County Commission approves first phase funding for Big Creek resilience project
The project will widen a floodplain north of Big Creek for use as a recreational area with trails when the creek is low.
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 4194 articles by Bill Dries :
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February 2021
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Shelby County -
Shelby County Sale of two lots on Weaver Road for Byhalia Connection pipeline delayed
The delay by the Shelby County Commission also shows there may be a rift between commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. and his father, City Council member Edmund Ford Sr., on the issue.
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Shelby County County Commission urges state to move up teacher vaccinations
The resolution, approved Monday, Feb. 8, in a unanimous vote, isn’t binding on the state. But it calls on the state to move teachers up in the vaccination line as a condition for reopening the state’s largest school system.
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City of Memphis Memphis Police Super Bowl commercial part of $17,000 ad buy
The recruitment ad was part of a series of ads planned as the department seeks to increase its force size.
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State Government Lee to deliver State of the State, with focus on economic recovery
Gov. Bill Lee’s third State of the State address Monday evening, Feb. 8, is already getting reaction from Democrats in the Legislature who say his response to the pandemic has been “too late, ended too early and did too little.”
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Shelby County Big Creek project nears first phase of construction funding
Shelby County Commissioners vote Monday, Feb. 8, on first-phase funding of $5.9 million to start a Millington project that creates a broader flood plain for Big Creek and doubles as a recreational area when flood waters are low.
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Podcast
City of MemphisWanted: Better paying jobs to attract talent to Memphis
‘We haven’t gone after those jobs ... that would make people drop everything and move to Memphis,' City Council member Martavius Jones said.
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Business MLGW change in debt policy could help with TVA split
A proposed change in the utility’s debt policy could allow it to build a power generating plant, which would be key if MLGW cuts its ties to TVA, and pay for the plant with the savings to come from it.
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Elections Vote-A-Rama and how the city’s representatives in Washington voted
Several dozen non-binding budget amendments were suggested in the Senate to make political statements. Meanwhile, there was a House vote on Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
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City of Memphis Find out if your garbage pickup day has changed in city shuffle of solid waste
The link to city information on the “rebalance” includes a map to find your home as well as an app with reminders of the pickup schedule.
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Education SCS increasingly isolated as state’s only district without in-person classes
The state’s largest school system – Shelby County Schools – becomes the only school system in the state to have no in-person classes as Metro Nashville Schools resumes some in-person classes Thursday, Feb. 4.
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City of Memphis Hickory Hill and Cordova to get new solid waste pickup schedule
Both areas of the city are part of Area E on the city’s solid waste map, an area that has had problems with solid waste service even before the pandemic.
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City of Memphis Fairgrounds, Cobblestones funding approved
The Fairgrounds conversion to Liberty Park got a $4 million boost Tuesday, Feb. 2, to begin some ground work in May as well as to start designing buildings.
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City of Memphis City nonviolence initiative partners with national nonprofit
Memphis City Council members Tuesday approved a new office designed to intervene and prevent violence in the city.
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City of Memphis Puppy-sales ban passes first of three council votes
A city ordinance that would ban cat and dog sales at pet stores within Memphis passed the Memphis City Council Tuesday, Feb. 2, on the first of three readings.
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City of Memphis Accelerate Memphis slate and financing clears council
The $200 million slate of capital projects over a three-year period is on its way to state officials are approval after the pair of council votes Tuesday, Feb. 2. Council members approved both after one more review of the numbers and the reasoning behind the unique financing.
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City of Memphis City looking to rectify imbalance in MLGW water bill
The city has been paying Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division about $2 million a year for the past three fiscal years without a corresponding payment from MLGW in the form of a PILOT.
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City of Memphis City Council takes up $200 million ‘Accelerate Memphis’ plan, financing
The agenda also includes changes to the city’s financial policies to allow the balloon debt structure to finance the project.
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January 2021
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City of Memphis Third day goes smoothly at Appling vaccination site
The city auto inspection station on Appling City Cove bustled with volunteers Friday, three days into giving second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Those scheduled for vaccinations were urged to come no more than an hour before their scheduled times.
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Coronavirus State says Shelby getting its fair share of COVID vaccine
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee denies that Shelby County is getting less than its share of COVID-19 vaccine, and he sent a letter to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland Wednesday, Jan. 27, saying so.
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City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: A street closing and a motion to table
The City Council’s most recent session featured a rare motion to table an item that didn’t have seven votes to pass, at least for now, and a vote to close a street even though the council could very well vote down the development that will follow the street closure.
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City of Memphis PILOT reform discussions try to avoid PowerPoints and path of past efforts
Before Shelby County Commissioners and Memphis City Council members get together to talk about changing the most used tax incentive in local economic development, they want to do more than watch PowerPoint presentations on PILOTs – payments in lieu of taxes.
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City of Memphis Akbari, Kelsey have different view of ‘following science’ on in-person school
On “Behind The Headlines,” the Republican and Democratic legislators from the Shelby County delegation to Nashville also agreed on mandatory summer school or tutoring to help students who have slipped academically during the pandemic.
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City of Memphis Ban on pet store sales of dogs and cats debated by council
The Memphis City Council votes next week on the first of three readings of an ordinance that would bar retail pet stores from selling dogs and cats.
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Shelby County Shelby County Commission Scorecard: Police militarization, Trump honors, Capitol insurrection
The County Commission Scorecard tracks how a seven-month-old police reform proposal moved from being one vote short of the seven necessary for final approval to 10 votes across party lines this week.
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