What’s up, Memphis? It’s Thursday, Aug. 14, and the Land Use Control Board will consider special permits for a car dealership and a funeral home in South Memphis. Those are two separate businesses to be clear, though it did make me think of names for a fictional dealership/funeral parlor. Highway to Heaven? Rest & Rev? Open Roads & Open Caskets? 

Anyhoo, the inaugural People’s Hip Hop Awards Experience Weekend starts today with an anti-gun violence event at Fat Tuesday and runs through the weekend. It’ll bring performances by Memphis rappers Big Boogie, La Chat and many more. And if you’ve never heard of it, that could be because the event was previously billed under a different name.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Ezekiel Kelly (right) stood with attorney Anne Tipton after pleading guilty in court on Wednesday, Aug. 13. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Mass shooter sentenced: Ezekiel Kelly, the man who killed three and wounded three others in a citywide shooting spree in 2022, was sentenced Wednesday to three consecutive life sentence, plus 221 years. Kelly pleaded not guilty in 2022, but he changed his plea this week. He expressed remorse in the courtroom Thursday, calling the day-long shooting spree “the darkest point in my life.” A life sentence in Tennessee is 51 years, so that means Kelly got a total of 374 years. Some local attorneys say that’s the longest sentence they’ve ever seen here, but a 1992 sentence by an Oklahoma City judge has Kelly’s time beat by a lot — a way whole lot.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members clapped at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Frayer High School on April 1. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

‘No more patching up’: Memphis-Shelby County Schools needs to pour about $3 billion into maintenance projects just to keep its schools in shape. So, the district is facing some big decisions on which schools to close or consolidate and how to repurpose shuttered schools or build new ones. But now they have some help: A new, ad hoc facilities committee, made up of community leaders, reps from school campuses and politicians, met for the first time on Wednesday. The Daily Memphian’s Laura Testino was there and offers a look into the decisions they’re facing.

John T. Appling (middle) appeared in a Germantown courtroom on Wednesday, Aug. 5. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Next in the Germantown sexual-solicitation case: John T. Appling, the man accused of sexually soliciting minors in Germantown’s Howard McVay Park earlier this month, waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday. That means the case is headed to a grand jury. As part of a court order, Appling can’t stay in Germantown as his case is pending, and the alleged victims’ family will have access to his GPS location.

Shante Avant is the new chair of the Shelby County Commission. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

New at the top: Shelby County Commissioner Shante Avant was elected the body’s new chair on Monday. Commissioner David Bradford is new chair pro tempore. They’ll both serve for the last year of the current commission’s four-year term of office. The race to succeed former chair Michael Whaley came down to Avant and embattled Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., and the battle for pro tempore chair was a four-way race. The Daily Memphian’s Bill Dries has a breakdown of how the vote shook out and what extra duties the positions hold.

MEET MEMPHIS

Otis and Janie Jackson’s Peach Cobbler Factory on Sanderlin Road in East Memphis is one of four locations either open or in the works in the Memphis area. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Otis Jackson has always had a side hustle. During the 25 years that he worked a full-time job at FedEx, he also launched a trucking company, a security business, a rehabilitation facility and several other businesses. He even had a five-year run as a sports-talk radio host. All the while, his wife Janie Jackson worked for 32 years in IT for then-Memphis City Schools. Now, the couple has a joint hustle peddling in cobblers, puddings, brownies, milkshakes and other sweet treats. In mid-life, the Jacksons brought The Peach Cobbler Factory franchise to Memphis, and they’re already working on their third and fourth locations.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Collierville is considering changes to current beer rules. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian file)

Beer rules: Collierville could make it easier for businesses to sell beer. The suburb is considering new booze rules for the first time in 40 years, and if approved, microbreweries would be allowed. And beer can finally be sold near churches. That would be a relief to restaurants like Dyer’s Cafe. Dyer’s owner Mark McMinn said it best: “It’s kind of like peanut butter and jelly. You like to have a good beer with a burger.” (Amen, brother.) In related news, you also apparently need a good beer with fried chicken, and you can find plenty of both at this weekend’s Memphis Chicken & Beer Festival. Read more on that in Table Talk.

Thank you, next: Sriram Krishnasamy, the ex-FedEx exec whose multimillion cash payout was announced this week, will be replaced by Vishal Talwar. Starting Friday, Talwar will be FedEx’s executive vice president, chief digital information officer and information officer, which was the same role Krishnasamy held. Talwar previously worked at an Ireland-based tech consulting firm.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. in a game against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, April 1, at FedExForum. (Wes Hale/The Daily Memphian file)

Nothing but net worth: Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr. is getting into the crypto game. Jackson has partnered with crypto exchange company BTCC as its global-brand ambassador. That means he’ll be doing BTCC marketing stuff. It’s BTCC’s first sports partnership, but crypto trading companies have been slowly inching their way into the NBA.

Memphis Tigers quarterback Brendon Lewis threw the ball during a spring game at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on April 26. (Wes Hale/The Daily Memphian file)

The new Henigan: The Memphis Tigers have a starting quarterback who isn’t Seth Henigan. Henigan, the Tigers’ starter since 2020, graduated earlier this year, and his spot will be replaced by (drumroll, please) Brendon Lewis. The Nevada transfer was in the running with two other potential starter candidates.

Bob Hartheimer

Another day, new dollar: Memphis’ Evolve Bank & Trust, which has seen its share of troubles lately, has a new CEO, and he’s promising a “reset.” Bob Hartheimer, who once co-founded a credit card company for people with little to no credit, was tapped for the bank’s top job. Earlier this year, Evolve agreed to pay nearly $12 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that stemmed from a 2024 data breach. And customers were also impacted by the abrupt shutdown of a tech company that worked with Evolve.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

As illustrated in this cute video on @this_is_memphis_, all it takes is one drop of rain for Memphis drivers to end up like this. 

Be safe out there today! I’ll be out tomorrow and Monday, so Chris Herrington will be waking up with you. See you next Tuesday!

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