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 4086 articles by Bill Dries :
A new voting app breaks down who the early voters were. The broader turnout numbers show more than half of the county’s registered voters have already cast their ballots.
On “Behind The Headlines,” the leaders of the two suburban school systems also agreed with the recommendation of Gov. Bill Lee not to use the results of state achievement tests this year to evaluate teachers and students. Nevertheless, they are watching to gauge the impact of the pandemic on learning and the lives of students.
Here’s a quick guide to the competitive races on the ballot and what is at stake in other races that aren’t as competitive.
The U.S. Marshal’s Service is offering $50,000 in rewards for information in the cases of eight children who have been slain this year in Memphis.
Thursday is the last day of early voting in advance of the Nov. 3 election. The large turnout of early voters and those voting absentee so far leaves Election Day turnout as a bit of a surprise. And last-minute appeals to Republican and Democratic partisans is proving that political divisions over the past four years are likely to remain once the votes are counted.
The U.S. Postal Service box in Bartlett will accept mail-in absentee ballots on election day up to 3 p.m. with a guarantee they will be in election commission hands by the time the polls close at 7 p.m. — the deadline to vote absentee.
The “reimagine policing” group is to make recommendations by the start of the new year.
It’s the second consecutive election the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office has come up with federal funding to buy the updated scanners for Shelby County.
Tennessee may not be a battleground state in the presidential general election, but the absence of the Trump or Biden national campaigns in Memphis leaves a race for president on uniquely local terms. Related story: A local history of tumult and change at the polls
Budget committee chairman Edmund Ford Jr. amended his resolution to stick with the county’s policy of keeping its financial reserves at 20% of general fund revenues. He has suggested a 15% to 20% guideline.
Applications can be made online and are due by the end of the business day at the election commission. Completed absentee ballots are due at the election commission by the time the Election Day polls close at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 and cannot be hand-delivered.
Here are a few changes in how elections are conducted in Memphis, close elections and even a belated admission that a pivotal mayor’s race was rigged. Related story: Presidential campaigns have distinctly Memphis flavor
The commission will vote Oct. 26 on setting new parameters for the spring budget season. And the county’s CFO says it could be dangerous to lower the percentage of reserves on hand.
The founder of one of the get out the vote groups working locally says on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast that higher turnout is part of a national trend. But detailed numbers also show ongoing problems in access to the vote.
The mayor says taking bids from possible rivals to TVA should include transmission costs to get the cost estimates needed to make a decision about MLGW leaving the federal agency.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland also said on the WKNO program “Behind The Headlines” that police reform still means hiring more officers.
The federal lawsuit claimed the city interfered with Graceland’s plans for a Whitehaven arena.
Thursday marks one week to the end of early voting in the presidential general election. While turnout has slipped a bit after the weekend, it is still ahead of the early voting count at this point for the three previous elections in the cycle.
The violent crime task force is forming as Police Director Michael Rallings told City Council members Tuesday that more officers means less crime. The city has already this year set a record for the number of annual homicides.
The Memphis City Council is considering dropping the city residency requirement for business owners seeking COVID-related grants who live outside Memphis but have businesses inside the city.
Developers of a $180 million commercial mixed-use tower of hotel rooms and condos on the western edge of the Pinch District encountered some skepticism as they pitched the project to the Memphis City Council.
For two weeks, the state’s Emergency Management agency has been walking local leaders, including law enforcement, through such election surprises as voter intimidation, disruptions and even civil disorder in the event no one concedes in the contentious presidential race atop the ballot.
The Tuesday city council session will also include a call for more information about the percentage of city contracts that minority-owned businesses get.
The total is inexact but ahead of the pace for early voting in the last three presidential elections in Shelby County. Data includes details of who the early voters and absentee voters are and a batch of new voters registered in recent months.
The firing was confirmed by an election commission spokesperson after state Rep. Antonio Parkinson posted about the change in personnel Sunday on social media.