Van Turner weighs 2023 bid for mayor
Shelby County commissioner’s exploratory committee for Memphis mayor is another indication that county Mayor Lee Harris will seek re-election next year.
Topic: Van Turner
RSSThere are 179 article(s) tagged Van Turner:
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August 2021
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July 2021
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Commissioner warns ethics advisory group might clash with Ford probe
The County Commission will soon have a panel of five to advise on ethics. One commissioner warns it could be seen as conflicting with the ongoing special prosecutor’s investigation into a 2019 grant proposed by Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.
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Ida B. Wells statue unveiling spotlights new issues
A new monument on Beale Street honors the 19th century school teacher, journalist and anti-lynching figure. The recognition comes 130 years after Wells left the city just ahead of a mob that ransacked her newspaper office.
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County property tax hike stirs opposing commission views
On “Behind The Headlines,” county commissioners Van Turner and Mark Billingsley clashed over whether the commission should reopen its budget season later this month to consider a one-cent property tax hike.
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June 2021
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State wary of continued county budget negotiations
The state comptroller commented Tuesday during a visit to the county on the idea of reopening county government’s tax rate after the July 1 start of the fiscal year. But the county commissioner who vowed Monday to do just that next month says there is wiggle room in state law.
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County Commission drops one-cent hike in property tax rate
The absence of four county commissioners, including three of the “yes” votes for the $3.45 property tax rate set two weeks ago, was crucial to undoing the tax hike. However, the issue is likely not over.
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Announcement on Forrest remains set for Friday in Health Sciences Park
The announcement comes 11 days after work began on removing what is left of the monument. The work was also to include the reinterment of the remains of Forrest and his wife.
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Commission Republicans take back votes opposing critical race theory ban
Republican county commissioners who voted two weeks ago in favor of a resolution urging Gov. Bill Lee to veto a ban on teaching critical race theory took back their yes votes Monday. The resolution still passed.
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Opinion: With Confederate monuments gone, racist diatribes follow
An incident at Health Sciences Park goes beyond one opportunistic racist hothead with more Confederate flags than he has sense. It’s emblematic of the growing white resentment to America’s reckoning with race.
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April 2021
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Health Department gets $11.5 million in federal pandemic funding
The funding is to maintain 171 Health Department positions specifically for the pandemic.
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Medical contract for county prisoners, detainees extended again
Short-term extensions to the Wellpath contract have been a constant for the current commission since the group began their current term in September of 2018.
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March 2021
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Released emails show early vaccine questions between Memphis, county health officials
Transfer of vaccine distribution will likely leave some Shelby County Health Department vacancies unfilled, county leaders say, as email trails from last month show those now in charge of vaccine distribution had questions that weren’t being answered as vaccine miscues piled up.
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Opinion: Vaccine blunders make Harris vulnerable in 2022 reelection bid
The vaccine distribution debacle on Mayor Lee Harris’ watch will figure prominently in the GOP campaign to retake his office, the party’s Shelby County executive director says.
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February 2021
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County Commissioners grill Health Department over vaccine missteps, confusion
County leaders also talked about battling social media misinformation that is crowding testing sites and leading some to book appointments at multiple sites.
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December 2020
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Last of county police reform measures pushed into new year
The delay in the final vote on requiring County Commission approval for the sheriff to acquire surplus military hardware came after Sheriff Floyd Bonner complained he hadn’t been consulted. County Mayor Lee Harris disputed that assertion.
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Former NBA stars on the road to help communities, fight for justice
Former NBA players and a host of volunteers helped give out food and protective items to community members. The players are traveling the country to help those in need and continuing to fight for social justice.
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Increased ‘volatility’ is backdrop as commission calls for statewide mask mandate
Shelby County commissioners called on Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Monday, Dec. 7, to enact a statewide mask mandate, but the vote wasn’t unanimous. It was among a series of COVID-related measures.
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November 2020
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Voter alliance begins work for 2022 elections
A new Shelby County Election Commission report shows nearly 15,000 more voters on the rolls counytwide in the last two months leading up to the Nov. 3 Election Day. Meanwhile, the Shelby County Voter Alliance says its effort got 2,500 of those voters on the rolls. The alliance of 18 organizations has now set its sights on the 2022 countywide ballot.
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Discussions spur dialogue for change
A variety of community voices spoke out on police reform during two discussions last week.
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Commission seeks to stem flow of county budget ‘surprises’
The latest hiccup is a higher-than-expected contract for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center to run the county’s forensic center for the region, with the county dipping into its reserves for the difference.
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October 2020
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County Commission questions $1M pandemic marketing campaign
The contract stirred the political embers of a recent budget season in county government as well as some spirited debate among commissioners about mask requirements.
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September 2020
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Public safety reforms go to County Commission for second reading
Ordinances that address use of force, the purchase of military equipment and the use of tear gas will go to the full commission without a second reading committee vote.
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Sheriff Bonner forms civilian committee as part of police reform
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner is forming a civilian committee to offer input on hiring of deputies as part of police reform efforts.
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County hiring freeze continues to thaw
A total of 78 positions in various parts of county government are the latest exceptions to a hiring freeze. But as they approved the waivers Monday, county commissioners signaled they are about to make a decision on the hiring freeze’s viability possibly by the end of this month.
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Van Turner: Reform vote ‘is not against law enforcement’
Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner has seen first hand the impact of violent crime on his commission district which includes Hickory Hill. But Turner says it’s possible to back law enforcement and be opposed to a militarization of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and Memphis Police Department.
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