Put on your boogie shoes, Memphis. It’s Wednesday, Aug. 23, the city’s official Robert “Hollywood” Raiford Day. The Disco King of Memphis died on this day in 2017, so let’s get down later in his memory. And maybe pour one out from a 40-ounce Bud Light.

Rhodes College students are back in class today with the most diverse freshman class in the college’s history. And a Shelby County Commission committee will discuss granting a county-owned right-of-way to the city to provide a new public access point for the Shelby Farms Greenline.

Finally, it’s the last call for registrations for Thursday’s Daily Memphian Small Business Seminar at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Don’t miss this panel with Ed Cabigao of SOB Hospitality, Cynthia Daniels of Cynthia Daniels & Co. Events and Josh Hammond of Buster’s Liquors and Wines. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

Family and friends of Jarveon Hudspeth held signs to call for transparency surrounding his death in an officer-involved shooting. (Julia Baker/The Daily Memphian file)

New policy means Hudspeth video is coming soon: The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that it will begin releasing portions of video footage from fatal officer-involved shootings before investigations and reviews are complete. And it plans to start by publicly sharing footage from the death of Jarveon Hudspeth, who was shot by a Shelby County Sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop, possibly as soon as the end of this week. The video of Hudspeth’s fatal encounter with law enforcement will be posted on the DA office’s website, and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said the public should be prepared to see a “horrific incident.” In other criminal justice news, a Shelby County judge has ordered a mental evaluation for Joel Bowman, the man accused in a July 31 shooting outside the Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South.

Nate Guyton of Memphis Light, Gas and Water installed a smart meter on a house in the Cooper-Young area. (The Daily Memphian file)

Dude, where’s my bill? If you haven’t seen a Memphis Light, Gas and Water bill in a while, you’re not alone. Nearly 19,000 customers haven’t been billed in months due to broken Smart Meters (more like not-so-smart meters, right?), but the utility expects to resolve the backlog by January. When the issue is resolved, MLGW will send a bill for each month of service, meaning customers could get multiple bills in a short period of time. Meanwhile, in Germantown, about 5,700 utility customers received incorrect bills last week. They didn’t get the $27.50 water and sewer credit promised by the suburb’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen, following the city’s water crisis. Here’s how Germantown is correcting the issue.

Memphis City Council member Dr. Jeff Warren (middle) opposed a referendum on requiring residency for MLGW employees, which subsequently failed. “Until they can tell us they’ve got a waiting list for employees, I don’t think we should be tying their hands,” he said. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

City court clerk ballot question to go to voters: Memphis voters will decide whether to restore the city court clerk’s position as an elected office when they go to the polls in 2024. That referendum ordinance passed a final vote from the Memphis City Council on Tuesday, but another referendum on residency for Memphis Light, Gas and Water employees failed. Council members also heard an overview Tuesday of all that’s being done (new metal detectors, better lighting, etc.) to curb crime and pop-up parties on Beale Street following a mass shooting on Sunday, Aug. 13, that injured eight people. And the council approved a new two-year agreement between the city and the University of Memphis football team for use of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The deal is shorter than previous such agreements. Plus, a council committee learned why the city’s Solid Waste Division has missed more than 22,500 “outside the cart” pick-up requests since the beginning of the year.

Jaimee Lapham administered a COVID-19 test to a student on Jan. 11, 2022. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

COVID is on the rise: Those are five words you surely don’t want to hear, but cases have been rising over the past month with a weekly average of about 560 cases, according to the most recent stats. But there’s good news: The numbers are still lower than they’ve been at previous points in the pandemic, and one local infectious disease expert said “it appears these strains are not causing more severe illness.” If you do get sick, here’s something you can do.

QUOTED

Sarah Neumann, a Covenant School parent, cried after being ejected from the House Civil Justice Subcommittee hearing along with the rest of the audience. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian)

“This is not what democracy looks like.”

— Sarah Neumann, Covenant parent and gun reform advocate
Neumann, the mother of a survivor from The Convenant School shooting in Nashville, was among the activists removed from one of the first hearings of the General Assembly’s special session on Tuesday, Aug. 22. State Rep. Lowell Russell (R-Vonore), ordered state troopers to empty the hearing room after some audience members celebrated the defeat of a bill to arm more people in schools. However, two similar gun-rights bills did pass the subcommittee.

THE NICE TO KNOW

This rendering shows one of the gates Chickasaw Gardens wants at an entrance to their neighborhood. (Courtesy Blair Parker Design)

Chickasaw gatekeepers? The homeowners’ association in Chickasaw Gardens wants to limit access to the neighborhood in an effort to curb crime. The HOA recently submitted two applications to the Land Use Control Board requesting two gates on roads leading into the neighborhood near the Museum of Science and History on Central Avenue. In his Inked column this week, our own Rob Moore has more on that effort, plus an update on the city’s plan to redevelop the old Southwest Twin drive-in in Westwood.

Petals of a Peony is now open in Cordova. (Joshua Carlucci/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Spice is nice: Memphis’ first completely Sichuan restaurant, Petals of a Peony, softly opened this week on North Germantown Parkway. If you’re not familiar with Sichuan food, think bold flavors and plenty of garlic and spice from Sichuan peppers. Daily Memphian food writer Joshua Carlucci is a big fan of Brooklyn-based Sichuan restaurant Birds of a Feather, which happened to be the inspiration for Petals. Luckily, you won’t find New York prices here. What you will find: salad made from wood-ear mushrooms, cumin lamb and spicy pork intestine noodles, among other dishes made with organ meats.

Monique Williams, Bartlett’s new alderwoman, was sworn in by Judge Jennifer Johnson Mitchell on Tuesday, Aug. 22. (Michael Waddell/The Daily Memphian)

Bartlett makes a first: Monique Williams, the owner of Bartlett’s Biscuits & Jams restaurant, was sworn in as the suburb’s newest alderwoman on Tuesday night. She’s the first Black person to serve on the Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen and, at present, the only woman. Williams was chosen out of 12 candidates to serve in an interim capacity in the vacant seat left when longtime alderman Bobby Simmons resigned. “I thought maybe my voice and some of the things I could bring to the table could possibly bring about some changes,” Williams said.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

If you know, you know.

Always avoid westbound Poplar Avenue in East Memphis during peak meal times. That’s what Walnut Grove Road is for. 

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