The Early Word: Spiked drink probe ends, and JJJ needs to slay today
Happy Earth Day, Memphis. It’s Tuesday, April 22, and though every day should be Earth Day, there’s no time like right now to adopt some more sustainable habits. You could try to use less plastic or commit to a plant-based diet. As for me, I’m going to get back into the habit of composting my produce scraps.
The Memphis City Council will be talking today about Downtown parking, including new safety rules for parking garages. Apparently, human waste and “persistent filth” in garages are concerns. (Yuck.)
But most importantly, the Memphis Grizzlies get a chance at redemption tonight after Sunday’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in game one of the playoff series. Hey, at least it can’t get much worse in game two.
Over the past couple of months, Collierville Police have been investigating complaints of alleged drink tampering at Casa Mexicana and other area restaurants. Some alleged that spiked drinks led to the death of Kristen Fundo, a teacher at Christ Methodist Day School who died after her car plunged into a pond in eastern Shelby County on Feb. 28. Fundo had dinner at Casa Mexicana earlier that evening. But on Monday, the Collierville Police Department and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said their investigation revealed drink tampering was not linked to Fundo’s death.
The Memphis Grizzlies suffered a terrible 51-point blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in game one of the playoff series on Sunday. And within that game, star Jaren Jackson Jr. had a very bad game of his own. Jackson scored a career playoff low of 4 points. And despite his Block Panther nickname, he didn’t successfully block a single shot. The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington analyzed JJJ’s game and what he needs to do to turn it around. The Grizzlies players and coaches have been watching that game film, and after practice Monday, they seemed confident that Sunday’s mistakes “are easily correctable.” (Fingers crossed.)
Plus, lawmakers pause an anti-immigrant education bill, state Constitutional amendments go to voters and the Overton Park Shell drops its summer line-up.
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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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