A winning 901: Grizzlies win again; Duran wins asylum case; Graceland wins with Van Gogh
Good morning, Memphis, where the Grizzlies, whose 30-point win over the Pacers on Thursday showed that no matter which combination of players is on the floor, the outcome will likely still be a W.
But, first, the political asylum case of Manuel Duran, the Memphis Spanish-language reporter who was arrested at a 2018 immigration protest has finally ended, our Micaela Watts and Daniel Connolly report.
Immigration court Judge David Russo ruled in Duran's favor Wednesday, clearing a path toward long-term legal status in the United States.
For years, Duran had faced the threat of deportation to his native El Salvador and had argued that if he were deported, he could be killed. Duran had been free on bond since 2019 and continued to work for his online news outlet, Memphis Noticias.
"I feel happy," Duran, 46, said in a Spanish-language interview Thursday. "It's a great victory and what can I tell you — I'm grateful for the work of the team of lawyers that represented me."
UTHSC's new leader
Peter Buckley is just a few months into his tenure as the new chancellor at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. Earlier this year, our Laura Testino sat down with Buckley in his Memphis office.
“They’re in the trashcan,” Buckley, said about the Zoom meeting background he’d chosen. In the artwork, he was explaining, the boy had jettisoned the usual superheroes, Batman and Spiderman.
“Instead,” Buckley said about the boy in the artwork, “he has a nurse.”
The nurse, wearing a superhero cape and N95 mask, is soaring, waving to the boy in overalls making her fly.
Buckley said he has quickly appreciated Memphis’ vibrancy, rich culture and community. Here, he’s bringing his appreciation for his Irish heritage and Great Danes and is poised to guide UTHSC’s influence across the state and into rural areas, as the field balances heightened interest but greater burnout, all while attempting to sustainably increase its diversity so more patients have more doctors who look like them.
Making Blue Oval City a success
Implementing the correct comprehensive planning process — ideally, a regional one — for Ford’s Blue Oval City is crucial to the $5.6 billion project’s success, our Omer Yusuf reports.
That was the message from a planners panel at “The West Tennessee Megasite/Blue Oval City Next Steps” conference held all-day Thursday. The Memphis Area Association of Governments hosted the in-person conference at the Halloran Centre with Kudzukian broadcasting the event on Facebook Live and YouTube.
“Hypothetically, Brownsville might say we want some additional population base, and Somerville might say we don’t, we want to stay the same,” said Charles Santo, University of Memphis associate professor and department of City and Regional Planning chair. “If those (cities) can coordinate, and regionally we think about where we want different kinds of development to occur then everybody can win in that scenario.”
Democrat wants to boot Strickland
Ruby Powell-Dennis, the Democratic candidate for State Senate District 31, took issue Thursday with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland's endorsement of one of her potential Republican opponents, Brent Taylor, our Sam Hardiman reports.
In an interview, Powell-Dennis called for Strickland's censure and "de-bonification" within the Shelby County Democratic Party, which Strickland once chaired, because Strickland, a moderate Democrat who holds a nonpartisan office, endorsed Taylor Wednesday.
"When we talk about our party being a big tent, it is that we have a shared belief in our values, why we engage in electoral politics, and that's something that we sign off on. We take oaths and pledges and commitments to that," Powell-Dennis said. "When you cross over and choose to endorse in a contested Republican primary for an open seat, that is just a great affront to our Democratic Party and our values, and, quite frankly, to all the candidates who are on the ballot, and to our Democratic donors and supporters."
Van Gogh comes to Graceland
About 300 Vincent van Gogh paintings transform the Graceland Exhibition Center's Waterfall room into the hypnotic "Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience", our Dima Amro reports.
"Gogh this way" signs lead exhibit-goers to a blacked-out room with about a dozen floating panels and picture frames covered in the artist's paintings with a timeline of his life — from his first portrait to his time at the Saint-Paul asylum in Saint-Rémy, France.
The exhibit has popped up in cities across the globe including St. Louis, Baltimore, Brazil and Peru. It has sold more than 2.5 million tickets globally.
The latest attraction is expected to bring nearly 30,000 people to the Elvis Presley complex, Marchese said. It runs through June 5.
No Saturday print edition
Tomorrow is the first day The Commercial Appeal will not deliver a printed edition. However, the daily newspaper will still be available on our E-Edition, which can be accessed online or through an app on your phone or tablet.
The E-Edition is a digital copy of the newspaper that you can access from any mobile or tablet device or from your computer. It is a full electronic replica of the print newspaper published daily, with local news, sports, advertising and features such as comics and puzzles.
Subscribers also get expanded E-Edition access to newspapers across the USA TODAY Network, including USA Today and its popular crossword puzzle.
Another game, another win
There was no Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks or Brandon Clarke on Thursday night. It was also the second leg of a back-to-back, but the Memphis Grizzlies never gave the crowd at FedExForum a chance to even think of a possible letdown, our Damichael Cole reports.
The Grizzlies never trailed and defeated the Pacers, 133-103. The win clinched a spot in the NBA playoffs.
You often hear about tired legs on the second night of a back-to-back, and that impacts shooting as much as anything. There was no such thing on Thursday. For the Grizzlies, at least. Memphis (51-23) made a season-high 21 3-pointers.
But what's up with Morant?
The Grizzlies' star will be re-evaluated in two weeks due to a knee injury suffered on March 18, coach Taylor Jenkins said Thursday. He is expected to be back healthy by the playoffs.
Morant has missed the last three games due to right knee soreness. Jenkins revealed Thursday that everything with his knee is in place structurally.
To close this Friday 901, this seemed like the song that would do it justice:
Dann Miller is news director at The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at dann.miller@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @dannmiller.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Grizzlies beat Pacers; Manual Duran wins asylum
