Hey, hey, Shelby County! It’s Wednesday, April 24 — National Bucket List Day. So maybe it’s time to cross something off your to-do-before-you-die checklist. I say that, but mine has exactly four things: run a 100K and a 100-miler, visit Europe and spot a Memphis Grizzly in the wild (meaning a player, not a bear, outside of a game). And none of those are exactly doable today. Though Desmond Bane, if you’re reading this, please stop by my kickball game at Tobey Park tonight, okay? 

THE NEED TO KNOW

Memphis Mayor Paul Young faced almost immediate opposition to his proposal for a tax hike to fund the city’s budget. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

A taxing proposal? Memphis Mayor Paul Young is proposing a 75-cent city property-tax hike, the first for the city in more than eight years. Young presented his first city budget — actually three budget options — to the Memphis City Council on Tuesday. One of those options includes the 75-cent tax increase, which would fill a budget hole that’s apparently quite a bit larger than the $30 million Young previewed in a speech last week. But the plan faces an uphill battle, as some members of the city’s business community and some council members have publicly opposed a tax hike. The Daily Memphian’s Samuel Hardiman breaks down what a hike would pay for and the hurdles it would face.

Memphis Urban Wood site manager Patrick Gridley stood at the site in February. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

If a tree falls in North Memphis … does it make a sound? How about if a plan for a controversial tree upcycling facility falls? That apparently is making some sounds at Memphis City Council, where the developers behind Memphis Urban Wood officially withdrew their application on Tuesday. That should bar them from pursuing the project for five years, but Steve Barlow, vice president and general counsel of The Works Inc., which is involved in the project, said his group isn’t slowing down their efforts to operate. The whole thing is super-confusing and involves a zoning change and disagreements around the wood facility’s application. Stay tuned.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis (middle) attended a Memphis City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Feds investigating Mound shooting: Federal charges are possible in the Orange Mound Park mass shooting that left two people dead and seven injured on Saturday. No arrests have been made yet, but Interim Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis revealed during the Memphis City Council meeting on Tuesday that the department is working with federal law enforcement in the investigation. She also said the department is working with Memphis Parks to boost security. In other public safety news, the council voted Tuesday to hire a consultant to help the city form a new public safety foundation modeled after one in Atlanta.

People in the gallery of the Tennessee House chamber were removed by state troopers after a bill allowing some teachers to be armed in schools passed on April 23 in Nashville. (George Walker IV/AP file)

Teachers with guns: A bill that would allow teachers to carry concealed handguns — without any requirement to alert parents or other school staff about which teachers are armed — is headed to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for a signature. It would be the biggest expansion of gun access in the state since last year’s deadly shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville. And there was plenty of opposition to the bill, both from protesters and lawmakers, in the General Assembly on Tuesday. In other state news, a bill that would have banned public schools from flying pride flags is likely dead for this legislative session, but the bill’s sponsor says he plans to bring it back.

MEET MEMPHIS

Jennifer Chandler will join The Daily Memphian as its new food and restaurant writer this summer. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Memphis foodies, the news is out: Longtime Memphis food writer, cookbook author, restaurateur and TV personality Jennifer Chandler is joining our Daily Memphian team. Chandler has been the food and dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal since 2018, but she began freelancing for the newspaper in 2007. She’s also the author of four cookbooks, and she’s appeared on the Food Network’s “Dinner: Impossible” and Ducks Unlimited TV. As Chandler says at the end of her regular WKNO-FM “Weekly Dish” segment, “Bon appetit!”

THE NICE TO KNOW

The Hotel Pontotoc Downtown will be home to The Dame upscale bar. (The Daily Memphian file)

Where to eat ‘girl dinner’: There are times when a gal (or guy) just wants a nice glass of wine and a little charcuterie for supper. And a new upscale bar opening in the old Hotel Pontotoc Downtown is looking to fill that need. The Dame will be a “high beverage, light food” concept opening on the ground floor of the soon-to-be-redeveloped former hotel. The Pontotoc first opened in 1906 as a bordello, and The Dame’s name is a nod to its past. “It’s not in your face but still showing some of the history of the building,” said owner Joseph Lewis.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul? Nonprofit Memphis Allies, a program created by leaders at Youth Villages, has a goal to reduce the city’s homicide rate 30% by next year, and they’re getting nearly $4.5 million from the state to help with that. But to provide that money, legislators removed proposed funding for four other Memphis-area nonprofits. One senator said that decision was made because Memphis Allies, as opposed to the other organizations, provided detailed data that showed they are making a difference. But leaders from the nonprofits whose budgets were cut, including HopeWorks, expressed disappointment.

Jeff Crane, the Memphis Tigers’ senior deputy athletic director, has been named the program’s interim AD. (Courtesy Memphis Athletics)

Tigers name interim AD: Jeff Crane, the Memphis Tigers’ senior deputy athletic director, will take over the University of Memphis’ now-vacant athletic director position on an interim basis. Crane is stepping in after former AD Laird Veatch left for a new job at Mizzou. Crane, the Tigers’ deputy AD since April 2019, is expected to be among the candidates for the job.

Crosstown Shoppes at 408-432 N. Cleveland St. will see Midtown Krav Maga & Jiu Jitsu expand into an adjacent space. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

Real estate news, all kinds: In commercial real estate news, two empty spaces in Crosstown Shoppes (the center across from Black Lodge) are getting filled, and — this is a shameless plug — The Daily Memphian is looking for a new office. Our old space in The Lofts Downtown flooded during that January winter storm, and we’re currently posted up in a temporary space in Clark Tower. (And this Midtowner is constantly complaining about the drive. Typical, I know.) In residential real estate news, March home sales were a bit of a mixed bag.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Old Dominick Distillery announced over the weekend that master distiller Alex Castle will leave in late May to pursue new opportunities in her home state of Kentucky. When she started at Old Dominick in 2015, Castle was the only female head distiller in the state. 

In 2020, Castle told The Daily Memphian’s Christin Yates that she “didn’t set out to break any barriers or shatter glass ceilings … To me, limits don’t exist until you set them, so don’t set them.”

Best of luck to Castle in her next chapter! And best of luck to all of you as you cross those items off your bucket list.

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