Good morning, Memphis. It’s Tuesday, May 27, and welcome to the four-day work week. Nothing beats a short week after a long weekend.

Here’s hoping your grills got some use this past weekend before the rain. There was a big Memorial Day celebration in Bartlett, which just became a Purple Heart City. But the suburb’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen is getting back down to business today with a city budget discussion.

Looking ahead, if you’d like to see comedian Roy Wood Jr. perform a stand-up show benefiting criminal-justice reform, you might want to get tickets today for the June 8 “Stand Up with Just City” show at Minglewood Hall. Ticket sales end on May 28. For even more looking ahead, look no further than This Week in Memphis.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Memphis Light, Gas and Water crews worked to restore power to several downed electrical lines on Winchester Road near Ross Road on July 19, 2023. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Going underground: Every time a big storm leads to major power outages, there’s talk of how much better things might be if Memphis buried its power lines. So, why don’t we just do it? Turns out the reason not to, as with many things, is money. It would cost billions (yes, with a B) to bury all of the city’s power lines, and that’s a cost that would be passed along on our utility bills, as we learn in today’s Ask the Memphian installment. “That would be an increase of several hundred dollars per year per customer,” said Don Roberts, MLGW’s supervisor of reliability and power quality. But there are a few cheaper things that could be done to improve grid reliability.

The new Education Freedom Scholarship voucher program now includes students already enrolled in private schools, a population that’s estimated to make up about 65% of all Tennessee recipients. (Getty Images via Chalkbeat)

Which schools accept vouchers? The state’s newly expanded private-school voucher program has been popular in Shelby County, with 62 local private schools opting in. The program allows students to use public money to pay private-school tuition, and the expansion opens the program to students who are already enrolled in private schools. There were only 20,000 vouchers available across the state for this first year, and about 38,000 families applied. There are two different kinds of vouchers, and we’ve got a look at which schools are accepting which vouchers.

The Memphis Police Association, the bargaining unit representing Memphis police officers, is poised to secure another 5% pay raise for its membership. (George Walker IV/AP file)

How much MPD officers make: You would think that someone who puts their life on the line every day in a big city like Memphis would make a pretty big chunk of change. But you can make more as a car wash manager at Buc-ee’s than you can as an officer for the Memphis Police Department. That may be getting a little better though. Last week, the Memphis City Council voted to give the Memphis Police Association the 5% raise it had bargained for local officers. That would bring the MPD starting salary to nearly $67,000. That’s up quite a bit from what was offered to new officers in 2016. Here’s how MPD salaries have changed over the last decade.

Man killed by Bartlett police ID’d: Thomas Feminella, 30, was killed by Bartlett police officers last Thursday evening. Feminella was allegedly seen shoplifting from a Bartlett store, and according to police, he pulled a knife when officers attempted to stop him. Two officers fired their guns, striking Feminella. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting.

MEET MEMPHIS

Jes Shea’s arms and legs bear scars from the explosion she survived last August. (Mo Al-taher/Courtesy Jes Shea)

Jes Shea, a trauma therapist and the founder of the Memphis Mushroom Festival, never imagined a pot of rice would change her life. But it did. Shea was just trying to cook some rice in her Mercedes Sprinter van last August when a propane leak caused a massive explosion that changed everything. Shea, 46, suffered third-degree burns over 9% of her body. A nurse told her she might die. And now, as our own Geoff Calkins tells us in today’s column, she’s sharing her story with anyone who’s curious and learning to love her new skin. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

Memphis guard PJ Haggerty is headed to Kansas State and will withdraw his name from the NBA Draft, according to an ESPN report. (LM Otero/AP file)

Haggerty’s new home: Former Memphis Tigers star PJ Haggerty will play for Kansas State next season. Memphis’ American Athletic Conference Player of the Year entered the transfer portal in April, as he also tested the NBA Draft waters. His search for a new school became a big national story when his dad started asking college teams for $4 million in name, image and likeness (NIL) funds. He’s getting far less than that at Kansas State, and sports columnist John Martin thinks it’s a decision he’ll regret.

Fantastic Fans owner Art Jones will close his last store, located on Union Avenue, in July. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Fan out: Longtime Midtown staple Fantastic Fans is spinning its last rotation. Owner Art Jones will close the store, which sells and repairs ceiling fans, in July. The Union Avenue shop, with its iconic clown sign, is the last of Jones’ local chain, which included seven stores across the city. It opened back in 1980, before you could buy a fan at any big-box store. But Jones isn’t getting out of the business entirely: He’ll still be around to make house calls for fan repair. “Once it passes into history, we will have lost another unique part of what makes Midtown, Midtown,” said Fantastic Fans customer Skip Howard. 

Brother Terence McLaughlin (left) helped integrate Christian Brothers High School in 1963. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Remembering Terence McLaughlin: Former Christian Brothers High School administrator Terence McLaughlin was responsible for integrating the once-all-white Catholic school back in 1963, and he did so without permission from church leadership. McLaughlin died Sunday at age 102. Back in the fall of 1962, the parents of Jesse Turner Jr. applied for their son to attend CBHS, and McLaughlin accepted the application, a decision that put him at odds with the head of the Catholic diocese in Nashville. The Daily Memphian’s Jane Roberts looks back on McLaughlin’s life and legacy.

The former Tamp & Tap is located at 122 Gayoso Ave. Downtown. (The Daily Memphian file)

On tap for Tamp & Tap: The old Tamp & Tap, Downtown’s coffee and beer shop, has been sitting empty since last year, but the Downtown Memphis Commission could soon fill the space, thanks to a new business incubator program. The DMC launched its Table Ready initiative, which will help fill empty Downtown restaurants, in April with Tamp & Tap as the first site. Twelve potential businesses submitted applications, and the winner will get help from the DMC with rent and utility costs. Our own Dina Amro caught up with one food-truck-owning couple that’s applied. In other food news, freelancer Joshua Carlucci waxes poetic about the pork Milanese at Cocozza American Italian, and he has a tip on an appetizer there you should never skip.

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

After what feels like a million rainy days, we’re finally drying up after today. And it’ll feel like spring. Make the most of it.

Good luck getting caught up today!

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