Sunday update

Today is the day when the Memphis Tigers can claw their way into the NCAA tournament’s field of 68. They travel to Houston this morning to play the nationally-ranked Cougars at 11 AM on CBS. The bracketologists had Houston projected as a 2 seed yesterday, so knocking them off would be a huge bullet point on Memphis’ resume.

If a short walk to Pontotoc Lounge, soon to reopen, sounds good to you, there’s a condo for sale next door.

James Aycock has good news in his COVID week in review report on Twitter this week. The positivity rate has dipped below the 5% long-term goal, and the number of new cases per day is inching closer to the goal of 10 per 100,000 in Shelby County. The positivity rate is the lowest we’ve seen since Phase 1 of reopening back in May.

I like this tweet in particular:

I heard from an inside source yesterday that shuffleboard bar Longshot in the basement of the Arrive Hotel could reopen in April.

The Dirty Crow Inn will have their bacon-wrapped shrimp at their pop-up at the 40et8 on Legion Rd. in West Memphis today. They’ll also debut two new flavors of wings: Just Dew Me, and Buffalo Garlic Parmigiana.

Not real happy with Facebook right now. Their Events > Discover > Today filter was one of the ways I found things to write about, but they seem to have eliminated it. Why in the world would someone purposely make a website less user-friendly?

Also, if anyone from Choose901 reads this: Time to update your events page. February is over.

I had a yummy brunch yesterday!

Chef Hector put chilaquiles on the special board yesterday at Bardog. The dish is sort of a Mexican breakfast nachos, with fried soft corn tortillas, salsa, cheese, refried beans, and chicken. The tortillas normally come topped with an egg, any style, but I’m not a huge fan of eggs so I asked that it be left off. Perjorie T. Roll, who likes being known as la perjorista when eating Mexican food, thought the dish was “Bueno.”

We also had an order of house-made chicharones, or pork rinds:

Checks are on the way! In a late-night session, the Senate passed a COVID relief bill. If you make less than $80,000 a year, $1400 will show up in your mailbox or bank account soon.

A name to learn if you don’t know it already: Joe Manchin. He is a senator from good ole West Virginny and probably the most conservative of the Democratic senators. In a Senate where the Democrats hold a 50+VP/50 majority, that matters a lot. Manchin has the power to derail legislation or get it rewritten to his liking, and that’s what happened with the COVID bill.

In other political news, the Trumpster sent a cease-and-desist letter to the three top national Republican fundraising organizations demanding that they remove his name and likeness from their advertising. Trump was mad that his name was being used to raise money for Republicans who voted to impeach or convict him. There is no limit to the pettiness of this man. You know, I predicted earlier this year that Trump would pass away before calendar 2021 is up. Now I kinda hope he lives to be 100 so Republicans will have to deal with his tumultuous presence for a long, long time.

Time to get the day started! I have 5 ideas for articles to write on Medium this week, and I may try to get them all written today. Thanks to my article that went viral, I’ve already earned as much on Medium through March 6 as I earned in the entire month of January, when I published something all 31 days of the month.

As my bank balance goes up (thanks Medium! and Biden!), the temperature gets warmer, and the COVID restrictions loosen, I plan to ramp up my going-out a bit more. Hopefully I’ll hear more juicy news tidbits to report in this blog. Back tomorrow with more news. Go Tigers!

Saturday update

A new restaurant is opening in the South Main district, and though it is new, the owner has a history Downtown. Tamika Heard has opened Butterific Bakery & Cafe, the CA’s Jennifer Chandler reports, at 488 S. Second. Heard is the daughter of the founders of Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies, which previously operated in that space. Cookies, sweets, and coffee will be on the menu, as well as lunch offerings. Hours are 7-7 Monday-Friday and 7-9 Saturday.

Momma’s is hiring:

We are now hiring Servers, Bartenders, and Cooks to join our staff! Team-oriented attitude, functionality in a fast-paced environment, willingness to learn, reliable means of transportation, and a smile are essential. Experience preferred.
⠀
Apply in person at 855 Kentucky (M-F 9-11 a.m. or 2-4 p.m.). NO PHONE CALLS. Apply to be professional.

Following a spot opening up due to injury, former Grizzly Mike Conley has finally made it to the All-Star Game. Very happy for The Conductor. He deserved to be there years ago.

The CA has an article on the passing of my former student Drew Daniel. Drew was a humble community servant and Tigers fan. Many will miss him. “Politics can get nasty and I’ve never heard him say a bad word about anyone ever,” was a quote one person gave the CA about him, and that is consistent with who I knew Drew to be.

Well, today could be a challenging morning. I have a one-day-only $5 off a purchase of at least $25 from DGX. My concern is, can I actually carry $25 worth of DGX purchases two and a half blocks down Main Street? Their prices are so low, I’ll practically be hauling away the entire store.

Weather today: 58/36, NE wind at 10, 0% chance of rain. To anyone out there thinking, I can show up late to the crawfish boil at Max’s Sports Bar because it’s a bit chilly, WRONG! There could be an ice storm going on and Max’s first crawfish boil of the season would still sell out. Remember I told you about a special guest bartender working today? She told me she’s considering wearing a tube top.

Looking deeper at the weather: Wednesday-Friday of next week the forecast is mid-upper 50s at night and 70s day. Guess I better get 5 days’ worth of writing done by Tuesday so I can be out the latter half of the week.

That’ll do it for this post. Back tomorrow.

Friday update

Gina Sweat, the MFD director, answered a vaccine question I posed on this blog earlier in the week. Phase 1c, which opens today in Shelby County, allows anyone 16 and up who has an aggravating condition, one that could make COVID deadly, to go ahead and get a shot.

The last time I got my blood pressure checked was April 27, 2019 and it was 157/95. Now, the thing was, I was extremely stressed out at that point in my life so I don’t think that is a normal reading for me. I’m not on blood pressure medication and I don’t have a formal doctor’s diagnosis in the form of a printed note.

Sweat’s answer to a media question yesterday made it sound like I would be eligible for Phase 1c, that I’d just need to tick the “high blood pressure” box when I make my appointment.

But now the question is: Would it be ethical for me to sign up? If I went and got vaccinated next week, would I effectively be denying a dose to a nursing home patient or a teacher?

On the other hand, there’s my personal situation. I go out to restaurants and bars an average of 3 times a week. I wear my mask and obey all of the regulations, but still, I’m slightly at more risk of spreading the virus than the average person. So would I be doing the people in my life a favor by going ahead and taking the spot, since I legally can?

I don’t know how I feel about this one… if you have opinions one way or another I would be interested in hearing them.

The DM reports that ServiceMaster headquarters is leaving Memphis, but it isn’t as big a deal as it sounds because Terminix will remain here.

Today is National Poutine Day! That means Kooky Canuck is the place to go. I like the Donair Poutine there topped with Kooky gyro meat.

For those of you who believe in pre-gaming for St. Patrick’s Day like a true professional, today is also Cinco de Marcho.

United Housing is hosting a $7500 pandemic relief program for homeowners facing foreclosure.

Jobs! FedEx is hosting a job fair at the hub this weekend.

Memphis Black Restaurant Week is next week, starting Sunday, March 7.

Been a good week writing on Medium. I had an article go viral this week and it looks like it’s on a trajectory to be my first $100 earner. I had another article accepted by Data Driven Investor yesterday. That’s a nice name to be associated with.

That’ll do it for this post. Already got an idea for what I want to write on Medium today, so I’ll see if I can squeeze that in before leaving for work. Back tomorrow.

Thursday update

You ready for some restaurant news? I have plenty of it this morning!

I heard from one of the head guys out there that Sugar Grits has been approved for its liquor and beer licenses. The typical turnaround time to have them in hand (which must happen before you can legally serve) is 72 hours. Of course with the ABC you never, ever know, but theoretically, it’s possible they could be able to serve booze for brunch this Sunday.

If you’re not familiar, Sugar Grits is in the ServiceMaster/Terminix/Peabody Place Mall building, with an entrance facing Second across from the intersection at Gayoso. Whether it’s this Sunday or next when they have their license, I have a feeling brunch is going to be off the chain there!

The same manager told me there’s also exciting news at one of his other restaurants, Carolina Watershed. They’ve purchased some adjoining land and now have a field for kickball and wiffle ball leagues. They want 25 teams for wiffle ball and only have 22, so you still have time to get your team in. Good news for wiffle ball teams – the team that competed last year, consisting of Redbirds players, won’t be back this year because they have to show up for work instead.

