A vote Monday by the Shelby County Commission on a new voting system could mean new voting machines by the May county primary elections. 

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. wants the county to get the bonuses to county workers in the next pay period. County Mayor Lee Harris says the county needs to be sure the use of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds is allowed before it cuts checks.

Masks will be required when the coming SCS school year begins, but field trips, athletics and reopened playgrounds will come back again. 

The Shelby County Commission will vote on Taylor’s appointment on Monday, July 26.

The positivity rate has tripled since July 1, to 8.9%. The majority of cases are the Delta variant, which is 50% to 60% more contagious than the B.1.1.7 strain that was dominant here from mid-March 2021 to early July.

County Mayor Lee Harris plans to nominate a pediatrician and White Station High School graduate as the Shelby County Health Department’s next director. 

The collaborative with more than 150 local nonprofits is to tackle long-terms needs and problems in the same rapid and sustained way the countywide COVID task force has handled the local response to the pandemic.

The two teachers’ unions in Memphis used to be one. But a battle over local control caused them to split.

People with compromised immune systems should talk to their doctor about a third dose, Dr. Manoj Jain says.

For decades, Memphians have crossed over to Arkansas to get their fireworks. That will be considerably harder with the bridge out. A report from the West Memphis fireworks tents. Will business be a dud?

The district voted to approve a $750,000 contract for Educational Epiphany, a company whose proposed contract teachers protested earlier this year. 

Coronavirus case rates are down 30% in the last 14 days.

The state comptroller commented Tuesday during a visit to the county on the idea of reopening county government’s tax rate after the July 1 start of the fiscal year. But the county commissioner who vowed Monday to do just that next month says there is wiggle room in state law.

The proposed review of appointees to the ethics body comes as County Mayor Lee Harris is about to propose new ethics regulations.

The absence of four county commissioners, including three of the “yes” votes for the $3.45 property tax rate set two weeks ago, was crucial to undoing the tax hike. However, the issue is likely not over.

The tax rate vote will mark the end of county government’s budget season. The commission also votes on moving items from the current fiscal year into the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

The legal opinion will be about the chain of events at the June 7 session that led to the first approval of the $3.46 county tax rate.

Shelby County Schools approved a proposed budget of $2.2 billion to be presented to the County Commission on Wednesday, June 16.

The $7 million expansion of the youth farm includes a new programming center for girls ages 5 to 18.

Our scorecard of critical Shelby County Commission votes tracks the set of votes this week that led to the approval of a one-cent increase in the recertified county property tax rate. The votes were more complex than usual with some parliamentary drama that almost brings down the curtain on another county budget season.

Republican county commissioners who voted two weeks ago in favor of a resolution urging Gov. Bill Lee to veto a ban on teaching critical race theory took back their yes votes Monday. The resolution still passed.

The tax hike requires one more vote by the commission after notice is given to the public and the Board of Equalization with a chance for public comment. The commission also approved $1.3 million in recurring funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority.