Good morning, Memphis. It’s Thursday, Aug. 31 — International Overdose Awareness Day — and Memphis-based nonprofit A Betor Way will host a candlelight ceremony at Hope Church to remember lives lost to overdose. A Betor Way, which offers syringe access and overdose prevention services, was founded in 2017 by Memphis couple Lisa and Ron Bobal after their son, Ronnie Bobal, died of an overdose.

The next couple of events are actually happening in the pre-dawn hours on Friday, but they fall before the next Early Word comes out, so save the dates. Team USA (and Jaren Jackson Jr.) haven’t lost a game yet, but the real competition is coming as they go up against Montenegro and four-time NBA All-Star Nikola Vucevic at 3:40 a.m. on Friday morning.

Less than an hour after the game starts in the Philippines, Memphis runners will gather at 4:20 a.m. to “Finish Liza’s Run” in honor of slain runner Eliza Fletcher one year after her abduction and killing.

THE NEED TO KNOW

A rendering shows the proposed Brooks construction Downtown. (The Daily Memphian file)

Judge could halt Brooks construction: Chancellor Melanie Taylor-Jefferson issued an order that could halt construction at the site of Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s new Downtown location. The judge’s order would stop work at the museum if Friends for Our Riverfront, which sued to halt work last week, can post a bond to cover the cost of construction. Friends for Our Riverfront, a group that includes heirs of Memphis’ founders, filed a lawsuit alleging that the new museum violates use of a public promenade set aside by the founders more than 200 years ago.

Mayoral candidate Willie Herenton held a fundraiser at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn Select on Thursday, May 25, 2023. (Ziggy Mack/The Daily Memphian file)

King Willie wants his throne back: We’re bringing you in-depth looks at the top contenders in the Memphis mayoral race, and today, our own Samuel Hardiman takes a walk (and a bit of a run) with former Mayor (and current candidate) Willie Herenton. The 83-year-old boxer keeps fit with jogs up the river bluffs, and he challenged Hardiman to do the same as he talked about crime in starkly racial terms and revealed his plans for curbing the crime crisis. The city’s first Black elected mayor served between 1992 and 2009, eventually resigning in his fifth term amid a federal investigation. Does Herenton have a chance to retake his old throne? A look at some recent polls would suggest so.

Department of Justice officials met with community members at the National Civil Rights Museum on Wednesday, Aug. 30, as part of its pattern or practice investigation. (Ben Wheeler/The Daily Memphian)

‘You don’t have rights’: On Wednesday night, the Department of Justice held its first in-person community meeting as part of its pattern or practice investigation into the Memphis Police Department. Attendees broke out into focus groups to share their experiences in dealing with the MPD, and many said that MPD has a culture problem that has persisted for years. “If you’re a Black person or another minority, you don’t have rights,” said one man. “This is with a Black police department.” The pattern or practice investigation is looking into whether the MPD is violating civil rights in several areas, including excessive force, and it comes nearly seven months after the January death of Tyre Nichols.

Bo Mills, Germantown director of public works, showed the path of leaked diesel fuel that seeped through the ground into a water treatment plant pipe in Germantown. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Germantown water crisis timeline: Geoffrey Harrison, the City of Germantown employee who was fired following a diesel spill into the city’s water, wasn’t placed on leave until nearly a week after the spill happened. That was one of the findings from the suburb’s Tuesday release of a timeline created from its investigation of the water crisis. According to the investigation, on July 19, Harrison’s inattention caused a spill of 250 to 300 gallons of diesel while he refueled a generator at the Southern Avenue water plant. 

One dead in DeSoto officer-involved shooting: The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is looking into a fatal shooting involving the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department. According to the MBI, deputies from the DeSoto County Sheriff’s SWAT team were attempting to execute an arrest warrant at a home on Clark Avenue in Southaven when a person pointed a weapon at deputies. That person was shot and killed; deputies were not seriously injured. In unrelated DeSoto Sheriff’s news, a deputy received non-life-threatening injuries on Wednesday night in the area of Third Street south of Holmes Road in Memphis after chasing a vehicle into the city.

