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Windfalls and Pratfalls
In which politicians are caught in the whiplash of their own statements. p8
PHOTO: WWW.FBI.GOV | PUBLIC DOMAIN, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
“ARE MEMPHIS POLICE OVERCHARGING FOR MARIJUANA?” BY MARC PERRUSQUIA AND MICAELA WATTS, INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING - 12
The Last Night at the Drive-In e closing of the Malco Summer Drive-In marks the end of an era. p28
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THE fly-by
MEM ernet
Memphis on the internet.
HOMICIDE CAPITAL?
Screenshots of FBI Director Kash Patel calling Memphis the “homicide capital of America” ew all over the MEMernet early this week. e remark came on Fox News Sunday, with Patel promising a task force to handle the situation.
e Trump administration isn’t known for accuracy. So we’re going to dig into the crime numbers. Watch memphis yer.com this week for what we nd.
OWLS ON HBO?
An eagle-eyed (or owl-eyed?)
Redditor, u/ unnamedban, spotted Delaney Bu ett sporting a Memphis University School
Owls T-shirt in a trailer for a new lm, Adult Best Friends. Why? No one on Reddit was exactly sure.
’CUE TOWN
One town. Two barbecue festivals. Blue smoke rolled all over Memphis last weekend with the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (le ) and SmokeSlam
{WEEK THAT WAS
By Flyer staff
Questions, Answers + Attitude
Edited by Toby Sells
ID Law, Power Boost, & FEMA
A legal challenge to state anti-trans rules, a $50M investment, and projected cuts for disaster relief.
TRANS ID
A lawsuit led last week challenges a Tennessee law that does not allow transgender residents to change their gender on state-issued driver’s licenses.
e American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) and Memphis-based law rm Holland & Associates PC led a petition last week against the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security (TDSHS) challenging the decision.
In 2023, the state stopped transgender citizens from making changes to their gender on their driver’s licenses. Most recently, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring there are only two genders — male and female.
Flooding surrounds a house about a mile away from the Obion River in Ridgely, Tennessee, on April 9, 2025, a er 96 hours of torrential rain.
As a result, transgender and nonbinary Tennesseans have been le without accurate driver’s licenses and state identi cation documents. With contradictory identi cation, situations such as TSA screenings and tra c stops can be further escalated. is also causes complications when applying for jobs, housing, and nancial services. is triggered the lawsuit asking the court to decide if TDSHS’ actions are “legally valid.”
POWER BOOST
A South Korean manufacturing company announced last week it will invest $50.8 million dollars into Shelby County while bringing more than 100 jobs to the area.
Hyosung HICO Ltd. will expand its Memphis manufacturing plant. e company produces large power transformers that are integral parts for American electric grids.
e Greater Memphis Chamber said it expected the expansion to position Memphis as a “center for advanced manufacturing excellence.” According to the Chamber’s 2024 Advanced Manufacturing Report there were 43,918 advanced manufacturing professionals and $11.7 billion in gross domestic product in 2023. ere were also 1,132 advanced manufacturing operations and 847 monthly job postings.
FEMA CUTS COST $468M TO STATE
Under proposed new federal disaster aid thresholds designed to reduce the amount of funding distributed to states following natural disasters, Tennessee would have lost
37 percent of the assistance it received a er disasters from 2008 to 2024, according to research from Urban Institute. President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly expressed its aims to cut Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) spending and shi more post-disaster recovery responsibility to states, though it’s not clear if this higher threshold proposal will be implemented.
A er a disaster, states assess damage and can request a presidential disaster declaration to open eligibility for aid through FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund. e president has sole discretion to approve a declaration, but FEMA uses internal thresholds to shape their recommendations to the president. e minimum threshold for public assistance programs, which help state and local governments recoup the costs of debris clearing and infrastructure repairs, sits at a statewide cost-to-population ratio of $1.89 per capita impact (PCI).
A memo sent from former FEMA acting administrator Cameron Hamilton to the White House O ce of Management and Budget suggested quadrupling the damage threshold for federal aid, CNN reported in late April.
Quadrupling it would raise it to $7.56 PCI.
Hamilton told a House committee this month that the lower threshold was “a little bit too so ” and that they have “incentivized nancially a lack of carrying insurance policies.” Tennessee would have lost $468 million of aid if this higher threshold had been in place, the report states.
Tennessee Lookout contributed to this report.
Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.
(right).
PHOTO: CASSANDRA STEPHENSON
Pronoun Harassment { LGBTQ
By Kailynn Johnson
Transgender students face depression, suicidality under Tennessee GOP’s “free speech” laws.
A
study shows state pronoun laws distress Tennessee’s transgender youth.
Nonbinary and gender-nonconforming teachers, students, employees, and others are seeing increased e orts by the Tennessee General Assembly to block the ability to express their gender identity.
During this year’s legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill that allows people to refuse to acknowledge someone by their nonbinary pronouns or name in school settings. A similar bill was passed in 2023 that allows teachers not to use a student’s pronouns.
A policy brief by the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) and Human Rights Campaign (HRC) showed that these “pronoun laws” encourage harassment, bullying, and discrimination “in the name of ‘free speech.’”
“Regardless of legislation, legal limitations, and anticipated litigation, people deserve the respect of others to do something as simple as using their name and pronouns,” the brief said.
As these individuals represent a
marginalized community, they are o en victim to discrimination, harassment, and violence. e document said that recognizing a person’s pronouns and nonconforming identity can have a profound e ect on their mental and physical health.
“Persistently misgendering and deadnaming transgender youth, students, teachers, and employees is common and distressing,” the brief said. “It is harmful and intentionally used to embarrass and shame them into silence.”
e brief said students experiencing this kind of discrimination face heightened levels of anxiety, depression, suicidality, and more.
A common defense for misgendering is the notion of “free speech” and “religious freedom,” with courts protecting an employee or student’s right to refuse pronoun usage. e brief calls these actions “targeted harassment” and “isolating.” It also condemns states that use religion as a way to justify these practices.
e passage of Tennessee’s “pronoun bills” adds to the slew of policies aimed at LGBTQ residents. According to the brief, the state has passed 20 anti-LGBTQ
laws since 2016. ere are also no legal protections on the basis of harassment for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals.
ese policies also pose a risk to student and employment privacy. TEP and the HRC called requiring these individuals to disclose their employee records and medical documents that show their sex assigned at birth, name changes, and medical treatments “harmful.”
While schools and institutions receiving federal funding must comply with nondiscriminatory practices and “privacy laws” to receive funding, these laws do not provide “clear enforcement” on guidelines for physical exams and other requirements for attendance or employment.
“Pronoun laws appear to permit any school o cial to make nonconsensual disclosure about transgender and gender-nonconforming students to anyone with a ‘legitimate educational interest’ related to their professional duties,” the brief said.
Disclosing this information to sta
and administration poses a threat, and it opens the door for making schools “less safe and more hostile.”
Tennessee’s location in the South also poses a threat to LGBTQ teachers and sta — even if civil rights protections are in place, the study said. Many fear discrimination and retaliation from parents and colleagues for disclosing their identity.
“Teachers struggle, and faculty in certain elds of study are more likely to experience harassment, burnout, social exclusion, unsupportive working environments, the absence of role models, and biased stereotypes,” the document added. e brief concluded that pronoun laws leave the state subject to “numerous privacy violation claims,” increased harassment practices, and discriminatory practices.
PHOTO:
POLITICS
By
Jackson Baker
Windfalls and Pratfalls
In which politicians are caught in the whiplash of their own statements.
Over the last several days, local political leaders fell into rhetorical traps, some of their own making. Example: In an e ort to be inspirational in his weekly online column last week, Memphis Mayor Paul Young had this to say: “We’re challenging all graduates and Memphians to take a Negativity Fast from May 17 to June 11: no trash talk about Memphis, share what you love about your city with others and post something positive. Memphis is writing a new chapter — be part of it.”
Harris’ boast was somewhat disingenuous, inasmuch as the proposed rate change was predicated on Tennessee’s “Truth in Taxation” law, also known as the certi ed tax rate law or the Windfall Law, which aims to prevent local governments from experiencing a revenue windfall (an unexpected increase in revenue) solely due to property reappraisals that increase property values.
In other words, given the fact of a recent countywide reappraisal of property by Assessor Melvin Burgess, the county’s overall tax receipts would remain the same, with some homeowners paying less and many others paying more in accordance with their higher individual property appraisals.
Within 48 hours, Young was gainsaid by Donald Trump’s FBI Director Kash Patel (to be sure, no Memphian), who, so far from fasting, gorged himself on some quick publicity, announcing to the world at large via a Fox News interview that “I didn’t know this until my con rmation process, but Memphis, Tennessee, is the homicide capital of America, per capita. Didn’t know that. We have a problem there. We’re now addressing it. We’re rolling out one of our task forces to the state of Tennessee.”
So long, Negativity Fast. Many a Memphian, still digesting the outrage over the not-guilty verdict for the Tyre Nichols killers, would end up munching on Patel’s remarks in social media spaces.
e inconvenient segue took some of the shine o Young’s pride on having announced no new tax increase for the 2026 scal year, especially since spokesmen for the police were complaining that the Memphis Police Department (MPD), unlike the re department, had been shorted of a payraise in this proposed city budget.
Many a Memphian … would end up munching on Patel’s remarks in social media spaces.
In any case, Assessor Burgess, one of several candidates known to be running for the term-limited Harris’ job in 2026, moved to out ank the mayor in an open letter with a bizarre boast, which also misrepresented the nature of the tax rate change.
Meanwhile, County Mayor Lee Harris was boasting that his proposed budget, for the seventh straight year, contained no tax increase per se. In fact, said Harris, he was proposing a 20 percent tax cut. at turned out to mean that he wanted to lower the 2026 property tax rate from the current rate of $3.39 per $100 of assessed value to $2.73.
“ e reason your taxes went down,” wrote Burgess, “is not because of anything Harris did. Shelby County’s property tax rate will decrease by 20%, from $3.39 to $2.73, because of the growth my sta and I captured in Shelby County.”
In other words, Mr. Homeowner, if you’re one who’ll be paying extra money in property taxes because of a higher reappraisal, that should be understood not as a tax increase but as “growth” captured by the assessor.
Say thank you, and pony up.
PHOTO: WWW.FBI.GOV | PUBLIC DOMAIN, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Kash Patel
Where to Retire
Your retirement location may be as important as when you retire.
When planning for retirement, people often focus on how much money they need to save, when they’ll retire, and how to spend their free time. An oftenoverlooked retirement planning consideration is where to retire — and the decision can have a significant impact on your finances. Here are some factors to consider when deciding where to retire:
• Income tax implications
Let’s go ahead and start with the elephant in the room. Sadly, even after you finish working, you’ll still owe taxes. Taxes can have a significant impact on your retirement, and different states have different tax rates for retirement income. Some states have more favorable tax policies than others, which can allow retirees to keep more of their retirement income. In addition, some states don’t tax Social Security benefits or other types of retirement income, which can help you further maximize your retirement savings.
• Retirement income
Social Security benefits — While most states don’t tax Social Security benefits, there are a few states that impose some form of taxes on them. Regardless of where in the U.S. you live, up to 85 percent of your Social Security income may be subject to federal income tax.
Retirement plan distributions — Many people hold most of their retirement savings in tax-deferred accounts, such as IRAs and 401ks. While these vehicles provide a great way to save in a tax-deferred manner, retirement distributions from these types of accounts are subject to ordinary income tax at the federal level. However, some states don’t tax retirement plan distributions, which can help you maximize your funds available for retirement.
Pension income — Some states differentiate between public and private pensions and may tax only public pensions. Other states tax both, while some states tax neither. Again, the amount of state tax you pay on this retirement income source can have a big impact on your lifestyle.
• Estate taxes
In 2025, the federal government allows individuals to pass on up to $13,990,000 without any federal estate tax
($27,980,000 for married couples filing jointly). However, depending on where you live, you may need to pay state estate taxes. It’s important to understand the
estate tax requirements of your current state as you’re planning your legacy, especially since some states’ estate tax limits may be lower than you would expect.
• Capital gains
Long-term capital gains are taxed by the federal government at more favorable rates than ordinary income. However, this is often not the case for states that charge state income tax. Many states don’t differentiate between earned income and capital gains, which means depending on the state in which you live, you may have significant tax liabilities on investment income.
• Cost of living
Cost of living can differ widely between various cities and states, making it essential to choose a retirement location you can afford. Some cities have a much lower cost of living than others, which allows you to do more with your retirement savings. By choosing a location with a lower cost of living, you may be able to afford a larger home, travel more often, or pursue hobbies and interests that may be out of reach if you were paying more for daily living expenses.
• Healthcare costs
When choosing where to retire, it’s important to find a location that offers access to high-quality healthcare facilities. Having convenient access to healthcare can help keep your costs down.
• Housing costs
Housing costs can vary widely between different cities and states, which is why it’s important to choose a retirement location that aligns with your housing budget. It’s also important to consider what property taxes you’ll be responsible for paying, as these too can vary widely.
As you begin planning for your retirement, keep in mind it’s important to understand how where you live can impact your retirement finances. This knowledge allows you to choose a location that fits within your retirement budget and can help you live the lifestyle you want.
