Legislation could strip health department autonomy amid COVID surge
Health department director Alisa Haushalter and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris react to the wave of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and a bill that could usurp local authority.
Topic: Lee Harris
RSSThere are 324 article(s) tagged Lee Harris:
-
November 2020
-
-
Harris backs farmers’ access to groundwater while preserving aquifer
The Shelby County mayor contends the proposed rule changes will stop “onerous” permitting requirements while still protecting the Memphis Sand Aquifer, a move he believes will stop legislation designed to undermine county rules.
-
County Commission to look at budget season deadlines
A resolution by Edmund Ford Jr. on setting deadlines and milestones for the county budget season is on the County Commission’s agenda for Monday, Nov. 9.
-
-
October 2020
-
County budget season blueprint gets closer look
Budget committee chairman Edmund Ford Jr. amended his resolution to stick with the county’s policy of keeping its financial reserves at 20% of general fund revenues. He has suggested a 15% to 20% guideline.
-
Let’s do lunch with Alisa Haushalter and Lee Harris
Join Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris via Facebook Live today at 11 a.m. as they safely enjoy a restaurant lunch.
-
-
September 2020
-
House Speaker calls for cutting Shelby Health Department autonomy
House Speaker Cameron Sexton will try to reduce the authority of the Shelby County Health Department and five others operating independently, but could run into opposition from others who believe urban areas need autonomy in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
Group lobbying for South Memphis TIF
A group is lobbying to have a community-driven Tax Increment Financing District, or TIF, created for South Memphis to address poverty, blight and disinvestment in the area. -
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.
-
County Commission considers limits on use of military equipment by law enforcement
The proposal would ban the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office from getting camouflage uniforms and bayonets from surplus federal military stocks as well as militarized and weaponized vehicles or aircraft.
-
-
August 2020
-
Census effort draws election comparison as September deadline nears
Mayors Strickland and Harris and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen were quick Monday to draw parallels to the national debate about various forms of voting and problems with the U.S. Postal Service when it comes to mailing in votes or Census forms.
-
-
July 2020
-
New Shelby County COVID-19 cases increased by 96% in July
From July 15 to Wednesday, Shelby County averaged 375 new cases a day, 2,463 test results a day yielding a 15.2% positivity rate.
-
528 new COVID-19 cases over several days, health official says
The case total reported Tuesday is the second highest daily increase in the pandemic. Another 3,391 test results were reported with a positivity rate of 15.6%.
-
COVID-19 cases, positivity rate rising while hospital capacity tightens locally
Shelby County, from July 8-22, averaged 342 new cases a day, 2,350 test results and a 14.6% positivity rate, according to Shelby County Health Department data.
-
The local fight against COVID-19: ongoing, often coordinated, far from finished
Memphis/Shelby County made progress in the struggle against COVID-19, coming out of a Safer at Home order and advancing into a Phase 2 reopening. But Phase 2 has been modified, cases have spiked again, and there remain major concerns going forward, including whether or not elementary and secondary schools can reopen in the fall.
-
County imposes hiring freeze and review to hold line on ‘tight’ budget
The proposal comes as County Mayor Lee Harris has 46 requests from other countywide elected officials to add positions two weeks into the new fiscal year. Harris also served notice Monday that next budget season he will be back with some kind of proposal to raise revenues to avoid layoffs and cuts in services that are a real possibility this fiscal year.
-
-
June 2020
-
Harris issues virus measures in county prisons, detention centers
The measures, effective immediately, include no out-of-county prisoners into the four facilities and more access to visitation and prison programs by video livestream. They follow a testing surge for prisoners and staff earlier in June.
-
Harris: New budget means layoffs, cuts in vital services likely
The county mayor also said in a "Behind The Headlines" interview that he has no regrets about his budget proposal that the commission rejected, which included a wheel tax hike with some budget cuts and an ambitious five-year plan to fund new school construction.
-
Mayors: Return to Phase 1 of ‘Back to Business’ plan can be avoided
In Whitehaven to launch a mask distribution effort and social media campaign, Mayors Harris and Strickland said the local effort has waned since Memorial Day. Harris says possibly going back to Phase 1 is about more than "raw numbers." Strickland says despite an increase in hospitalizations, a field hospital is a long way from being activated.
-
Shelby County Budget: The email trail
Internal emails show disagreements between the county administration and some of the countywide elected officials outside the administration of Mayor Lee Harris about budget cuts and other changes to the consolidated county budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
-
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.
-
Civic memorial for George Floyd includes police and mothers
The chief of staff to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris talks about her son's coming transition as a young black man and worries about what will happen when he encounters police. The city's police director says his officers are not the enemy.
-
‘Crashing Down': Two states of emergency in one city
The "last seven days" mark long-standing issues in Memphis and a renewed public interest in them as a global pandemic and nationwide protests intertwine.
-
-
May 2020
-
Nursing homes face punishment for failing to test for COVID-19
With nearly 40% of the state's COVID-19 deaths coming from nursing homes, Tennessee is ready to put sanctions on long-term care facilities if they fail to complete virus testing of staff and residents.
-
Sawyer says fractured county budget season could have been about tax hike
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer also talked about the rift between the Democratic county mayor and the eight-vote Democratic majority on the commission.
-
Testing surge planned in June at correctional center
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris made the announcement Friday at the end of an eventful week that includes a lawsuit over COVID-19 cases at the Shelby County Jail, calls for testing at the correctional center and a sit-in by jail prisoners with the virus as they were moved out of isolation.
-