Commissioner Mick Wright has a number of directives in mind for the coming year, including reducing crime and getting Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert’s office in line.

Judy Martin retired from the health department in 2020 after more than 1,500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine expired; her lawsuit alleged Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris damaged her reputation with a social media post. 

MLGW’s water samples have come back clear. 

The Shelby County Health Department is charged with protecting and promoting environmental health, but advocates say the agency is not doing enough to keep the area’s air and water safe. 

For the first time in about a week, temperatures are expected to rise above freezing Jan. 21 and officials say that will likely reveal more water main breaks and help them gauge the full extent of damage.

Recent winter weather coupled with MLGW’s indefinite boil-water advisory is making life a little bit more challenging for restaurants as they have to figure out what to do about food, drinks and even the restrooms. 

MLGW’s water customers remain under a precautionary boil-water advisory.

Some of the 120 prosecutors working in the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office make as much as $70,000 more than their colleagues who work next to them.

“We will be working on this for the next few days,” MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen said.

MLGW has recently added an online tool for customers to check and see if their neighborhood is at risk of contamination and under the boil-water advisory. Read this article for the link.

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Division 7 Judge Bill Anderson said there was about a foot of water at the front of his courtroom.

Dorcas Young Griffin will remain in an interim role as director of the county’s community services division in the move up to deputy chief administrative officer.

“I ask you to check on your family, friends, neighbors, and, of course, any pets. If you know someone that needs assistance, get them assistance,” said Greg Waymon of the city’s Office of Emergency Management. 

From clearing roads to holding court, snow days come with some serious considerations and lots of detail for local government services.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials are investigating the death of an inmate at 201 Poplar.

Mid-morning Tuesday, TVA’s demand hit 31,000 megawatts, inching closer to the 2022 record that warranted the need for mandatory rolling blackouts. But as of Tuesday night, MLGW CEO Doug McGowen said no blackouts are planned.

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The heaviest snowfall landed just east of Germantown.

The former county commissioner, city council member and Criminal Court clerk who died in 2013 was remembered Thursday, Jan. 11, as the marker bearing her name was unveiled outside the 99-year-old building.

Residents were able to get a county moratorium this past fall on projects such as the Millington-area solar farm that is expected to generate energy for a Facebook data center. 

The county’s health department is urging residents to be prepared to test themselves, isolate if necessary, seek treatment when needed and to consider wearing a high-quality mask in high-risk settings.

The extension of health insurance coverage for city council members would apply to four council members who left office at the end of 2023.

The first Shelby County Commission meeting of the year saw a first step toward a review board to hear misconduct allegations against the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

The weather in Memphis on Jan. 7, 2023, was mild, with clear skies and temperatures in the 50s. But the events of that night created a storm that still hovers over the city.

“I think it’s time for us to figure out a solution, and it’s hard to believe that the solution is Wanda Halbert as county clerk,” said the Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris on WKNO’s “Behind the Headlines.”

The first woman to lead the state’s highest court will oversee negotiations between lawyers for Nicole Freeman and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr., Chief Jailer Kirk Fields and Shelby County government.