Welcome to another week, Memphis. I’m Holly Whitfield, filling in for Bianca Phillips.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners could close their budget season today, but if not they’ll have to hurry to fit in extra meetings to meet the July 1 deadline.

The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen meets today to approve an elevated tax rate for the 2026 fiscal year budget, while Arlington officials will hold a special-called annual budget meeting.

For more, check out This Week In Memphis.

THE NEED TO KNOW

FedEx founder Fred Smith spoke at a panel discussion at The Peabody on Thursday, June 5. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

End of an era: News of the death of FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith rocked the city this weekend. Smith died Saturday at age 80. Former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland called him “the most important Memphian of all time” for his and his company’s contributions to “every good thing that’s happened in Memphis in the last 40-50 years.” Daily Memphian reporters shared comments from Smith’s friends and colleagues , noting thousands of lives touched through FedEx: careers, the FedEx St. Jude Championship golf tournament, FedExForum and the Grizzlies, the Memphis Zoo, the University of Memphis and the airport, which may be renamed after Smith.

In an interview with Y Combinator last week, Elon Musk shed new light on exactly what technology the company has in Memphis. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP)

More Musk updates: The steady stream of xAI updates continues as billionaire Elon Musk talked about bringing 110,000 semiconductors online at xAI’s second Memphis data center in Whitehaven — Colossus 2. During a June 17 interview he broke down chip numbers and tech used at both Memphis-area data centers, the same day Bloomberg broke down the billions Musk’s company is burning through.

For the last six years, Cnct Design worked on bringing in businesses, including Cafe Noir (rendering shown here) to create sustainability in the “grassroots development.” (Courtesy Jasmine Settles)

‘We’re just architects:’ If you say so, Cnct Design. The architecture firm has invested in about nine properties in the Edge District, including Hard Times Deli, Bar Limina and Ugly Art Co., according to Cnct’s founder John Halford. “The Edge District is an awesome sandbox,” he said. For the last six years, Cnct Design worked on bringing in businesses, including Cafe Noir, a bookstore cafe slated to open this summer in The Edge.

As part of its celebration of 50 years in Memphis in 2023, FedEx Corp. hired photographer Annie Leibovitz. (Photo by Annie Leibovitz)

Looking back: The Daily Memphian has brought back our award-winning series on FedEx, from how the company landed in Memphis to 50 years of local jobs and careers to a photoshoot with the world’s most famous portrait photographer.

MEET MEMPHIS

Gretchen Henderson is the new Spence L. Wilson Distinguished Professor in the Humanities.(Submitted/Rhodes College)

Gretchen E. Henderson cares deeply about water, and she plans to share that with Rhodes College students. Henderson is the new Spence L. Wilson Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at Rhodes College, and she’s also leading a global project titled “Dear Body of Water” to cultivate care for watersheds. “I am excited to grow creative collaborations … especially care for water as our lifeblood,” Henderson said. Henderson has also written five books, including “Ugliness: A Cultural History,” which dives deep into the concept and history of what we perceive as grotesque. — Bianca Phillips

THE NICE TO KNOW

Sakura’s Cholesterol roll (front) is filled with crabstick, cream cheese, and avocado. The Phoenix roll (back) has fresh, spicy tuna and avocado inside and is topped with snowcrab mix. (Ellen Chamberlain/The Daily Memphian)

Rolling out in Lakeland: Sushi lovers in Lakeland (surely there must be tens of them) will be happy to know that Sakura’s signature supersized sushi rolls are now much closer. Food writer Ellen Chamberlain tried out the local chain’s fourth location in Lakeland, recommending a Phoenix roll and a Cholesterol roll, plus a sauce she puts on everything. For something on the sweeter side, I like Sakura Japanese Restaurant’s mango roll with shrimp tempura, snow crab mix, avocado and a sticky-sweet mango sauce. 

According to United States Department of Agriculture data, one in every five children faces food insecurity. (The Daily Memphian file)

Free meals for kids: Without school cafeteria meals, some students in the Mid-South will struggle with food insecurity this summer — one in five, according to USDA data. The YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South, along with the DeSoto County School District, is spearheading efforts to combat those stats. Similarly, groups with the Memphis-Shelby County Schools summer feeding program are aiming to bridge the gap caused by the state pulling out of a federal program that helped with summer grocery costs for students. Chalkbeat has a map with locations for convenient food pickup, times and details.

The Downtown Memphis Commission said in a statement it was thrilled for Docks Off 5th to locate on Beale Street. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Back to Beale: When’s the last time you went out on Beale Street? Or even Downtown in general? “There are so many people who live 10 or 15 minutes from Beale but haven’t been here in five or even 10 years,” said Carey Martin, the designer and general manager of Docks Off 5th. The New York-based seafood-forward restaurant is now open in the former Jerry Lee Lewis venue on Beale Street, and Christin Yates offers a preview of the space. If you need another reason to go Downtown, I spoke with Zio Matto Gelato owner Matteo Servente on last week’s Sound Bites podcast, and he offered some flavor recs for his authentic Italian gelato, available at his shop in the Central Station Hotel.

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

It’s hot.

Stay hydrated, y’all. Bianca Phillips will be back with your early word tomorrow.

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