When PBR meets Evernote… “Pontoon open Mar 18″… WTF does that mean? Pontoon? Is that some kind of river thing? Oh! Wait! Now I remember! I was at the Silly Goose yesterday, where I was informed that their sister restaurant Pontotoc Lounge will reopen Thursday, March 18. You’ll finally be able to sit at the bar there! Although, only 2 to a group at the bar thanks to ridiculously stupid health department regulations.

SALT | SOY news:

WE ARE FINALLY OPEN THIS FRIDAY March 5th!! Join us for cocktails and a unique menu full of southern inspired Japanese fare. We can’t wait to welcome you to our home on Broad Ave! 💥🍣🥟🍸

SALT | SOY opens at 2583 Broad. It’s rare that I talk about restaurants outside Downtown, but this is a place with Downtown connections and some super good people. Go support them and eat some delicious food. The CA’s Jennifer Chandler tells you what to expect at the new restaurant. Dirty fried rice!!!

Downtown Walgreens had TWO pump trucks outside yesterday. This is becoming a problem – there are a few items that I can’t get at any other Downtown store. I may have to book a Groove On-Demand trip out to Med Center Walgreens one day next week. Hmmm… Tuesday is $10 pizza day at Slim & Husky’s. I could hoof it out to The Edge for a pizza and then on to the Med District for Walgreens, then groove it back home. I love it when a plan comes together!

Sign your kids up for the Saturday, March 27 Easter egg hunt at Elmwood Cemetery. Easter eggs and dead people!

Shelby County will indeed move to phase 1c for COVID-19 vaccinations on Monday.

It’s subscriber-only, but there’s an opinion piece in today’s Daily Memphian: Vaccine issues will make County Mayor Lee Harris vulnerable in 2022. I don’t normally support Republicans but I think County Commissioner Mick Wright has shown a lot of leadership during the pandemic. I would consider voting for him if he ran.

Amazon is in talks with the NFL to carry a number of Thursday night games on Prime Video. (h/t Morning Brew)

A WREG vehicle was nearly forced off the road yesterday afternoon by a suspect’s vehicle as the suspect fled police. It was caught on video. The chase happened on Goodlett in Parkway Village.

Only 61 new COVID cases reported by the health department yesterday. COVID Act Now has our county positivity rate at 4.9%, below the 5% threshold that has long been a goal of the health department.

Shaquille O’Neal tried his hand at professional wrestling last night and ended up getting put through two tables:

Shaq is not the biggest man in upstart promotion AEW, which recently signed Paul Wight, formerly The Big Show in WWE. Shaq and Wight talked about having a match at Wrestlemania a few years ago but it had to be scrapped because Shaq couldn’t get into ring shape.

Not sure if I’ll listen to the COVID-19 task force press conference at noon or not. They’re unlikely to announce any more loosening of restrictions today and I don’t feel like sitting through 30 minutes of BS about vaccines and Dr. Randolph saying “continue the course.” Back tomorrow with more news.

Wednesday update

If you were wondering, when are we ever going to start hearing about spring crawfish boils, wonder no more! From Max’s Sports Bar:

IT’S FINALLY HERE!!!! Join us this Saturday for our first boil of the season. @glazescrawfish will be cooking up some spicy bugs in the sun! We will have courtyard, patio and limited indoor seating. Togo will also be available to pick up at the courtyard gate. Price is $10/lb for 1 lb of crawfish, $19/lb for 2 lbs, and shrimp is $15/lb. Sides are included in price but not weight.

For my money, Glaze has the best crawfish in town. They’re spicy – not overpoweringly so, but expect your eyes to water a little as you eat them. The sides that are included are corn, taters, and smoked sausage. Usually the first batch comes out a few minutes after noon. The first boil of the year is usually a quick sellout, so don’t blame me if you show up at 2 and don’t get any crawfish.

Oh also… I hear there’s going to be a guest bartender at Max’s Saturday. I will see this person before then, though, which you can consider a hint.

The City of Memphis posted some good news today. 13 Walgreens locations are going to be partners in COVID-19 vaccine distribution beginning March 5.

… No, not the Downtown Walgreens. That one still had the water pump truck parked outside today. That one still may be out of commission for a while. But the Medical Center Walgreens at 987 Union is on the list! Finally, a location that’s kinda, sorta convenient to Downtown. The appointment schedule will open today or tomorrow for people to start booking times.

