Clinton Lewis was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday, May 14, for his role in the multi-state drug organization headed by Craig Petties.

2. Hamlet Pleads in Petties Drug Case - Thursday, May 09, 2013

After five years in a Mexican prison, Chris Hamlet pleaded guilty in Memphis federal court Tuesday, May 7, to U.S. drug conspiracy charges that could earn him an even longer stint in a U.S. prison.

3. Hamlet to Plead in Petties Drug Case - Thursday, April 25, 2013

The last defendant in the Craig Petties federal drug case is scheduled to plead guilty in May to drug conspiracy charges.

4. Special Elections Take Shape in Suburbs - Wednesday, April 24, 2013

It looks like 2013 will be an election year in the six suburban towns and cities in Shelby County.

But Memphis may not join the forming set of special elections until very late in the year if at all, according to one estimate by the Shelby County Election Commission.

5. Suburban Mayors Preach Patience to Parents - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Suburban leaders are counseling patience among parents of children in their communities who will be part of the coming merger of the county’s two public school systems.

And they will start moving in May on the process of forming municipal school districts for the 2014-2015 school year.

6. Municipal Schools Bill Sails Through House, Senate - Wednesday, April 17, 2013

After much speculation about resistance from other parts of the state to lifting the statewide ban on special school districts statewide, the bill to do that sailed through the Tennessee House and Senate Monday, April 15.

7. Legislature Sends Municipal Schools Bill To Haslam - Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Tennessee House and Senate sent a bill permitting municipal school districts in 29 cities including the six suburban towns and cities in Shelby County to Gov. Bill Haslam Monday, April 15, for his signature.

8. Mays Sets Hearing in Schools Case - Monday, April 15, 2013

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays has set a Tuesday, April 16, hearing on the move by the Shelby County Commission to make the countywide school board a 13-member body effective Sept. 1.

9. Single-Handed Success Story - Friday, April 05, 2013

SINGULAR PERFORMANCE. The White Station Class of 1966, the year ahead of mine, had two Academy Award winners – one you’ve heard of and one you haven’t.

That was some class. Physicist, gray matter repository and best-selling author Alan Lightman was in it. Federal judge and arbiter of public education’s future in Shelby County Hardy Mays was in it. John Vergos, former courageous city council maverick and scion to Rendezvous rib royalty, was in it. Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates was in it.

10. Special Master Has Tight Five-Month Window - Thursday, March 07, 2013

The special master appointed by U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays to oversee the schools merger knows the political and fiscal dealings of large local government entities.

11. Commission Mixes Residency With Schools Issues - Monday, February 25, 2013

It isn’t hard to get a debate going on the Shelby County Commission about the coming Shelby County schools merger and separate suburban school districts.

A majority of the 13-member body voted to file the second part of the Memphis federal court lawsuit over the connected issues. But there remains a vocal minority of four to five commissioners on both issues as well.

12. Merger Again Intersects With Nashville - Monday, February 18, 2013

For a third consecutive year in Nashville, the Shelby County schools merger and the suburban reaction to it are on the calendar of the Tennessee legislature.

As the General Assembly finished its legislative week Thursday, Feb. 14, state Senate Republican leader Mark Norris of Collierville introduced several bills, some of them captions to be added to as needed that would make suburban municipal school districts possible.

13. Huffman Brings Leverage to Possible Mediation - Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman would bring lots of political leverage with him should he mediate the coming merger of schools in Shelby County.

14. School Changes Continue on Many Fronts - Friday, November 09, 2012

There won’t be much waiting around for a federal court ruling with this week’s set of suburban school board elections now decided.

The six boards are the latest move toward the formation of municipal school districts in each of the suburban cities.

15. Child Sex Trafficker Draws 14-Year Prison Sentence - Monday, October 15, 2012

A Bartlett woman who pleaded guilty to federal child sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 11, to 14 years in prison.

The sentencing of Kala Bray, 19, by U.S. District Court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays drew reaction from U.S. Justice Department officials in Washington who have made such cases a priority and have highlighted investigations of the trafficking by Memphis federal prosecutors and FBI agents.

16. RedRover Names Thomson Account Manager - Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Melissa Thomson has been promoted to account manager from account executive at RedRover Sales & Marketing. In her expanded role, Thomson serves as a fractional chief marketing officer for growing Mid-South companies by conducting critical market research then creating and executing marketing strategies.

17. Judge Fowlkes Begins Federal Tenure - Thursday, August 16, 2012

U.S. District Court Judge John Fowlkes has been on the bench since taking the oath Aug. 2 from fellow Memphis federal Judge Hardy Mays and began hearing matters on Aug. 6.

