Good morning from Memphis, where Elvis would have been 84 today. But first...

In the best-case scenario, Memphis City Council members waltz into their chamber today, smiles on their faces, hug, and hold hands to fill three vacant council seats.

But after more than 100 rounds of voting without filling even one of those seats, and a four-member walkout in protest, and accusations that the absent members were shirking their duties — well, let's just say the chances of the best-case scenario aren't high. Maybe we'll get a Hallmark moment — but don't hold your breath for "Christmas at City Council."

If you're familiar with the council's appointment controversy, skip this graph. But if you're not, let's catch you up. The council initially settled on two candidates — Lonnie Treadaway and Rhonda Logan — for the interim appointment to the District 1 seat vacated by Bill Morrison, now the Probate Court clerk. Everyone insists the appointment isn't about race, but Treadaway got the votes of all of the white council members while Logan got the votes of all of the black members, save chairman Berlin Boyd. Treadaway has taken himself out of the running now, but Logan is still a candidate.

How the council solves this standoff is still a mystery — or, if council members have any ideas, they're not sharing them just yet, according to the latest from our Jamie Munks. But if they don't find a solution, Jamie reports that the NAACP could still take them to court in an attempt to trigger a special election:

NAACP Memphis Branch President Deidre Malone said she hasn't ruled out going to court to force a special election for the open seats. "Our hope is they'll come to some kind of resolution tomorrow," Malone said. "We're watching to see what happens."

If you'd like to watch as well, here's the link to the live video stream. And here are the agendas. Also, follow @Journo_Jamie_ on Twitter for live updates from the meeting.

Speaking of politics: The special primary election to fill the Senate District 32 seat vacated by newly appointed federal judge Mark Norris is underway. Details here.

Harris backs new juvenile detention facility

In his first big proposal of the new year, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is calling on the County Commission to begin designing a new, $25 million juvenile detention facility.

Our Katherine Burgess lays out the basics of his request, which the commission could discuss in committee tomorrow:

Currently, up to 112 youths can be housed in the detention facility at 616 Adams Ave., a facility that has “multiple deficiencies” in housing and education areas, according to the proposal that will be considered by the commission Wednesday. Harris is asking for $1.3 million to be approved for design of the new facility, which is being called the Juvenile Justice and Education Center. The $1.3 million would be transferred from funds set aside for a now discontinued plan for a Shelby County sewer system. ... The new facility will have space to house 80-120 juveniles who are awaiting trial, but Harris has said he wants it to be smaller than the current facility.

Here's Harris' argument for investing in a new, smaller facility while also working to reduce the number of detainees through various other programs:

“Children go to school, children play, children can tell what time of day it is, have access to windows. If you take these things away from kids who are detained, they become hardened,” Harris said. “The question becomes do we want to invest in them right now so they’re on the path to rehabilitation, or do we just want to turn them into hardened criminals by throwing them away in the current center so they forget they are children, so when they come out they think of themselves differently and they cycle in and out of the system for the rest of their lives?”

But the commission is looking for ways to pressure juvenile court into changing practices a recent report described as "blatantly unfair." And Commissioner Tami Sawyer thinks the $1.3 million needed to design a new facility could be a good bargaining chip:

“Why would we not use that as leverage?” Sawyer said. “The children who are in juvenile court deserve better facilities … I want all those things for them, but I’m not going to hand over $1.3 million two days after a report was delivered when all I’m being told is, 'We’re good folks over here.'”

Unfortunately, the commission and Sawyer are in a pickle. They want big changes at juvenile court, but their only way of forcing changes is to withhold funding from the court — which hurts the very children they're trying to help.

Asked about withholding funds, Harris said there's no political deal to be made here:

“Either we invest in these kids or we don’t,” Harris said. “Either there are classrooms or there aren’t classrooms.”

Speaking of Shelby County: After initially condemning Shelby County for resisting a law requiring near unfettered cooperation with federal immigration agents, Lieutenant Gov. Randy McNally told The Daily Memphian that the law might need changing after all.

What to read and know

The Fadeout

Elvis, were he still alive, would be 84 today. As the King's Memphis home Graceland wraps up a week of commemorative events, let's fade out this morning's column with a 1956 video of Elvis belting out "Blue Suede Shoes":

Ryan Poe writes The 9:01 column, a morning news briefing that runs weekdays at 9:01 a.m. Reach him at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @ryanpoe.