Good day, friends! It’s Tuesday, March 25, and the Memphis City Council will take a final vote today on an ordinance that would require permits for on-street parking in certain areas. 

The proposed state takeover of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board will be a hot topic at the MSCS board meeting tonight. Not surprisingly, the board is opposing state intervention, and they’ll consider an official resolution to say so. 

Also, if you’re a renter with a landlord issue, you might consider attending tonight’s renters’ rights clinic at New Growth in Christ Christian Center. It’s sponsored by Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, and lawyers will be on hand with advice.

Later, the Memphis Grizzlies will play the Utah Jazz in a road game. In what feels like deja vu, Brandon Clarke has again suffered a serious March injury just ahead of playoff season (in 2023, it was his Achilles; now, it’s a high-grade sprain). With that news, our own Chris Herrington says things are looking rocky for the Grizzlies.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Valerie Smith

Moving on up: The state General Assembly confirmed Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Valerie Smith to the state Court of Appeals on Monday. She’ll replace retiring Judge Arnold B. Goldin. That’s good news for Smith but possibly bad news for the court she’s leaving. Gov. Bill Lee, who nominated Smith for her new judgeship, has so far eliminated two judicial seats in Memphis after judges moved up or moved off the bench.

Rapper shot and killed Downtown: Memphis rapper Sayso P (real name: Letorian Hunt) and Houston rapper Sauce Walka (real name: Albert Mondane) were shot Downtown in broad daylight on Saturday. Hunt was killed, and Mondane was transported to the hospital with non-critical injuries. The shooting happened just outside the Westin Hotel, across from FedExForum, around 2:45 p.m. The Memphis Police Department is still looking for the shooter, but they assured the public it was not a random act.

University of Memphis Coach Penny Hardaway watched his team before an NCAA tournament game against Colorado State in Seattle. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daly Memphian)

All about the Benjamins (or the Penny?): After the Memphis Tigers’ weekend loss in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament, Coach Penny Hardaway is looking ahead to off-season recruiting. But college basketball is getting more expensive than ever. Only teams in the big conferences — which have lots more money than Memphis — are left in the Sweet 16. Recruiting players to a college with less money could be dicey, says Geoff Calkins, but if anyone can do it, he says its Coach Penny Hardaway. In related news, former Tigers Coach Josh Pastner will be back at FedExForum for at least one match-up now that he’s expected to be hired by UNLV. In Tigers football news, Coach Ryan Silverfield has some work to do as the team experiences its biggest loss of players during his tenure so far.

QUOTED

Lawyer David Peel is renovating a historic home near Arlington’s Depot Square. He is joined by Crash the Law Dog (left). (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

“You’ve got the new looking old, and you’ve got the old looking new.”

— David Peel, lawyer and Arlington historian

Peel is renovating a 1914 home near Arlington’s Depot Square for his new law office. That’s the “old looking new,” but Peel was also referring to the Lofts on the Square, a new, mixed-use project that’s being designed to preserve Depot Square’s historic feel. Read more about both projects in this story by Michael Waddell.

THE NICE TO KNOW

AutoZone Park was a sea of red on Monday, March 24, as fans watched the Battle of the Birds exhibition game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Memphis Redbirds. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Out to the ball game? Baseball season in Memphis kicked off Monday with the Battle of the Birds exhibition game between the St. Louis Cardinals and their Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds. It was the 25th anniversary of the annual game, and AutoZone Park was packed with fans. But if you’ve been to AutoZone Park in the past few years, you know the 25-year-old ballpark needs some work. Craig Unger, president of the Redbirds, is trying to get the city to pony up millions for a makeover, and our own Geoff Calkins reminds us why that work is needed to prevent AutoZone Park from becoming another Mud Island River Park. 

Memphis Showboats Coach Ken Whisenhunt has taken a leave of absence from the team. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP file)

Hi, bye: The Memphis Showboats’ new head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, is taking a leave of absence before the season even kicks off. The Showboats’ season opener is set for this Sunday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, but Whisenhunt is stepping down for “personal reasons” not made public by the UFL. Offensive line coach Jim Turner has been promoted to interim head coach, and the UFL says Whisenhunt is welcome back whenever he’s ready.

The new Pickleball 901 pop-up will be in this building at 45 S. Highland St. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

Free pickleball: If you haven’t soured on pickleball yet, here’s something for you. Pickleball 901 is launching a free, six-month-long pop-up at the old Tuesday Morning in Poplar Plaza. It’ll have two pickleball courts, open daily, plus lessons and clinics, too. Business partners Adam Clay and Jakob Eliason are hoping they can entice city folks enough to convince them to drive way out to Pickleball 901’s Collierville location once the pop-up is all over.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

We may not be talking much about this yet. But if it goes the way a recent community meeting with Memphis Mayor Paul Young did, we might be talking about it later. In that meeting over the weekend, Young got an earful from residents concerns about pollution from xAI. 

Mark your calendars, and I’ll see you here tomorrow.

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