The Early Word: Lee’s got ‘fighting’ words; Nichols jury selection begins
Rise and shine, Memphis. It’s Tuesday, Sept. 10, and the Memphis City Council will be talking to Memphis Area Transit Authority leaders for the first time since the agency’s board officially approved massive staff and route cuts. And we may finally get an answer as to whether Midtown is getting a Whataburger.
Tonight (or should I say “Tonight, Tonight”?), the Smashing Pumpkins will play a show at Snowden Grove in Southaven. If your last Pumpkins show was at the Pyramid in 1996, you might want to give them another chance. Lead singer Billy Corgan infamously berated the audience and stopped that show mid-set, leaving my 16-year-old self very upset. But I saw the Pumpkins open for Green Day in Nashville two weeks ago, and Corgan was quite the gentleman. Here’s hoping for a full show in Southaven.
“You can’t have 50 different cities with 50 different laws. Trying to override that is just picking a fight with the state,” said Gov. Bill Lee. On Monday, Lee shared his feelings about the Memphis City Council’s gun-control referendums, which were supposed to be on the Nov. 5 ballot. The Shelby County Election Commission said it wouldn’t place the questions on the ballot, and now the council is suing the Election Commission. Also on Monday, the Shelby County Commission voted to support the council’s lawsuit.
The federal trial for three former Memphis police officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols began Monday with jury selection. The pool of jurors started with 200 people, and seven were dismissed on Monday for various reasons. U.S. District Judge Mark Norris also released a list of 42 potential witnesses on Monday. RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, Nichols’ mother and stepfather, attended jury selection, and defendants Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean and Demetrius Haley were present in the courtroom. We’ll be following the trial as it progresses, so stay tuned to our live blog for the latest.
Plus, a jail bailout is delayed, power outages are less frequent and cathead biscuits are coming back.
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Bianca Phillips
Bianca Phillips is a Northeast Arkansas native and longtime Memphian who’s worked in local journalism and PR for more than 20 years. In her days as a reporter, she covered everything from local government and crime to LGBTQ issues and the arts. She’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South,” a cookbook of vegan Southern recipes.
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