Court is in session, Memphis! Can you hear the gavel? It’s Thursday, May 18, and a bench trial over the residency requirement for mayoral candidates begins today. If the court rules the city has a five-year residency requirement, mayoral hopefuls Van Turner and Floyd Bonner Jr., who are leading a recent poll, would be out of the race.

THE NEED TO KNOW

RowVaughn Wells, (middle) mother of Tyre Nichols, spoke to the media on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, after announcing a $550 million civil lawsuit against the City of Memphis. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Nichols lawsuit is a ‘budget-buster’: The civil rights lawsuit that Tyre Nichols’ family brought against the City of Memphis and city police and fire departments is the “elephant in the room” during city budget hearings this week, according to City Council chair Martavius Jones. At a budget hearing on Wednesday, Jones called a potential settlement over the lawsuit a “budget-buster.” The Nichols family is seeking $550 million in damages, which is about two-thirds of the city’s annual budget. 

Hundreds of FedEx pilots gathered outside of the Air Operations center to picket last June. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

FedEx pilots authorize strike: On Wednesday, FedEx pilots voted to strike, if needed, to achieve a new labor agreement with FedEx. Negotiations for the pilots’ contract began two years ago in May 2021; pilots are currently operating under a 2015 contract. But the pilots can’t strike without permission from the National Mediation Board. In a statement, FedEx said it was still in negotiations with its pilots and that it would return to the bargaining table next week.

Semi-trucks traveling south on Tulane Road, seen here, between the Mississippi-Tennessee border and Stateline Road will soon face $1,000 fines. (Beth Sullivan/The Daily Memphian)

Keep on truckin? Drivers of semi-trucks traveling southbound on Tulane Road between the Tennessee-Mississippi border to Stateline Road in Southaven may soon be issued $1,000 fines. Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite announced the plan this week, citing the move as a response to a new industrial development yet to open on the Memphis side of Tulane Road. Musselwhite has concerns about potential road damage from truck traffic and said the business didn’t “seem to be very interested in talking to us.” Said Musselwhite: “You can bet when their truck drivers start getting thousand-dollar tickets, they’re gonna start squawking.”

Former Memphis cop pleads guilty to rape: On Wednesday, former Memphis Police lieutenant Jeffrey Jones, 55, pleaded guilty to the statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl. Jones was arrested in November 2019 for allegedly sexually assaulting the daughter of an acquaintance, and he was fired from the MPD a year later.

“I consider it an honor to be considered for appointment to a nonvoting position of the [MLGW] board,” Collierville’s former town administrator James Lewellen told the Memphis City Council earlier this week. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Electrification with representation: Last year, Shelby County’s suburban leaders called for more input on Memphis Light, Gas and Water decisions, specifically related to the utility’s recent power supply decision. Although that decision has been made, the suburbs might be finally getting some representation. Former Collierville town administrator James Lewellen could become a non-voting, advisory member of the MLGW board, pending a Memphis City Council vote next month. 

QUOTED

Moderator Kelli Cook of WMC-TV Channel 5 (left) addressed (from left) Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, former Memphis police officer L.A. Webb and Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon on May 17, 2023, at St. Paul Baptist Church. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

“We should do everything in our power to understand the community, no matter what neighborhood ...”

— Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis
At the MPD’s new “Critical Conversations” town hall series in Whitehaven Wednesday night, Davis spoke on the need for police to build trust with diverse communities. The panel also addressed the role of mental health issues in crime and ways to provide better educational access for children. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

A chicken, egg and cheese biscuit from Kinfolk at Comeback Coffee. The brunch pop-up is opening its own space in Harbor Town this August. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Cathead biscuits, trash can nachos: Kinfolk, chef Cole Jeanes’ popular brunch pop-up at Comeback Coffee, is moving to its own permanent space in Harbor Town later this summer. The new Kinfolk will still feature its signature cathead-style biscuits, but the menu will expand to include breakfast bowls and lunch options. Jeanes described it as “refined Waffle House.” The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington has all the details. In other food news, the Food Network’s bleach-blonde “Diners, Drive-in and Dives” host will open Guy Fieri’s Tunica Kitchen + Bar at the Horseshoe Casino this summer. Our own Jennifer Biggs says there’s very little information available yet, but one thing she does know: The bar will serve Fieri’s famous “trash can nachos,” which probably aren’t as gross as they sound. In her Table Talk column this week, Biggs also talks about a new brewery opening in Cooper-Young this Friday.

Audience members applauded at a groundbreaking ceremony for renovations at the National Civil Rights Museum on May 16. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Building a Legacy: The National Civil Rights Museum’s multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of its Legacy Building broke ground this week. The redesigned building, located across the street from the main museum at the Lorraine Motel, will offer new exhibits on the Poor People’s Campaign and Freedom Award, as well as a new exhibition that explores the Civil Right Movement following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. 

Martavious McGee prepared chocolates at Phillip Ashley Chocolates in Midtown. (The Daily Memphian file)

Sweet news: Memphis chocolatier Phillip Ashley Rix is writing “the quintessential book on chocolate.” Rix said his cookbook, which is due out in 2025 from an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, will include some basic truffles and candies, as well as cookies, cakes and pies. Rix’s Phillip Ashley Chocolates business celebrates 10 years this year; in that decade, the self-taught chocolate artist has created confections for the Grammy and Academy awards and made Oprah’s Favorite Things List.

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium called borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks. (CDC via AP file)

Tick talk: This is great news for my fellow trail runners (and really anyone who enjoys being outside). Memphis-based US Biologics has received federal approval for a new Lyme disease prevention drug. Lyme disease is spread when ticks feed on small mammals, particularly mice, and then transmit the disease to humans. The new oral vaccine, developed by University of Tennessee Health Science Center professor Maria Gomes-Solecki, would be sprayed onto pellets that mice would consume in the wild. (Sorry for the creepy tick pic.)

Developer Mike Bailey is putting together two parcels in Olive Branch to create a mixed-use development called Oak Park Town Center. (Courtesy Olive Branch Planning Department)

Oak and Olive: No, this isn’t about a new wine bar, though if I ever open one, I’m calling it Oak and Olive. It’s about a new, mixed-use project called Oak Park Town Center that could be coming to Olive Branch. The suburb’s Board of Aldermen approved developer Mike Bailey’s plan for the project earlier this week. He says he’s hoping to pattern the development after Southaven’s Silo Square: “I don’t know if we can duplicate that, but it would be nice,” he said. Bailey plans to anchor the project with a big box store and include 96 loft apartments over ground-level retail and offices. In other OB news, aldermen moved forward on a plan to replace the city’s old tornado sirens.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Our Daily Memphian $10 Deal series is reserved for food deals. But here’s a non-food-related $10 deal that you might want to know about.

Until next time, which is tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. 

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