Hello, and happy Thursday, Sept. 18. Today marks the start of the city’s first Southern Trans Celebration. The three-day event begins with a summit on trans issues this morning, and tomorrow brings a trans advocacy day on the Civic Plaza Downtown. The event wraps on Saturday with a free picnic and family-friendly festival at the St. Columba Camp & Retreat Grounds near Bartlett.

THE NEED TO KNOW

“Even if we don’t want the National Guard to come ... this is about to happen,” said Shelby County Commissioner Charlie Caswell, right. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

No ‘tank in my neighborhood’: The Shelby County Commission will consider a resolution opposing the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis. If passed, the non-binding resolution would ask Gov. Bill Lee to keep the guard out of Memphis. But since it’s probably happening anyway, Commissioner Charlie Caswell is sponsoring another resolution requesting more say from the county on what federal agencies can do here. “I don’t want to see a tank in my neighborhood,” he said. Four Memphis City Council members have also drafted a resolution opposing the guard’s deployment. In other guard news, FBI Director Kash Patel told U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen Wednesday that the guard’s role here would have a lot to do with establishing “perimeters” in “areas where the criminal activity remains.” 

Memphis Light, Gas and Water took a step toward acquiring a Cordova building at 7135 Goodlett Farms Parkway. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Gaining control? The Memphis Light, Gas and Water board voted Wednesday to buy the $31 million former Smith & Nephew building in Cordova for its new operations center and control room. If also approved by the Memphis City Council, MLGW would move its control center into the mostly disaster-proof building. But MLGW CEO Doug McGowen says this doesn’t mean the utility is leaving Downtown.

Court says no means no: The Tennessee Supreme Court is standing by its decision to lift the pause on the Memphis Police Department demoting its newish second lieutenants. The City of Memphis and the MPD created the new rank following the death of Tyré Nichols, and the police union sued, claiming the new position violated its contract with the city. A judge agreed with the union back in March, but the demotions were paused while the city appealed that ruling. The Supreme Court lifted that pause last week, and the city asked it to reconsider. 

The sublease between CTC Property LLC and Seven States Power Corp. will allow the power cooperative to build a solar project on 552 acres of Port Commission land. (Paul Sancya/AP file)

Place in the sun: A company controlled by xAI was given the greenlight on Wednesday to lease 552 acres for a solar panel project. The Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County approved the lease between CTC Property LLC (the xAI subsidiary) and Seven States Power Corp., a power cooperative operated by 153 power companies across the Tennessee Valley. The president of Seven States called the project “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring low-cost power.”

QUOTED

Les Smith (middle) posed with sons Jason Smith (left) and Jeff Smith. (Courtesy Jason Smith)

“He strived always to tell stories that were honest. And truthful. And, with feeling. And his love for Memphis really showed.”

— Ken Jobe, former Fox-13 news director
Jobe was referring to retired reporter Les Smith, who died Wednesday at age 75, after a brief battle with cancer. During his career in Memphis, he worked at all four local TV stations, retiring from Fox-13 in 2014. Friends, family and former colleagues reflected on Smith’s talent for storytelling. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

One of seven cats at a cat cafe in Warsaw, Poland. Now, a cat cafe is coming to Southaven.. (Czarek Sokolowski/AP file)

Cat-pucinno or a-meow-icano? Cats and coffee go together, like, well, I’m not sure they do. But they will soon at the region’s first cat cafe. Fancy Cat Cafe is under construction near the Snowden Grove area in Southaven. Once it’s open, you can pay to hang out with cats for a half-hour or a full hour. And while you’re there, you might as well feel out the felines for your own home, since every cat there will be adoptable. Just want a coffee? There’s a totally separate bar for that, and, because they’re cats, they probably don’t want to hang out with you anyway. 

Ann and Walker Uhlhorn in their home on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Remembering Walker Uhlhorn: Society of Entrepreneurs founder Walker Uhlhorn died Monday, at age 88, from injuries after a recent fall. SOE is an honorary circle of locals who have built successful Memphis companies and today includes everyone from filmmaker Craig Brewer to FedEx board chair R. Brad Martin. Uhlhorn’s wife, Ann, died just 18 months earlier, and before that, the couple only spent one night apart over their 61 years together. Family and friends reflected on his legacy and his deep love for his Ann.

The Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen will consider two liquor store applications on Monday. (Keith Srakocic/AP Photo file)

Legal limit: Last month, Collierville adopted new beer laws for the first time in more than 40 years. And not only did those rules finally allow drinkin’ and dancin’ in the same place, they also expanded the limit on liquor stores in the suburb to one for every 10,000 residents. At the time, Collierville had three, and the new rules meant two more could be added. Now, two more stores are looking to open. 

“The Main Street Mall has not had banners along its full length in more than five years,” according to a Center City Development Corp. report. (Patrick Lantrp/The Daily Memphian file)

Working the poles: The Main Street Mall is getting a fresh, new look soon. On Wednesday, Downtown’s Center City Development Corp. approved spending more than $80,000 for a Bartlett-based graphic-design company to create “timeless” artwork that includes the word “Downtown” for new pole banners. The banners will be displayed from Exchange Avenue to Peabody Place.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Memphis comedian Zach Williams has been putting out hilarious videos about National Guardspeople reflecting on their “tours in Memphis” years into the future. The video below is a great place to start, but you’ll want to visit his profile for more content.

A sample: “We were hunkered down in Cooper-Young, got separated from our platoon stationed at the Liberty Bowl. Been surviving off Jack Pirtle’s chicken for the last three days … we got separated when a cyclist group ran through our platoon. Everyone ducked for cover.”

Let’s do this again tomorrow!

.....