Memphis-born painter makes it big and gives back to the Bluff City, what you should cook for your smaller-than-usual Thanksgiving and a visit with the ghosts of NBA Drafts past and future.

We’ve got all the basketball today, from high school to the NBA, as well as an agonizing wait for local restaurants, a home (testing kit) for the holidays and the continuation of City Council contention. 

We’re remembering two Memphis pioneers, arguing about who should lead us and wondering what’s going to happen with two Saint Francis hospitals. 

Today, we’ve got a new kitchen, a win for the home team and what a Wiseman once said. 

We’ve got local leaders thinking about medical marijuana, a new deli coming to Arlington and we’re talking out of school, especially when it comes to Collierville Middle. 

Amid raised concerns about the coronavirus, we’re dusting off the Rust, looking at new homes in Germantown and, just in general, hamming it up.

Memphis’ city-run animal shelter is adapting to COVID, and a cup of coffee isn’t just a cup of coffee in Raleigh. Plus, new Grizz gear, a returning son and artwork from a high school senior. 

As they say, there must be something in the water. A years-long water-rights dispute seems near to a close (and hopefully we won’t owe anyone $600 million). Plus, a local start-up looks to revolutionize the logistics industry. 

A new beer maker comes to town, and an iconic theater organ makes a comeback. And Shelby County Schools will reopen buildings in January, but will teachers follow? 

Plus, a new kind of residential subdivision, African pop on two new radio shows, and Oprah’s 2020 list of favorite things includes a treat from Memphis.

We’re talking about police brutality and how it’s handled, how you pronounce Marechalneil and what we think about the speed of U.S. election results. 

It’s Thursday, Nov. 5, and we’re still waiting on a president. But we do have plans for a new taco shop, suggestions for Arkansas, and a friendship between two coaches. 

You know today would be a great day for donuts. 

It’s Election Day, and the University of Memphis will have to find student housing somewhere else, the Nylon Net Building has a new owner, and we’re not betting on the NBA draft. 

We’ve also got a fair bit of news from the judicial branch of government, with landlords petitioning the courts and friends from Rhodes remembering Amy Coney Barrett. 

South Main sparkles, FedEx innovates and we’re dreaming of all the things we could be. 

We’re off to our own private islands, a local prosecutor is under investigation and the difference between local schools’ back-to-class plans is real. Plus, a health care merger gets COVID complications of its own. 

Local officials expect our total coronavirus cases to double between now and the end of November, we’ve got a plan to scan and what Memphis has in spades better than the moon. 

It’ll probably be a gray Monday. But we’re talking politics, a historic apartment project, and a parking structure to end all parking problems. 

It’s Oct. 23, and we’re taking a day trip to Oxford even though a part of Oxford is coming to us. We’re also talking about Memphis’ need for more police, heroes on the golf course, and online betting in Tennessee. 

Jaren Jackson Jr. is rocking the vote and his rehab, there’s a BIG deal with building permits and if you haven’t seen Opera Memphis’ recent performance, it’s a real hot dog. 

We’re headed toward “peak peak” — but in packages and hopefully not coronavirus. Plus, two ambitious plans have been pitched for the Pinch and Germantown is excited about a new school project. 

How the latest project proposed for the Pinch District is different, how AutoZone is doing during the pandemic (very well) and how football is a way into coronavirus reporting. Also, we’ve got Charlie’s Meerkats. 

Welcome to the working week. Your regular Early Wordsmith, Mary Cashiola, is at a secure, undisclosed location and I’m taking a turn in the captain’s seat today.