Good morning, Memphis! It’s Wednesday, June 5, and I’m back after a restful and fun staycation. Many thanks to my colleague Chris Herrington for holding things down with The Early Word Monday and Tuesday morning.

Today, Downtown’s Design Review Board will consider the Orpheum Theatre’s plan to enhance lighting on the north side of the building. That project already won an $80,000 grant, and this is the next step. Also on the agenda: A plan to turn an old warehouse on Decatur Street into a training space for workers in construction trades. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

The Memphis City Council approved on an 8-0 vote the sale of the land known as Crosstown Mound with Crosstown Partners LLC taking responsibility for moving contaminated dirt off the site. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Crosstown Mound sold: A plan to add nearly 100 new single-family homes to the long-vacant Crosstown Mound is one step closer after the Memphis City Council voted on Tuesday to sell the city-owned pile of dirt at Overton Park Avenue and Bellevue Boulevard to developers. And the Museum of Science and History (aka MoSH) and several other city-owned attractions will be privately owned after a council move. But the council delayed a final vote on a potential property-tax hike. They also delayed action on Liberty Park leases for a new hotel, apartments and an entertainment complex with bowling and laser tag because the Midtown development is underwater. In other news, council members had reservations about a referendum that could give the suburbs more say in Memphis Light, Gas and Water.

Kel Kearns

BlueOval manager leaves: Ford Motor Co.’s BlueOval City, which will produce electric vehicles in Haywood County, isn’t even up and running yet, but its plant manager Kel Kearns is already leaving. Kearns has accepted a new job as CEO of Amplify Cell Technologies, a new electric-vehicle battery facility in Marshall County, Mississippi. The facility is a joint venture between Cummins, Daimler Trucks and Paccar, and it’s been touted as one of the largest capital investments in Mississippi’s history.

During a press conference, Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins said she doesn’t feel like her life is in danger, despite a death threat. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

MSCS super gets a death threat: The brother of Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins said that an anonymous caller with a Memphis area code threatened the life of his sister. Darly Feagins Jr. said the man called four times on May 31, according to a Memphis Police Department report. 

“We’re excited about what [Hawthorne] is going to mean to Arlington, right at the entrance of not just our town but Shelby County,” Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman said. (Greg Campbell/The Daily Memphian file)

Shelby County’s new front door: Drivers entering the county from the northeast will one day be greeted by the more than 108-acre Hawthorne mixed-use development in Arlington. The master plan for the $500 million to $700 million project, which will feature 83 acres of residential property and 25 acres of commercial space, was unanimously approved by the suburb’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday. The plan also includes three hotels, an amphitheater, a disc golf course and a brewery. Despite the approval, a couple aldermen have concerns.

QUOTED

University of Memphis forward Nicholas Jourdain during a game against SMU on Sunday, Jan. 7. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

“With the way things ended last year … I want to win, you know? ... The city is better when we’re winning.”

—Nicholas Jourdain, Memphis Tigers forward
Jourdain is the Tigers’ basketball team’s lone returnee from last season, when the team climbed to No. 10 in the country and then collapsed and missed the NCAA Tournament. Jourdain says he’s prepared to teach the incoming Tigers the culture of “Memphis basketball” and to “give Coach Penny a helping hand.”

THE NICE TO KNOW

David Krog worked in the kitchen at Dory, which will close in late June. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Dory is closing: Upscale East Memphis restaurant Dory will serve its last meal on June 29. The restaurant, run by David and Amanda Krog, has garnered national attention for its innovative dishes and use of local ingredients. But the couple cited the financial difficulties of running a restaurant designed to challenge industry norms around seasonal foods, “zero waste” and creating a supportive culture for the staff. As for what’s next, the Krogs aren’t 100% sure, but David Krog will likely be staying in the kitchen. In other closing news, Bob’s Barksdale Restaurant in Midtown is shuttering temporarily after a Monday night kitchen fire.

Memphis Pizza Cafe won The Daily Memphian’s decidedly non-scientific poll in a landslide. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

And the award for best pizza goes to … Memphis Pizza Cafe, by a landslide! We asked which pizza parlor had the best pie in a reader poll, and you answered. Some readers, like regular commenter Rhonda McDowell, noted the MPC’s “thin, almost cracker-like crust” sets them apart. The runner-up was Garibaldi’s Pizza, which gained a following back in the day with Pac-Man and pinball.

A Bath & Body Works store is coming to the former Panera at Ridgeway Trace Shopping Center. (AP file)

Bread, bath and beyond: The old Panera at Ridgeway Trace will soon be the place to get your marked-down holiday candles in January. Bath & Body Works signed a lease for the space. Read more about that in Inked, plus news of the tenant that helped Germantown Village Square get to 100% leased status.

The 160-year-old First Horizon has its headquarters in Downtown Memphis. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Best place to work? New college grads say Memphis-based First Horizon National Corp. is among the nation’s best employers. That’s according to a new list from Forbes, based on a survey of more than 100,000 young professionals working for companies with at least 1,000 employees. And First Horizon wasn’t the only Memphis company on the list.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

It may be too late for the Red Lobster on Winchester Road. But rapper Flavor Flav is single-handedly trying to make sure you always have access to Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

Hope your day is as grand as Flav’s smorgasbord!

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