18. Polls Set to Open for Early Voting - Friday, July 13, 2012

Shelby County voters start deciding Friday, July 13, general election countywide races for assessor of property, General Sessions Court clerk, district attorney general and a race for a Shelby County Commission seat. The ballot also includes seven races for district seats on the countywide school board.

19. US Senate Confirms Fowlkes Appointment - Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of John Fowlkes Jr. as the newest U.S. District Court Judge for Western Tennessee.

The 94-2 Senate floor vote Tuesday, July 10, included aye votes from Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, Mississippi Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker and Arkansas Senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman.

20. US Senate Confirms Fowlkes Appointment - Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of John Fowlkes Jr. as the newest U.S. District Court Judge for Western Tennessee.

The 94-2 Senate floor vote Tuesday, July 10, included aye votes from Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, Mississippi Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker and Arkansas Senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman.

21. Former Pinnacle IT Chief Sentenced for Fraud - Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Former Pinnacle Airlines Corp. information technology director Frank Richard Raasch was sentenced Thursday, June 28, to three years and five months in prison on a wire fraud charge.

22. Commission Approves County Building Renovation - Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Shelby County Commissioners approved $20 million in renovation work to come on the Vasco Smith County Administration Building. The vote Monday, May 25, came after a delay two weeks ago.

County engineers have said the nearly 50-year-old structure where the commission meets and it, along with the Shelby County mayor, have offices is badly in need of renovations to fix leaking pipes and outdated HVAC systems that cost the county twice as much as utilities do in more modern government buildings.

23. Petties Sentencing Delayed to June - Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The sentencing hearing for Memphis drug kingpin Craig Petties has been delayed again – this time to June 13.

24. Petties Org Trial Defense Opens Case Monday - Monday, March 12, 2012

Defense attorneys in the Petties drug organization trial begin presenting their case Monday, March 12, in Memphis federal court.

Clinton Lewis and Martin Lewis are charged with drug conspiracy, racketeering and murder for hire.

25. That's a Wrap - Monday, January 02, 2012

If the grand sweep of 2011 could be captured on celluloid and presented to an audience on the big screen, all the components of a great film would be readily apparent.

There was drama, in the form of a deluge and historic flooding that led the Mississippi River to crest at nearly 48 feet early in the year. One of the year’s big surprises saw President Barack Obama give the commencement address for the Booker T. Washington High School class of 2011 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

26. Petties Drug Case Moves Toward Jan. Trial - Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The three remaining defendants in the largest drug case ever brought in Memphis federal court are scheduled to go to trial Jan. 17 before U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays.

The trial of Martin Lewis, Clinton Lewis and Clarence Broady is expected to take four to five weeks.

27. Jackson Joins Devcon Security as GM - Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Eric Jackson has joined Devcon Security as general manager of the company’s Memphis branch. Jackson’s primary focus will be hiring and training sales people and technicians, as well as building daily branch operations and acting as the brand ambassador to building partnerships in the community.

28. Mays Issues Consent Decree in Schools Consolidation - Monday, October 03, 2011

Memphis Federal Court Judge Hardy Mays issued a 14-page consent decree last week that makes formal the settlement of the schools consolidation case agreed to in August by all sides in the case.

The decree is a basic affirmation of the terms of the agreement with little elaboration beyond the memorandum of understanding and its nine points. Some of the attorneys representing the different sides had anticipated Mays would offer some more specifics on those points.

29. Schools Planning Commission Begins Work - Thursday, September 29, 2011

The 21-member schools consolidation planning commission goes to work Thursday, Sept. 29, in a conference room at the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement in Shelby Farms.

30. First Schools Meeting Addresses Blueprint - Friday, September 23, 2011

The two groups that will do much of the political and organizational heavy lifting in the consolidation of Shelby County’s two public school systems first will do a lot of listening in the weeks to come.

31. Schools Consolidation: Mays Issues Ruling - Monday, August 15, 2011

The Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools systems will be consolidated starting with the 2013-2014 school year.

“Here the controversy between the parties is a legal dispute, not a factual dispute,” Federal Judge Hardy Mays wrote in the detailed and lengthy ruling released Aug. 8.

32. Deadline Looms for School Board Plans - Friday, August 12, 2011

Attorneys on several sides of the schools consolidation lawsuit have until the end of Friday, Aug. 12, to submit their plans to Federal Judge Hardy Mays for a redrawn countywide school board that includes proportional representation for Memphians.

