The Shelby County Commission on Monday elected commissioner Van Turner as chairman and commissioner Mark Billingsley as vice-chairman for the 2018-19 year in its first meeting of their four-year terms in office.

2. Last Word: Rain and Lightning, Recycling Blues and Polls and Campaigns - Monday, September 10, 2018

Signs of festival season in the air Sunday after what was left of Tropical Storm Gordon dumped most of its remaining rain and wind on the city Saturday. The Central Gardens home tour was doing a brisk business Sunday afternoon with lots of foot traffic in light jackets and lines outside a few of the homes on Belvedere as Birds and golf carts buzzed around. Further south Cooper-Young practicing moderation a week ahead of its milestone event for festival season – a new mural on Young west of Cooper toward the Fairgrounds awaiting your judgment next weekend.

3. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, New County Commissioners Sworn In - Friday, August 31, 2018

New Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and the 13 members of the Shelby County Commission were sworn in together – to show unity between the two bodies of government – Thursday afternoon at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.

4. Election Verdict - Thursday, August 2, 2018

A week into the early voting period, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen was quizzing Democratic nominee for Shelby County mayor Lee Harris about the path of Harris’ campaign to election day. The race between Harris and Republican nominee David Lenoir was already getting dicey, with Lenoir’s attacks on Harris continuing at their debates and moving into mailers, including a controversial mailer featuring a picture of Harris that was noticeably darker than Harris is in real life.

5. Early Opening - Friday, July 13, 2018

Early voting in advance of the Aug. 2 Election Day opens Friday, July 13, at five locations across Shelby County. On Tuesday, 22 additional sites will be open through July 28. Between the Shelby County Election Commission and Chancery Court there were three other sets of early-voting locations and hours in a three-week period before Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins signed off Tuesday afternoon on a fourth set.

6. Commission Overrides Veto on Bolton Appointment - Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Shelby County commissioners mustered the eight votes needed Monday, June 18, to override a veto by county mayor Mark Luttrell with one to spare.

7. County Commission Leaves Only Tax Rate Undone in Budget Season - Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Shelby County commissioners took final action Monday, June 18, on every item in its budget season except a final approval of a $4.05 county property tax rate.

The approval of a $1.3 billion county consolidated operating budget and a $90.2 million capital

8. Commission Takes 1st Vote On Property Tax Rate Cut - Saturday, June 9, 2018

Shelby County commissioners voted 8-0 Monday, June 4, in favor of a county property tax rate of $4.05 for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Commissioners Turner, Burgess and Willie Brooks abstained on the first reading vote, which automatically advances the measure to second and third readings regardless of the vote count under the commission’s rules.

9. Commission Takes First Vote On Property Tax Rate Cut - Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Shelby County commissioners voted 8-0 Monday, June 4, in favor of a county property tax rate of $4.05 for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Commissioners Turner, Burgess and Willie Brooks abstained on the first reading vote, which automatically advances the measure to second and third readings regardless of the vote count under the commission’s rules.

10. Commission Approves Graceland Resolution in Forum Non-Compete Controversy - Tuesday, June 5, 2018

The Shelby County commission dipped its toes in the roiling waters of the Graceland-Grizzlies arena flap with a vote Monday, June 4, to conditionally endorse the idea of a 6,200-seat Whitehaven arena built by Elvis Presley Enterprises on the Graceland campus.

11. Commission Races Feature Basar Upset, Lowery is Newest Commissioner - Thursday, May 3, 2018

The 13-member Shelby County Commission will have eight new faces when all of the votes are counted in the Aug. 2 county general election.

Five of the current incumbent commissioners are term-limited from seeking re-election this year and two other incumbents chose not to seek a second term.

12. Commission Races Feature Basar Upset - Wednesday, May 2, 2018

The Shelby County Commission will have eight new faces when all of the votes are counted in the Aug. 2 county general election.

Five of the current incumbent county commissioners are term-limited from seeking re-election this year and two other incumbents chose not to seek a second term on the 13-member body.