Katie Stephenson, JD, CFP, is a Private Wealth Manager and Partner with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest registered investment advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.
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6.19
AT LARGE By Bruce VanWyngarden
The Ring of Truth
Satire or reality? It’s hard to tell.
“Revised National Parks Web Page Describes Harriet Tubman as Human Tra cker.”
at was the headline of an email I got a few days ago. I opened it immediately, thinking surely it was a joke. And I was right. e email was from e Onion, a satirical publication that’s been around since 1988 and that is somehow still alive and kicking and sending out funny material in 2025.
You have to admire their spunk. Satire can’t be easy these days. Just last month, for example, in a story about the hundreds of changes and cuts the Trump administration had made to federal government websites, the Washington Post reported that the National Park Service had revised a web page about the Underground Railroad to remove a quote and image of Harriet Tubman, and to remove the word “slavery” from the opening paragraph.
barely. e reality is almost as bizarre. It was announced last week that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, headed by cosplaying Border Barbie, Kristi Noem, is reportedly considering a reality TV show in which immigrants would compete in American-themed challenges for a chance to win U.S. citizenship. e show, pitched by Rob Worso , the producer behind Duck Dynasty, would be called e American, and would feature immigrants competing in challenges such as gold mining, balancing on logs, and assembling cars, to win a fast track to citizenship and potentially be sworn in as citizens on the steps of the Capitol. No, it’s really not from e Onion. I swear. You can google it.
See, it’s just one small step from satire to reality. Or vice versa. And it’s o en hard to tell the di erence. Here’s another example: “RFK Jr. Says He Swam with Grandkids in a Creek Known for Raw Sewage.” Oh, those crazy kids at e Onion, I tell ya. Oh wait, that’s a real headline from MSNBC.com. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, actually did swim in sewage-infested Rock Creek in Washington, D.C., with his grandkids last week. No word on whether they also spotted a dead bear cub.
Here’s another tough one: “Trump Announces SEAL Team Six Kills U.S. Protester in Daring Overnight Raid.” Not quite true. At least, not yet. He is, however, having people abducted o the street and shipping them to prison without arresting them or giving them legal due process, which is horrifying enough.
How about this headline? “Trump Renames Gulf of Mexico as Gulf of America.” Yes, of course, it’s real, but by any rational measure that should have been an Onion headline, don’t you think? Since it was already taken, e Onion came up with “Trump Renames Eric ‘Eric of America.’” See, satire is hard.
“Immigrants Criticize Swimsuit Competition Portion of U.S. Citizenship Test.” Okay, yes, that’s e Onion. But just
So, how about this one? Real or fake? “Trump Orders Government to Stop Enforcing Rules He Doesn’t Like.” Sorry, that’s a real headline from the Washington Post. From the story: “Trump recently ordered Energy Department sta to stop enforcing water conservation standards for showerheads and other household appliances. And at one Labor Department division, his appointees have instructed employees to halt work related to anti-discrimination laws.” e story adds that at the Environmental Protection Agency, “Trump has ordered o cials to scale back enforcement of rules intended to curb air and water pollution from power plants, oil re neries, hazardous waste sites, and other industrial facilities.” Argh.
So, here’s an easy one … I think: “Sean Combs Asks for Quick Trial So He Can Get to Part Where Trump Pardons Him.” A quote from Diddy: “With all due respect, your honor, can we skip some of the preamble and jump to when Trump gets all these sex tra cking and racketeering charges thrown out?” Yeah, it’s satire, unlike Trump’s pardon of 1,500 people convicted of various charges in the January 6th insurrection, but does anyone doubt Trump would actually pardon Combs? I don’t.
Okay, I’ll stop now, but here’s one last headline that has the bitter ring of truth to it. “Pope Leo XIV: ‘ ere Couldn’t Be a Better Time to Get the Fuck Out of America Forever.’” Real or fake? Hard to tell, and it hurts to laugh.
PHOTO: HORATIO SEYMOUR SQUYER | NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY | PUBLIC DOMAIN, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Harriet Tubman
Saturday, May 31st, 2025
3-6pm at Overton Square
Sample from the city’s best margarita-makers, vote on your favorite, and we’ll crown an audience winner at the end of this best ‘rita fest!
PRESENTED BY BENEFITTING
PACK
Use the promo code PARTYPACK to get 15% off a set of four tickets! Grab the crew and make a date for Bonding Over Margaritas!
Memphis simmered in the July heat as a police cruiser pulled over a blue Nissan Altima motoring through the Downtown business district. e car’s temporary tag had expired days earlier, an oversight police o en resolve by issuing a citation.
But this tra c stop took a more serious turn when a Memphis Police Department (MPD) o cer said he “could smell an odor consistent with marijuana coming out of the vehicle.’’
A er questioning a female passenger, police found slightly more than a half-ounce of marijuana in her purse — a small but critical amount that led o cers to arrest the family-focused grandmother on a felony drug-tra cking charge.
As a special task force begins reviewing U.S. Justice Department claims of abuse by MPD during tra c stops, reform advocates say the woman’s arrest is yet another example of overly aggressive policing in Memphis.
“It’s absolutely a trumped-up charge,” said Claiborne Ferguson, a longtime Memphis defense attorney who reviewed the July 2, 2024, police a davit led against the woman. He has no o cial connection to the case.
e woman, a cancer victim, said she is no drug dealer and doesn’t even smoke that much.
“It was crazy,” said the woman, who asked not to be identi ed. Although
Are Memphis Police Over-Charging for Marijuana?
An independent records review raises more questions about race and fairness in traffic stops.
An o cer at the scene of the October 11, 2022, arrest of Cedric Jackson. Charges were later dismissed.
the charge against her was later dropped, she said she fears any association with a criminal charge. “I’m a real-life good person. I treat everyone with respect,” she said.
e incident is one of 13 tra cstop cases identi ed by the Institute for Public Service Reporting in which Shelby County law enforcement o cers signed felony marijuana a davits, only to see those charges vacated in court.
Attorneys who reviewed the a davits for e Institute said they appeared de cient in supporting felony charges of intent to sell.
e charges — which o en involved warrantless searches of vehicles — led arrestees to spend several hours or more in jail.
“I lost my job,” said Dominique Hodges, 26, who was arrested in December. Prosecutors dropped the charges in February, but not before she spent a terrifying night at Jail East, Shelby County’s women’s holding facility, and paid $700 in attorney fees and costs. She said the charges hanging over her caused her to lose a good-paying maintenance job.
“I cried and I cried,’’ she said of her trip to jail.
A Memphis Police Department detective searches a car in October 2022 a er o cers said they spotted marijuana residue on the front console. Charges against the motorist were later dismissed at prosecutors’ request.
PHOTO (ABOVE): MARC PERRUSQUIA Tennessee is among a slim minority of states that doesn’t allow medicinal or recreational use of marijuana.
PHOTO (BELOW): MICAELA WATTS Dominique Hodges in the car she was arrested in back in December. e charges against her were later dropped.
ere, jailers conducted an invasive search, she said. Later, Hodges watched in fear as an irate arrestee hit her st against a wall over and over. “I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy,’’ she said.
Among the 13 arrestees, 12 were Black, including Hodges and the grandmother.
All the arrests were made a er ofcers said they smelled marijuana and either requested consent to search or used the smell as probable cause to search vehicles without consent.
e 13 arrests included 10 by MPD, two by the Sheri ’s O ce, and one by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Both MPD and the Highway Patrol declined comment. e Sheri ’s O ce didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.
BROAD POLICE DISCRETION
e Institute identi ed the 13 cases while reviewing eight months of arrest data, including a six-month stretch between last April and September and a follow-up two-month stretch in December and January to assess patterns following the release of the Justice Department’s critical December 4th report.
Tra c stops reviewed by e Institute followed a general pattern: Motorists were pulled over for a missing headlight or taillight, tinted windows,
COVER STORY By Marc Perrusquia and Micaela Watts, Institute for Public Service Reporting
PHOTO (HEADER): MPD BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE
PHOTO (ABOVE LEFT): MPD BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE
expired or missing tags, failing to wear a seat belt, and occasionally for speeding or running a red light.
O cers then searched vehicles a er saying they smelled marijuana.
Simple possession of small amounts of marijuana is a misdemeanor in Tennessee, which remains among a slim minority of states that haven’t legalized medicinal or recreational marijuana. In Shelby County, where marijuana prosecutions have been deprioritized, police can issue a misdemeanor citation for simple possession without making an arrest. At times, o cers take no action at all when stopping motorists with small amounts of marijuana, according to interviews conducted by e Institute.
But a felony charge brings a guaranteed trip to jail.
Police generally have broad discretion when making arrests. Probable cause to arrest requires a lower threshold of evidence than proof required at trial, and police tend to charge suspects at the highest level available, defense attorneys said.
Attorneys who reviewed arrest a davits for e Institute said some appeared to be borderline cases or “close calls” in establishing probable cause for a felony charge. In one case, a motorist charged with felony intent to sell was found with a small amount of marijuana and three guns, including a semiautomatic ri e. Records suggest it was a di cult matter to sort out: All the guns turned out to be legal. Tennessee doesn’t require permits to carry guns, and it allows most people other than individuals convicted of felonies to freely transport them in cars.
Such incidents require quick judgments o en made under high-stress conditions, police say.
“It’s very tough because you don’t know what’s in that car,’’ said Mike Williams, a former patrolman and past president of the Memphis Police Association, a labor union. “I couldn’t imagine me personally being out there in the streets right now … because everybody has a damn gun. And a lot of these young people that are running around with these guns, they’re not afraid to use them.”
But reform advocates say there is a delicate balance between protecting public safety and eroding community trust. Even if a charge is later dismissed, arrests o en pose hardships including job loss along with sti fees and court costs. O en, vehicles are seized.
“So now because I get caught with this … I have to hire a lawyer. I have to go pay a bond. Get probation,’’ said Keedran Franklin, a criminal justice reform advocate who contends police o en target people of color. “ at … may put me $30,000 in debt.’’
Overall, African Americans represented 89 of 93 Shelby County defendants (96 percent) identi ed by
e Institute as having been arrested between last April and September a er o cers said they smelled marijuana. Many of the tra c stops, which o en led to charges unconnected to marijuana possession, were clustered in African-American neighborhoods in Orange Mound, Frayser, Hickory Hill, and South and North Memphis.
MPD’s focus on saturation patrols in “high-crime” neighborhoods and the potential for harassment alarmed Justice Department o cials, who noted in the December 4th report that Memphis police stopped one Black man 30 times in three years.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said police need discretion when making arrests but conceded that evidence at times can’t support felony charges.
SMALL AMOUNTS, BIG CHARGES
It was three days before Christmas, and Dominque Hodges was out partying with friends. ey took her battered Chrysler Sebring, though she was riding as a passenger that night. When police spotted the car — missing rear bumper, burned-out front headlight, invalid drive-out tags — they pulled it over.
“ ey snatched me out of the car,’’ Hodges recalled.
According to her arrest a davit, police searched the car a er smelling marijuana and found a bag containing 18 grams, roughly enough to roll 18 to 36 marijuana cigarettes. Hodges said she admitted the pot was hers, arguing that she’s a smoker not a dealer.
“I’m telling them, ‘Why am I going
“It is not at all uncommon for the police to bring us a charge for felony intent to sell marijuana and we reduce it to a misdemeanor. And largely that’s not necessarily because we’re saying that the police over-charged but because there is a di erence between the amount of evidence you need for probable cause to arrest and the amount of evidence you need to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt at trial,” Mulroy said.
“So I’m not going to use a heavily charged word like abuse, but I will say that given the fact that the arrest itself can be disruptive to someone’s life, and given that it seems like this particular charge seems disproportionately targeted on the African-American community … one can see how a really aggressive posture of arresting and charging felonies for what may simply be simple marijuana possession can be problematic. It may be something that maybe this task force can look at.”
e task force formed when Mayor Paul Young tapped former federal Appeals Court Judge Bernice Donald to review Justice Department allegations outlined in its December 4th report.
e 70-page report found MPD o en conducts unlawful stops and searches, discriminates against Black people, and uses excessive force.
porting evidence of an indication to sell — charges that are later vacated in court. e cases reviewed by e Institute were dropped by prosecutors via an action known as nolle prosequi, or the abandonment of a criminal charge.
In the July 2, 2024, arrest of the grandmother in Downtown Memphis, for example, police reported nding 16.1 grams in her purse. In an a davit of complaint sworn out before a judicial magistrate, police listed no other evidence indicating an intent to sell. e woman was booked into Jail East, Shelby County’s detention facility for female arrestees. e charge was later dropped.
“I don’t see the slightest hint of evidence that she possessed it with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell it, so in my opinion this should have been charged [with] a misdemeanor rather than a felony,’’ Raybin wrote in an email. “If that was her only charge [as it was], she should have been given a citation rather than placed under a custodial arrest.”
Defendants charged with misdemeanors o en are cited and released without being booked into jail. In some instances of simple marijuana possession, o cers don’t even do that much, some allege.
“Most of the times [when] we get stopped, the police put the weed right back in the car,” Hodges said.
Recently retired General Sessions Court Judge Bill Anderson said that he’s heard similar accounts.
to jail for this little bit? … Look, my mom is sick. I don’t have nobody that’s going to come and bail me out of jail.’’’
