There are 428 article(s) tagged Bill Lee:
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.
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.
Republican state senators question whether everything on the list is truly needed.
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.
Four Tennesseans are dead, and Gov. Bill Lee calls Weakley County destruction in Dresden “about the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.”
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.
Clay Bright will head operation and development of the Haywood County Megasite. He has been the Tennessee Transportation Commissioner since 2019.
Memphis and the surrounding region lost out when the state’s original auto corridor was established in Middle Tennessee almost 40 years ago. But the new Ford plant in Haywood County comes with lessons from that pursuit as well as doubts and the prospect of more change beyond the electric vehicles powered by batteries made at the megasite.
The first-term City Council member claims the numbers are there to first win the August statewide primary and then the November general election. That’s despite no Democrat winning statewide office in Tennessee in 15 years.
The City Council Scorecard looks at recent council votes that don’t seem to pack a political punch but nevertheless call for an attention to detail.
The state’s executive order banning mask mandates is taking fire from President Joe Biden as well as Biden’s education secretary Miguel Cardona, who this past week specifically questioned the legality of the executive order.
The Monday, Aug. 23, county commission meeting also includes a resolution calling for a countywide mask mandate and another resolution calling on Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee to rescind his executive order that outlaws mask mandates in schools.
Tennessee finds itself at the center of a national debate over whether mask mandates promote public health at the expense of citizens’ liberty.
The letter circulating Tuesday warns of “catastrophic” effects that could “affect health care at every level.” Meanwhile, the city council is urging Gov. Bill Lee to rescind his executive order to allow parents to opt out of school mask mandates.
Shelby County Schools leaders, however, say the school system’s mask mandate remains in place despite the executive order that also includes mask mandates by school systems. Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner is suggesting the county should take the issue to court.
Suburban school districts are no longer requiring mask mandates for students, in line with Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order. However, the Shelby County mandate still affects staff.
Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright says even with recent changes in state laws this year, it’s unclear where the health department’s authority to issue mask mandates and require other measures ends and where decisions by elected officials begin.
Dr. Jason Martin of Nashville, a likely contender in the Democratic primary for governor, campaigned in Memphis this past weekend.
Dr. Michelle Fiscus spoke Saturday, July 31, at a local forum in Binghampton following a state Democratic party rally nearby. Democratic party leaders say Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s handling of the COVID pandemic will be an issue in 2022 state elections.
During a Friday, June 25, visit to the city, the Tennessee governor also defended the state’s open gun carry law that takes effect July 1. Local leaders are worried the permitless gun carry provision could contribute to a summer surge in violent crime.
Shelby County commissioners voted 11-0 with two commissioners not voting in approving a resolution similar to one approved by the Memphis City Council last week.
The resolution condemns the bill on Lee’s desk that bans public schools from teaching the racial theory. Council members, Black and white, said their experience on a diverse elected body has shown the importance of discussing race in classrooms.
Officials from Tennessee and Arkansas said they are working “around the clock” to repair the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, but it could take “several months easily.”
“Masking got us through the surge and out of the summer surge,” said David Sweat, deputy director of the Shelby County Health Department. “We will only make changes after thoughtful consideration at this point.”
Gov. Bill Lee visited Journey Hanley Elementary, and while addressing education, he also discussed concerns about the permitless carry legislation that has concerned a number of local leaders.