13. First Primaries Kick Off Busy Election Year - Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Shelby County voters go to the polls Tuesday, May 1, in the first of three elections this year that will take in county, state and federal offices by the time the last vote is counted in November.

The primary elections Tuesday for 23 Shelby County government offices are being watched closely by local Republican and Democratic leaders. They are watching the turnout and what the results say about the political temperament and activism of a county Hillary Clinton carried with 60 percent of the vote in the November 2016 presidential general election won by Republican Donald Trump.

14. Early Voting Opens for May County Primaries - Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Early voting in the first of three 2018 elections in Shelby County opens Wednesday at 21 sites across the county and runs through April 26.

The primaries are led by contests for county mayor, all 13 seats on the county commission and most of the county’s elected offices. The remainder are in the other even-year election cycle or have an eight-year term of office that comes around next in 2022.

15. Last Word: MLK50s Surprise Ending, Senate Race Shake Up and EDGE Insights - Monday, April 9, 2018

Does the NBA need a version of the mercy rule for this meaningless part of the season for teams that have already made the second season – I mean, the playoffs – and those who are looking to lose their way to the top draft pick? The Grizz played their last home game of the season Sunday at the Forum. Grizz over the Pistons 130 – 117.

16. Last Word: I Am A Man Plaza, Graceland Clears EDGE and Filing Deadline Action - Friday, April 6, 2018

Sometimes the simplest concepts say more than an elaborate explanation can – even when the history it depicts is complex. A plaza dedicated to the 1,300 city sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968 formally opened Thursday on what had been a vacant lot just across Pontotoc from the south side of Clayborn Temple. And the occasion included more of the small moments that have made this week so compelling. Watching civil rights icon Rev. James Lawson walk around the plaza and discover it includes one of his quotes from the 1968 strike.

17. EDGE May Get Tweaked as Economic Dispute Settles Down - Friday, March 9, 2018

A March 1 joint session of the Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission hosted by chairs Berlin Boyd and Heidi Shafer discussed, among other topics, the current state of economic development in Shelby County, and in particular, the role the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County plays in it.

18. Novel Approach - Saturday, March 10, 2018

The smallest of the city’s 17 public libraries is also one of its most used. The Frayser Branch library is a brick-and-glass rectangle on a half-acre at 3712 Argonne St. With some modest columns and shrubs, a few planters and cinderblock lattice work, it is shoe-horned into the side of a hill in a residential neighborhood a block from the commercial corridor of North Watkins Road still dominated by churches.

19. Council and Commission Talk Pre-K and Workforce Development - Monday, March 5, 2018

When 20 of the 26 Memphis City Council members and Shelby County Commissioners got together Thursday, March 1, at Beale Street Landing, the idea of county government providing funds to expand access to prekindergarten got resistance on the county side.

20. Council and Commission Talk Pre-K and Workforce By The River - Friday, March 2, 2018

When 20 of the 26 Memphis City Council members and Shelby County Commissioners got together Thursday, March 1, at Beale Street Landing, the idea of some kind of county government funding for expanding access to pre-kindergarten ran into some resistance on the county side.

21. May Primaries Feature More Candidates, Women - Friday, March 2, 2018

The May 1 Shelby County primary ballot is set, with 33 Republicans and 50 Democrats seeking 23 county offices – specifically the right to advance as the nominees of their respective parties to the August county general election.

22. Last Word: Corker & Blackburn, More Frost and Dale Watson's Move to The Haven - Friday, February 23, 2018

It's possible around City Hall these days to get your RFQs mixed up with your RFPs. And there is a difference in requests for qualifications and requests for proposals. Usually RFQs come before RFPs – but there are exceptions – loopholes. The latest RFQ out of City Hall – album title or t-shirt slogan? – is for the adaptive reuse of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

23. County Primary Ballot Includes Partisan Match-Ups, Automatic Wins - Monday, February 19, 2018

Two Democratic county commissioners effectively won re-election to new terms of office at the Thursday, Feb. 15, filing deadline for candidates on the May 1 county primary ballot. And a third faces independent opposition in the August county general election.

