Good morning, Mid-South! It’s Tuesday, Nov. 7, Election Day, which, around these parts, only applies if you live in Mississippi. The statewide general election is underway today in the Magnolia State. See who’s running for office in DeSoto County.

Here in Memphis, the City Council meets today, and they’ll be discussing a potential solid waste hike (not sexy, but important) and 2024 ballot questions on partisan primaries and runoffs.

Want free tickets to watch the Memphis Tigers football team play SMU on Saturday, Nov. 18? Enter our giveaway before the Wednesday, Nov. 15, deadline.

THE NEED TO KNOW

The Shelby County Clerk’s office is closing its Poplar Plaza location effective Thursday, Nov. 9. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Poplar Plaza clerk’s office closure: The Poplar Plaza branch of the Shelby County Clerk’s office will close this Thursday after falling behind on the rent. The announcement was made on Monday by county Chief Administrative Officer Harold Collins, who said the landlord for the shopping center notified County Clerk Wanda Halbert on Oct. 11 that she would need to vacate the space within a month. Later on Monday, Halbert said she plans to move the office to one of 60 potential new facilities. She also said she’d been working to update the county’s seven aging County Clerk facilities and promised “a more modern/up-to-date experience, where there are no long lines [or] slow technology.” She made no mention of falling behind on rent. 

Former Memphis Police officers Justin Smith (back left) and Emmitt Martin III (back right) appeared in Judge James Jones’ courtroom on Monday Nov. 6. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Important dates in the Nichols case: Four of the five former Memphis Police officers accused in Tyre Nichols’ death will go to trial for their state criminal charges on Aug. 12, 2024. Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith are facing second-degree murder and other charges; the fifth officer, Desmond Mills, agreed to a state plea deal last week. Mills also pleaded guilty to federal charges of witness tampering and civil rights violations in Nichols’ death last week, and he’ll be sentenced on May 22, 2024. The other four officers are scheduled to go to trial for those same federal charges on May 6, 2024. 

Courtney Anderson, left, stood with NAACP Memphis Executive Director Vickie Terry. (Aarron Fleming/The Daily Memphian)

Call for clemency: Activists gathered at the local NAACP headquarters on Monday to express support for Courtney Anderson, a Memphis man whose nearly 163-year prison sentence was overturned last year and then recently ordered to be reinstated. Anderson, who was charged with a lengthy list of nonviolent crimes, mostly theft and forgery, was released after Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan amended his sentence to 25 years with time served. Last month, a state appeals court overturned Skahan’s decision, meaning Anderson is expected to return to prison. Now NAACP President Van Turner is calling on Gov. Bill Lee for clemency: “A 163-year sentence for a nonviolent crime is excessive,” Turner said.

MEET MEMPHIS

University of Memphis center Jacob Likes is the heart and soul of the Tigers offensive line. (Wes Hale/Special to The Daily Memphian file)

Memphis Tigers center Jacob Likes is, in his words, “a creation of every member of my family.” He loves planes and was considering a major in aviation, a passion he says he got from his grandfather. But he pivoted with a finance major instead, a decision influenced by the fact that both his dad and grandfather are in business. He calls himself a nerd, which he says he got from his mother, a dean at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. As for football, he grew up watching games with his father, and now he’s living his longtime dream of playing starting center for a Division I program.

THE NICE TO KNOW

University of Memphis center Jordan Brown puts up a shot against Jackson State defender Treyon Johnson on Monday Nov. 6. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Win for the men: The Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team looked a little sloppy in the first half of their season home opener against Jackson State on Monday night, but they pulled it together for a 94-77 win. Turnovers were a problem for the Tigers in those early minutes, but here’s hoping it was just opening-night jitters. Our own Geoff Calkins sure hopes so because the real test against Missouri is coming on Friday. As for the Tigers women’s basketball team, well, the news isn’t so great: They fell hard in their first match under new coach Alex Simmons on Monday, 67-47 to Middle Tennessee. In better women’s sports news, the AAC champion women’s soccer team learned on Monday that they’ll be a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they’ll host LSU in the first round. And in Tigers football news, it sounds like the team won’t be without injured star quarterback Seth Henigan for long.

Bartlett Mayor David Parsons, far right, addressed Memphis Mayor-Elect Paul Young, far left, at a special reception at the Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center. Watching behind, from left to right, was Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo, Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman and Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner. (Michael Waddell/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Meeting of the mayors: Memphis Mayor-elect Paul Young met up with mayors from Shelby County’s suburbs and mayors from other West Tennessee and Northeast Arkansas towns in a welcome reception in Bartlett on Monday. It was actually the first-ever meetup between Bartlett Mayor David Parsons, who hosted the event, and Young. “As a suburb, we wanted to reach out and be one of the first to welcome him to the new office,” said Parsons. Young said cohesiveness among local governments will play an important role in his administration, and that he’d like to help “enhance the competitiveness of our whole region.”

Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane, left, drove to the basket against Portland Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon during a game in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, Nov. 5. (Steve Dykes/AP)

Down to bizness: After the Memphis Grizzlies’ much-needed first win of the season in Portland on Sunday, they returned home with a better team than the one they’d left with. That’s because newly signed Bismack Biyombo has joined the team to do, as our own Chris Herrington says, “basic big-man stuff” that was missing after the loss of injured Steven Adams. Also, Luke Kennard returned from concussion protocol (and he had better 3-point luck on Sunday) and Santi Aldama has finally healed that sprained ankle. Herrington tells us what this trio means for the team, and he sings the praises of two Grizzlies players who are “definitely not to blame for this season-risking bad start.” And back on Biyombo, in the Grizzlies Insider, our own Drew Hill says Memphis may have the answer to its center problem so long as “Biz keeps handling bizness.”

AP English teacher Savannah Estes (right) worked with Amarria Edwards (left) and Jaylen Anderson (center) at MLK College Prep, formerly known as Frayser High on Jan 17, 2019. (The Daily Memphian file)

School choice: Memphis-Shelby County Schools is starting construction on a new high school at the site of MLK College Preparatory High School in Frayser. And now students there can choose between six different schools to attend next year as construction continues. MLK College Prep is closing as it returns to MSCS after 10 years in the Achievement School District, a failed state effort to turn around struggling schools. The new school, which should be open in 2027, will replace MLK and nearby Trezevant High School.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Memphis Mayor-elect Paul Young made good on a campaign promise last week — to his kids. Meet Cali, the soon-to-be First Dog of Memphis. 

If you’re in Mississippi, go vote if you haven’t already! And have a great day, everyone.

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