Under Tennessee law, a person who possesses a half-ounce (14.175 grams) or more of marijuana with the intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver is guilty of a felony punishable by 11 months to 60 years in prison depending on the amount and an individual’s prior record. Selling less than a half-ounce is a misdemeanor.
But defense attorneys say many o cers don’t seem to understand that simple possession — even in amounts greater than 14.175 grams — is still a misdemeanor if the defendant lacked intent to sell.
“I have regularly heard o cers and prosecutors say more than half [ounce] is a ‘felony amount’ but that is incorrect,’’ said Ben Raybin, a Nashvillebased defense and civil rights attorney. “ ere still has to be an intent to sell, deliver, or manufacture.’’
Courts have ruled that to prove intent, authorities need evidence of something more than mere weight. ey need other supporting details such as nding marijuana packaged in multiple baggies, large amounts of cash, rearms, ledgers, digital scales, or other indicators of a drug sale.
Yet repeatedly, records show, o cers arrest motorists on charges of felony intent to sell marijuana with scant sup-
“It’s gotten out to the rank-and- le police on the street that the DA is not prosecuting small amounts of marijuana,’’ Anderson said. “ ese o cers … don’t like coming to court. ey don’t like wasting their time having to write report a er report. So if it’s a small amount, what I understand they’re doing is just throwing it away or telling them, open it up, throw it out on the street or something.”
Overall, o cers seize relatively small amounts of marijuana when making tra c stops on Memphis streets.
Among the 93 odor-triggered arrests identi ed by e Institute, the median amount of marijuana con scated was 20 grams. at’s roughly enough to roll 20 to 40 marijuana cigarettes.
Studies suggest tra c stops like these aren’t e ective in reducing overall crime rates, but they can accumulate signi cant arrests. During one threeday stretch in June, e Institute found, MPD arrested at least 10 people a er smelling marijuana, including ve with violent arrest histories and another with glassy eyes and slow reactions who was charged with driving while intoxicated by marijuana.
In those 10 arrests, police con scated two assault-style ri es, a Glock 17 handgun with a switch that converted it to a rapid- re machinegun, and three other pistols.
continued on page 14
PHOTO: MPD BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE Memphis police at a tra c stop in 2022
FEEL THE RHYTHM OF THE KING!
Tupelo Elvis Festival Returns
June 4–7.
Tupelo, Mississippi — the city where Elvis Presley took his first breath and dreamed his biggest dreams — is once again ready to celebrate its most iconic son. The Tupelo Elvis Festival returns June 4–7, bringing four days of music, art, and memories to Downtown Tupelo, with events that highlight both the legacy of Elvis and the vibrant creative spirit of his hometown.
This year, the festival takes on a more intimate and historic tone, with the centerpiece of the celebration moving to the Lyric Theatre — the very place where a young Elvis once watched movies and was inspired by the magic of performance. It’s a fitting venue for a festival dedicated to the life and legacy of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
A highlight of the week is the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest, a thrilling competition sanctioned by Elvis Presley Enterprises. Some of the world’s best tribute artists will grace the Lyric Theatre stage, channeling the charisma, voice, and energy that made Elvis a legend.
In addition to the competition, the Lyric will feature two signature evening concerts: That ‘70s Show on Friday night, a dazzling tribute to Elvis’s iconic Las Vegas era, complete with jumpsuits, big vocals, and all the glitz fans love; and the Pure Elvis on Saturday night, a powerful musical journey through the life and music of Elvis Presley, performed by some of the best tribute artists in the business. Beyond the music, this year’s festival
continued from page 13
QUESTIONS SURROUND MPD’S SUPERVISION AND TRAINING
Marijuana grown today is much more potent — and pungent — than in years past. Its smell wa s across Memphis, emanating from cars, seats at Tiger football games, street corners, and alleyways.
Still, attorneys interviewed for this story said they believe police at times manufacture claims that they smelled marijuana as a pretext to create probable cause to search a vehicle.
features a Pop-Up Art Show at the GumTree Museum of Art, showcasing original artwork from past Tupelo Elvis Festival posters. It’s a visual tribute to the evolution of the festival and the artistic inspiration Elvis continues to spark.
Car enthusiasts will love Ride Like the King, a classic and custom car show taking place in the Cadence Bank Arena parking lot on Saturday. While the Running with the King 5K returns for those looking to combine fun and fitness. This annual favorite invites runners and walkers of all ages to hit the pavement in a spirited salute to Elvis — costumes encouraged!
A new and exciting addition this year is TCB at The Depot, a two-night series of free live music at The Depot, Downtown Tupelo’s newest venue. Friday night features the soulful rock of Drunken Prayer, while Saturday, June 7, brings a high-energy performance from The Kudzu Kings.
While you’re in town, don’t miss a visit to the Elvis Presley Birthplace, where you can step inside the modest two-room house where Elvis was born, explore the museum, and visit the church where he first sang gospel.
From tribute performances to fine art, classic cars to rock ‘n’ roll nights under the stars, the Tupelo Elvis Festival continues to evolve while staying true to its roots. Come celebrate the legacy of Elvis in the town where it all began — June 4 through 7 in Downtown Tupelo. For schedule, tickets, and a full lineup of events, visit tupeloelvisfestival.com.
e Justice Department report articulated similar concerns.
“While o cers o en justify vehicle and pedestrian searches based on statements that they have smelled the ‘odor of marijuana,’ courts and MPD’s own internal a airs unit have found that those justi cations are not always credible,’’ the report said.
“… A prosecutor described MPD’s explanations as sometimes ‘cringey’ and gave the example of an o cer claiming to have smelled marijuana in a car that was going 60 miles per hour.”
It’s di cult to assess how widespread the problem may be.
“ e problem is, I don’t know [the full extent of] the abuses because nobody’s forcing them to keep up any records of when they search a vehicle saying they smelled marijuana and not nding anything,” Ferguson said.
Again, the Justice Department articulated similar concerns.
“ is data does not include hundreds of thousands of tra c stops that did not result in citations because MPD o cers do not document the reason for those stops,” the report said.
But the report was unequivocal in stating that MPD engages in a pattern of illegal tra c stops, arrests, and evidence collection in violation of the Fourth Amendment that protects citizens against unreasonable search and seizure.
“ e pattern of Fourth Amendment violations stems from MPD’s decision to prioritize tra c enforcement as a central method to address crime in Memphis, while at the same time failing to ensure that o cers understand and follow constitutional requirements when they stop
map
and detain people,’’ said the report, which followed an 18-month investigation launched a er the January 2023 police beating death of motorist Tyre Nichols.
“… Supervisors rarely review tra c stops to ensure they meet constitutional standards. But they do measure o cers’ ‘productivity’ based in part on how many stops and citations they generate.’’ Ferguson said he believes MPD’s struggles stem from either poor training or coaching by supervising lieutenants.
“It’s either bad training or it’s purposeful malicious prosecution in order to seize vehicles. at’s all it can be,’’ Ferguson said. “Either they’re completely not training these o cers or they train them speci cally to do this to get into the car.”
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT RAISED SIMILAR CONCERNS
“O cers will, for example, write in reports that they smelled marijuana, but there will be no mention of the odor of marijuana on body-worn camera footage,’’ the report said.
Such a scenario played out in federal court last year when prosecutors dismissed gun charges against Cedric Jackson, now 33, a er inconsistencies arose between police reports and body camera footage.
O cers wrote in an October 2022 a davit that they “observed a green residue consistent with marijuana’’ on the console of Jackson’s Chevy Tahoe. Citing that as probable cause to search the vehicle, o cers found a Smith & Wesson handgun that Jackson, a convicted felon, could not legally possess.
“I am having trouble with the search,’’ U.S. District Court Judge omas L. Parker said in a January 4, 2024, hearing a er reviewing bodycam footage. “… If they were relying on noticing the residue of marijuana on the console, I didn’t hear anybody say so at the time. I watched several videos and so I did not … see a lot of discussion about that. ere were no photographs of the residue on the console area, so the court nds that the government did not carry its burden to show that that was the basis for a search.’’
PHOTO: SHELBY COUNTY GENERAL SESSIONS COURT RECORDS
A heat
of marijuana searches in Shelby County
steppin’ out
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews
‘Walk in the Light’
By Abigail Morici
“Have I told the story about how I ended up in art school?” Dolph Smith asks, excited at a chance to tell a story he’s clearly told many times before, but this time to a new audience. “I was a G.I. for three years and stationed in Germany, and ended up in Berlin.”
His sergeant had o ered two tickets to the Berlin symphony, and Smith jumped at the opportunity. “We’d never done anything like that,” he says. Once the show started, “I burst into not just tears, but I was sobbing out loud. I was just crying my eyes out.”
As soon as Smith le the symphony, he says, he called his mother and woke her up. “I said, ‘Mother, nd me an art school.’ And she didn’t even ask questions. She found what was the Memphis Academy of Art, and I got back out of the Army just in time to get down there and started two weeks later.”
With a Circus Mind, by Smith and Couch
At this point in time, Smith had never drawn or painted before and showed little interest in art as a child growing up in Ripley, Tennessee, but as luck would have it, he had the talent, his classes would soon reveal. “You got to believe in faith. You got to believe in something,” he says. “It gave me a life. It was the beginning of my life.”
And, indeed, it was. Smith would go on to be a proli c artist and beloved teacher at the Memphis College of Art (MCA). At 91, he still hasn’t stopped creating.
Since 2023, his former daughter-in-law, Colleen Couch, a papermaker and former MCA alum and teacher herself, has been archiving his work. Twice a week, she’s traveled to Ripley, where Smith now lives, to document his work. She’s found pieces hidden under the stairs, gone through hundreds of slides of his work and his collection of other artists’ work, taken photographs, and asked him questions, so many questions.
In this process, Couch has seen the true span of Smith’s career, the way it transitioned from watercolors to papermaking and bookmaking to sculpture. She has seen how his wife Jessie inspired him, how the motifs in his works shi ed and matured. Couch has seen herself inspired by him and by his work, and she saw the same urge to create burgeoning in Smith.
“It’s a good way to look back and realize that the things we make are always honest,” Dolph says. “It’s always ‘hands take over from our hearts,’ and it’s all honest.”
And so a joint show at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens, “Walk in the Light,” came about — a chance to showcase the arc of Smith’s oeuvre; new works by Couch inspired by Smith’s pieces, uncovered in the archival process; and two new collaborations by Couch and Smith. e show, both say, is an opportunity to see the way two artists share their stories — the ways they diverge and the ways they come together.
“We think of art as being about skill and what have you, but really the good art is about storytelling,” Smith says.
“COLLEEN COUCH AND DOLPH SMITH: WALK IN THE LIGHT,” DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS, THROUGH JUNE 29, FREE.
VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES May 22nd - 28th
Music Beneath the Surface: A Performance Inspired by Calida Rawles’ “Away with the Tides” Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, 1934 Poplar Avenue, ursday, May 23, 6 p.m., $5.72-$26.52
Dive into an enchanting evening where auditory artistry meets visual brilliance, as the Brooks embraces the spirit of Calida Rawles’ evocative exhibition.
is unique concert invites you to transcend the ordinary, journeying through the rich soundscape of 1960s Overtown, Miami. With the Memphis Symphony Orchestra at the helm, each note unfolds tales of joy, de ance, and cultural a rmation — an auditory homage to a vibrant era pulsating with life and resilience.
Register at tinyurl.com/d93jut82.
City of Memphis Birthday Party
Wiseacre Brewing Company HQ, 398 South B.B. King Boulevard, ursday, May 22, 4:30-8:30 p.m.
e city of Memphis is turning 206 years old. e celebration will feature Sky Dog, performances from Stax Music Academy, Mayor Paul Young, and Choose901 giveaways. e rst 206 people to arrive will receive a free slice of pizza.
La Calisto Playhouse on the Square, 66 South Cooper, Friday, May 23, 7:30 p.m., $10-$75
Opera Memphis presents this jewel from the golden age of Venetian opera, which mashes up multiple Roman myths, bending both gender and genre in a rollicking exploration of the human condition.
Purchase tickets at operamemphis.org.
Orion Financial Free Concert Series . Sunset Symphony
Overton Park Shell, 1928 Poplar Avenue, Sunday, May 25, 7:30 p.m., free
e Memphis Symphony Orchestra returns to the Overton Park Shell for this annual community tradition featuring the sensational MSO Big Band. Bring your blanket and picnic basket for an unforgettable evening of music under the stars.
Food and beverages will be for sale in the AutoZone Food and Beverage Concourse. Expect Pok Cha Egg Rolls, Odd Smash Burger, Mexico in Memphis, Soi Number 9, Hot-N-Heavy Dogs, and Kaye’s Pints & Scoops.
Dogs on a leash are welcome in designated areas.
PHOTO: COURTESY DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
MUSIC By Alex Greene
Luke White: In Memoriam
e late guitarist, singer, and songwriter put his own stamp on countless Memphis bands.