33. Schools Consolidation Case Far From Over - Thursday, August 11, 2011

U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays met with all sides in the Memphis City Schools/Shelby County Schools consolidation case the day after he ruled in the case that will change the face of local public education.

34. Shelby County School Board Meets Wed. On Schools Case - Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Shelby County school board members meet Wed., Aug. 10 at 3 p.m. in special session to weigh their next move now that a federal judge has ruled in the schools consolidation lawsuit.

The meeting comes two days before all sides in the lawsuit are to submit their proposals for a new countywide school board that would play a pivotal role in a transition to consolidating Shelby County's two public school systems by Aug. 2013.

35. 4 Council Members - All 3 City Court Judges To Run Unopposed In Oct. Elections - Friday, July 22, 2011

Four incumbent Memphis City Council members and all three incumbent City Court Judges were effectively re-elected at the Thursday, July 21, noon deadline for candidates to file their qualifying petitions for the Oct. 6 Memphis ballot.

36. Mays Is Assigned Union Lawsuit - Wednesday, July 13, 2011

U.S. District Judge Hardy Mays has another high-profile case on his schedule. Mays has been assigned the lawsuit filed Monday, July 11, by the municipal unions representing city employees.

The unions are seeking class-action status for the lawsuit that contests the city’s decision to cut the pay of city employees by 4.6 percent in the fiscal year that began July 1. It also calls into question the $13 million voluntary buyout plan for city sanitation workers that is part of the new city budget.

37. Consolidation Case Deadline Arrives - Thursday, June 30, 2011

It’s been briefed several times over, unsuccessfully mediated three times and adorned with a fresh supply of depositions.

And Thursday, June 30, is the deadline for all of the material all of the sides in the schools consolidation case want U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays to consider in making a decision.

38. Feds Dismissed From Schools Consolidation Suit - Monday, May 30, 2011

Federal Judge Hardy Mays has dismissed the federal government from the schools consolidation lawsuit.

Mays’ court order follows a motion for dismissal by the Shelby County Schools system, which had included the U.S. departments of education and justice as well as Education Secretary Arne Duncan and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in its Feb. 11 lawsuit.

39. Mays to Begin Schools Suit Decision in July - Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Federal Judge Hardy Mays will begin deciding the schools consolidation lawsuit in July. And he will do it without further oral arguments or a trial.

The case had originally been scheduled for trial in September.

40. Schools Consolidation Case Hearing Goes Into Second Day - Friday, May 13, 2011

With a day of coutroom give and take with attorneys representing six sides in the schools consolidation case, U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays has begun laying the groundwork for a decision on the federal lawsuit that will determine what a consolidated Shelby County school system looks like.

41. Motion Granted For MEA to Intervene In Schools - Monday, May 09, 2011

U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays has granted a motion by the Memphis Education Association to intervene in the schools consolidation lawsuit.

Mays granted the motion Friday, the same week he began judicial mediation efforts in an attempt to settle the multi-sided legal dispute out of court.

42. Mediation Continues in Schools Case - Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The different sides in the schools consolidation case have already had at least one session with a mediator appointed by U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays. And they have another session scheduled for Thursday at an undisclosed location.

43. Mediation Considered For Schools Consolidation - Wednesday, April 20, 2011

They don’t appear to have a plan of any kind that they agree on at this point.

But none of the sides in the schools consolidation lawsuit appears anxious to run up what could be some sizeable legal bills in a case they all agree could take time to get a full ruling on. And then there would be an inevitable appeal by the losing parties.

44. Schools High on Haslam’s ‘To-Do’ List - Monday, April 11, 2011

The legal documents in the schools consolidation lawsuit include the name of Patrick Smith, the acting state commissioner of education when the lawsuit was filed Feb. 11 by the county school system.

45. Mum’s the Word on Wharton’s Involvement in Schools - Thursday, April 07, 2011

If there will be talks to settle the schools consolidation lawsuit out of court, they will probably be conducted out of the public spotlight as much as possible and Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. probably will be the circumspect moderator.

46. School Board Hearing Now Set for April 4 - Tuesday, March 29, 2011

There was no court hearing Monday in Memphis federal court in the schools consolidation case.

After a scheduling conference with all sides in the case last week, U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays had left two possible dates for a hearing on the future of an appointed countywide school board.

47. Mays Sets Monday Hearing in Schools Suit - Friday, March 25, 2011

U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays has set a tentative Monday hearing in the schools consolidation lawsuit, hours before the Shelby County Commission was scheduled to appoint citizens to a 25-member countywide school board.

