Tag: Shelby County

Controversial Democratic Party Chairman in Shelby County Retains His Position, Despite Effort to Oust Him

Chris Butler

  Members of the Shelby County Democratic Party have reportedly chosen to continue to retain Michael Harris as chairman, despite his reported sketchy history with the law. This, after party members, met at a closed-door meeting Tuesday, according to The Daily Memphian. The website also reported Harris himself called for the meeting to settle once and for all the controversy over whether he should continue in that position. The vote to retain Harris was 18-9. “The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Harris’ law license in 2017 for five years retroactive to 2015,” according to The Daily Memphian. “His law license was suspended after he agreed to ethics charges brought by the state’s Board of Professional Responsibility that included lack of diligence and communication, excessive fees, improper termination, failure to expedite litigation, failure to perform services he was paid for, unauthorized practice of law, dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Harris was also ordered to pay nine former clients a total of $22,975 in restitution.” But, according to The Memphis Commercial Appeal, “the movement to oust Harris is still alive.” This, according to Executive Committee member Julie Byrd Ashworth, who reportedly filed a grievance against Harris alongside two other…

Read the full story

Memphis Announces Plan to End Homelessness — Again

Chris Butler

  Memphis officials have announced yet another plan to use taxpayer money to end homelessness in the city. This, despite countless past promises to already do so. Memphis leaders recently announced they would pair up with the Shelby County government to combat street-level homelessness, using nearly $8 million of public and private money. That money will go to what was once a city-owned vehicle inspection station to cater to the homeless and, according to a press release, “effectively end” homelessness within 30 months. In an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star, Cara Greenstein, serving as a spokeswoman for city officials, said private sources must provide $5 million before the Memphis and Shelby County governments chip in. “The City of Memphis already provides $375,000 ($200,000 from City Council grants and $150,000 through Work Local), and would provide an additional $275,000 in FY 2019 budget, $275,000 in the FY 2020 Budget — $250,000 of which would be through the City Council’s First Annual Community Impact Fund, $50,000 from the DMC, an additional $200,000 in FY 2021 for a total of $550,000. The DMC would also contribute $50,000 in FY 2019 and FY 2020,” Greenstein said. “Shelby County would allocate and appropriate $250,000 in FY 2019 budget, $375,000 in FY 2020 budget and $650,000 in…

Read the full story

Shelby County Officials Reportedly Take Pricey European Trip

Chris Butler

Various officials from the city of Memphis and Shelby County toured the European countryside at taxpayer expense in May of last year, according to FOX 13 Memphis. “Most of the days were spent touring historical sites in the European country chosen as the heritage salute for the 2018 Memphis in May International Festival, per the documented schedule. In March of 2018, four Shelby County officials and one Memphis city councilmember stepped inside the Memphis International Airport like thousands of other daily commuters,” according to Fox13Memphis.com “Then-Shelby County commissioner Steve Basar, current-commissioner Willie Brooks, county employee Kim Denbow, former Shelby County mayor Mark Luttrell and Memphis city councilmember Berlin Boyd traveled overseas to Prague. The five were part of a 38-person Memphis in May delegation.” The station reported the trip centered around two cities and a spa town — Český Krumlov, Prague and Karlovy Vary. “The first day, Sunday, March 25, was a travel day for most, so the schedule wasn’t packed with much; just travel from Prague Airport to Český Krumlov. On Monday, March 26th, instead of business meetings, the delegation went on a walking city tour and visited the famous Český Krumlov castle,” the station reported. “Day two was…

Read the full story

Attorney with Reported History of Ethics Problems to Chair Shelby County Democratic Party

Chris Butler

State Rep. London Lamar, D-Memphis, won’t chair the Shelby County Democratic Party. Michael Harris, an attorney with a reported history of legal and other ethical problems will instead covet the position, according to The Daily Memphian. This, after a three-hour party convention this past weekend, according to the website. Officials suspended Harris’ law license in 2017 because of a number of ethics violations, including excessive fees, failure to perform services for which he was paid, unauthorized practice of law, dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, The Daily Memphian reported. “Harris was also ordered as part of his plea to the misconduct allegations to pay $22,975 in restitution to nine former clients,” the website reported. “Harris, compliance and employee relations director at Advanced Primary Care LLC, began making his case to the group by asking ‘everyone who has made one mistake’ to raise their hands and asking everyone in the crowd to look around the room.” Harris reportedly told people at the convention that he made a mistake, but his “heart was in the right place.” “Harris said he still owes $1,832 in restitution plus fees connected to restoring his law license,” The Daily Memphian reported. “He also…

