City Council talks riverfront tower project and record homicide count
The Tuesday city council session will also include a call for more information about the percentage of city contracts that minority-owned businesses get.
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 4439 articles by Bill Dries :
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October 2020
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Elections More than 111,000 cast ballots in first 4 days of early voting
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.
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Elections North Memphis poll worker fired for turning away voters
The firing was confirmed by an election commission spokesperson after state Rep. Antonio Parkinson posted about the change in personnel Sunday on social media.
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PODCAST
ElectionsAbsentee votes will complicate election night returns
Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips, on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, says the unofficial vote count may be tallied by midnight Nov. 3. But counting absentee ballots is a complex process.
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Elections Federal appeals court upholds signature verification law for absentee ballots
The ruling is in one of five federal court challenges to state laws governing Tennessee’s absentee ballot process underway as absentee voters are completing their ballots and mailing them back to election commissions across the state.
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Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: Police reform bundle, voting machine contract
The County Commission Scorecard tracks the final stand of a set of four police reforms applying to county law enforcement and what may be the last stand of the $5.8 million contract to buy a new voting system for the county.
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Video
Public SafetyPolice reform discussion focuses on questions of what is real change
Former Memphis City Council member Harold Collins and Just City Director Josh Spickler said on “Behind The Headlines” that for all of the talk of changing police, MPD is still policing the way it has for decades.
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Elections Nearly 27,000 cast ballots in bold opening day of early vote
Voters lined up before the doors opened Wednesday at 26 early-voting sites across Shelby County and kept coming through the morning. Early voting continues through Oct. 29. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Related Story: Ballot Basics: Voting Absentee and Lessons from August
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Elections Ballot Basics: Voting Absentee and Lessons from August
Here are the basics of the absentee ballot process -- applying for a ballot and what to do when you get it. We also outline some important lessons about the process learned in the August elections.
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State Government Lee possibly exposed to COVID virus, in quarantine
A member of Lee’s security detail tested positive Wednesday after saying he did not feel well. An online statement from the governor’s office says Lee has tested negative for the virus but is quarantining “out of an abundance of caution.” Lee said later he continues to serve from quarantine. The First Lady was to be tested later Wednesday.
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Shelby County County Commission questions $1M pandemic marketing campaign
The contract stirred the political embers of a recent budget season in county government as well as some spirited debate among commissioners about mask requirements.
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Elections Early voting opens with expectation of large turnout for presidential general election
The chairs of the two local parties say interest is high in the election and they anticipate a higher turnout than four years ago, starting with early voting.
Related Stories:
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Elections Ballot Basics: Early Voting Oct. 14-29
Here is what you need to know about voting early in the presidential general election in Shelby County, from voting locations to how to know what races will be on your specific ballot.
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Elections Election Commission clears backlog of absentee ballot requests
The commission is now processing absentee applications as they come in. The deadline to request the mail-in ballots is Oct. 27.
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Shelby County County Commission rejects contract for voting system
A $5.8 million contract for a new voting system in Shelby County failed Monday, Oct. 12, in a 6-5 vote by the Shelby County Commission.
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Shelby County County Commission votes down police excessive force ordinance
Shelby County commissioners voted down an ordinance that would have required the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to decertify deputies who use excessive force and to keep a record of officers who are fired or resign because of an excessive-force complaint.
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State Government Blackburn criticizes Democrats in Barrett confirmation hearing
The opening of hearings on the U.S. Supreme Court nominee included Democrats criticizing the timing of the nomination. Blackburn responded by calling the attacks on the process and Barrett as “paternalistic” and “disrespectful.”
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Shelby County County Commission to take final votes on police reform measures
The Monday County Commission agenda also includes a return to a $5.8 million contract to buy a new voting system for Shelby County and a moratorium on delinquent tax sales on property in South Memphis.
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Podcast
City of MemphisMLGW-TVA discussion must move faster, city council member says
Memphis City Council member Jeff Warren on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast says there could still be an agreement on the next step in the MLGW-TVA issue. He also warns that the Tennessee Legislature could close the door on a possible MLGW exit from TVA if there isn’t a shorter timeline.
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Behind The HeadlinesBartlett, Germantown school leaders see more students returning soon
Germantown Municipal Schools District Superintendent Jason Manuel and Bartlett City Schools Superintendent David Stephens talked on “Behind The Headlines” about changing local health department requirements that require students in schools to wear masks and be 6 feet apart at all times.
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Metro First batch of absentee ballots in the mail
The Election Commission is getting 500 requests a day for the mail-in ballots in Shelby County ahead of the Nov. 3 election day.
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City of Memphis MLGW board won’t meet with City Council over stalled look at TVA exit
Attorneys for the utility board warned against a joint meeting with City Council members the day after the council rejected a contract to move ahead with a look at replacing TVA as MLGW’s electric power supplier.
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City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: MLGW, TVA and the GDS contract
Here is how the city council voted Tuesday on the GDS contract — a critical juncture in considering whether MLGW should leave TVA. And a few possible next moves including MLGW doing the consulting work in house or a move to reconsider at the council in two weeks.
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City of Memphis City Council rejects MLGW consultant contract
Memphis City Council members have rejected a Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division contract with a power industry consultant to explore what it would take for the utility to leave the Tennessee Valley Authority. The vote stops the two-year old process, at least for now. The MLGW board could have a response Wednesday morning at its regular meeting.
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City of Memphis Summer Avenue rezoning process for church preservation gets started
The resolution approved Tuesday by the Memphis City Council for two areas along Summer is designed to make it more difficult to demolish a set of four churches for other kinds of development. It’s similar to a recent rezoning of part of Lamar Avenue but with a slightly different motivation.
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