24. Two County Commissioners Re-elected At May Ballot Filing Deadline - Friday, February 16, 2018

Two Democratic county commissioners effectively won re-election to new terms of office at the Thursday, Feb. 15, filing deadline for candidates on the May 1 county primary ballot. And a third faces independent opposition in the August county general election.

25. Four County Commissioners Unopposed As May Ballot Filing Deadline Approaches - Thursday, February 15, 2018

With a noon deadline Thursday, Feb. 15, to make the May 1 Shelby County primary ballot, four incumbent county commissioners had no opposition filed in their re-election bids.

Five Republican primary races on the ballot for 23 county offices, including the 13 commission seats, were one-candidate affairs with two or more Democrats running in the competing primaries as of Tuesday. Two Democratic primary races were also one-candidate races against a field of multiple Republican contenders in the companion primary.

26. Shelby County Joins Memphis in Landfill Moratorium - Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Shelby County commissioners approved a six-month moratorium on any new construction landfills in unincorporated Shelby County on Monday, Jan. 22.

The resolution is the companion to a Memphis City Council resolution passed earlier this month that imposed a six-month moratorium on such landfills within the city of Memphis.

27. Last Word: Shutdown Over?, Glen Farms Plans and Billy Richmond - Wing Guru - Tuesday, January 23, 2018

The federal government shutdown for many of us outside the Beltway amounted to a message on a website saying the agency we were looking up was closed Monday. And Monday was the third and final day of the most recent shutdown. But the immigration policy known as DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – is the issue to be explored by Congress in the three weeks that the continuing resolution covers. It’s an issue that there has been plenty of local discussion about

28. Commission Adds County Landfill Moratorium to City Ban - Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Shelby County commissioners approved a six month moratorium Monday, Jan. 22, on any new construction landfills in unincorporated Shelby County. The resolution is the companion to a Memphis City Council resolution passed earlier this month that imposed a six-month moratorium on such landfills within the city of Memphis.

29. Last Word: Snow Week, Liberal Arts and Their Critics and Tunica Casinos - Thursday, January 18, 2018

Snow Day 3 as this becomes a snow week for many of us. Granted one of those days was a federal holiday in which the temperature was above freezing and the sun was out. During the second consecutive snow day Wednesday for Shelby County Schools students, Candous Brown, a teacher at Raleigh Egypt High School held class anyway via Facebook.

30. County Commission Moves Toward More Fixes in Minority Business Rules - Monday, January 8, 2018

Shelby County commissioners meet Monday, Jan. 8, for the first time in 2018 and have a fairly simple agenda along with some longer-range issues to discuss.

Among the more immediate items on Monday’s agenda is a $1.5 million contract for mobile data terminals, tablets and vehicle wireless routers that Tate Computer Systems Inc. of Memphis would provide to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

31. Battling Opioids - Friday, January 5, 2018

Later this month, Shelby County government will roll out a public health effort led by the Shelby County Health Department to battle opioid addiction. “We’re taking a very long view of this. It’s not going to be a quick fix,” Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell told Shelby County Commission members Wednesday, Jan. 3, during committee sessions.

32. County Primary Filing Opens With Paperwork Flurry - Monday, November 20, 2017

A total of 37 prospective candidates in the May 2018 county primaries pulled qualifying petitions last week on the first day of the filing period Friday, Nov. 17.

And the first contenders through the doors at the Shelby County Election Commission in a period that extends to a February deadline confirms a few trends.

33. Events - Saturday, November 18, 2017

New Ballet Ensemble will perform “Nut ReMix” with special guest Charles “Lil Buck” Riley Friday through Sunday, Nov. 17-19, at the Cannon Center, 255 N. Main St. The show is a new take on Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” set on Beale Street, with music performed by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Big Band.  Visit newballet.org for times and tickets.

