The Early Word: MATA OKs deep cuts, but the Tigers will stay Downtown
Happy Taco Wednesday, Memphis. Oh wait, you say that’s not a thing? Well, it is today. It’s Aug. 28, and local taco chain TacoNGanas is hosting a block party outside the FedExForum this afternoon to celebrate its new location inside the arena. Yes, there will be free tacos.
Speaking of local businesses, don’t forget to register for our Daily Memphian Small Business Seminar, scheduled for Sept. 4. Guests will hear from the mother-and-son duo behind Trust Marketing and the owners of City Silo and Biscuits and Jams.
Massive cuts in staff and bus routes are, indeed, coming to Memphis Area Transit Authority. On Tuesday, MATA’s board approved the nearly $67 million budget proposed by Interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin that includes cuts to six of the agency’s 23 bus routes and about half of its workforce. The budget was designed to fix the agency’s $60 million deficit, but that didn’t make the news any easier for the bus riders and drivers who showed up at the meeting in protest. “I depend on the bus route. I don’t know … how I’m going to get around,” said South Memphis rider Cassandra Turner.
The Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team will continue to call FedExForum home for at least a couple more seasons, as the team finalizes a two-year lease extension with the Memphis Grizzlies, who operate the arena.
Plus, Monogram Foods is leaving East Memphis, gun control won’t be on the ballot and you’re about to pay even more for electricity.
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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. She’s a diehard morning person who spends her free time running marathons and ultras. She’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South.”
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