From Action News 5: Safety concerns arise as police investigate deadly carjacking. You know, as bizarre as it sounds, when I first heard of the shooting, I hoped it was gang members shooting at each other, and it just happened to take place Downtown. But no, it was thugs with guns out on the street, preying on an innocent victim who happened to be stuck in heavy traffic.
A couple of comments here. First of all, the time of this carjacking illustrates how badly we need FedExForum and Orpheum events back at full capacity. If we had them, there likely would have been cops at the intersection of Main and Peabody Place directing traffic at 10 PM Saturday.
Second, the police have let thugs get away with speeding, reckless driving, and noise pollution for the past year. By not cracking down hard on those crimes, cops might as well have hung a “crime committed here” sign in the heart of Downtown. They’re tempting the criminals, saying, go ahead, see what more you can get away with.
This is the least safe I’ve felt Downtown since 2006. Now that pandemic restrictions are starting to go away, I’d like to spend some nights in South Main at Max’s, Earnestine & Hazel’s, and (once it reopens next week) Longshot, but I question whether I’m going to feel comfortable walking home at 11, 12, 1. Never before did I ever give that a second thought.
The Commerical Appeal has an article on Acer Edge, the folks behind the knife-sharpening booth at the Farmers Market. Local restaurants like The Bar-B-Que Shop and Dory avail themselves of the service on a regular basis.
Posted by the Downtown Memphis Commission yesterday:
Calling all cocktail lovers 🥃Are you an Enjoy AM cocktail connoisseur?This Wednesday, April 21, @thegraycanary will host their monthly cocktail dinner. Enjoy a welcoming cocktail from 6:00 pm-6:30 pm followed by a four-course dinner with cocktail pairings for $75/person.Call (901)249-2932 or visit the link below to reserve your spot!
Holly from the I Love Memphis Blog took a breakfast trip to CIMAS, the new restaurant in the Hyatt Centric. They’ll expand to lunch, dinner, and bar service this Friday.
ESPN has a detailed description of how the NBA play-in tournament works. Long story short: Memphis will stand a much better chance of advancing to the playoffs if they finish 7th or 8th in the Western Conference than if they finish 9th or 10th. Following their double-overtime loss to Denver last night, the Grizzlies hold a one-game lead for 8th over Golden State and San Antonio.
The Memphis Flyer profiles JoBeth Graves of Grecian Gourmet Taverna.
Random thing I learned yesterday: Gruntled is a word. As in, the opposite of disgruntled. It means “pleased, satisfied, and contented.”
Memphis is about to have its first Black female police chief. Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, currently the chief of police in Durham, NC and a veteran of the Atlanta police department, will take the top role pending the approval of the City Council next month. I have to say that while she sounds like a fine pick, I agree with City Councilman J.B. Smiley that the selection process could have been more inclusive of the public.
That’s it for today’s post. Back tomorrow with more.