Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips discusses new voting machines and paper audit trails and metro reporter Omer Yusuf talks about the county’s stand on the state’s immigration law and minority business growth.

Memphis police and fire unions are again seeking to increase the sales tax rate by half a cent to restore their benefits and pensions, but also to help pay for road repairs and pre-K programs. 

Republican voters in Tipton County make up most of the first week early voting turnout in the special primary elections for state Senate District 32.

The medical cannabis advocacy group Safe Access Tennessee is greenlighting Senate candidate Steve McManus in the District 32 race, even though Tipton County candidate Paul Rose says he also would support medical marijuana legislation.

The University of Memphis has named Dr. Damon M. Fleming the new dean of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics. Fleming will be replacing former dean Rajiv Grover, who announced he was stepping down in May 2018 to devote more time to research.

Alan Curtis, president of the Eisenhower Foundation, was in Memphis last week to talk about an update of the landmark Kerner Commission report on 1968 riots.

The three newest Memphis City Council members may be a good indication of a change in who runs for the council in the 2019 city elections.

Even mentors in the Peer Power program are better defining their futures, discovering their passion for helping younger students could turn into a career.

House Minority Leader Karen Camper's former assistant stole $12,500 from the House Democratic Caucus over three years, according to a forensic audit.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander wants to ditch border wall talks between the president and Democratic leaders and instead start moving toward a Senate vote with amendments. That's provided President Donald Trump agrees to reopen the federal government for three weeks while such a bill would be amended and discussed.

State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris became federal judge Mark Norris at a formal ceremony Friday Downtown -- part of a larger season of transition in politics.

Republican state Rep. Mark White of Memphis will serve as House Education Committee chairman during the 111th General Assembly, and two other members of the Shelby County delegation, Reps. Jim Coley and Kevin Vaughan, will chair subcommittees.

The state Legislature could take action in 2019 to penalize pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies for failing to comply with Tennessee's new "partial-fill" law designed to cut opioid abuse.

The family of Darrius Stewart filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Memphis, the officer who killed the 19-year-old and the former head of the Memphis Police Department. The trial is set to start next month in federal court. 

A new Juvenile Detention Center is a top priority for Mayor Lee Harris in 2019.

Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn is reviewing the idea of an expungement court docket to speed the process of wiping clean the criminal records of offenders who have stayed out of trouble for five years. 

Aspire is spinning off its four Memphis schools into a new, independent charter school organization. The 1,600 students would officially transition at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year if the plan comes to fruition.

Shelby County Commissioners Tami Sawyer and Mark Billingsley appeared on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast to talk about juvenile justice reform. 

The federal government is shutdown but plans continue by local transportation agencies for new federal funding starting in 2020. The projects range from repaving the roads most used by the city's heaviest truck traffic to better pedestrian crossings.

The Shelby County Commission discussed a Department of Justice report criticizing Juvenile Court's due process procedures. 

Charges have been dropped in a "hoodie arrest" incident at Wolfchase Galleria last year, with the two men charged ordered to pay court costs. 

The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast highlights "Behind the Headlines" moments from 2018; what County Mayor Lee Harris is doing ahead of the new year; and Lamar Alexander’s book "Six Months Off" as the senator prepares for retirement.

Sen. Brian Kelsey of Germantown is losing his post as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee but picking up a leadership job as chairman of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of Finance.

Lee exiting as Lee Company chairman and putting stock in a blind trust during term as governor.

Memphis City Council members back the general plan for sports betting on Beale Street, but they want to see what kind of split of revenue is proposed when it comes down to a specific bill in Nashville.