Storm warnings: Stay off streets, prep for power loss — but Memphis is better prepared
Doug McGowen put the utility on an aggressive three-year cycle for trimming trees in rights-of-way since becoming head of Memphis Light, Gas and Water three years ago. (Submitted)
Memphis Mayor Paul Young and the head of MLGW Doug McGowen are offering some hope — but also some warnings — as the city braces for a winter storm that’s already drawing comparisons to the 1994 ice storm.
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Winter Storm 2026 Paul Young Doug McGowen Ice Storm 1994 Memphis Light Gas and WaterBill Dries on demand
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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