34. Events - Friday, November 17, 2017

New Ballet Ensemble will perform “Nut ReMix” with special guest Charles “Lil Buck” Riley Friday through Sunday, Nov. 17-19, at the Cannon Center, 255 N. Main St. The show is a new take on Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” set on Beale Street, with music performed by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Big Band. Visit newballet.org for times and tickets.

35. Events - Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Latino Memphis will host “The Future of DACA, an Analysis and Panel Discussion About the DREAM Act” Wednesday, Nov. 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Halloran Centre, 225 S. Main St. Jeanne Batalova, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, will discuss different versions of the DREAM Act and the impact it could have if approved. There also will be a panel discussion and Q&A with local leaders, immigration advocates and a local DREAMer. Cost is free. RSVP at eventbrite.com.

36. Upset at Missouri Vital to Bowl Hopes for Tennessee Vols - Friday, November 10, 2017

Tennessee’s football program remains in limbo as the Vols pursue bowl eligibility under fifth-year coach Butch Jones.

Jones is hanging onto his job as the Vols (4-5, 0-5 SEC) play their final three games of the season, starting with Saturday night’s 7:30 ET game (SEC Network) against Missouri (4-5, 1-4 SEC) in Columbia.

37. Aquarium Proposal for Mud Island Resurfaces After Pyramid Pitch - Tuesday, November 7, 2017

The plan for an aquarium at Mud Island River Park is not the first time an aquarium has been proposed on the city’s riverfront.

“It was an interesting beginning. I was disappointed at the time,” said Peter Chermayeff of the original aquarium concept for the Pyramid, which never got as far as renderings or a concept plan.

38. Lendermon Retires As Riverfront Plans Evolve - Friday, October 20, 2017

Benny Lendermon was familiar with the controversy that comes with plans for the city’s riverfront before the Riverfront Development Corp. started in 2000 and he became its founding president.

39. Lendermon To Retire From Riverfront Development Corp. - Thursday, October 19, 2017

Benny Lendermon is retiring as the founding president of the Riverfront Development Corp. effective in April.

40. Brooks Pursues Riverfront Site for New Museum - Tuesday, October 17, 2017

The board of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art announced Tuesday, Oct. 17, it is working with city government to relocate the museum from its Overton Park home to a Downtown site on Front Street between Union and Monroe avenues.

41. Brooks Museum Eyes Downtown Fire Station Site - Friday, October 6, 2017

Brooks Museum officials are considering relocating to a Downtown site at Front Street and Union Avenue that is currently occupied by the Memphis Fire Department headquarters.

While officials with the city and the museum would not comment, the idea of putting a “cultural amenity” on the river side of Front Street between Union and Monroe avenues first surfaced about two months ago.

42. Brooks Museum Eyes Downtown Fire Station Site - Thursday, October 5, 2017

The city fire station at Union Avenue and Front Street and the adjacent parking garage appears to be under consideration as the new site for the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, according to a source close to the situation who did not want to be identified by The Daily News.

43. Heidi Shafer Claims Commission Chairmanship With Consistency - Thursday, August 3, 2017

Heidi Shafer was first elected to the Shelby County Commission in 2010. But when she is talking about the way county government works, she often goes further back than that to her experience as an aide to her predecessor on the commission, Dr. George Flinn.

44. Commission Tries to Stop Charter School Plan - Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Shelby County commissioners called on a charter school that planned to open in Memphis but instead wants to set up shop in Bartlett to stick by its original plan or put off opening Gateway University Charter School next week.

45. Last Word: Gentrification, ServiceMaster's New CEO Speaks and Gateway Resolution - Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Gentrification in Binghampton? The g-word is a term that can start a real debate in Memphis these days. But those leading the hard fought redevelopment in Binghampton say a tax increment financing district there would mean an immediate capital infusion of $332,000 that would help to ward off the possibility of gentrification.

46. County Commission Calls For Halt to Gateway Charter Plans in Bartlett - Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Shelby County Commissioners called on a charter school that planned to open in Memphis but instead is setting up shop in Bartlett to stick by its original plan or put off the opening of the Gateway University Charter School next week.

