There are 358 article(s) tagged Lee Harris:

• January 2021

  • Harris says restaurant workers relief aimed at those most affected

    The Shelby County Commission votes Monday, Jan. 11, on the proposed $2.5 million fund drawn from county reserves. 

    By Bill Dries January 08, 2021

  • Efforts underway to create equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine

    Even as the COVID-19 vaccine supply in Shelby County remains low, discussion is ongoing about how to ensure when that changes how it’s distributed in an accessible way to all communities countywide.

    Related Story: Black community leaders combat distrust in COVID vaccine

    Related Story: OPINION: Suburbs deserve vaccine locations too

    By Omer Yusuf January 07, 2021

  • Harris proposes county $2.5M restaurant workers relief fund

    Harris took the proposal for grants of $1,000 per qualified worker to commission committee sessions Wednesday, Jan. 6.

    By Bill Dries January 06, 2021

• December 2020

  • COVID data in each surge led to different decisions locally

    Each coronavirus surge in Shelby County came with an increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths that preceded the previous one as transmission rose significantly.

    By Omer Yusuf December 22, 2020

  • Shelby County reaches peak of COVID-19 cases

    From Dec. 5 to Dec. 19, the Health Department reported an average of 691 new cases and 6,093 test results each day with a 11.3% positivity rate. One hundred thirty-two coronavirus-related deaths have been reported since Dec. 1. That represents 16.4% of all pandemic deaths in Shelby County. 

    By Omer Yusuf December 20, 2020

• November 2020

  • Harris: Pitch for West Tennessee mask mandate will be ‘a slog’

    Mayors from the West Tennessee counties outside Shelby County heard a pitch from Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and others Thursday for a regional mask mandate. Harris says Gov. Bill Lee is unlikely to order a statewide mask requirement. The regional effort will move to one-on-one talks.

    By Bill Dries November 19, 2020

  • Harris order begins county green fleet pilot

    With $500,000 in federal grant money, the small-scale pilot includes electric vehicle chargers as well as a broader reconsideration of how county government makes the decision of which vehicles to purchase.

    By Bill Dries November 18, 2020

  • Health Department looks at tripwires as coronavirus cases mount

    From 450 contact tracing interviews last week, the Health Department sees transmission is happening when people take masks off in restaurants, in gyms and in small social gatherings. 

    By Jane Roberts November 17, 2020

  • Harris pushes statewide mask rule, works on ways around refusal by state

    The effort short of a statewide mask mandate includes a coalition of local leaders across West Tennessee. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said he is also working on a long-term plan for the county to continue to deal with the pandemic through 2021 and after federal CARES Act funding runs out at the end of December.

    By Bill Dries November 13, 2020

  • 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.

    By Bill Dries November 12, 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.

    By Sam Stockard November 10, 2020

  • 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. 

    By Bill Dries November 09, 2020

• 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.

    By Bill Dries October 27, 2020

  • 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.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff October 02, 2020

• 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.

    By Sam Stockard September 30, 2020

  • 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.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff September 24, 2020

  • 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. 

    By Bill Dries September 15, 2020

  • 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.

    By Bill Dries September 04, 2020

• 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.

    By Bill Dries August 17, 2020

• 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.

    By Omer Yusuf July 29, 2020

  • 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%.

    By Omer Yusuf July 28, 2020

  • 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.

    By Omer Yusuf July 22, 2020

  • 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. 

    By Don Wade July 20, 2020

  • 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.

    By Bill Dries July 13, 2020

• 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.

    By Bill Dries June 30, 2020