Happy Earth Day! It’s Wednesday, April 22, and you might see some Memphis Tigers coaches and players out picking up trash this morning. Memphis Athletics is joining forces with the Tennessee Department of Transportation for a big community cleanup.

Tonight, the city’s new semipro soccer team, Memphis FC, is kicking things off (eh?) with a jersey reveal and meet-and-greet at Crosstown Brewing. 

And in this newsletter, you’ll find more on the looming state school takeover and an office tip to escape your clingy cat.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s proposed budget would not raise property taxes. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Raises all around? Memphis Mayor Paul Young is proposing 2% raises for all city employees. Young says he won’t raise property taxes, but he suggests paying for the raises by cutting spending and defunding vacant positions. That was revealed Tuesday as Young presented his $897 million operating budget to the Memphis City Council. 

John Zeanah, the city’s head of development and infrastructure, led Memphis City Council members and others on a tour of what he calls the “Arena District.” (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Welcome to the ‘Arena District’: In other City Council news, members loaded up on a MATA bus Tuesday for a city tour. The first stop was in what the city’s head of development and infrastructure is calling the “Arena District” around FedExForum. He unveiled big plans Tuesday for how the city will spend $100 million in state money to make that area safer and classier. The council tour also stopped at construction sites at the old Southwest Twin and Liberty Park.

Tennessee lawmakers in the Senate could cast a first floor vote on the takeover bill Wednesday, April 22, and a final House of Representatives vote could soon follow. (Mark Humphrey/AP file)

Power grab: In the event of a state school takeover, an appointed board would have a big say in how Memphis-Shelby County Schools educates its 100,000 students. That board’s authority would supersede the elected school board in a number of ways, including the ability to fire and hire (maybe in secret!) a superintendent. The Daily Memphian’s Laura Testino looks into how much power the state board would have over everything from school closures to directing $1.7 billion in education funding. The MSCS board isn’t going down without a fight though; they voted Tuesday to sue lawmakers over the takeover plan. But that may be a challenge since lawmakers voted last week to stifle lawsuits from public-school districts.

Kids in custody: A new bill would allow the state to hold kids in custody for up to six months — without due process. The bill authorizes courts to order children to remain in Department of Children’s Services custody if they have assaulted staff members at a residential facility. But it also allows neglected, abused or delinquent kids to be held at taxpayer-funded treatment facilities. The bill is facing opposition on both sides of the aisle, and one Democratic lawmaker said it “treats kids like perps.”

QUOTED

“Some people, they’re born rural, right? ... We have to figure out how we get the [health] care to them.”

— Wendy Likes, professor and dean of the College of Nursing at UTHSC
Tennessee will have $1 billion to spend across dozens of its rural counties, including 19 in West Tennessee, over the next five years. It’s part of a federal program to fund rural health care, and Likes suggested AI may be part of that. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant during action against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Morant trade market: Summer is coming, and that means Ja Morant may be going — as in, somewhere else. But which team is in the market for an often-injured, sometimes grumpy and wildly unpredictable point guard? One anonymous Western Conference exec told ESPN there are likely “several desperate teams” that would take him. (Ouch!) The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington ponders which teams that could be. He also has thoughts on the draft and the playoffs.

Crosstown CoWork has 11 private offices, 14 dedicated desks, a large conference room and shared amenities at Crosstown Concourse. (Courtesy Crosstown Concourse)

You better co-werk: If you’re tired of moving your cat off your laptop, it may be time to get an office at Crosstown Concourse. Crosstown CoWork just opened inside the building, with 11 private offices, 14 desks, a conference room and more. Read more on that in Inked, where you’ll also learn about a new place to do cold plunges in Southaven.

Jaafar Jackson portrays his uncle, Michael Jackson, in the biopic “Michael,” releasing in theaters this Friday. (Courtesy Lionsgate)

Popping into theaters: It’s the weekend for pop-music movies. The first theatrical Michael Jackson biopic, appropriately titled “Michael,” opens this weekend, and it looks to be in the same vein as the highly acclaimed “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The film’s storyline ends before Jackson’s life got controversial, but the film itself wasn’t without its own behind-the-scenes drama. Chris Herrington has more on that and a look at a pop-music thriller starring Anne Hathaway.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

We’re not talking about this yet, but give it a few weeks. 

Have a great Earth Day, and do something nice for your mother.

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