Ballot Basics: The special election for state Senate District 32
The first election of 2019 is for an open state Senate seat in the suburbs and early voting begins Friday.
Bill Dries
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 :
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January 2019
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State Government -
Shelby County Path to new voting machines gets longer with special elections
There are still issues that must be addressed before instant-runoff voting can be implemented for city elections in October, even with voters overwhleming supporting the process in November.
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Metro Reality and Jeremiah dominate political prayer breakfast
At the city's longest running New Year's Day prayer breakfast, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen talks about a new Democratic majority in Congress, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris discusses the new juvenile detention center and religious leaders talk about reality and the Biblical prophet Jeremiah.
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City of Memphis Strickland cites gains, challenges at year’s end
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said on New Year's Eve the city is making progress on poverty, but there are remaining challenges as he called for the improving local economy to include all Memphians.
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December 2018
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City of Memphis Strickland stuck to basics in 2018, touted momentum
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland stuck to the basics in 2018 – the “brilliant at the basics” four-word slogan of his 2015 campaign for mayor and the motto of his three-year-old administration. -
City of Memphis City’s wish list from Nashville includes sports book on Beale, more THP
City Hall is looking for mandatory jail time for road-rage convictions in the 2019 session of the Tennessee Legislature and a sports book on Beale Street as well as making it easier to get title to tax-delinquent property for tax sales.
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City of Memphis 2018 elections offer surprises, confirmations and plenty of litigation
There were more than votes to count in the 2018 local elections. There were voters, early voting locations and lawsuits – six of them – against the Shelby County Election Commission.
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Shelby County Detention center funding decision taps larger criminal justice system concerns
County commissioner Tami Sawyer and activist Josh Spickler discuss flaws in the juvenile justice system and the roles a new assessment center and new juvenile detention center might play in reforming the system.
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Public Safety Stanton appointed monitor in MPD surveillance court case
Former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton is the independent monitor who will report to U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla on steps the Memphis Police Department is taking to end surveillance of protesters after violating a 1978 consent decree barring such surveillance. -
Shelby County Hopson’s tenure at SCS defined by changes in map of schools
The Shelby County Schools board is facing some important decisions as it mulls outgoing superintendent Dorsey Hopson's latest school consolidation plan and welcomes an interim leader.
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City of Memphis Robinson and Morgan say council discord has broader context
Memphis City Council members say there were some indications of discord before the rift over filling three vacant council seats. But when the rift settled in for the rest of the year it was a surprising turn.
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Shelby County Harris pushes for new juvenile detention center funding
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris presses the case for funding of a new juvenile detention center ahead of a key County Commission vote next month.
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City of Memphis Confederate monument anniversary reveals a work in progress
One year to the day that Confederate monuments were removed from two city parks, the anniversary revealed the controversy still has some unexpected life left in it among those pursuing the removal of the monuments by different methods.
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City of Memphis Confederate monuments anniversary blends with coming city elections
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland won’t officially announce his re-election bid until next month. -
City of Memphis Memphis 3.0 draft includes area anchors and ‘degree of change’ ratings
The city’s long-range development plan for the next 20 years begins with what is already there, gauges the market and public sentiment and builds from there. A draft of the Memphis 3.0 plan debuted Wednesday on a city website, www.memphis3point0.com. -
City of Memphis City Council votes down MLGW rate hikes, approves Union Row TIF
Memphis City Council members have rejected gas, water and electric rate hikes proposed by Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division. On three separate 3-7 votes Tuesday, the council voted down the rate hikes to take effect in 2019 and again in 2021 across all three divisions of the publicly owned utility. -
City of Memphis Graceland says it’s willing to delay arena plans to get money for other attractions
There are plans to make two more Hallmark movies in Memphis next year, according to the managing partner of Graceland Holdings LLC. -
City of Memphis City Council rejects Logan, punts filling vacancies to new year
Memphis City Council members put off filling three empty seats on the council Tuesday at their last meeting of the year. -
City of Memphis Bond bid for council seat sidelined by diagnosis
Theryn Bond got some bad news in her quest to get the appointment to the open City Council District 6 seat. -
City of Memphis City Council’s 3 empty seats take center stage
The Memphis City Council has three empty council seats to fill Tuesday. And if the 10 council members can’t break the gridlock that has delayed the appointment to the first of those vacancies, there will be more calls for special elections to fill all three. -
City of Memphis Change is constant in newly published Overton Park history
Brooks Lamb was making final edits on his book about Overton Park when he found out the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art was planning a move out of the park to Downtown Memphis. -
City of Memphis Candlelight vigil to mark one year since removal of Confederate monuments
A candlelight vigil Thursday in Health Sciences Park will mark the one-year anniversary of the removal of Confederate monuments there and from Memphis Park. -
City of Memphis TDZ expansion approved for second convention center hotel
The Tennessee Building Commission's executive committee has approved an expansion of the Downtown Tourism Development Zone for a second convention center hotel in Memphis. -
City of Memphis Parks Partnership keeps River Garden active in first month
The River Garden at Mississippi River Park has a few unexpected additions. Since the park at the Wolf River Harbor was revamped as a more active setting about a month ago, a hawk and a bobcat have taken up residence. -
City of Memphis Burson campaign photos show new political reality
Charles Burson began with the certainty that he was taking pictures of what would be Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign march to the presidency. That belief and his political experience influenced how and where the Memphis attorney and former Tennessee attorney general framed what he shot.
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