City of Memphis
Long-term problems drive protests, nonprofit leader says
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, Sarah Lockridge-Steckel talked about the frustrations that prompted local nonprofits to issue a call for action.
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 3833 articles by Bill Dries :
-
June 2020
-
Podcast
City of Memphis -
Elections Ballot Basics: Absentee voting for beginners
Exploring the possibility of voting absentee for the first time? Here's a guide to what to expect and the new qualification added to the application by court order.
-
City of Memphis George Floyd’s death leaves police and fire residency ballot question in new light
A city task force on public safety started its work this week with several calls for hiring local in the police and fire ranks. Meanwhile, an effort to remove from the Nov. 3 election ballot a proposal for allowing the city to hire police and firefighters who live outside the county may be picking up momentum.
-
Metro Local DACA recipients say Supreme Court ruling is not permanent solution
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday that re-established the program the Trump administration tried to rescind affects 1,800 Memphians, many of them considered “essential” workers in the current pandemic.
-
Metro Mask ordinance gets boost as way to promote business
Enforcing the ordinance requiring face coverings at indoor public places relies on business owners' participation, says sponsor of city council measure.
-
Public Safety Strickland talks with protesters camped outside City Hall
The encounter was the same day Strickland met for a third time with a group of religious leaders on possible police reforms. There wasn't much agreement in the discussion on the mall outside City Hall.
-
Premium
ElectionsAugust ballot contenders and Capitol Hill rhetoric catch up to George Floyd protest
Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen says "defunding" police isn't what Democrats want and, in endorsing Tennessee Republican Senate contender Bill Hagerty, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton says protesters were exercising Constitutional rights
-
City of Memphis City working out enforcement of mask rules
The citywide mask requirement approved Tuesday takes effect immediately, but enforcement will probably take longer and there could be a legal challenge in Nashville.
-
Shelby County SWAT team used tear gas after protesters threw bricks and bottles, Bonner says
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said the sheriff’s office SWAT team used C.S. gas, or “tear gas,” in a May 31 protest Downtown after bricks and bottles were thrown at them as they blocked some protesters from trying to get on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge.
-
Elections No new election machines in August balloting
Supply chain problems are affecting the move to get Shelby County funding approved for a specific vendor.
-
City of Memphis City mask requirement clears final hurdle
The Memphis City Council approved the requirement Tuesday by a 9-4 vote on its third and final reading. But questions remain about enforceability as county health officials still only recommend wearing masks.
-
City of Memphis Council asks Strickland to hold up valet parking contract with Flight
The action came with word that owners of the restaurant were buying out their partner in the business venture. The council also passed three resolutions on law enforcement that are the first acts by the group in the discussion about the role of police and use of force policies.
-
Premium
City of MemphisProtest and activism grow to include restlessness with local status quo on race
Memphians joining the past 21 days of protests are becoming more vocal about changing the city's traditional method for dealing with racial issues.
-
City of Memphis Police reforms on City Council agenda Tuesday
The Memphis City Council has three resolutions on its Tuesday, June 16, agenda dealing with law enforcement.
-
Shelby County County Commission appears to balance budget with $16.5 million use of reserves
The six-hour special meeting Monday sets the stage for a final budget vote in a week. But there are questions about the dollar figures approved by the Commission and how much red ink there is to be dealt with after the moves. Two social media posts during the meeting by County Mayor Lee Harris also complained that there would be layoffs and cutbacks in critical county programs.
-
Coronavirus Shelby County not moving to Phase 3 as cases, hospitalizations rise
Shelby County will not move to the third phase of reopening in the COVID-19 pandemic right now.
-
Public Safety More than 100 nonprofits say city is ‘set up’ for oppression
The open letter issued Monday calls for police reforms and anti-poverty initiatives. It also accuses Memphis Police of an "egregious" response to peaceful protest in the city. The black-led coalition includes a diverse group of many of the city's nonprofits, from community development corporations to arts groups to housing initiative leaders as well as social justice groups.
-
City of Memphis Fisher: What’s next isn’t just about protests
A critic of the Strickland administration, the Rev. Earle Fisher, says on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast that he hopes Mayor Jim Strickland's talks with religious leaders produce solutions. But he also expressed skepticism, as some of those in the group have accused police of using excessive force in the city's first George Floyd protest.
-
Podcast
On the RecordThe People’s Convention one year later
One of the organizers of the 2019 People’s Convention says while a lot has happened since the gathering ahead of the 2019 city elections, not a lot has changed including calls in June of 2019 for a change in police policies.
-
Premium
Public SafetyWhat ‘Defund the police’ really means from those who use the phrase
The call to "defund" police during three weeks of daily protests in Memphis has grown as action moves from marches to specific issues. The terms doesn't always mean the same thing to everyone, however.
-
Shelby County Sheriff to address County Commission amid budget work
The sheriff's appearance comes a week after a clash on the commission over two attempts to cut funding in his budget and reallocate it. The commission appears to be about $5 million away from balancing the budget. But there are lots of questions about whether the movement of line items can be applied to the red ink.
-
Premium
City of MemphisCity Council Scorecard: End of the budget season, impasses, bridges and absentee voting
The latest edition of our City Council Scorecard, going back to the start of May, gets the council votes on the record for the end of the budget season and other issues that will endure beyond the first budget season for six of the 13 council members.
-
Public Safety Religious leaders: Police handling of Memphis protests ‘excessive’
The ministers who signed the letter include two who have been meeting with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland in a review of police procedures. They specifically questioned the law enforcement response to the first local protest over the death of George Floyd that ended with five arrests.
-
City of Memphis Civil rights experts explain why Floyd protests are ‘something different’
Faith Morris of the National Civil Rights Museum and Archie Willis of ComCap Partners talk on "Behind The Headlines" about two and a half weeks of protest in Memphis and the difference it represents in the city's history of protest.
-
Coronavirus Phase 3 reopening to see partial restart of Riverside Drive traffic
Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter says despite the recent spike in daily confirmed cases, she sees little reason to put off a move to Phase 3 on Monday.
-