There are 596 article(s) tagged Lee Harris:

• June 2025

  • Harris signs ‘Mandela Rules’ to limit solitary confinement

    Wednesday’s signing won’t actually cause any changes at the jail as the facility has been implementing this policy since 2023.

    By Jody Callahan June 18, 2025

  • Mayor Harris walks back tax hike

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is changing the county property tax rate his administration is proposing to match the state’s certified rate.

    By Bill Dries June 18, 2025

  • After Mayor Harris vetoes grant, Ford moves to override

    County mayor accused Ford of “not taking seriously” the federal indictment against him. At stake, right now, is a nearly $180,000 grant for an entertainment industry nonprofit.

    By Bill Dries June 16, 2025

  • Political Roundup: XAI divide grows, Young in D.C. and the race for governor

    Also in the Political Roundup: City vs. county at Southwind High, a short history of going from the Senate to the governor’s mansion in Tennessee and Lee Harris on his successor and his next campaign.

    By Bill Dries June 16, 2025

  • In critical week ahead, County Commission will wrangle budget and tax rate

    Budget Committee Chair Miska Clay Bibbs said commissioners have little time to iron out details of 23 amendments to Mayor Lee Harris’ budget proposal.

    By Bill Dries June 15, 2025

  • Harris and Sugarmon find common ground in county budget season

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon talked about the ongoing county budget season, a proposed wheel tax hike and a new jail on “Behind The Headlines.”

    By Bill Dries June 14, 2025

  • County mayor’s property tax proposal becomes tax hike

    The county property tax rate proposed by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is four cents higher than the state’s certified rate, but he said it’s not a tax hike.

    By Bill Dries June 13, 2025

  • The plan for a focused crime lab run by Shelby County government

    A new plan for a local crime lab would focus on three specific areas with an estimated annual cost of $5.5 million. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and District Attorney General Steve Mulroy took the plan to Shelby County Commissioners Wednesday, June 4.

    By Bill Dries June 04, 2025

  • Instead of county building new Regional One, Jeff Warren has an idea

    For the past several months, Memphis City Councilman Jeff Warren has been giving tours of Methodist University Hospital. His goal is simple: Convince the community it doesn’t need to spend $1 billion on a new campus for Regional One. 

    By Jane Roberts June 03, 2025

• May 2025

  • County Commission braces for another budget battle

    Shelby County commissioners drew battle lines at their Monday, May 19, session as they go into the home stretch of their budget season.

    By Bill Dries May 21, 2025

  • Political Roundup: ‘Some of these devils want me to be gone,’ Ford Jr. said

    Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. calls out political rivals, campaigning for 2026 has already started and county budget hearings will be missing a lot of key people.

    By Bill Dries May 18, 2025

  • Harris proposes lower property tax rate, $5 wheel tax hike

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris says his budget proposal for the new fiscal year will reduce the county property tax rate by 20% and raise the county wheel tax by another $5.

    By Bill Dries May 14, 2025

  • Fractured ties between Shelby County mayor, Commission could make budget season bumpy

    The Shelby County government budget season opens Wednesday, May 14, in County Commission committee sessions. There is more than dollar figures and the county property tax rate at stake.

    By Bill Dries May 14, 2025

  • County ethics proposals could face ‘can of Raid’ and ‘house shoes’

    Two ethics proposals return to the Shelby County Commission Monday. County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., who faces criminal charges himself, is accusing others of wrongdoing.

    By Bill Dries May 05, 2025

• April 2025

  • New Frayser high groundbreaking a milestone for MSCS facility plan

    “This is the rebuild and transformation of Frayser, but this is also a moment, a forerunner, of things to come,” said Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, who first proposed building the school five years ago.

    By Laura Testino April 04, 2025

• March 2025

  • New Binghampton clinic will offer free care for diabetes, obesity and more

    More than half of adults in the county have not seen a primary health provider in the last year, but many health care challenges could be avoided through preventative screenings like those offered at the clinic.

    By Aisling Mäki March 27, 2025

  • For years, Mayor has tried to appoint new members to ethics board. County Commission hasn’t taken a single vote

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has produced six letters, going back to April 2021, in which he asked the County Commission to vote on new ethics board members. 

    By Bill Dries March 20, 2025

  • Three health department employees assume new leadership roles

    Shelby County Health Department has named two of its employees as deputy directors while a third has been promoted to chief of staff. 

    By Aisling Mäki March 19, 2025

  • Students can experience arts free with new ‘Art for All’ culture pass

    The new pass is now available at Memphis libraries and community centers. It provides elementary students and their families free access to performances and events hosted by more than 30 local arts organizations.

    By Redding Jackson March 18, 2025

  • After 17 years in elected office, Edmund Ford Jr. is at a crossroads

    The Shelby County commissioner faces federal bribery and tax-evasion charges as he nears the end of his second term on the Board of Commissioners and after 11 years on the Memphis City Council before that.

    By Bill Dries March 10, 2025

  • Harris wants to suspend Ford Jr. from making more county grants

    Mayor Lee Harris also said he wants to meet with attorneys and other elected officials to see if further steps need to be taken.

    By Bill Dries March 03, 2025

• February 2025

  • Some Shelby County mayor contenders make first steps

    As the end of Lee Harris’ tenure as Shelby County mayor nears, potential successors start laying the groundwork for their campaigns. 

    By Bill Dries February 03, 2025

• January 2025

  • Mayor Harris says new Regional One plans still include hope for state funding

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris talked of the new hospital site as a connection of the Medical District to Downtown, where there is now a lot of vacant land and blight.

    Related content:

    County mayor in Nashville working on alternatives to MSCS takeover bill

    By Bill Dries January 29, 2025

  • County mayor in Nashville working on alternatives to MSCS takeover bill

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris was in Nashville on Monday trying to talk lawmakers out of a state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. He says there are some alternatives being discussed.

    By Bill Dries January 28, 2025

  • County mayor, judge say they have plan to take over juvenile-detention center

    Mayor Lee Harris and Judge Tarik Sugarmon talk on “Behind The Headlines” about the compromise they have taken to Sheriff Floyd Bonner about administration of the county’s juvenile-detention center.

    By Bill Dries January 25, 2025