Read the full story

State Rep. London Lamar Reportedly Nominated to Chair Shelby County Democratic Party

Chris Butler

State Rep. London Lamar, D-Memphis, wants to chair the Shelby County Democratic Party, according to The Daily Memphian. Someone recently nominated Lamar for the position, the paper went on to say. “I decided to run because I was asked by several elected officials and Democratic officials to help us to put our party in a position to thrive in 2020,” The Daily Memphian reported. “We had a landslide election in 2018. We wanted to make sure we could provide the county party leadership to continue to build on those victories – not only to maintain our power here in Memphis, but to be in a position to lead the state to a Democratic win in 2020.” Lamar reportedly revived the Shelby County Young Democrats organization and is currently finishing up her term as chair of the Tennessee Young Democrats organization, the website said. Lamar is one of two contenders for the position, The Daily Memphian reported. As The Tennessee Star reported last year, Lamar generated international attention after she declared in November, shortly after her election to the Tennessee House of Representatives that “Tennessee is a racist state,” as The Tennessee Star reported: … Lamar live streamed a 15-minute rant on Facebook…

Read the full story

Tennessee Officials Announce a Slew of New TennCare Arrests

Chris Butler

Tennessee officials have announced the arrests of five people charged with TennCare fraud. According to press releases state officials put out this week: • Authorities charged a Sullivan County woman with TennCare fraud in connection with the sale of prescription drugs obtained through the state’s health care insurance program, according to a press release. The Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the Kingsport Police Department, arrested Pamela A. Mendenhall, 50, of Kingsport. Authorities accused her of using TennCare to obtain the painkiller Oxycodone, then selling a portion of the drugs on three separate occasions. Authorities charged her with three counts of TennCare fraud, sale and delivery of Oxycodone within 1,000 feet of a park, sale and delivery of Oxycodone within 1,000 feet of a school and maintaining a dwelling where controlled substances are used or sold. Mendenhall allegedly obtained the prescriptions through Medicare Part B, which TennCare partly pays for. • Authorities charged a Shelby County woman with TennCare fraud involving doctor shopping, which involves visiting multiple doctors in a short period of time to obtain controlled substances, a press release said. The OIG, with the assistance of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, announced the arrest of Cassundra Woodman, 28, of…

Read the full story

Tennessee’s Electrolux Disaster ‘The Worst Such Deal’ in State History, Financial Expert Says

Chris Butler

The decision to give away more than $100 million in corporate welfare to lure Electrolux to set up shop in Memphis was so bad it was “the worst such deal in Tennessee history,” according to Bloomberg.com. In an article released this week, the national financial news website held nothing back criticizing the deal. As The Tennessee Star reported last month, Electrolux officials announced they will shut down their Memphis plant sometime next year, despite taking all that money from Memphis, Shelby County, and the Tennessee governments eight years ago. The Memphis Electrolux plant employs about 530 people, all of whom will likely lose their jobs when the plant closes. Despite that, Bloomberg said this disaster still won’t stop other government entities from handing out even more subsidies in the future. Bloomberg opinion columnist Joe Nocera interviewed Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe for his piece. “When I mentioned to Rolfe the idea — much favored by academics and journalists — that perhaps communities should stop offering subsidies to lure (or keep) companies, he laughed,” Nocera wrote. “That would be unilateral disarmament,” Nocera quoted Rolfe as saying. Nocera then opined that “it’s foolish to think that subsidies…

Read the full story

Shelby County Taxpayers Lose Out Again, This Time with Unlicensed Psychologist

Chris Butler

Hundreds of Shelby County sheriff’s deputies must be retested after it was discovered an unlicensed psychologist administered mental evaluations to them, according to localmemphis.com “The Local I-Team uncovered state law changed several years ago, and it appears no one in Shelby County or at the state noticed until now,” the station reported. “Shelby County taxpayers have already paid once for these employees to get mental evaluations, and now you are paying again. Dr. Charles Kenny’s psychologist license lapsed in 2001.Since 2013, he worked under the supervision of licensed psychologist Dr.  John Johnson. The Tennessee state board that oversees law enforcement told Shelby County that was improper,” localmemphis.com reported. “The Local I -Team uncovered when Kenny first began doing the psych evaluations for Shelby County, the Tennessee state law only required the person signing off on the officer’s mental evaluation was ‘a qualified professional in the psychiatric or psychological field,’” the station reported. The law changed in 2015. It now says the officer has to be certified by “a Tennessee licensed health care provider qualified in the psychiatric or psychological field.” The station said “either no one at Shelby County knew the law had changed or the folks in Nashville had a change of…

