low,” about the legal fight against TVA that followed as more than 50 cleanup workers got sick from the toxins and died. Sullivan will speak about the book at Novel this Friday, and The Daily Memphian’s Samuel Hardiman caught up with him to talk about why he still has hope for the TVA.

Memphis Grizzlies' Jaren Jackson Jr. went up to shoot over Cleveland Cavaliers' De’Andre Hunter as Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell looked on during the first half of a game in Cleveland, Sunday, Feb. 23. (Phil Long/AP)

Block Panther’s chances get better: San Antonio phenom Victor Wembanyama was considered a heavy favorite for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, but now Wemby is out for the season with a blood clot. And that means Jaren Jackson Jr.’s chances just improved. He’ll likely be up against the Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley, and we saw the two bigs go head to head in Sunday’s loss to the Cavs. The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington writes about that, plus potential closing lineups as we head into the playoff season. The Grizzlies haven’t played a home game since Feb. 8, but tonight kicks off five straight home games. In the Grizzlies Insider, our own Drew Hill looks into how the Grizz can capitalize on the home-court advantage.

Memphis forward Nicholas Jourdain, center, celebrated with guard PJ Carter during the first half of an NCAA game against Florida Atlantic, Sunday, Feb. 23, in Memphis. (Nikki Boertman/AP)

Tigers rise up: The Memphis Tigers rose from No. 22 to No. 18 on the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week, after they beat Florida Atlantic 84-65 at home Sunday. See the complete poll here. This is the ninth consecutive week the Tigers have been ranked in the AP Top 25 and the 11th week overall this season.

SAVE THE DATE

Spring is in the air, and Memphis Redbirds season is right around the corner. But first, the Redbirds will play the other red birds — the St. Louis Cardinals — in their annual exhibition game. Save the date!

On that note, catch ya later!

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