Lawsuit alleged Shelby County failed to address the spread of the coronavirus, putting medically vulnerable and disabled detainees at risk of contracting COVID-19.

A $450,000 joint county-federal grant would study 10 areas of land in northern Shelby County for flood control projects that could double as public recreation areas when they are not underwater. One project is already underway near Big Creek in Millington.

Doug McGowen also says doses were wasted last weekend when the size of the line at the Pipkin Building site was overestimated. He says fewer than 100 doses have been lost since the city took over vaccine distribution in late February. 

No-appointment hours at the Pipkin site are from 2-7 p.m. today and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The funding is to maintain 171 Health Department positions specifically for the pandemic.

Short-term extensions to the Wellpath contract have been a constant for the current commission since the group began their current term in September of 2018.

Some commissioners have doubts about the move to every other year reappraisals. Assessor Melvin Burgess Jr. says the results will be less sticker shock from increases in values after four years.

On the high end, applications at Rhodes College are up 25%, but down an equal percent at Southwest Tennessee Community College.

U.K. variant is now the most common in Shelby County. The question is, how sick will it make people in their 20s, 30s and 40s?

A bill regarding the three Germantown namesake schools that appeared dead when it failed in the state Senate education committee Wednesday, got new life after Sen. Brian Kelsey amended the measure.

It might be too late to stop the Byhalia Connection oil pipeline, but Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is still proposing a setback requirement for any other oil pipelines that might be built in the future.

Shelby County is one of five counties in the eight-state FEMA Region 4 to have received the federal infusion.

With ample vaccine, the push is on to get people in line to stem the tide of the rapidly growing U.K. strain, which now accounts for 30%-50% of COVID cases in Shelby County.

Easter Sunday marked the first time many Memphians dusted off their Sunday best since the pandemic shut down churches last year. 

On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, state Rep. Mark White acknowledges the bill doesn’t address many of the complexities of the local schools merger and demerger that kept the three namesake Germantown schools in the Shelby County Schools system.

Tutor says the next local party chairman has a chance to win back countywide offices in 2022 that Republicans lost due to what Tutor says was the result of anti-Trump sentiment.

A February exchange of letters between County Mayor Lee Harris and County Commission Chairman Eddie Jones shows there are difficult questions about whether the legislative duties of Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. should be limited when he hasn’t been charged with a crime. 

Property appraisal expert discusses how the proposal to move to reappraisals every two years instead of every four years would set a precedent for other major cities.

The County Commission Scorecard looks at two pipeline-related resolutions voted down by the commission. One could return for reconsideration. The other could change the specific route of the pipeline through southwest Memphis.

“As many doses as I have on hand, that’s how many appointments I will have next week,” said City of Memphis COO Doug McGowen.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and a representative of County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. sparred Wednesday, March 24, over accusations that Ford violated the county charter with a 2019 grant and Harris’ involvement in the allegation. 

Shelby County’s reproductive rate rose to 1 last week for the first time in 2021, indicating cases are again increasing, likely due to the highly contagious U.K. variant. 

Cases of COVID-19 fell steadily in January and February. The plateau now is very likely due to the U.K. variant pulling the numbers up again, Dr. Manoj Jain says.

Commission also approves the appointment of Dr. Marco Ross as Shelby County medical examiner.