48. Mays Sets Monday Hearing in Schools Suit - Thursday, March 24, 2011

U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays has set a tentative Monday hearing in the schools consolidation lawsuit, hours before the Shelby County Commission is scheduled to appoint citizens to a 25-member countywide school board.

49. Schools Saga Arrives in Federal Court - Thursday, March 24, 2011

What has 20 attorneys, one plaintiff, nine defendants, one counter defendant, five proposed interveners, four cross-counter claimants and five cross defendants?

It is the federal lawsuit over schools consolidation due Thursday before U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays for its first hearing since being filed Feb. 11 by Shelby County Schools.

50. County School Board Members Seek Court Halt to Countywide School Board - Monday, March 21, 2011

U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays has set a Thursday status conference on the schools consolidation lawsuit and legal motions pending in his court.

And five of the seven Shelby County school board members want him to stop the Shelby County Commission from appointing a new countywide school board on March 28.

51. City, Council Join in Schools Legal Wrangling - Monday, March 21, 2011

There may be a few more legal moves to come.

But by the end of last week, all of the critical moves had been made to get the schools consolidation issue in front of a federal judge.

The city of Memphis and Memphis City Council filed in U.S. District Court Thursday to join the legal battle over schools consolidation.

52. City and Council Challenge Norris-Todd Schools Law In Court - Friday, March 18, 2011

The city of Memphis and Memphis City Council have now acted in court to join the legal battle over schools consolidation.

Late Thursday, Assistant City Attorney Philip Oliphant filed the city’s response to the Feb. 11 lawsuit filed against the city and others in Memphis federal court by the Shelby County school system.

53. GSO Turns 35 by Bringing Home Cellist - Monday, February 28, 2011

The Germantown Symphony Orchestra will celebrate its 35th year of providing area musicians with an artistic outlet by bringing home an old friend who struck musical gold.

On Saturday, March 5, at 8 p.m., GSO will perform at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre with The Inventions Trio featuring cellist Alisa Horn, and music commissioned especially for the orchestra, some of which will cross stylistic lines between classical music and jazz.

54. Schools Suit Could Find Judge Soon - Tuesday, February 15, 2011

If attorneys for Shelby County Schools can find a federal judge this week, they may be in court after early voting begins Wednesday in the schools consolidation referendum.

In a wide-ranging lawsuit filed Friday, the school system went after more than just the Memphis City Council, which voted last week to ratify the Memphis City Schools board charter surrender vote of Dec. 20.

55. County Schools Lawsuit Seeks To Void MCS Charter Surrender - Monday, February 14, 2011

The Shelby County school board has filed a federal lawsuit against the Memphis City Schools board, the Memphis City Council, Memphis city government and parts of the state and federal governments.

The lawsuit filed late Friday in Memphis federal court seeks a declaratory judgment and is aimed at the council’s Thursday vote to ratify the surrender of the MCS charter as well as the MCS board’s original Dec. 20 decision on the matter.

56. Anthony Siracusa Joins Rhodes College - Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Anthony C. Siracusa has been hired as Community Service Coordinator in the Bonner Center for Faith and Service at Rhodes College.

Hometown: Memphis
Education: Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, in history, Rhodes College, 2009.
What was attractive about working at Rhodes? I was compelled by the Rhodes Vision of graduating students with the ability to translate academic study and personal concern into effective leadership and action in their communities and the world. In the words of former Bonner Foundation President Wayne Meisel, I’m passionate about Rhodes’ interest in moving from a world where we work to feed the poor to a world where soup kitchens are not necessary because we’ve defeated hunger.
What do you hope to accomplish as community service coordinator? Through the Kinney Program (the college’s campus-wide service-based learning umbrella), I hope to unite students working on a similar issue (e.g., hunger and homelessness or hospitals and health care) for regular meetings and the development of an issue-based action plan to guide current and future community engagement efforts. My hope is that Rhodes students graduate with a deep connection to the Memphis community.
What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishments? When I founded Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop in June of 2002, I never thought there would be a day when I worked in the shop and people would introduce themselves and say, “Hi, I’m so and so. Who are you?” To me, Revolutions now stands as a Memphis institution outside of any direct connection to me.
What do you most enjoy about your work? I enjoy wrangling with the issues. I enjoy debating the merits of particular courses of action or root causes for the problems that surround us, and I feel fortunate to have the chance to listen to brilliant insight from the people I meet every day. I love building community with people through meaningful work, and I enjoy being with people who hope to move our city and this world from potential to reality.

