Flyway completes Tom Lee Park transformation
The 220-foot-long boardwalk two years in the making offers an elevated view of the Mississippi River just beyond the edge of Tom Lee Park.
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 4390 articles by Bill Dries :
-
June 2026
-
Downtown -
Behind The Headlines Reporters address SpaceX promises as Elon Musk company goes public
The local face of SpaceX has been making a lot of news as the Houston-based company goes public with a record-setting IPO. The local controversies against that backdrop were discussed on “Behind The Headlines.”
-
Shelby County County Commission has major decisions to get budget and tax rate across finish line
Adding more funding to county reserves is competing with a scaled-down lawsuit settlement, more spending and a basic tax rate that has been reduced by the state for the new fiscal year.
-
Shelby County County Commission sets (tentative) property tax rate
Commissioners delayed votes on operating and capital budgets to a June 29 meeting that will also include a final vote on the property tax hike.
-
Premium
MetroJudicial candidates blossom during election year spring
Also in this political roundup, Green campaigns at Da Sammich Shop, Blackburn calls for a “revisit” on a Nashville data center and Rose pans Starbucks incentives, along with a look at the FISA extension and immigration funding.
-
Public Safety Tami Sawyer indicted, faces federal corruption charges
The Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk was seen in custody at the Odell Horton Federal Building.
-
Premium
Shelby CountyCan a Court Clerk be suspended? Otis Jackson was in 2011.
General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer pleaded not guilty this week to federal charges. Her attorney said she plans to continue working as clerk while awaiting trial.
-
Public Safety ‘Bigger than the devil’: Hernandez Govan is back in custody, only this time it’s federal
A federal magistrate judge denied Govan’s request for bail following a hearing that detailed explicit threats of violence, extortion and a criminal history spanning decades.
-
Premium
Shelby CountyTami Sawyer indictment renews Republican push for state intervention
One of the Republican contenders for governor says it’s time “to shake up the court system in Shelby County.”
-
Shelby County Tami Sawyer suspended as clerk, Stanton appointed as interim
General Sessions Court judges suspended their clerk with pay two days after she made her first court appearance on federal theft, wire fraud and money laundering charges.
Related content:
Tami Sawyer indictment renews Republican push for state intervention
-
Elections T.J. Hardaway to run write-in campaign for late father’s state House seat
Hardaway, who was appointed to the District 93 seat in time for May’s special legislative session, announced his bid for a full two-year term.
-
Behind The Headlines City and county budget seasons are winding down. Here’s what two local leaders have to say.
The Shelby County Commission is looking at a possible tax increase while the Memphis City Council is expected to keep the city’s tax rate the same.
-
City of Memphis Solid waste pay raise, 11 amendments complicate city budget
The city’s new fiscal year starts July 1. Here are the issues and budget amendments that the City Council will work through at their last regular meeting in June.
-
City of Memphis Memphis City Council approves $5M for AutoZone Park
The Memphis City Council approved $5 million for repairs and renovation work at AutoZone Park. It will take a broader look at multiple uses for the ballpark that is home to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.
-
City of Memphis Mayor Young shakes up city leadership
Mayor Paul Young has named a new No. 2 at the COO post and a new CFO as well as an interim city engineer.
-
Metro How many Shelby County voters are moving among the 3 new congressional districts?
Also in the political roundup: Washington’s affordable-housing standoff, the Ultimate Fighting Championship plot and A C Wharton Jr. warns Mickell Lowery about being mayor.
-
Shelby County Shelby County Commission to take final vote on $2.71 property-tax rate
The commission also votes on budget amendments, including a move away from plans by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris to start planning on a new Treadwell K-8 school.
-
Shelby County County Commission passes budget with new property tax rate
Shelby County commissioners used extra decimal places Monday, June 29, in setting a new county property tax rate.
-
Shelby County Trial date set in Tami Sawyer’s federal embezzlement case
The trial date is tentative as Sawyer’s attorney is about to get an estimated 50,000 documents used by prosecutors to make their case against her.
-
-
July 2026
-
Shelby County 201 Poplar reopening Wednesday but long-term questions remain
Courts and offices that shut down for two days will resume regular operations Wednesday. But the renewed debate about the building’s condition — and what to do about it — continues.
-
Shelby County 201 Poplar goes back to work
The Walter L. Bailey Criminal Justice Center reopened Wednesday, July 1, after a two-day shutdown by a Health Department order after a water main burst and flooded the lower level.
Related content:
201 Poplar reopening Wednesday but long-term questions remain
-
Shelby County State opens applications for 2 new divisions of Shelby County Criminal Court
The new law came after the county lost two judicial seats in 2024, one in Shelby County Criminal Court and a second in Shelby County Circuit Court.
-
City of Memphis 4 mayors, 1 city: Young interviews the Memphis mayors before him
Mayor Paul Young said he wants to shift the perspective of mayoral accomplishments to be throughout several administrations. To make his point, he interviewed previous Memphis mayors: Willie Herenton, A C Wharton Jr. and Jim Strickland.
-
Premium
MetroBevy of Shelby County contenders jostle for Congressional primary races
A total of 14 contenders from Shelby County are on the Aug. 6 federal primary ballot in the 5th, 8th and 9th Congressional districts. Will multiple Memphians cancel each other out? Also in the political roundup: Pearson and Lamar spar; attorneys weigh in on judicial races.
-
Premium
Public SafetyMemphis ‘crime family': Federal wiretaps, GPS trackers and a tattoo shop robbery
Federal wiretaps captured Young Mob using GPS trackers, texts and FaceTime to stalk a rival in Memphis — with police twice racing in to stop planned robberies before the gang finally struck inside a tattoo shop.
-