47. County Budget Talks Reveal Political Divide - Friday, July 14, 2017

When Shelby County Commissioners convene Monday, July 17, it will be their third meeting in a week – following committee sessions Wednesday and the special meeting to approve a county operating budget two days before that.

48. Commission Approves $1.2B County Budget - Wednesday, July 12, 2017

At the end of a marathon seven-hour meeting Monday, July 10, with one item on its agenda, the Shelby County Commission agreed on a $1.2 billion budget, including about $1.4 million in amendments added by the commission.

49. County Budget Accord Reached But Property Tax Rate Still In Flux - Tuesday, July 11, 2017

At the end of a marathon seven-hour meeting Monday, July 10, with one item on its agenda, the Shelby County Commission agreed on a $1.2 billion budget including about $1.4 million in amendments added by the commission.

50. County Commission Debates 3-Cent Tax Rate Cut - Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Shelby County Commissioners approved a 3-cent reduction in the county property tax rate Monday, June 12, on the first of three readings but delayed a vote on the operating budget resolution for more discussion about how to account for the tax-rate cut.

51. County Commission Continues Tax Cut Calculations - Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Shelby County Commissioners approved a three-cent reduction in the county property tax rate Monday, June 12, on the first of three readings but delayed a vote on the operating budget resolution for more discussion about how to account for a cut in the tax rate.

52. Brooks’ 100 New Acquisitions Mark End of Centennial, Start of Other Changes - Tuesday, June 6, 2017

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has 100 new works of art in its permanent collection to mark its centennial. But the 100 items, grouped together through Aug. 27 in “Unwrapped! 100 Gifts for 100 Years,” point to a rethinking of the Brooks that began with a major renovation that debuted last year. The exhibition marks an end of centennial observances.

53. Sound Emporium Studio Given as Gift to Lipscomb University - Tuesday, May 16, 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Lipscomb University will become the new owner of the iconic Nashville recording studio called Sound Emporium, which was originally built in 1969 by legendary Nashville producer "Cowboy" Jack Clement.

54. Shelby County Commissioners Pledge to ‘Push It’ on Minority Business Contracts - Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Shelby County commissioners took a hard line Monday, April 17, on increasing the share of county government contracts for minority and locally owned businesses now that it has a plan for tackling a documented disparity for such contracts.

55. First Budget Moves, Minority Business Measures Top Commission Session - Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Shelby County Commissioners set the tone for the upcoming county government budget season Monday, April 17, with approval of a refinancing of county debt with up to $120 million in bonds over time.

56. First Budget Moves, Minority Business Measures Top Commission Session - Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Shelby County Commissioners set the tone for the upcoming county government budget season Monday, April 17, with approval of a refinancing of county debt with up to $120 million in bonds over time.

57. Memphis in May Delegation Returns From Colombia - Saturday, March 11, 2017

A delegation of 48 Memphians representing the Memphis In May International Festival returned to the city from Colombia Tuesday, March 7.

Colombia is the honored country for this year’s Memphis in May series of events.

58. Memphis in May Delegation Returns From Colombia - Thursday, March 9, 2017

Some members of a delegation of 48 Memphians representing the Memphis In May International Festival returned to the city from Colombia Tuesday, March 7. And others remained in Cartagena through week's end.

59. Last Word: De-Annexation Theories, Clash on School Vouchers and Garth & Trisha - Friday, February 3, 2017

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and his administration come up with some surprises in de-annexation recommendations to the city task force on the issue. The three most recently annexed areas of Memphis were considered likely to be in the recommendations. Although the indication last year was that this would take a lot of discussion before someone actually wrote that on a Power Point presentation at City Hall. Not only did Strickland do that – he also included four other areas.

60. Shelby County Commission Votes Down Pot Ordinance - Wednesday, December 7, 2016

The Shelby County Commission voted down Monday, Dec. 5, an ordinance that would have matched a city of Memphis ordinance allowing police the option of writing a civil summons or ticket with a $50 fine for possession of half an ounce or less of marijuana.