Lisa Piercey, the head of the state health department, held a press conference yesterday saying that effective Monday, March 8, the state will move to vaccine group 1c. That covers

  • 65 and over
  • ANY aggravating condition – even something like pregnancy. obesity or high blood pressure

Local 24’s Jeni has info about whether the March 8 date will extend to Shelby County:

If you have mobility and the ability to check social media in the afternoon, and you’re in one of the phases eligible for the vaccine, check the City of Memphis on Facebook and Twitter daily. People no-showing reserved times could result in you scoring a last-minute walk-in time at a vaccine site if you can get there.

Hmmm… thinking about Phase 1c… the last time I got my blood pressure read, it was 157/95. Granted, that was almost two years ago, and I was EXTREMELY stressed at the time. But, would that reading qualify me for group 1c? Or would I need to have a formal diagnosis from a doctor as documentation?

Attention Tennessee Brewery residents: A food truck you don’t want to miss is headed your way this evening, Wednesday, March 3:

If you’ve never had Smurfey’s, here is all you need to know: PULLED PORK BAKED POTATO.

Read more about it on the January 4, 2019 edition of my blog. Can’t beat that Smurfey sauce! Potato shown above is with optional veggies for $2 extra.

The City Council approved the city’s purchase of the 100 N. Main building yesterday. I am so sick of hearing about that building and am glad to hear it will soon be in the city’s hands. Do something with it or tear it down!

The Council also approved the next phase of the Snuff District in Uptown Memphis, with apartments, retail, and a parking garage.

Another good sports night for the city yesterday. The Tigers beat USF 73-52 on the road and are in great shape for Sunday’s road game against Houston. The Grizzlies beat the Washington Wizards 125-111 with Ja dropping 35.

It’s National Cold Cuts Day! You know what that means!

For those who imbibe, it’s also National Moscow Mule Day. Thanks to Air Traffic Mike for introducing me to this classic beverage at the Saucer years ago.

It’s also What If Dogs and Cats Had Opposable Thumbs Day.

I made a trip to Family Dollar yesterday. I notice that every item rings up at about 20% off. I guess they’re doing that in response to DGX’s presence? It’s a great time to be a shopper Downtown!

Mississippi governor Tate Reeves lifted mask restrictions yesterday. Bad move. I generally favor loosening of COVID restrictions, but the masks need to stay until vaccines are available to all who want them.

Time for work, then afterward I plan to devote a couple of hours of my time to the study of a waterfowl habitat. Back tomorrow.

Tuesday update

The last couple of times the Downtown Memphis Commission board selected a president, they zeroed in on exactly who they wanted. Not so this time – the Daily Memphian reports that they are taking extra time to determine the next person to run DMC. If anything, this decision probably indicates a rich candidate pool from which to choose.

From the soon-to-open sandwich shop in the former Bluff City Law filming location:

Memphis Tigers on TV alert: They have a road game at the South Florida Bulls this evening at 8 PM. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Send someone a taste of Memphis! WREG Live at 9 talks with Cristina McCarter and Lisa Brown about City Tasting Box.

Warren Buffett has released his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway stockholders. Even if you’re not an investor, his letters are filled with a combination of wisdom, humor, and self-reflection that are worth a read. Buffett is 90 and his longtime business partner Charlie Munger is 97, so we may not have many of these letters left.

From the MBJ: Memphians much more comfortable dining out, working at the office than they were last fall

From Local 24: Memphis River Parks Partnership provides a video update on construction at Tom Lee Park

Silk N Honey Boutique, offering great fashion styles for women, is now open at 6 West G.E. Patterson Ave.

The Daily Memphian has a look at Hustle & Dough, the bakery & cafe in the lobby of South Main’s Arrive Hotel, in this week’s New Eats column.

Just outside the Downtown boundaries but worth a read: Out-of-town landlord, cited for numerous code violations in the Peabody/Camilla area, brags about improvements he made to a part of town that used to be “The Hood”

The COVID-19 task force noon press conference could be a good one today. Will outgoing Health Department Director Dr. Alisa Haushalter face the public, since after all she is on the taxpayers’ payroll, or will she send a minion to speak for her? Follow the City of Memphis and tune in on Facebook Live.

