How’s it going on this fine Wednesday morning? It’s March 25, and the Memphis Grizzlies play the San Antonio Spurs tonight at home. The Spurs are No. 2 in the West right now (remember when we could say that?), and the Grizzlies are fighting to be the biggest losers.

THE NEED TO KNOW

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center has a new resignation over abuse allegations. (Courtesy UTHSC)

Another one bites the dust: A sixth University of Tennessee Health Science Center faculty member has resigned over another instructor’s alleged mistreatment of students. That resignation means Pamela Lewis-Kipkulei, the accused professor, is the only faculty member left. Five other faculty members resigned earlier this year after they say UTHSC failed to address concerns over complaints that Lewis-Kipkulei belittled, shamed and verbally abused her students. UTHSC has hired search firms to replace the missing faculty.

Gas prices in Memphis are slightly under the state average, as of March 24. (George Walker IV/AP)

Gas relief? State Democrats want to put the breaks on surging gas prices — at least temporarily. As gas nears $4 a gallon due to the war in Iran, Reps. Bo Mitchell and John Ray Clemmons are pushing for a three-month tax holiday on gas and diesel sales that they estimate could save you $5 to $8 every time you fill up. But lawmakers have tried this before — and failed. In other state government news, a new bill that sounds like it’s designed to hold the Memphis Safe Task Force accountable is actually targeted at the Shelby County district attorney’s office.

“He was doing everything the correct way, yet he’s been in detention for a month,” Rep. Gabby Salinas, said about 18-year-old Yassar Jose Lopez Soza. (Noah McLane/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Update on student detained by ICE: Yassar Jose Lopez Soza, the 18-year-old Memphis Business Academy student detained last month by ICE, is not doing well, according to state Rep. Gabby Salinas. Salinas has been in touch with Soza, and she said “he’s extremely sad and he’s lost a lot of weight” since their initial visit earlier this month. Soza, who was seeking asylum at the time of his arrest, was a passenger in a car during a traffic stop. Salinas said his family has not received any information on why he was arrested.

Breaking the impasse: The next time a city labor union gets stuck in a contract deadlock with the city, the Memphis City Council will have a new — and hopefully improved — way of dealing with it. The council passed a big change to its impasse procedure last night that would use three-member panels of council members to make impasse recommendations to the full council. In other City Council news, Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis echoed Mayor Paul Young’s plan to enforce the city’s youth curfew — as soon as they figure out what to do with all those kids. 

QUOTED

“A place that was painful, hopefully, can be a place of honor.”

— Lauren Drennan, wife of the late Will Drennan
Will Drennan died in 2022 as he saved a child from drowning in a culvert at Riverdale Park in Germantown. Germantown’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted this week to rename the park in honor of Will Drennan.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Gluten-free Jacques Louise Bakery will move from its Overton Square location to the former Muddy’s Grind House space near Cooper-Young. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

Movin’ on up: An Overton Square bakery is moving to the old Muddy’s Grind House after outgrowing its location. Jacques Louise Bakery specializes in gluten-free goods, and owner Savannah Kenney said “the need for gluten-free in Memphis has exceeded our expectations.” In other food news, Collierville leaders agreed to a new McDonald’s on the same day they vowed to fight a new Chick-fil-A. And we’ve got a look inside Remington College’s cafe, where you can get a cheap meal and help a culinary student get some real-world restaurant experience. 

Jeff Webb is credited with revolutionizing cheerleading and turning it into what it is today. (Courtesy Varsity Spirit.)

‘Hardest-working man I’ve ever met’: That’s what Varsity Spirit’s chief marketing officer called Jeff Webb, the founder of the Memphis-based cheer company. Webb died last week after suffering a pickleball injury weeks earlier. Back in the 1970s, Webb transformed cheerleading from “a sleepy, sideline leadership activity” into an athletic pursuit with high-energy dance routines, gymnastics and cute uniforms. He’d even been working to get cheerleading into the Olympics. 

The owner of the former Prospero Place office building is looking for tenants. (Courtesy Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Advisors)

New home base? Your board meetings could be a little less boring if your office overlooked a ballpark. The new owner of the former Prospero Place office building, which is next door to AutoZone Park, is looking for office tenants. Read more on that in Inked. And speaking of new owners, an LLC has just purchased a historic Downtown building that was once home to one of the oldest Black-owned businesses in the city.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant went up for a dunk during a May 3, 2022, playoff game against the Golden State Warriors in Memphis. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Not No. 1: It might surprise you, but No. 12 is not No. 1 on our list of the best Memphis Grizzlies of all time. It certainly surprised me to see star Ja Morant at No. 4 in today’s ongoing Grizzlies countdown. After all, only basketball wiz Chris Herrington knows the order. Morant is arguably responsible for the franchise’s single-game scoring record and several of its best moments. But as Herrington says, he may have burned so hot that he burned right out. Speaking of that, the Grizzlies said yesterday that you won’t see Morant play for the rest of the season.

In 2022, the Tennessee General Assembly gave authority to local leaders to regulate vaping and smoking. (Steve Helber/AP file)

No vapin’ and drinkin’: Lakeland may soon ban the use of tobacco and vape products in 21-and-up bars. The city’s Board of Commissioners gave an initial approval to a ban last week, and if approved, it would be the first Memphis suburb to enact a restriction on vaping in bars. But here’s the thing: Lakeland doesn’t have any age-restricted bars.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Zazie Beetz in a scene from “They Will Kill You.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Cults and covens: It’s going to be a witchy week at the movies. The biggest new release this week is “They Will Kill You,” about a woman who answers a housekeeper ad and finds herself confronting a Satanic cult. And there’s also “Forbidden Fruits,” a horror-comedy about a coven operating out of a shopping mall. All of this sounds right up my alley, but more serious filmgoers will be glad to know that movie buff Chris Herrington had high praise for last week’s release, “Project Hail Mary,” starring Ryan Gosling as a middle-school science teacher sent to space.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Come for the football; stay for the food. Memphis Tigers football coaches had a lot to say Tuesday about Memphis eats.

New defensive coordinator Lance Guidry raved about his meal at Folk’s Folly for almost a full minute before jokingly asking the Memphis steakhouse for an NIL deal.

So, on that note, Good Fortune, I’ll take an NIL deal, too. 

.....