How’s it going, Memphis? It’s Wednesday, Dec. 4, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a case involving Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 18. Here’s what’s at stake.

On a more local level, Downtown’s Design Review Board will consider Crosstown Concourse’s new music venue, which will be built across the street from the existing parking garage. And Memphis Light, Gas and Water will consider the nomination of a new vice president/chief financial officer.

Tonight, the 96-year-old bell tower at Midtown’s Idlewild Presbyterian Church will get lit for the first time in recent memory. And the No. 16 Memphis Tigers basketball team will play Louisiana Tech at FedExForum. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

The marked downshift in cargo at Memphis International Airport started in September — mostly at the FedEx hub — when volumes decreased more than 12%, or nearly 89 million pounds. (Jim Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

They don’t have mail: If FedEx were an old computer from the 1990s, it wouldn’t be delivering AOL’s iconic “You’ve got mail” line. FedEx stopped carrying the U.S. Mail in late September, and that’s resulted in 60 fewer planes landing a day. In October, that change meant 96 million fewer pounds of cargo were handled at Memphis International Airport, down nearly 14% from last year. Much of the airport’s revenue comes from fees charged to airplanes that land there, but the Memphis International Airport Authority knew the FedEx change was coming and raised its landing fees quite a bit to make up for it. But if volumes continue to drop precipitously, the airport will be reevaluating its budgeting process and revenue streams again. 

Ty Coleman

Animal services director is out: Ty Coleman has been fired from his role as director of Memphis Animal Services. Coleman had been suspended since late June, after a dog died when she was left outside in a kennel on a hot Memphis summer day. He was facing city and state investigations into his tenure at MAS, and he continued to earn his $120,000 annual salary throughout the suspension. This marks the third animal shelter job Coleman has lost in the past four years. Mary Claire Borys is currently acting as manager at the shelter, but the city plans to post the director position on its job portal within the week. 

“We can’t have the [budget] emergencies we had at end of last year. This shows it will happen again,” Memphis City Council member Jerri Green (left) said. (Benjamin Naylor/The Daily Memphian file)

Girl math at City Council: Creatively moving money around isn’t just for women on TikTok. The Memphis City Council approved almost $4 million in amendments to the city budget on Tuesday. And though some members weren’t happy about that, City COO Antonio Adams reminded the council that it didn’t pass Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s proposed 75-cent property-tax hike earlier this year. They instead approved a 49-cent hike, so Adams said some creative accounting might be necessary. One example: The council approved $2.5 million Tuesday for a new Downtown Police Command Center using money from the Leftwich Tennis Center expansion.

“We are hopeful that the Shelby County Commission will approve this new funding because it represents a win for kids in our urban core and our entire community,” said Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Christmas may come early in Frayser: Shelby County and Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced a proposed $34 million in funding Tuesday for a new high school in Frayser. If approved by the Shelby County Commission later this month, that would go toward the overall $112 million cost for a new school to replace the aging Trezevant High School and MLK College Prep High School. That price tag is quite a bit lower than the estimated cost announced last spring, and the construction timeline was bumped up after a Cordova high school project hit a speed bump last month. 

QUOTED

Activist Rachael Spriggs led a rally outside of Memphis-Shelby County Schools headquarters on May 30, 2023. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

“Our fight was ... about ensuring that every community voice could be heard without fear of retaliation.”

— Tikeila Rucker, former president of the United Education Association of Shelby County
Rucker was one of five activists banned from Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ property for allegedly disrupting a public meeting as the district searched for a new superintendent in 2023. The group sued MSCS, claiming the ban was unconstitutional. MSCS has agreed to settle the lawsuit and pay the activists and their attorneys.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, right, tried to shoot as Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, left, and forward P.J. Washington defended during an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game on Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Dallas. (Julio Cortez/AP)

Grizz lose free-throw contest: The Memphis Grizzlies’ six-game winning streak ended on Tuesday with a 121-116 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. But up until the final 12 minutes, it looked like another Grizz win was coming. So, what happened? The fourth quarter turned into a “free-throw parade,” in our own Drew Hill’s words. The Mavericks shot 26 free throws in the final quarter (26!!), while the Grizzlies shot 14 over the course of the entire game. The final free throw tally finished Dallas 44, Memphis 14. Said Ja Morant after the game: “Forty-four to 14 is kind of outrageous …” (You think?) In other Grizz news, Jaren Jackson Jr. made a big gift to the National Civil Rights Museum’s Youth Education Fund on Giving Tuesday.

The former Commercial Appeal building is located at 495 Union Ave. (The Daily Memphian file)

CA auction pushed back: Earlier this week, The Early Word told you the Commercial Appeal office auction was supposed to start this week. And it was. But the seller asked Ten-X, the commercial auction company handling the deal, for more time to market the five-story, 128,600-square-foot office building on Union Avenue. The new auction date will be in January. Read more on that in Inked, and get the deets on a Memphis-based engineering firm that was acquired by a Michigan-based architecture firm. 

”Flow” was awared Best Animated Film by the New York Film Critics Circle. (Courtesy Indie Memphis Film Festival)

‘Flow’ state: If sitting through an hour-and-a-half-long animated movie with no dialogue sounds up your alley, you and our movie critic Chris Herrington could be friends. In this week’s Memphis Movies This Week, Herrington sings the praises of “Flow,” a film about an animated cat and the other animals he meets as they try to survive a biblical-level flood. There’s no human dialogue, just animal sounds and other nature-inspired audio. For something a little less artsy, he recommends “The Order,” a “straightforward cops-and-criminals procedural” starring Jude Law as an FBI agent in pursuit of a white nationalist group. Read more on those and your chance to see the original “Wizard of Oz” on the big screen.

’Burb life: Home sales may be looking up in Shelby County’s suburbs as we head into 2025. Mortgage rates haven’t come down much, despite the last few Fed rate cuts, but Bank of Bartlett Senior Vice President Chao Lin said he’s hearing from clients who are feeling less pensive about home buying post-election. Bartlett’s overall home sales year-to-date are nearly steady with last year, but sales are looking up in Arlington and way up in Lakeland.

“It’s much better than the first plan we were presented with a while back,” Mayor Mike Wissman said of the new Donelson Farms plans. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Donelson Farms moves ahead, finally: The Arlington Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the general development plan for the 287-acre Donelson Farms project on Monday night, 26 years after a larger mixed-use plan for the area was initially approved. The plan has been revised recently, and the update adds retail, office, and light-industrial uses in smaller buildings along I-269, with larger warehouse and office buildings behind them. Though the general plan was approved, sewer extension across Interstate 40 is needed before new development, and there’s a big question around who will pay for it.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Rolling Stone named Memphis rapper GloRilla’s “Glorious” No. 25 on its list of the Top 100 albums of 2024. Said RS of Glo’s full-length debut: “‘Glorious’ finds her firing on all cylinders, delivering the anthemic ‘TGIF,’ alongside a tastefully curated set of songs that exhibit Glo’s growth as a lyricist and artist.” Yeah, Glo!

Here’s hoping you have a glorious day!

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