Memphis

MEMPHIS — Before a Shelby County Chancery judge again paused the state takeover on Monday, the state-appointed oversight board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools had begun planning a superintendent search. Documents reviewed by FOX13 show a consultant, MGT, recommended that the board start vetting candidates in October and name a superintendent by the end of the year. The pick could be current superintendent Roderick Richmond or someone new. MGT has been working with the district since July and the board approved a pro-bono partnership with the firm. Chair Billy Orgel said Monday's board meeting was canceled minutes before it was to begin. Chalkbeat reported that district plaintiffs amended their state complaint to drop constitutional claims and argue the takeover lacked evidentiary support. Separately, Commissioner Mark Billingsley's resolution to pull the county out of the litigation goes to the full commission Oct. 26 at 3 p.m.

MEMPHIS — The Memphis City Council on Tuesday agreed to lease the Pipkin Building at Liberty Park to Bluff City Pickleball, according to WKNO. The item had been held earlier while Parks officials sought another home for Memphis Roller Derby, which uses the building. As originally proposed, Bluff City Athletics would rent the building for seven years and pay for its renovation, the Daily Memphian reported. The Memphis Flyer reported that Parks floated the Davis Community Center as an alternative for the league. It also reported a weekday nonprofit rate for the league's projected 210 practice hours of about $59,000 unsubsidized versus $9,000 subsidized. Fairgrounds for All, which gathered a petition with more than 1,500 signatures, objected to a discounted lease to a for-profit business. A University of Memphis student at the meeting cited the vote as an example of the council disregarding residents.

MEMPHIS — The Memphis Police Department said in its third-quarter report, released Oct. 8, that its Homicide Bureau cleared 88 percent of cases through September, up from 57 percent a year earlier. The department also reported a 47 percent drop in interstate shootings this year. Its Operation Pressure Point produced 246 arrests and 60 firearms recovered, and the Fugitive Unit made 948 arrests. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Oct. 17 that crime is at a 25-year low and credited the Memphis Safe Task Force, adding it will stay as long as it takes. Tennessee Lookout noted that local officials say crime was already trending down in the year before the task force began. The council's nonbinding resolution this week also cited the death of six people in task force operations, with no member of the task force criminally charged.

MEMPHIS — A daylong festival on Sunday marks five decades since Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian and Thai refugee families began resettling along the Cleveland Street corridor in Washington Bottoms in 1975. The Mekong Memphis Festival is organized by the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Memphis, Crosstown Memphis CDC and The Works. The festival site lists more than 30 vendors serving Cambodian, Laotian, Thai and Vietnamese food. It also lists live music, cultural performances and family activities. Rhodes College Asian and Asian American Studies and Urban Studies are collaborating on a memory project. Organizers say the festival is leaving behind a garden and walking path that will become green space for the neighboring temple and the neighborhood. The Overton Park Shell's mobile program, Shell on Wheels, is taking part. Choose901 lists admission at $8 on Eventbrite or $10 at the gate.

MEMPHIS — The Candlelight concert series brings "A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics" to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art on Sunday, Oct. 25. The Beale Street Quartet plays string arrangements of music from film and television favorites. Listed titles include Beetlejuice, The Addams Family and Ghostbusters. Choose901's event calendar shows an 8:45 p.m. session for the date. Other showtimes may be offered, so check the ticketing page before going. Tickets are listed from $32.50. The format places the performers among the museum's galleries, lit by candles, and is aimed at adults looking for a quieter Halloween option than the bar crawls and haunted attractions scheduled around the city.

GERMANTOWN — The Germantown Performing Arts Center ends its fall Concerts in The Grove series on Thursday, Oct. 29, with Memphis singer Lina Beach. The center's calendar lists the show from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the outdoor Grove. GPAC describes Beach as one of the most exciting voices of the new generation of Memphis music. The city of Germantown said the free-standing Thursday series runs from Sept. 10 through Oct. 29 and features Mid-South artists. This week's installment, the Memphis Wind Symphony, is already on the calendar. Beach's set is the last of the run. A ticket price was not listed on the calendar entries. Readers should check GPAC's site for admission details. Inside the building, the Robert Cray Band plays the Highland Capital Performance Hall on Saturday at 8 p.m.