There were no breaking news articles about it in Rolling Stone or Billboard on April 18th, yet on that day a pivotal gure in Memphis music passed away. A er only two days in hospice care, William Luke White succumbed to the glioblastoma brain cancer he’d been struggling with since experiencing a seizure in July of 2019. And, as was clear in Bob Mehr’s reporting in the Commercial Appeal that day, there was a great cry of grief from the local music community.
e a able White had connected with the city’s musically-inclined through multiple bands for decades, including Snowglobe, e Pirates, Spiral Stairs (Pavement’s Scott Kannberg), Colour Revolt, James and the Ultrasounds, Clay Otis, Je rey James & the Haul, e Coach and Four, Sons of Mudboy, Harlan T. Bobo, and Rob Jungklas.
Most were aware of White’s health issues; indeed, he boldly foregrounded his condition a er the brain surgery he underwent just over a year a er his rst seizures and diagnosis. Tommy Kha’s photograph of White’s post-operative shaven head, complete with skull stitches, graced the cover of an EP, William Luke White, released in October 2020. Yet it seemed he’d passed through the worst of it then, and White seemed to slowly recover his musical dexterity.
As lifetime friend and bandmate Tim Regan explains, “In August 2020, he had brain surgery and got the tumor removed, and was doing all sorts of recovery and doing things. en, last January or the November or December before that [in 2023], he had a second brain surgery. A er that one, he never totally got back over the big hump.”
Yet he continued to stay as active as possible, doing occasional studio sessions and even following Pavement on the South American leg of their reunion tour last spring. at trip grew in part from Regan and White’s tenure in Kannberg’s band, Spiral Stairs, touring the U.S. and Europe until White’s rst seizure, but was also down to Regan and White’s love for the Northern California band. “Tommy Kha, myself, and my buddy Drew Arrison took Luke to four Pavement shows in South America,” says Regan. “We got to go on tour with our favorite band since we were growing up. So that was really great. at was a really big thing that we wanted to do.”
Still, White’s health began to decline. Toward the end, “there were times where you could see the old Luke peeking through,” says Regan, “and other times it
was tough for him to get some words out. Just kind of a rough situation all around that was very unfair.”
While there’s an injustice to cancer curtailing the life of any 45-year-old, this tragedy was ampli ed by the powerful playing White brought to his musical projects. White was known as a careful listener whose guitar lines always served the song in question, yet who could also bring strong statements to recordings he worked on, throwing down bold, blazing solos, full of sonic surprises. “Luke de nitely was a very gentle soul, very loving,” says Regan, “but he was also very con dent. If there was something that wasn’t good in a piece of music, he would let you know. And the most powerful thing was that, in all his singing and playing, he was completely 100 percent focused and present on making those things as good as they could be.” at’s apparent in his work with Snowglobe, with whom he began working early on; in early recordings by James and the Ultrasounds; with Sons of Mudboy (as he and Steve Selvidge were particularly simpatico); and many other bands. Speaking of Snowglobe’s 2024 album, e Fall, largely recorded before the pandemic, Regan said of White, “his song ‘Willow Tree’ is so damn beautiful.
“It was an intrinsic trait he had, that translated into whatever he was doing: his empathy for other creative people.”
And it’s also the rst one that Luke’s written [with Clay Qualls] for us. Not that he hasn’t been a big part of our recordings before, but with this one, he brought it to the table and said, ‘I’ve got a song.’
We were all like, ‘Let’s do it!’ It’s his rst writing credit with Snowglobe.”
Regan also fondly recalls work White did outside of Snowglobe. “‘Girl Arms’ is probably my favorite song. I still remember him playing that for me before e Coach and Four did it. at must have been in 2002 or so.”
Toby Vest, producer/engineer at High/Low Recording, also worked with White for years. “Sometimes you meet a musical soulmate, somebody who you don’t have to say everything to,” Vest re ects. “ ey just understand what you’re looking for. We really hit it o in that context. When you work in intense, creative situations, it bonds people together. And I haven’t made a record of my music that doesn’t include Luke as a guitar player, singer, con dant, or co-writer. In fact, I have a new record that’s going to come out in the fall that includes his last studio performance. He was one of the most unbelievable male background singers I’ve ever seen. He could blend with anybody and sing any harmony you wanted.”
White kept chasing such creative situations right up to the end. “In early 2023, me, Luke, and my brother Jake decided to do some co-writing, like a Traveling Wilburys kind of thing,” says Vest. “And we made this record that hopefully will be released soon. ere are three songs that Luke wrote, three songs that Jake wrote, three songs that I wrote, and then one song that Luke and I wrote together. ose were the last songs he recorded.”
On those tracks and everything he worked on, it was clear that White made music the way he lived his life — with great empathy. “He really did understand how to support people in his real life and in his musical life,” says Vest. “It was an intrinsic trait that he had, that translated into whatever he was doing: his empathy for other creative people. He understood how to get you where you wanted to go.” e Luke White Celebration of Life will be held at Memphis Made Brewery on May 24th, 2 to 7 p.m., and will include live music by Snowglobe, Circle Birds, Toby Vest, Je Hulett, Mark Edgar Stuart, Steve Selvidge, Ellsie Day, Kait Lawson, Pepper & the Sausage Boys, and others.
PHOTO: TOMMY KHA Luke White
AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule May 22 - 28
Ashton Riker & The Memphis Royals
ursday, May 22, 8 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
Brimstone Jones
Friday, May 23, 8 p.m. |
Saturday, May 24, 8 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Earl “The Pearl” Banks
Tuesday, May 27, 7 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Eric Hughes
ursday, May 22, 7-11 p.m.
RUM BOOGIE CAFE
Flic’s Pics Band
Led by the legendary Leroy
“Flic” Hodges of Hi Rhythm.
Saturday, May 24, 4 p.m. |
Sunday, May 25, 2 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
FreeWorld
Friday, May 23, 7-11 p.m. |
Saturday, May 24, 7-11 p.m.
RUM BOOGIE CAFE
FreeWorld
Sunday, May 25, 8 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Ghost Town Blues Band
ursday, May 22, 7 p.m.
BLUES CITY CAFE
Memphis Soul Factory
ursday, May 22, 4 p.m.
| Sunday, May 25, 8 p.m. |
Wednesday, May 28, 8 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
Soul St. Mojo
Wednesday, May 28, 7-11 p.m.
RUM BOOGIE CAFE
The B.B. King’s Blues Club Allstar Band
Friday, May 23, 8 p.m. |
Saturday, May 24, 8 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
Vince Johnson
Monday, May 26, 6:30 p.m. |
Tuesday, May 27, 6:30 p.m.
RUM BOOGIE CAFE
Will Tucker
Friday, May 23, 4 p.m.
B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB
Live Music on the Porch
featuring Jesse Wilcox
Jesse Wilcox is a singersongwriter who has been a part of the Memphis music community since 2010 ( e Doorknobs, China Gate, Daykisser). Saturday, May 24, noon-2 p.m.
SOUTH POINT GROCERY
Peabody Rooftop Party
With DJ A.D. and the Vibe Tribe. ursday, May 22, 6 p.m.
THE PEABODY HOTEL
Wiseacre Atomic Sky Dog Shake-A-Leg
Enjoy a very speci c style of funk music with that Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winning Light Lager — Sky Dog. With DJ Superman and DJ Leroy. $60. Saturday, May 24, 5:30-9:30 p.m. MEMPHIS RIVERBOATS
901Rox
Saturday, May 24, 9:30 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Dizgo
With Grape. $10. Friday, May 23, 9 p.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
Jad Tariq Trio
Wednesday, May 28, 3-6 p.m.
HUEY’S POPLAR
John Williams & the A440 Band
ursday, May 22, 8 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Leroy Clay Trio
Sunday, May 25, 11:30 a.m.
ROOSTER’S BLUES HOUSE
The Deb Jam Band
Tuesday, May 27, 6 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Van Duren
e singer-songwriter, a pioneer of indie pop in Memphis, performs solo. ursday, May 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
MORTIMER’S
Attack Attack!
An all-ages show. ursday, May 22, 6:30 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Avon Park
With El Chavos, e Coves
[Small Room-Downstairs].
Friday, May 23, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Clique
With Human Shield, My Skin Is Wax [Small RoomDownstairs]. ursday, May 22, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Dan Montgomery
With Tony de Velasco. Friday, May 23, 8 p.m.
LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE
Deborah Swiney Duo
ursday, May 22, 7-10 p.m.
THE COVE
Devil Train
Bluegrass, roots, country, Delta, and ski e. ursday, May 22, 9 p.m.
B-SIDE
Ethan Baker
Tuesday, May 27, 10 p.m.
B-SIDE
Gaga Nights
Party Iconic presents Gaga Nights. $27.60/general admission. Friday, May 23, 8-9:30 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Hope Clayburn & the Memphis Manes
Friday, May 23, 8 p.m.
BAR DKDC
Hovvdy
An American indie pop duo formed in Austin, Texas. $22.85/general admission.
ursday, May 22, 8-9:30 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Jazz Jam with the Cove Quartet
Jazz musicians are welcome to sit in. Sunday, May 25, 6-9 p.m.
THE COVE
Joe Restivo 4
Guitarist Restivo leads one of the city’s nest jazz quartets. Sunday, May 25, noon.
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
John Primer and the Real Deal Blues Band
Primer is a three-time Grammy-nominated Blues Hall of Famer and a living legend of Chicago blues. $20/ advance, $25/at the door.
Friday, May 23, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Laundry Bats
With Nowhere Squares, Aquarian Blood. $12. Saturday, May 24, 9 p.m.
LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE
Level Three Wednesday, May 28, 10 p.m.
LOUIS CONNELLY’S BAR
Logan Hanna & Schaeffer Mallory
Saturday, May 24, 8 p.m.
BAR DKDC
Louder Than Bombs (Tribute to The Smiths/ Morrissey)
Sunday, May 25, 8 p.m.
BAR DKDC
Memphis Reggae Nights ft. Bigg Smith
Sunday, May 25, 7:30 p.m.
B-SIDE
Mic Drop Songwriting Showcase/Meet & Greet For sixth to 12th graders, it’s Stax Music Academy’s premier songwriting competition and music industry networking event for youth. Free.
Saturday, May 24, 1-4 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Music Beneath the Surface: A Performance Inspired by Calida Rawles’ “Away with the Tides”
Journey through the rich soundscape of 1960s
of growth through sound and self-expression, transcending genres and boundaries. With songstress Alexis Norman and singer/trumpeter ADUBB. $15/advance, $20/ door. Wednesday, May 28, 7-9 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown e famed Nashville guitarist brings his band to Memphis. $25.25/general admission. Friday, May 23, 8-10 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Undugu Hip Hop
Festival
Sunday, May 25, 8 p.m. |
Monday, May 26, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Overtown, Miami, with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra at the helm. A concert curated to resonate with Rawles’ exploration of water as a conduit for healing. $18/general admission.
ursday, May 22, 6-7:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Rock Fest
With Fearless Dave & the Tsunamis, Pan de Muerto, R.E.C., Ant Death Circle, Last Monarchs of Fall, Mary Hatley, Jacob Furr, Deer elds, Phases, Cross & Wren, Screamer, e Heavy Pour.
$12. Sunday, May 25, 11 a.m. LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE
Shadowlands
John Raymond and S. Carey, who met 25 years ago, have moved in di erent directions since then. Now they’re working together again as Shadowlands. $28/advance, $33/at the door. ursday, May 22, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Spanish Cultural Series: At just 30 years old, and with four albums under his belt, Pedro Pastor represents and leads a new generation of singer-songwriters in Spain. $20/no cover, but with a mandatory refreshment. Saturday, May 24, 2:304 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Suckling
With True Sons of under, Joecephus & the George Jonestown Massacre [Big Room-Upstairs]. ursday, May 22, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Sunset Symphony
An annual community tradition featuring the sensational Memphis Symphony Orchestra Big Band. Bring your blanket and picnic basket for an unforgettable evening of music under the stars. Free. Sunday, May 25, 7:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
The Eastwoods Saturday, May 24, 9:30 p.m.
B-SIDE
The OZone Live featuring Ozioma
The OZone Live is a journey
Walt Phelan Band With Latchkey Hustlers Friday, May 23, 9 p.m. B-SIDE
WiMM presents Lorette Velvette & Diane Green Memphis’ only femalefronted music series is going strong. is show features two former members of e Hellcats. $10. Wednesday, May 28, 7-10 p.m. BSIDE
World Music Day
From elementary-grade students to adult professional performers, children will have a chance to explore and engage and find the music that inspires and moves them. Saturday, May 24, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS
Wyly Bigger Live Concert Recording ursday, May 22, 7-10 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Concerts in The Grove with Tennessee Screamers
Kids under 18 are free. $9/ general admission. ursday, May 22, 6:30-8 p.m.
THE GROVE AT GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Tequila Mockingbird
Wednesday, May 28, 6-9 p.m.
HUEY’S GERMANTOWN
The Pretty Boys Wednesday, May 28, 6-9 p.m.
HUEY’S MILLINGTON
Twin Soul Duo Wednesday, May 28, 6-9 p.m.
HUEY’S CORDOVA
Wendell Wells & The Big Americans Honky tonk, cow jazz, and barnyard blues with songs about religion, politics, freedom, oppression, love, and money. Wednesday, May 28, 6-9 p.m.
