Health Dept.: The data is determined by behavior
”What we do this weekend will have an effect on what we do later,” said health officer Dr. Bruce Randolph.
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 :
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May 2020
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City of Memphis MLGW general counsel sees problems with mayor taking MISO proposal
Cheryl Patterson says the utility board makes the first decision on whether MLGW stays or leaves TVA.
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City of Memphis Recommend or require: Dividing line in mask debate
Wearing a mask or facial covering, and whether it should be mandated or suggested, is one of the ongoing debates as people emerge into the public arena as part of the COVID-19 recovery.
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Coronavirus Social distancing efforts look ahead to Memorial Day
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland uses some basketball analogies and looks at the idea of a denser city post-pandemic. Meanwhile, Shelby County Health Dept. Director Alisa Haushalter pushes back on the idea of refusing to give your address if you test positive.
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Haushalter: Health Department hiring can call attention to public health’s role
Director Alisa Haushalter said hiring at the health department can call attention to public health’s role.
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City of Memphis Council approves tentative first step into MLGW-TVA question
The city council approved a resolution that asks the mayor to seek specific information on what it would take for MLGW to break ties with TVA and pursue another electric power supplier. But the effort will wait at least until a first draft of a comprehensive report commissioned by MLGW is released May 29.
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City of Memphis Council joins call to lift absentee ballot restrictions
The call for an executive order by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is the latest, including three lawsuits pending in Nashville. Lee has said he will not issue an executive order dropping state law's present restrictions on the mail-in ballots.
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City of Memphis Strickland proposes $12 million in city funding for COVID testing expansion
The testing money would come from the city's $113.6 million allocation of federal CARES Act funding. Strickland's proposal, presented Tuesday to the Memphis City Council, also includes an immediate $2.7 million to beef up health department contact tracing and long-term city funding of the health department beyond that.
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Coronavirus Phase 2 reopening begins, expands waiting period to 21 days
The second phase of reopening the Memphis area economy began Monday, May 18. It will go for 21 days before a much more ambitious third and final phase of the reopening plan.
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City of Memphis City Council moves deeper into complex MLGW-TVA discussions
Up for discussion Tuesday is a move to get a proposal from a specific TVA competitor and a legal opinion that could put off an electric rate hike scheduled to take effect July 1.
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City of Memphis Council Scorecard: Mask ordinance and MLGW bonds
The latest edition of our tracking of Memphis City Council votes includes May council moves on an ordinance that would require masks for face covering to be worn in public and some larger issues that showed up in votes on Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division bond issue votes.
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City of Memphis Strickland to close $26 million revenue hole in current budget from familiar sources
The $26 million in red ink is mostly from drops in sales tax revenue because of the closing of "nonessential" businesses in the pandemic. The plan for the current fiscal year, including more use of the city's reserves, was presented to city council members Monday with a vote possible at Tuesday's council session.
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Elections Election changes churn political waters
The Shelby County Election Commission picked new voting machines earlier this month without the public knowing the name of the company or the price. But it has done little to settle the ongoing debate about changes to how Memphis voters exercise their right.
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Coronavirus Coronavirus live blog, May 14: Testing scheduled next week at Memphis housing units
State Rep. Barbara Cooper announced Thursday that free, voluntary testing for COVID-19 will begin next week in many of the city’s housing units in Memphis.
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Coronavirus Coronavirus live blog, May 15: Health Department anticipates making Phase 2 announcement Monday
Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter said there are “no significant barriers” to reopening, but that it would be premature to reopen before the full 14 days.
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Elections Ballot Basics: Terms of Change
Here are some of the terms being tossed around and process issues being explored in the move to a new voting system for Shelby County that has joined hands with some other balloting issues.
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City of Memphis Planning and Development division goes to online permitting
The $2 million “Develop901” system was in the works before the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning and Development division Director John Zeanah talked about the extensive overhaul on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast and a slight drop in permits that may be cyclical and not pandemic-related.
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Coronavirus live blog May 16: Shelby County confirms 72 new cases, 2 deaths
As of Saturday morning, 2,375 people in Shelby County are considered as having recovered from COVID-19.
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Podcasts Politics Podcast: The new Develop901 online system
A geekfest on the new online system coming to take and track permits and other paperwork from development projects across the county. Our guest is planning and development director John Zeanah.
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Coronavirus Phase 2 reopening decision likely to come Monday
A Phase 2 reopening of the Memphis area economy appears imminent after Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter said Friday, May 15, she sees no significant barriers to a continued loosening of restrictions.
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City of Memphis Power Players: Faces and Terms in the MLGW-TVA Debate
There are lots of acronyms and plenty of names being dropped in the MLGW-TVA debate. Here's an ongoing guide to some of both along with our coverage of them.
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City of Memphis Editor of MLK50 news website sues Strickland
The federal lawsuit seeking her inclusion in notices of press conferences by the mayor and administration was filed on her behalf by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
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City of Memphis Rallings defends police use of addresses of those with COVID-19 virus
Rallings said Monday that Shelby County 911 has an agreement with the Tennessee government to get the names and addresses of those diagnosed with COVID-19, but only addresses will be used when dispatching officers, not the patients' names. The agreement has been in place since mid-March.
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Coronavirus Harris outlines $10 million expansion of county Health Department
The plan includes at least 140 full-time employees working on the COVID-19 virus efforts locally over a long period of time. Harris also wants to fund "wrap-around" services for those isolated or quarantined, including financial support for those who can't work and some place to stay if they are isolated from those with whom they are living.
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Coronavirus Harris outlines $11.4 million expansion of Health Department
The expansion is the first allotment of nearly $50 million in federal CARES Act funding for Shelby County government and goes to the Shelby County Commission approval. County Mayor Lee Harris already has a plan for the rest of the money outside of the health department.
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