The 901: Memphis welcomes Miss Tennessee contestants; Mark Flanagan dies at 79

Good morning, Memphis, where this week we can expect a lot of sunlight and high temperatures again, starting with today’s summer solstice — the longest day. Days following, we'll see less and less hours of daylight through the winter.

But, first, the contestants for the 2022 Miss Tennessee Scholarship Competition arrived in Memphis yesterday to kick off their week of activities and tours before the competition starts Thursday, our Niki Scheinberg and Porsha Hernandez report.

Thursday through Saturday will give contestants a chance to win $100,000 in scholarship money and a spot in the Miss America Scholarship Competition.

It’s the second year for the competition to take place in Memphis, and for some contestants, like Miss Greater Knoxville 2022 Marissa Mitchell, it is their first time visiting Bluff City.

"This has been my kind of vibe," said Mitchell, a 21-year-old native of Kingsport. "I’ve always wanted to move out to the city and I love all of the art that I’m seeing everywhere."

Mark Flanagan, known as the ‘Mayor of Midtown’ dies

Mark Flanagan, who was known as the “Mayor of Midtown" because of his passion for improving the area and parlaying his Irish heritage into events there, died last week at the age of 79, our Tonyaa Weathersbee reports. 

Flanagan spent much of his professional career in plywood sales, real estate and restaurant investments – even making friends with legendary Memphis restaurateurs, the late Thomas "Silky" Sullivan, Budd Chittom, who died in 2018, and the late Thomas Boggs, who founded the Huey's Burgers chain.

“His impact on Memphis is immeasurable,” U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen said. “He was a person of distinction in Overton Square from its first days and had the original odea for the development of Cooper-Young, which he dubbed ‘Coopertown,’ and owned some of the primary real estate that he sold to Charlie Ryan, who developed it.”

A month before early voting, Democratic governor candidates play nice

During a forum last week, Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley, Jr., Sumner County physician Jason Martin and Memphis community leader Carnita Atwater shied away from criticizing one another and insteaded focused on the mutual electoral opponent, Gov. Bill Lee, our Samuel Hardiman reports in his story for subscribers.

Both Martin and Smiley expressed support for abortion access, criticized Lee's embrace of school vouchers and uttered the phrase, "Beat Bill Lee."

The similarity did not surprise Kent Syler, a Middle Tennessee State University political science professor. No matter which candidate wins the Democratic primary, he faces an uphill battle as a heavy underdog and does not need to be bloodied in a primary, Skyler said.

"There's certainly no reason to make a tough job even tougher by having a nasty divisive primary," Syler said.

How a program aims to rehab Memphis’ abandoned homes

In 2018, occupant at a home on Lawrence Avenue died and no one was left to maintain the property’s upkeep — creating a public nuisance to its neighbors and community for the next three years.

Through receivership, a Shelby County Environmental Court program made possible through state statute, a third-party group was able to begin rehabbing the home last summer, our Omer Yusuf reports in his story for subscribers. 

On the Lawrence Avenue home rehab, Shelby County Environmental Court appointed Tennessee Receivership Group LLC as the property’s receiver, which The Works is legally representing on this project.

The Works, a nonprofit aims to renew Memphis neighborhoods through innovation, advocacy and collaboration.

Trump hints at 2024 presidential run in Southaven speech

Former President Donald Trump teased a future run for the White House during a visit to Southaven, Mississippi, and continued to call the Jan. 6 Committee hearings a "witch hunt,” our Samuel Hardiman and Lucas Finton report.

The former president, speaking during a stop on the for-profit American Freedom Tour, spent time lingering on his electoral defeat in 2020, disputing the results and repeating false claims of voter fraud.

"In 2024, we are going to take back our magnificent White House," Trump said. The crowd of several thousand at the Landers Center rose in applause and chanted "USA, USA."

NBA Draft 2022 projections and Memphis basketball’s Josh Minott

During Josh Minott's transition from high school to college, he began generating significant buzz.

But, as part of the Tigers' star-studded 2021-22 roster, his 6.6 points per game ranked seventh and his 3.8 rebounding average was fourth, our Jason Munz reports. When Memphis was experiencing major injury issues midseason, Minott was invaluable. When the team got healthier, though, it was back to the bench and his role was greatly minimized.

While Minott has been given mostly second-round projections, there are those who consider him to possess some of the most upside of anybody in this year's draft.

The 901 is written by Ray Padilla, digital producer for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at raymond.padilla@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @Ray_Padilla_.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: The 901: Miss Tennessee Scholarship Competition kicks off in Memphis