Who’s ready to work, Memphis? It’s Monday, April 27, and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris will get to work today on what to do about the impending state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. 

Look at what else is coming in This Week in Memphis. And read on for:

• city budget takeaways
• everything you need to know about the state’s “fake weed” laws
• a look at local football stars who are going pro

THE NEED TO KNOW

Memphis Mayor Paul Young said the city had to make “significant tradeoffs” with its budget. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

City budget takeaways: Memphis Mayor Paul Young presented his $897 million city budget proposal last week with the vast majority of that money allocated for personnel costs. Reporter Samuel Hardiman has been combing through the budget to see what’s being spent where, and he presents three takeaways on what he found. Among his findings: The city plans to spend quite a bit less on clothes. (Also, the city has a budget line for clothes.)

A huge industry bloomed in the Volunteer State between Congress essentially legalizing THCa in 2018 and the Tennessee legislature regulating it in 2025. (Savannah Blake/AP file)

Up in smoke: Tennessee’s “fake weed” (aka Delta-9) industry was flying high until the state stepped in. And beginning this July 1, legal THC products will be severely limited. A state bill that passed last year cuts down on the legally allowed concentration of cannabinoids in edibles, vapes and other products, and it also limits where and how the products can be sold. As for real marijuana, efforts to legalize medical and recreational cannabis failed again this year. And that’s all coming as the federal government moves in the opposite direction by rescheduling medical cannabis to a lesser drug. 

Yasser Jose Lopez Soza, a junior at Memphis Business Academy, was detained by ICE on Feb. 20. (Image Courtesy of Lopez Soza Family)

Teen released from ICE custody: A federal judge ordered the release of Memphis teen Yasser Jose Lopez Soza from ICE detention last week. The 18-year-old high-school student was detained back in February on the way to a school soccer game at Memphis Business Academy, and he was being held without bond. The judge ruled that violated his right to due process. Details around why he was arrested remained unclear, even to the judge. State Rep. Gabby Salinas, who visited Soza in detention, said he was suffering from depression and insomnia in custody.

Electrification with representation: Shelby County’s suburbs will soon have a voice on the Memphis Light, Gas and Water board. The state Senate and House have approved bills that create two voting positions for suburban members of the utility’s board. As of now, the two suburban MLGW board members don’t get to vote, even though 30% of MLGW’s customers don’t live in Memphis. Assuming Gov. Bill Lee signs the bill, Shelby County’s largest suburbs would be represented. 

QUOTED

Tennessee state Rep. G.A. Hardaway rarely appeared in public without a well-tailored suit and his signature bow tie. (George Walker IV/AP file)

“His memory is one of being a gentleman, a hard worker and a committed state lawmaker.”

— Otis Sanford, columnist and political observer
Sanford was referring to longtime Tennessee state Rep. G.A. Hardaway, who died Friday at age 71. His cause of death hasn’t been reported, but he was suffering lingering effects from a fall. Hardaway, a vocal opponent of expanding gun laws, represented House District 93, which includes parts of Orange Mound and South Memphis, and had served in the role since 2007. 

THE NICE TO KNOW

White Station High School seniors, from left, Natalia Molina, Naomi Hurst, Makinlee Holmes, Amber Azor and Macey Robinson are all players in Senior Assassin. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Senior assassins: If you see teens out and about wearing goggles and floaties, they’re probably assassins. Some high-school seniors at several Memphis schools seem to be obsessed with a game called Senior Assassin, where they use an app to track targets and shoot them with water guns. There are all kinds of rules, but you’re generally safe from attack when wearing goggles or floaties. The Daily Memphian’s John Klyce dives into this all-consuming game — and its perception in a city where a teen was recently killed during a water-gun fight.

Members of the media flocked to New Madrid, Missouri, for the Iben Browning projected earthquake on Dec. 3, 1990. (James A. Finley/AP file)

The day the earth stood still: On Dec. 3, 1990, I was one of a handful of kids who showed up to school in my Northeast Arkansas hometown. The rest were kept home by parents worried a huge quake could hit the New Madrid fault line. That’s because an ill-informed scientist made a wacky prediction that spread like wildfire, and Mid-Southeners went to great lengths to protect themselves and their property. That’s despite Memphis’ local earthquake research center’s attempts to debunk the prediction. (Unfortunately for me, my parents were among the skeptics who wisely ignored the prediction.) This week’s Ask the Memphian looks at the Big One that wasn’t.

Belly Acres’ Collierville location is at 3660 S. Houston Levee Road. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian file)

Feeling the ache: After Thursday, Southaven will be the only place to get a Voodoo Moo Moo burger. Belly Acres is closing its Collierville location this Thursday, leaving just the Southaven spot open. The burger chain’s owners blamed the closure on low sales. Over the past few years, Belly Acres has closed two locations and abandoned plans for a new one in Bartlett. 

The Works Inc. President and CEO Roshun Austin (right), along with Quincy Jones (left), led a ribbon cutting ceremony for Northside Square on Jan. 16. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Land grab? Affordable homes may be coming to a former school site in South Memphis. Orleans Elementary School was demolished a decade ago, and The Works Inc. wants the land to build houses for families with incomes 80% or below the area median income. The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board is expected to vote on whether to sell the site at a meeting later this week. But it’s not the first time The Works Inc. has tried to get the land.

Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday (10) ran a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 26. (Julio Cortez/AP file)

Go pro: Several Memphis football players made it to the big league in last week’s NFL Draft. Cincinnati linebacker and former Arlington High standout Jake Golday was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings. And former Alabama and Bartlett High star Justin Jefferson was selected by the Cleveland Browns. As for former Memphis Tigers, receiver Cortez Braham Jr. is expected to join the Baltimore Ravens, and the Los Angeles Chargers selected offensive lineman Travis Burke. Additionally, three former Memphis high school standouts didn’t hear their names called up in the draft but are expected to sign as undrafted NFL free agents.

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

We’re looking at a stormy start to the week and very chilly start to Riverbeat Music Festival weekend. But that’s just the curse of the first weekend of May in Memphis.

Stay dry today!

Editor’s Note: The Works Inc. President and CEO Roshun Austin is on the board of Memphis Fourth Estate Inc., the nonprofit that owns and operates The Daily Memphian.

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