Good morning. It’s Tuesday, March 10, and if you’re hoping to run for state or federal office, today is your deadline to file. 

The Center City Revenue Finance Corp. meets today, and they’ll consider a 10-year tax incentive for the old Murdock Printing building in the Edge District. A Jonesboro, Arkansas-based company wants to renovate the space into a mixed-use project with a restaurant, brewery or cafe. Tonight, what’s left of the Memphis Grizzlies plays the Philadelphia 76ers.

THE NEED TO KNOW

A rendering shows the proposed Standard mixed-use development. (The Daily Memphian file)

Germantown rejects TIF: The team behind the redevelopment of Carrefour at Kirby Woods will not be getting a tax incentive for their project. That was the decision last night by the Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen, who rejected what would have been the city’s first tax-increment-financing (TIF) incentive in a narrow vote. The TIF would have allowed developers to pay themselves back with new revenue from The Standard, the new mixed-use project going where Carrefour was. One of the developers said the city’s rejection will now affect “the quality of the design and the materials” used.

Matthew Szalaj

Meet Ford’s replacement: Matthew Szalaj, a 24-year-old assistant in Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s office is the new District 9 Shelby County commissioner — at least for a few months. Commissioners voted for Szalaj over nine other applicants to replace former Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., who resigned after his tax-evasion conviction. Szalaj has a background in commercial real estate and a finance degree from the University of Memphis. He called his new role “a short-term assignment … to pass a county budget.”

Regional One Health was approved to build a new hospital at the former Commercial Appeal site at 495 Union Ave. (The Daily Memphian file)

Med gets the go-ahead: OK, so it’s Regional One Health now, but that doesn’t rhyme. Anyway, the city’s trauma center can move forward with plans for a new hospital at the old Commercial Appeal site after a state commission granted a key approval. The current Regional One Health serves 12,000 trauma patients in a facility equipped to handle 4,000.

David Haley

Collierville cop resigns: David Haley, the Collierville police officer who was arrested on domestic-assault charges last week, has left the department. According to records from Fayette County, where the arrest happened, Haley’s girlfriend’s face was swollen after a physical fight between the couple. Haley worked for the department for nearly five-and-a-half years. 

Food fight: Gov. Bill Lee has rejected federal funds that keep kids fed during the summer, but a bipartisan bill might force him to change his tune. Last year, Lee rejected an estimated $75 million in SUN Bucks, which provide summer grocery funds to low-income students when school is out. In other General Assembly news, two Democratic lawmakers from Memphis are sponsoring a bill that would further punish adults who coerce minors into committing crimes.

QUOTED

An aerial view of xAI’s site at 2400 Stateline Road in Southaven. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

“They want to sneak this [xAI] data center in with as little involvement from the community as possible.”

— Abre' Conner of the NAACP 
The NAACP sent an open letter Monday to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality over its planned hearing for xAI’s natural-gas turbines. It’s set for today in Jackson, Mississippi (more than 180 miles away from Southaven), on the same date that Mississippians vote in federal primaries. The NAACP said the hearing date forces citizens to “choose between exercising their right to vote and protecting their right to breathe clean air.”

THE NICE TO KNOW

After operating both a production facility and a cafe for six years, Comeback Coffee owners Amy and Hayes McPherson closed their Downtown coffee shop last year to focus on producing signature coffee blends and sodas. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

As one door closes … another opens. Or at least that seems to be the case in the Memphis coffee shop scene. We’ve lost a lot of shops over the past year: Vice & Virtue, Bluff City Coffee and Comeback Coffee to name a few. But new shops seem to be opening all the time. Think Jay’s Coffee & Cuisine, Raymah Cafe and the new space for Cxffeeblack. Food writer Ellen Chamberlain got local coffee industry pros to spill the beans on why the industry seems so fluid.

University of Memphis head coach Alex Simmons on the sideline during a game against Vanderbilt University on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Tigers coach out: No, not that one. Coach Penny Hardaway is safe for now, but the University of Memphis has parted ways with women’s basketball coach Alex Simmons. She led Memphis to a 30-61 overall record and an 18-36 record in conference play. Simmons’ contract wasn’t set to expire until after the 2028-29 season, so the U of M could be on the hook for a lot of money if she was fired without cause. 

Memphis Grizzlies' Javon Small, center, shot over Brooklyn Nets' Nolan Traore, right, and Noah Clowney on Monday, March 9, in New York. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

Grizz drop another: If losing is the new winning, the Memphis Grizzlies are doing a good job. The Grizz, playing without 10 injured guys, lost 126-115 to the Brooklyn Nets Monday night. But at least GG Jackson got in a sweet poster dunk. In more fun, Grizzlies video coordinator Ivan Lukic put FanDuel reporter Rob Fisher on the spot during a halftime interview.

Kenneth Walker III spoke during a news conference the morning after Super Bowl 60 between the Seahawks and the New England Patriots. (Jeff Chiu/AP file)

New Chief: Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, who hails from Arlington, is apparently signing with the Kansas City Chiefs after leading his Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl win. And he’ll be paid handsomely for the switch. Walker, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft, ran for 3,555 yards and 29 touchdowns over four seasons with the Seahawks.

The Mellowtones performed on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, at the Overton Park Shell during the Stone Soul Picnic. (Lucy Garrett/The Daily Memphian file)

Shell-ebrate good times: The Overton Park Shell turns 90 this year, and they’re having a big, four-day party. Cleverly called the “Shell-Ebration,” the fest will be held Sept. 10-13 with live music by Booker T. Jones, plus musical showcases by gospel performers and local music studios. And it wouldn’t be a birthday party without cake, which will be served during a Shell picnic. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

The this_is_memphis Instagram account offers up a few suggestions for Memphis fortune cookies. What would your cookie say? “Eat this junt” or “Don’t get lost in the sauce,” perhaps?

Have a great Tuesday, mane!

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