Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
There are 3660 articles by Bill Dries :
The sixth and final chapter of The Daily Memphian’s series on the 50th anniversary of court-ordered busing within Memphis City Schools looks at the end of busing for integration, the legacy of Plan Z and its impact on Memphis in the 21st century.
An ongoing renovation of the historic church was paused Thursday, Sept. 28, for a look at new stained-glass images of the city’s turmoil in the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike.
The last day of early voting is Saturday, Sept. 30, at 18 sites across the city. Next, the Oct. 5 election day will close out the campaigns for Memphis mayor and all 13 seats on the Memphis City Council.
None of the other 13 Memphis mayoral candidates on the ballot were in six figures, but these four spent six-figure sums on their campaigns throughout the summer. Election season’s final act starts as curtain goes down on early votingRelated story:
A year-old program to get children in poverty into pre-kindergarten classes earlier is part of a discussion on “Behind The Headlines” that took in larger questions.
Also on the commission agenda Monday, Oct. 2, are locations for a group of 30 surveillance cameras in the district of commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. One of the cameras is to be placed across the street from where he lives.
The council is still considering partisan city primaries for the 2024 ballot, but did not vote on any proposal Tuesday. Here’s a rundown of other council matters.
More than three-fourths of those who participated in an email survey said they want to move Memphis in May’s annual barbecue contest to Liberty Park.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen was among the Democratic majority voting for the bill, and Rep. David Kustoff was among the 126 Republicans who voted for it.
The Shelby County Commission gave final approval Monday, Oct. 2, to a pair of ordinances calling on the Shelby County Sheriff to collect data on specialized units as well as traffic stops, use of force and citizen complaints. It rejected an ordinance asking the Sheriff’s Office to ban pretextual traffic stops.
Here is everything you need to know about early voting in the Memphis elections and links to the ballot as well as a locator to figure out what council districts you live in.
The 2007 Memphis elections saw Willie Herenton elected mayor for the fifth time and the largest turnover of Memphis City Council seats in the 55-year history of the mayor-council form of government.
Attendance figures for the Beale Street Music Festival hit a 30-year low, according to the report released Tuesday, Oct. 3. The festival’s annual report promises further word on the 2024 festival’s future in the coming days.
After agreeing on the short-term spending bill last week that lead to the Tuesday, Oct. 3, vote on ousting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Congressmen Steve Cohen and David Kustoff parted company on McCarthy’s political fate.
If you are going to vote on the city’s Thursday, Oct. 5, election day, here are the basics — what to expect and how to prepare to cast your ballot.
The Daily Memphian’s live blog coverage of election day in Memphis will take you through the morning and afternoon rushes, the downtime between them, the vote totals to the very end and the thoughts of the winners and losers.
Shelby County elections administrator Linda Phillips spoke at the Election Operations Center in Shelby Farms Park about a half hour before the polls opened.
How much of this Memphis mayoral history do you know? Here are some fun facts as we near midday on Election Day 2023.
“Some precincts will have a large rush after work. Some will be steady all day long. Some have a huge rush in the morning and you could take a nap in the afternoon.”
Shelby County elections administrator Linda Phillips says “roughly” 5,800 voters had cast ballots as of 10 a.m.
The Memphis City Council races on Thursday’s ballot have largely been in the shadow of the 17-candidate field for mayor.
Up to 3:30 p.m., the Shelby County Election Commission numbers showed an Election Day turnout of 16,830 compared to almost 58,000 voters during the early voting period.
Polls are open Thursday, Oct. 5, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. across the city. Voters are deciding 11 contested races for Memphis City Council and a mayor’s race that will see a new leader elected to start in January.
The 14-day early voting period drew nearly 58,000 voters with a turnout bigger than Thursday’s Election Day across the city.
Of the eight council incumbents seeking re-election, Michalyn Easter-Thomas appeared headed to a Nov. 16 runoff with challenger Jimmy Hassan in District 7.