There are 41 article(s) tagged Erika Sugarmon:

• August 2024

  • County Commission may add sixth referendum to November ballot

    If approved by the commission in two more votes, the referendum would join five other ballots questions put on the same ballot for Memphis voters by the Memphis City Council.

    By Bill Dries August 12, 2024

• July 2024

  • Guest Column: A call for historical reckoning and respect

    “We must confront and address the legacies of slavery embedded in our surroundings, not just for the sake of the past, but for the integrity of our future.”

    By Erika Sugarmon July 23, 2024

  • County Commission to review raises, a veto override and clerk’s office lease

    The Shelby County Board of Commissioners will discuss a 6% pay raise for employees, could reopen a Land Bank ordinance and vote on a new lease for Millington office space for the Shelby County clerk’s office.

    By Bill Dries July 21, 2024

• June 2024

  • Sheriff keeps vacant positions, tax rate stays stable in approved county budget

    At a meeting that stretched past 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the Shelby County Commission closed out its budget season with no property-tax hike and a 6% pay raise for county employees.

    By Bill Dries June 18, 2024

• May 2024

  • Support for Wanda Halbert’s raise requests vanishes with legal move to oust her

    Two resolutions to fund the clerk’s office, including a pay raise, were withdrawn from the County Commission’s agenda Monday, May 6, without comment. 

    By Bill Dries May 07, 2024

• February 2024

  • County needs to consider new, $500 million jail, sheriff says

    Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. knows the area has a lot of needs, but he says 201 Poplar is showing its age — and Shelby County should start thinking about a new jail. 

    By Julia Baker February 19, 2024

• October 2022

  • County Commission pares down voter-education funding sought by Election Commission

    The funding is for a marketing firm to work with the Election Commission to not only explain the new voting system to voters, but also chart the areas of low voter turnout across the county.

    By Bill Dries October 31, 2022

  • Mulroy: Report of voters steered away from paper ballots ‘concerns us’

    The new hybrid voting system allows hand-marked paper ballots or voting on a touch-screen machine. Mulroy expressed concern that the Shelby County Election Commission was not following through on its compromise to use both voting systems. 

    By Julia Baker October 29, 2022

  • Shelby County Commission approves two midwives for Choices in post-Dobbs grant

    The commission split along the same partisan lines that split a vote by the previous commission this past January on funding for the center for reproductive health that has nothing to do with abortions.

    By Bill Dries October 08, 2022

• June 2022

  • Democrats urge County Commission to vote against new voting machines

    The vote could settle a nearly 20-year debate between a Democratic-majority Board of County Commissioners, which favors hand-marked paper ballots, and a Republican-majority Shelby County Election Commission, which believes ballot marking devices should be implemented.

    By Julia Baker June 03, 2022

• May 2021

  • Why critical race theory is a hot topic in education

    Critical race theory is being banned from classrooms across the nation. Here’s what it is and why educators of color are fighting back. 

    By Daja E. Henry May 31, 2021

  • High school students trade in-person classes for jobs

    With the flexibility of virtual learning, high school students have taken up part-time jobs and extra hours instead of returning to school buildings. 

    By Daja E. Henry May 10, 2021

• January 2021

  • Civil rights pioneer Miriam DeCosta-Willis dies at 86

    Dr. Miriam DeCosta-Willis, a civil rights pioneer and champion of gender and racial equality, has died at age 86. 

    By Daja E. Henry January 07, 2021

• October 2019

  • Last-minute bump in registrations for runoff elections adds to crunch of activity

    The Shelby County Election Commission is working to add voters to the rolls in time for the Nov. 14 runoff elections as the result of a last-minute bump in online registration thanks to a national Facebook effort.

    By Bill Dries October 22, 2019

• March 2019

  • City Council races begin to fill up

    With small gatherings and fundraisers, the 2019 Memphis City Council races are coming to life. But the contenders are still watching each other closely to see which races get crowded before they put it in writing.

    By Bill Dries March 22, 2019

• October 2018

  • Chancery lawsuit challenges Nov. 6 ballot referendums

    A group of citizens and an organization trying to preserve instant-runoff or ranked-choice voting in city elections filed a Chancery Court lawsuit Friday, Oct. 5, against the Shelby County Election Commission and the city of Memphis seeking to take a repeal of IRV off the Nov. 6 ballot.

    By Bill Dries October 05, 2018