MI PUEBLO WEST MEMPHIS
PHOTO: COURTESY CROSSTOWN ARTS | MARILYN STRINGER John Primer
PHOTO: KYLE LEHMAN Shadowlands
Though Parker later dismissed a defense motion to suppress evidence seized in the search, finding the items would have been detected later in a routine inventory search of the car, the case’s credibility appeared shaken by defense challenges. Parker eventually approved a motion by prosecutors to dismiss the case.
Asked why prosecutors moved to dismiss the case, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Memphis declined comment.
EVOLVING MARIJUANA LAWS
Odor-related searches have grown complicated in Tennessee, in part because of law changes in other states. Tennessee is one of just 11 states where recreational or medicinal marijuana use hasn’t been legalized, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Yet motorists on Memphis’ streets may be carrying medicinal marijuana bought across the river in Arkansas or across the border in Mississippi. Recreational marijuana can be purchased via a short, 90-minute drive into southern Missouri.
“Now [when they return to Memphis] they’re presumed to be a felony drug dealer,’’ said defense lawyer Michael Working. “… You’re coming back with more than 14.175 grams every time. It’s like, you know, you don’t go to Arkansas to buy legal beer and buy [just] one can of beer.”
In Shelby County, simple possession of small amounts of marijuana often is tolerated.
District Attorney Mulroy said simple possession prosecutions had been deprioritized by his predecessor, Amy Weirich, though the practice varied among individual prosecutors, he said.
ERASE & ELEVATE
“I think it’s more uniform now [in] that it is not a priority,” Mulroy said. “We still enforce it. I mean, it’s the law, right? We enforce it. But we’ve got so many more important things to focus on, like violent crime.” Though there is “no blanket rule,” misdemeanor marijuana cases can lead to community service followed by a dismissal of the charges, he said.
Consequently, police often won’t bring misdemeanor cases, defense attorneys said. What’s emerged is a sort of felony-or-nothing situation. And as courts have trimmed back on Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure, the smell of marijuana as justification to search a vehicle has become all but impossible for defendants to overcome, defense attorneys say.
But a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling last summer may change some of the ground rules for marijuana-related traffic stops.
In that case, State of Tennessee vs.
Andre JuJuan Lee Green, the court ruled that the smell of marijuana alone is not enough for a search, finding that officers must consider “the totality of the circumstances” before conducting a warrantless search.
That case originated from Clarksville, Tennessee, where officers used a drug-sniffing dog to find an ounce of marijuana, baggies, and a gun during a February 2020 traffic stop. Defense attorneys argued the search was improper because a police dog can’t tell the difference between legal hemp and illegal marijuana. Both are varieties of the same species. Congress legalized hemp in the 2018 Farm Bill and Tennessee followed suit in 2019.
The court rejected a defense motion to dismiss the case. Although it found that “the legalization of hemp has added a degree of ambiguity to a dog’s positive alert,” it ruled the search was merited by a totality of circumstances that included “suspicious answers” that the car’s occupants gave to officers’ questions and a backpack seen in plain view inside the car. Both the car’s driver and passenger denied ownership of the backpack.
Raybin said the Green case means officers will no longer be able to conduct probable cause searches of vehicles based solely on the odor of marijuana.
“In my opinion that is directly precluded by the Green case and everything should be thrown out,’’ said Raybin, who co-authored a friend-ofthe-court brief in support of dismissing charges in the case.
How much actual impact the ruling will have remains to be seen, however. Officers don’t need much in the way of additional factors to justify a search, Raybin said. It can involve something as simple as a defendant appearing nervous, “sweating profusely,” or making inconsistent statements.
“… It still won’t take too much’’ to justify a search, Raybin said.
Data for this story comes from public records kept by Shelby County’s criminal courts on behalf of Shelby County residents. The county makes individual records available. These records were compiled and processed with a web programming tool that enables a user to efficiently compile and see all of the public records, and sort them to identify and analyze arrest patterns. The sortable records are kept on a server maintained by a criminal justice reform group, People for the Enforcement of Rape Laws. The Institute for Public Service Reporting (IPSR) pays a license fee to access these records and cover the cost of programming and maintenance. IPSR independently verifies the data through computer analysis, spot-checking, and other methods. The reform group has no input or ability to influence the reporting of these public records. IPSR retains full authority over editorial content to preserve journalistic integrity. continued from page 14
HEIDI
CALENDAR of EVENTS: May 22 - 28
ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS
“2024 Accessions to the Permanent Collection” is Accessions series honors the new additions to the museum’s permanent collection throughout each calendar year. rough Nov. 2.
METAL MUSEUM
“Artists’ Link
Exhibition: Spring 2025”
Featuring works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media, woodcut, ber, weaving, ceramic materials, stained glass, and metals. rough May 30.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
ARTSmemphis:
“GRANTEDTime Exhibition”
An exhibit curated by Brittney Boyd Bullock, a visual artist working with ber, mixed media, and abstraction. rough Aug. 5.
ARTSMEMPHIS
“Art Speaks: Visual Poetry Exhibition & Art Inspired by Words” is dynamic showcase explores the powerful intersection of language and visual expression, bringing together artists who draw inspiration from literature, poetry, music, and spoken word. rough May 31.
MEMPHIS ART SALON AT MINGLEWOOD HALL
CBU Spring 2025 BFA Exhibition
Christian Brothers University is proud to present the 2025 Spring BFA Exhibition, featuring works by graduating seniors in the Department of Visual Arts. Free. rough July 11.
BEVERLY + SAM ROSS GALLERY
“Celebrate Spring”: Exhibition by Connie Lampen
“Blending abstract with reality, I strive to place movement plus a message of tranquility & comfort within the colors of each painting.” — Connie Lampen. rough May 29.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Colleen Couch and Dolph Smith: “Walk in the Light” is exhibit traces the arc of Smith’s work, presents new pieces by Couch inspired by Smith, and highlights recent collaborations between the two. rough June 29.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
“Faster Than Light: The Dream of Interstellar Flight”
Visit the planetarium to take virtual rides aboard spacecra of the future, based on whole new technologies, designed to achieve ultra-high speeds, using exotic next-generation rocket fuels. rough May 23.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY
AT THE PINK PALACE
“Fur and Feathers: The Art of Gari Parisi” Parisi works in a variety of mediums such as graphite, watercolor, acrylics, ballpoint pen, and oils. His primary focus is creating animal portraiture, achieved with extraordinary detail. He also creates personalized pet portraits. Free. rough May 29.
WKNO DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER
Jin Powell and John Powell: “Fusion”
A dynamic joint exhibition featuring the work of artists Jin Powell and John Powell, whose twenty new mixedmedia pieces blend wood and metal in compelling and unexpected ways. rough June 6.
ANF ARCHITECTS
“Landshaping: The Origins of the Black Belt Prairie”
Learn about the geologic event known as the Mississippi Embayment and its e ect on this region. Fossils and farm tools will be displayed alongside photographs by Houston Co eld. rough Oct. 12.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY AT THE PINK PALACE
Leslie Holt: “The Sound of Your Own Wheels”
Abstract impressionism blends with intriguing text and wordplay in this artist’s work. rough June 21.
DAVID LUSK GALLERY
“Light as Air” Explore the beauty in tension: a balance of forms, the contrast between heavy and light, and the signi cance of negative space. rough Sept. 7.
METAL MUSEUM
“Memphis Skies: What’s That in Our Night Sky?”
Hop through constellations, learn cool star names, and groove to planetarium space music in this full dome audiovisual experience. rough May 23.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY AT THE PINK PALACE
“Speaking Truth to Power: The Life of Bayard Rustin”
Exhibition
“Speaking Truth to Power” explores Bayard Rustin’s innovative use of the “medium” to communicate powerful messages of non-violence, activism, and authenticity.
$20/Adult, $18/Senior, College Student, $17/Children 5-17. rough Dec. 31.
NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
Summer Art Garden: “A Flash of Sun” Immerse yourself in the radiant spirit of summer with these geometric sculptures that cast vibrant hues in the shi ing sunlight. rough Oct. 20.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.
DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENT LISTINGS, SCAN THE QR CODE OR VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.
Super SaturdayJapanese Fans
Learn about the art of sensu, or Japanese folding fans, by making your own. Experience the joy of creativity and the beauty of cultural heritage.
Saturday, May 24, 10 a.m.noon.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
TGYF Yoga
TGYF Yoga is designed for beginner to intermediate yoga practitioners. Variations are o ered to accommodate each individual’s level with an emphasis on correct alignment.
$5/Suggested Price. ursday, May 22, 10-11 a.m. | Tuesday, May 27, 10-11 a.m.
UNITY CHURCH OF PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY
COMEDY
“The Golden Age of Paper Dolls”
A private collection of paper dolls displayed throughout the historic house, including an area to try out paper dolls and make your own. rough May 28.
DAVIES MANOR HISTORIC SITE
“Three Man Show” ree local artists, Joe Umphress, Marc Wheetley, and E.D. Bynum Jr., provide a very special expanded exhibit of their works in this collaborative show. rough June 1.
ST. GEORGE’S ART GALLERY AT ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Wanda Winsett
Exhibition
“My delight is in color and light shed upon the day.” — Wanda Winsett. rough May 30.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
ART HAPPENINGS
Saddle Creek Gallery / May Opening Reception
Peruse art on Poplar Avenue while enjoying bites, sips, and tunes. Saturday, May 24, 4-6 p.m.
SADDLE CREEK GALLERY
BOOK EVENTS
Bob Furniss: On to Blue
Written from a father’s perspective, this book concerns the journey of Keesha the Warrior Princess and her battle with stage four breast cancer that began at just 30 years old. ursday, May 22, 6 p.m. NOVEL
Rickey Fayne: The Devil Three Times
Yetunde awakens aboard a slave ship en route to the United States with the spirit of her dead sister as her only companion. She nds help in an unexpected form: the Devil himself. Saturday, May 24, 2 p.m. NOVEL
CLASS / WORKSHOP
Acrylic Painting with Gay Rhodes Painting class, $185. Wednesday, May 28, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Fiber Arts Open Studio
Bring your fabric, yarn, and tools to the Dixon for a free, collaborative, open studio with other ber artists and cra ers. Media and methods are your choice. Free. ursday, May 22, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Figure Drawing (Long Pose)
Figure drawing is back by popular demand. $18/General Admission. Sunday, May 25, 2-4 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Figure Drawing (Nude Model)
Artists of all levels can practice and increase their skills drawing the human form at Memphis’ art museum. $18/ General admission. ursday, May 22, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Hollywood Feed University Presents “Mastering the Walk: Leash Skills and OffLeash Safety” Hollywood Feed University presents this helpful class at hollywoodfeed.com. ursday, May 22, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. ONLINE
Lunchtime Meditations
Visit the Dixon for free meditation sessions every Friday. Friday, May 23, noon-12:30 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Music Production Camp: Level 1 (Ages 13-18)
Kids gain hands-on experience using state-of-the-art technology on their own music production station. Campers learn about so ware and hardware, cyber security, composing, recording, and publishing. Monday, May 26, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Tuesday, May 27, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Wednesday, May 28, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
MUSIC BOX COLLIERVILLE
Prenatal Yoga
Join and gather as women for prenatal yoga and refreshments. Free. Tuesday, May 27, 6-7:45 p.m.
FORREST SPENCE FUND
Six-Week Beginners
Watercolor Painting Course and Critique with Fred Rawlinson
A watercolor painting class from a master of the art. $350. Monday, May 26, 9:30 a.m.1:30 p.m. | Tuesday, May 27, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Comedian Alvin Newsome (HBO Max) Memphis-native, Dallas-based comedian Alvin Newsome (HBO’s Second Chance Stage) headlines a fun lineup at Flyway Brewing with feature Richard Douglas Jones (Comedy Central). $10/Discount Online Ticket. Saturday, May 24, 8-9:45 p.m.
FLYAWAY BREWING COMPANY
Comedy Night with Ben Pierce Freewheeling hilarity on the open mic. ursday, May 22, 7 p.m.
BAR DKDC
Crowd Craft Comedy You bring the topics, they bring the funny. With Richard Douglas Jones, Bob Love, Bair, Seth Dees, Justin Burgess, and Malcolm Castle. Saturday, May 24, 8:30 p.m. HI TONE
Open Mic Comedy Night A hilarious Midtown tradition. Tuesday, May 27, 8 p.m. HI TONE
Smokes & Jokes at the Cigarden
Calling all cigar a cionados and/or comedy fans — you’re invited to an unforgettable night of Smokes & Jokes at e Cigarden Luxury Cigar Bar, nestled in the heart of the Broad Avenue Arts District. $10/Advance Ticket. ursday, May 22, 7 p.m. THE CIGARDEN
COMMUNITY
Frog Chorus Walk
Look and listen for bird-voiced treefrogs, green treefrogs, cricket frogs, and others. Cypress re ies will be ashing over the swamp. Saturday, May 24, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
GHOST RIVER STATE NATURAL AREA
continued on page 20
PHOTO: COURTESY OPERA MEMPHIS Opera Memphis o ers a Cavalli jewel from the golden age of Venetian opera.
continued from page 19
Memphis Music Strategy Reading Room
Dive into the Memphis Music Strategy’s 25 recommendations and help identify actionable priorities.
