Happy birthday to Cameo, Mary’s B.O.T.E. and Sir Meatball! It’s Friday, March 28, and the two Midtown bars are celebrating three years and one year in business, respectively, with birthday bashes at both locations tonight. 

As for Sir Meatball, Memphis’ most famous bulldog is having his birthday party at Grind City Brewing Co. on Saturday, and your dog is invited. There are free treats for dogs, but humans will have to pay for their beer and pizza, as it should be. Also on Saturday, Memphis in May is in Collierville in March with a new barbecue block party event. And in Southaven, the Silo Square Arts Festival is back for its second year. Back in Memphis, the Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Lakers will battle for the No. 4 spot in the West at FedExForum.

Sunday brings the kick-off of the Memphis Showboats’ season with a home opener against the Michigan Panthers at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. But the team just lost their head coach last week. You can also celebrate the Hindu spring holiday of Holi at Shelby Farms Park with a color run and kite fest. There are even more ideas in The To-Do List. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

Some adults should get at least one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine vaccine. (Eric Risberg/AP file)

Measles is here: Shelby County’s first case of measles has been confirmed. And now public health officials are working to determine if anyone else was exposed. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus that causes a spotty rash. It spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, talks or sneezes. At this time, the Shelby County Health Department said the risk to the general public is low. But we’ve all heard this before, so now would be a good time to check with your mom about your vaccination status. (She’d probably love a phone call anyway.) And if you’re a vaccinated adult of a certain age, you might want to schedule another vaccine. 

The state school takeover proposal sponsored by Sen. Brent Tayor, R-Eads, would expand the state’s 2019-era education voucher pilot program to all qualifying districts. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Other school districts could be taken over: If state Sen. Brent Tayor, R-Eads, gets his way, the state could take over school districts outside of Memphis. The qualifications in the Senate version of the school takeover bill, which is designed to take authority away from the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board, could also currently apply to at least seven other school districts in the state. That version would also expand charter schools and private-school vouchers in low-income school districts. See a breakdown of how the Senate and House bills differ. 

Elon Musk, left, shook hands with President Donald Trump at the finals for the NCAA wrestling championship on March 22, in Philadelphia. (Matt Rourke/AP)

Trump could let xAI off the hook: President Donald Trump plans to exempt a large portion of the heavy industry sector from having to meet air-emissions standards, and that could include Elon Musk’s xAI in Memphis. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently taking applications from companies that want to be exempted from certain Clean Air Act regulations for two years. The supercomputer has been partially relying on natural-gas turbines to power its Southwest Memphis center. And those turbines have been operating without a permit, via a temporary Clean Air Act exemption, since last year. 

Anti-immigrant education bill moves ahead: A state bill that would allow school districts to deny enrollment to students based on their immigration status is heading to the House floor for a vote. The latest version of the bill would provide an exception for some students — so long as their parents have money. A few Republicans voted against the bill, including Charlie Baum, R-Murfreesboro, who said there were other ways to dissuade illegal immigration without doing so “in a way to hurt children.”

QUOTED

“Without Bayard Rustin, there is no ‘I Have a Dream’ at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963.”

— Ryan Jones, the National Civil Rights Museum’s director of history and curatorial services
Rustin, an adviser to Martin Luther King Jr., organized the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. Rustin died in 1987, and the Civil Rights Museum recently acquired his archive of letters, artwork, notes and more. An exhibition showcasing those items opens today.

THE NICE TO KNOW

The Malco Summer Drive-In is for sale. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Now showing: Want to buy a drive-in movie theater? The Malco Summer Drive-In could be yours. Malco Theatres is “putting out feelers” to see if developers have ideas for what to do with the 31-acre, four-screen theater. Attendance has been down, and the theater is expensive to operate, said Malco’s David Tashie. The theater is one of fewer than 500 drive-ins left in the country.

The new JoJo’s Espresso location in Germantown is in a former, 5,000-square-foot Newk’s. (Courtesy JoJo’s Espresso)

Latte more space: JoJo’s Espresso is having a grand opening this Saturday for its new location in the former Newk’s on Germantown Road. The new spot replaces the JoJo’s in Thornwood, and it’s nearly six times bigger with 105 seats and two patios. So, if you’re trying to work, and the couple next to you won’t stop talking about Signalgate, you should be able to move to a quiet spot. Food Files has more on that, plus a look at what’s going into the old Checker’s on Winchester Road. And in this week’s $10 Deal, Joshua Carlucci gives us the rundown on all kinds of tamales for sale outside of Summer Avenue’s Rio Grande Supermercado.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. spun away from Oklahoma City Thunder guards Isaiah Joe and Alex Caruso, left, on Thursday, March 27, in Oklahoma City. (Nate Billings/AP)

Grizz out-Thundered: The Memphis Grizzlies are returning from their road trip with another loss, after falling 125-104 to the Oklahoma City Thunder last night. But the Thunder has the NBA’s best record, and even though they lost, our own Drew Hill explains why “this was perhaps the Grizzlies’ best performance” in its four recent road losses. The Grizzlies fought back from a double-digit deficit and took the lead after a Jaren Jackson Jr. 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, so that was encouraging. Even Coach Taylor Jenkins said so. As for Ja Morant, who was still sitting out with a hamstring strain, things are looking up.

Yes to bonuses, no to vouchers: The Germantown Municipal School District’s board doesn’t support Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher program, which gives students public money to pay for private schools. But the voucher legislation passed earlier this year came with a one-time $2,000 bonus for teachers, and the GMSD wasn’t about to say no to that. On Wednesday, they voted to accept the funds, but board members made it clear the approval was in no way an endorsement of the voucher program. 

Fogelman Downtown YMCA is home to a new primary-care clinic. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Pull-ups and check-ups: Now, you can get your workout in and see a doc about that pesky UTI all at the same place — and without insurance. The first in a series of new primary-care clinics, called ChamberCare Health Centers, has softly opened at the Fogelman YMCA. The clinics are intended as a way to expand access to primary care for small businesses that can’t afford to provide health insurance to workers. YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South teamed up with WeCare tlc to run the clinic, and the Greater Memphis Chamber is helping to spread the word. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Memphis drivers already struggle on straight roads, so this new roundabout at I-55 and Riverside Drive and Crump Boulevard doesn’t seem promising at all. 

That’s a not-so-roundabout way of saying some of y’all can’t drive I-55. Be careful out there, and we’ll meet again on Monday.

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