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 council agenda Tuesday includes discussions about selling the old Cordova auto inspection station, allowing temporary closure of an Overton Square street and expanding a program that helps those with suspended drivers licenses pay fines and fees once they have met other terms.
Memphis Mayoral contender and Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer is mounting a complex challenge of incumbent mayor Jim Strickland. The challenge combines promises of disruption with national issues as Sawyer seeks to fuse activism with electoral politics.
The storefront opening Saturday in the Poplar Corridor begins a campaign to the Oct. 3 election day. It also featured more of the clash of priorities among the major candidates for mayor on the same ballot.
Council member Ford Canale is seeking a full four year term after being appointed to the body and winning a special election last year. On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, Canale talks about his bid for a full term and council contender Jeff Warren offers "throwback" campaign paraphernalia.
Pamela Moses represented herself in a Chancery Court hearing Thursday, Aug. 15, unsuccessfully seeking to stop the printing and mailing of Memphis election ballots that go to city absentee voters starting Monday.
The mayoral contender and county commissioner commented on a "Behind The Headlines" recording Thursday when asked about comments made by CNN commentator Angela Rye in Memphis last week labeling Mayor Jim Strickland a "racist' and "Dixiecrat."
The shotgun house at Beale and Fourth has a new commitment by the city to promote W.C. Handy's music more than a century after he puts the blues on sheet music and spread the music form around the world.
The first installment of our – and your – collection of 200 memorable Memphians.
The incumbent and challenger Tami Sawyer have a complex history on what is arguably the most volatile issue of the mayor's race.
Leaders of the “Memphis Campaign for Public Safety” said on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast they think the wording of the Oct. 3 ballot question is clear although Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has said if it is approved, it would still have to go to the City Council for approval.
On "Behind The Headlines," Gary Rosenfeld said a revenue source, possibly from a sales tax hike or gas tax hike, is needed to implement a two-year-old plan to increase the frequency of bus trips in the core city and to find ways to connect areas outside of the core.
A citywide plastic bag ban that would have tested a state law forbidding such limitation by local governments was voted down by the Memphis City Council.
Three council members took a look around the new Foote Park at South City Tuesday with plenty of questions and discussion around the larger issue of how to keep the city's development boom from displacing Memphians.
The city's $3 million commitment to the $19 million undertaking would come from a source some city council members say could have been tapped for other priorities.
A Shelby County Sheriff's deputy was stabbed and a man identified as James Lee Kirkwood was killed by the officer during an officer-involved shooting incident Downtown Monday morning.
Memphis City Council members take final votes Tuesday on the Memphis 3.0 land use and development guidelines, a new set of rules for public art projects funded by the city and a ban on plastic bags.
The W.C. Handy House and Museum in the Beale Street entertainment district will reopen Saturday with a parade and live music.
Tami Sawyer charges patriarchy. The Jim Strickland campaign says Willie Herenton left a "mess" with tax hikes and service cuts during his 17-year tenure at City Hall.
Former Shelby County Democratic Party chairman Corey Strong will challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen in the August 2020 Democratic Congressional primary.
Memphis City Council contender Frank Johnson is connecting with some supporters with his concerns about gentrification and displacement as parts of the city prosper and other parts don't.
On "Behind The Headlines," Memphis Police Chief Michael Rallings said a federal court consent decree forbidding police surveillance has put the police department in a "very difficult situation" but that he will abide by court's ruling. He also said MPD is still reviewing how it handled the Brandon Webber situation six weeks ago.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland opened his reelection campaign headquarters Tuesday in Poplar Plaza, citing his record and setting a goal to "accelerate momentum" if elected to a second term.
Mayor Jim Strickland and former Mayor Willie Herenton have raised their rhetoric about each other in recent days after initially avoiding direct criticism of each other.
Cat Allen, a first-time contender in the City Council's Super District 8, sees a wave of progressive candidates for the council and has some concerns about what's happening in Super District 9, which is just a few blocks from her home.
The veteran nightclub operator who came to Memphis four years ago in a partnership to run the New Daisy theater on Beale Street says he is out of the partnership but hopes the venue can reopen soon.