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 3841 articles by Bill Dries :
The no-confidence resolution, aimed at board members who voted to fire Marie Feagins, also includes a “governance plan” to improve the school board’s relationship with the superintendent. The commission voted not to hold up funding for a new Frayser high school.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has called on the Senate to reject several of Trump’s appointees, including Robert Kennedy Jr
The early start to county budget hearings is an attempt to resolve some of the friction between county elected officials and the Mayor Lee Harris’ office.
Three Shelby County commissioners who supported a no-confidence vote aimed at Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the ongoing standoff between the school board and its superintendent.
Activists gathered Saturday in preparation for Donald Trump’s second term as President. Meanwhile, Sen. Marsha Blackburn stirs speculation about a run for Tennessee Governor.
The city council agenda also includes a discussion of the proposed Chickasaw Gardens street closures but no vote on the long-delayed pair of resolutions for another two weeks.
The Memphis City Council took up the reappointment of C.J. Davis, which had been on hold for a year. Chickasaw Gardens street closures hit indefinite roadblock New neighborhoods division would consolidate some city functionsRelated content:
The long-delayed Memphis City Council votes on closing two Chickasaw Gardens streets to auto traffic has been delayed indefinitely.
The Division of Neighborhood Improvements was outlined as a more focused approach to persistent blight in the city’s residential areas. City Council members want to know more about the latest shift in the city’s blight strategy.
Speaking to reporters, President Donald Trump said, “everything will be revealed,” as he signed an executive order to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and other officials.
The one-day addition to the MIM barbecue contest at Liberty Park is tied in with the Fort Worth, Texas based Steak Cookout Association.
Mayor Lee Harris and Judge Tarik Sugarmon talk on “Behind The Headlines” about the compromise they have taken to Sheriff Floyd Bonner about administration of the county’s juvenile-detention center.
Real estate values in the recently completed countywide property reappraisal are up about 27% compared to in 2021.
Worth Morgan and Naser Fazlullah vied in a hard-fought contest. The county GOP convention in Bartlett drew more than 400 people.
At its Monday, Jan. 27, meeting, the Shelby County Commission set the process for filling the vacancy that comes with the March retirement of General Sessions Court Judge Bill Anderson. Also a test of the commission’s new budget subcommittee process.
The County Commission should have a replacement for retiring General Sessions Court Judge Bill Anderson by his March 1 retirement.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris was in Nashville on Monday trying to talk lawmakers out of a state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. He says there are some alternatives being discussed.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris talked of the new hospital site as a connection of the Medical District to Downtown, where there is now a lot of vacant land and blight. County mayor in Nashville working on alternatives to MSCS takeover billRelated content:
There is a new plan for the construction of a new Regional One Health hospital at a site on Union near South Lauderdale. County plans to fill General Sessions judicial vacancy by March 1Related content:
Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery said on “Behind The Headlines” that he would like to see the commission have line-item control of MSCS spending.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young discussed crime, blight and debt, but also called on Memphians to “say yes” to promoting the city and working toward goals of economic growth for all.
A series of changes in the leadership of Memphis-Shelby County Schools may be giving way to a more gradual but no less profound series of changes within the district.
Most of the budget amendment would come from city reserves and includes $5 million for the Memphis Area Transit Authority.
As the end of Lee Harris’ tenure as Shelby County mayor nears, potential successors start laying the groundwork for their campaigns.
The return of the Shelby Farm Parkway proposal comes two years after it was removed from the city’s list of road projects. The Greater Memphis Chamber is pushing for its return.