Wednesday, May 28, 5-6 p.m.
MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB
Women Build Luncheon
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis depends on your support to build a ordable homes. Support a ordable homeownership across the 901. $150/General Admission. Tuesday, May 27, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
THE PEABODY MEMPHIS
EXPO/SALES
2025 Spring Vesta Home Show
e 41st Annual Vesta Home Show. $20/Adult (weekday), $25/Adult (weekend), $12/ Youth (weekday), $15/Youth (weekend), $15/Military/ Fire/Police (weekday), $20/ Military/Fire/Police (weekend). rough May 25.
WILDER AT FOREST HILL
Great American River Run Expo & Packet
Pick-Up
e rst step to enjoying the Great American River Run. Don’t miss the multiple healthcare and tness vendors to help you along your tness journey. Friday, May 23, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER
FAMILY
Chanda Ouk Wolf: A Dozen Delicious Donuts
e author is an advocate for the Cambodian diaspora in America. As a daughter of genocide survivors, she aims to break the silence on Cambodia’s painful history. She will read from her latest children’s book, A Dozen Delicious Donuts: A Sweet Cambodian-American Story Saturday, May 24, 10:30 a.m. NOVEL
Get Outside Fitness: KidoKinetics rough age-appropriate
Strategic fun and artistic inspiration await mahjong players at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Challenge yourself and connect with fellow enthusiasts.
games and activities, young children build con dence, coordination, and a love for active play through a variety of sports in an encouraging, non-competitive environment. ursday, May 22, 5 p.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
Get Outside Fitness: Kids Yoga Kids yoga is designed to be fun and engaging, teaching basic yoga poses with playful names that build strength, exibility, balance, and mindfulness. Parents are welcome to join, too. Wednesday, May 28, 5-6 p.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
Pre-School Story Time
Enjoy stories, songs, art activities, and creative play that connect with Collierville history. Friday, May 23, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY
Story Time at Novel
Recommended for children up to 5 years, Story Time at Novel includes songs and stories, featuring brand-new books in addition to wellloved favorites. Wednesday, May 28, 10:30 a.m. NOVEL
FESTIVAL
Water Lantern Festival
As the sun begins to set on the evening sky, the night shines with the launch of many lanterns, including your own, onto the water. Saturday, May 24, 5:30-9:30 p.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
FILM
Cities of the Future 3D
Imagine stepping 50 years into the future and nding smart cities designed to be totally sustainable. Renewable energy is our primary power source, including space-based solar power. rough May 23.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
Hook
When his young children are abducted by his old nemesis, Capt. Hook, middle-aged lawyer Peter Banning returns to his magical origins as Peter Pan. Every day, 4:30 p.m. rough Aug. 27.
MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY
Mildred Pierce - 80th
Anniversary Screening When Mildred Pierce’s wealthy husband leaves her for another woman,
Mildred decides to raise her two daughters on her own. ursday, May 22, 7-9 p.m.
CROSSTOWN THEATER
Oceans: Our Blue Planet 3D
A global odyssey to discover the largest and least explored habitat on earth. New ocean science and technology has allowed us to go further into the unknown than we ever thought possible. rough May 23.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
Slice: Screening and Q&A with Zaire Love
A lm that follows Rico, Memphis native and all-star “Slicer”, who tells the world about his city’s underground culture of swimming. “Slicin’” is a diving technique that highlights intricate moves. Sunday, May 25, 1-3 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Space: The New Frontier 2D From self-assembling habitats, commercial space stations, and rockets without fuel to the Lunar Gateway to deep space. rough May 23.
MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY
The Wild Robot Treats provided by Mempops. is event is free and open to the public. Saturday, May 24, 6:30 p.m.
WOLF RIVER GREENWAY MUD ISLAND SECTION
FOOD AND DRINK
Canoes + Cocktails
A guided sunset paddle on the lake followed by specialty cocktails provided by Old Dominick, snacks from Che e’s, yard games, and music. A “cocktails only” ticket omits the paddling part. $35, $80. Friday, May 23, 6 p.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
Celtic Crossing
Whiskey Pairing Dinner
A whiskey pairing dinner hosted by Celtic Crossing’s in-house whiskey connoisseur DJ Naylor. $80/Admission. ursday, May 22, 7 p.m.
CELTIC CROSSING IRISH PUB
Dinner & Music Cruise
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on Ol’ Man River featuring live entertainment (blues & jazz) and a meal. $50/General Admission. ursday, May 22, 7-9:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS RIVERBOATS
Drag Queen Bingo, feat. Krystal Karma Nothing but good karma here. Friday, May 23, 7-9 p.m.
MOXY MEMPHIS DOWNTOWN
Food Truck Fridays at Dixon Gallery & Gardens
Feast on a variety of victuals in beautiful surroundings. Admission to Dixon is free for good. Friday, May 23, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Hump Day Hangout
Celebrate patio season the Moxy way. Wednesday, May 28, 6-9 p.m.
MOXY MEMPHIS DOWNTOWN
HEALTH AND FITNESS
Get Outside Fitness: Adult Yoga is Vinyasa-style yoga class is dedicated to creating a balanced mind, body, and spirit.
It is perfect for all levels. Saturday, May 24, 9 a.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
Get Outside Fitness: Mat Pilates
A full-body, low-impact workout that emphasizes dynamic core work to enhance strength, balance, and exibility. e session is designed inclusively for everybody. Friday, May 23, 4:30 p.m. | Saturday, May 24, 8 a.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
Taijiquan with Milan
Vigil is Chinese martial art promotes relaxation, improves balance, and provides noimpact aerobic bene ts. Ages 16 and older. Free. Saturday, May 24, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
Wednesday Walks
Take a casual stroll around the Old Forest paved road! Wednesday, May 28, 4-5 p.m. OVERTON PARK
Yoga
Strengthen your yoga practice and enjoy the health bene ts of light exercise with yoga instructor Laura Gray McCann. All levels welcome. Free. ursday, May 22, 6 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
LECTURE
Munch and Learn: B.B. King’s 100th Birthday and B.B. King’s Blues Club
Share lunch with Hayley Heard, the marketing and events manager for Beale Street Blues Company, the hospitality group that owns B.B. King’s Blues Club, Itta Bena, and BSBC Catering. Wednesday, May 28, noon-1 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
PERFORMING ARTS
2025 Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards
An unforgettable celebration of student talent from across the Mid-South, with performances and recognition from 52 high schools across Tennessee, Missis-
PHOTO: COURTESY MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
sippi, Arkansas, and new this year — Missouri. Thursday, May 22, 7 p.m.
ORPHEUM THEATRE
La Calisto
Opera Memphis presents Francesco Cavalli’s jewel from the golden age of Venetian opera, which mashes up multiple Roman myths, bending both gender and genre in a rollicking exploration of the human condition. Is it true love? Irresistible lust? Or maybe just indigestion? Friday, May 23, 7:30 p.m.
PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE
Open Poetry Mic
Hear wordsmiths at their most creative. Monday, May 26, 7 p.m.
HI TONE
Secrets in the Garden: Til Death Do Us Part
You are invited to witness the union of delight and deception at the Dixon’s first mystery event. Immerse yourself in a night of suspense where every guest is a detective and every whisper could be a clue. Enjoy complimentary beer and wine while donning your most glamorous wedding attire to enhance the matrimonial theme. 18+. $45/Dixon member, $50/Non-member.
Thursday, May 22, 6-8:30 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
SPECIAL EVENTS
CBC Field Day Field Day at Crosstown Brewing Co. School’s out and it’s time to play. Saturday, May 24, 3 p.m.
CROSSTOWN BREWING COMPANY
Glow and Flow Bartlett: Free Vein Health Awareness Event and Luncheon
USA Vein Clinics offers a free local session with experts to answer vein care questions. Insights and a gift for booking a check-up are also offered. Free. Wednesday, May 28, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
USA VEIN CLINICS BARTLETT
SPORTS
Arlington Renegades vs Memphis Showboats
Hats off to heroes and bark in the park. Saturday, May 24, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
SIMMONS BANK LIBERTY STADIUM
Bourbon and Boxing: Round 2
Featuring fights from Eric Draper, Dedrick Bell, Jacob Miller, Macro Hall Jr., Jason Pearson, and Dyron Words. Friday, May 23, 6-10 p.m.
RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER
Great American River Run
The Great American River Run celebrates 10 years running in Downtown Memphis, calling on all levels of runners, from elite athletes to beginning runners or families. Saturday, May 24.
RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER
Mahjong Open Play
An afternoon of strategic fun and artistic inspiration at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. This event is designed for those already skilled in mahjong — an opportunity to practice, challenge yourself, and connect with fellow enthusiasts. Sunday, May 25, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Morrighan’s Bluff, Amtgard of Memphis
Meet Saturdays at noon for medieval/fantasy live-action roleplay game. Join the adventure. Saturday, May 24, noon.
W. J. FREEMAN PARK
Zoom Through the Zoo
Race through the zoo, Overton Park, and beyond on a four-mile or a one-mile race, with refreshments afterward. This exciting event brings together families and neighbors for a fun-filled evening at the Memphis Zoo. $39.44/4-Mile Race, $44.79/Day of race; $23.39/1-Mile Race, $28.74/Day of race. Thursday, May 22, 6:30 p.m. MEMPHIS ZOO
THEATER
A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations)
As a young man, Oedipus is told by a seer that he will grow up to kill his own father and marry his mother. He flees from home to avoid this fate, but there is no escape from this dreadful prophecy. Celebrated playwright Sam Shepard reimagines this Ancient Greek tale as a modern thriller. A murder is committed. Who is the victim? Who is responsible? What are the consequences for generations to come? $25/Adult Tickets, $20/Senior & Student Tickets. Friday, May 23, 8-10 p.m. | Saturday, May 24, 8-10 p.m. | Sunday, May 25, 2-4 p.m.
THEATREWORKS @ THE SQUARE
Cabaret
A fierce, meaty musical that pushes the boundaries of the form and literally holds “the mirror up to nature.” Don’t miss the show that made Liza and Fosse household names, with a distinctly Brechtian dose of provocation and a Kander & Ebb score featuring songs that have become classics of the American musical theater. $26/Adult, $21/Senior 60+, $16/Student/ Teacher, $16/Military, $16/Wheelchair Space, $10/Sensory Friendly Performance, $50/VIP Immersive Seating. Friday, May 23, 7:30-10 p.m. | Saturday, May 24, 7:30-10 p.m. | Sunday, May 25, 2:30-5 p.m.
GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE
ACROSS
1 Cry of disgust
4 One cleansed by Jesus
9 Outlet, for one
14 Food fig.
15 President with the same first and last name as his father
16 Amount to give 17 Power increaser
18 First two characters entered in 39-Across
20 Place to find a cluster of stars?
22 Joe Namath and Vinny Testaverde, notably
23 “Watermark” singer, 1988
24 ___ Alpha Theta, first Greek-letter sorority in the U.S.
27 Affected
28 Co. with an image of Mercury in its logo
30 Argentina was named after it
32 Live
34 Assents at sea
35 Onetime competitor of RCA and Columbia
38 Shade of brown
39 Response to solving this puzzle, symbolically
40 Poison ___
42 Rhyming “Dr.”
43 “Hold your horses!”
45 Research institution in Atlanta
46 Shows derision, in a way
48 Expo, today
49 Dovetail (with)
52 Myrrh, for one 54 Rub the wrong way
57 Treasures
59 In the news
Chicken & Biscuits
Can Baneatta and Beverly, two sisters at odds, set aside their differences to honor their father’s memory? It’s a challenging task when Beverly arrives at the chapel flaunting her blessings. Meanwhile, Baneatta’s son brings his anxious Jewish boyfriend, anticipating his mother’s disapproval, and Beverly’s daughter persists with probing questions. Despite efforts by Baneatta’s pastor husband to ease tensions, a shocking family secret is revealed. Thursday, May 22, 8 p.m. | Friday, May 23, 8 p.m. | Saturday, May 24, 8 p.m. | Sunday, May 25, 2 p.m.
CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE
The Boy Who Kissed the Sky Inspired by the early life and influences of musical icon Jimi Hendrix, we see a young Black boy conjure his creativity as a budding guitarist. Guided by the spirit of music itself, the young man learns to find harmony inside the challenging noises of his life. Although more mythology than biography, The Boy Who Kissed the Sky is a celebration of our muses and the forces that pull us to be who we are. Told with vibrant music and daring imagination. Friday, May 23, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, May 24, 2 p.m. | Saturday, May 24, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, May 25, 2 p.m.
HATTILOO THEATRE
61 Last character entered in 39-Across
64 Palindromic brand in the kitchen
65 Something to lend
66 Longtime Susan Lucci role on “All My Children”
67 Con opener?
68 What the mnemonic “Every good boy does fine” represents
69 “Olympia” painter
70 Georgia, once: Abbr. DOWN
1 End of every verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
2 Online moderator, for short
3 Expression seen in 39-Across 4 Bananas
5 Offering on Amazon
6 Capital of the Canary Islands, after “Las”
7 Indie rock genre
8 Commanded
9 Home to a mythical ferry 10 Item sometimes next to a cash register 11 Survey option
Butler of renown 13 Minuscule, informally 19 It’s more than a fling
21 Pi or phi, in
for
Like curtains and cartoons
Center of the Krupp family
Condition with tics, for short
Images such as 39-Across
Sully
Blot on a landscape
Rich, savory flavor
Raised block of the earth’s crust, to a geologist
Unruffled
Doesn’t officially enroll
Country with the second greatest number of McDonald’s restaurants after the U.S. [2,900+] 50 Home of the Sawtooth National
PUZZLE BY JON OLSEN
PHOTO: COURTESY MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART Axis, 2021, spray paint on wood panel, by Khara Woods
We Saw You.
with MICHAEL DONAHUE
If you felt like dancing at, say, around 1 o’clock in the a ernoon, you were in good company at the Memphis Greek Festival. Groups of dancers performed at designated times each day at the festival, which was held May 9th and 10th at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. Guests were invited to jump in a er they nished and try their hand — or feet — in a dance.
More than 10,000 attended this year’s event, estimated Kathy Zambelis, who co-chaired the event with Maria Moore. Admission was only $3 or three cans of nonperishable food.
Traditional dance, shopping, and a kids zone were featured. Food included made-in-house spanakopita and Greek pastries. “We start months in advance to get everything out there,” Zambelis says. “We’re pretty much a well-oiled machine.”
“Bi ekia,” a tantalizing concoction, was advertised in front of the booth as “Deliciously Seasoned Meat Sticks Made With Ancient Recipe.” It was served with pita bread and tzatziki sauce.
Reverend Simon omas, the parish priest, led church tours. His son, Demetri omas, who wore a traditional Greek sherman’s cap, was one of the dancers.
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE above: Alex Lerides, David Tashie, Patrick Koplin, John Tashie, Sarah Tashie, and Dimitri Staursky circle: A.J. and Charles Salameh below: (le to right) Dosha White and Jerome Max; Will Levy and Sarah Murphy; Julian Cullen and Cheyenne Hammonds bottom row: (le to right) Walker Davis and Sydney Rowan; Elpinike omas and Vasilios Ekimogloy
above: Don Ross, Eric Richmond, Delbert Polk, and Reginald Copeland circle: Campbell Sandlin and Cole Capocaccia
below: (le to right) Kathy Zambelis, Maria Moore, and Demetri omas; Roman and Pierce Browning; Tony and Kathryn Walker; Demetri omas and Father Simon omas right row: (top and below) Matthew Butler, Faith Hause, and Sandra Veyo; Aisha and Danielle Gulledge bottom le : Bill and Savannah Bannister
SATURDAY JUNE 7
CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE 10a-5p
Shop over 100 local artists and makers - from handmade goods to one-of-a-kind art - discover something special!
Crafts & Drafts Beer Gardens - enjoy local brews and bites while you browse!
Live music, food, and community vibes all day long!
Explore the vibrant spirit of Crosstown Concourse.
By Michael Donahue
Five and Alive
Magnolia & May celebrates its h anniversary.
M
agnolia & May restaurant opened on May 26, 2020. Smack dab during the pandemic lockdown. No vaccine. People were sheltering in place.
She and her husband, executive chef Chip Dunham, got customers, but general manager Amanda Dunham says, “ ere were times Chip and I would sit on the patio and we would be pretty empty: ‘Why are we doing this?’”
When they opened their restaurant at 718 Mt. Moriah Road, Chip and Amanda did curbside and to-go orders until they were allowed to do 50 percent capacity dine-in service.
Five years later, Magnolia & May, unlike other restaurants that bit the dust, is still open. To honor the occasion, Chip and Amanda are holding a ve-day anniversary celebration at the restaurant.
“It’s just kind of something fun to do,” Amanda says, adding, “Five years isn’t super long, but it feels long to us sometimes.”
During those lockdown days, their Magnolia Farms Box was a hot item. It included the recipes for a meal and a cocktail as well as the ingredients, so people could whip up a Magnolia & May meal and drink at home.
e cocktail was a Magnolia & May Manhattan, which included bourbon, dark vermouth, and amaro.
It wasn’t easy operating a new restaurant in those days. “We joke we never got to what we call the ‘romance phase’ when everybody ocks to see what’s going on on,” Amanda says. “By the time we got back to normal, we were already around about a year.”
Chip began his culinary career as a pantry cook, making cold salads and appetizers at e Grove Grill, which was owned by his dad, chef Je rey Dunham. He met Amanda while he was going to school at e Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, New York. He worked at Slightly North of Broad Restaurant, Butcher & Bee, and e Glass Onion in Charleston, South Carolina, before he moved back to Memphis with Amanda.
His father and mother, Tracey Dunham, were thinking about adding a second location of e Grove Grill, so they decided to convert his grandfather’s insurance company into a restaurant, which became Magnolia & May. e Grove Grill closed in March 2020, and Chip and Amanda along with Chip’s parents, opened Magnolia & May about two months later.
Explaining why they opened when they did, Chip said in a 2022 Memphis
Flyer interview, “We were ready to go and our employees were ready to go. ere was no sense in waiting anymore.”
ey began planning their Five Days of Magnolia & May about two months ago, Chip says.
Wednesday, May 21st, will feature a $5 cocktail. Children can eat o the kid’s menu for $5. e cocktail will be the Barely Making It, a play on the Magnolia & May Manhattan. “We are partnering with Old Dominick to create a h-anniversary bottle of Tennessee whisky,” Chip says. Children can get burgers, chicken tenders, and hot dogs along with an ice pop. Today, that would cost $12.
On ursday, May 22nd, Chip says, “We’ll take a trip down memory lane by bringing back our 2020 menu prices.” Instead of today’s price of $17, people will be able to get a hamburger for $13. ey can get the restaurant’s popular shrimp and grits for $23 instead of $28. Friday, May 23rd will feature live music on the patio. And, Chip says, “On Saturday, we’ll host a brunch featuring Crosstown Brewing [Company], which will be bringing some of its THC seltzers for our guests to sample during the meal.”
e h night, May 24th, was going to be a trivia night, but they’re hosting a wedding reception at the restaurant that night, so they’re moving the trivia event to Sunday, June 1st. “It’s just gen-
eral trivia,” Chip says. “It’s always been something we wanted to do, but we just nally decided to pull the trigger on it. I think we’re going to do it once a month going forward.”
Customers also will be able to get limited edition h-anniversary Magnolia & May T-shirts and stickers.
Food wise, over the past ve years, they’ve “kind of stayed the same,” Chip says. ey describe their concept as “a country brasserie.” As Chip said in the 2022 interview, “We present ourselves in a rustic way, but while we’re a restaurant based in the American South, we don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves as that.”
In uences include Asian and Middle Eastern, but everything is “rooted in that classic French technique.” And now, Chip says, “We actually made more connections with local farms.”
ey get chicken and duck from Riley Family Farms in Holly Springs, Mississippi; local beef and pork from Home Place Pastures in Como, Mississippi; mushrooms from Blu City Fungi in Memphis; and fruit and vegetables from Jones Orchard in Millington, Tennessee.
“When we opened, we wanted to be able to do this,” Amanda says. “We wanted to be using more local farms, more neighborhood purveyors, but we weren’t really able to. Everyone was operating at such an odd time.”
Magnolia & May still o ers the same
friendly hospitality, Chip says. Amanda visits tables and chats with customers. “ e closeness of the community is what we always wanted,” he says.
In short, Chip says, “You can get a very well executed, nutritious chefdriven dish in a casual and approachable environment.”
ey achieved one of their goals last year, Amanda adds. “We bought Je and Tracey out of the business. Chip and I are the owners.”
A second location of Magnolia & May isn’t on their radar, but they “always joke around” that they might open a co ee shop. “You never know with us,” Amanda says. “It will be where the wind takes us. We’ve always talked about doing a co ee shop.” at’s on their “bucket list for another ve years down the road.”
So, why do they call their restaurant, Magnolia & May? “We have a tradition in my family of, before a baby is born, giving them a nickname,” Chip says. Amanda was pregnant with their daughter, Maddison, whose nickname is Baby Magnolia, and his sister was pregnant with their niece, Marilyn Lamey, who is called Baby May.
“So, now we have to open a restaurant a er our son,” Chip says. eir son, Hudson, was born during the past ve years. His nickname is Monkey Grass. Which, actually, sounds like a good name for a co ee shop.
PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE Chip and Amanda Dunham
By
the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
FLASHYOUR FLYER
Surprise!
When a babysitter in Great Bend, Kansas, helpfully looked under the bed to check for “monsters” on March 24, she actually found one, NBC News reported. The Barton County Sheriff’s Office was called to the home, where the babysitter had come face-to-face with a man hiding under the child’s bed, around 10:30 p.m. After a short altercation with the babysitter, the man fled the home. The suspect, who was captured the next morning, was Martin Villalobos Jr., 27, who once lived in the house. Villalobos was under a protection order and had been warned to stay away from the home. He was arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, child endangerment and other offenses and held on $500,000 bond.
Alarming Headline
stuff on Nantucket, so I see deer all the time, but this is my first time with turkey,” he said.
A Cautionary Tale
Minot, North Dakota, mayor Tom Ross resigned on April 1, which some might find a fitting date for his ignominious downfall. KMOT-TV reported that Ross was the subject of a complaint made in late January by the city attorney, Stefanie Stalheim, who said she had received a sexually explicit text from Ross. Ross admitted he had made a video of himself masturbating during his lunch break, intending to send it to his romantic partner. “I do take responsibility for this mistake,” Ross said. “I tried to immediately correct it and was unable.”
Felipe Hoyos-Foronda, 38, of Queens, New York, was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 28 after a medical procedure at his home went south, CBS News reported. According to police, a 31-year-old woman went to Hoyos-Foronda’s home to have her butt implants removed. When the woman suffered complications, he called EMS and then took off, intending to flee to Colombia. First responders found the woman unresponsive. The criminal complaint said Hoyos-Foronda admitted to performing the procedure without a license and administering lidocaine, “causing her to go into cardiac arrest.” Officials said the victim was hospitalized with no brain activity, and she showed signs of lidocaine toxicity.
Animal Antics
Least Competent Criminal Crush Comics in California’s Castro Valley was burglarized on March 22, CBS News reported. The thief took a display of the store’s most valuable comic books, said owner Josh Hunter. He figured they were gone for good, but then, just 12 hours later, one of his employees stumbled upon an eBay listing for a very specific comic book from the store. “I’m just going to buy that and see what happens,” Hunter said. When he got the seller’s name and address, he searched on Instagram and saw the burglar’s offer to buy, sell, or trade Lego sets. Next, Hunter called another comic shop and a toy store that had also been broken into and shared his findings. When the sleuths turned their results over to police, Alameda County Sheriff’s officers served a search warrant at the home of Noorullah Amiri, 29, of Livermore, where they found tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of comic books, collectibles, and Lego sets. Amiri was taken into custody on March 27.
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
Mail carrier Wayne White was on his route in Hyannis, Massachusetts, on March 28 when he ran into a flock of troublemakers, WHDH-TV reported. As he got in and out of his truck and delivered mail, three wild turkeys followed and harassed him while he tried to fend them off with a box. “Every time I moved the truck, the turkeys followed,” White said. One encounter with the birds was caught on a home’s surveillance video and showed White trying to do his job as they gobbled at him. “I do a lot of
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I think you’re ready to establish new ways of nourishing and protecting what’s valuable to you. Your natural assertiveness will be useful in setting boundaries and securing resources. Your flourishing intuition will guide you to implement adjustments that safeguard your interests while remaining flexible enough to permit legitimate access. Be extra alert, Aries, for when you need to balance security with accessibility. Your best defenses will come from clever design, not brute force. Do what you need to feel secure without feeling trapped.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In July 1971, 26-year-old Taurus poet Bernadette Mayer kept a scrupulous diary. Every day, she shot a roll of 35 mm film, wrote about the day’s events, and recorded herself reading her accounts. By August 1, she had accumulated 1,100 photos and six hours of readings. One of her goals in doing the project was to learn more about how her memory worked. What was worth remembering, and what wasn’t? She also hoped to gain an objective perspective about her routine rhythm. Years later, she acknowledged that though this was a narcissistic experiment, she had no shame about it. Inspired by Mayer, and in accordance with astrological omens, you might find it worthwhile to lovingly and thoroughly study the details of your daily life for a while. It’s an excellent time to get to know yourself better.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Even if you don’t regard yourself as a psychic or prophet, I suspect you now have an uncanny knack for deciphering future trends. Your intuition is operating at peak levels, especially when you focus it on the big picture of your long-term destiny. As long as you’re not overconfident about this temporary bloom of expansive vision, you can trust your ability to see the deep patterns running through your life story. To make the most of this gift, take a loving inventory of where you have been and where you are going. Then devote relaxed meditations to adjusting your master plan.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): River deltas form where rivers meet the sea, creating fertile and complex ecosystems that nourish abundant life. Some of my favorites are the Rhône River Delta in France, the Po River Delta in Italy, and the Shinano River Delta in Japan. In the coming weeks, Leo, I will visualize you as the metaphorical equivalent of a river delta. I’ll call you the Leo Delta, trusting you will be inspired to celebrate and cultivate the rich intersections that characterize your life — areas where an array of ideas, paths, and relationships converge. Be open to synergizing different aspects of your world: integrating emotions and logic, connecting with diverse people, blending personal and professional goals.
