
The Early Word: Farewell to Mr. Smith, free summer meals for kids
Welcome to another week, Memphis. I’m Holly Whitfield, filling in for Bianca Phillips.
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners could close their budget season today, but if not they’ll have to hurry to fit in extra meetings to meet the July 1 deadline.
The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen meets today to approve an elevated tax rate for the 2026 fiscal year budget, while Arlington officials will hold a special-called annual budget meeting.
For more, check out This Week In Memphis.
THE NEED TO KNOW
End of an era News of the death of “the most important Memphian of all time” rocked the city this weekend.
More Musk updates There’s a steady stream of semiconductors flowing to Colossus 2.
‘We’re just architects’ An architecture firm has invested in about nine properties in the Edge District.
THE NICE TO KNOW
Rolling out: Sushi lovers in Lakeland (surely there must be tens of them) will be happy to know that supersized sushi rolls are now much closer.
Free meals for kids: Groups in Shelby County and DeSoto County are working to help food-insecure students this summer.
Back to Beale: There’s a new New York-based seafood-forward restaurant now open in the former Jerry Lee Lewis Club.
Topics
The Early Word Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
Your subscription gives you unlimited access to all of The Daily Memphian’s news, written by nearly 40 local journalists and more than 20 regular freelancers. We work around the clock to cover the issues that impact your life and our community.
You can help us reach more Memphians.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we provide free news access at K-12 schools, public libraries and many community organizations. We also reach tens of thousands of people through our podcasts, and through our radio and television partnerships – all completely free to everyone who cares about Memphis.
When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians.
Pay it forward. Make a fully tax-deductible donation to The Daily Memphian today.
Thank you for reading the local news. Thank you for investing in our community.
Holly Whitfield
Holly has more than 13 years of experience in publishing and digital content, including 10 years at the helm of the I Love Memphis Blog. She began her career at The Commercial Appeal and is author of Secret Memphis.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.