61. Commission Votes Down Pot Ordinance - Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Shelby County Commissioners voted down Monday, Dec. 5, an ordinance that would have matched the city of Memphis ordinance allowing police the option of writing a civil summons or ticket with a $50 fine for possession of half an ounce or less or marijuana.

62. Pot Ordinance, County Ambulance Service Top County Commission Agenda - Monday, December 5, 2016

There are seven no votes on the Shelby County Commission against an ordinance allowing Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies to write a civil summons with a $50 fine for possession of a half ounce or less of marijuana.

63. Commissioners Clash on Pot and PILOT - Wednesday, November 2, 2016

A pot ordinance for unincorporated areas of Shelby County got only four votes Monday, Oct. 31, from the county commission but still advanced to second reading, and commissioners could not agree on a resolution opposing a Nov. 8 ballot question that would shift MLGW funds to the city of Memphis.

64. County Commission Split on MLGW PILOT Referendum - Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Shelby County Commissioners couldn’t come up with seven votes, much less a unanimous vote, Monday. Oct. 31, on a resolution opposing the November ballot question that would change the balance of in lieu of tax payments by Memphis Light Gas and Water Division in favor of the city of Memphis.

65. Shelby County Budget Delay Centers on $3.5 Million for Schools - Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Most of the declarations Monday, June 20, before the Shelby County Commission delayed final votes on local schools funding to next week came from the audience.

“For too long we’ve bled, died, cried and pled for education,” former Memphis City Council and Memphis City Schools board member TaJuan Stout-Mitchell told the commission.

66. County Commission Ends Year With Nonprofit Grants - Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Shelby County Commissioners met for the last time in 2015 Monday, Dec. 7, in an hour-long session void of any arguments about money or attorneys. They focused on a set of grants for local nonprofits instead.

67. Shelby County Commission Continues Quest for Legal Autonomy - Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Shelby County commissioners have hired an attorney in their continued exploration of retaining their own permanent legal counsel independent of the county attorney’s office.

The body appointed former county commissioner Julian Bolton as special counsel in the matter Monday, Oct. 12. The commission has indicated Bolton is the attorney they’d like to hire on a permanent basis.

68. Raleigh’s Kennedy Park is ‘the Heart’ of Wolf River Greenway - Friday, October 2, 2015

Charles Flink, the design consultant for the Wolf River Greenway, calls it “a season of construction” – seven segments of the 20-mile Wolf River Greenway in Shelby County are wrapping up their design work and set to begin a three-year construction phase.

69. County Commission to Discuss Fire Coverage - Monday, September 28, 2015

Shelby County Commissioners answer the bell again Monday, Sept. 28, on plans to close a fire station that was resurrected in 2012 after being mothballed in the late 1980s.

Fire Station 60, at 5380 Egypt-Central Road, would be closed as part of a shift in fire services serving unincorporated Shelby County prompted by Millington’s withdrawal from an agreement to man the station for the county.

70. Shelby County Commission to Resolve Budget Loose Ends - Wednesday, June 17, 2015

The last time Shelby County Commissioners talked as a group about a county budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, the consensus they thought they had reached was falling apart.

That was two weeks ago and as commissioners began to part company, the body approved a stable $4.37 county property tax rate on the first of three readings.

71. County Commission Tax-Rate Debate Picks Up Volume - Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Shelby County Commissioners hit a big political divide Monday, June 1, and as a result will discuss in two weeks that most volatile of political topics – the property tax rate.

Commissioners approved on the first of three readings an ordinance to keep the property tax rate at the current $4.37.

72. County Budget Season Reflects Priorities, Angst - Monday, May 11, 2015

It’s that time of year in Downtown’s Civic Center Plaza.

In late April, May and into June, the budget committee sessions of the Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission become the stage for the priorities – political and financial – of both bodies.

73. Southbrook Project Resurfaces Again - Friday, March 6, 2015

The owners of Southbrook Mall got $1.5 million in improvements from City Hall this week. But it wasn’t the $1.5 million the owners of the Whitehaven mall wanted in 2012, when the city contemplated giving them that sum to fix the roof and make repairs to the mall’s heating and air conditioning system.