The Grizzlies are in Washington to play the Wizards tonight at 6.

MemphisWeather.net’s forecast is high 48, low 34, 60% chance of rain. I think I’ll pass on going out until it starts acting more like March outside. Back tomorrow with more news.

Monday update

I watched Memphis gain a fine win over the Cincinnati Bearcats on ESPN last night. However, bracketologist Joe Lunardi was interviewed during the game. He said that for Memphis to be in the mix for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, they must win out their remaining games – Tuesday at USF and Sunday in Houston. The Houston game is most important, as it will be the Tigers’ only remaining chance in the regular season to get a Quadrant 1 win.

From the DM: Series of miscues led to Haushalter’s rapid fall from grace. I feel for Dr. H. I don’t think she and her team ever planned to do less than an exemplary job. They just got in over their heads. I have to admit I became concerned when I heard they’d be using SignUpGenius to schedule vaccine appointments for a county of almost a million. That’s the app my team uses to sign up for bartending shifts at BBQ Fest

Although I feel a certain amount of empathy for Haushalter, if she’s actively employed and paid by my tax dollars through the 15th, I think she should show up to the regularly scheduled press conferences and appearances before government bodies.

Also from the DM: Shelby County vaccination timeline: How it unfolded

Mick Wright is starting to become my favorite County Commissioner. I’m not a big fan of too many Republicans, but he has been saying a lot of things that need to be said during this pandemic.

It’s National Dadgum That’s Good Day and National Pig Day. Kinda makes you want to throw one on the smoker, doesn’t it?

The Grizzlies clawed their way back to .500 with a victory over the Houston Rockets last night. They’re 1.5 games behind 8th place Golden State in the Western Conference.

That’s the news on a not-very-newsy Monday. Back tomorrow.

Sunday update

First of all, check the MemphisWeather.net blog and plan accordingly for this afternoon and evening. As you’ve probably already noticed, it’s quite windy outside and will remain that way all day, with gusts to 25 MPH. Current temperature is 71 and it’s expected to remain right around there all day. I’m debating whether or not to turn the air on. There’s a small chance of rain in the morning and early afternoon. Late afternoon into the evening heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected. Memphis is expected to get around 2 inches of rain, and because of the recently-melted snowfall, the ground is already saturated. We are under a flood watch. Memphis is in the southwest corner of the area expected to get 2-inches-plus of rain, which covers the northwest half of Tennessee and nearly all of Kentucky and good ole West Virginny.

Pro tip I learned yesterday: If you have prescriptions, you might want to look into Amazon Pharmacy. A friend of mine moved his prescription there after finding that the refill that was $30 at Walgreens was $1.42 on Amazon. Prescription medicine has got to be the biggest racket there is. I would be surprised if the Mafia doesn’t have a piece of the business in some way.

Another piece of inside information I learned yesterday: The Downtown Family Dollar may be closing, as in, employees are openly discussing which store they’ll be transferred to.

The Washingtonian has a tell-all by employees who worked at the Trump Hotel that is good for a little Sunday entertainment if you haven’t seen it already. Trump’s standard order was a well-done steak with ketchup, and if anyone at the table had a bigger steak than he did, staff would hear about it.

“How to Spot a Narcissist by the Food They Order” – hey, I think I just came up with an article title for Medium this week.

Here’s a link to James Aycock’s excellent COVID Week in Review analysis. I’ll repeat a plea James makes at the end of his thread – Lifeline2Success needs donations, after their vehicles’ catalytic converters were stolen off their lot this weekend. This is an awesome organization that helps ex-offenders find the path to success in life.

Super excited to try Freshly chef-prepared meals this week thanks to two wonderful friends who ran out of space in their freezer. Homestyle chicken is my dinner plan for today. Later this week, I’ll have beef Bolognese, a steak burrito, chicken rice pilaf, and three-bean turkey chili. It’ll be nice to have a break from “whatever DGX has in the freezer” for my dinner menu this week.

By the way… I can’t remember if I mentioned this on here or not, but I’ve been doing a daily gratitude practice since late December. The dinners are an example of the random good tidings that have been showing up in my life since I started the practice.

Now that really is going to turn into an article on Medium.

