Ho, ho, ho, Shelby County! It’s Friday, Dec. 5. Crosstown Concourse flips the switch on its holiday lights tonight, and they’re bringing an iceless skating rink to the South Plaza. 

Suburban holiday parades are in full effect this weekend, too. Collierville’s parade is tonight, and Saturday brings parades in Southaven, Olive Branch and Bartlett. They’re spaced far enough apart that you could hit up all of them for a holiday parade marathon if you’re so inclined. 

Or, you could go run — or spectate at — a real marathon: The St. Jude Memphis Marathon zips through Downtown and parts of Midtown on Saturday. Here’s everything you need to know about the race and how it will affect traffic. If you’re running, you may be stumbling Saturday night, so you might as well join the Stumbling Santas pub crawl.

As for sports, there are home games every day this weekend: the Memphis Grizzlies play the Los Angeles Lakers tonight, the Memphis Tigers play Baylor Saturday and the Grizzlies play the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday. 

For more weekend fun, go here.

THE NEED TO KNOW

“It’s all about sustaining the gain and how do we invest in the things that ensure that we are going to be able to keep crime suppressed and down,” said Memphis Mayor Paul Young Thursday. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Rising after the Task Force? Memphis Mayor Paul Young plans to launch a new effort called “Rise 901” in the eventual aftermath of the Memphis Safe Task Force, even though no one seems to know when that is. During a talk at our Daily Memphian Commercial Real Estate Seminar Thursday, Young said he’ll focus on keeping “crime suppressed and down” with incentives to retain and grow police ranks. But the effort will also focus on more affordable housing and other quality of life issues that address the root causes of violence. During the talk, Young also touched on ICE concerns, the city’s bus system, Liberty Park and xAI. 

Over the debt cliff: Earlier this week, the Memphis City Council’s debate over a 2% raise for firefighters got a little, um, heated when one council member accused the fire union of raping the city. But the real issue is the raise will cost the city about $1.7 million in annual salaries. Council member Dr. Jeff Warren implied that cost would be offset by the city’s lower debt costs in future years, thanks to the city’s debt cliff. But what the heck is a debt cliff? The Daily Memphian’s Samuel Hardiman is here with a river analogy that makes it easier to understand.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, a state trooper shot one of the suspects, but the affidavit does not say who or even mention the shooting at all. (John Amis/AP file)

Two charged after trooper chase: Kevin Riley, 19, and Dedreck McVay, 32, have been charged with evading arrest and drug possession after an early Wednesday morning car chase with state troopers. Their car, which reportedly got up to a speed of 125 mph, eventually wrecked. One of the troopers then fired his gun at the scene after he “perceived a threat.” According to an affidavit, a passenger in the car signaled for help during the chase. 

The Tennessee Railroad Association has pushed for state lawmakers to enact steeper penalties for cargo theft. (Carolyn Kaster/AP file)

Derailing cargo theft? Memphis is where the eastern and western railroad tracks meet, and it ranks second in the country for cargo theft. But U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor of Tennessee, is co-sponsoring new federal legislation to crack down on train raids. The bill, co-sponsored by Minnesota Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar, would equip six U.S. transportation hubs with more cops and new technology designed to crack down on theft.

QUOTED

“Once again, Mayor Harris, your lack of communication and engagement with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has led you to provide misinformation to the community,” wrote Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner over Harris’ comments about the county jail. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

“You have suddenly decided to pay attention to the problems with the jail after ignoring them for nearly 7 ½ years.”

— Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner
Those are Bonner’s words to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, who said the sheriff’s office should turn control of the county jail over to someone else. Harris cited concerns about frequent deaths at the jail, but Bonner accused Harris of ignoring and hindering efforts to renovate the existing jail.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Dutch Bros Coffee is poised to open a location in Bartlett. (Andrew Selsky/AP file)

Whole latte new coffee: It’s a busy time for the coffee business in Memphis. Not only is there a Grind City Coffee latte art contest this weekend, but three new coffee shops have either just opened or are about to. Jay’s Coffee & Cuisine is now open Downtown, a new Cxffeeblack is opening soon and Dutch Bros Coffee is trying to open in Bartlett. But there’s bad news for Retro Coffee and Donuts trailer fans. Read more on all of that in Food Files.

Brothers-in-law Walker Huey and Brown Gill have bought the nine-story Renaissance Center office building in East Memphis. (Courtesy Walker Huey and Brown Gill)

Renaissance revival: Brothers-in-law Walker Huey and Brown Gill just bought the almost fully occupied Renaissance Center office building in East Memphis for $34 million. The two tried to buy the building last spring, and they were outbid. But lucky for them, the highest bidder was unable to close, and they got a second chance — which they learned about while out on the golf course.

Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey looked to shoot against San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet on Tuesday, Dec. 2. (Eric Gay/AP)

Grizz Qs answered: NBA wiz Chris Herrington is back with his quarterly Grizzlies Mailbag, and he’s got answers to your burning questions. For one, he tackles what’s up with the Grizzlies’ foundering fourth quarters. The problem, it seems, is Coach Tuomas Iisalo’s near-full bench lineups in the final minutes of the game. Herrington explains why Iisalo may be doing this and what might fix it. He also tackles the “ridiculous comparison” of Edey to Yao Ming. And just for fun, Herrington ranks his fave Paul Thomas Anderson films.

Steve Cropper, shown here at a 2024 news conference in Nashville, died Wednesday after a fall. (John Amis/AP file)

On Steve Cropper: Several nationally touring musicians (and an actor) paid respects this week to Stax legend Steve Crooper, who died Wednesday at age 84. Among them was actor and musician Dan Aykroyd, who said, “The Blues Brothers would not exist without him.” Cropper was best-known as the guitarist for Booker T. and the MGs, but he wrote and produced some of the most well-known songs in the soul-music canon. 

El Porton Bowls at El Porton Mexican Restaurant feature rice, beans, lettuce, pico, sour cream, lettuce and your choice of protein. (Ellen Chamberlain/The Daily Memphian)

Bowled over: There’s no better $15 Deal than a meal at a Mexican restaurant that comes with free chips and salsa. Because by the time your food arrives, you’re halfway full already, and that means you’ll have leftovers. In this week’s $15 Deal, food writer Ellen Chamberlain sings the praises of El Porton’s burrito bowls, which — bonus! — are served to you by a robot. Now, she’s also going to give you a tip on mixing all the toppings together in the bowl, but I’m going to have disagree on that one.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

This is how I feel when I eat at City Silo. Slowdown Dry Goods knows what’s up. And speaking of Slowdown, they’re having a free, two-day party at the Shelby Farms yurt tonight and Saturday. Expect merch, DJs, food trucks and hot cocoa. Maybe you’ll even feel like these happy ladies eating salad.

As our digital desk producer Kelsey Bowen says, “Dance, eat and grab a shirt at the yurt.” And good luck to all the St. Jude runners! 

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