Reporter
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.
There are 4330 articles by Bill Dries :
A total of 14 contenders from Shelby County are on the Aug. 6 federal primary ballot in the 5th, 8th and 9th Congressional districts. Will multiple Memphians cancel each other out? Also in the political roundup: Pearson and Lamar spar; attorneys weigh in on judicial races.
Mayor Paul Young said he wants to shift the perspective of mayoral accomplishments to be throughout several administrations. To make his point, he interviewed previous Memphis mayors: Willie Herenton, A C Wharton Jr. and Jim Strickland.
The new law came after the county lost two judicial seats in 2024, one in Shelby County Criminal Court and a second in Shelby County Circuit Court.
The Walter L. Bailey Criminal Justice Center reopened Wednesday, July 1, after a two-day shutdown by a Health Department order after a water main burst and flooded the lower level. 201 Poplar reopening Wednesday but long-term questions remainRelated content:
Courts and offices that shut down for two days will resume regular operations Wednesday. But the renewed debate about the building’s condition — and what to do about it — continues.
The trial date is tentative as Sawyer’s attorney is about to get an estimated 50,000 documents used by prosecutors to make their case against her.
Shelby County commissioners used extra decimal places Monday, June 29, in setting a new county property tax rate.
The commission also votes on budget amendments, including a move away from plans by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris to start planning on a new Treadwell K-8 school.
Also in the political roundup: Washington’s affordable-housing standoff, the Ultimate Fighting Championship plot and A C Wharton Jr. warns Mickell Lowery about being mayor.
Election officials talk on “Behind The Headlines” about the disruption of new congressional districts and how that could lead to an increase in voter turnout.
Mayor Paul Young has named a new No. 2 at the COO post and a new CFO as well as an interim city engineer.
The Memphis City Council approved $5 million for repairs and renovation work at AutoZone Park. It will take a broader look at multiple uses for the ballpark that is home to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.
The city’s new fiscal year starts July 1. Here are the issues and budget amendments that the City Council will work through at their last regular meeting in June.
Three candidates are planning write-in campaigns for the District 93 House seat most recently held by G.A. Hardaway.
The election is Aug; 6. The Shelby County Election Commission is preparing to mail out notices to inform county voters of their new congressional districts.
Lowery in Eads, Taylor in Piperton. The political roundup is on the campaign trail and includes a D.C. roundup with reaction to the memorandum of understanding with Iran.
The Shelby County Commission is looking at a possible tax increase while the Memphis City Council is expected to keep the city’s tax rate the same.
Hardaway, who was appointed to the District 93 seat in time for May’s special legislative session, announced his bid for a full two-year term.
General Sessions Court judges suspended their clerk with pay two days after she made her first court appearance on federal theft, wire fraud and money laundering charges. Tami Sawyer indictment renews Republican push for state interventionRelated content:
One of the Republican contenders for governor says it’s time “to shake up the court system in Shelby County.”
A federal magistrate judge denied Govan’s request for bail following a hearing that detailed explicit threats of violence, extortion and a criminal history spanning decades.
General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer pleaded not guilty this week to federal charges. Her attorney said she plans to continue working as clerk while awaiting trial.
The Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk was seen in custody at the Odell Horton Federal Building.
Also in this political roundup, Green campaigns at Da Sammich Shop, Blackburn calls for a “revisit” on a Nashville data center and Rose pans Starbucks incentives, along with a look at the FISA extension and immigration funding.
Commissioners delayed votes on operating and capital budgets to a June 29 meeting that will also include a final vote on the property tax hike.