City puts $3.5 million toward MLGW fund to slow chain reaction
Thousands of people began to contact MLGW Friday and Monday to work out payment plans, overwhelming the utility's phone bank and creating long lines outside branch offices.
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 4036 articles by Bill Dries :
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August 2020
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City of Memphis -
Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: Defender’s office do-over, firefighters hired
The latest edition of our scorecard looks at several moves in the hiring freeze and what the rejection of a convenience store on East Holmes Road could mean for similar businesses in the rest of the county.
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Elections Certified vote totals show signs of frustration with mail delays
The voter turnout totals certified Monday by the Shelby County Election Commission show a larger than normal number of provisional ballots.
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Metro Commission votes down East Holmes and Hacks Cross convenience store
A proposed convenience store with gas pumps on the southeast corner of East Holmes Road and Hacks Cross Road was voted down Monday, Aug. 24, by Shelby County commissioners. -
Shelby County County hiring freeze continues to thaw with questions about budget numbers
Shelby County commissioners approved a waiver to the freeze Monday for county firefighters but put off another waiver for 78 more positions in other departments.
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Metro Clerk-elect Joe Brown recovering from coronavirus
General Sessions Court Clerk-elect Joe Brown, the former Memphis City Council member who won the clerk’s position in the August elections, said he is recovering from coronavirus.
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Shelby County Tight county budget, plus term limits, hurt hiring, commissioner says
Milton's argument comes as the head of information services for county government says his lean budget could exacerbate problems hiring tech employees. The commission votes Monday on a set of exceptions to the county's hiring freeze totaling 104 positions and nearly $7 million.
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Podcast
On the RecordCity Parks director says parks seeing ‘renaissance’ in pandemic
Nick Walker, who recently went from interim to permanent director of the city’s division of parks and neighborhoods, talked about the change and the move to a parks master plan on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast.
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City of Memphis TVA chief details Memphis losses in economic development by leaving the system
Memphis and Shelby County will sacrifice hundreds of millions of dollars worth of support in economic development if Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division splits from TVA, chief executive Jeffrey Lyash tells the EDGE Board.
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Metro Council approves church demolition moratorium
Any demolition permit for a church on Summer Avenue that is 50 years old or older would have to get Memphis City Council approval for the next six months. -
Public Safety Owens pleads to federal heroin conspiracy charge
The son of onetime topless nightclub kingpin Danny Owens is one of five people charged last year with running a heroin and fentanyl dealing operation in the city as Owens allegedly was planning to open a Memphis nightclub.
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Video
Behind The HeadlinesPolice numbers still dominate city council’s debate over police reform
Council members Michalyn Easter-Thomas and Chase Carlisle were on opposite sides of the council's veto override vote on police residency this week. On "Behind The Headlines" they talked about how many police are enough and how to get to the bigger issues beyond the numbers in the ranks.
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City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: The veto and the override
The City Council Scorecard also looks at a police reform measure that fell short of seven votes and failure of Graceland's plan to open a manufacturing plant with a vocational school in Whitehaven.
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City of Memphis MLGW board moves to speed up review of TVA exit options
As expected, the utility is moving to a request-for-proposal process that would seek specific proposals from electric power suppliers that could replace the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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Education No provisions in place to alert general public to COVID-19 cases in schools
The Shelby County Health Department is not tracking the number of COVID-19 cases in the schools nor is it requiring schools to report cases.
Related: Like Shelby County, COVID-19 reporting among schools statewide is random
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City of Memphis Mayor vetoes, council overrides on residency question
The veto and override came on a full day of council discussion and debate about police reform in general, including a vote on a resolution opposing the presence of the federal Operation LeGend in the city and U.S. Attorney Michael Dunavant's meeting with the council.
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City of Memphis Next step in MLGW-TVA relationship is probably request for proposals
The MLGW board meets Wednesday and is likely to get a recommendation from its CEO to find a firm to field price quotes and other specific options toward either staying with TVA or what life after TVA looks like.
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City of Memphis City Council rejects Graceland plan for Graves Elementary
The Memphis City Council voted down plans Tuesday, Aug. 18, for a manufacturing facility and vocational school at the old Graves Elementary School site in Whitehaven. The project was the latest stage of an expansion of Graceland's presence in Whitehaven that includes a hotel-resort and an entertainment complex.
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City of Memphis MLGW board to get recommendation Wednesday on TVA ties
The board heard Monday from a coalition of groups pushing for cutting ties to TVA and other electric power suppliers that could replace TVA.
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City of Memphis New and returning police reform discussions dominate council discussions, agenda
Meanwhile, Mayor Jim Strickland says public sentiment will probably have to resolve the differing views on what police reform in Memphis means two week after the council took a residency referendum off the November ballot. The proposed amendment was part of a push to increase the size of the police force.
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City of Memphis City council reviews new financing plan for The Walk on Union
Finances for The Walk, a vote on a controversial plan to convert a vacant Whitehaven school into a manufacturing plant and vocational school are candidates for Tuesday's council agenda.
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Shelby County Census effort draws election comparison as September deadline nears
Mayors Strickland and Harris and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen were quick Monday to draw parallels to the national debate about various forms of voting and problems with the U.S. Postal Service when it comes to mailing in votes or Census forms.
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City of Memphis Lawsuit alleges ‘Sundance Kid’ remains rest at Elmwood
The claim by a Missouri "photo historian" is being opposed by Elmwood Cemetery, which counters that the relative of J. Sam Morton included as a plaintiff is too distant to exhume the body to get a DNA sample. The case is built on alleged resemblances in old photos and the legend of Etta Place, the outlaw's companion.
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Video
City of MemphisSt. Jude CEO says COVID-19 pandemic not science’s fault but reflection of globalization
On "Behind The Headlines," Dr. James Downing talked about the gap between public health and health care as well as the research hospital's $20 million effort to keep the virus off its campus through weekly testing. Data from the testing regimen is also part of a global research effort and St. Jude is participating in clinical trials for a vaccine.
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Podcast
ElectionsCohen says Biden-Harris ticket should campaign in Memphis
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, the city's Democratic Congressman also talked about his recent primary win on the August ballot, the political benchmark it maintained and gave his thoughts on who might succeed him down the political road.
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