Thursday update

A new record store is coming to the neighborhood. I don’t have an address for River City Records yet but a Nextdoor post says it will be in the heart of Downtown. They will carry music from the Stax, Royal, and Sun labels, R&B, hip-hop – Memphis music from the 1950s until today. They’ll have plenty of vinyl and in-store listening stations. They’ll have live, in-store events too. Grand opening plans will be announced soon. In the meantime, check out their Memphis to the Core Spotify playlist.

A third sport is coming to AutoZone Park. The Premier Rugby Sevens league championship game will be played at the park October 9. If you’ve never seen Rugby Sevens on TV, it is a lot of fun, considerably more fast-paced than traditional rugby. Matches are only 14 minutes long, so it’s a sport for people with short attention spans.

Downtown property owners: The CCDC now has grants available for sidewalk repair. They’ll match money you spend on repairs, up to $5000. This is great news. There are plenty of sidewalks Downtown that are cracked to the point of being safety hazards.

There’s controversy over Mayor Harris’ appointee to lead the Shelby County Health Department – but Dr. Michelle Taylor’s qualifications were not what I found to be disturbing in the article. The county expects to pay the director of the health department, a DOCTOR, $96,480. How do they expect to get anybody good when most doctors earn well into six figures?

In today’s Morning Brew newsletter, it was noted that beginning today in France, you have to show proof of vaccination to get into movie theaters, sports arenas, and large event venues. Starting in August, you’ll need to be vaccinated to eat in restaurants. Could such measures come to the U.S., and to Shelby County? I’d definitely favor France’s measures over reinstating masking and social distancing regulations. Punish the people who haven’t done the right thing. Don’t punish everyone!

The 2021 Summer Olympics opening ceremony will begin at 8 PM Tokyo time tomorrow. The U.S. Central time zone is 14 hours behind Tokyo, so set the alarm clock for 6 AM if you want to watch. Here’s a comprehensive schedule of Olympic events. There are plenty of events happening today.

From Local 24: Orpheum uses arts to help kids deal with pain of losing parents

Son Little performs live at Handy Park, Beale Street at B.B. King Blvd., in this week’s edition of the Get Loud! concert series. The Sensational Barnes Brothers open. The show begins at 6, and it’s free and family-friendly.

Andy Lyle Hall plays a free show at Carolina Watershed tonight at 6.

I took yesterday as an effective weekend day, but today it’s time to get back to business. Lately Thursday has been my “stay home and write, all day and all night” day, and I see no reason to alter those plans, especially since I have 9 articles in my “Ideas” queue. Back tomorrow with more news.