Merry Christmas, Memphis! It’s Wednesday, Dec. 24, and I hope your stockings are hung by the chimney with care. But really, isn’t it too warm for stockings? 

THE NEED TO KNOW

Community members listened during a meeting Dec. 10 on the possible merger of Chickasaw Middle and Westwood High schools. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

‘Halo around Westwood High’: Years ago, Memphis-Shelby County Schools proposed closing Westwood High, which had low enrollment and needed a lot of repairs. That closure never happened, and now, under Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond’s facilities plan, Westwood may be saved. MSCS shaved millions off the repair needs by replacing the roof and windows a while back, and the enrollment problems might be fixed soon if MSCS votes to merge Chickasaw Middle with Westwood. Plus, a big gift from xAI certainly hasn’t hurt.

Residents voted in Whitehaven on Nov. 5, 2024. The next election is the May 5 county primary. (Benjamin Naylor/The Daily Memphian file)

Who is running for office so far? Monday was the first day to check out a petition to run for county office in the May 5 primaries. And 74 people did just that. That includes 56 Democrats and at least one candidate who checked out petitions for two different races — criminal court clerk and county clerk. (He’ll figure out which one to run for later.) The field of early filers also included candidates for county mayor, sheriff and Wanda Halbert’s job (county clerk). Our own Bill Dries looks at the competition so far.

Jared Myers is the City of Bartlett’s new economic development manager. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Bartlett business booster: The City of Bartlett has a new economic development manager, a position that hasn’t been filled since 2006. That’s Jared Myers, who was hired to help boost Bartlett business after some of the city’s aldermen questioned if the Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce was doing enough. Myers wants to bring more fine dining and more advanced manufacturing jobs to Bartlett. And he comes with previous business incubation experience in another Memphis neighborhood.

MEET MEMPHIS

Memphis’ new head football coach Charles Huff spoke during his introductory press conference on Dec. 10. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

New Memphis Tigers football coach Charles Huff isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Huff grew up working on his grandpa’s pig farm, racing to clean up pig pens faster than his brother. “It teaches you a lot of hard work,” Huff said. But hard work wasn’t the only valuable lesson of Huff’s childhood; he learned sacrifice from his dad, who commuted 90 minutes to Delaware for work each day. Charles Huff Sr. coached women’s basketball at Delaware State, but he chose to live in Maryland for the benefit of his family. The younger Huff talked to our own Frank Bonner II about how those early days shaped him as a man — and a coach. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

You’d better watch out; you’d better not cry. Because Santi Claus (aka Aldama) is coming to town. Aldama had a new career high in the Grizzlies’ win over the Utah Jazz Tuesday in Salt Lake City. (Rob Gray/AP file)

Santi Claus came to town: That town (er, city) was Salt Lake, and Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama helped lead his team to a revenge win, 137-128, over the Utah Jazz. Fresh off a career-high for points earlier this week, Aldama had another career-high night for 3-pointers. But Aldama wasn’t the only star: Forward GG Jackson made his first start of the season and had his highest scoring game since nearly a year ago. Noticeably absent was Cedric Coward, who has joined the team’s ever-growing injury list. In old news, we’ve got a look at former Grizzly O.J. Mayo, who is Chris Herrington’s 16th favorite player of all time. Mayo may be best remembered for his messiness (drugs, a black eye from Tony Allen, etc.), but Herrington highlights the good he did for the Grizzlies.

A billboard for the movie “Song Sung Blue” is on display in Midtown on Madison Avenue. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Dream big or huge: Two films opening on Christmas Day share nearly identical taglines: There’s “Marty Supreme” with “Dream Big” and “Song Sung Blue” with “Dream Huge.” Movie buff Chris Herrington has written extensively on Craig Brewer’s “Song Sung Blue,” the story of a Neil Diamond tribute artist couple (with a made-in-Memphis musical score). But if you have time to watch two films on Christmas (hey, dream big!), “Marty Supreme” also made Herrington’s best films of the year list and is probably worth your time, too. For something completely different, there’s a new Paul Rudd-Jack Black comedy opening, and that’s probably where you’ll find me.

Memphis Tigers guard Dug McDaniel handled the ball against the Alabama State Hornets at FedExForum on Dec. 22. (Wes Hale/Special to The Daily Memphian)

What we’ve learned about the Tigers: The Memphis Tigers begin an 18-game American Conference slate on Dec. 31. And how that will go is anyone’s guess. So far, in their non-conference schedule, the Tigers have pushed No. 1 Purdue until the final minutes and earned a solid win over Baylor. But they’ve also tanked to UNLV and Mississippi State, among other losses. Our own Parth Upadhyaya looks at what the Tigers are doing wrong — and one teammate who is doing things right. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

You’ll definitely want to leave the ugly Christmas sweater in the closet this year. Personally, I’m all for a short-sleeve Christmas, but I may be in the minority.

Safe travels if you’re heading out of town! The Early Word will be off for the rest of the week. See you Monday!

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