Read the full story

Shelby County Criminal Clerk Reportedly Plagued with Problems

Chris Butler

The new Shelby County Criminal Clerk is finding countless uncashed checks all over her office – in folders, bookshelves, and in-between drawers in desks, according to LocalMemphis.com No one bothered to deposit the checks either, according to the website. These are checks made out to the clerk’s office. The clerk’s office is taxpayer-funded. County Clerk Heidi Kuhn, on the job for 90 days, wants an audit of her department, the station reported. That department oversees 10 criminal court judges and collects fines and fees from the public, LocalMemphis.com said. The checks were filed during the tenure of former clerk Richard De Seussure, according to the station. “We didn’t know who they went to, or what they were for,” the station reported Kuhn as saying. This reportedly happened because of problems with the county’s computer system, known as Odyssey, which Memphis officials started using in November 2016. “Kuhn says she has heard that the computer troubles were the reasons why the checks weren’t filed or cashed,” LocalMemphis.com reported. “And she says former clerk De Saussure said his office had finally caught up with the computer problems.” The station reported many previous problems with Odyssey. “Judges were sent to wrong courtrooms, inmates…

Read the full story

The Tennessee Star Report EXCLUSIVE Interview With Incoming Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada

Julie Carr

On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked with State Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin), the incoming Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives about the challenges the Tennessee General Assembly will face in its new session, which began formerly later in the day. Gill and Leahy discussed a number of topics with Casads, including Shelby County’s defiance of state statutes regarding illegal immigration and sanctuary cities,  the new incoming freshman legislators and the challenges they face, school choice, and criminal justice reform. At the end of the segment, Gill and Casada touched upon what Bill Lee’s lack of conservative cabinet picks mean for the Tennessee legislation. Gill: The incoming house speaker who will soon move to that position, current state representative and soon to be house speaker Glen Casada is on the line with us this morning. Casada: Good morning Steve, how are you? Gill: Now when do you actually take over as house speaker? Casada: I am sworn in at approximately noon, Tuesday, January the 8th. Gill: So you’ve got about one more…

Read the full story

Early Voting Begins Friday for GOP Primary Bid to Replace Former State Sen. Mark Norris, Who is Now a Federal Judge

Jason M. Reynolds

Early voting begins today for the primary in the State Senate District 32 race to replace Mark Norris. Formerly the Senate Majority Leader, Norris (R-TN-32) was appointed by the U.S. Senate in October as a federal judge in the Western District of Tennessee, The Tennessee Star reported in October. His appointment had languished since July 2017. Four Republicans filed paperwork to replace Norris, The Star reported last month. The general election is scheduled for March 12. Tipton and part of Shelby County make up that district. Michael Nelson of the Daily Memphian said in a column that he likes the chances of one candidate in particular: Because Norris held the seat so long, a number of credible candidates for the Republican nomination have lined up now that it’s vacant. The favorite is former Shelby County Commissioner Heidi Shafer, but in what’s sure to be a low-turnout contest, any or all of her three rivals could make a run for the money: former state representative Steve McManus, Tipton County construction executive Paul Rose, and defeated Shelby County Trustee candidate (also a former commissioner) George Chism. Why do I rate Shafer the favorite? Precisely because it will be a low-turnout affair in which…

