Happy (almost) Hanukkah! It’s Friday, Dec. 12, and Hanukkah doesn’t start until Sunday. But if you’re looking for a good latke recipe now, try this one from our archives. I made these last year — with vegan substitutions — and they were just perfect.

As for goings-on, the grand opening for Cxffeeblack’s new cafe kicks off this morning and runs through the weekend. And tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies' No. 12 (aka Ja Morant) returns (on the 12th!) from injury to play the Utah Jazz. (If he doesn’t call 12 in this game, I’m turning off the TV.) And the Memphis Tigers play Louisville in an away game.

Saturday is your last chance to check out the retailers vying for free rent in Carriage Crossing’s Pop Local contest, and Santa will be there, too. Later that night, you can solve a holiday whodunit at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens. For more weekend fun, check out The To-Do List.

THE NEED TO KNOW

This photo of Ford’s Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center assembly plant at BlueOval City shows the final assembly section of the building. (Courtesy Walbridge)

Breaking up: Ford Motor Co. and electric-battery maker SK On are ending their exclusive partnership, which means SK On can now supply batteries for other companies. It also means the South Korea-based company will now own its facility at Ford’s BlueOval City. Both companies have already delayed production of batteries and electric vehicles — SK until 2027 and Ford until 2028. The break-up doesn’t mean Ford needs to find a new battery supplier though.

Marie Feagins’ soon-to-be-former attorney William Wooten, right, attended an Oct. 23 hearing in Judge Christopher Frulla’s courtroom. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

And another break-up: Former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins needs a new lawyer. William Wooten, the lawyer who was representing her in the lawsuit over her firing, filed a motion to withdraw from the case Wednesday. Feagins is suing the MSCS board for allegedly violating the state’s open-meetings law and plotting her termination in secret. Feagins, now a Shelby County mayoral candidate, has a court date over the lawsuit next week.

After years of planning, renovations and security-equipment purchases, Memphis-Shelby County Schools debuted its Real Time Safety Center on Thursday. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Eyes on the schools: Memphis-Shelby County Schools now has employees watching 18 live camera feeds from its schools — all from one control room. MSCS unveiled its new Real Time Safety Center on Thursday, which features that video wall, an AI program that assists security staff in monitoring campuses and an active-shooter training simulator. The center is located in the old Alton Elementary building, which closed to students in 2022. At the unveiling Thursday, Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond, who is pushing to close some schools soon, pointed to the center as an example of what can be done with empty buildings.

Michael Lightman, of Michael Lightman Realty Co., died Tuesday, Dec. 9. (The Daily Memphian file)

‘Everyone wanted to work with him’: Real-estate developer Michael Lightman, who built shopping centers across Shelby County, died Tuesday after a brief illness. Lightman was connected to Exeter Village in Germantown, Malco Plaza in Bartlett and Sanderlin Centre behind Clark Tower, among many other properties. He had family ties to Malco Theatres, which was founded by his grandfather. His son, Michael Lightman Jr., remembered his father as a man everyone wanted to work with and who “always wanted the best.”

QUOTED

“Ryan won a lot of big games. That Arkansas game was a big game, right? My concern is about meaningful games, and there’s a difference,” said Memphis Tigers athletic director Ed Scott of former coach Ryan Silverfield. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

“Ryan and I had an awesome relationship. ... But we lost some meaningful games, and he moved on.”

— Ed Scott, Memphis Tigers athletic director 
After introducing new Memphis football coach Charles Huff on Wednesday, Scott addressed former coach Ryan Silverfield’s departure. He praised Silverfield’s “culture” with the players and his 19-5 record over the two seasons Scott was AD. But he said a “good season” can still be “disappointing.”

THE NICE TO KNOW

The L-shaped 616 property is a historic two-story building in the heart of the Edge District. (Elle Perry/The Daily Memphian)

From club to cowork: You may have had some wild nights at the old 616 or Club Spectrum (I sure did!), but the building is finally growing up. John Halford with Cnct Design has applied for a Downtown Memphis Commission grant to turn the former nightclub into a coworking space and to bring a new restaurant into the vacant spot next door. Part of those grant funds would be used to restore the building’s historic facade.

Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Edey is out .. again. Is anyone else getting flashbacks to two seasons ago? Just one day before Ja Morant’s return from injury, the Memphis Grizzlies announced that Zach Edey will miss at least a month while he heals a stress reaction in his left ankle. And he’s not the only newly injured Grizzly: Jitty’s out, too.

Wild Beet is opening a location where The Farmer used to be at Railgarten. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

We got the Beet: Y’all, it’s hard out here for a salad lover in Midtown. Sure, Midtown has abundant vegan options, but big ole salads? You gotta drive out east for that. That’s changing soon, though, since Wild Beet Salad Co. is opening soon at Stomping Grounds. That’s the new bar/playground for parents and their kids opening in the former Railgarten. In other foods news, there’s a new Korean restaurant in Germantown, and a Broad Avenue cafe should have more room to sit soon.

“If you are a criminal considering DeSoto County, don’t even think about it,” said DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton. (Courtesy of the DeSoto County District Attorney’s Office)

Attention criminals: DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton doesn’t want you there. The DA is behind a new ad campaign that includes billboards along Interstate 55 warning Memphis criminals to “TURN BACK NOW!” (their caps) because “PRISON AWAITS YOU IN DESOTO COUNTY.” (I don’t know about you, but if I’m committing a crime, a billboard telling me no is probably not going to stop me.)

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Does this incomplete exit ramp near the new bridge haunt anyone else’s dreams? 

Don’t go down that road. And I’ll see you in one piece on Monday.

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