Ding ding, all aboard? It’s Friday, March 27, and the South Main Arts District is hosting its first Trolley Night of the year. The event will be March Madness-themed, and you’re encouraged to show up in a basketball jersey (any kind, not just college). So, you might as well show up early in your Memphis Grizzlies jersey and then head to the Houston Rockets game at FedExForum.

On Saturday, the Dixon Gallery & Gardens is gonna be (gonna be) golden as it celebrates its 50th anniversary with a garden party. There’s also the annual Brazil By Night party at Collage Dance Center with Brazilian food, music and dance. And the Grizzlies play the Chicago Bulls at home.

And as we round out Women’s History Month, six Memphis women will be honored in the annual Women of Achievement ceremony on Sunday at Playhouse on the Square.

For more things to do, go here. Or, listen to me and Mary Cashiola ramble on about weekend fun on the AM/DM podcast. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

An aerial view of xAI’s site at 5420 Tulane in Whitehaven just over a year ago. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

XAI worth billions: XAI’s two data centers were appraised for $3.5 billion, which means the Elon Musk-owned AI company could pay about $54 million in city and county property taxes in the coming fiscal year. And xAI just keeps growing: The company is building a third data center in Southaven, and it purchased even more property in the suburb last month. 

“We have not had a say in who appointed our members ... since the state legislature created the Airport Authority in 1969,” said Terry Blue, president and CEO of Memphis International Airport. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian file)

Airport takeover NBD: “We’re all replaceable,” said Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority chair Michael Keeney of a proposed state takeover of the airport board. The authority addressed the takeover bill, which would replace the city- and county-selected board with a mostly state-appointed board, at its Thursday meeting. Airport president and CEO Terry Blue echoed Kenny’s comments that their jobs wouldn’t change no matter who is on the board. The Airport Authority also approved new runway lighting, days after a crash at LaGuardia Airport killed two pilots. 

Georgia Southern head coach Hana Haden directed her team during an NCAA college basketball game against James Madison in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on Saturday, Jan. 17. (Daniel Lin/Daily News-Record Via AP file)

New Tigers basketball coach: Georgia Southern coach Hana Haden will replace Alex Simmons as the new Memphis Tigers women’s head basketball coach. Haden was the 2026 Sun Belt Coach of the Year after leading Georgia Southern to a 16-2 conference record. And her overall head-coaching career record from the past 10 seasons is pretty impressive. Simmons was let go after posting a 30-61 record in three seasons.

QUOTED

“(We) believe the judge did what he could within the limits of the law, and we are grateful (Julio) Hernandez is no longer free,” wrote Angela Christopher, the mother of a woman killed by Hernandez in 2023. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

“We are grateful Hernandez is no longer free. He can take the next six years to work on becoming a better person.”

— Angela Christopher, mother of the late Ava Christopher
Julio Hernandez got six years in prison Wednesday for a 2023 hit-and-run that killed her daughter, Ava Christopher. Angela Christopher said in a social media post that, while the sentence didn’t “feel nearly long enough,” she understood the judge’s limitations and was “relieved to have this part come to a close.” 

THE NICE TO KNOW

“A moment of silence for the pork lovers because, when you try this, you may ascend,” writes Erica Horton about Kuyu’s sisig baboy. (Erica Horton/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Pigging out at Kuya: If you try one thing at new Filipino spot Kuya, food writer Erica Horton would tell you to get a pork dish that had her hearing “flowers blooming in some distant utopian field, beautiful and not yet discovered by man.” That’s the sisig baboy, which is made with crispy pork belly and egg. But if that isn’t your speed, no worries. In this week’s $15 Deal, she samples her way through most of the menu. (I’m looking at the vegetarian pancit kabute with egg-free noodles.) In more food news, we’ve got an update on the coming-soon In-N-Out Burger.

Corey Phillips is the new University of Memphis football general manager. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Hottest job in Tigers football: In the age of the NIL, you’re going to need a manager. That’s what the Memphis Tigers football program realized back in 2024, when it hired its first general manager to deal with roster retention, recruitment and athlete payments. Today, that title belongs to Corey Phillips, a Charles Huff hire who is so dedicated to the job that he keeps an air mattress in his office for when he needs to sleep at work. His job is more than just making sure players get paid though; he also tries to be a mentor. “I work in the kid business. They just now monetized the kid business,” he said.

Hot wings from the Ain’t It Life team, which is competing in the first-ever Wing World Cup. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Winner, winner, chicken dinner: It’s no longer enough to win the World Championship Hot Wing Contest & Festival. Now, there’s a next level. The festival, which is scheduled for April 18, has added a new World Wing Cup Series, which pits previous festival winners against one another. The inaugural contest features five teams, and the winner will get a lot more than just a shiny trophy. 

Rev. Mike Ellis of the Frayser Exchange Club looked over some of the ideas for Frayser’s bicentennial observances. (Bill Dries/The Daily Memphian)

Frayser’s 200th birthday: Frayser turns 200 this year, and neighborhood leaders mapped out ways to celebrate at a meeting on Thursday. The northern Memphis community was settled in the 1820s and — oddly enough — was considered part of North Carolina. The city was annexed into Memphis in 1958. The Daily Memphian’s Bill Dries, a native Frayser resident, talked to locals there about the big birthday plans.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Spring always comes in fits and starts, and we’re back in a fit this weekend with lows in the 30s tonight and highs in the 60s on Saturday. My heater and A/C are playing musical chairs right now.

Here’s hoping you didn’t pack up those jackets yet. 

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