Local pro-Trump group protests peacefully in East Memphis
The protest of several dozen along the Poplar Corridor came before the aborted attempt in Washington D.C. to certify the Electoral College results that ended in violence.
Bill Dries
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 3977 articles by Bill Dries :
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January 2021
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Elections -
City of Memphis Kelsey bill would eliminate residency requirements statewide for police and fire
The bill follows a City Council decision late last year to remove a referendum question that would have allowed Memphis police and firefighters to live outside Shelby County.
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Shelby County Harris proposes county $2.5M restaurant workers relief fund
Harris took the proposal for grants of $1,000 per qualified worker to commission committee sessions Wednesday, Jan. 6.
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City of Memphis City reallocates last $9.9 million in CARES Act funding to include COVID testing, vaccines
Grants for distressed businesses also got a share of the funding after a council debate. And the council mediated a call by a restaurant owner to MLGW to work out payment plans with the industry.
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City of Memphis Tom Lee Park renovation begins
With a virtual groundbreaking ceremony before Christmas, actual construction work began Tuesday, Jan. 5, on the Tom Lee Park project.
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City of Memphis Unposted speed limit goes from 30 mph to 25 mph in close council vote
By a narrow 7-6 vote, the Memphis City Council has changed the default speed limit on city streets without speed limit signs from 30 miles an hour to 25 miles an hour.
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City of Memphis Rallings says police department numbers too low for community policing push
In the discussion with Memphis City Council members Tuesday, Jan. 5, the police director said he can’t carry out plans of a city task force to reopen several community policing centers given the pandemic. He got immediate pushback from several council members.
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Arts & Culture Stolen: $11,000 in artifacts taken from Mud Island museum
The museum has been closed to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic while the Mud Island River Park has been open to visitors.
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City of Memphis City Council marks one year of exile from City Hall chambers
The first online council meeting of the year comes with some changes in committee chairmanships and votes on down-zoning two parts of Summer Avenue as well as new penalties for illegal street racing.
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State Government Blackburn, Hagerty oppose presidential election certification
The two Republicans are part of a group of 11 Republican Senators and Senators-elect who are calling for a Congressional investigation and audit of presidential election results in battleground states won by President-elect Joe Biden.
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December 2020
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Shelby County 5 critical votes by the Shelby County Commission
From an ongoing budget battle to police reform and new voting machines, these are five critical votes by the Shelby County Commission in 2020 as chronicled in The Daily Memphian’s County Commission Scorecard.
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State Government Cohen, Kustoff vote for veto override, split on larger stimulus checks
The two Republican U.S. senators representing Tennessee have not commented on the override of the Defense Authorization Act veto by Trump or the move to boost stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 per person.
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City of MemphisFive significant City Council votes in 2020
The Daily Memphian City Council Scorecard tracked 48 key council decisions in the current council’s first year in office. These are five significant decisions made that promise to have an impact on what happens in 2021.
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Elections Pandemic, police reform, political divide and county budget rift top Year In Review podcast
The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast offers a review of the year 2020 centered on four major events. Three of the four were national in scope. The fourth is a local story that has broad implications for the gap between aspirations and the reality of governing.
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Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: Pandemic maneuvers and keeping police reform alive
The last County Commission meeting of the year included important decisions on governing in a pandemic, with a path to nine votes through compromise and the fine print of the newest health department directive.
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Metro Alexander, Blackburn split on COVID-19 relief bill
The city’s representatives in the U.S. Senate split on the bipartisan $900 billion package while the city’s two Congressmen both voted for the bill.
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Metro National Civil Rights Museum closes temporarily
The National Civil Rights Museum is closed until further notice because of the new countywide health directive.
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City of Memphis City Council backs health directive, considers taking pay cut
The council action wasn’t unanimous and it follows a split vote the day before by the Shelby County Commission expressing support for the countywide directive that takes effect the day after Christmas.
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Metro County commission approves PILOT extension fund for Downtown parking project
Shelby County commissioners approved Monday, Dec. 21, the use of a PILOT (payments in lieu of taxes) extension fund to finance a five-part, $62 million Downtown parking project. -
Shelby County Last of county police reform measures pushed into new year
The delay in the final vote on requiring County Commission approval for the sheriff to acquire surplus military hardware came after Sheriff Floyd Bonner complained he hadn’t been consulted. County Mayor Lee Harris disputed that assertion.
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Shelby County County Commission supports health directive, fines for violations
Shelby County commissioners voted Monday, Dec. 21, to support a health department directive announced earlier in the day and, in a separate vote, to give the health department the authority to cite and fine business owners for violating the directive.
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Shelby County Suburban, county leaders still have concerns about revised health directive
A revised health directive released Monday, Dec. 21, by the Shelby County Health Department is better than a draft leaked to the media earlier, suburban and county leaders say, but still causes some concerns. Related story: New, restrictive health directive out, effective Dec. 26
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Business Lee limits public gatherings with executive order
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee again refused to order a statewide mask mandate Sunday, Dec. 20, instead ordering a statewide limit on indoor public social gatherings of no more than 10 people excluding homes and churches.
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Shelby County County Commission has busy afternoon ahead
The commission is taking final votes on an ordinance that would let Shelby County Health Department levy fines for COVID violations, and a requirement for Shelby County Sheriff’s Department to get commission approval to acquire surplus military equipment and weapons.
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Elections Organizers say down-ballot races key to Tennessee Democrats
Several dozens activists and organizers working for Democratic candidates in the 2020 elections have drafted a “roadmap to renewal” for the state party. A Memphis organizer talks about the roadmap on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast. The recommendations come as the party prepares to elect a new statewide leader in January.
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