The Early Word: Halbert mistake cost millions; Feagins wants to ‘take seats’
Who’s ready for the music to make you lose control? It’s Friday, May 2, and Missy Elliott will be working it as the opening-night headliner at Riverbeat Music Festival in Tom Lee Park. If you’re going for any of the fest’s three days, our day-by-day music guides will be your best friend — your festie bestie, even.
But there’s more to life than music. Like, fashion and food. Memphis Art and Fashion Week kicks off today with a vintage shopping event and runs through May 9. And Food Network star Alton Brown’s last (according to him) big culinary variety show stops at the Orpheum Saturday night.
Saturday brings festapalooza. There’s a puppy festival at Crosstown Concourse (yes, that’s right; dreams do come true). The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is hosting Chalkfest. And the Memphis Botanic Garden is finally having its Troll Fest that was canceled last month due to bad weather. On Sunday, you can run a beer mile (that’s four beers in one mile) at Global Café for a good cause (and a free margarita).
For even more weekend fun, check out The To-Do List.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young released the city’s proposed $883 million budget in April, and Daily Memphian reporter Samuel Hardiman has been digging in to find the big takeaways. Among them, Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert’s seven-month delay in collecting the raised car registration fee cost the city several million more than previously thought. There’s also bad news (or, rather, no news) in the budget for the “bring back Mud Island amphitheater” crowd.
“Seats are up. And the seats are for the taking, so let’s go take some seats,” said Marie Feagins, former Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent. Feagins, who was fired from her top job at MSCS, encouraged her supporters to let their voices be heard at the ballot box in 2026, when at least four school board seats will be open. She was speaking at an “open to the public” interview event with former CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin on Wednesday. But our Daily Memphian reporter was denied access.
Plus, Clayborn Temple suffers more loss, Republicans want partisan school-board elections and the Grand Carousel at CMOM is a time machine.
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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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