Howdy on this hump day. It’s Wednesday, Sept. 4, and you’ve only got a few more hours to register for this afternoon’s Daily Memphian Small Business Seminar. The panel discussion features Beverly and Ryan Robertson of Trust Marketing, Scott Tashie of City Silo and Monique Williams of Biscuits and Jams, and registration cuts off at 11 a.m.

Tonight, Laura Jane Grace, the lead singer of punk band Against Me! will play a show at Growlers in support of her new solo album, which our own Chris Herrington says sounds very much like an Against Me! album. Okay, let’s rock on.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy has been in office for two years, as of Aug. 31. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Turnover at the DA’s office: More than 100 people have left the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office since DA Steve Mulroy was elected in 2022. That’s according to a leaked spreadsheet that circulated among DA’s office employees last month. The majority of those staffers resigned in the days right after Mulroy was elected, but a few were terminated or transferred. A spokesperson for the office said that level of turnover is common during leadership changes. The news comes as Mulroy celebrates two years in office and as some Republican leaders call for his ouster. 

What’s next for gun-control ballot questions? The Memphis City Council lawsuit over whether or not it can put gun-control questions on the November ballot has been assigned to a judge and will be heard on Sept. 16. The council filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Shelby County Election Commission for opting not to include three ballot questions that would allow Memphis voters to weigh in on gun reform. The state elections coordinator said early last week that the referendums would be illegal because local governments cannot preempt state law, which currently allows for “open carry” of some weapons without permits or background checks.

The Tennessee Valley Authority wants the Allen Combined Cycle Plant to have new natural gas turbines. (Samuel Hardiman/The Daily Memphian file)

Power hungry: Billionaire Elon Musk’s xAI training system is expected to double in size in the next few months. It’s currently running on 100,000 H100 Nvidia chips, but it will grow to need 50,000 H200 Nvidia chips. Those H200 chips are apparently way more powerful than H100s. In a kind of related story of growing power, the Tennessee Valley Authority is planning to build six new natural-gas turbines at the Allen Combined Cycle Plant in Southwest Memphis, very close to xAI. The turbines would only be used when power demand is high, but some environmentalists are concerned for the surrounding communities.

MEET MEMPHIS

Earl Wright II, a sociology professor at Rhodes College, has co-written a book on W.E.B. DuBois and will be featured in “Fifty Key Leaders in Black Social Thought” to be published this fall. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

As a kid growing up in North Memphis, Earl Wright II dreamed of teaching at his school, Trezevant High. But when he got to college at then-Memphis State, a sociology professor pushed Wright to go to grad school. Wright was working on his master’s degree and looking into research on the sociological importance of the Black barbershop when he made the discovery that the work of Black scholar W.E.B. DuBois had largely been ignored. That led him to delve deep, and today, Wright, the chairman of the sociology department at Rhodes College, is also one of the nation’s leading scholars on DuBois. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

Pronto Pup owner Sharon Andreini (middle) runs the family-owned business with her children Danny Andreini Jr. (left) and Lisa Warren (right). (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

The story behind your fave hot dog on a stick: Two truths and a lie: 1) Pronto Pup is a locally owned business. 2) Pronto Pups are never, ever served with ketchup. 3) Pronto Pups are corn dogs. If you guessed No. 3 was the lie, you get a gold star. And you could have fooled me, but the ubiquitous deep-fried fair food is apparently not a corn dog, according to co-owner Danny Andreini Jr., because of what’s in the batter. The Daily Memphian’s Jennifer Chandler talked with the owners about the long history of the extra-long, deep-fried dog on a stick.

University of Memphis assistant coach Faragi Phillips on the sidelines during a game against Jackson State on Monday Nov. 6, 2023. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Tigers basketball staff shakeup: Three members of Memphis Tigers Coach Penny Hardaway’s staff — advisor Faragi Phillips, analytics director Jermaine Johnson and assistant coach Jamie Rosser — have been let go from the program. All three are Memphis natives, and Phillips’ son, Ragi Phillips, committed to the Tigers in early August as a walk-on. Speaking of coaches, the NCAA now allows football players to wear helmet mics so coaches can communicate with certain players. The Tigers team tried those out in Saturday’s blowout win over North Alabama, and things went well, except for noisy distractions like trains and FedEx planes (so Memphis, right?). And in more football news, the Tigers weren’t ranked in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll or Coaches Poll since the season started, but it was so close. 

Kevin Hart stars as Chicken Man in Craig Brewer’s new “Fight Night” on Peacock. (Fernando Decillis/Courtesy Peacock)

Thursday night’s alright for fighting: Clear your Thursday night schedule because there’s a new Craig Brewer-produced crime drama dropping on Peacock. “Fight Night” is a blast from the “Hustle & Flow” past with actors Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard, plus mega-stars Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Hart, acting out a story based on a real-life heist at a party in Atlanta the night Muhammad Ali made his boxing comeback in 1970. Brewer chatted about the new series with our CEO Eric Barnes on The Sidebar podcast. In other news of things to watch, Chris Herrington’s new movie column includes a preview of the “Beetlejuice” sequel and a look at a 1948 Technicolor ballet fairy tale showing at Crosstown Arts.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Does it feel like fall leaves are appearing earlier than normal this year? 

Go on and get you a pumpkin spice latte!

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