The Early Word: Inside 201 Poplar, Jaren Jackson Jr.'s All-Star weekend
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Good mornin’, good mornin’ Memphis. (Debbie Reynolds voice.)
It’s Monday, Feb. 17, and it’s Presidents Day, which means government offices are closed. And also there’s no garbage pickup today. If Monday is your typical day, you can expect pickup tomorrow.
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln get most of the shine on Presidents Day, and, hey, they earned it. But I’ll take this opportunity to tip a cap to John Adams, who followed Washington and was a founding father who fought, with ideas if not with a musket, for the new nation to be a republic, not a monarchy, for it to be, in Adams’ words, “a government of laws, not of men.”
A government of laws, not of men. Good stuff.
The Great Backyard Bird Count will be happening today at Memphis Botanic Garden, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The bird counting thing — part of a global effort — is real. But there will also be presentations, a scavenger hunt and food trucks.
If you want to get a jump on other things going down in the days ahead, check out the latest installment of our This Week in Memphis column.
What’s a place everyone in Memphis knows but where no one wants to go? 201 Poplar, the literal address and the colloquial moniker for the Shelby County Jail in Downtown Memphis. Four inmates have died at the jail in recent weeks, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s office recently took a group of journalists to tour to deteriorating facility. Aarron Fleming gives us a look inside.
Memphis was well-represented in San Francisco for NBA All-Star weekend. Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. was there as a two-time All-Star and rookies Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey were on the Rising Stars team. And our Drew Hill was there too, where he found that Jackson was pretty busy off the court as well. Speaking of courts: Luke Kennard’s hometown in Ohio recently named its court after him. Drew flips through some of Kennard’s Ohio back pages.
Plus, hat happens after someone in Memphis is detained by ICE, the Tigers take a road loss and Hard Times coming to the Edge.
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Chris Herrington
Chris Herrington covers the Memphis Grizzlies and writes about Memphis culture, food, and civic life.
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