Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) cited prolonged frustration with the board’s locally elected leadership when explaining his plans to Chalkbeat on Tuesday.

In other action Tuesday, the council approved the reappointment of Robert Knecht as the city’s public-works director.

Rev. Dorothy Wells came to Memphis to attend Rhodes College in the late 1970s. She practiced law 18 years before entering the ministry. 

Half of the state’s wetlands — often described as “earth’s kidneys — could be deregulated under a new proposal, but lawmakers are looking at a compromise that would take wetlands’ size and quality into account.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed a law in 2023 taking the power away from local DAs in collateral review of death penalty convictions and instead putting the authority in the hands of the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. 

The archive of 60 years of Ernest Withers’ photographs joins the national set of historic places as the Beale Street entertainment district marks 10 years of operation and management by the Downtown Memphis Commission.

A Memphis resident has filed an ethics complaint against a Memphis City Council member over an alleged conflict of interest.

MEM lands big bucks for a terminal upgrade, the sun isn’t setting on a county solar moratorium and Collierville puts the brakes on a car dealership. 

The DA’s office will now receive $991,178 for the remainder of the fiscal year 2024, which comes out of the general fund balance. Each following fiscal year, the DA’s office will receive $2.98 million.

“The state of our state is strong, resilient and ready for the future,” Gov. Bill Lee told the audience of state lawmakers and other officials within the House chamber at the Tennessee State Capitol in Downtown Nashville.

Related story:

Gov. Lee proposes $1.2 billion in business tax refunds, $410 million annual cut

The assessment of Shelby County’s requirements for solar farms stemmed, in part, from the pushback against a 1,500-acre project planned in Millington.

Gene Dewayne Saulsberry was arrested by Shelby County Sheriff’s Office’s Fugitive Apprehension Team around 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 5, in Hickory Hill.

The tax cut is among the biggest expenses in the governor’s budget, and comes as state revenues are stagnating. Lee argues the state can afford it because revenue is stabilizing at a level significantly above where it was a few years ago.

The City Council has a few more votes on Mayor Paul Young’s remaining appointees to his leadership team and some questions on the interim status of Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis.

Churches deal with crime, the Tigers break losing streak and we explain why a boost for the DA’s office could help the PD’s office.

The commission may put off immediate funding for the prosecutors office until budget season. Meanwhile, commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. continues to threaten legal action against other commissioners — the second time in less than a week.

Last year, the Tennessee General Assembly gave a 20% raise to most of state prosecutors and state public defenders. But the raise for Shelby County is capped at 5%. 

Tennessee Republican Party chairman Scott Golden talks in an “On The Record” podcast about the presidential primaries and general election races.

Fencing the perimeter doesn’t feel right, but many churches have armed guards in the parking lots and in the corridors.

The utility expects the average customer will end up paying about $90 less this year as compared with last year, but January’s bills aren’t yet trending in that direction. 

Also happening this week: The Memphis City Council votes on extending health benefits to themselves, and Monday is the first day to pull qualifying petitions for August state and federal primary elections.

Despite a rise in violent crime, the overall crime rate fell 6.4% in the city and 7.2% in the county compared to the previous year, according to the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission.

During her Jan. 9 reappointment presentation to the Memphis City Council, Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis noted that crime in the city had been slashed in half over a six-month period.

A wave of City of Memphis contractors contributed to Mayor-elect Paul Young in the weeks after he won the Oct. 5 race, a review by The Daily Memphian finds.

Protesters said they came Saturday because they want local government to put pressure on the U.S. government for a ceasefire in Gaza. Protests around the country have sought to push local governments to adopt ceasefire resolutions.