Good morning, everybody! The Daily Memphian’s email drought is over, so you should be getting this in your inbox (if that’s what you’ve signed up for). But, just in case this ever happens again, you may want to consider signing up for our push notifications to your phone or browser. 

But back to it. It’s Friday, June 11, and there will be a “special announcement” in Health Sciences Park, where work has been ongoing to remove the monument and remains of Nathan Bedford Forrest, today at noon. The J. Buck Experience will also be performing nearby, beginning at 11:30 this morning, at 607 Monroe Ave. And comedian Hasan Minhaj, maybe best-known for Netflix’s “Patriot Act,” is at the Orpheum’s Halloran Centre for several shows through Saturday evening. (If you need other ideas for this weekend, check out The To-Do List.)

THE NEED TO KNOW

Porter-Leath Early Childhood Academy Sead Start students said their ABC’s in 2019. Porter-Leath opened a new $10 million academy in Frayser in March. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)

Head Start stopped: After a seven-year partnership, Shelby County Schools is ending its contract with Porter-Leath for early childhood education. The organization’s president said the school district was walking away from millions of dollars in infrastructure and private investment; SCS counters that Porter-Leath jeopardized its federal grant by asking for more money to provide fewer services. With this latest development, however, Porter-Leath is now opening enrollment for pre-school-aged children at six facilities.

What’s in store at the Pipkin: Another sign that the local pandemic seems to be winding down: The Pipkin will likely close as a public vaccination site at the end of July. People still seeking a vaccination after that will be able to go to private providers or the area’s Office of Emergency Management. In the past week, the area has been averaging about 44 new COVID-19 cases a day, and we have fewer than 500 active cases, a number not seen since March 2020.

The three BLP Film Studios partners, at City Hall after receiving approval from the planning board for their film-production complex in Whitehaven. (From left) Cecilia Barnes, general counsel, Jason Farmer, founder/chief executive, and Carolyn Henry, chief financial officer. (Tom Bailey/Daily Memphian)

Film studio’s focus: The Land Use Control Board approved a plan yesterday for an 85-acre film studio in Whitehaven. Jason A. Farmer, founder of Black Lens Productions Film Studios, is a Marine and a longtime small business owner; he became interested in the production side of movies about a decade ago when his son said he wanted to be a filmmaker. “There’s a huge unmet demand, particularly for general market content that is created by Black and Brown content creators,” Farmer said. “And all the legacy television stations, production companies, streaming companies, none of them have enough content that is marketed toward Black and Brown communities. So we’re hoping Memphis will become the epicenter of that.” 

The best time to cross the bridge: If you are planning to drive across I-55 — and you have some leeway when you should go — do not choose Thursday. I looked at seven days of traffic data released by the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and eastbound drivers can expect at least a 30-minute delay from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays, with much of the day seeing longer delays. But it’s not just Thursday that’s a problem. 

MEET MEMPHIS

Pristex product workers Rosalba Herrera (left) and Alicia Hernandez (right) place lids on disinfectant wipes in May. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

In the early days of the pandemic, Memphis’ Pristex was formed as a sales-only entity, essentially to help health care entities find the PPE they desperately needed. (Y’all remember all that craziness?) But Pristex soon realized that, to meet its goals, it couldn’t just be a middle man. It needed to shift into production. Its plant opened last October producing one type of disinfectant wipe; it’s now got a second production line and five more in the works.

THE NICE TO KNOW

University of Memphis director of athletics Laird Veatch (center) talks with university president David Rudd (left) and Scott Leftwich during the ground breaking of the renovations to the Leftwich Tennis Center. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

A new set: Tennis is about to get bigger and better than ever at Leftwich. Local leaders broke ground yesterday on the tennis center’s $24 million expansion; as part of the project, “the space will be completely reimagined,” with 12 indoor and 24 outdoor tennis courts. And the new Leftwich will become the home of the University of Memphis’ tennis program.

Poaching and coaching: As NBA teams begin their latest hiring cycle, U of M coach Penny Hardaway is on their radar, according to ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski. The speculation started after another former professional basketball player said that Hardaway should be the next coach of the Orlando Magic, the same team he played for from 1993-1999. In somewhat related news, there is also talk that Hardaway is trying to hire former NBA and college basketball coach Larry Brown to be an assistant coach at the U of M — and there is also talk about why it’s a bad idea. But Geoff Calkins has a solution and, spoiler alert, it’s to go ahead and hire Brown. I’ll let you check out his reasoning yourself.

High school-aged girls work with Girls Inc. staff to harvest vegetables to sell at local farmers markets and develop entrepreneurial skills. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian file)

Way to grow: Girls Inc. broke ground on the $7 million expansion of its youth farm in Frayser yesterday. The project includes a new programming center, administrative offices and additional farming operations. One hope is that the project will increase the visibility of the farm and give Frayser residents more chances to buy the food grown at the farm. 

Staying virtual: The state approved plans yesterday for a virtual school in Germantown, set to start next year. The Germantown Online Academy for Learning will be part of the Germantown Municipal School District and will give middle and high school students the option to continue learning virtually even as the pandemic ends. Like facilities with a physical building, the new school will have its own principal, mascot, prom, athletics and other extracurricular activities.

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

The Keystone Pipeline and what the recent defeat of that project might mean for Memphis. 

We’re going to end there for the week. Thanks for bearing with us, especially with the email issues, and we’ll return bright and early Monday. Have a great weekend!

.....