Rise and shine, Memphis! Today is Monday, July 11, and the Shelby County Board of Equalization will begin hearing county property tax appraisal appeals today. 

The Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen also has a meeting, and they’re set to talk about the important-but-not-exciting topics of street-striping and the rollout of garbage and recycling carts. The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen meets today, too.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner wants to set in motion an initiative to update the buildings at Regional One Health on Jefferson Avenue. The campus has buildings dating back 80 years. (The Daily Memphian file)

An update for Regional One? Before his Shelby County Commission term ends in August, Commissioner Van Turner hopes to set in motion a $750 million capital initiative to replace Regional One Health’s aging buildings, which are between 60 and 80 years old. “There’s a need to have a significant upgrade to make all of the places where we provide care consistent with current code for hospitals,” said Dr. Reginald Coopwood, president and CEO of Regional One Health.

Police identify suspect in officer shooting: A Memphis Police officer is in stable condition at Regional One Health after being shot by a suspect on Saturday. Officers responded to a call about a stolen car at 5932 Hickory Hill Square, and when they arrived, an armed Giorgio Minnis, 34, retrieved a handgun from his waistband and shot one of the officers. Minnis is in custody and faces numerous charges.

Dr. Chris Hanson is a pediatrician with Laurelwood Pediatric Group, which offers COVID-19 vaccines to patients 6 months to 5 years old, in addition to older children. “Yes, they can have some side effects, but they’re mild and very similar to what they would experience with other vaccines,” he said. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Vaccination rates low for young kids: As of July 4, only 354 children aged six months to five years had been vaccinated for COVID-19 in Shelby County, despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of the vaccine for that age group in mid-June. The low vaccination rate for the county’s youngest patients is on trend with a national survey that found a majority of parents weren’t so eager to get their children vaccinated right away.

Cynthia Myers, descendant of 1939 lynching victim Jesse Lee Bond in Arlington, said the Tennessee Civil Rights Crimes, Information, Reconciliation and Research Center’s creation is emboldening families to share their stories, but that she wants to make sure the center has enough resources to bring the information to light. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Gone cold: In 2018, the Tennessee legislature created the Tennessee Civil Rights Crimes, Information, Reconciliation and Research Center to collect information about unresolved hate crimes in the state during the civil rights movement. But four years later, the center struggles to move forward. “I don’t think there’s a shortage of human beings that want to do the work. I think it’s really a resource and money issue,” said Cynthia M. Deitle, a founding board member for Tennesseans for Historical Justice, which pushed for the center’s creation. The Institute for Public Service Reporting’s Laura Faith Kebede looks into what’s been holding up the center’s work to resolve the state’s civil rights cold cases.

QUOTED

“I feel like the whole organization is my family. Memphis is my family, and that’s why it’s my home.”

— Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant
The Memphis Grizzlies held a news conference on Friday to formally unveil Morant’s five-year, $193 million contract extension. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins was there and says Morant is “as Memphis as the chip that he wears on his shoulder every day. He fits the city the way Z-Bo fit, the way Elvis fit, for that matter.”

THE NICE TO KNOW

Jay Booker feeds his dog, Tiva, treats from the coffee shop in the lobby of Arrive Memphis. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

Dog days: The dog star Sirius is rising in the sky as we head into mid-summer, so we thought it’d be the perfect time to offer up our favorite dog-friendly spaces to eat, drink and even work with your pup. Dogs are welcome to stay at Arrive Hotel with no extra fee, and the staff at Slider Inn will gladly offer your dog a water dish while you sip your Jameson slushie. Plus, we offer a tip on where to find the largest dog-friendly public building in Memphis.

Poll worker Denetria Cooperidge (right) greets voters at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church polling location during the Super Tuesday primaries on March 3, 2020. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian file)

Calling all Republicans: The Shelby County Election Commission is short about 170 Republicans to volunteer at precincts in Whitehaven, South Memphis and Midtown for the Aug. 4 election. State law mandates that no more than half of poll workers at a site share the same party affiliation, but finding Republicans in largely Democratic-leaning neighborhoods is a perennial problem for the election commission. 

Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (7) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during an NBA summer league basketball game Tuesday, July 5, 2022, in Salt Lake City. He had a strong game Sunday night against the Timberwolves. (AP Photo file/Jeff Swinger)

Summer of Santi: The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 71-63, in the lowest-scoring game of the summer league so far. Second-year forward Santi Aldama scored 22 of those points in an impressive showing for the player who appeared in just 32 games in the last Grizzlies’ season. In other news, the recently drafted (and injured) Danny Green sat next to coach Taylor Jenkins at the game, which The Daily Memphian’s Drew Hill calls “an encouraging sign.”

Meet the new class: Fifty new Teach for America-Memphis corp members will be working in schools in low-income communities this fall. This current group of TFA members comes at a critical time in education, considering that TCAP scores released last week showed that the majority of Memphis-Shelby County School students aren’t meeting grade-level expectations in English or math. The Daily Memphian’s Aarron Fleming introduces us to a couple members of this year’s TFA-Memphis cohort.

Rhodes College has been selected to receive a National Science Foundation grant to fund fungi research that has the potential to create more effective anti-fungal drugs. (The Daily Memphian file)

Fungus among us: Rhodes College has been selected for a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to fund fungi research with the potential to create more effective anti-fungal drugs. Rhodes will use some of the grant funds to involve students from historically Black colleges and universities in Memphis and beyond in the research. 

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

We’re in for another hot week without a drop of rain in sight. But hey, the humidity will be a tad lower, so there’s that.

Treat yourself to a popsicle today! I’ll see you on Tuesday (when it’ll be even hotter!).

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