Memphis

MEMPHIS — State Sen. Brent Taylor, a Memphis Republican who claimed victory Tuesday in the redrawn 9th Congressional District, is going ahead with plans to remove Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy from office. That is according to the Tennessee Lookout. Justin Pearson, the Democratic nominee, had not conceded when the Lookout reported. Taylor's campaign against Mulroy, a Democrat, goes back to 2024. He first threatened an ouster resolution over what he called dereliction of duty. The Lookout reports he could not gather enough Senate support at the time. Five ethics complaints Taylor filed against Mulroy were dismissed by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. Earlier local reporting said removal by resolution would take two-thirds of both chambers, or 22 Senate and 66 House votes. Details of the new plan, and what it means for Taylor's Senate role if his congressional win holds, were not in the Lookout report.

MEMPHIS — The Memphis Police Department said Thursday it had made five arrests in three murder cases in 48 hours, including a 2023 cold case. In the downtown case, Eirlon Franklin, 25, was arrested Tuesday night. He is charged with first-degree murder, employing a firearm in a dangerous felony and reckless endangerment in the weekend drive-by shooting outside a Wendy's. The affidavit says Franklin left the same club as the victim, who was with his girlfriend and friends. Two adult suspects were arrested early Thursday in the Oct. 11 Hickory Hill homicide. Police were answering that call when their vehicle collided with another car at Hickory Hill and Raines roads. Five people died in the crash and three others, including two officers, were badly hurt. The department presented the arrests as evidence that its investigative work is paying off. Charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.

MEMPHIS — State Rep. Justin J. Pearson and five others sued the Memphis City Council in federal court. They said their First Amendment rights were violated when they were barred from council meetings after the Oct. 6 data center session ended in protests and a lobby fistfight. A federal judge lifted the ban before the Oct. 20 meeting, and Pearson and his brother KeShaun Pearson attended that vote, CBS reported. The council voted down an 18-month moratorium on new data centers. It passed a substitute measure with a 135-day pause. The chairwoman's office adopted a new security plan covering pre-meeting inspections, a relocated public-speaking podium, a clear-bag rule and limits on building access, according to court filings cited by CNN. Council staff said employees had received threats since Oct. 6. Council member Yolanda Cooper-Sutton was suspended for 30 days from committee duties over decorum violations. The group's lawsuit against the council remains pending, according to CBS.

MEMPHIS — With the 28th Indie Memphis Film Festival now under way, the Memphis Flyer has laid out the weekend's programming. The festival has moved Downtown from its traditional Midtown base. Saturday at noon, Memphis-born actor Clare Grant, her husband Seth Green and veteran actor Vondie Curtis-Hall join a panel at the Halloran Centre called "Breaking In is Tough, but Sticking Around is Tougher." On Sunday at 11 a.m., a separate Halloran panel goes behind the scenes on the design of the film Obsession. Local music videos screen Sunday at 3:45 p.m. at the Malco Powerhouse. Films that did not fit a viewer's schedule get encore showings Nov. 9-10 at Malco Studio on the Square. Passes, single tickets and the full schedule are at indiememphis.org.

MEMPHIS — ARTSmemphis and the Overton Park Conservancy will hold the Green House Party in the park's greenhouses next Thursday. The group says all proceeds go to ARTSmemphis and the Conservancy. The Overton Park Shell's Shell on Wheels program is booking the music, drawing on Music Export Memphis artists: the Ambassador Access cohort, Raneem Imam and her band, the Walt Phelan trio and Alexis Jade. Visitors can also see an immersive botanical installation by Bertram Williams, try hands-on art activities, and warm up at fire pits. The TOPS food truck and interactive food stations are on site, with cocktails, wine, beer and mocktails from named sponsors. The Conservancy's calendar lists admission at $55.20. A local events blog reports the ticket includes two drinks. The same evening, the Metal Museum holds a 5:30 p.m. talk with Cara Wassenberg.

MEMPHIS — Minglewood Hall's calendar carries two nights worth noting in the coming week. Rapper Yung Gravy brings his Joyrider Tour on Saturday, Nov. 7. The Band Memo plays the smaller 1884 Lounge the same night. A week later, on Friday, Nov. 13, DJ Paul Oakenfold and The Crystal Method headline a dance night. JUMP, billed as America's Van Halen Experience, is also listed for that date. Other upcoming shows include Lizzie Morgan and Bingo Loco on Nov. 14 and WYXR presents Kurt Vile & the Violators on Nov. 17. Tickets are sold through the venue's events page, and the Memphis Travel listing also carries the Yung Gravy date. Prices are not given on the venue calendar.