Hi there, Shelby County. It’s Wednesday, May 20, and school’s out for summer in Germantown. All the other public-school kids in the county will just have to wait a bit longer. Sorry, kids. 

If you were sad the Memphis Tigers baseball team didn’t make it to the American Conference Tournament the last couple of years, then be happy today. The Tigers baseball team starts conference play today.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, protested atop her desk on the Senate floor in Nashville during the special session of the state Legislature which authorized redistricting. (George Walker IV/AP file)

Meet the lawyers: Both sides in the Tennessee redistricting fight are bringing out the big guns. Attorneys from the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project will argue against the new congressional map that dilutes Memphis’ Democratic and Black votes. And the state has hired conservative law firm Consovoy McCarthy for their side. Meanwhile, the NAACP is calling on Black athletes and sports fans to boycott colleges and universities in Southern states that have opted for redistricting.

Bacarra Mauldin (second from left), former interim CEO of the Memphis Area Transit Authority, was fired from her post in March 2025. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Ex-MATA CEO wants her job back: Bacarra Mauldin, the former interim CEO of the Memphis Area Transit Authority, has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit over the March 2025 firing. Before her firing, MATA officials discovered more than $144,000 of suspicious charges on her company credit card, including purchases from Amazon and BestBuy. In the suit, Mauldin says she was fired while recovering from a surgery and was unable to respond to accusations against her. Now, she wants damages and her job back.

Employees at Novel bookstore will hold a secret vote on forming a bargaining unit. (The Daily Memphian file)

Bargaining for books: Workers at Novel will vote today on whether to form a union. About 30 workers at the independent bookstore in East Memphis will hold a secret ballot vote over a proposed bargaining unit that would push for better pay and working conditions. One employee said recent raises haven’t been enough to keep up with the cost of living. An attorney for the store said it supports the workers’ rights to unionize but that Novel has “invested steadily in wages and benefits.” 

About 3,500 third graders across Memphis-Shelby County Schools are still set to participate in the English Language Arts TCAP retest. (Courtesy Andy Barbour from Pexels)

To the test: It’s party time for some third graders and crunch time for others. Memphis-Shelby County Schools third graders who are at risk of retention will retake their state reading test this week in the final days of school. Originally, MSCS planned to retest every third grader, no matter the test score, because it had yet to receive scores from the state. But those arrived earlier than expected, exempting the students who scored well. Students who have to retake the test could get excused from summer school or tutoring if their scores improve. 

QUOTED

“We need you. We need your friends, we need your family,” University of Memphis head football coach Charles Huff said. “People always ask, ‘What can we do to help?’ Buy season tickets.” (Greg Campbell/Special for The Daily Memphian file)

“I think my job ... is to be a combination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Vince Lombardi and JFK.”

— Charles Huff, Memphis Tigers football coach
If you’re thinking um, what? Let Huff explain. The coach had a lot to say on Tuesday, including a comment on his role as both a community guy and a football coach. He also has thoughts on College Football Playoff expansion, and he wants hot dogs to be cheaper. Oh, and he thinks Memphis can get into a Power 4 conference. Geoff Calkins says you can start by shelling out bucks on games.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Josephine Estelle owners Andrew Ticer (left) and Michael Hudman (right) also own Andrew Michael, Hog & Hominy and Catherine & Mary’s. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

How the pasta gets made: Restaurateurs Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen fame will open their newest restaurant later this month. Josephine Estelle, located in The Standard Germantown, will feature Italian classics, like chicken parm and ravioli. It’ll also have a second-floor cocktail bar called Rosie’s Tavern, serving a steakhouse-inspired menu. The friends are particularly excited about the dough room, where customers can watch fresh pasta and bread being made. 

“Sometimes in life ... you’re going to drop like a rock,” Howard Robertson of Trust Marketing said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Whitehaven YMCA’s new aquatic center. (Brandon LaGrone II/The Daily Memphian)

Diving headfirst: Whitehaven’s YMCA has a new pool, but it was almost built without a deep end. YMCA officials cut the ribbon Tuesday on the new Robertson Family Aquatic Center at the Georgette & Cato Johnson YMCA. The pool area was named after Howard and Beverly Robertson, founders of Trust Marketing and big donors for the project. For liability reasons, designers recommended a maximum depth of five feet, but Howard Robertson pushed for a deep end — and not just to help kids learn how to swim.

Scotty Hendricks Jr. is resigning from the Germantown Municipal School District Board of Education. (Brad Vest/The Daily Memphian file)

Off the board: The Germantown Municipal School Board is about to have a vacancy. Scotty Hendricks, the first person of color to serve on an elected board in Germantown, will resign in June as his family moves to Atlanta. He was appointed to the Position 2 seat early last year after Dr. Daniel Chatham resigned. The seat is on the upcoming Nov. 3 ballot. The Germantown school board also approved a $92 million budget Tuesday, and it came with some job cuts. Meanwhile in Arlington, the school board approved an operating budget and a new contract for Superintendent Allison Clark.

Emily Saliers (left) and Amy Ray of Indigo Girls and Linda Perry (right) will play the Overton Park Shell. (Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP file; Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP file)

Closer to fine: Actually, if you’re an Indigo Girls fan, this news is all the way fine. The multi-platinum folk-rock duo the Indigo Girls, best known for “Closer to Fine” and “Kid Fears,” will play a ticketed show as part of the Overton Park Shell’s Shell Yeah! benefit series this September. Opening for the Girls will be Linda Perry, whose name might not ring a bell, but this will: “And so I wake in the morning and I step outside, and I take a deep breath and I get real high …” Perry is the frontwoman for 4 Non Blondes and a talented songwriter in her own right.

“I Love Boosters” stars, from left to right, Naomi Ackie, Keke Palmer, Poppy Liu and Taylour Paige. (Courtesy Neon)

Sticky fingers: In honor of this week’s pro-shoplifting film release, “I Love Boosters,” you should probably sneak in a box of sticky candy. (Swedish Fish, if you want my rec.) The new feature film by songwriter/rapper Boots Riley stars Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige and Poppy Liu in a Robin Hood-esque shoplifting team. The film is based on The Coup’s rap song of the same name, and our movie buff Chris Herrington is here for it. He’s also admittedly not the target audience for “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” but he’ll probably see it anyway.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Here in Memphis, we likely hear “Memphis Safe Task Force” mentioned on the daily, but word of the operation hasn’t spread so much on the national level.

A group of local activists have been recording police interactions to try and get the word out, and they’re now suing over alleged retaliation from law enforcement. Mother Jones ran a national story on that this week.

Enjoy your day, and we’ll do it again tomorrow.

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