QUOTED

“It was a very trying time. And it tore the city and the school system apart. I’m not sure it ever recovered, whether there was another way to do it.”

— Marcus Pohlmann, Rhodes College professor emeritus of political science
Half a century ago this month, a federal court order called Plan Z led to the busing of 39,000 Memphis children to schools outside their neighborhoods in an effort to racially integrate the then-Memphis City Schools system. Over the next few weeks, we’re sharing an oral history of busing from the perspective of students and teachers. In Chapter Two, we hear from Pohlmann, as well as personal stories from Black and white former students. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

France will be the honored country at the Memphis in May International Festival for the second time. (Michel Spingler/AP file)

Break out the baguettes: France will be the honored country during Memphis in May International Festival in 2024. The Greater Memphis Chamber, which has recently taken over international activities from MIM, made the announcement on Wednesday night atop the Hyatt Centric hotel as the Hernando DeSoto Bridge was lit with the colors of the French flag (which are the same as the American flag, so that could be confusing). France is now one of four countries that have been honored by MIM twice. Ça alors!

Some renovations have been done to the building at 954 Jackson Ave., where Memphis Toast will open. (Courtesy Downtown Memphis Commission)

Toast to brunch: A new brunch spot is coming to an underdeveloped stretch of Jackson Avenue on the border of Speedway Terrace and Klondike-Smokey City. As the name suggests, Memphis Toast will offer toast-based dishes, like French toast and eggs Benedict, as well as health-conscious dishes aimed at the area’s senior community. Owners Billy Ibry and Roosevelt Bonds received a grant from the Downtown Memphis Commission for exterior improvements to the building at 954 Jackson Ave., which has sat vacant for eight years. “We’ll have a Black-owned restaurant in a predominantly Black-owned neighborhood, so I think that’ll be uplifting,” Ibry said.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s six new employee-designed projects are expected to create 54 jobs at the hospital. (The Daily Memphian file)

St. Jude funds employee projects: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will provide more than $50 million to fund six projects designed by employees. The projects, which were part of a program that seeks innovative ideas from St. Jude workers, include a historical archive of St. Jude’s past and legacy, a career development program for postdocs and a number of medical projects. 

At Pho So 8, the banh mi features charred pork piled onto bread with a generous handful of fresh herbs and slightly sweet and tangy pickled vegetables. (Jennifer Biggs/The Daily Memphian file)

Sandwich wars: In this week’s Table Talk, The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington waxes on where to get the best banh mi in town. Food writer Joshua Carlucci recently raved about the classic bánh mì dac biet, made with cold cuts and pate, from Cordova’s Pho 4ever in a $10 Deal. Herrington is a fan, but he has a number of other faves, including the cold-cut version at Le Delights Bánh Mì & Pho in Cordova. (I just had Le Delights’ vegan banh mi with tofu ham this week, and it’s got my vote.) Speaking of Cordova, Herrington tells us about the most interesting foodie intersection in the neighborhood. And he tells us where to find the most authentic bagels in Memphis.

New Tiger is living the dream: Joe Cooper, a 6-foot-1 walk-on guard and Memphis native, is in his first week with the Memphis Tigers after committing to the team last weekend. The Olive Branch High grad spent the past two seasons at Northwest Community College in Senatobia, Mississippi, but playing for the Tigers has been a life-long dream. His stepfather Rodney Newsom played for the Tigers from from 1992 to 1996, and Cooper knew he wanted to follow in his footsteps from the young age of 7.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

901 Day will be here tomorrow, so Choose901 is highlighting eight things that were invented in Memphis or by Memphians. Of course, everyone knows barbecue spaghetti is a Memphis thing.

But did you know George K. Anderson of Memphis patented typewriter ribbon on Sept. 14, 1886? 

The more you know! Have a great Thursday. Tomorrow morning, you’ll be waking up with Digital Director Holly Whitfield because I’ll be joining hundreds of others to finish Liza’s run.

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