Read the full story

Shelby County Official: New State Law on Illegal Aliens Does Not Apply to Us

Chris Butler

Shelby County officials seem to say they won’t cooperate with a new Tennessee law that helps federal officials detain and deport illegal aliens. The state law took effect Jan. 1, according to The Associated Press. The law, The AP went on to say, “threatens local governments with the loss of future state economic and community development money” if they have sanctuary policies. Federal immigration officials have the power to deport illegal aliens arrested on other charges. But some local laws have kept those local law enforcement officers from cooperating with the feds. The new law bans those local policies, according to The AP. “That includes barring local policies that require federal officials to obtain a warrant or show probable cause beforehand,” The AP said. As The Tennessee Star reported last fall, county officials, specifically the folks at the county attorney’s office, tell their law enforcement officers to ignore the feds, especially Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Shelby County Sheriff’s spokesman Anthony Buckner said Wednesday that members of his office already know how they will respond to the new state law. “The Shelby County Attorney has advised the Sheriff’s Office that the new Tennessee laws governing sanctuary cities/policies do not apply to…

Read the full story

Shelby County Delays Road Project Due to Minority Participation Concerns

Chris Butler
road construction

Shelby County officials will postpone an important road paving project because they can’t find an affordable contractor who offers at least 28 percent minority participation. The 28 percent participation rate is a goal for the county. It is not a requirement, said the county’s Chief Diversity Officer Shep Wilbun. “If the goal is not met then there is something called Good Faith Effort tests that show that if you tried to meet the goal but you weren’t able to then you are still eligible for receiving of a contract to be awarded,” Wilbun told The Tennessee Star. “If a good faith effort was not made in compliance with our ordinance and the goal was not met then that bid can be considered not one for us to award.” This road project is supposed to cover areas outside Memphis, in the northern and southern parts of the county, Wilbun said. He had no further details. According to LocalMemphis.com, representatives with two companies placed bids for the road paving project. The company that made the lower bid didn’t agree to hire 28 percent minorities. Officials with the other company agreed to meet the goal, but their bid was reportedly too high. County…

Read the full story

Shelby County Commissioners Vote Themselves $6 Million More in Benefits

Chris Butler
Walter Bailey

Certain Shelby County commissioners are getting an upgrade in their health and life insurance benefits, and county taxpayers must pay an additional $6 million to $10 million a year because of it. Commissioner Walter Bailey Jr., in stealth mode, and using possible ninja-like reflexes, snuck the proposal through and got it passed under the other commissioners’ noses. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, commissioners voted to reduce the years required for them to serve to collect retiree health and life insurance benefits. They changed that number from 15 years to eight years, “making previously ineligible commissioners — among 2,500 other employees — eligible.” The vote was 7-2, according to the paper. Outgoing Commissioner Heidi Shafer told The Tennessee Star many of her colleagues didn’t know what they were voting for. “But I voted against it,” Shafer said. “It was never brought up in discussion. There weren’t supporting documents in the system to show what it was really about, and we were hearing it was about county retirees. I’m not going to vote to change something without any numbers or figuring out whether it’s a good move.” Most other commissioners, Shafer went on to say, had no idea they were voting on something that…

Read the full story

Democrats Censure Respected State Senator Tate For Private Remarks Made to Republican

Jason M. Reynolds
Reginald Tate

Common sense State Sen. Reginald Tate is questioning what it means to be censured by the Shelby County Democratic Party Executive Committee, since they never gave him the courtesy of informing him. The New Tri-State Defender reported the action taken against the Democratic senator from District 33 in Shelby County. The organization contacted him for comment, but that was the first he had heard about it. “I’m censured? What does that mean? Do you know what that means? Have I lost my right to speak? Do I have to stay in my room? I can’t come out without permission? I’m censured. This is the first I have heard of it, and I don’t know what it could possibly mean,” Tate told the TSD. The Executive Committee censured Tate during its July 17 meeting, according to a press release the organization sent to the TSD. The action was in response to remarks he made prior to the start of a committee meeting on May 30. The senator’s remarks were called “vulgar,” “detrimental to the Party” and “unbecoming of a Democrat.” Tate said, “I entered the room where the Fiscal Review Committee was meeting. It’s a joint committee, and on this particular…

Read the full story

Memphis Democrat Tami Sawyer Uses Elite and Expensive Education to Push Radical Socialist Platform

