There are 421 article(s) tagged Bill Lee:

• September 2022

  • Lee to increase TBI crime lab staff, state troopers on Memphis roads

    “It’s important to this community. … It’s one step in a number of steps that we will continue to make to support the process,” the governor said.

    By Bill Dries September 30, 2022

  • Tennessee Libertarians’ uphill battle is made harder by extreme caucus

    The Libertarian nominee for governor is a Black Memphian who says the party, which was overtaken this year by a caucus that is friendly with white nationalists and opposed to transgender people, has “broken (his) spirit.”

    By Ian Round September 18, 2022

  • TBI data show rape kit turnaround times are long — and getting longer

    It now takes the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation about 49 weeks to test the state’s rape kits, but some lawmakers hope to cut that time to 30 to 60 days. 

    By Ian Round September 17, 2022

  • Gubernatorial candidate faults Lee, state Legislature for DNA test delays

    During a campaign stop Thursday, Sept. 15, in Memphis, Dr. Jason Martin pointed to low funding levels for the TBI crime lab despite a state surplus of $2 billion

    By Bill Dries September 15, 2022

  • Weirich pushes back on criticism of 2020 Kelly plea deal

    Former Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich talked to The Daily Memphian about the 2020 plea deal for Ezekiel Kelly that Gov. Bill Lee called an example of “soft-on-crime plea deals.”

    Related story:

    Gov. Lee calls for changes in plea deals during Memphis visit

    By Bill Dries September 14, 2022

  • Gov. Lee calls for changes in plea deals during Memphis visit

    Gov. Bill Lee was in Memphis Friday, Sept. 9, touting stricter laws targeting violent repeat offenders passed during his tenure. 

    By Bill Dries September 13, 2022

  • Tucker Carlson blames ‘Bill Lee and guilty liberals like him’ for violent crime in Memphis

    Carlson characterized Lee as soft on crime in a monologue against criminal justice reform, which, he claimed, “means letting violent people out of prison early.”

    By Ian Round September 09, 2022

• August 2022

  • Tennessee’s grocery tax holiday ends midnight Wednesday, but food insecurity doesn’t

    The one-month grocery tax holiday has helped people stretch their budgets, but it has not made a dent in the issue of food insecurity, the Mid-South Food Bank’s CEO says.

    By Ian Round August 30, 2022

  • Martin beats Smiley, Atwater in Democratic primary for governor

    Gov. Bill Lee is expected to win reelection, but Democrats think they have a shot after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, incumbent lawmakers in Congress and the General Assembly all won.

    By Ian Round August 05, 2022

• July 2022

  • Gov. Bill Lee says 2,000 families in Memphis, Nashville have applied for school vouchers

    Lee said Friday, July 29, at Knowledge Quest’s Teen Tech Center that more than 2,000 families in Memphis and Nashville have applied for school vouchers and 40 schools have expressed interest in accepting those vouchers.

    By Bill Dries July 29, 2022

  • Gubernatorial candidate calls on local law enforcement to make abortion low priority

    The proposal is a response to the recent ban on abortions in Tennessee following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

    By Julia Baker July 06, 2022

• June 2022

  • Gov. Bill Lee focuses on school security in gun debate

    Wednesday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee made his first extensive public comments on a Monday executive order on gun violence in schools. “We’re not looking at gun laws right now,” he told reporters.

    By Bill Dries June 08, 2022

• May 2022

  • Whitehaven High, Crosstown High celebrate special graduations

    Whitehaven High graduates had a notable speaker, Gov. Bill Lee, and the Crosstown High commencement was that school’s very first graduation ceremony.

    By Alicia Davidson May 22, 2022

  • Strickland calls ‘BS’ on critics of ‘truth in sentencing’ state law

    Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland went after critics of his backing of the state truth in sentencing law and his description of 201 Poplar as a “revolving door” for criminals during a lively interview on “Behind The Headlines.”

    By Bill Dries May 17, 2022

• March 2022

  • Crime Campaign: The search for simple answers to a complex issue

    The issue of crime — violent crime in particular — is center stage in the race for Shelby County Mayor, where the first stop is the May Democratic primary.

    By Bill Dries March 14, 2022

  • Gov. Lee talks up accomplishments with Collierville Chamber

    Gov. Bill Lee was present for a night where Collierville celebrated the best of its community. 

    By Abigail Warren March 03, 2022

  • Lee announces funding for 20 state troopers in Shelby County

    The increase in THP officers for the city’s interstate system and state highways has been a goal of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.

    By Bill Dries March 02, 2022

  • Gov. Lee moves for federal ice storm disaster declaration as council urges action

    In a split vote, the council also approved a resolution backing the nomination of the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court and accepted a grant to hire a “pet reunification specialist” for Memphis Animal Services.

    By Bill Dries March 01, 2022

• February 2022

  • Political Roundup: Avant may file; ‘pink wave’ thoughts, and ‘ghettoizing’

    Meanwhile, Jason Martin slams Gov. Bill Lee’s state of the state address and calls for the legalization of pot in all forms. And a look at the May and August ballots ahead of Thursday’s deadline to get on the May county primary ballot.

    By Bill Dries February 14, 2022

  • Cohen asks Lee to seek federal disaster aid for city

    The push for a state request for federal aid comes as MLGW’s damage estimate from the ice storm has already exceeded the threshold for seeking assistance.

    By Bill Dries February 07, 2022

• January 2022

  • State identifies $62 billion in infrastructure needs

    Republican state senators question whether everything on the list is truly needed.

    By Ian Round January 27, 2022

  • Strickland asks Lee to make new bridge ‘long-term’ priority

    Strickland asked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, in a letter dated Thursday, to list the bridge project as one of the state’s long-term infrastructure priorities. He cited the three-month shutdown last year of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge as well as the advanced age of other bridges at Memphis across the Mississippi River.

    By Bill Dries January 06, 2022

• December 2021

  • Storms leave dozens dead in 5 states, including 4 in West TN

    Four Tennesseans are dead, and Gov. Bill Lee calls Weakley County destruction in Dresden “about the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.”

    By The Associated Press December 11, 2021

• November 2021

  • Political Roundup: Lee says pandemic and related litigation continue

    Gov. Bill Lee was in East Memphis for a local political fundraiser Friday, just before signing five new laws from a special session of the Tennessee Legislature and allowing a sixth bill to become law without his signature. 

    By Bill Dries November 15, 2021

• October 2021

  • Governor names CEO of Megasite Authority

    Clay Bright will head operation and development of the Haywood County Megasite. He has been the Tennessee Transportation Commissioner since 2019.

    By Bill Dries October 27, 2021