Coming TVA-MLGW discussion promises to be technical, complex and political
The landscape of considerations includes a close reading of the city charter, the role of a "balancing authority" and where the electric power comes from.
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 3805 articles by Bill Dries :
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April 2019
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Metro -
Education Ray says replacement funding key concern with school voucher bill
The interim superintendent of Shelby County Schools said on Behind The Headlines that a plan to consolidate and relocate some schools on a massive scale should also be accompanied by better school programs and more academic offerings to students.
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City of Memphis Eighty years after his death, Richard Halliburton finds new life in fiction
Richard Halliburton, a Memphis adventure travel writer from a past era, has turned up in a new series of spy novels as himself. The author researched Halliburton's life and his journals at the Rhodes College Halliburton archives.
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Shelby County Harris becomes new Democratic Party chairman in confidence vote
Harris was unopposed and by a narrow vote got the majority needed after answering lots of questions about the recent suspension of his law license. The vote also included lots of evidence of different factions within the party that was reformed in 2017.
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Shelby County Race for local Democratic Party chairmanship shifts again
The balloting among party leaders Saturday appears to be a choice between Michael Harris and state Sen. Raumesh Akbari after state Rep. London Lamar withdrew Thursday.
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Metro Second Memphis Cares reflects on Memphis of 1968 and change
The interfaith gathering came 51 years to the day of the original gathering. Rev. James Lawson, who spoke at the original Memphis Cares, said Sunday Memphis can be "a different kind of city a generation from now."
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City of Memphis Herenton opens campaign for Memphis mayor with charges of ‘elitism’ in city’s prosperity
The former mayor drew several hundred people to southwest Memphis as his opens his challenge of incumbent mayor Jim Strickland on the Oct. 3 city ballot.
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Real Estate Loews, THM part company on convention center hotel project
Loews says it is moving ahead with a hotel in Civic Center Plaza across from City Hall. Meanwhile, THM indicated Friday it intends to turn the 100 North Main building into a 500-room hotel.
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City of Memphis City takes bids on expansion of system of shared bikes and scooters
As Explore Bike Share marks its first year in May, City Hall will weigh proposals by the nonprofit, two electric scooter shared mobility companies and any other companies that want permanent city permits to operate within Memphis.
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City of Memphis University of Memphis begins five-year aquifer research project
The effort to map breaches in the clay layers protecting the city's underground water supply will also include longer-term goals like the best placement of wells and how the aquifers move.
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City of Memphis 2011 flood sets the standard for reviews of March flood control measures
Those maintaining the city's flood counter measures said the March flooding at Memphis tested the system and the system passed. But they also said the frequency of high water requires vigilance.
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City of Memphis TVA’s Lyash says MLGW decision on future relationship should take long view
TVA CEO and president Jeff Lyash said during a Memphis visit on his third day on the job that the power industry will see as much change in the next 20 years as it did in the last half-century.
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City of Memphis After 6-year delay, Elvis Presley Boulevard project to move forward
City leaders will gather Thursday near the intersection of Elvis Presley Boulevard and Brooks Road to mark the beginning of construction on a $44 million streetscape improvement project that kicked off six years ago.
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Shelby County Harris: Democrats moving beyond law license controversy to ‘necessary dissonance’
The new Shelby County Democratic Party chairman says he is attempting to move beyond the controversy to bring new and established Democrats together after Democrats swept every countywide office on the ballot in 2018.
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City of Memphis Whitehaven, Elvis Presley Boulevard top ‘paving season’
A $43 million streetscape project on Elvis Presley Boulevard between Brooks Road and Shelby Drive features all LED lighting and hopes for new business along Whitehaven's main street.
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City of Memphis Boyd says University of Tennessee needs ‘generational leader’
University of Tennessee interim president Randy Boyd talks with The Daily Memphian about UT Health Science Center, increased communication among UT campuses, and whether he is a politician after one failed run for governor.
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Education ‘We had to send a message’
Some of the 109 BSA members arrested in the University of Memphis administration building 50 years ago this month returned Friday as a plaque noting the sit-in protest was unveiled where they were handcuffed in 1969.
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City of Memphis Strickland posts campaign war chest of $757,000
The first campaign finance filings of the 2019 Memphis election season show incumbent Mayor Jim Strickland with a sizable fundraising advantage. But for the first quarter, three City Council contenders each raised six figures on the way to the Oct. 3 elections.
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City of Memphis Strickland budget plan, Graceland development agreement on Tuesday council agenda
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland takes a budget proposal to the City Council Tuesday that has a stable city property tax rate and pay raises for city employees. Council members also will consider a development agreement between the city and Graceland as part of a busy agenda.
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City of Memphis MLGW names 20-member Power Supply Advisory Team
A new 20-member citizens panel named by Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division Tuesday is the next step in a detailed examination of changing the utility's 80-year relationship with the Tennessee Valley Authority. MLGW president J.T. Young says the process will keep moving until there is a recommendation.
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City of Memphis Strickland budget proposal includes surprise initiatives
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s fourth budget proposal, totaling $709 million, includes an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to accelerate the development of new and rehabbed multifamily and single-family housing.
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Shelby County Stamson named new election commission chairman
Veteran Shelby County Election Commissioner Steve Stamson is the new chairman of the five-member body.
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City of Memphis Memphis Harbor gets kayak and paddleboard rentals starting May 4
A new kayak and paddle board rental service in the Memphis harbor opens for business May 4, the Memphis River Parks Partnership announced Wednesday.
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City of Memphis Budget talks could include looking at bigger pay hike for non-public safety city workers
City council members start budget hearings next month and there are still a few more details to come about how much revenue the council will have as it considers amendments or changes in Mayor Jim Strickland's proposal.
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City of Memphis North Memphis 3.0 showdown moves from courtesy to accusations
The latest meeting on the Memphis 3.0 plan demonstrated the lingering confusion – and some suspicion – about what the long-range development plan recommends and how it works.
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