We’ve made it to another weekend. It’s Friday, Sept. 5, and if you’re heading to Art on the Rocks at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens tonight, I hope you’ve got something brown to wear — or, more specifically, mocha mousse.

The Germantown Festival starts Saturday, and that’s when you can see the Running of the Weenies. But if you’re more of a cat person, you can see a 73-minute compilation of cat videos from the internet at the Pink Palace Museum on Saturday. In more cat news, the Memphis Tigers football team plays Georgia State. 

On Sunday, the brat pack is back on the big screen for a special 40th anniversary screening of “The Breakfast Club.” And there’s a concert at the Overton Park Shell honoring the life of the man who helped save the Shell. Check out The To-Do List for more weekend fun, or listen to me and Mary Cashiola talk about things to do on the AM/DM podcast. 

THE NEED TO KNOW 

Trees have been cleared from a 15-acre site along Wolf River Boulevard. (Abigail Warren/The Daily Memphian)

What’s happening to the trees? That’s what some drivers along Wolf River Boulevard in Germantown may be asking. Trees along the suburb’s western edge are disappearing, and it seems the land is being cleared to make way for medical buildings. That land was rezoned from residential to office in 2019, and medical offices were discussed back then. But work is finally happening, even though official plans haven’t yet been submitted.

“If we cannot fact check what is printed about our city we have no obligation to provide the DM information to help sell your Memphis-centric newspaper,” Olive Branch Mayor Ken Adams said. (Brad Vest/The Daily Memphian file)

Olive Branch shuts us out: Olive Branch says they’re ceasing “communications with The Daily Memphian” because we won’t give the city a free subscription. In an email to our reporter, Mayor Ken Adams said, without free access, the city would remove us from their media list and “leadership will be made aware to not respond to DM media inquiries.” Adams’ quid pro quo-style request created what Daily Memphian Editorial Director Mary Cashiola called an “uncomfortable situation.”

Reports found at least $40 million in “immediate” repairs across 185 buildings owned by Memphis-Shelby County Schools. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Timeline for school closures: Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders should reveal which schools to close, merge or repurpose by the end of the month. The district’s schools need about $1.4 billion in maintenance updates over the next decade, and there are about 13 buildings that may need to be totally replaced over repairs costs. The committee working on the facilities plan met Thursday and revealed a timeline for when they’ll make big decisions about closures.

Family charged in 901 Day shooting: Suntria Stackins, 49, and her 16-year-old son were charged in connection to a Monday, Sept. 1, shooting near Beale Street. The shooting, which wounded a 17-year-old boy, happened after the free 901 Day on Beale event. Stackins was charged as an accessory, and her son is facing attempted second-degree murder.

QUOTED

Bill Oldham was first elected as Shelby County sheriff in 2010 and was elected to a second term in 2014. (Courtesy Shelby County Sheriff’s Office)

“[Bill Oldham] was ... a leader with a heart for people, a role model of ethical conduct and a steady hand in times of crisis.”

— Shelby County Sheriff’s Office social post
Former Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham died Thursday at age 75, and Sheriff Floyd Bonner’s office paid tribute to Oldham in a social media post. Oldham briefly served as head of the Memphis Police Department in 1999 and was elected sheriff in 2010, where he served two terms. On Thursday, Bonner and former Sheriff Mark Luttrell offered their remembrances. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

Sen Trang’s owners announced they’re stepping back to care for family. (Bianca Phillips/The Daily Memphian file)

An end to Faux Binh? Sen Trang, the Vietnamese restaurant that replaced Midtown’s Pho Binh, is changing ownership after a little more than a year in business. Pho Binh was beloved for its lemongrass tofu and other dishes, so the Sen Trang owners retained those recipes in their new space. Will the new owners keep the same recipes, too? Seems no one knows. Read more on that in Food Files, plus news of a Downtown dessert shop expanding to Southaven and an reopening date for the de-patioed Celtic Crossing.

Free-admission Tuesdays are expanding at the Memphis Zoo. (Brad Vest/The Daily Memphian file)

What to do on Tuesdays: The Memphis Zoo’s free days are expanding on Sept. 9 to last all day, thanks to some help from Shelby County government. In the past, free admission for Tennessee residents was granted only during afternoon hours for 11 months. Now it will be offered for the zoo’s entire day, every Tuesday year-round.

Goodwill Donation Center at Poplar Market Plaza will soon close. Collierville leaders are considering an escape room concept in its place. (Abigail Warren/The Daily Memphian)

Escape to Collierville: It’s a big year for fun times in Collierville. Just last month, the town finally allowed drinking and dancing in the same bar, and now Collierville may get its own escape room. The lease for the Goodwill Donation Center in Poplar Market Plaza is expiring soon, and Exit 4 Escape Room wants to open in its place. The town’s Planning Commission gave the plan the OK on Thursday. If you’ve never been to an escape room, here’s how it works: You get locked in with a group of your friends, and you have to solve riddles to get out. (It’s an excellent way to decide which friends to stick with in the case of a zombie apocalypse.)

Kurt Vile performed during the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, on March 17, 2018. (Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP file)

Sound on: The fourth annual Raised By Sound Festival, WYXR’s annual fundraiser, will be headlined by Stephen Malkmus and Kurt Vile. If you’ve not heard of them, you’ve probably heard of the indie bands they used to play for: Pavement and War on Drugs, respectively. The festival is scheduled for Dec. 6, and WYXR is adding an extra stage to spread the music around Crosstown Concourse. Here’s the rest of the lineup. 

Freedom isn’t free: This year, the National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Awards will go to a former New Orleans mayor, a Memphis-Shelby County Schools Hall of Fame member and an international journalist-turned-CEO. The annual awards honor those who have fought for justice, and they’ll be officially given out in a mid-October ceremony.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

We’ve got the last Grizzly! The Memphis Grizzlies signed forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper to the team’s final two-way spot on Thursday. This move helps bolster the frontcourt, which is starting without Zach Edey and Jaren Jackson Jr. 

Have a fun-filled weekend!

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