Good morning, it’s Monday, Feb. 24. And the Shelby County Commission is expected to appoint a new General Sessions Criminal Court judge today. The person will replace Judge Bill Anderson, who retires on March 1.

Also, former state Sen. Brian Kelsey is finally reporting to prison today, after delaying his 21-month sentence for nearly two years. Perhaps Kelsey should have heeded that old quote: “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

For more on what’s ahead, check out This Week in Memphis. And before we dig into the news, here are two more things you should know about: Tickets are on sale now for this Thursday’s Daily Memphian Women in Business seminar, and we’re also holding a ticket giveaway for Wednesday’s Memphis Tigers basketball game against Rice. Enter to win here before midnight. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

The 75-year-old Memphis-Arkansas bridge is slated to be replaced, but some state lawmakers think Memphis needs a third bridge. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Maybe a bridge to cross later: Construction on a new Interstate-55 bridge to replace the aging Memphis-Arkansas Bridge (aka, the Old Bridge) is slated to begin in fall 2026. And once that new bridge, to be called America’s River Crossing, is complete, the Old Bridge will be torn down. But a couple of Memphis legislators think two bridges into Arkansas aren’t enough, and they’ve filed a bill to study the possibility of a third one. (If we call the new I-55 bridge the “New Old Bridge,” would the third bridge be called the “New New Bridge”?) In other news from Nashville, Shelby County legislators have filed several bills that would reform the bail system and restructure juvenile court.

An ethics complaint against Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat has been dismissed. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Not Sweatin’ it: The ethics complaint filed against Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat was dismissed by the city’s ethics board on Friday. Antoine Maxwell had filed a complaint alleging Sweat had “engaged in discriminatory practices regarding promotions and discipline” dating back to her appointment in 2016. But the board voted to dismiss it on grounds that the complaint wasn’t timely.

Bernice Donald

Who’s following up on the DOJ report? Back in December, the U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing report on alleged civil rights violations committed by the Memphis Police Department. That report said that the MPD discriminates against Black residents and uses “needless force” against children and people with disabilities. The City of Memphis chose not to enter into a consent decree with the DOJ to reform the police department, instead opting to establish its own reform task force. Former federal Judge Bernice Donald will lead that effort, along with a nine-member team. You might recognize some familiar names on the force, including a former MPD director and a well-known local pastor.

“Our clients, employees and others cannot keep going through these uncertainties. It’s not healthy,” said Mauricio Calvo, head of Latino Memphis. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Funds for immigrant children safe — for now: A stop-work order on federal funding for lawyers of immigrant children has been rescinded. The hold, which was implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration, would have affected hundreds of children in the Memphis area who immigrated to the U.S. without a parent. Because they are children, they are not deported and have a right to legal representation in their immigration cases. Though the legal service is protected for now, those who work with local immigrant children worry the funding could still be taken away.

QUOTED

“I decided, if I’m terminated, why not speak on behalf of all of us?” said Kendra Lawler, who was laid off from the Veterans Administration hospital in Memphis. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

“The protections we thought we were afforded, we are not being afforded.”

— Kendra Lawler, terminated federal worker
Lawler was in charge of communications and public relations for the Veterans Administration hospital here when she lost her job as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping layoffs. Lawler, a disabled veteran, says her termination was made in error because she was “improperly coded probationary.” She’s one of the federal workers in Memphis who are now jobless after Trump’s cuts.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Michael Robilio (left) and Sam Lucchesi stocked premade Italian meals into the cooler at Lucchesi Ravioli & Pasta Co. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Buon appetito: Fans of Lucchesi’s Ravioli & Pasta Co. grab-and-go entrees, casseroles, flatbreads and other items will be glad to know they’re coming back to a store near you. The products were available in seven stores in Tennessee and Mississippi during the early stages of the pandemic, but new U.S. Department of Agriculture rules caused the company to pull all meat-containing products from the shelves. Now, Lucchesi’s is using a USDA-certified commercial kitchen, and that means more meaty options in grocery stores, including what may be the only made-in-house tortellini in Memphis.

Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, Crosstown Memphis Community Development Corp. and Crosstown Redevelopment Cooperative Association are part of the Cleveland Street Corridor Partnership. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Future of Cleveland Street: If all goes as planned, the area around Crosstown Concourse could see big improvements over the next few years. A Midtown church and couple of nonprofits are partnering together on a tax-increment-financing (TIF) plan that would reinvest city and county property-tax dollars generated in the district back into the area. Those funds would pay for streetscape improvements and to fix up dilapidated, vacant parcels, among other neighborhood improvements. The Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission would need to approve the TIF first though. (Full disclosure: I serve on the Crosstown Memphis Community Development Corp. that’s backing the TIF.)

Memphis guard PJ Carter celebrated with guard PJ Haggerty in a game against Florida Atlantic on Sunday, Feb. 23, in Memphis. (Nikki Boertman/AP)

Weekend sports: A weekend of Memphis Grizzlies and Tigers basketball wins was capped off Sunday with a Grizz loss to league-best Cavaliers in Cleveland. The Grizzlies played well, but it wasn’t enough to outshine the Cavs’ rebounding dominance, resulting in a 129-123 loss. In better news, the Tigers fought back from a struggle against the Florida Atlantic Owls on Sunday to claim a blowout 84-65 victory. The Tigers seemed shaky in the early minutes of the game, but in the second half, big man Dain Dainja helped them pick up “that chip” Dainja had said was missing since the Tigers’ early season statement wins. In other sports news, the Memphis Grizzlies won a “mud fight” (our own Drew Hill’s words) against the Orlando Magic on Friday. The bears played from behind until the game’s final two minutes, when a Ja Morant layup tied the game, and a Desmond Bane free throw secured the 105-104 win. 

For Thursday’s school cancellation, Dolly Parton passed along “news sweeter than a batch of snow cream” that “we won’t be working 9 to 5 tomorrow ’cause it’s a snow day, y’all” to Arlington students. (Photo by Charlie Riedel/AP file; illustration by Nick Lingerfelt/The Daily Memphian)

School’s out ‘fo‘ shizzle’: Snow days are already an exciting time for kids, but what if the news that school’s out is delivered by the “voice of God”? That’s what’s happening at Arlington Community Schools. Each time school is canceled for winter weather, parents get a robocall from an AI-generated celebrity voice, which has so far included Morgan Freeman (the voice of God in “Bruce Almighty”), Dolly Parton and Snoop Dogg.

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

After last week’s snow and temps in the teens, we have now entered the Spring of Deception, but I’ll take it. 

You’re all caught up from the weekend!

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