Good morning on this Wednesday, Feb. 7, a day ripe with pasta-bilities. Why is that, you ask? It’s National Fettuccine Day, so here’s your excuse to carb-load. Speaking of carbs, if you’re planning to pick up Gibson’s for breakfast, I hope you like cake doughnuts. 

Today is also National Signing Day for high school athletes, and our own Frank Bonner II has a look at the Memphis Tigers’ football recruiting and recent commits.

Also today, Downtown’s Design Review Board meets to discuss exterior renovations for the historic Dermon Building, which may become a Holiday Inn Express. And Memphis Light, Gas and Water President and CEO Doug McGowen is expected to deliver a report on the January winter storm at the utility’s monthly board meeting. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

Since mid-2023, Memphis City Council member Michalyn Easter-Thomas has been recusing herself when the city parks department or Memphis River Parks Partnership presented business to the council. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Conflict of interest? Memphis City Council member Michalyn Easter-Thomas is facing an ethics complaint over her day job with Memphis River Parks Partnership. A resident filed a complaint with the Memphis Board of Ethics asserting that Easter-Thomas should lose her seat because the city has a contract with MRPP. In other news, the council met on Tuesday and approved more of Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s appointees, including Public Works Director Robert Knecht, who previously received some pushback. Only one appointee is still waiting on council action. And in other news, members moved up the final vote on health benefits for council members from April to later this month.

“It’s not going to make board operations any easier when you have a 15-person board,” said Memphis-Shelby County Schools board member Michelle McKissack. (The Daily Memphian file)

Nashville up in Memphis’ business: Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, plans to introduce legislation that would give Gov. Bill Lee the power to appoint up to six new Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members. The plan wouldn’t affect the nine members currently on the board; it would just make the board larger. White expressed frustration with the board’s locally elected leadership, especially around its handling of the superintendent search. As you might expect, some MSCS board members have concerns about White’s plan. In other General Assembly news, lawmakers are working on a compromise that would regulate wetlands based on quality, thus making things easier on developers. But even with the amended bill, wetlands as large as four acres could lose protections, which may pose a flood risk, according to an environmental expert.

The Lake District has faced several financial hurdles, including foreclosures, delays, rising materials costs and unfulfilled tenants. (Brad Vest/The Daily Memphian file)

Selling the Lake: The Lake District developer Yehuda Netanel made his case for a reorganization plan on Tuesday, his second day in bankruptcy court over the troubled 160-acre mixed-use project. Netanel wants to sell off multiple parcels, including the shopping center, which is open and doing well, and the project’s proposed residential area. Netanel’s lender contended that plan was unrealistic considering that Netanel has tried unsuccessfully to sell off certain portions over the past three years. Netanel’s testimony also included details of an ongoing legal dispute with a pet store chain that he claims hasn’t been paying rent for its Lake District location.

QUOTED

University of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway tried to get his team’s attention during a Dec. 16, 2023, game against Clemson. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

“We looked like a … top-10 team in the country in that last eight minutes.”

— Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway
Yes, Hardaway is still talking about the Tigers’ improbable 65-63 comeback win over Wichita State last Saturday, which happened weeks after the Tigers fell from the top 10. Hardaway shared thoughts on his radio show about the game that broke the Tigers’ losing streak and what’s next. Columnist John Martin said the fate of the rest of the season rests solely on Hardaway. (No pressure or anything.)

THE NICE TO KNOW

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (center) handed Rosalind Withers (right) a plaque enshrining the Withers Collection Museum and Gallery on Beale Street as an official part of U.S. Civil Rights Trail. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

New stop on the Civil Rights Trail: The Withers Collection Museum and Gallery on Beale Street is now an official stop on the U.S. Civil Right Trail. Beale Street was already one of six local stops on the 15-state trail, but on Tuesday, Gov. Bill Lee and state and local tourism officials announced the addition of the Withers gallery, which showcases work by the late Civil Rights-era photographer Ernest Withers. After the announcement, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said that he’s in talks about how to bring “more vibrancy” to Beale Street and expects some changes to the street over the next year.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Vince Williams Jr. went to the basket against New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein on Feb. 6, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

Hard out there for a Grizzly: The Memphis Grizzlies, playing without a single expected starter on Tuesday night, never really had a chance against the New York Knicks, who won 123-113. It was the second-straight game where the Grizzlies never held a lead. Even old stand-by Jaren Jackson Jr., who seems to be the only consistently healthy star Grizzly this season, was sitting out with hip soreness. The remaining players were simply outclassed, but Vince Williams Jr. gave a good try with a team-high 19 points. If you’ve considered giving up on the Grizz, our own Drew Hill suggests one reason to keep watching.

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy said that the Tennessee Constitution dictates that “important decisions about, literally, life or death ... should continue to be done by locally elected prosecutors.” (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Matters of life or death: The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office filed a brief earlier this month challenging the constitutionality of a 2023 state law that took power away from local prosecutors in death penalty cases. The law ended prosecutors’ authority to conduct collateral reviews of death penalty convictions, instead placing that power in the hands of the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. Now, the DA’s office is getting a little help from their friends: The Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and 64 current and former prosecutors and law professionals also filed amicus briefs.

A building at 58 Timber Creek in Cordova will be a Compass Intervention Center. (Courtesy Crye-Leike Commercial)

Compass points to Cordova: Compass Intervention Center, which runs a 108-bed youth mental health facility in Southeast Memphis, is opening a new outpatient facility in Cordova. The 5,620-square-foot building at 58 Timber Creek was previously a cluster of different medical practices. Read more about that development and other commercial real estate news in Sophia Surrett’s Inked column.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Sushi and a movie on lunch break, anyone?

Have a pasta-tively amazing day!

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