Hi, Memphis. It’s Thursday, Dec. 11, and it could be a ruff day at the Land Use Control Board. The board is recommending rejection for Ruff Country Dog Resort’s requested permit to relocate near a residential area on North Collierville-Arlington Road.

This morning, Memphis-Shelby County Schools will cut the ribbon on its Real-Time Safety Center, which monitors school campuses 24/7. And this evening, you can either go out for drinks at Cameo and let Santa help you cross a busy Union Avenue. Or, you can stay inside and cuddle up on the couch with a set-in-Memphis holiday rom-com.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Greater Memphis Chamber CEO Ted Townsend made an announcement at the Chamber’s annual luncheon on Dec. 10. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Digital Downtown: “The largest development in the history of Downtown Memphis” is coming, at least if you ask Greater Memphis Chamber CEO Ted Townsend. Houston-based Legacy Power Capital is planning to build a nearly 2 million-square-foot mixed-use development with a hotel, apartments and a tech hub over 29 acres along Union Avenue, across from AutoZone Park. That’s where The Walk development was supposed to go. (You know, the one they tore down the Lit store for? RIP.) The development will include “sovereign cloud computing,” which is said to offer stronger protection than public clouds (think IT storage, servers, etc.)

“This is a step toward returning Shelby County toward a constitutionally sound process of determining bail amounts,” said Josh Spickler, executive director of Just City. (Jim Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Bail lawsuit goes class action: Last summer, nonprofit criminal-justice reform group Just City sued over a new state law that eliminated considerations for a defendant’s ability to pay bail. Now, that lawsuit includes more than 2,500 plaintiffs. A federal judge filed an order this week that granted class-action status to include the ever-shifting number of defendants who have been jailed in Memphis since the law took effect in May 2024. Just City’s suit seeks to have the law declared unconstitutional, and its director said it’s more important than ever considering how much more crowded the county jails have become since the Memphis Safe Task Force arrived.

First 8 Memphis, the nonprofit entity that many pre-K centers rely on for funding, has not received the annual funding it gets from the City of Memphis and Shelby County government. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

All is not OK for pre-K: Thousands of young kids may not have pre-K to go to in January, thanks to a delay in city and county funding for First 8 Memphis. That’s the nonprofit organization that acts as the fiscal agent for local pre-K funds, and they’re still in contract negotiations with the county. First 8’s director said the holdup is Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, who has not yet signed a contract. The delay could also possibly jeopardize federal funding for Head Start.

The average booking and processing time at 201 Poplar in October was about 5½ days, according to the most recent jail report card from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. (Courtesy Shelby County Sheriff’s Office)

Sheriff disputes inmates’ claims: Last week, we published a story on inmate experiences in Shelby County custody, which included long waits in a crowded intake area, bug infestations, liberal use of pepper spray and improper detox care. Now, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is pushing back on several of those accusations, claiming one ex-Shelby County Jail inmate embellished his pepper-spray story and disputing another former inmate’s story about a lack of running water. As for a claim that inmates at Jail East didn’t receive detox meds, SCSO passed that buck to its third-party medical provider.

QUOTED 

Memphis Tigers new head football coach Charles Huff spoke during his introductory press conference on Dec. 10. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

“I’m here to close the gap. ... We’ve been good. We’ve won a lot of games. It’s time to win a championship.”

— New Memphis Tigers Coach Charles Huff
Huff was formally introduced to the press on Wednesday, and though he hasn’t had a chance to win a game for Memphis, Geoff Calkins said he definitely “won the press conference.” Huff had lots of things to say about championships — and about what a good hire he thinks he was.

THE NICE TO KNOW

A landscape from County Wicklow in Ireland, the honored country for Memphis in May International Festival for 2026. (Business Wire via The Associated Press)

Shamrock and roll: Have y’all noticed that Ireland is having a Memphis moment? Just a few weeks ago, there was a Shamrock Shuttle to all the Irish bars, which thanks to restaurateurs DJ Naylor and Seamus Loftus, are all over the city. This coming weekend, a local clinic will highlight Irish sports for women. And on Wednesday, Ireland was named the honored country for the 2026 Memphis in May International Festival. But it isn’t the first time Ireland has been honored by MIM.

Certain dishes mark the season, and many holidays would feel incomplete without them. (Knape/Getty Images Signature)

Comfort food szn: Sure, the holiday season is all about family and kindness and gratitude. But it’s also about the food: savory casseroles and crunchy pecan pies, spiked nog drinks and Christmas cookies, Chinese takeout or a big spread with ham as the centerpiece. In my family, we have a newer custom of Mexican food on Christmas Eve (Feliz Navidad!) and a longstanding one of a giant Christmas Day breakfast — with mimosas, of course. Whatever you eat for the holidays, it’s likely wrapped up in tradition, and our own Ellen Chamberlain talks to locals about their holiday foods and dishes on some of her own in Table Talk. 

The 154-year-old Christian Brothers University is no longer on probation by its accrediting body. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Off probation: Christian Brothers University is finally back in the good graces of the elaborately named Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. (That’s SACSCOC for short — or, uh, shorter.) CBU was on probation for two years over its financial status, and during that time, the school cut numerous faculty positions and programs to get back on stable footing. But despite being off probation, CBU’s president said the university still has work to do.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant stood on the court before a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 9. (Brandon Dill/AP file)

Best basketball names ever: The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington is back with part two of his Grizzlies Mailbag, where he takes on your Grizz questions, general NBA queries and some personal Qs about his musical taste. You can read Herrington going deep on dream Grizz rotations and basketball ideologies here. But I’m skipping ahead to his top albums of 2025 and his All-Name Dream Team, where he creates a rotation of the best-named Grizzlies. (Yes, Stromile Swift is in there.)

A new economic plan for The Lake District got an initial approval by Lakeland leaders this week. (Brad Vest/The Daily Memphian file)

Pushing boundaries: A plan to expand Lakeland’s existing tax-increment-financing (TIF) district cleared a hurdle this week. Lakeland leaders gave the OK to a plan that adds undeveloped properties south of The Lake District. The earlier version of the TIF was limited to The Lake District, which has stalled since it fell into bankruptcy in 2023. If approved by the wider Lakeland Board of Commissioners on Monday, it would also reset the TIF’s timeline. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

New Memphis Tigers football coach Charles Huff was officially introduced as the 26th coach in program history Wednesday. The day before, Tigers athletic director Ed Scott released a statement about what Huff brings to the table. People on X thought it was kinda weird that the graphic featured three photos of Scott and none of Huff.

And one X user even improved upon the original with this ...

Alright, well this has gone to the dogs, or, well, cats. See ya later!

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