The commission meeting also marks the last for Miska Clay Bibbs as chairwoman of the body. Michael Whaley becomes chairman next month.

“This was a winnable race. This was a ridiculously winnable race,” Lisa Arnold told Shelby County Republicans of her loss.

The final vote on the referendum allowing the County Commission to hire its own independent attorney failed by one vote.

The suit was filed by the family of Deion Byrd, an inmate at the Shelby County Jail who died after being stabbed by another inmate at 201 Poplar.

The measure, which would go on the Nov. 5 ballot, allows the Shelby County Commission to hire its own legal counsel. A final vote to put it to county voters is expected some time next week.

Republicans are rallying forces in Shelby County, which Democrats expect to carry in November even as the state is expected to remain in the Republican column.

Personal information of hundreds of former Shelby County District Attorney’s Office employees was inadvertently distributed via email to current employees of the office.

If approved by the commission, the county charter amendment would be on the November ballot for voters to approve.

If approved by the commission in two more votes, the referendum would join five other ballots questions put on the same ballot for Memphis voters by the Memphis City Council.

MSCS board chair Althea Greene’s announcement of the coming vote on restoring $2.3 million in funding came as the Shelby County Commission weighed putting up the money Monday, Aug. 12. The commission delayed the vote to see if the school board follows through.

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The proposed budget amendment comes less than two months after the start of the new county government fiscal year.

Of 30 major U.S. cities, Memphis had the highest increase in road deaths from 2019 to 2022, according to a recent analysis from the New York Times. 

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert is facing a second ouster petition after the first was dismissed in June.

The local judge also told reporters Friday, Aug. 2, that local bail reform efforts have been working.

Clerk-elect Tami Sawyer said her opponent’s campaign focus on Sawyer’s activist roots was ignored by voters. “I talked about my priorities. The other party talked about me,” she told The Daily Memphian.

The manner of death was ruled “undetermined” as examiners could not determine whether factors contributing to his death were imposed by others.

Chris Sinnock, a social worker at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, cites bias against condoms and dating apps as two of the elements contributing to the spread of HIV.

Memphis City Council member Jerri Green is moving from senior policy adviser to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris to deputy chief of staff in the county administration.

The vote Monday, July 22, revealed some enduring gaps among the commission’s nine-vote Democratic majority.

The Shelby County Commission approved changes to the Shelby County Private Act, which governs how Shelby County hotel-motel tax dollars are allocated.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners will discuss a 6% pay raise for employees, could reopen a Land Bank ordinance and vote on a new lease for Millington office space for the Shelby County clerk’s office.

A new state law making public safety the priority in setting bail will have a far greater impact than Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy’s plan to provide criminal records, which has been done “for decades,” lead judicial commissioner John Marshall says.

Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon said he’s opposed to taking over management of the youth-detention facility from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office because the court does not have the budget to do so.

County Commissioners found out Wednesday the ordinance they thought they approved last month — on changes to the Shelby County Land Bank — actually failed. But not before County Mayor Lee Harris vetoed it. The result is a confusing parliamentary mess.

The procedural vote follows months of negotiations that ended with a hotel-motel tax being split between Memphis Tourism and the Memphis Grizzlies.