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 3662 articles by Bill Dries :
A $25 wheel-tax hike tops the annual list of significant votes by the Shelby County Commission. The vote had a ripple effect on the 13-member body from electing a new chair to a special prosecutor investigating County Clerk Wanda Halbert.
Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright said Wednesday, Dec. 27, he is in the process of drafting a formal complaint against Wanda Halbert for the special prosecutor’s office in Chattanooga to consider.
The last City Council Scorecard of the year includes a pay raise for the new mayor, another ballot question for 2024 and several items for the new council to decide.
The economic development chief of the Greater Memphis Chamber says on “Behind The Headlines” that a replacement bridge is a much faster path forward. Plus, she talks about actively courting another automaker to the region.
Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty G. Wamp, in a letter to Shelby County commissioners, says the investigation has been slow moving with unreturned phone calls and denied records requests that she says violate state law.
The case of one county commissioner against another was dismissed in court Wednesday, Dec. 20.
If approved, members who serve two terms, or eight years, would get city health benefits for life. The council also approved a pay raise for incoming Mayor Paul Young and put a fifth referendum on the August 2024 ballot. City nails down Brooks Museum agreement, delays vote on Chickasaw Gardens gatesRelated story:
Memphis City Council heard oppositions to the new Memphis Art Museum before giving the green light to an agreement with the Brooks Museum to run it and punted a vote on closing two streets in Chickasaw Gardens.
TDOT announced a plan to rebuild the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi River with funding from Gov. Bill Lee’s $3.3 billion Transportation Modernization Act.
Shelby County commissioners also funded 21 new “youth development specialist” positions at Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court, and a rugby field for Memphis Inner City Rugby.
The Memphis City Council ends its term with a vote on a proposed extension of health benefits for some departing members and on a 2024 ballot question, allowing the body to set the pay for its members.
The Shelby County Commission’s final meeting of 2023 will review contract extensions for health care services at the jail and juvenile detention facilities along with a grant for the Memphis Inner-City Rugby program.
The $78 million redevelopment of the old Northside High School comes with an ambitious plan to bring back the surrounding Klondike subdivision from decades of blight.
Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.’s request for a temporary order of protection from fellow commissioner Mickell Lowery has been denied — at least for now.
“We’ve had a number of dialogues over the past couple of months, and I feel confident that she can and will be able to lead us into a better space with regards to public safety.”
The March 5 primary is Shelby County’s first election of 2024 and is topped by Tennessee’s presidential primary. The race for General Sessions Court clerk is the only countywide position on the ballot in 2024.
Memphis wasn’t part of original expansion plans for passenger-rail service in and through Tennessee. But connecting Memphis to Nashville would also give travelers New Orleans and Chicago.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and state House Speaker Cameron Sexton say the fine print of a new, expanded school-voucher bill will include accountability standards for private schools and home-schooled students.
The new community center, scheduled to open in 2025, is just yards away from the existing community center, which is one of the most used in the Memphis Parks system.
The music festival by Mempho Presents is May 3-5, 2024, with a lineup expected early next year.
The fellowships come with a $65,000 stipend for each of the three recipients funded by federal community grants.
County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. is seeking a court order of protection against fellow commissioner Mickell Lowery after the two exchanged words in August. Attorneys are seeking to seal the order and the details of Ford’s legal motion.
“Once this service is in operation, much of the country will be accessible by rail from Memphis,” said U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. “This is a very big deal.”
The final approval of the August 2024 referendum for city voters came Tuesday, Dec. 5, in a chaotic roll call. The council has another ballot question on the way to allow it to set its own pay.
The Memphis City Council will also tackle moving state funding for the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium renovations and a resolution to give Mayor-elect Paul Young a raise.