57. Petties Pleads Guilty to Contraband Charge - Friday, December 17, 2010

The weapon alleged drug kingpin Craig Petties had in his cell at the Memphis Federal Correctional Institution last year was a shank – or homemade knife – fashioned from a plastic shard from a tray.

58. Drug Kingpin Petties Back in Federal Court - Monday, October 04, 2010

Craig Petties, the alleged head of the largest and most violent drug organization ever tried in Memphis federal court, returns to court this week for the first status conference since the U.S. Justice Department decided not to seek the death penalty against four of his co-defendants. Attorneys for those four codefendants will also be in court to map out where the case goes from here.

59. Petties To Plead to Prison Contraband Charges - Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Craig Petties, the alleged head of the city’s largest drug organization ever tried in Memphis federal court, is scheduled to plead guilty to charges he had some kind of weapon while in the Memphis Federal Correctional Institution.

60. Petties Drug Case Begins Moving to Next Phase - Wednesday, September 08, 2010

After several years of report dates that take less than five minutes, the largest drug case ever prosecuted in Memphis federal court is beginning to move into questions about what comes next.

Sometime this month, U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays will meet with defense and prosecution attorneys for a status conference. It will be the first conference of its kind since the U.S. Justice Department decided not to seek the death penalty against four of the defendants: Demetrius Fields, Clinton Lewis, Martin Lewis and Clarence Broady.

61. Petties Appears in Court on Weapons Charges - Thursday, July 15, 2010

Craig Petties, made his first court appearance this week on charges he had a weapon twice this past October while in the Memphis Federal Correctional Institution. (FCI)

62. 2010 - Monday, January 04, 2010

Is it over yet? That may be the most frequently asked question in the New Year. “It” is the worst national economic recession since the Great Depression.

Accurately reading the indicators will not be easy. Some will predict the recession is about to end, just as new indicators point to continuing economic agony for thousands of Memphians.

63. AutoZone Wins Discrimination Suit - Thursday, April 23, 2009

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has lost a job discrimination lawsuit against AutoZone Inc. and must pay the company’s legal costs.

64. Ruling Expected In Police Association Injunction Request - Monday, March 10, 2008

The Herenton administration and the Memphis Police Association already are in court and contract negotiations between the two are just getting started.

U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays soon could issue a ruling on a request by the union for an injunction permitting its president, Lt. Gene Hulley, to take part in the bargaining. Mays heard Thursday from both sides in the federal lawsuit.

65. Platinum Plus Owner Sentenced - Tuesday, February 19, 2008

It might have been one of the more unique statements ever made during a sentencing hearing in Memphis federal court.

"I didn't realize the girl shows were prostitution. But I should have," strip club owner Ralph Lunati told U.S. District Court Judge Hardy Mays last week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

66. Lunati Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison - Monday, February 18, 2008

The owner of the city’s best known strip club owners was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison on a federal conspiracy charge.

67. Lunati Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison - Friday, February 15, 2008

68. Lee Case Twists and Turns - Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Within the past few days, each side in the pending federal corruption case against former Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division president Joseph Lee has considerably upped the ante.

First, prosecutors altered their trial strategy in a major way, returning to the grand jury to procure separate indictments Jan. 7 against Lee and his original co-defendant, former Memphis City Councilmember Edmund Ford. They did so to satisfy a federal judge's ruling last month asserting that bribery and corruption charges against both men had been improperly combined into one 11-count indictment.

69. Still in the Game: While He Heads Into Semi-Retirement, Gibson Remains Active - Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Walking into Gene Gibson's office is kind of like entering an exhibit in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Visitors are greeted by a Tom Pagnozzi jersey with a personalized message and signature by the former St. Louis Cardinals catcher, who happens to be one of Gibson's best friends.

70. Local Attorneys Get Turn as Judge, Jury - Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Starting over is the theme that fills every corner of David S. Kennedy's courtroom.

He is chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee, which each year hears more than 20,000 pleas from debtors looking for a financial fresh start.

71. Archived Article: Law Focus (haltom) - Thursday, June 29, 2000
Association takes time to honor heroic lawyers Association takes time to honor heroic lawyers By Bill Haltom Special to The Daily News On June 20, the largest crowd ever for a Memphis Bar Association event assembled in the Continental Ballroom of th...

72. Archived Article: Hops (bott) - Thursday, June 25, 1998
By LAURIE JOHNSON Florida-based restaurant and microbrewery to open By LAURIE JOHNSON The Daily News Construction is underway on a Hops Restaurant Bar & Brewery at 7065 Winchester Road in southeast Shelby County. The restaurant, which is expecte...