Hi, there. This is a tough morning. Before we get into what’s happening today, let’s just rip off the Band-Aid. Our beloved dining editor Jennifer Biggs died of complications related to her battle with cancer on Wednesday. You can read more below, but it’s hard to be cheery this morning.
That said, there’s a job to do, and Biggs would have put on her journalist hat and done just that. So here goes: It’s Thursday, Aug. 17, and the Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen will host a special-called meeting today to interview 12 candidates for the position left vacant when Alderman Bobby Simmons stepped down. The vacancy has attracted one of the most diverse pools of applicants for an open position in the suburb.
The EDGE board will consider a request for a $5 million loan that would help pay for internal demolition at the historic 100 N. Main building. And today is your first chance to check out “Black American Portraits” at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The exhibition features more than 100 works, including portraits of Tina Turner, Al Green and Chadwick Boseman.
THE NEED TO KNOW
Diining editor Jennifer Biggs was one of the first staff members hired by The Daily Memphian prior to its launch in 2018. (The Daily Memphian file)
Memphis has lost a legend: The Daily Memphian’s Jennifer Biggs, our much-loved dining editor and longtime Memphis food writer, died Wednesday after complications from her battle with colon cancer. Biggs announced her stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis in June, and she immediately underwent surgery, but the cancer had spread to her liver. Biggs was one of the first staff members hired by The Daily Memphian prior to its launch in 2018 after a long career as the food writer at The Commercial Appeal. She was one of the funniest, most charming and most gifted storytellers I’ve known in my years working in Memphis journalism, and she was such a bright light in the local food scene and in the newsroom. We’re going to miss you, Biggs.
Lawmakers said the gun-safety bills they have proposed for the special legislative session set to begin next week have been deemed outside the scope of the session and will not be heard. Last April, hundreds gathered outside the Tennessee State Capitol to protest for gun-safety. (Ian Round/The Daily Memphian file)
Gun reform bills turned down: A number of gun-related bills proposed by lawmakers of both parties have been turned down for the special legislative session set to begin on Monday, Aug. 21. The bills ranged from bans on ownership of guns with obscured serial numbers to requirements for mental health screenings after domestic violence committed with firearms. But all were deemed outside the scope of the session. “I’m a little frustrated. We’re not talking about anything radical here,” said Rep. John Gillespie of Memphis. The General Assembly’s special session was originally intended to pass gun-safety legislation in the wake of the Covenant School shooting in Nashville. But when Gov. Bill Lee made the proclamation for the session, it did not reference firearms and set tight guardrails around the bills that may be related to guns.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water President and CEO Doug McGowen (left) honored MLGW board chair Mitch Graves (right) during a meeting on Dec. 21, 2022. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
MLGW snaps back: In Tuesday’s Daily Memphian/WKNO Memphis mayoral debate, none of the participating candidates — Karen Camper, J.W. Gibson, Michelle McKissack, Van Turner and Paul Young — would commit to retaining the current president and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas and Water. Gibson, in particular, was critical of Doug McGowen’s experience and MLGW’s tree-trimming lag. But MLGW board member Mitch Graves defended McGowen’s leadership on Wednesday. “Politics don’t need to be involved in MLGW,” he said. The Tuesday debate covered plenty of other issues, and Geoff Calkins reminds us that it’s time to study up on all 17 candidates. (The race is just 49 days away.) Calkins also threw a little shade at former Mayor (and current candidate) Willie Herenton, who didn’t show up at our debate (or any debate since 1999).
QUOTED
Attorneys for Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy — Randy Fishman (left) and Steve Frease — held a press conference on Wednesday. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
“[Michael Oher] got every dime coming to him.”
— attorney Randy Fishman
Attorneys for Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy said on Wednesday that Michael Oher knew about the conservatorship that he’s now seeking to end, despite Oher’s claims in court filings earlier this week. Oher, the former NFL lineman from Memphis and subject of “The Blind Side,” is seeking to end a conservatorship that he says the Tuohys tricked him into agreeing to when he was 18. The lawyers say the conservatorship was never terminated because Oher handled all of his own finances since the agreement.
THE NICE TO KNOW
The Memphis Public Library’s new Joy Collection allows people to check out fun items, like this six-person tent. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
You can borrow joy from the library: We could all use a little more joy, and sure, that can come from a good book. The Memphis Public Library has plenty of those. But this week, the library branched out with its new Joy Collection, offering patrons a chance to check out items like camping kits (complete with a six-person tent, headlamps and more), karaoke equipment (with a disco ball!) and yard games like cornhole and boccie ball. (Sounds like I need to renew my library card, stat.)
Many Memphians do their grocery shopping at Kroger. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
How do you shop? There are two kinds of grocery shoppers: those who get everything in one store and call it a day, and those who hit up three or four shops and make a day of it. Put me in the latter group. Few things make me happier than a full day of browsing specialty shops and farmer’s markets, in addition to a stop at Kroger for the household essentials. And The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington is in that crowd, too. In this week’s Table Talk, he ponders whether the Memphis-based invention of the supermarket — Piggly Wiggly — was a good thing or bad thing. (For more on this topic, look for our new Sound Bites episode later this week.)
Jenny Pallme watched the University of Memphis play Nicholls State on Sept. 4, 2021. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)
That’s the ticket? The Memphis Tigers football program has, so far, only sold about 11,000 tickets to the season opener against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 2. “We’d like to sell another 1,000 to 1,200 before kickoff in a couple weeks,” said Jeff Crane, deputy athletic director at the University of Memphis. The program is offering discounts and perks to try and get fans in the stands. Here’s a nice incentive if you’re on the fence: Every ticket sold will provide three meals to a family through the Mid-South Food Bank, as part of a partnership between the food bank and the Tigers. But there’s a deadline for those tickets. In other Tigers news, former Tiger and PURE Academy graduate Chris Morris has committed to Charlotte.
Boyle boots apartments: Boyle Investment Company has reworked a previously vetoed plan for a new development in Germantown’s Forest Hill Heights. Boyle’s Viridian development, which included 200-plus apartments, was turned down in March 2022 by the Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen, which cited the plan didn’t align with the city’s ordinances. Apartments are completely scrapped in the new plan, which includes 107 single-family homes on nearly 25 acres.
A Horn Lake zoning ordinance amendment designed to limit where schools and child care centers could be established — and, in effect, potentially impacting medical cannabis dispensaries — appears to have fizzled out for now in the North Mississippi suburb. (Julio Cortez/AP file)
Up in smoke: A Horn Lake zoning ordinance that would have expanded location options for medical marijuana dispensaries has fizzled out for now. The ordinance would have limited where schools and child care centers could be established, thus making it easier for dispensaries to open. But the Horn Lake Board of Aldermen failed to take any action on a plan at its meeting on Tuesday. Under the suburb’s current rules, dispensaries are prohibited from opening within 1,700 feet of a school, child care center, church or other dispensary.
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
Memphis is gutted with the loss of Jennifer Biggs, and people from across the city are sharing their memories and love for her on social media.
Rest in peace, Biggs.
…..
