The Early Word: Memphis is No. 1 on a bad list, but Rider won a silver medal
Rise and shine, Memphis. Today is Monday, Aug. 5, and Memphis-Shelby County Schools students are back in class today. But they’ll want to save those new fall school clothes for a later date because we’re still solidly in summer with a heat index over 100 today.
For a look at what’s coming in the days ahead, check out This Week in Memphis.
Well, here’s a list you don’t want to top. Memphis had the highest increase in road deaths from 2019 to 2022 among 30 major U.S. cities, according to a New York Times analysis. There were 820 people killed in crashes during that time. The report also noted that the number of traffic citations issued in Memphis decreased sharply after COVID-19 hit, falling more than 50% from 2019 to 2021. Are the two related? It can’t be determined for sure, but there’s promising news from the past year to date.
Germantown’s Seth Rider helped Team USA win a silver medal in the Olympic mixed triathlon relay in Paris. The event occurred in the wee hours of Central Standard Time Monday morning, and Rider led off for the Americans and finished in 10th place before tagging his teammate for the relay’s second leg. The win came after Rider’s 29th place finish in the men’s triathlon last week.
Plus, the party is over for a home in Germantown, an Elvis landmark reopens today and we look at restaurants that aren’t closing.
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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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