There are 178 article(s) tagged Van Turner:

• August 2020

  • NAACP, lawmakers and clergy urge Weirich to test DNA in Pervis Payne case

    The NAACP, lawmakers, clergy and criminal justice advocates urge Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich to test DNA evidence in the Pervis Payne case. 

    By Yolanda Jones August 31, 2020

  • County budget still fuzzy seven weeks into new fiscal year

    County commissioners vote Monday on a waiver of the county's hiring and pay freeze, and nearly 100 more waivers requested by officials are waiting in the wings. Commissioners say they need a budget book with specific line items and dollar figures to know whether the waivers would put the county in the red.

    By Bill Dries August 10, 2020

• July 2020

  • Kelsey backs state opposition to expanding absentee balloting in pandemic

    State Sen. Brian Kelsey’s law firm is inserting himself into the state's legal affairs again, getting involved in an absentee ballot battle with a legal brief arguing the Legislature, not the court, should determine the state’s voting laws.

    By Sam Stockard July 20, 2020

• June 2020

  • County Commission appears to balance budget with $16.5 million use of reserves

    The six-hour special meeting Monday sets the stage for a final budget vote in a week. But there are questions about the dollar figures approved by the Commission and how much red ink there is to be dealt with after the moves. Two social media posts during the meeting by County Mayor Lee Harris also complained that there would be layoffs and cutbacks in critical county programs.

    By Bill Dries June 15, 2020

  • Memphis Branch NAACP coordinating legal assistance for arrested protesters

    The number of those arrested this past week in a series of five demonstrations in the city is estimated at several dozen with an exact number from last night expected later today.

    By Bill Dries June 01, 2020

• May 2020

  • Still no budget yet for Shelby County government

    The county's $1.4 billion budget is a work in progress, but officials say they're close.

    By Linda A. Moore May 27, 2020

  • Harris could extend Wellpath contract after commissioners reject it

    The County Commission isn't likely to approve another contract with the health care provider.

    By Linda A. Moore May 22, 2020

  • Herrington: Forrest saga on path to surprisingly amicable end

    The Forrest statue made the park unusable space for most Memphians. The Sons of Confederate Veterans lost the battle for the hearts and minds of Memphis, thank goodness, long before they lost the legal battle over moving the monuments to Forrest and Jefferson Davis. 

    By Chris Herrington May 14, 2020

  • Forrest reinterment plans being made following end to lawsuits

    A final lawsuit over the grave site of the Confederate General, slave trader and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard was dropped this week and legal filings toward moving the remains of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife should be filed in Chancery Court soon.

    By Bill Dries May 12, 2020

  • Complex battle over MLGW electric power contract intensifies on multiple fronts

    The MLGW contract with TVA to supply all of its electric power goes back to the Great Depression. The contract is in play with some concerted lobbying efforts that have drawn the ire of at least one City Council member and some interesting filings in two federal courts.

    By Bill Dries May 11, 2020

  • Shelby County Commission says no to Harris’ wheel tax increase

    Many county commissioners said their constituents don't like the wheel tax, don't know how it's used and thought it was going away.

    By Linda A. Moore May 05, 2020

• March 2020

  • Sanford: Black voters bring Uncle Joe back

    Voters are yearning to be free – of the nutty, crude and corrupt. They want moderation in our national politics, and a center-left leader at the helm of the executive branch whom everyone knows and a majority of Americans trust.

    By Otis Sanford March 06, 2020

  • Shelby County budget $85M in the hole for 2021

    County Commissioners were told Wednesday that revenue shortfalls and funding requests have the upcoming fiscal 2021 budget projections out of balance.

    By Linda A. Moore March 04, 2020

• February 2020

  • Commission panel has suggestions on monitoring employee residency

    Committee recommendations include an annual certification of residency for Shelby County employees.

    By Linda A. Moore February 29, 2020

  • Living outside Shelby County could come with a cost for some workers

    If approved, an amended ordinance would let public safety workers live outside of Shelby County, but they would pay $2,500 in "residency compensation."

    By Linda A. Moore February 19, 2020

  • County commissioner raises concerns about Wellpath

    Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter assures commissioners there is oversight of Wellpath.

    By Linda A. Moore February 19, 2020

  • Sanford: Put the police residency requirement to a vote

    The unspoken sentiment behind objections to relaxing residency rules appears to be the prospect that white officers from small towns in North Mississippi, West Tennessee and Eastern Arkansas would be policing unfamiliar territory in North Memphis, South Memphis and Orange Mound.

    By Otis Sanford February 13, 2020

  • County approves 1.5% of budget for transit, but unsure what to do with other MATA money

    Shelby County Commissioners wonder what to do with $2.5 million for MATA that has not been used.

    By Linda A. Moore February 05, 2020

• January 2020

  • Sanford: Memphis politicos pick their presidential candidates

    State legislators and the Memphis and Shelby County mayors are among elected officials who have endorsed a presidential candidate and plan to campaign for their choice.

    By Otis Sanford January 30, 2020

  • Shelby County Commission will get new resolution for MATA funding

    The Shelby County Commission is expected to consider a new resolution to raise $9 million for MATA through a $20 increase in the motor vehicle tax.

    By Linda A. Moore January 16, 2020

  • Wheel tax increase to be pulled from Shelby County Commission agenda

    Commissioner Willie Brooks, a sponsor of the wheel-tax resolution, said he's willing to find other ways to fund MATA.

    By Linda A. Moore January 14, 2020

  • MICAH applauds plan to fund MATA with wheel tax increase

    MICAH is rallying behind a Shelby County Commission resolution to raise the wheel tax by $20 to increase funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority.

    By Linda A. Moore January 08, 2020

  • Commissioners to consider $20 wheel tax increase to fund MATA

    Commission committees will be asked to consider raising the wheel tax by $20 to fund MATA.

    By Linda A. Moore January 07, 2020

• October 2019

  • Behind the Headlines Podcast: Impact of the sales tax referendum

    Shelby County Commissioners Edmund Ford Jr. and Van Turner discuss the possible impacts of the passing of a sales tax increase by referendum in the recent Memphis city elections with Bill Dries, reporter for The Daily Memphian, and host Eric Barnes.

    By Natalie Van Gundy October 11, 2019

  • Aftermath of city sales tax referendum gets more complex

    Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. says, according to one legal opinion, a referendum for county government to claim half the city revenue from the half-cent sales tax increase would be a vote among citizens in unincorporated Shelby County. 

    By Bill Dries October 10, 2019