Happy almost weekend, Memphis! It’s Friday, April 10, and if you’ve been thinking about getting some fresh ink, now is your chance. Tattoo Fest will bring 200 artists to Graceland, beginning today, and walk-ins are welcome. 

On Saturday, you can walk and read at the same time with Novel’s new Walking Club. The first 20 people get a free audio book. And if you’d like a glimpse into your future, head to Spirit Fest at the Agricenter. The metaphysical fair will feature psychic readers, crystal sales and more woo-woo than you’ll know what to do with. You can even get your aura read.

Sunday is Shelby County Star Trek Day, the holiday started by District Attorney General (and diehard Trekkie) Steve Mulroy, and there’s a party at Neil’s. This is also the last weekend for Memphis Grizzlies basketball: They play the Utah Jazz tonight and the Houston Rockets on Sunday. And I think we can all agree to say good riddance to this season. 

THE NEED TO KNOW

“We need to focus on finishing Colossus 2 and ensuring it is extremely stable, then will build the water recycling plant,” Elon Musk said on X. (Markus Schreiber/AP file)

Treading water: Elon Musk says xAI’s promised water-recycling plant is still coming — just later than planned. The Daily Memphian’s Samuel Hardiman reported on Wednesday that the plant, which would recycle wastewater to cool xAI’s first data center in Southwest Memphis, was indefinitely paused, and one employee told him it’d gone over budget. In an X post Thursday, Musk said he was focusing on building his second data center in Whitehaven first and then he’d resume the water plant. But as our own Geoff Calkins points out, Musk “builds and breaks things at record speed.” And if he can build the “largest computing cluster in the world right here in Memphis in less than 20 weeks,” uh, what’s the holdup now?

In other xAI news ... The Southaven power plant that will run that Whitehaven data center got an air-emissions permit from a Mississippi environmental board last month. On Thursday, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed an appeal of that permit, which allows the plant to erect 41 natural-gas turbines. The appeal argues that regulators felt pressure to approve the permit and didn’t do enough testing on possible pollution from the plant. 

Six people were shot during a Memphis Allies meeting on April 9, 2025, at a business park in the 4000 block of South Mendenhall Road in Hickory Hill. (Aarron Fleming/The Daily Memphian file)

Two more Youth Villages lawsuits: Two men who were shot at a Youth Villages gun-violence intervention meeting one year ago have filed lawsuits against the nonprofit. Seven Alexander and Marquis Carrick were among the six people shot at a SWITCH program meeting in Hickory Hill. One of those shot, Matthew De’Marcus Williams, died, and his family filed suit earlier this year. Alexander and Carrick survived, but the lawsuits claim they still suffer and that Youth Villages had “reckless disregard for the safety” of SWITCH participants. 

MEET MEMPHIS

Matthew Ramsey is a Hernando native and the mission manager for NASA’s Artemis II mission. (Courtesy NASA)

Hernando native Matthew Ramsey didn’t just reach for the stars; he reached for the moon. Ramsey is the mission manager for Artemis II, the moon mission that’s taken four astronauts farther than any previous launch. That means he’s charged with the crew’s daily prep, flight hardware and safety. But long before he had such an important job, he was a football and baseball star at Hernando High School.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Briarcrest senior Fred Smith Jr. commited to the University of Memphis basketball program Thursday. (Wes Hale/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Fred Smith is Tiger: A local kid with the most Memphis name ever has committed to next season’s Tigers basketball team. But Fred Smith Jr. is not just any kid; he may just be the best player in Briarcrest basketball history. Sports columnist John Martin muses on whether a hometown kid can help Hardaway bring back the glory days. But what about the rest of the team? The NCAA transfer portal is open, and get this: Half of all the players in the entire sport of college basketball have entered the portal. Now, Coach Penny Hardaway will have to find 11 of them for his 2026-27 roster. Here’s a look at who they might be. While we’re on Fred Smith (but the other one): All Tigers players will be advertising for FedEx next season.

Órale Tacos & Bakery’s Barbacoa Huarache. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Sandal sando: Mexican restaurant and bakery Órale Tacos & Bakery serves something called a huarache. And no, it’s not a sandal. It’s an open-faced sandwich named after the Spanish word for sandal, and the base is a thick house-made masa tortilla. (Much tastier than a shoe.) The tortilla is piled high with meat (your choice) and fixins. Food writer Jennifer Chandler has more on this $15 Deal — and some pro tips on bakery items to take home. In other food news, a new Raising Cane’s is opening next Monday, and they’re throwing a party.

The Rambler, an 18-unit boutique hotel at 400 S. Main St., has sold at auction. (Courtesy Marcus & Millichap)

Ramble on: A Downtown boutique hotel has new owners. The Rambler, an 18-unit boutique hotel at 400 S. Main St., was sold at auction, and the buyer was not disclosed. But a Downtown Memphis Commission board transferred the building’s tax incentive to Blue Suede Properties, which operates hotels in several states. The building, which dates back to 1900, was a finalist in the 2022 Building Memphis Awards for best renovation.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Last week, we wrote about a new combination Dunkin’/Buffalo Wild Wings Go. But is mixing fried doughnuts and fried chicken a good idea for your gut? Maybe it’s for the best that the wings are takeout. 

On that note, I’m gonna go. But have a great weekend!

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