The Early Word: One school’s bust is another’s boost; top cop temp check
I love the smell of apple cider in the morning.
It’s Monday, Nov. 18, aka Apple Cider Day, so pour yourself a glass (or a nice warm mug, as I prefer). I’m digital producer Kelsey Bowen, filling in for Bianca Phillips today. That means fewer vegan tidbits, but I will try my best to keep up the puns!
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners are meeting to talk about pay raises for the Circuit Court Clerk’s office, a proposal that’s highlighted the political line between county administration and independent elected officials.
For more of what’s happening, take a look at This Week in Memphis.
Now, cozy up with that cider, and let’s get to some news.
The Memphis City Council’s rejection of Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ request to build a new Cordova high school created another setback for a project with an uncertain future. This boosted the likelihood a new Frayser high school could be built first. With the closure of the neighborhood’s MLK College Preparatory Academy, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said building a new Frayser school is most urgent. As for the Cordova build, well, as Harris said, it “may not be dead permanently, but it’s suffered a pretty big death blow.”
C.J. Davis has been the city’s interim police chief for 11 months after Mayor Paul Young chose to table her reappointment earlier this year. In the unofficial vote in January, Davis’ reappointment lost 6-7. The Daily Memphian’s recent survey of the Memphis City Council found five members in favor of reinstating Davis, including one council member who flipped since his January vote. Not everyone was sold, however. Jana Swearengen-Washington, who voted against in January, wants to talk to the community before making a decision.
Plus, some locals aren’t down for the demo of an iconic East Memphis building, Regional One Health puts pregnancy care on wheels and a Germantown designer leaves his mark on the holidays.
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Kelsey Bowen
Kelsey Bowen is a born and bred Memphian with publications in Creative Nonfiction magazine and at the Library of Congress, who occasionally moonlights as a writing teacher. You can usually find her digging around a Summer Avenue antique mall or seated at a Malco movie theater.
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