Howdy, friends. It’s Tuesday, Jan. 7, and Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is back in court today. He’s being sued for allegedly punching a teen during a pickup basketball game at his dad’s house in 2022. 

The Memphis City Council is shaking things up in 2025. Beginning today, their meetings will start at a new time, and this should be an interesting one because both gun reform and Chickasaw Gardens “Gate-gate” are back.

On a somber note, today marks two years since five Memphis police officers beat Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop, resulting in his death three days later. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

Safety bollards, which go up after Beale Street closes to traffic, are designed to stop a 7.5-ton vehicle traveling at 40 miles an hour. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Could Beale handle an attack? After the New Year’s Eve attack on Bourbon Street, when a man drove around barricaded police cars and plowed through the crowd, tourists and Memphians are likely wondering about Beale Street safety. The day after the New Orleans attack, Memphis Mayor Paul Young called Beale’s security plan “robust.” That plan includes permanent safety bollards and temporary barriers. The bollards, which go up when Beale closes to traffic, are designed to stop a 7.5-ton vehicle traveling at 40 miles an hour. The Daily Memphian’s Bill Dries looks at the history and future of Beale’s safety.

Actress Madeleine Stowe, who lives in Memphis, is part of the fight against gating off streets in Chickasaw Gardens. (Matt Sayles/AP file)

Gate-gate gets star power: Today, the Memphis City Council is expected to once again consider whether Chickasaw Gardens can gate off parts of the neighborhood to restrict traffic. Some residents want Lombardy Road and Lafayette Place closed to cars, but those opposed say that would restrict access to a public park, which they argue violates the First Amendment. On the opposition side is Golden Globe-nominated actress Madeleine Stowe (“Last of the Mohicans,” “12 Monkeys”), who lives in a neighborhood near Chickasaw Gardens. Residents in favor of the gates cite accidents near the intersections they want to close, but Stowe has data that shows the remaining entrances could actually be more dangerous. 

Next step for gun reform: Back in November, Memphis voters approved a set of gun-control referendums that would reinstate gun permits, ban the sale of assault rifles and allow for gun seizures as part of extreme-risk protection orders. Today, the Memphis City Council will take up the next step of voting on an ordinance related to the reforms. But even if that passes three votes, nothing will change until the state changes.

QUOTED

“To directly speak to the meritless claims, I have never, under any circumstances, intentionally or unintentionally misled a board member or the board as a whole,” Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins wrote in a response issued Monday. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

“While the board holds the authority to terminate me: I will not resign.”

— Marie Feagins, Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent
Feagins submitted her written response Monday to the school board’s efforts to fire her over alleged mishandling of financial matters. In the response, Feagins said she was “disturbed” by the criticism and had “not mismanaged district funds.” The school board is expected to meet next to discuss Feagins’ employment during a non-voting meeting on Jan. 14.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. reached for the ball ahead of Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson and center Dereck Lively II on Monday, Jan. 6. (Brandon Dill/AP)

JJJ’s dream game: Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr. finished Monday night’s 119-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks with 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five assists — his first time with stats like that. Jackson seemed unstoppable. Well, except for one out-of-bounds pass that he and Coach Taylor Jenkins couldn’t stop laughing about. Speaking of laughing, fans of rookie Zach Edey are probably doing that now in the faces of all the Edey haters. He had his fair share of those ahead of the NBA draft this summer, and one analyst even called him “one of the worst picks in draft history.” Now it seems they’re eating their words as Edey shapes up to be an odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year. Our own Drew Hill lays out Edey’s chances.

Memphis guard Tyrese Hunter looked to pass while being defended by North Texas guard Latrell Jossell, right, on Sunday, Jan. 5, in Memphis. (Nikki Boertman/AP)

Movin’ on up: Cue “The Jeffersons” theme song, cause the Memphis Tigers are gettin’ up that hill. After narrowly beating North Texas on Sunday, the team was ranked higher this week in the Associated Press Top 25 poll than last week. It’s also the first time this season the team has been ranked in the Top 25 two weeks in a row. The Tigers got there with only six players in the regular rotation, but Coach Penny Hardaway has plans to expand that soon. In other Tigers news, Michigan transfer defensive back and former Germantown High standout Kody Jones has committed to next season’s Tigers football team. And former quarterback Seth Henigan will join linebacker Chandler Martin in the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl, a prestigious postseason all-star game that gives players a chance to show off for the NFL.

Who wants to be a Collierville alderman? Everyone and their mom, apparently. Nearly 40 people have applied for the two open seats on the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Those seats were vacated by new Mayor Maureen Fraser and former alderman Billy Patton when both opted to run for mayor in the last election. The Daily Memphian’s Abigail Warren takes a look at each applicant, including the director of a mixed-martial arts organization, the mascot coordinator for the Memphis Grizzlies and a substitute teacher in Cleveland, Ohio. And in other suburban government news, the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors has a new president.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Ja Morant and Nike and are coming out with a new Kool-Aid-inspired shoe. The only appropriate response here is an enthusiastic “Oh Yeah!”

Bundle up again, folks. January is gonna January all week.

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