The Early Word: xAI’s water plant is coming; Pontotoc gets back to its roots
Rise and shine, Shelby County. It’s Monday, May 19, and the Shelby County Commission will consider more emergency jail funding.
Tonight, the City of Memphis’ new arts office wants to hear from local artists about what kind of money and equipment they need to thrive. (Here’s hoping someone holds their pinky finger to their lips and asks for one million dollars.) There’s a listening session at the Orange Mound Community Center. Also tonight, Bartlett residents can weigh in on the Union Depot developer’s plan to make that city’s first mixed-use project even bigger.
For more on what’s coming, This Week in Memphis has your back.
Much has been made lately about xAI’s controversial natural-gas turbines and whether the company plans to use more of them to power its second Whitehaven plant. (And it’s apparently going to be a hot minute before xAI gets a permit for its turbines at the OG facility.) But whatever happened to that water-recycling plant Elon Musk’s company promised? It’s caught up in bureaucratic red tape right now, waiting on a permit from the state. Once built, the facility would recycle wastewater to power xAI, so it could avoid using aquifer water. The Daily Memphian’s Samuel Hardiman tells us how the plant will work — and how much water xAI is currently using.
Hotel Pontotoc opened as a hotel Downtown 120 years ago, and since then, it’s been transformed into a brothel, a bar, a recording studio, a Turkish bathhouse and a residential home. This summer, it’s going back to the beginning. New owners Tony Kuhn and Joseph Lewis will reopen the 8,600-square-foot, three-story building as a luxury hotel with 10 rooms. But they’re keeping the Pontotoc’s rich history alive by dedicating each room to an important year in the hotel’s timeline. For example, it’s rumored that Elvis Presley stayed in the hotel in 1953, so the decor in the hotel’s grand suite will reflect that year. As for the hotel’s restaurant, Dame, you can expect a very expertly crafted wine list.
Plus, an old drive-in gets a new life, Fawn serves upscale comfort food and there’s more to the Memphis Grizzlies’ name than you might think.
Topics
The Early Word Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
Subscribers to The Daily Memphian help fund our not-for-profit newsroom of nearly 40 local journalists plus more than 20 freelancers, all of whom work around the clock to cover the issues impacting our community. Subscriptions - and donations - also help fund our community access programs which provide free access to K-12 schools, community organizations, and more. Thank you for making our work possible.
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.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.