The Dirty Crow Inn’s pop-up restaurant is back at the 40et8 in West Memphis today. The special is the Dirty Mac burger, with two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a non-sesame seed bun.

Normally this wouldn’t be newsworthy on my blog because I don’t care about movies, but the Golden Globe Awards are on NBC tonight. Anything that’s a return to normalcy is something I can support.

Tigers on national TV alert: Memphis vs. Cincinnati, noon today, ESPN.

The Grizzlies play today as well, with a 7 PM tipoff at Houston.

Shall we set odds on whether Dr. Haushalter will appear at any more of the 4 upcoming Tuesday-Thursday press conferences during the remaining 15 days she is employed by Shelby County? 2.5 to 1 sounds about right. If she doesn’t show, I wonder which Health Department employee will get thrown under the bus to answer media questions?

I’ll skip the Buy Me a Coffee link today so as not to compete with James’ call for donations to Lifeline2Success. It’s his birthday weekend. Back tomorrow with more news, if there is any.

Saturday update

Well, yesterday was a newsy day. Let’s start off with a photo.

The river looked like a witch’s cauldron around 4 yesterday afternoon. I asked @memphisweather1 whether there was any particular name for clouds like these. He said I was simply viewing fog from the top down.

Let’s get to the great news first: Earnestine & Hazel’s has a new owner. That owner is Downtown Restaurant Corp., the partnership that owns The Vault and soon-to-open The Paramount, with Chef Derk Meitzler as the face of the organization. The dive bar will remain as we know it, with Soul Burgers downstairs, Nate’s bar upstairs, and Meitzler creating a menu similar to the old On Teur restaurant for The 5 Spot.

So relieved… I was worried a particular group of South Main people, a group known for bad ideas, would try to pool their money and purchase the place. Good to see people with proven track records running that type of business taking over.

Yesterday was one of those days when I mumbled “Daaaaamn” over and over as I updated the news. Things just kept looking worse and worse for the Health Department

  • Vaccine was apparently stolen February 3
  • Two children were vaccinated at an SCHD-managed site; the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have not been approved for children
  • When the state investigated, Health Dept. director Haushalter and her team were asked, “Is there anything else we need to know?” by state officials, and indicated “no” multiple times, only reporting the two items above when warned that a federal investigation was coming
  • State officials observed improper storage of vaccine at sites this week, causing even more of it to have to be thrown out; some of the vaccine was said to be warm to the touch.

Coverage of the first half of yesterday’s events here.

Then it was announced the FBI would investigate what happened with the SCHD, since theft of COVID vaccine is a federal crime.

Then Gov. Lee came to the Pipkin Building site and gave a news conference. He gave a political answer when asked if he thought Dr. Haushalter should resign, but it was an answer that was certainly much closer to “yes” than “no.”

By 2 PM the writing was on the wall for Dr. H. Around 3:30 Mayor Harris, addressing the County Commission, reported Haushalter had resigned – but not effective immediately. She will remain in office until March 15 and on the payroll through March 31 for a transition period.

Yet, despite still being a paid Shelby County employee, Dr. Haushalter did not show up to the Commission meeting – despite a presentation by her being on the agenda. Mayor Harris, by the way, showed up for the Commission meeting via Zoom, unwilling to travel mere floors on the elevator to attend in person.

Right now, Shelby County is at least an embarrassment of statewide proportions – Gov. Lee pointed out that 94 of 95 county health departments were distributing vaccines properly. I wouldn’t be surprised if this makes the national news.

So now we’re going to have a new health department director. It’s going to be kinda like the third season of The Real World where they kicked Puck out of the house and then Jo joined the cast.

The Memphis Tigers’ home game against Houston on March 7 is now a road game. The reason why is that the Memphis program’s COVID issues were responsible for the cancellation of the road game at Houston earlier this season. So now all three of Memphis’ remaining games are road games as the team tries to impress the NCAA tournament seeding committee.

Has February in Memphis been a shitshow or what?

Job news:

  1. Innovate Memphis has a Research Associate position open that sounds pretty cool. You’d be working with the Memphis Fire Department analytics team to provide data for EMS.
  2. A bartender at Slider Inn Downtown posted that the restaurant is hiring for both front-of-house and back-of-house. Apply within.
  3. Curfew Memphis is hiring talented cooks. It’s the restaurant by celebrity chef Fabio Viviani in the new hotel at Union and B.B. King. Apply here

Available for the first time in cans: Red Handed by Memphis Made, a 5.5% altbier.

