James Coleman

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Crime, a curfew and the City Council

After a year of exponential growth in youth curfew violations and after-hours crime incidents committed by youthful offenders, the Memphis City Council’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee adopted a resolution Tuesday (Sept. 27), asking the Memphis Police Department to curb city teens’ nocturnal...

Crime concerns weigh heavy on Council

Capping off a brainstorming session for solutions to violent crime, Memphis City Council members adopted a resolution asking the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to direct additional state troopers to supplement the city’s police force. The request, which came during the council’s...

In North Memphis, Klondike community is getting ‘The Works’

Under the shadow of the monolithic Crosstown Concourse, work is underway inside another historic Memphis building, the old Northside High School, to convert it into a similar mixed-use facility.  However, rather than a one-off anchor meant to gradually lift the entire Klondike neighborhood, the $72...

Move to investigate County Clerk’s office comes up one vote short

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert once again dodged county commissioners’ accountability efforts when a resolution to have her office investigated failed to gain the seven votes needed to start the process. Only six commissioners voted to adopt the resolution at the commission’s final meeting of...

Jamaica vacation fuels storm over County Clerk

With outrage growing over Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert’s “scheduled” Jamaican vacation, a pair of Shelby County commissioners asked the county’s attorney on Tuesday (Aug. 23) to explore a possible recall vote. Repeating his summerlong refrain that the “citizens deserve better,” commissioner Mark Billingsley added...

Shelby County Clerk to curb office access in a catch-up move

Embattled Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert announced closures for two separate weeks to catch up on the backlog of additional work the office is facing. In a press release, Halbert said it was “all hands on deck” to catch up on critically outstanding services, most...

Commission asks for state’s help at County Clerk’s office

After rejecting a no-confidence resolution against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert, Shelby County Commissioners adopted an amended version, asking the State Comptroller’s Office to assist the clerk’s office in issuing new license plates and renewed car tags. The commission’s action came during Monday’s (Aug. 8)...

Harris rides ‘working-families’ message to a second term

Voters Thursday (Aug. 4) gave Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris another four-year term to build on his vision. The incumbent mayor defeated Memphis City Councilmember Worth Morgan in Thursday’s county general election. Shelby County Election Commission totals as of 1:05 a.m. Friday (Aug. 5), with most...

Violence intervention program to grow with American Rescue Plan Act funds

To curb retaliation shootings, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is poised to expand the city’s violence intervention program set in place more than a decade ago.  Strickland recently spoke about the program’s success as part of a July 13 “workforce summit” hosted by Vice President Kamala...

Greater Memphis Chamber sets Gold Standard Certification for temporary staffing agencies

Temporary staffing agencies now are encouraged to operate at a higher standard regarding pay, working conditions and benefits for the workers they place in Memphis businesses. That standard is engraved in the recently announced Greater Memphis Chamber’s Gold Standard Certification, which vets the agencies’ performance...