Happy first weekend of the new year! It’s Friday, Jan. 5 — Twelfth Night — and they say it’s unlucky to leave your Christmas decorations up after today.

Elvis Presley’s birth week events begin today with a fan tour of notable sites from Presley’s childhood in Tupelo, Mississippi. Tonight would be a good one to stay home in front of the TV: Downtown noodle shop Good Fortune will be featured on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” and the Memphis Grizzlies play the Los Angeles Lakers at 9 p.m.

On Saturday, Opera Memphis will be at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, performing songs that inspired the artwork in the Brooks’ “Black American Portraits” exhibition. And you can watch live-action wrestling (or should I say, wrastling?) at Black Lodge.

Sunday marks one year since Tyre Nichols’ fatal traffic stop by Memphis Police officers from the now-defunct SCORPION unit. The Memphis Tigers are at home for a match-up with SMU, and the Grizzlies will play the Phoenix Suns in an away game.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis spoke at a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, at City Hall. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Chief choice: Memphis Mayor Paul Young wants to retain Memphis Police Department Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, but he may face some opposition from Memphis City Council members when they vote on her reappointment Tuesday. The Daily Memphian surveyed most council members, and only two — Jeff Warren and Edmund Ford Sr. — confirmed they would definitely support Davis as chief. Several others, including three new council members, were on the fence.

New Memphis Mayor Paul Young discussed the city’s approach to crime prevention on Thursday at City Hall. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Pandemic-like response to crime: Memphis Mayor Paul Young announced a new public safety task force on Thursday that will meet monthly and bring a “pandemic-like” response to crime. The task force includes the Memphis Police Department, the Shelby County District Attorney’s office, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, some Memphis City Council members and most of the county’s legislative delegation. The task force is already working on a number of new crime-fighting initiatives, like the MPD’s plan to focus on repeat offenders. Young also said his administration would enforce the non-binding police reform ordinances, such as a ban on pretextual traffic stops, that were passed by the City Council after the death of Tyre Nichols.

Methodist has consistently disputed the government’s claims but said it “recognized this litigation is a drain on resources that are best used to provide the highest quality and safest care to our patients.” (The Daily Memphian file)

Methodist lawsuit settled: Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare and the U.S. government have reached a $7.25 million settlement on the Medicare claims lawsuit filed against the Memphis-based hospital system in 2017. The case alleged Methodist and West Clinic conspired to defraud the government and Medicare through false claims and kickbacks to West physicians that sent cancer patients to Methodist instead of Baptist Memorial Healthcare. The settlement is less than three percent of the original $800 million the government had originally sought. In less litigious West Clinic news, West Cancer Center & Research Institute has acquired Lifesigns, a local physical exam clinic, as part of a plan to expand its wellness division.

Three Memphis judges are finalists for a vacancy on the Tennessee Supreme Court in Nashville. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian file)

From Memphis to the Supreme Court: The next state Supreme Court justice will be from Memphis. The three finalists who have emerged to fill an upcoming vacancy on the court, after Justice Roger Page retires this August, are Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Mary Wagner and Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judges J. Ross Dyer and Camille McMullen.

QUOTED

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said he doesn’t plan to file a formal complaint against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert. (The Daily Memphian file)

“I don’t think [Wanda Halbert] signs anything. ... no lease renewals, no accounting forms — nothing.”

— Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris
On WKNO-TV’s “Behind The Headlines,” Harris said he has no plans to file a formal complaint with the special prosecutor investigating Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert. But he also said that Halbert had been refusing to sign anything for fear of how it would be used in the ongoing investigation against her. He claimed that’s held up the county’s budget process, an internal audit and lease renewals.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Memphis guard Caleb Mills (9) slipped on the floor while shooting and injured himself on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Joey Johnson/AP)

Tigers win AAC opener: It didn’t come easy, but the Memphis Tigers earned a 78-75 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Thursday night. Tulsa was hitting 3-pointers and the Tigers were not for much of the game. And then the Memphis Tigers’ Caleb Mills suffered a gruesome knee injury that resulted in him being carried off the court, and that left the team out of sorts. But a 3-pointer by point guard Jahvon Quinerly with four seconds remaining ultimately broke a tie and sealed the deal. But fans shouldn’t exhale yet, says sports columnist John Martin, “because the Tigers are going to have to do this 17 more times, each game just as perilous as the one before.” As for Mills’ knee, well, “it’s not good,” according to coach Penny Hardaway.

Ebbos Spiritual Supply Shop, which sells crystals and more, will move into Wizard’s space after the longtime smoke shop closes on Feb. 4. (Canva)

Wizard’s to witches: Longtime Memphis smoke shop Wizard’s will close on Feb. 4 after nearly 40 years in business. If you’re looking to stock up on smoking accessories, mix-and-match incense sticks and goth-y fairy figurines, the shop is hosting going-out-of-business sales every weekend until it closes. Ebbo Spiritual Supply House will move out of its tiny space at 1331 Madison Ave. and into the former Wizard’s spot sometime in February. Ebbo’s is the city’s longest-running new age shop with crystals, herbs, Tarot decks, spiritual supplies and just about any other woo-woo item your heart desires.

Phillip Ashley Chocolates Valentine’s collection launches Feb. 5 with limited quantities. (Courtesy Phillip Ashley Chocolates)

Changing the mold: Phillip Ashley Chocolates are no longer available for individual purchase, except for occasional limited releases. (Yes, this means you can still get Valentine’s chocolates.) Instead, the Memphis-based chocolatier has shifted its business model to providing designer chocolates for corporate gifting, luxury retailers and hospitality groups. Rix launched his company in 2010 and earned a following with his artfully decorated chocolates. In 2016, Rix was the official chocolatier of the Grammy Awards, and he’s now going into his third year as the chocolatier of Cadillac. 

Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart reacted near New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum after a turnover in New Orleans on Dec. 26, 2023. (Gerald Herbert/AP file)

Grizzlies’ report card: Nine games into Ja Morant’s return, our own Chris Herrington has a few thoughts on the current state of the Memphis Grizzlies. The team is in Los Angeles tonight to begin a three-game road trip that he says is “particularly important to the team’s dicey hopes of postseason play.” But whether or not a postseason is possible at this point, the bigger picture is fostering a better 2024-2025, and Herrington looks at how Marcus Smart, Santi Aldama and Ziaire Williams could play into that.

In this Sept. 23, 2018, file photo, Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo looked at his play sheet during a game against the Buffalo Bills. DeFlippo is now the head coach of the Memphis Showboats. (Bruce Kluckhohn/AP file)

Football, both kinds: The Memphis Showboats have a new head coach, John DeFilippo — former head coach for the USFL’s New Orleans Breakers. So, how did DeFilippo, whose also held assistant coaching positions with NFL teams, land the Memphis gig? The Breakers were eliminated when the USFL merged with XFL after last season, leaving DeFilippo out of a job. Then, he got a fateful phone call from USFL president of football operations Daryl Johnston while in the grocery store. In across-the-pond-style football news, Memphis 901 FC has signed former Union Omaha attacker Noe Meza to a multi-year deal ahead of its sixth season in the USL Championship. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

If you’ve been pronouncing Bogota, Tennessee, like the capital of Columbia, you’re doing it wrong. 

Have a great weekend. See you on Monday!

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