74. This week in Memphis history: November 28-December 4 - Saturday, November 29, 2014

2006: Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton and former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier boxed at the Peabody Hotel in an exhibition for the Shelby County Drug Court.

75. City, County Take Different Paths on Insurance - Monday, November 3, 2014

City of Memphis human resources director Quintin Robinson came from City Hall on the other side of the Main Street Mall last week to watch how Shelby County government handled changes to its health insurance plan for employees.

76. County Commission Approves Health Insurance Changes - Friday, October 31, 2014

Shelby County Commissioners approved changes to county government employee health insurance coverage Thursday, Oct. 30, that raises employee premiums by 5 percent and drops working spouses who are offered equivalent coverage of the county’s bronze plan by their employers effective Jan. 1.

77. Commission Chair Sued by Seven Members - Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Seven Shelby County Commissioners are suing commission chairman Justin Ford for stopping them from adding items to the body’s agenda.

78. County Commission Starts School Bond Process - Monday, September 22, 2014

Shelby County Commissioners vote Monday, Sept. 22, on a resolution that is the first step in issuing $120 million in general obligation bonds over the next two years to finance “public works projects, including schools,” according to the resolution.

79. Old School, New Day - Saturday, September 20, 2014

Vasco Smith remembers working the polls at Fairview Junior High School in the 1960s as a child. His job was simple – to hand out campaign literature and not stray within the 100-foot limit by law between poll workers and the polling place in the gymnasium.

80. Competition Calls - Friday, September 5, 2014

Economic development and the quality of jobs coming to Shelby County are the dominant issues as county elected leaders begin a new four-year term of office this month.

And there are plenty of indications the local strategy is about to change, or at least shift, in response to the resurgence in manufacturing and distribution in North Mississippi.

81. Nine Losing Candidates Challenge August Vote - Thursday, September 4, 2014

Nine losing candidates from the August elections are contesting the results in a Shelby County Chancery Court lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed Sept. 2 by Democratic candidates Joe Brown, Henri Brooks and Wanda Halbert; judicial candidates Mozella Ross, Kim Sims, Kenya Brooks, J. Nathan Toney and Alicia Howard; and Doris Deberry-Bradshaw, who ran in a state House Democratic primary.

82. Politics Continues After County Primaries - Friday, May 9, 2014

A lot of the candidates from the Shelby County primary ballot were in the same room the day after the Tuesday, May 6, election.

The occasion was County Commission committee sessions.

It was mostly winners.

83. Malone to Challenge Luttrell In August Mayoral Showdown - Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Former Shelby County Commissioner Deidre Malone will challenge incumbent Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell in the August county general election after winning the Tuesday, May 6, Democratic mayoral primary.

84. Malone Takes Early Vote In Mayoral Primary - Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Former Shelby County Commissioner Deidre Malone took the early vote in the three-way Democratic primary for Shelby County Mayor.

The first results of the Tuesday, May 6, election night showed Malone leading rivals county commissioner Steve Mulroy and former Shelby County Schools board member Kenneth Whalum Jr.

85. Obama Backs Cohen, Brooks Charges ‘Voter Suppression’ - Wednesday, April 23, 2014

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen is touting the endorsement of President Barack Obama in his current re-election bid.

86. May County Primary Ballot Set - Friday, March 7, 2014

The ballot for the May Shelby County primary elections was completed Wednesday, March 5, as the Shelby County Election Commission disqualified a County Commission candidate whose attorney argued that she intended to but never did live in the district she hoped to represent.

87. Election Commission Approves All But Three Names For May Primaries - Friday, February 28, 2014

Shelby County Election Commissioners certified all but three names Thursday, Feb. 27, for the May county primary ballot and will meet March 5 to consider challenges to the residency of candidates Edith Ann Moore, M. Latroy Williams and E. Jefferson Jones.