From the CA: 5 things to know about the new Craft Axe Throwing location out in The Edge.

Tonight is Open that Bottle Night.

Temps will rise into the mid 60s today and stay there overnight. Shorts weather! Of course, I’ll bring a jacket since Bardog keeps its ceiling fans blowing. Back tomorrow with more news.

Friday update

It’s a celebration of good news this morning.

First of all, for the first time since last Wednesday, I have HEAT! We finally hit 50 PSI and the boiler was able to fire. No more wearing sweatshirts and long underwear to bed!

I also have drinkable water… we all do, because the Boil Water notice has been lifted!

Plus, I woke up to this piece of good news:

I scored a Top Writer tag on Medium in Creativity! That’ll help get me noticed on that platform, increasing my articles’ read time, and therefore, my earnings. It’s my second Top Writer tag on there, having scored one in Ideas at the end of last month. I want Top Writer in Writing and Self, but those are super-competitive and the very best writers operate in those spaces. That’s OK, I’m in it for the long haul.

As an added bonus, I hit the 3000 follower mark on Medium overnight too.

Popping some popcorn… looks like the “public health experts” on Facebook who think we should be in lockdown until 2023 have turned on County Mayor Lee Harris. I have to agree with them on that point. He’s on the COVID-19 task force, but I notice he only turns up at the Tuesday-Thursday noon press conferences when there’s a PR opportunity, when there’s a new grant program to announce. I can’t remember a single time since May when he has shown leadership with respect to the pandemic.

We also now have a City Council member, Chase Carlisle, calling for Health Deparment Director Dr. Alisa Haushalter’s firing. Poor Dr. H. I really do feel bad for the position she’s in… yeah, I wouldn’t exactly give her an A+ on vaccine distribution. However, it’s not like she had a textbook. We last saw a pandemic of this magnitude 102-103 years ago. With the city having taken over vaccine custody and distribution, it seems like we’re good now. I don’t see the point in firing either her or county health officer Dr. Bruce Randolph.

The person I do want to get rid of is the COVID-19 task force member who came up with the INCREDIBLY POINTLESS, RIDICULOUSLY STUPID rule that bartenders must wear a face shield as well as a mask if customers sit at the bar area. I don’t have proof, but this sounds like an idea that has Dr. Jeff Warren written all over it. Following his other resolution reducing the default speed limit in the city from 30 to 25, I’m ’bout ready for him to go.

Drs. Haushalter and Randolph appear before the County Commission today. It will be a repeat of a Health Department presentation to a closed Commission meeting earlier this week that may have violated sunshine laws.

The big pump truck with giant hoses was parked outside of Downtown Walgreens again yesterday. There’s a door boarded up except with space for a hose to fit through. Based on my past knowledge of businesses that have faced water damage, I can tell you that those of us who live in the northern half of the Downtown core may be making the long trek to DGX for quite some time. Which I am fine with, considering DGX has the same items as Walgreens for 15-25% less in many cases.

The Central Station trolley stop on Main south of G.E. Patterson opens this weekend. Hopefully this’ll be big not only for the hotel and movie theater, but smaller businesses like Walking Pants Curiosities, South Main Book Juggler, and Little Italy.

Craft Axe Throwing’s grand opening is today. They’re out in The Edge at 344 Floyd Alley.

Make your appointment to donate blood at Vitalant’s blood drive at FedExForum tomorrow 8 to 3. COVID-19 has increased the need for blood and you can help out. Donors are informed of their COVID-19 antibody status, so if you’re curious whether you’ve had it, this is a way to find out, and if you have had it, you’ll have a unique opportunity to further help coronavirus patients.

Support locally-owned Black businesses tomorrow 3-7 PM with a special Black History Month edition of Grizz Shop Local. RSVP here

Speaking of the Grizzlies, they rolled to a 122-94 win over the L.A. Clippers last night.

The first episode of the new podcast by Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen has dropped. In the episode they discuss how they met, and how they both felt like outsiders growing up.

Working from home and miss the sounds of the office? Work at Dunder Mifflin can help with that.

Potato Head (they/them)

Today is For Pete’s Sake Day.

Back tomorrow with more news.