Developer Yehuda Netanel has fallen short in his attempt to obtain the necessary financing to save his The Lake District project in Lakeland.

Asked about Halbert’s statements, Mayor Lee Harris told The Daily Memphian: “I’m shocked by everything you just said. The rabbit hole has gotten deeper.”

Shelby County chief administrative officer Harold Collins expects a completed testing report on the facility — which was indefinitely closed April 25 after mold, asbestos and lead were discovered within it — “hopefully” Friday, May 10.

More than 100 locks remain broken on Shelby County Jail cell doors, and some of the replacement parts are no longer made. 

The vote came with some important changes to accomodate large solar arrays within the city that MLGW pushed for. The Memphis City Council votes on the measure Tuesday, May 7.

Two resolutions to fund the clerk’s office, including a pay raise, were withdrawn from the County Commission’s agenda Monday, May 6, without comment. 

Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp is seeking Halbert’s removal because “Defendant has willfully neglected to perform duties enjoined upon Defendant by the laws of the State.”

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With the City of Memphis looking at a proposed 28% property-tax increase and some citizens calling for the government to cut the fat instead, The Daily Memphian reviewed the city’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget.

County administration has yet to review the raises, which are one of several resolutions on the Monday, May 6, agenda.

Four inmates at the Shelby County Jail were noncritically injured just before 10 p.m. Friday night after objects were set on fire and thrown in a housing unit.

Shelby County’s Juvenile Court clerk said Friday building conditions had been making employees sick prior to mold, asbestos and lead being discovered there last week. 

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris talks about the move to county financing of the first phase of the project over the next decade. Meanwhile, CEO of Regional One said the anticipated state funding didn’t come through this year. 

Funding requests came before Shelby County commissioners Wednesday, May 1, in committee sessions. They appear to be a move toward a corrective-action plan, but the pay raises are likely to face more questions.

The budget proposal includes a 6% pay raise for county employees. The county commission begins budget hearings later this month with votes on the plan some time in June.

Shelby County officials discovered asbestos, mold and lead at the Shelby County Juvenile Court building last week, according to Judge Tarik Sugarmon.

The 6% proposed raise for all county employees comes two years after Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris proposed and the Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved a 5% pay hike.

Staff members are conducting all proceedings and administrative work virtually.

The developers and Shelby County reached an out-of-court settlement to allow the 1,500-acre solar farm to be built. 

Under the bill, juvenile court can keep the minor under its jurisdiction until the teen’s 19th birthday, after which the court is authorized to impose an additional sentence to be served on or before their 24th birthday if they violate conditions.

Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright criticized General Session Judge Bill Anderson’s push for more defendants to be released on their own recognizance.

For the first time in 10 years, the Africa in April Cultural Awareness Festival is extending its celebration beyond its traditional four-day schedule.

The bill to remove two Shelby County judgeships was faced with opposition after the removal of the Division 9 seat, formerly held by Melissa Boyd.

The commission also killed an appeal by an Eads developer seeking to start on a multi-phase project and a tie-in to the City of Memphis sewer system.

The call for a corrective action plan isn’t binding on County Clerk Wanda Halbert, who is an elected official outside the county administration. The sponsor of the resolution says he doesn’t expect Halbert to submit the plan.

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New rules for solar farms get rewrite by County Commission

U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Germantown, is also running unopposed in his August primary after the state GOP kicked perennial contender George Flinn out of the primary.