Michael Hooks Jr. Gets Job With County From Which He Stole

Michael Hooks Jr, fresh out of prison has been hired by Shelby County Corrections Center. Just weeks after his release from a month long prison sentence, he’s working for mayor AC Wharton’s reentry program for ex-cons. Hooks Jr. plead guilty to taking money from Shelby County Government Contracts for work he didn’t do

Program director Stanley Lipford admits the job was not posted or advertised but says Hooks received no favors. He was among 10 others hired through a temporary program aimed at recruiting incarcerated men to participate in fatherhood responsibility classes.

“He had submitted a resume as many people do who are interested in employment. He’s no different than anyone else. We received tons and tons of resumes and we chose his resume from a pool of resumes that we have,” said Lipford.

Lipford says neither the former city school board member’s political connections nor his well known family name had anything to do with him getting the job.

Lipford said, “Upon going through the resumes, we saw what his qualifications were. His education. His experience. We thought he would be beneficial for our program.”

Hooks is hired on a part-time temporary basis. He is paid $16.41 an hour to work 20 to 25 hours a week. He is among 10 others hired for one of these temporary jobs but Hooks is the only one who is an ex-con. Lipford says there are at least one or two other felons working in his program but they are full time employees.

Hooks job is over September 30th. Mayor AC Wharton’s office says there are no plans to bring Hooks on as a full time employee.

What do you think? Should the county hire someone who stole from it in the first place?

Bartlett To Pay Dance Studio $20,000

To avoid a costly legal battle, the city of Bartlett will pay a dance studio owner $20,000. The city closed the studio for several days after claiming it violated zoning ordinances. The studio offers pole dancing classes as exercise and says there is nothing sexual about it. The owner says only women are allowed in and that being closed cost her money. The studio is now up and running.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Cash Makes Changes To MCS

Dr. Kriner Cash has changed principals at several schools and is changing how MCS management is organized. Cash is bringing in at least two people from the Miami area where he previously worked and will be putting some administrators on contracts that will rate them on performance. New security measures are also being in place.

What do you think about these changes?

John Ford Verdict

A jury in Nashville found John Ford guilty on all six charges in his Nashville trial for public corruption.

Ford, a Memphis Democrat, was accused of accepting more than $800,000 from TennCare contractors Doral Dental of Mequon, Wis., and Omnicare of Memphis while promoting their interests as a lawmaker.

The jury began deliberations Thursday.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Webb Raise

Shelby County School Superintendent Dr. Bobby Webb will get a 32% raise and administrators will also get raises. Teachers will get a 2% bump. Many are questioning whether this is the right time for raises for anyone. People expect school employees to make a decent living but 32% ? Webb’s contract dictates his salary be raised to match superintendents of other large districts in Tennessee. Webb will go from $175,000 a year to $231,000. That’s still well below Dr. Kriner Cash’s salary of $258,000.

What do you think?

Media Not Allowed Into MCS Lawsuit Hearing

Several media representatives were not allowed in the courtroom Thursday morning when a chancellor heard arguments from Memphis City Schools and the City of Memphis which are suing each other over school funding. I’d like to tell you what happened but Chancellor Kenny Armstrong would not allow anyone else into the courtroom, including the media. It turns out supporters of both MCS and the city packed the courtroom early. Normally, a judge would allow media members to at least stand inside the courtroom and listen but not Chancellor Armstrong. Because of this, we can’t tell you what is being said on your behalf. We’re also hearing the school board attorney asked to keep the media, or at least TV cameras, out of the courtroom.

UPDATE: When the court took a lunch break we were able to grab a seat inside.

What do you think about the media not being allowed inside the courtroom to cover this matter?

Lester Street on The First 48

Tuesday night, A&E’s show The First 48, profiled the Lester Street murders that took place in March. The show followed Memphis Police detectives as they searched for those behind the grizzly scene. There’s been controversy about The First 48 since it started following MPD detectives years ago. Recently MPD announced they will no longer allow “48″ to follow their detectives for numerous reasons.

What did you think about the First 48 show on Lester Street?

Cash Brings Friend To MCS

New Memphis superintendent Kriner Cash has offered a job to friend and former co-worker Gerald Darling. Darling is the police chief of Miami-Dade public schools. MCS will only confirm Darling has been offered “a” position but will not specify exactly what that position entails. Miami media reports say Darling has decreased crime and arrests in his four years on the job but they also say he has been controversial for his tactics and not union friendly.

It’s not unusual for new leader to bring in some of their friends.

What do you think about Darling possibly coming to Memphis?

9th Congressional Debate

Sunday night, News Channel 3 presented the first televised debate in the race for the 9th district congressional debate.

You can watch the debate by going to the video player on the homepage of wreg.com.

Let us know what you think about the debate and how each candidate performed.

Police High School

There’s a proposal to dedicate an entire high school in Memphis to training future law enforcement officers. The idea is to take those who are interested and gear their course toward law enforcement. The hope is to train enough future police officers for Memphis and other areas. The question is, can the district afford to spend the money on that one particular subject and whether it’s a high school or a technology institute.

What do you think?

Cash’s Million Dollar Contract

Memphis City Schools has given a contract worth more than a million dollars over the next five years to Dr. Kriner Cash. Cash will earn almost$280,000 per year including retirement and a car allowance. Cash can get out of his contract if MCS consolidates with Shelby County Schools or if the board fires him. If the board fires Cash before July 2010, he’ll receive 18 months salary or about $420,000. After 2010, Cash would get 12 months salary worth $280,000. Cash also gets a $6000 a year car allowance and use of a district car, $1500 a month in living assistance for six months and up to $10,000 in moving expenses.

It’s not clear why Cash gets a car allowance and use of a district car or why he gets $7500 in living assistance.

Dr. Cash says the district needs to cut spending. Do you think the district should start at the top?

Charges To Be Dropped Against Ford and Lee

Late this afternoon, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss all charges against Edmund Ford and Joseph Lee. Both men were preparing for a trial where prosecutors alleged Ford has supported Lee on the Memphis City Council in return for Lee giving him preferential treatment while Lee was president of MLGW.

Your Thoughts?