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 resolution directing the Economic Development Growth Engine to conduct a study of the controversial idea fell short by two votes. The commission also delayed votes on the county land bank and a police review board.
The $3 million in federal funding is being subbed for $3 million in private funds raised by the Overton Park Conservancy and the Memphis Zoo toward the parking solution.
Cohen said Tuesday, Oct. 31, time is of the essence in approving the aid package. He also again spoke in support of humanitarian aid for Gaza in Israel’s war with Hamas.
More than 700 Memphians have cast early ballots in the runoffs for three city council seats through the first four days of the voting period.
The monthly city solid waste fee for residential properties would rise 37% — from $29.96 to $41.05 — under a proposal from Mayor Jim Strickland’s administration.
Shelby County Chief Administrative Officer Harold Collins said Monday, Nov. 6, County Clerk Wanda Halbert has fallen behind on rent payments for her office in the Poplar Plaza shopping center. Halbert makes no mention of past-due rent.
Final votes on the two 2024 ballot questions are now set for the Nov. 21 council session. The city council also approved the first increase in city tow rates in 16 years.
“We are talking about nearly a $37 million increase — either we put all of that on the utility bill or we put it on the property tax rate,” said Council Chairman Martavius Jones. “We can’t do it in November.” City Council pushes final votes on primary elections, mayoral runoffs Related Story:
Wanda Halbert’s office has been under investigation since June. The Chattanooga prosecutor leading the probe tells The Daily Memphian the closing of the Poplar Plaza clerk’s office has his attention.
The County Commission Scorecard catches up to a trio of police-reform ordinances — two approved and a third falling one vote short. Also, the 10 rounds of balloting to elect a new leader demonstrated ongoing divisions on the commission.
Wanda Halbert addressed the sudden closing of the County Clerk’s Poplar Plaza office at a press conference Thursday, Nov. 9. She maintains the exit was not an “eviction” but acknowledged her office missed paying two months’ rent and called it “trivial.”
Early voting in the three runoffs for Memphis City Council Districts 2, 3 and 7 is open through 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. Election day is Nov. 16.
The leaders of Memphis Parks, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy and Memphis River Parks Partnership talk on “Behind The Headlines” about the combination of public spaces and parks in the city.
The County Commission weighs a $2.5 million start on a mental health treatment center for jail prisoners awaiting trial at its Monday meeting and is making a wish list for the Tennessee General Assembly.
The commission delayed a decision on $2.5 million to begin planning for a countywide mental health treatment facility until after Thanksgiving.
New documents show Halbert’s office owes more than $9,800 in rent on the Poplar Plaza location she vacated last week. She hasn’t turned in a monthly report on time for revenues collected by her office since July 2021, and the commission is asking questions.
Follow the story of the Memphis mayor campaign: the moves and issues that found their way into the political arena in this timeline of a campaign that began more than a year before ballots were cast.
The clerk’s office is the only countwide office on the March 5 primary ballot and with Sawyer’s entry the Democratic primary has three candidates. The filing deadline for the Democratic and Republican primaries is Dec. 14.
The last local elections of 2023 will determine who the Memphis City Council representatives from Districts 2, 3 and 7 will be. The runoffs will complete the new council that takes office Jan. 1 with Mayor-elect Paul Young.Related story:
Here is everything you need to know about voting in Thursday’s Memphis City Council runoff races.
The winners of the three races make a majority of seven women on the city council that takes office in January — the first majority of women on the 13-member body in the 55-year history of the mayor-council form of government.
Memphis City Council Chairman Martavius Jones is proposing a pay raise from the current $170,817 Mayor Jim Strickland makes to $210,000 a year starting Jan. 1 when Mayor-elect Paul Young takes office.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland talks about coming to the end of his 8-year tenure as mayor in the first part of a two-part interview on “Behind The Headlines.”
Here’s a look at all 13 members of the Memphis City Council that takes office in January.
The council also takes a final vote Tuesday, Nov. 21, on a fiber broadband initiative and sets a December vote on a proposed MLGW rate hike.