Summer heat tests door-to-door campaign strategies
Mayoral contenders Tami Sawyer and Jim Strickland are mixing old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning with canvassing apps that show the voting histories of households.
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 3805 articles by Bill Dries :
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July 2019
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City of Memphis -
City of Memphis City to expand bike and scooter fleet size from 1,750 to 3,300
E-scooter companies Bolt and Spin will join Bird and Lime as well as Explore Bike Share in the Memphis market as a pilot shared-mobility program becomes permanent.
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City of Memphis Memphis ballot changes on way to certification by Election Commission
The Shelby County Election Commission meets Thursday to certify the ballot for the Oct. 3 nonpartisan elections. Meanwhile, city council contender Cody Fletcher said on the Daily Memphian Politics Podcast that criticism of his switch to another council race takes time away from discussion of more substantial issues.
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Metro Legend, Steinem and Abiola to receive NCRM Freedom Awards in October
The honors were announced Thursday by National Civil Rights Museum President Terri Lee Freeman. The awards ceremony and gala along with the children’s forum will be Oct. 30.
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City of Memphis Sewer work scheduled for north end of Mud Island
Among the maze of road work and paving going on across the city this summer, the city public works department will add to the infrastructure scenery as it temporarily reworks the flow of raw sewage.
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City of Memphis Critics of Tom Lee Park plan question larger riverfront plan
The group Get Our Riverfront Right agrees some of the proposed changes to Tom Lee Park would help the Memphis in May festival. But on "Behind the Headlines," they say a larger riverfront plan is being handled piecemeal and would disrupt the festival as an economic engine.
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City of Memphis What’s in a name? Election commissioners contend with nicknames, titles
The Oct. 3 ballot will feature an "underdog" and a "prince" but no "sister" and no "pastor" in what can be a fine line between the names people are known by and a candidate looking for an edge.
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Business Coffee named new senior VP of Chairman’s Circle
Nancy Coffee is the new senior vice president of the Greater Memphis Chamber’s Chairman’s Circle, the chamber announced Friday.
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City of Memphis Strickland: Memphis In May to move temporarily in 2021
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says the Memphis in May International Festival will move to an alternate site temporarily in 2021 to accommodate construction in Tom Lee Park.
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Metro AFSCME union leadership backs Herenton challenge of Strickland
The local of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees made its city election endorsements Friday, including Willie Herenton for mayor.
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City of Memphis Adelman says he is out of New Daisy partnership after four years
The veteran nightclub operator who came to Memphis four years ago in a partnership to run the New Daisy theater on Beale Street says he is out of the partnership but hopes the venue can reopen soon.
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City of Memphis Allen takes broader view in council Super District bid
Cat Allen, a first-time contender in the City Council's Super District 8, sees a wave of progressive candidates for the council and has some concerns about what's happening in Super District 9, which is just a few blocks from her home.
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City of Memphis Strickland, Herenton go after each other in mayor’s race
Mayor Jim Strickland and former Mayor Willie Herenton have raised their rhetoric about each other in recent days after initially avoiding direct criticism of each other.
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City of Memphis Strickland says first term as mayor has answered call for change
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland opened his reelection campaign headquarters Tuesday in Poplar Plaza, citing his record and setting a goal to "accelerate momentum" if elected to a second term.
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August 2019
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City of Memphis Rallings says review of Frayser disorder continues but police responded with restraint
On "Behind The Headlines," Memphis Police Chief Michael Rallings said a federal court consent decree forbidding police surveillance has put the police department in a "very difficult situation" but that he will abide by court's ruling. He also said MPD is still reviewing how it handled the Brandon Webber situation six weeks ago.
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City of Memphis Johnson campaigns for council on suspicions about development boom
Memphis City Council contender Frank Johnson is connecting with some supporters with his concerns about gentrification and displacement as parts of the city prosper and other parts don't.
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City of Memphis Strong to challenge Cohen in 2020 Democratic Congressional primary
Former Shelby County Democratic Party chairman Corey Strong will challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen in the August 2020 Democratic Congressional primary.
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City of Memphis Herenton vows to ‘Fight the Power’
Tami Sawyer charges patriarchy. The Jim Strickland campaign says Willie Herenton left a "mess" with tax hikes and service cuts during his 17-year tenure at City Hall.
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Metro Handy House to reopen with parade
The W.C. Handy House and Museum in the Beale Street entertainment district will reopen Saturday with a parade and live music.
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City of Memphis Council could take final vote on Memphis 3.0
Memphis City Council members take final votes Tuesday on the Memphis 3.0 land use and development guidelines, a new set of rules for public art projects funded by the city and a ban on plastic bags.
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Public Safety Sheriff’s deputy stabbed, suspect shot and killed in Downtown Memphis
A Shelby County Sheriff's deputy was stabbed and a man identified as James Lee Kirkwood was killed by the officer during an officer-involved shooting incident Downtown Monday morning.
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Metro Some on council question city’s $3M toward tennis center expansion
The city's $3 million commitment to the $19 million undertaking would come from a source some city council members say could have been tapped for other priorities.
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Metro Foote Homes’ first phase nears completion
Three council members took a look around the new Foote Park at South City Tuesday with plenty of questions and discussion around the larger issue of how to keep the city's development boom from displacing Memphians.
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Metro Plastic bag ban voted down by City Council
A citywide plastic bag ban that would have tested a state law forbidding such limitation by local governments was voted down by the Memphis City Council.
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City of Memphis MATA chief says referendum on bus funding source could follow city elections
On "Behind The Headlines," Gary Rosenfeld said a revenue source, possibly from a sales tax hike or gas tax hike, is needed to implement a two-year-old plan to increase the frequency of bus trips in the core city and to find ways to connect areas outside of the core.
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