There are 28 article(s) tagged Jeff Warren:
The Memphis In May International Festival is calling off the Beale Street Music Festival in May as the Memphis City Council considers urging a Christmas week “safer at home” order.
A voting miscue Tuesday was reversed Wednesday with the passage of the resolution that directs the mayor to draw up a plan to end the use of any city money to buy bottled water.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to urge a statewide mask mandate, and several council members said their earlier vote against the city’s mask ordinance was wrong.
The task force is among the recommendations in a violent crime blueprint touted by council member Jeff Warren for the past year. Meanwhile, the city should have a new police director by the spring and the head of the MPD is a key player in such a task force.
A variety of community voices spoke out on police reform during two discussions last week.
The violent crime task force is forming as Police Director Michael Rallings told City Council members Tuesday that more officers means less crime. The city has already this year set a record for the number of annual homicides.
Memphis City Council member Jeff Warren on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast says there could still be an agreement on the next step in the MLGW-TVA issue. He also warns that the Tennessee Legislature could close the door on a possible MLGW exit from TVA if there isn’t a shorter timeline.
MLGW declared a moratorium on utility cutoffs in mid-March as the worldwide pandemic was declared. This month, when the moratorium was lifted, the utility received an overwhelming number of calls to work out payment plans and avoid cutoffs.
A city task force on public safety started its work this week with several calls for hiring local in the police and fire ranks. Meanwhile, an effort to remove from the Nov. 3 election ballot a proposal for allowing the city to hire police and firefighters who live outside the county may be picking up momentum.
Enforcing the ordinance requiring face coverings at indoor public places relies on business owners' participation, says sponsor of city council measure.
Council members expressed alarm at the rise in the daily COVID-19 case count locally and are prepared to call a special meeting Friday to enact a mask requirement in public places within Memphis.
Councilman says consensus from local officials could come soon if a recent uptick in coronavirus cases continues.
The council also takes a final vote on a mask ordinance and talks about rules to better regulate lobbyists at City Hall.
The Memphis City Council could vote this week to require citizens to wear face masks in public places. The facial coverings have touched a political nerve and divide, although proponents of the push for masks say it's not political.
Wearing a mask or facial covering, and whether it should be mandated or suggested, is one of the ongoing debates as people emerge into the public arena as part of the COVID-19 recovery.
The city council approved a resolution that asks the mayor to seek specific information on what it would take for MLGW to break ties with TVA and pursue another electric power supplier. But the effort will wait at least until a first draft of a comprehensive report commissioned by MLGW is released May 29.
Up for discussion Tuesday is a move to get a proposal from a specific TVA competitor and a legal opinion that could put off an electric rate hike scheduled to take effect July 1.
The council moved $354 million in bonds closer to a summer issuance. But the bonds took a back seat to more maneuvering in the question of whether MLGW should continue its 80-year relationship with TVA. And in the process, it looks like one rival to TVA may have been ruled out.
The mask resolution was proposed as a rule requiring all within the city to wear coverings of some kind before some council members questioned how it could be enforced.
At stake is a possible move to take a ballot question off the ballot in November that would expand residency requirement for police and firefighters.
The city council voted last week to seek a legal opinion key to the question of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division cutting ties with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The rate hike marks a breakthrough for MLGW, which has had two other multi-year rate-hike proposals rejected by the Council in the past two years. The legal opinion on bonds backed by projected post-TVA savings was part of the compromise.
The original electric rate hike proposal voted down by the City Council last month was replaced Jan. 8 with a Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division proposal that is two cents lower on the average monthly residential bill.
Council member Ford Canale is seeking a full four year term after being appointed to the body and winning a special election last year. On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, Canale talks about his bid for a full term and council contender Jeff Warren offers "throwback" campaign paraphernalia.
The ballot for the October Memphis elections is almost set with Thursday's filing deadline for candidates. Meanwhile, candidates barely paused for the deadline before resuming the summer campaign.
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