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 3763 articles by Bill Dries :
There were no votes opposing the new Frayser high school, but word that the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board will vote on a possible ouster of Superintendent Marie Feagins cast a long shadow over the discussion.
In addition to the More for Memphis debate, the Shelby County Commission voted down redistributing county pay raises, and dealt with other fiscal matters.
The saga of Willie Herenton’s 1979 selection by the school system has influenced the pick of every superintendent since.
The proposed gates have been met with opposition, with an attorney for those in surrounding neighborhoods saying it gives “at least the appearance of being elitist and exclusionary.”
All of those pardoned by the governor have been out of prison for at least five years.
In a “Behind the Headlines” interview that will air Dec. 27 on WKNO, State Senator London Lamar talked about her Facebook post about Tuesday’s emotional school board meeting.
The MSCS board has a history of lots of citizens showing up at its meetings in a bad mood. The political roundup also tracks how the city’s D.C. representatives voted on the plan to keep the federal government open. Meanwhile, the city council will meet at 4 p.m. in the new year instead of 3:30 p.m.
State Sen. Brent Taylor says on “Behind The Headlines” he is ready to make the case for the ouster of Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy when the Tennessee Legislature returns to session in January.
The top votes by the Shelby County Commission in 2024 revolved around the budget season and balancing funding for big projects.
Here’s a review of some of the major decisions the Memphis City Council made in 2024, including tax hikes, gun referendums and more.
This coming May will mark 100 years since the 1925 river rescue, when Tom Lee saved 32 people from the Mississippi River south of Memphis after their boat capsized.
The former president, who died Sunday, Dec. 29, came to Memphis at the height of his political power and after losing to Ronald Reagan. His visits were a snapshot of how his political fortunes changed and his pursuits after the White House.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young marked the first year of his four-year term as mayor at a New Year’s Day prayer breakfast where he talked about “turmoil” in schools and other “drama” locally.
The year in politics was topped by the presidential general election and several local election races that warmed political fires left untended by the distant campaign for president. The top political stories of 2024 also include the transition from elections to governing for other leaders.
A connected resolution would also hold up funding for the new Frayser school project for three months and urges school leaders to work through a mediator.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee talked with reporters online after taking the oath of office Friday, Jan. 3, to begin her second six-year term in the upper chamber.
Violent crime and efforts to battle it were among the top stories of the year as discussed in a reporters’ roundtable on “Behind The Headlines.”
The ordinance, which is up for the first of three votes, would make a set of gun-ownership limits a part of the city code of ordinances.
In the wake of the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people, questions about Beale Street security are the latest concerns for those who try to plan for the worst.
Nick Walker has been the head of Memphis Parks since 2019.
None of the provisions can take effect until or unless state laws are changed to permit the provisions in the ordinance.
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners is moving toward creating a “governance plan,” which would set goals for both the elected school board and Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins.
Lee was joined on the tour by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton — but not xAI founder Elon Musk.
“You cannot accept anymore that the lowest performing school system in our state is in Shelby County,” State House Speaker Cameron Sexton said while in Memphis. “There’s too many people. There’s too many new jobs coming in. It’s too important for our success.”
The Nov. 5 referendums on a set of three gun-control measures that would apply to Memphis were just a first step toward a local ordinance that would counteract current state gun laws.