Chris Alto

Tami Sawyer, winner of the Democratic primary to represent District 7 on the Shelby County Commission, is not only a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement and a #TakeEmDown901 statue destroyer, she is also a graduate of St. Mary’s Episcopal elite and expensive all-girls private school in Memphis. Tuition at the private school for the 2018 school year starts at $16,300 for kindergarten and increases to $21,660 for the senior year in high school. The base cost does not include fees for snacks, technology, facilities and some textbooks. After graduating from St. Mary’s in 2000, Sawyer continued her elite private school education at the private, historically black Hampton University, with tuition, board and fees totaling over $36,000 a year for 2018. Sawyer left Hampton University after two years, finished up her degree at University of Memphis and moved to Washington, D.C. to attend the historically black Howard University Law School. The cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses to attend  Howard Law School in 2014 was $60,240. There is no indication that Sawyer completed her law degree and no listing was found under her name in the public attorney directory maintained by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. Sawyer describes…

Read the full story

Shelby County Commissioner Billingsley Suggests County Already Operating As a Sanctuary City

Chris Alto

Waiting until only eight of the Shelby County Commissioners were still present to conduct business on Monday, Shelby County Commissioner Mark Billingsley introduced a resolution urging Governor Haslam to veto the anti-sanctuary city bill that was passed with overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly. In discussing his reasons for bringing the resolution, Billingsley said that Shelby County’s law enforcement was “not prepared for this” referring to the legislation determining the state’s policy about cooperation with federal immigration authorities and compliance with federal law. Billingsley’s comment is strongly suggestive that Shelby County law enforcement is currently releasing criminal illegal aliens into the community instead of transferring custody to ICE, a practice that if confirmed, would constitute a violation of the new anti-sanctuary law and potentially make the county ineligible for economic and community development grants from the state. Mauricio Calvo, director of Latino Memphis, spoke in favor of Billingsley’s resolution even though the reasons he cited are unsupported by federal court precedent and the experience in other states that have passed even stricter anti-sanctuary city and anti-illegal immigration measures. Seven commissioners passed the resolution while Commission Chairman Heidi Shafer did not vote citing a lack of information available to…

Read the full story

JC Bowman Commentary: The Role of a School Board

JC Bowman
Tennessee Star

Local school boards reflect the needs and aspirations of the communities as well as the interests and concerns of professional and nonprofessional employees. We believe non-partisan control is what is best for our communities. This is best ensured when educational policy is made by representatives vested in the community they live, and whose undivided attention and interests are devoted strictly to education of the children in that district. What we stress in a nutshell: Public education is a federal concern, a state responsibility, and a local operation.

Read the full story

Four Cases of Mumps Diagnosed in Shelby County

Tennessee Star Staff

  “Four cases of mumps have been identified in Shelby County since March 2017, according to the Shelby County Health Department,” WMC Action News reported on Thursday. “With outbreaks in our neighboring states, it is not unexpected to see cases here in Shelby County,” said Alisa Haushalter, DNP, RN, director of the Shelby County Health Department. “Experiencing mumps in our community serves as another reminder of the importance of everyone knowing their immunization status.” Mumps is caused by a virus and is transmitted through droplets expelled when people cough or sneeze. However, you may not become ill until approximately 2-3 weeks (12-25 days) after being exposed to the virus, and at least one in three infected with mumps may have no obvious symptoms. “A person who has mumps is contagious from two days before to five days after the onset of swelling of the cheek or neck (parotitis),” WMC reported: The most common symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite, and swollen and tender salivary glands. Mumps can be prevented by vaccination. Two doses of vaccine against mumps are required for school attendance, and the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best protection against mumps. However, vaccinated people…

Read the full story

Former Memphis Area Transit Authority CEO Makes Plea Deal In Prostitution Case

Wendy Wilson

Facing charges of patronizing prostitution, the former chief executive officer of the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) made a plea deal Friday. Ronald Garrison, 60, entered an Alford plea, which is a guilty plea on the record but without an admission of guilt, according to a news release issued by the Shelby County district attorney’s office. An Alford plea is an acknowledgment that the prosecution has strong evidence. Garrison was placed on six months diversion. He can ask the General Sessions Criminal Court to have the misdemeanor offense cleared from his record if he abides by the terms of the diversion, which includes avoiding any new arrests. Garrison was one of 42 people charged in a police sting in January. The defendants responded to online ads posted by undercover agents posing as prostitutes. WREG News Channel 3 reported that Garrison agreed to pay a decoy for sex, but was uncomfortable when he got to a motel room in Cordova to meet the undercover officer and left. He was then detained. Garrison resigned the day before news of his arrest broke, citing health reasons. He had been CEO of MATA since 2014. Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) was involved in the sting…

Read the full story