As we finally arrive at the NBA’s trade deadline week, let’s survey a few pressing Grizzlies topics. 

“Introducing immigration enforcement into our neighborhoods does not make us safer; it fractures trust, drives fear underground and harms families who are already contributing quietly and faithfully to the life of this city.”

No pep band. No anthem singer, either. But lots of brave fans got free tickets to watch the Memphis Tigers win a basketball game Thursday. How better to defeat the snowbound blues?

A week out from the trade deadline, the Grizzlies seemed focused on the future. What that means for Ja Morant and the rest of the roster remains a mystery.

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One issue arising from Alex Pretti’s senseless death is debatable. It is the extent of Memphis’ cooperation with federal law enforcement during the ongoing surge in the Bluff City.

Well, darn. The Central High band won’t be going back to New York this year to defend its title in the Essentially Ellington jazz contest. But after a year of triumph and tragedy, that won’t stop director Ollie Liddell from teaching “with (his) hair on fire.”

Minneapolis-St. Paul, where I now have a home, has been abused. Memphis, which has been my home for the majority of my life, is now being used. 

So many tulips! A truckload of tulips! The Dixon Gallery & Gardens is celebrating its 50th anniversary with 650,000 tulips — more than double what it’s ever had before.

“Their blood runs through my veins, and many of them walked in the light of grace the same way I am doing this week, just earlier on the timeline. God loved them, and he loves me, too.”

“When the City of Germantown proposes sweeping and permanent changes to our system of governance — such as this charter amendment — transparency is not optional, it is essential. But this is where city leadership has fallen short.”

“If we can’t boldly say the ability to create nonconsensual sexual imagery and child sexual-abuse material need to be fully and permanently irradiated from xAI’s products, we are truly lost.”

Andrew Goldberg, the new executive director of Ballet Memphis, has more ticket stubs to Michael Jordan games than anyone in the world.

“Memphis is still with you. But now we’re asking you to be fully with us too. We don’t need a superhero. We just need Ja Morant. Present, accountable, and all in.”

“The debate unfolding in Southaven over xAI’s data center and its gas turbines reflects a familiar clash playing out across the country.”

“Standing near the end of a long life exposes us to how little we truly know about another person’s inner journey, even someone we loved, even someone who shaped us.”

The FTC complaint says the defendants took in millions of dollars impersonating other clinics. It alleges that as a result of these deceptive tactics, many consumers were deterred from seeking admission at the clinics they were actually trying to contact.

“This is a $300 million regional infrastructure project involving court oversight, multiple jurisdictions, complex engineering, and layered funding sources.”

“The solution requires a dual approach, addressing both the immediate need for better meeting places and the deeper social crisis affecting young men.”

“Team sports push back on our natural inclination toward selfishness, and I celebrate and support anything that makes space for light to gain victory over dark, especially if that light involves a goal, a ball and a reversible polyester jersey.”

“These Afghan immigrants are not criminals. These are our neighbors. They did not enter the United States illegally and they have not violated any of the prescribed guidelines our government has given them.”

Sally Jones Heinz is retiring as executive director of MIFA. “There isn’t an organization like this anywhere in the country,” she said. “It’s the best.”

Ja Morant’s answers were brief in Berlin, but at least one of them was telling.

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“Beth Israel is a place where people come to mourn loved ones and celebrate new love, to mark milestones and share meals together. Anyone who visits their church, mosque or temple for such moments can easily imagine our pain.”

“In Memphis, service isn’t something we outsource. We see our neighbors as assets, not problems to be solved. We are partners in progress.”