Rob Brezsny
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your natural inclination is to solve problems through detailed planning and careful analysis. On occasion, that process dead-ends in overthinking, though it often works pretty well. In accordance with current astrological omens, however, I suggest an alternative approach for you in the coming weeks. Instead of trying to figure everything out, how about if you simply create a relaxed spaciousness for new things to emerge? Experiment with the hypothesis that progress will come not from doing more, but from allowing more.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): As they climb, mountaineers carefully assess every handhold and foothold. Unfailing concentration is key. I recommend adopting their attitude in the coming weeks, Libra. You are entering a phase when ascension and expansion will be among your main assignments. The best approach to your adventures is to make steady progress with precision and thoughtfulness. Rushing rashly ahead or taking needless risks could be counterproductive, so be scrupulous about planning and preparation. Trust that the most efficient path to the summit will be via small, deliberate steps. Your winning combination will be ambition leavened with caution.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): At age 42, Scorpio painter Georgia O’Keeffe left her busy New York art career and traveled to New Mexico for the first time. The landscape’s beauty overwhelmed her. She wandered around the desert for three months, creating no art at all. A few critics accused her of wasting time. She rejected their ignorant misunderstanding of her process, replying, “To see takes time. I had to learn the country first before it would let me paint it.” Her most iconic paintings emerged after this phase of pure observation. I’m recommending a similar period for you, dear Scorpio. While your instincts may tempt you toward a flurry of activity, I believe now is a time to wait and see; to pause and ponder; to muse and meditate.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): By the 20th century, the 483-mile-long Seine River in France was so polluted that most of its fish were gone. But clean-up efforts have been successful. Now there are 32 fish species, including the Atlantic salmon. The Seine is also very close to being completely safe for humans to swim. I would love it if you were inspired by this success story to undertake a comparable project in your own life, Sagittarius. What would you most like to see revived and restored? Now is a good time to begin the effort.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Until she reached her 70s, Capricorn visual artist Louise Bourgeois was a peripheral figure in the art world, modestly respected but not acclaimed. Then New
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini writer Raymond Carter (1938–1988) established a rep utation as a master of terse minimalism. One critic noted that he practiced the “Theory of Omission” — an approach to writing fiction that mandates the elimination of superfluous narrative elements. But it turns out that Carver’s editor Gordon Lish had a major role in all this. He deleted half of Carver’s original words and changed the endings of half his stories. Years after his death, Carver’s widow, Tess Gallagher, published the original versions, with the omitted material reinstated. I believe the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to make comparable restorations, Gemini. In every way you can imagine, tell the full story, provide the complete rendition, and offer elements that have been missing.
York’s Museum of Modern Art presented her work in a major show. In response, The New York Times reviewed her work, saying it was “charged with tenderness and violence, acceptance and defiance, ambivalence and conviction.” I bring this to your attention, Capricorn, because I suspect the coming months will also bring you recognition for labors of love you’ve been devoted to for a while — maybe not in the form of fame, but through an elevated appreciation by those whose opinion matters to you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The name of the old Talking Heads album is Stop Making Sense. One of its many implications is that we periodically derive benefit and relief from being free of the pressure to sound reasonable and be consistent. According to my detailed, logical, in-depth analysis of your astrological omens, now is a perfect time to honor this counsel. I hope you will give yourself a sabbatical from being sensible, serious, and overly sane. Instead, please consider a sustained pursuit of pure pleasure, fun foolishness, and amazing amusement.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Be on high alert for fleeting intuitions that flow through your awareness. Really good ideas may rise up only briefly and only once, and you should be ready to catch them in the ripe moment before they fade away. Do you hear my urgency? Pay special attention to passing thoughts or sudden insights. They may contain more value than initially apparent. I will even speculate that seemingly ephemeral inspirations could become foundational elements in your future success. Document your hunches, even if they seem premature.
FILM By Chris McCoy
The Last Night at the Drive-In
e closing of the Malco Summer Drive-In marks the end of an era.
By the time we got to the Malco Summer Drive-In, a crowd of cars had already gathered at Screen 4. at was not unusual for a monthly Saturday night dedicated to the Time Warp DriveIn series. What was unusual was that we were there two hours before showtime because it was the last weekend of the drive-in.
e rst drive-in opened in New Jersey in 1932. e concept spread to Memphis in 1940. A er World War II, their popularity exploded. Postwar prosperity meant that more people than ever owned cars, and since most drive-ins charged by the carload, piling the family into the station wagon for a double feature was an a ordable night out for working-class parents. Teenagers loved the drive-in as a place where they could go on dates and have a little privacy. e drive-ins’ reputation for illicit hanky-panky even spawned a hit song in 1957, the Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie.”
e drive-ins became a breeding ground for a certain kind of picture. Sure, you could nd big-budget, A-list fare there, but those lms existed next to cheaper movies, o en made by independent companies outside the Hollywood mainstream, which were more daring with their subject matter. For every prestige title like Ben-Hur, there were a dozen icks like Invaders from Mars e latter were the kinds of lms the Time Warp Drive-In celebrated. Pioneering Memphis indie lmmaker Mike McCarthy (who once called himself “a man without a drive-in”) and Black Lodge Video founder Matthew Martin booked vintage classics and non-classics alike for 12 years. Sitting in the front row of Screen 4, surrounded by friends in camp chairs and kids hanging out in open hatchbacks, the pair watched the animated retrospec-
tive of Time Warp art posters created by Lauren Rae “Holtermonster” Holtermann. An emotional McCarthy said the Time Warp had brought 105 lms to the biggest screen in town.
A few weeks ago, Malco announced that the sprawling drive-in was for sale a er 60 years of operation. It was expected that the theater would complete the summer season, but a buyer popped up, and word got out that this weekend would be the end. No one blamed Malco. It was common knowledge that the Tashie family, who have controlled Malco for decades, loved the institution of the drivein, even as the popularity of the format waned. is served the company well during the pandemic, when it was the theater chain’s only source of income. In the last ve years, the Summer drive-in hosted the Indie Memphis Film Festival, the Southeast satellite program from the Sundance Film Festival, and Joe Bob Briggs’ drive-in festival. But while these big events and the Time Warp brought crowds to Summer Avenue, normal weekend nights were not busy, and the high overhead costs proved to be a drag on the company struggling during the post-pandemic cinema malaise which has only recently li ed. You can only lose money on something for so long.
A funny thing happened over the last six decades. Films once considered drivein trash are now the mainstream. A young Steven Spielberg saw Invaders from Mars at a drive-in. In 1977, he paid tribute to it in Close Encounters of the ird Kind. George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, perhaps the most in uential indie lm of all time, was a drive-in programmer that spawned the entire zombie subgenre. Over on Screen 1, Sinners, the Ryan Coogler-directed smash which has been largely responsible for 2025’s box o ce outperforming 2024 by 10 percent, was playing to a full lot. It’s a direct descendant
of Night of the Living Dead, and it’s leading the early conversation for Best Picture — something Romero could never have dreamed of.
e nal Time Warp was a Bill & Ted marathon. Martin tells me Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s goofy SoCal surfer pals who travel through time to save a utopian future had been scheduled to headline the Time Warp twice before, only to face rain- and snow-outs. is night, the
e
weather is perfect, and a stream of cars is backed up on Summer Avenue as far as the eye can see. e dirty little secret of the three Bill & Ted movies is that, while their protagonists are a little thick in the head, the screenplays are extremely wellwritten. Our heroes don’t solve problems
PHOTOS: CHRIS MCCOY
last Time Warp Drive-In at the Malco Summer Drive-In
with violence, but through outwitting the humorless school principals and cop dads who threaten to derail the duo’s glorious future. It’s gold, smuggled in the trash. That’s how a lot of people feel about Memphis. But it’s a tough time in the 901. Martin’s Black Lodge, a combination video store, rep theater, and performance venue, closed last summer, a victim of outof-control rents and pandemic malaise. Earlier this year, slashed arts grant budgets and reduced corporate sponsorships put the Indie Memphis Film Festival on hiatus. Two weeks ago, the Clayborn Temple, a Civil Rights landmark, burned to the ground under unexplained circumstances. Then there was the full-hand, slap-inthe-face of the acquittal on state murder chargers of three of the police officers involved in the killing of Tyre Nichols. The
loss of the drive-in might have been a long time coming, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The last Time Warp is like a roving family reunion, a final gathering of the tribes. Parents brought kids for their first and probably only drive-in experience, and the kids, for the most part, were loving it. On screen, Bill and Ted defeat Death in a game of Twister, and then ask him to join their band. Several folks observe that if people showed up like this more often, the drive-in wouldn’t have to close. Keep that in mind the next time you’re wondering if you should go see a local band, or a film screening at Crosstown, or a play from Quark Theatre, or one of the dozens of other events we list in the pages of the Memphis Flyer every week. If you don’t use it, eventually, you will lose it.
Qualifying Agencies are:
•Health Organizations
•Treatment Centers
•Churches
•Schools
•Local Businesses
•Non Profits
•Restaurants/Bars/Clubs
•Hotels etc...
memphisprevention.org
HEADLINERS
THE LAST WORD By Josh Spickler
Just City at 10
Ten things we’ve done in 10 years (and one party you don’t want to miss).
Ten years ago, things weren’t looking good.
A group of defense attorneys (including myself), business leaders, and community advocates found ourselves having the same discussions over and over again about our criminal justice system. ings were broken: Taxpayers were being asked to fund a system that was costing them more money every year, but public safety wasn’t improving and our economy was sputtering. ese problems weren’t unique to Memphis, and they’re far from resolved today. e di erence is that we decided to do something about them. Just City was born, not out of frustration, but out of conviction. We believed then — as we believe now — that a system that treats everyone fairly, decently, and humanely can keep us safe and make smart use of our tax dollars. A system like this isn’t built or maintained on its own, however — people have to demand it. Just City was one of the rst voices making those demands. It’s easy to get discouraged by the amount of work that’s still ahead of us, particularly (waves hands at everything) these days. Still, I remind the Just City team as o en as I can that there is an enormous amount of joy in this work. At its core, our work is about taking action so that everyone can live in a city that is free and safe, with less surveillance, less waste, and more humanity. What could be more joyful? So as we look to the future, here are 10 things we’ve accomplished so far with the community’s help. We’re grateful for each one and excited about what they mean for the future of this movement.
1. We helped end the jailing of kids in solitary con nement.
Keeping children in isolation isn’t tough love — it’s trauma. Just City worked with state and local lawmakers to change the so-called “safekeeping law” and bring an end to this barbaric practice.
2. We eliminated the expungement fee.
We built a bipartisan alliance to eliminate the ling fee for clearing criminal records all across Tennessee. ousands of people can now more easily move forward with their lives as a result.
3. We launched a bail fund (actually, we launched two).
We didn’t ask permission — we just paid bail for people who hadn’t been convicted of any crime to get them out of jail and return them to their families and jobs. e money comes back when people show up to court so we can help the next person.
4. We launched a podcast.
It’s called e Permanent Record, and it’s very good.
5. Our Court Watch volunteers showed up.
We’ve trained over 250 volunteers to sit in criminal courtrooms and take notes. Judges and prosecutors take notice when someone’s watching — especially when they see Just City Court Watchers with their notepads.
6. We led a bunch of lawsuits.
We sued the state of Tennessee for its wealth-based driver’s license suspensions. We sued Shelby County government for embarrassing IT failures that lost people and caused them to be locked up unlawfully. We sued the sheri for ignoring vulnerable people during Covid. And we sued the county (again) for the way it implemented a clearly unconstitutional state law passed in response to changes to the bail system.
7. I got personally insulted by the mayor.
Mayor Jim Strickland called me “the leading disseminator of false information” a er I dared to criticize an ine ective — but extremely expensive — new law that he wanted.
8. And a state senator.
State Senator Brent Taylor called me a “restorative justice schemer” on the oor of the legislature and in the press. I don’t know what that means either.
9. We built a movement.
What politicians don’t realize is that this work isn’t about me at all. It’s about thousands of people — volunteers, donors, partners, and neighbors — who believe that our criminal justice system should do more than punish indiscriminately. Every year for 10 years, we’ve drawn more support from more parts of our community, and we’re just getting started.
10. We planned a party, and you’re invited.
On Sunday, June 8th, we’re bringing Emmy-nominated comedian Roy Wood Jr. to Minglewood Hall. We’ve got Representative Justin J. Pearson, Kontji Anthony, DJ Cozmo, and a whole lot more. It’s called Stand Up With Just City and tickets are on sale now at justcity.org/standup.
Here’s to the next 10 years of justice and joy. ings are looking better all the time.
Josh Spickler is the executive director of Just City.
PHOTO: CHIP CHOCKLEY/JUST CITY Josh Spickler
The Hot Tamale Capital of the World invites you to enjoy an eclectic collection of events and entertaining stops.
» MAY « Mississippi Wildlife Heritage Festival, including Frog Fest and Leland Craw sh Festival LelandChamber.com
Future Tour Golf Championship
» JUNE « Delta Soul & Celebrity Golf Event facebook.com/DeltaSoulGolf
Lake Washington’s “Straight O The Lake” Music Festival