88. Consolidation Talk Surfaces as Races Come to Life - Thursday, February 27, 2014

Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy says he would pursue city and county government consolidation if elected Shelby County mayor.

Mulroy made the comment at a Cooper-Young fundraiser as campaigns leading into the May county primaries came to life this week.

89. Roland ReElected At Filing Deadline, Two Countywide Races Set For August - Friday, February 21, 2014

One of the six Shelby County Commission incumbents seeking re-election this year was effectively elected to a new four-year term in a new district with the noon Thursday, Feb. 20, filing deadline for candidates in the May county primaries.

90. Three Town Center Concepts Take Shape - Thursday, February 20, 2014

The city of Memphis would move government offices into two shopping malls and the Soulsville Town Center under tentative “conceptual” plans Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. took Tuesday, Feb. 18, to the Memphis City Council.

91. Southbrook Mall Plan Headed to City Council - Tuesday, February 11, 2014

What began as a plan last year for $1.5 million in city funding to fix the roof and make other repairs at Whitehaven’s Southbrook Mall has now become a larger and probably more expensive plan for development in a broad area of Whitehaven.

92. Sesley-Baymon Named CEO of Memphis Urban League - Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Tonja Sesley-Baymon has been appointed president and CEO of the Memphis Urban League by its board of directors. Sesley-Baymon, who has worked with the league for eight years, previously served as programs director for the 70-year-old organization. In her new role, she will provide executive leadership to the league and advocate on behalf of social justice and economic issues affecting Memphis.

93. Current Elections Merge With Future Campaigns - Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The campaigns for elections in 2013 are beginning to overlap with campaigns on the ballot in 2014.

The set of 11 elections in three months ends with the Nov. 21 special general election for state House District 91 and a citywide referendum on a half percent sales tax hike.

94. Democrats ‘Roast’ Herenton, Look Ahead to 2014 - Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Divisions within the local Democratic party took a backseat over the weekend as the Shelby County Democratic Party held the first of two large fundraisers for the 2014 election year.

But the look back for the party came with some advice for the future.

95. Weddle-West Voted GRE Board Chair-Elect - Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Dr. Karen Weddle-West, dean of the graduate school, vice provost for academic affairs and director of diversity initiatives at the University of Memphis, has been voted chair-elect of the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) Board. The national board establishes all policies for the GRE program, the most widely used graduate-school admissions test, and oversees GRE assessments, services and research.

96. Events - Saturday, September 14, 2013

Kiwanis Club of Memphis will meet Wednesday, Sept. 18, from noon to 1 p.m. at The University Club of Memphis, 1346 Central Ave. William Rodney of Medicos will speak. Cost is $18 for nonmembers.

97. Country Songwriters Event Benefits St. Jude, Le Bonheur - Monday, June 25, 2012

The Darryl Worley and Friends Songwriters’ Event featuring country music songwriters Darryl Worley, Mark D. Sanders, Rob Crosby and Jim “Moose” Brown will take place Tuesday, June 26, at 7 p.m. at Bumpus Harley-Davidson, 325 S. Byhalia Road in Collierville.

98. Deadline Looms For Candidates In March Primaries - Thursday, December 8, 2011

There is the paperwork and there are the deadlines in politics. And then there are the campaigns that begin long before the paperwork or deadlines.

One group of candidates in the 2012 election cycle is approaching its first deadline Thursday, Dec. 8, at noon – the filing deadline for the March 6 county primaries.

99. Countywide School Board List Hits 100 - Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Shelby County Commissioners are preparing for a long afternoon Wednesday, Sept. 7, as they interview applicants for the seven seats the commission will fill on the new countywide school board.

The interview sessions before the general government committee chaired by commissioner Mike Carpenter begin at noon.

100. County Commission to Select Leaders - Monday, July 11, 2011

Shelby County Commissioners settle the simmering political question of who will lead the 13-member body for another year at their Monday, July 11, meeting.

On Monday’s agenda is the election of a chairman and a chairman pro tempore for the year-long term that begins Sept. 1.