New Shelby County Assessor Javier Bailey said he and other county assessors are working on legislation to tax data centers differently than they’re currently assessed.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is launching a homicide investigation after an inmate’s death on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 201 Poplar. 

Taxpayers have paid for land, demolition and a project manager, but most of the county money tied to Regional One’s new hospital hasn’t been approved yet.

Also in the political roundup, Blackburn talks about affordability, Hagerty’s letter as Jack Smith testifies in the insurrection case, and the difficult mechanics of write-in voting.

After a two-year retirement, 46-year veteran Anna Barnett is returning to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to serve as chief inspector of the jail amid ongoing operational challenges.

Assessor Javier Bailey Sr. says empty Downtown office towers and lost tourism spending are shrinking the county’s tax base. He is planning a November summit to build a five-year strategy.

A vote on resetting air-permit fees opened a move to address air quality concerns about data centers.

Commissioners will vote on committee chairs, including a first-term budget chair, after putting off an ethics commission revival and a data center moratorium in committee.

During several counts each spring and summer, volunteers check on the health of the state’s butterfly population — “a proxy for everything.” 

Almost a month into his four-year term, Shelby County Mayor Mickell Lowery said his top priority is the county’s financial stability.

As the ceremony honoring the former county mayor got underway, demolition work continued at the former Commercial Appeal building less than half a mile west.

Memphis Tourism announced that Shelby County drew 10.3 million visitors in 2025 — less than 2024 — but industry experts share a positive outlook for the years to come.

County Clerk La Sonya Hall says her office has cleared about half of the 34 crates of unprocessed car titles and vehicle registrations from car dealers so far. 

The appointments come as the District Attorney’s Office fills vacancies left by current Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman and Chris Lareau, according to the release. 

Also in the political roundup, a new poll shows the race for Tennessee governor tightening, and one of two standout independent candidates campaigns in Memphis.

A year since the presidential executive order that created the Memphis Safe Task Force was announced in the Oval Office, its impact and future are still being debated, touted and condemned.

It is unclear how much the work currently underway at 495 Union Ave. is costing Shelby County taxpayers or where the money to pay contractors’ invoices is coming from.

The lawsuit paints a picture of a facility in perpetual crisis, from a major air conditioning failure this summer as well as raw sewage backups, mold issues and pest infestations.

Two weeks into his term as County Mayor, Mickell Lowery has made his first five appointments to his administration. The selections represent what Lowery calls a “culture shift” in county government.

The County Commission authorized up to $6.1 million in funding to stabilize the Shelby County Clerk’s Office and approved a $37.9 million contract for healthcare at county jails. 

The Shelby County Commission, with eight new members, meets for the first time Monday to elect a new chair and vote on funding for the jail, a new health care contract for county prisoners and more.

Shelby County Sheriff Anthony Buckner discussed getting ahead on jail maintenance, a new “step-down” unit for prisoners with medical conditions and a return to using a former federal prison in Millington on “Behind the Headlines.”

New Clerk La Sonya Hall announced the measures to clear a backlog of an estimated 2,600 car titles left over from previous clerk Wanda Halbert

The latest delay, which the judge granted Friday, Sept. 11, is the fifth since Ford pleaded guilty in February.

Ten days into the new Shelby County Commission’s four-year term, two commissioners have been formally charged with crimes, while two other local officials are part of investigations.